Please turn with me to Matthew 22.  Today we’re looking at the Parable of the Wedding Feast.

John and Jane were attending the same college in Los Angeles.  John was from LA.  Jane was from Gustine.  After a while John and Jane fell in love and decided to get married.  But, one question remained.  Would they live in the city or in the country?  Jane said she could never live in a large city like LA.  John said that there was nothing better than living in the city.

When spring vacation arrived, Jane invited John to spend the week at their ranch in Gustine.  John agreed.  Jane called her parents and told her parents that she was bringing home her fiancé.

On the whole, John liked the ranch.  He like the open countryside - the horse rides - the fresh milk - the farm animals.  After a few days he told Jane that since her parents had been so kind and since he had been sleeping and eating and enjoying himself there, he wanted to do some work.  “Let me milk the cow today.”  John asked.

“Forget it,” said Jane.  “I’ll do it a little later.”  But John insisted.  “If you don’t let me milk the cow.  The wedding’s off.”

Jane gave in.  She took John to the barn and opened the door.  The cow was inside.  She gave John the pail and stool and said, “You have everything you need.  I’m going.  But, I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”  She closed the door and left her fiancé alone with the cow.

Fifteen minutes later she returned.  “John, how is everything coming along?”  No answer.  “John, where are you?”  She pushed the barn door open and found John a mess.  His shirt was torn.  His face had dirt all over it.  His arms were bleeding.  His clothes were ripped up.  “What happened?” asked Jane.  “Did the cow kick you?”  “No,” answered John, “she didn’t kick me.  I just couldn’t get her to sit on that stool.”

We’ve come to the Parable of the Wedding Feast.  Jesus is in His last week of ministry leading up to the crucifixion.  He’s in Jerusalem and things have really heated up between Him and the religious leadership.  The religious leadership has aligned themselves against Jesus and are plotting to kill Him.  Jesus isn’t pulling any punches in His attack against the religious leaders.  He’s just laying it on the line and they’re hating Him all the more.  In that volatile atmosphere Jesus tells this parable about the Wedding Feast.

Matthew 22 - verse 1:  Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.  And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.  Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’  But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.  But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.”     

The scene here is very middle eastern.  I’ve seen families spend maybe $10,000 on a wedding.  And $70,000 plus on the reception.  The wedding is awesome.  The wedding feast is huge and spectacular.  The best food.    A band with great dance music.  Everyone is there - friends and family - all enjoying being together.  What these people are being invited to is a day’s long celebration - a time of joy and happiness.

Notice also that the slaves are going out to collect the people that have already been invited.

In July I’m participating in a wedding of a couple that have known they were getting married for maybe 2 1/2 years.  They’ve been engaged so long that they’ve given out refrigerator magnets with their picture and wedding date just to remind people.  No formal invitations have gone out  yet - the formal printed embossed one’s.  But the guests - we’ve known when that wedding will take place.  Its been marked on our calendars.

Here in Jesus’ parable, the invitation isn’t a surprise.  These guests have known what was coming for a long - long - time.  The anticipated time has arrived.  The slaves come to formally gather the guests to this joyful celebration.

In verse 3, the first invitation goes out in.  Jesus says, those invited “were unwilling to come.”  Literally, “They had no desire to be there.”

In verse 4 the king sweetens the invitation.  “I’ve prepared a great dinner.”  If you can’t appeal to the heart, appeal to the stomach.  “We’re having fresh ox!  Fat ox!  Butchered - bar-b-qued - all ready to eat.  Just come.”

How did the guests respond?  They paid no attention.  Literally, they just didn’t care.  They ignored the invitation.  Didn’t even respond to it.  In any culture that’s just rude - completely disrespectful.  One heads off to his farm.  Another heads off to his business.  Daily stuff.  Not urgent.  Stuff which could have been easily set aside given the advance warning and supreme value of the feast.

In verse 6 - another group of invitees does what?  They seize the slaves and mistreat them.  Literally - in the Greek - its like a riot.  A shark feeding frenzy of physical violence against the slaves.  The end result is the slaves are murdered.

Let’s be clear on who Jesus is talking about. 

The king is who?  God

The son is who?  Jesus.

The slaves are?  Us - people who get to share the invitation - the Gospel.  The kingdom is here and now.  The Son has come.  Come.  Join in the feast.  Come celebrate. 

Those who reject the invitation are who?  God’s people - those in Israel who were rejecting Jesus - specifically the religious leadership.

