INTRODUCTION
1. We come to the third
of three parables Jesus told when challenged by
the religious leaders in
the temple during His last week...
a. "The Two
Sons" was told in regards to their rejection of John the Baptist -
"But what think ye?
A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work
today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he
repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered
and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his
father? They said unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto
you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not:
but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it,
repented not afterward, that ye might believe him."
b. "The Wicked
Vinedressers" described how God would reject them
because they had
rejected His prophets, and ultimately His own
"c. In "The Wedding Feast", the wickedness and
rebelliousness of the religious leaders is even more vividly described
2. In "The
Wedding Feast", the Lord is revealing Himself and the nature of their
rejection more clearly than He did in the previous parable...
a. There He was indeed
the son; but here He is a royal son
b. There they were
rejecting what they rightfully owed by way of
contract; but here they
are rejecting kindness which had been
graciously offered to
them! 3. In this parable, we also see an expansion of the element of Divine Judgment...
a. The previous parable
described judgment upon Israel for rejecting God's Son
b. So does this parable,
but it also describes judgment upon those who have accepted the King's
invitation, yet not in the way it was intended to be received!
I. THE PARABLE
ANALYZED
(Matthew 22:1-14)
A. AN INVITATION
SPURNED(1-10)
1. The kingdom of heaven
is likened to a wedding feast -
Matthew 22:1-2
"And Jesus answered
and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like
unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,"
a. Isaiah had used the
figure of a feast to prophecy of the
Messianic age -
"And in this
mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a
feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees
well refined."
**Here is a marvelous
prophecy of "all people" Gentiles and Jews together--at God's
messanic banquet celebrating the overthrow of evil and the joy of eternity with
God. It shows that God intended his saving message to go out to the whole
world, not just to the Jews. During the feast, God will end death forever. **
Isaiah 25:7,8
"And he will
destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the
veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and
the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his
people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken
it."
b. The Book of
Revelation describes a future marriage of the
Lamb and His Bride -
"Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the lamb is come, and his
wife hath made herself ready."
2. And yet the
invitation is spurned...
a. By those indifferent
-
"and sent forth his
servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold,
I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things
are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their
ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:"
b. By those rebellious -
"and the remnant
took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them."
-- Jesus may have
reference here to the Jewish nation, as He
did in the parable of "The
Wicked Vinedressers" -
3.
The King's furious reaction -
"But when the king
heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those
murderers, and burned up their city."
a. Those who had so
callously rejected His invitation, abused
His servants, are
themselves destroyed
b. Many understand this
to be a prophecy of the destruction of
Jerusalem, which
occurred in 70 A. D. -
"And when he was
come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known,
even thou known, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy
peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee,
that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and
keep thee in one every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy
children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another;
because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."
**The Jewish leaders had
rejected their king. They had gone too far. They had refused God's offer of
salvation in Jesus Christ(The time of thy visitation) and soon their nation
would suffer. God did not turn away from the Jewish people who obeyed him,
though. He contines to offer salvation to the people he loves, both Jews and
Gentiles. Eternal peace is within your reach--accept it while the opportunity
is still offered. **
***About 40 years after
Jesus said these words, they came true. In A.D. 66, the Jews revolted against
Roman control. Three years later Titus, son of the emperor Vaspasian, was sent
to crush the rebellion. Roman soldiers attacked Jerusalem and broke through the
northern wall but still couldnt take the city. Finally, they laid seige to it,
and in A.D.70 they were able to enter
the severely weakened city and burn it. Six hundred thousand Jews were killed
during Titus' onslaught. ***
4. The invitation is
extended to others -
"Then saith he to
his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Go ye therefore into the high ways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the
marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together
all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished
with guests."
a. As in the parable of "The
Wicked Vinedressers", the
opportunity to enjoy the
blessings of the kingdom of God is
extended to others -
"Therefore say I
unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof."
(Gentiles)
Acts 11:18
"When they heard
these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God
also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
B. A GUEST IMPROPERLY
ATTIRED (11-14)
1. Without a wedding
garment -
"And when the king
came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding
garment: and he said unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a
wedding garment? And he was speechless."
a. It was customary for
the hosts to provide their guests
suitable apparel.To not
wear the provided garment showed a lack of respect and appreciation. No real
excuse could be offered for not wearing one("he
was speechless")
2. The King's furious
reaction -
"Then said the king
to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into
outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
a. The seriousness of
the insult is seen in the reaction of
the king.The punishment
described is similar to that found in other
parables -
(parable of the weeds)
"and shall cast
them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth."
"and shall cast
them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth."
3. Jesus' conclusion -
"For many are
called, but few are chosen."
a. This summarizes the
main point of the entire parable
b. The invitation (call)
of God is extended to many, but few
receive it in such a way
to be among the "chosen"
[This parable was
clearly told in response to the rejection of the King's Son and His Kingdom by
the Jewish nation. However, elements of the
parable apply to us as well, for the invitation to attend "The Wedding
Feast" is still being offered through the call of the Gospel! With
that in mind, consider a few more thoughts on...]
II. THE PARABLE
APPLIED
A. HAVE YOU SPURNED THE
FATHER'S INVITATION?
1. Through
indifference?
a. Many people do not
know God because of a lack of interest
b. Yet God has so
ordered the affairs of life to encourage
faith and interest in
Him -
"and hath made of
one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
hath determined the times before appointed , and the bounds of their
habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him,
and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:"
2. Through
rebelliousness?
a. There are many who
know full well the Father's invitation
b. But for whatever
reason they rebel against it
c. In so doing, they
despise riches of God's grace and store
up for themselves God's
righteous indignation -
[Certainly all should
respond to the Father's invitation if they
desire to enjoy the
spiritual blessings of the kingdom of heaven.
B. ARE YOU ATTIRED FOR
THE WEDDING?
1. Many seek to
attend the "wedding" in apparel of their own
choosing. Some, not knowing the righteousness of God, have sought to establish
their own -
"Brethren, my
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I
bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness
of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that
believeth."
b. People do this today,
when they expect salvation on terms
different than those
taught in the gospel
1) E.g., trying to
obtain salvation based upon their own
good works. Trying to
obtain salvation on faith without
repentance and obedience.
We must be willing to put on the "apparel" that God gives us:We
must "put on" Jesus Christ!
1) First and foremost
this involves clothing ourselves with
Christ. Which Paul
explains takes place in baptism -
"For ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
-- Have you put Christ
on in baptism?
b. We must "put
on" the new man!
1) Paul applies the
figure of putting on a garment to the
development of Christian
conduct and character -
**Colossians 3:5-14**
2) Do we wish to be
found at the wedding feast adorned with
the apparel of the
"old man with his deeds"?
-- Are you putting off
the "old man", and putting on the
"new man"? We
must "put on" righteous deeds!
1) John described the
preparation for glorious wedding of
the Lamb and His bride -
2) We understand that
the "righteous acts of the saints"
are not done to merit
salvation -
"But after the
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
"3) They are done to bring honor to God, and therefore we
are to be ever ready and
zealous to do good works -
"Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven."
-- Are you doing what
you can to "beautify" the wedding
garment of the bride?
By Dinah Ramos
My God Bless you
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