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RR  Matthew 22:1-14  (Insert) NKJV

"The Wedding Feast"

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Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by
parables and said: 

2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a
marriage for his son, 

3 "and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to
the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 

4 "Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who
are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted
cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the
wedding."' 

5 "But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own
farm, another to his business. 

6 "And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully,
and killed them. 

7 "But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent
out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their
city. 

8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but
those who were invited were not worthy. 

9 'Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find,
invite to the wedding.' 

10 "So those servants went out into the highways and gathered
together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding
hall was filled with guests.            11 "But when the king
came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have
on a wedding garment. 

12 "So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without
a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. 

13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot,
take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 

14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."



It is getting near the end of Jesus' ministry. The tension is
growing between him and the Pharisees. He had just been the
focus of attention in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then
he cleansed the temple again, which did not win him any friends
among the ruling class. The cursing of the fig tree was an acted
out parable, in which Jesus demonstrated that those who
professed without producing were destined to destruction. A
discussion about the ministry of John the Baptist led to the
parables of the two sons and the wicked vinedressers. 

Jesus closes his remarks in Matthew Chapter 21 by saying: 43
"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from
you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it."  

The reaction of the rulers is recorded in the last 2 verses of
Chapter 21: 

45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables,
they perceived that He was speaking of them. 

46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the
multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. 

Now you would think that the prudent thing to do would be to
back off a little bit. But Jesus moves right on with another
parable that outlined the fate of the Jews and conditions of
entrance into the new church. 

In this instance it is specifically stated that Jesus is
speaking in parables. And this parable is one that is for the
Jew and the Christian. He paints the word picture. The kingdom
of heaven is like a king who arranged a marriage for his son.
Now if we carry through with the concept that God is the Father,
then Jesus is the Son. 

Who would the bride be? The bride was to be the guests that were
invited! 

Could we not say the church? 

Let me ask you this: who was supposed to be the bride under
God's original plan? (Israel) 

So the Father and the son are anxious for this wedding to be
consummated. The invitation is sent out by the servants. 

And who does the word tell us that the servants of God are? The
prophets. 

It was the custom among the ancients for the guests to be
invited twice. They would be given a first invitation so that
they might prepare themselves.  Then summoned a short time
before the banquet, so that they would be there at the proper
time. 

The gospel is here compared to a feast, because in a feast there
is plenty, variety, and dainties. But this is not just a feast,
it is an invitation to a marriage-feast, being full of joy,
delight, and pleasure. And to a marriage-feast made by a king,
as being full of state, magnificence, and grandeur. 

As we look at this in the historical sequence of events, the
first invitation to the Jews was given by the prophets, many of
whom were killed, down to John the Baptist, who was beheaded.
The second invitation was given afterwards by the apostles and
other disciples in succession up until the stoning of Stephen. 

Now the invitations went out, but the intended guests did not
respond. This was not an issue of could not be ready. It was an
issue of would not be ready. 

Notice scripture says that they were not willing to come. They
had  one invitation. 

Now the second invitation comes and there is no response. 

4 "Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who
are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted
cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the
wedding."' 

5 "But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own
farm, another to his business. 

The sense of the text here is not that some did jeered or poked
fun. Rather they just ignored the messengers and their
invitation. But there were others who were more antagonistic. 

6 "And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully,
and killed them. Here we see These are two different classes of
unbelievers: the ones who were simply indifferent; the other
absolutely hostile - the one, contemptuous scorners; the other,
bitter persecutors. 

7 "But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent
out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their
city. 

This is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman
armies. However, with the original target of his beneficence
gone, the Father still will have a marriage feast. 

8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but
those who were invited were not worthy. 

9 'Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find,
invite to the wedding.' 

10 "So those servants went out into the highways and gathered
together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding
hall was filled with guests. 

Here we find an amazing turn to the story. The rich, the
blessed, the ones who should have been glad to support the king,
have scorn or hostility towards the king. They were good enough
to get an invitation. But they were too bad to respond to it. 

It is here the story transitions from the Jews to the new
church. But note, there are bad and good. Evidently in the back
corners of the byways, were some of the original class of people
who had missed the invitation or had not been invited. 

Then there were some who were hostile to the original invitees
and would have been considered bad by them. Then there were
those who were really bad. 

The kind that hide behind things beside the highway for
nefarious purposes. 

They were all swept up into the wedding hall so that there would
be guests for the feast. 