God is big enough to take a few insults.  He’s taken a few over the years.  But, here in verse 7, the king - God - becomes enraged with Israel and the religious leaders - because - not only have they ignored Him - not only have they rejected His Son - they’ve mistreated His slaves.

When an enemy invaded a city, often they would often burn it to the ground - a sign of major disrespect and contempt.  In 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed.  Is Jesus speaking prophetically here.  Maybe.  Bottom line:  God doesn’t take it lightly when His servants are mistreated.  And rejecting the Son has severe consequences.

Verse 8:  “Then he - the king - said to his slaves - presumably the one’s still alive - ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy - ouch.  Go therefore - because they were not worthy - go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’  Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.”

Jesus is pointing to the world-wide spread of the Gospel among the nations.  After giving the invitation to Israel - which was rejected - the invitation goes out to everyone to live within God’s kingdom.  Not the self-proclaimed righteous.  But the sinners.  Those who are evil.  Those who are good.  Relative morality isn’t the issue.  The invitation goes out to whoever needs the life that God offers to each one of us.

Verse 11:  “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’  And the man was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants,  ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” 

Do you remember the movie that came out last summer called “Wedding Crashers”?  About the two divorce mediators who spend their weekends crashing weddings - impersonating invited wedding guests - as a way to pick up girls.  I’m not endorsing that - or the movie.  But that’s kind of what Jesus has in mind here.

When the king comes in it’s a triumphant moment - a high point of the feast.  All eyes are on the king as he makes His entrance.  As He makes the rounds.  Greeting the guests.  Pausing for a moment with each.  A few words of conversation.  Then on to the next guest.  Making everyone feel welcome.  Finally he comes to this man who’s left his tuxedo at home.  The man is speechless.  He’s been found out.  There’s no pretense or possibility of defense.

The king has the slaves bind the man and toss him out.  Probably right through a window.  Remember in westerns when the guy gets tossed out of the saloon.  Never through a door.  Always through a window.  He gets tossed out - into the outer darkness - the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Literally - hell.   Eternal torment.  Eternal separation from God.  Wear the wrong stuff to church and God will send you to hell.  Toss you out through a stain glass window.  Sounds kind of harsh. 

To get Jesus’ point here we need to understand why the clothing is important.  Notice in verse 11 there’s a simple statement of fact.  “He saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes.”  In verse 12 the king’s question gives a slightly deeper meaning.  “How did you come in here without wedding clothes?”  Put another way, “Why did you come without being properly dressed?”

Its a question of motivation - of the heart.  The clothing demonstrates outwardly what’s going on in inwardly - in the man’s heart.  “You’re here physically.  But in your heart you’re in rebellion against what’s being offered.  You’re a wedding crasher.  Here under false pretenses.”  This man doesn't care about the Son - or the King.  He’s there for the hors d’oeuvres and the fattened ox.

In verse 7 the people of Israel and the religious leaders who reject the invitation - those who had other things to do with their lives - those who murdered the slaves - God destroys their city.  In verse 13 the wedding crasher - a man who comes as a result of the invitation going out to the Gentile nations - to us - in verse 13 the wedding crasher is sent to hell.  Either option is not good.  Right?

Point being - this man who was at the feast had the same heart condition of those who refused to come to the feast.  The bottom line issue is still the heart.  Grab onto this:  Showing up to the wedding feast with the wrong heart attitude is the same as rejecting the invitation in the first place.

Then, verse 14 - Jesus’ makes His point:  “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  

Someone said, “Many are cold, but few are frozen.”  Which is kind of close to what Jesus is saying.  Literally - in the Greek - Jesus says this, “For many are called but few are called out.”

How many of you have ever put together invitations for a wedding?  First there’s the guest list.  All the relatives and friends that we want to invite and the one’s we have to invite.  Then choosing the invitations and ordering them.  Then stuffing them - the return envelope and response card.  The whole time we’re doing this we know that if Aunt Fi Fi from Fargo is invited she’ll never come.  But, she is Aunt Fi Fi and we love her dearly.  We hope she’ll be able to come.  We know they won’t let her out of the asylum.  But we invite her anyway.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the what?  world, that He gave His only begotten Son - that’s the invitation.  that whoever what?  believes in Him - that’s the response to the invitation - shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  That’s the wedding feast.

