Sermon Cloud

TEXT

 

Matthew 22:1-14: "And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,  2 ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,  3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.  4 Again he sent other servants, saying, "Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast."  5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,  6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.  7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.  8 Then he said to his servants, "The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find."  10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.  11 But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.  12 And he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" And he was speechless.  13 Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  14 For many are called, but few are chosen.'"

 

INTRODUCTION

 

During an election year, our country asks some pretty fundamental questions about our health as a nation.  We ask whether we're more or less safe, more or less stable, more or less economically prosperous, more or less physically healthy.  We want to see if we're trending up or down so we can do something about it at the polls. 

 

However, the questions we ask are basically the same questions every culture asks.  Through history we've tried to discern whether or not we're becoming a less alienated, less deadly, less diseased and less fearful society.  The problem is that the differences we're expecting are simply matters of degrees.  These things are expected to continue because every culture has come to realize that at the core and in the face of great advancements in leadership, economics, science, and technology, it's essentially broken.  These problems continue.  The only difference is whether or not it's trending up or down, getting a little better or a little worse.  The death rate is still 10 out 10 people will die.  Pain and suffering continue.  Loss and heartache continue.  Broken relationships continue. Wars continue.  Injustice continues.  Crime continues.  

 

Likewise, almost every culture that has a taproot to ancient history has stories and myths that tell of a world that wasn't always like this.  It was a world that was beautiful and undefiled, a world with an abundance of resources and full of joy.  But they tell of a world that is now fallen, a world that is now broken.  And someday, in their stories, this world will be restored and healed and the death and darkness that rule us in fear will be chased away by a new dawn.  The old myths told of these tales.  The old songs were sung with a hope that things will one day be different. 

The skeptic says that this is the kind of myth that birthed Christianity as it did all ancient myths.  In other words, we created this myth to deal with life.  However, the Bible teaches us that the reason we yearn is hope.  The reason we desire something better is because eternity is written on our hearts.  The home we've never lived in, in a country we've never seen is engraved on every soul, and so we long for it.  It's no wonder ancient cultures tell of similar myths.  It's what their souls were desperate for, and every heart has this yearning.  Our hearts are homesick for Eden.  It's only through years of stifling this cry from the depths that we become calloused with disbelief and hopelessness. 

 

The beginning of human history had this story to tell and pass to every generation.  The world was good, and now it's broken, but one day things will be remade and refashioned.  One day, what is wrong will be made right. 

 

Enter Jesus on the scene.  He comes into the middle of human history and begins to call himself the Son of Man.  Now, for our ears this means little.  But to those whom Jesus was addressing, this was incredibly provocative and incited joy, confusion, or incredible opposition.  This self-given title was loaded. 

 

The Son of Man was an old description of a mysterious figure from the book of Daniel in chapter 7.  The Jewish audience had heard of this "Son of Man" from their lessons.  It was a prophecy given from Daniel's vision of someone coming in the clouds of heaven into the presence of the Ancient of Days.  This Son of Man would be given a kingdom and dominion and He would rule forever and His kingdom would never end (Dan. 7:13-14).  He would come to heal the world through His rule and bring in His kingdom reign.  He would mend everything that's broken.  He'd be the one to wipe away every tear. 

 

Jesus wasn't campaigning and making promises to lower inflation and taxes.  He wasn't promising to end a skirmish over here while beginning another over there.  He wasn't asking for you to vote for education overhaul or to lower gas prices.  Jesus was claiming that the revolution of God had broken in and that He was no less than that very revolution made flesh.  Jesus was claiming that this kingdom was now breaking in by God's power. 

 

His promised revolution was that if you come under the reign of this King, God's healing power will begin to reweave your entire life and reconcile your relationship with God, with yourself, with this world, and with each other.  The power of the kingdom will not only win you over but will then work through you to others and the kingdom will grow and grow and grow.  This was an incredible claim. 

 

Jesus was saying that all the hopes of the ancient cultures were ultimately telling of Him and His kingdom.  Every tale was groping for this true Son of Man who was sent by the Ancient of Days.  The King was here and He was calling the broken, the marginalized, the downtrodden, the humiliated, the shamed, the guilty and the humbled into His kingdom. 

