• Matthew 22:1-14
“You’ve been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb! What an honor! Here, let me show you the way …”
So said the servants to each of the people on the king’s invitation list. But in spite of the joyous message, neither the servants nor their message were well received. The invitation was ignored and the servants were mistreated or killed.
Fact or fiction? It’s a parable delivered by Jesus. But it rings too true to be taken lightly. Like many of Jesus’ stories, the parable of the wedding banquet is simple and hard all at the same time. It is obviously a story about salvation. But it doesn’t pull any punches, and it forces us to take a second look at how we define salvation.
In this story, Jesus illustrates his point, namely, “many are invited, but few are chosen” (v. 14). Let’s take a closer look at those who don’t make the cut.
The unwilling
In Jesus’ story, the first invitation was extended to the Jews, God’s chosen people. But they weren’t willing to recognize the long-awaited Messiah when he arrived.
In the parable, this group of invitees did not appreciate the honor bestowed on them by the king’s invitation. This fact was not lost on Jesus’ audience. They understood what a great honor it was to be on the guest list of a king. They also knew refusal was tantamount to a declaration of war.
Jesus is telling us he knows the Jews are not going to recognize him as their long-awaited messiah. And he lets us know God’s feelings on the matter. When those whom God honors refuse to honor God, he is offended.
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So what can we learn from this group? Understand the great honor of being invited to the wedding banquet. We must never devalue the gift of salvation.
The unworthy
In Jesus’ parable, the second round of invitations went to anyone the king’s servants met on the streets, both good and bad. Anyone who rejected the invitation was excluded, but everyone who accepted was allowed into the banquet hall. This group represents us, the Gentiles.
The amazing part of this section is who the king deems worthy. He doesn’t exclude those we would think of as morally or socially unacceptable. He wants to honor his son, so anyone he invites is worthy. Acceptance is the key here. The simple act of accepting the invitation makes us worthy of the invitation.
A second thing that stands out in this section is the reason we are invited. The king wants to honor his son; therefore, we must not come half-heartedly.
Salvation is an all-or-nothing proposition. Revelation 3:16 says, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” It is an offense to God to accept his invitation but not take it seriously. When we do that, we begin to look dangerously like the first group, who were destroyed for their unwillingness to celebrate with the king.
The unprepared
During Jesus’ day, guests prepared for a feast by cleansing themselves and dressing in their finest clothes. The host usually provided a wedding garment for each of his guests to ensure their preparations were adequate. In this story, particularly, the king would have needed to provide finery for his guests since they were brought in from the streets.
One of the men at the banquet must have thought his street clothes were good enough. He didn’t think he needed to put on the wedding garments provided by the king. But he was wrong. Because he wasn’t properly dressed, he was not allowed to join the celebration.
In the same way, God provides a spotless covering to ensure we are adequately dressed for his presence. This covering is the righteousness of Jesus, which we put on through faith the moment we accept Christ as our Savior and on a daily basis as we live out our faith. There’s nothing we can do to become pure enough for the banquet God is planning. Our finest efforts are nothing more than filthy rags in God’s sight. That’s why he must provide this righteousness as a gift. But knowing about God’s righteousness isn’t enough; we must put it on. Consider these verses: “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14); and “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).
Going to church and being a good person isn’t enough. The “wedding clothes” provided by God is the blood of Jesus. It covers our sins and changes our hearts, and until that change is made, we aren’t presentable to God. All are invited, but we must follow the rules laid out by the King. We must, through faith, accept Jesus’ sacrifice and put on his righteousness.
After you’re saved … preparing for the banquet
We Baptists often focus so heavily on the forgiveness of our sins, we forget how much God hates sin. Yes, he wants us to place our faith in Jesus, but he doesn’t want us to stop there. Paul says we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13). Salvation is spiritual birth. After the birth, we must grow.
When we are saved, we must begin a transformation that will make us less like the world around us and more like Jesus. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This is the change in garments the King of our story is looking for. As we develop our relationship with Jesus, we begin to look more like him. Little by little, we develop the heart of God. And as we do, our filthy rags are slowly replaced by wedding finery until, hopefully, when we stand before God, he is pleased with our preparations for the celebration.
What should we remember from this story?
1. Salvation is a precious gift we should thank God for every day.
2. It’s God’s mercy that brings salvation, not our worthiness.
3. It’s God’s invitation and God’s list, not ours. Our job is to help make the party a success by bringing more people in.
But most importantly, we need to remember how blessed we are to be invited. “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelations 19:9). Our God is a God of mercy and love. We deserve nothing but judgment, yet he showers us with blessings. Let’s honor him by preparing well for the banquet. Let’s put on the righteousness of Jesus.
Discussion questions
• Why do you think Jesus told this story?
• Which group do you most relate to?
• What can we do as Christians to make sure we don’t devalue the gift of salvation?
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