God sends out the invitation to everyone - beginning with Israel - and out to the whole world.  But, God knows - because He’s God - God knows who will choose to respond.  It doesn’t mean that the invitation isn’t genuine.  What it does mean is that while many are invited only some will choose to be called out - to respond.

Two thoughts of application.

First:  The Response Cannot Be Faked.  Say that with me, “The response cannot be faked.”

Mildred - the church gossip and self-appointed monitor of the church's  morals - kept sticking her nose into other people's business.  Several  members did not approve of her extra curricular activities.  But, feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon.  She emphatically told George and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.

George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away.  He didn't explain - defend - or deny.  He said nothing.  Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house - walked home - and left it there all night.

Outward appearances are not always what they seem.

In a survey… it was found that 15 percent of ladies tinted their hair, 38 percent wore a wig, 80 percent wore rouge, 98 percent wore eye shadow, 22 percent wore false eyelashes, 93 percent wore nail polish.  And 100 percent voted in favor of a resolution condemning any kind of false packaging. (1)

Outward appearances are not always what they seem.

There are a tremendous number of people who show up at the feast without the right kind of clothing.  They call themselves Christians and come for all the benefits of the feast.  The fellowship.  The teaching.  The encouragement and support.  They enjoy the presence of the Son.  But they themselves have no relationship with Him.

Sunday after Sunday they sing the songs.  They bow in prayer.  They read the Scriptures.  They listen to the messages.  They’ve learned to talk the talk and walk the walk.  But, inside they’re still in rebellion.  They’ve never given their heart to God through Jesus Christ.  Outwardly they’re living Christianity.  But inwardly they sustain an inner rebellion against God’s invitation to salvation and life in the Kingdom.

What if this poor man couldn’t afford to rent a tux?  What if he came in the best that he had to wear?  How cruel!  How judgmental!  How unfair of God to have him tossed out.

The reality is that while we have difficulty seeing past the outward - God sees clearly the heart.  God sees deeper.  He knows our inner thoughts.  He knows everything there is to know about us.  He’s looking to see whether that heart really has accepted His invitation to life.

There is a warning here for us.  To examine our hearts.  Why have we come?

Second thought of application:  The Invitation Is Real.  Say that with me, “The invitation is real.”

Luciano Pavarotti - remember him from the opening ceremonies?  Sings opera or something.  Pavarotti shared this about himself:  “When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song.  He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice.  Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil.  I also enrolled in a teachers' college.  On graduating, I asked my father, Shall I be a teacher or a singer?”

“‘Luciano,’ my father replied, ‘if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them.  For life, you must choose one chair.’”

“I chose one.  It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance.  It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera.  And now I think whether it's laying bricks, writing a book - whatever we choose - we should give ourselves to it.  Commitment, that's the key.  Choose one chair.” (2)

There’s a choice before us.  Commitment to a religion or commitment to Jesus Christ.  To learn to live like a Christian.  Or, to be a Christian.  A choice of where we will our heart - the core of who we are.

Those who recognize their spiritual poverty are placed within the Kingdom of God.  Where the captives are released - the blind are given sight - the oppressed are set free.  Where God deals with the deeper issues of our hearts and we’re transformed - becoming the incredible - priceless person that He intends.  Remember the pearl?  The treasure?  We’re created in the image of God - made to be a child of God - heirs of the Kingdom.  In the Kingdom, God transforms us - grows us - strengthens us - matures us -  in the midst of all of what’s going on around us - bringing the reality of His Kingdom into our hearts - making us to be the person that He intends.

Those who live in the Kingdom engage life at its deepest levels - at the flash point of conflict between the Kingdom and the world - where all of what God is doing in creation and all of what He is doing in us comes together.  Being in the Kingdom is living each day with purpose and meaning and with God’s assurance of our eternal destiny - not torture and fire and brimstone - but eternity with Him.  To live knowing that the sovereign God - who loves us so deeply - this God has all of this under control.

In the parables that we’ve looked at - Jesus has been teaching this.  The Kingdom is here.  God - in the giving of His Son - God has dealt with the issue of sin - what separates us from Him - dealt with it on the cross through the death of Jesus.  God loves us.  God forgives.  God is ready to apply His grace and mercy to our lives.

The invitation is given.  It is a real genuine offer by God to each one of us to enter into all that He offers.  The Kingdom is before us.  Respond.  Choose.  Accept the invitation.  Give your life to God.  Come and enjoy the wedding feast of the Son.

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