 

Jesus has shown us the various aspects of the Kingdom through the last several weeks as we've looked at His parables.  He has shown us that the Kingdom is a place where peace, justice, flourishing, grace, joy, and reconciliation flow from the hearts of Kingdom people.  He's shown us that only the humble may enter and the proud stay out.  Those who admit they're powerless are in and the power brokers are out.  Those who admit their need are in and those who are self-sufficient are out.

 

Each week we've been trying to look at the context of the parable to keep in mind who Jesus was speaking to and what it was that He was teaching through these stories.  

 

Context

 

At this point of history, the Jews and their land were conquered and they were being occupied by the Romans.  The Romans were willing to allow the Jews to keep their religion and to stay in their land as long as they submitted to the Roman government.  The Jews grew more and more hateful of the Romans and were desperately hoping for the promised Messiah, the Son of Man, to come and defeat the Romans and chase them out of their land, judge the sinners in their own city and liberate them.

 

They were praying and waiting for a powerful warrior King who would rise up among their ranks and class and have all the credentials to wipe away their invaders and crush them into powder.  What they did not ask for or expect was a carpenter from a hick town with no formal education and no political power.  Most of the religious and political elites rejected Jesus outright because He kept speaking about loving your neighbor and caring for the poor and broken.  He welcomed in the prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, fornicators, and all sorts of sinners as they gathered around Him and followed Him.  He even called the good religious leaders sinners to their face and said that hookers and traitors will enter into the Kingdom of God before them.  

 

It's the last week before His crucifixion and death.  On Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey as the people proclaim Him King and the rulers try to plot His death.  On Monday, Jesus cleanses the Temple of its corruption by chasing out money lenders who were stealing from God's people.  On Tuesday the religious leaders try to trap Jesus.  They were supposed to be guides to the blind and Jesus was revealing to them that it was they who were blind. 

They question His authority and He confounds them with His parables.  He tells them that the Kingdom will be taken away from them and given to the very ones they rejected, the sinners who know they need a Savior.  He tells them the parable of the two sons and of the wicked tenants in Matthew 21 to show them that only those who come humbly in repentance will enter the Kingdom.  The ones who are religious and work hard, the ones who say all the right things but have no heart for God, the ones who call others to follow God but have no joy, they will not enter His kingdom. 

 

And what is this kingdom like?  How does Jesus describe this Kingdom He's been discussing?  Remember, the religious leaders keep trying to trap Him and question Him about His authority.  They want Him to get to the bottom line and to simply say clearly what He's about and what He plans on doing.  In other words, what is the Kingdom like if you're the true King?

 

Jesus shows up on the scene and they ask him point blank, "Tell us what this Kingdom of God is really like."  Jesus answer was...

 

 

 

 

STUDY

 

I.  The Kingdom of God is a Party

 

Verses 1-2: "And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,'" 

 

In Jewish culture a wedding contract was generally made between the parents of the groom and bride.  The parents were given the great honor and responsibility to find the right spouse for their child.  When the contract was signed, the couple was considered married by everyone else, but they were not allowed to be with each other yet.  They would separate and the bride would stay with her parents while the groom would go and make a home ready for his bride.  This could take some time, up to a year, and when the home was prepared, the groom would come back suddenly for his bride, and most often without notice.  The marriage ceremony would take place and the wedding feast would follow.

 

The wedding feast was perhaps the most joyous and wild party a family would throw.  Every family would try to throw the best party.  They would all get food, wine, music, and secure the place to throw the party, and they would call everyone when it was ready to rejoice with them.  It was an honor to be invited and it was considered a great joy to attend and celebrate with this couple and their family. 

 

Dancing, great food, good wine, rejoicing family, and a celebration of the love of two people would lift the hearts of those who came.  This, of all occasions, was the feast which Jesus uses to describe the Kingdom.  He could have picked another example, another formal dinner, another feast, but Jesus chose the most intense and wild feast a family would experience.  

