A. Are you prepared to enter the kingdom of heaven? This is the question we are caused to ponder
by the teachings of Jesus in the parable of the wedding feast (Matt. 22:1-14).
B. In the third lesson of this series, we studied the
parable of the vineyard owner in Matthew 21:33-46. The parable of the wedding feast was given by
Jesus on that same occasion.
1.
On a day during
the week leading up to His crucifixion, Jesus was in the temple when the chief
priests and elders questioned Him about His authority (Matt. 21:23).
2.
Although Jesus
did not answer their question, He did give them the answers that they needed to
hear in the form of three parables.
a. The first parable described two sons (Matt. 21:28-32). In this parable, Jesus led the chief priests
and elders to admit the truth about themselves, for they had claimed to follow
God but rejected God's messenger John.
They had also admitted that the tax-gatherers and harlots, who received
John, were closer to the kingdom of God than they were.
b. The second parable was the parable of the vineyard
owner, which we noticed in Lesson 3.
This parable illustrates how that those who reject the Son of God
forfeit the kingdom.
c.
The third parable
was the parable of the wedding feast, which we will study presently.
II. THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING FEAST
A. Like many of the Lord's parables, the parable of the
wedding feast teaches a lesson concerning the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 22:1).
1.
As we have
noticed before in this series, the Lord often used parables to teach
unfamiliar, spiritual lessons by the use of familiar, temporal activities. By these comparisons, certain points
concerning the kingdom of heaven can be understood by their similarity to
earthly situations.
2.
In this
particular parable, the wedding feast is likened to the kingdom of heaven.
a. This was no ordinary feast, but rather it was a royal
celebration of the prince's wedding. It
was an exceptional occasion, for even the common men were called to the feast.
b. In this setting, the king represents God, and His Son
is Christ.
B. The first group of invited guests represents the Jews,
who had the first opportunity to enter the kingdom (Matt. 22:2-6).
1.
Recall that Jesus
is addressing the chief priests and elders who challenged His authority (Matt.
21:23).
a. These were the leaders of the Jews who would have
Jesus crucified just a few days later.
b. This parable reveals the severity of their sin in a
different light than the first two parables Christ gave in answer to their
challenge.
i.
In the parable of
the two sons, Jesus exposed the Jewish leaders' hypocrisy in failing to keep
their commitment to God by rejecting John.
ii.
In the parable of
the vineyard owner, Jesus showed how the Jewish leaders had broken their
covenant with God by rejecting His prophets and His Son.
iii. This parable shows how the Jewish leaders had rejected
the kind and gracious invitation of God to enter the kingdom of heaven through
Christ.
2.
The Lord
describes two separate calls that were extended to the Jews, who were the first
to be invited into the kingdom.
a. The invitation to the wedding guests evidently
occurred before the feast was ready, for the slaves went out to call those who
had already been invited. It was the
Jews who were the chosen people of God and had first access to the gospel (Acts
13:46).
b. The first call of the invited people was answered with
an unwillingness to come.
c.
The second call
was more explicit, declaring the abundance and readiness of the feast. The response to the second call was answered
not only with indifference but also with violent aggression, for the king's slaves
were abused and killed.
d. These calls may have reference to several attempts of
God to call His people in Israel to the kingdom of heaven through Christ.
i.
The initial calls
of God trace back to the Messianic prophecies given to the Jews in the Old
Testament.
ii.
Another call to the
Jews happened by the ministry of John the baptist, who went to them to prepare
the way of the Lord (Mark 1:1-8).
iii. Jesus Himself came and called His people to the
kingdom through His teachings even in parables such as this one.
iv. After Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, and
ascension, the call went out yet again to the Jews through the full gospel
message. At this point, the feast was
abundant and ready.
v. Each of these calls was typically met with the same
response, which was indifference at best and violent persecution at worst.
3.
Because the invited
guests rejected the call of the king, they were destroyed.
a. Verse 7 says that "the king was enraged, and he sent
his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire."
b. This expressed the righteous wrath of God over the
offense of the Jewish leaders' repeated rejections of Him, His prophets, and
ultimately His Son. The fulfillment of
this verse was likely the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in A.D. 70.
C. The second group of invited guests represents the
Gentiles, who were given an equally abundant opportunity to enter the kingdom
(Matt. 22:8-13).
1.
"Those who were
invited were not worthy," which indicates that the Jews who rejected Christ
forfeited their place in the kingdom by their faithlessness (see Rom. 9-11).
2.
The king's
invitation to "as many as you find" represents God opening up the kingdom of
heaven to all men, both Jews and Gentiles.
a. The gospel call has gone out to all the world (Matt.
28:18-20; Col. 1:23), and it is for whosoever will (Matt. 11:28-30).
b. Notice that the king's slaves "gathered together all
they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner
guests" (Matt. 22:10). Truly, the gospel
is for all (see Matt. 21:31-32).
3.
Not everyone who
came to the wedding feast was allowed to stay, for one was improperly attired.
a. It was the custom of that day for wedding garments to
be provided by the host of the feast.
Therefore, everyone at the feast should have been appropriately attired.
b. When the king saw a man without wedding clothes, the
man had no excuse ("he was speechless").
c.
This man
represents those who attempt to enter the kingdom by their own methods. "For not knowing about God's righteousness
and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the
righteousness of God" (Rom. 10:3).
D. The main lesson of the parable is found in verse 14 --
"For many are called, but few are chosen."
1.
It is a sad and
tragic fact, but the truth is that most souls will be lost. The Lord Himself affirmed this on several
occasions (Matt. 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-30).
2.
Just as this
parable teaches, God's invitation to the kingdom of heaven has been opened to
all. It will not be for a lack of
opportunity that many souls will be lost.
God wants all men to be saved and all to come to repentance (1Tim. 2:4;
2Pet. 3:9).
3.
This message is
often too hard for the world to accept.
Many men say that most if not all souls will enter into the kingdom of
heaven by nearly any way they choose.
However, the word of God still declares, "For many are called, but few
are chosen."
III. CONCLUSION -- APPLYING THE PARABLE
A. Have you accepted the invitation to enter the kingdom
of heaven?
1.
Some of the
invited guests were indifferent, and some responded with violent
aggression. In either case, the king
said that they were unworthy.
2.
If you spurn the
invitation of God to come to the kingdom of heaven through Christ, then you
will offend God and kindle His wrath.
3.
Don't turn down
the invitation of God. Come today!
B. If you have accepted the invitation, then are you entering
the kingdom properly attired?
1.
Both the good and
the evil were invited into the feast, but they all were expected to put on the
proper attire. No excuses were accepted.
2.
When we accept
the invitation into the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ, we must put on
the proper attire as well. We must put
on Christ in baptism (Gal. 3:26-27). We
must put off the old man and put on the new (Col. 3:5-14). We must put on righteousness (Rev. 19:7-9).
3.
Put on the white
garments from Jesus, and get dressed for the kingdom today (Rev. 3:18).