Now imagine for a moment if you will. Aunt Abigail had been a
street woman, thrown out because she was a widow. She existed by
what gleaning she could to, and from begging. She comes into the
palace, and her senses are totally overwhelmed with the beauty
and grandeur of it all. Instead of being jaded and ho hum, her
eyes are wide in awe at the beauty, the bounty, the blessedness
that she sees. And she can't believe it as she looks at herself,
because here dirty rags have been covered with the most
beautiful garment she has ever worn. It is an experience beyond
her wildest daydreams. 

Speaking of the wedding garment: EGW wrote"By faith in His
merits I am free from the condemnation of the law. He clothes me
with His righteousness, which answers all the demands of the
law. I am complete in Him who brings in everlasting
righteousness. He presents me to God in the spotless garment of
which no thread was woven by any human agent. All is of Christ,
and all the glory, honor, and majesty are to be given to the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." {NL 27.2} 

11 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man
there who did not have on a wedding garment. 

12 "So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without
a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. 

As we look at the original language here we find two different
words for "not". When the king addresses the guest, he is
thinking not so much of the outward token of disrespect, as of
the guest's mental attitude toward the proprieties of the
occasion. It is as if he had said, "What were you thinking of,
where was your respect for me and for my guests, when you
allowed yourself to come hither not (mh<) having the proper
garment, as you knew you ought to have?" 

It implies, that the man was conscious of the omission when he
entered, and was intentionally guilty of the neglect. 

The purpose of the call to the wedding supper is to gather to
Christ; all the children of God scattered abroad, Joh 10:16;
11:52. The case of hypocrites is represented by the guest that
did not have on a wedding-garment. The imputed righteousness of
Christ, and the sanctification of the Spirit, are both
necessary. 

No man has the wedding-garment by nature, or can form it for
himself. The day is coming, when hypocrites will be called to
account for all their presumptive attitudes that misuse the
goodness of God. The parable says take him away. Those that walk
unworthy of Christianity, forfeit all the happiness they
presumptuously claimed.  Many are called to the wedding-feast,
that is, to salvation, but few have the wedding-garment, the
righteousness of Christ, the sanctification of the Spirit. 

Moving on.

13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot,
take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14 "For many are called, but few
are chosen."

When the chief priests came to understand that these parable
were all applied to them, that they were the murderers of the
king's son, that they were the builders that rejected the chief
corner-stone, that they were the ones who refused to come to the
wedding feast, they were enraged if they had not been afraid of
the people, they would have laid violent hands upon him.

It did not take an elite person to see that there was no
mistaking the meaning of these parables. The dullest could see
the point.

In our previous study we heard Jesus say twice, "For the first
shall be last and the last shall be first." Here the same
thought is repeated in the parable.  The ones who seemed to be
favored, by their own actions, moved themselves from a position
of favor to damnation.

This marriage supper scene is repeated in Revelation.

Revelation 19:1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a
great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and
glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 

2 "For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has
judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her
fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants
shed by her." 

3 Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and
ever!" 

4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell
down and worshipped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen!
Alleluia!" 

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God,
all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and
great!" 

6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as
the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings,
saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 

7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself
ready." 

8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the
saints. 

9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called
to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These
are the true sayings of God." 

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me,
"See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of
your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." 

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He
who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness He judges and makes war. 

12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many
crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 

13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is
called The Word of God. 

14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, followed Him on white horses.

Brothers and sisters, the second coming of our Lord is the great
final feast of this world, and the first feast of a new world. 
We have all received the invitation.  We are all invited.  Those
who were first called as a people turned their backs on him.  We
can do the same thing.

The questions are, will we accept the invitation to the gospel
feast, or will we ignore the call?   Will we accept the marriage
on His terms, or do we demand to stand on our own?

To be without the wedding garments, offered freely to us,
implies that the we think our usual attire is good enough. The
man without the wedding garment therefore represents one who,
while professing to be for Christ, thought his own righteousness
would save him without a trustful obedience to the Savior.

Which are you?  Which do you want to be?

 I believe that we are near the end of time.  I believe that the
marriage supper of the Lamb is right around the corner.  I want
to be in that feast.  I want to be clothed in garments ever so
much better than I can weave.  Do you?

Today, are you trusting in Jesus through his Holy Spirit to
cover you with the righteousness of Christ?  Are you trusting in
the blood of the Lamb to make you clean?

If you have never turned your life over to Jesus, wholly and
completely, are you ready to do that right now?  You may have
been baptized, you may have been a member of the church for
years.  But if you have never before given up on trusting your
own efforts, and now you want change and say, "Lord take my life
and make me clean." would you just raise your hand right now?

If you have been part of the feast, and have found yourself
leaning a little too much on your works, your efforts for your
salvation, are you ready to give that burden to Jesus?  

Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden and I will
give you rest.

Are you ready for that rest?

If so, raise your hand with me as we pray.