 

Jesus doesn't just use a common family as an example, but a royal wedding of a king and his son.  This would surpass any party you had ever attended.  If invited, you may never get a chance to enjoy a royal party like this again.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the feast would be overwhelming, beautiful, expensive, and lavish.  You definitely wouldn't leave hungry.  You would be fully satisfied and it would be a party you would tell your children and grandchildren about.   

 

Let's stop right there and think back what the Scriptures have been teaching us through the history of God's people. 

 

Deuteronomy 14:22-29 (God commanded His people to tithe for a party.)

 

In Deuteronomy, after giving the Israelites instruction in what kind of food they were to eat, He then gives them a fascinating command.  He tells them in verses 22-29 that they are to take an extra 10%, beyond their normal tithe, and they were to gather 10% of their production of their crops (in other words, 10% of their income) and use it for what?  Building a better schooling system?  Buy clothes for the poor?  Build a bigger building to house more worshippers?  Pay off your debt?  No!  10% of their nation's gross national product was to go to a party!  They were to take it where God would tell them, bring all their produce and throw a massive party.  And He tells us that it will include wine, grain, meat, etc.  This will be a good feast.  And if your produce is too great and you can't transport it to where the Lord tells you, you're to take it and sell what you have to get the money and when you get to where the Lord has told His people to go, you're to buy what you want to contribute and eat for the party.  Then it says something in verse 26 that is frightening to our ears:

 

Deuteronomy 14:26: "and spend the money for whatever you desire--oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household."

 

Whatever our appetite craves, but is not dishonoring to the Lord, we're to eat before the LORD with our whole family all for the purpose of rejoicing in God.  That's it!  To eat, drink and be merry before the Lord.  Do you think God enjoys watching us rejoice and party?  Yes, He commanded it to the Israelites! 

 

Also, later in the chapter (vv. 28-29), you were to throw a party in your town from your produce and the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your town were to come and eat and be filled and the Lord would bless you in all the work you do. 

 

Isaiah 25:6-8 (The promise of the coming party when God removes death.)

 

Isaiah 25:6-8: "On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.  7  And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.  8  He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken."

 

In Isaiah's description, the Lord will deliver His people by swallowing up death, removing the veil that kept them from seeing Him, wiping away their tears, removing their shame, and throwing them a party filled with rich food, well-aged wine that is refined.  He's going to throw them a party!

 

John 2:1-10 (The beginning of Jesus' ministry and first miracle was at a party.)

 

What was Jesus' first miracle?  Was it changing the weather?  Was it walking on water?  Was it casting out demons?  No, the first miracle Jesus performs is at a party.  Okay, you say, so what did he do there?  Did he heal someone who had fallen on their fork?  Did He stop the rain so the ceremony went well?  Did He send His angels to play harps for the procession music?  Nope, Jesus did something far less dramatic, but no less startling.  He simply made 180 gallons of water into wine.  And not just any wine, but really, really good wine.  The kind of wine that impressed the wedding host.  As if the party hadn't run on long enough.  If these parties went a week, and they had partied so long that the wine had run out, don't you think Jesus would have simply given a blessing and left?  Nope, apparently Jesus enjoys being around a party and helping the party to continue.  He turned a mediocre party into a great one.  Plus, Jesus was showing everyone what His Kingdom was like. 

Miracles back then were called signs.  They were signs of the Kingdom.  They proved and pointed to the truth that the Kingdom had come, and this is what it looks like.  So, for Jesus, His first miracle is very telling about the Kingdom.  This is what it looks like.  If this bothers you, it's because you don't understand what His Kingdom is really like. 

 

Do you think Christianity is all about keeping up standards?  Do you think that being a Christian is all on your shoulders and you have to show God how serious you are?  Do you think it's all about rules and regulations, do's and don'ts?  Is that what you were taught?

 

When you think of Jesus and His Kingdom, does it look very glum and cloudy or joyous, with laughter and dancing and levity of heart and feasting?

 

The Bible teaches us that in His presence there is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forever more! (Psalm 16:11).  Do you believe that?  Do you believe that in His presence is the fullest of all your joys and that He holds true pleasure in His hand for you?  If not, then you don't understand the Kingdom of God. 

 

Revelation 19:7-9 (The fulfillment of the wedding supper of the Lamb)

 

At the climax of human history, when the King returns to finish what He's started, we're told that there will be rejoicing at the feast of the Groom and the bride, of Jesus and His church.  It will be the greatest party because it will be the marriage feast of the Lamb. 

 

Every time we take communion we point forward to that feast.  We are reminded again and again that the consummation of God's Kingdom is a party.  We take of the bread and the cup and we thank Him for His death for us, but we're also to thank Him for the promise of the future feast where we'll lift our mugs and praise our King. 

 

Ok, so we know that this is not just a good parable but also a very close description of what is coming for those who enter His Kingdom.  But what about those in this story who didn't come?  What about those who never came or were thrown out?  Why would anyone not come to this party?  What would keep them out?

 

First, I'd like to ask if this is how you view your King and the joy He offers you?  Do you see that this future joy is to be a present reality in our own family?  We're to show off to the world that the Kingdom of God is a party and that party began when Jesus first came.  We're to rehearse this party over and over again in front of the world to show them what's coming. 

 

There are some of you who are so serious that this kind of party actually sounds offensive in some ways.  You want the whole scene to be more solemn, more heavy and more reserved and tucked in.  Jesus encountered these people in His day, they were called Pharisees.  They were constantly attacking Jesus and calling Him a glutton, a drunk, and a friend of prostitutes and sinners.  They were disgusted that sinners were around Jesus so much and enjoyed His presence.  Surely He must be sinful Himself, they thought. 

 

Jesus' response to them was simple.  He said, you know, John the Baptist came eating locusts and honey and was serious.  He came to call you to repentance and you didn't like him either.  I come to feast with sinners and you can't stand me.  Either way, you're not happy. 

 

The church has to be a place of celebration or it will lose its wonder of grace.

If we don't have anything to celebrate and rejoice over it's because we've forgotten that everything we have, we have because God has given it to us.  The things we take for granted, the simple joys we enjoy daily are all from God's hand.  Also, we have the greatest gift, the gift of Himself to us.  We need to reclaim our call to rejoice as a people.

 

Q: Does the Kingdom of God, God's call on your life to walk with him, sit in your mind like the invitation to a feast, a banquet; or do you have images of drudgery, or hard repentance and shame? Do you ever find yourself avoiding the invitation? You kind of leave it there on the table in a stack of mail thinking, "I don't know if I want to go or not." What do you think of when you hear God's call on your life-an invitation to a party or something else?

 

II.  What keeps us out of the party?

 

Verses 3-6, 11-13: "and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.  4 Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.'  5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,  6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them...11 But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.  12 And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.  13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" 

 

Jesus was constantly misunderstood then and He is now.  The conservatives think He's a liberal and the liberals think He's a conservative.  They don't get Him because they don't know what to make of Him.  He doesn't fit into any categories we have.

 

It appears that Jesus is somehow changing His standards in this parable.  In the first group, He patiently calls them to come.  These are land owners and probably dignified people.  They knew proper etiquette and what was customary for coming to a party.  They probably owned several suits (wedding garments) and yet didn't come.  This king's party didn't sound attractive to them.  So one group ignores the call to come, the other group lashes out and kills the king's servants.  

 

Indifference to grace (The busy): "I'm happy the way I am."

 

We've become too easily pleased with things.  In the beginning of the parable, the king shows by his second request that everything has been made ready.  "See, I have prepared my dinner...everything is ready.  Come to the feast."  What incredibly tender words.  Do you know what this king is saying?  He's saying, "I have everything you need.  It's all ready for you.  Come!"  It's the right time.  There's no lack of food.  There is no other party that can rival a royal feast thrown by a celebrating king.  It's all free!   

 

Anger towards grace (The religious): "I don't need your handouts!"

 

Both of these responses came from people who didn't think they needed to go to the feast to be happy.  They were perfectly content with what they'd been able to do.  We know this is speaking directly to the Pharisees.  God sent His prophets to tell of the coming Messiah and they ignored them.  God sent John the Baptist to tell that the King had arrived and he was killed. 

 

What keeps them out of the party is a sense of indifference or anger towards grace.  Indifference because they don't see that they need grace; they think they are okay the way they are.  Anger because they actually hear what the King is calling them to and they don't believe they need the grace of the King.  They respond in anger. 

 

Q:  What does this first part show us about the nature of this king (Our God)?

 

A: This shows a King of grace in giving a feast at His own expense.  A King of joy who is willing to share His love and celebration of His Son with others.  A King of incredible patience as He continues to call those who were invited to come.  And there is a limit to this King's patience.  This King is just and will not let indifference or anger towards His grace remain unpunished. 

 

Q: When in your life have you refused the call to the banquet? (Either the call to repentance and Lordship or the call to come and serve/celebrate the Son?)

Sometimes God uses others in our lives to "extend the invitation" and we grow impatient or angry with them. "Get off me! Who are you to judge? I don't see you...blah, blah, blah!"

Q: How at times have you responded to those God sends into your life repeatedly to call you to the party? To call you to walk with the King and love his Son?

 

III.  Who gets us into this party

 

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

 

Then it seems as if the king changes his standards because he sends out his servants to the crossroads to call anyone who will come to his party.  And in a twist we're told that at this party both the good and the bad were there. 

 

This confuses us because it seems as if at one point only the good people could come in and now anybody is welcome.  Has God changed standards here?

 

Verses 11-12: "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.  12 And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless." 

 

Why do you need to wear a special and expensive wedding garment?  It's to show your honor for the king and for his son.  When someone gives you the honor of inviting you into a celebration that is as the heart of that person, you show your thanks by going to the expense of coming prepared to show honor to the one who has invited you to a party at his expense.

 

Now, when this man was asked why he wasn't wearing a wedding garment he was speechless.  Why?  He had no excuse. 

 

There are only a couple reasons why this man wouldn't have been wearing a wedding garment.  First, he didn't have a chance to go home and get it.  The problem is that neither did anyone else.  They were plucked off the street and brought in a hurry.  The other excuse would have been that he didn't own one.  But that doesn't matter because there is a good probability that neither did anyone else who was there. 

 

He says neither of those things.  The original guests were called and they had already previously been invited.  They were supposed to be ready.  But this second group didn't expect to come in.  No one would have been prepared.  They would have brought nothing with them.

 

The king must have provided for them at his expense.  No one had a chance to get a wedding garment and no one had one to get even if they did have time.  This is why the man is speechless.  There was no excuse for him.  He walked into the feast, passed by the royal wedding garments being handed out and probably just brushed off his own clothes and came in to dine. 

 

When the king saw that this man had no garment and no excuse he had him thrown out into outer darkness. 

 

Q: What are the proper wedding clothes/attire?  Who determines what (who) we need to be clothed in? The one throwing the banquet! It is his call!

 

This is why people don't get Jesus.  The first part of the parable seems to indicate that the empty formalism and religiosity of the Pharisees will not bring you to God's feast because it's only by grace and therefore everyone is welcome.  However, they stumble at this second part because this man was thrown out and sent into misery.  How can this be?

 

How can He be telling the Pharisees that everyone is welcome and yet throw this man out?  Is it free or is it earned?  Which is it?  How can the good and the bad both be there?  How can Jesus embrace both the good and the bad?

 

This is why liberals think He's a fundamentalist and the fundamentalists think he's liberal. 

 

Jesus is showing us that He'll take anyone.  No matter their background or status.  But, you can't just come in as you are.  He bothers both groups.  The king let anyone in but he had to clothe them at the door at his own expense.  So God lets anyone come to Him no matter what you've done or what you've accomplished.  However, you come into the feast of the Son not by being fit, but by letting God clothe you. 

 

God has provided the garment through His Son.  Unlike traditional religion, your place isn't earned.  But unlike the liberal view, this costs a great deal.  Traditionalists believe that it's a great cost and liberals believe that it's no cost.  The Gospel teaches that it's both a great cost but that it's free to us by grace.  In other words, someone has to pay the cost to come in and only God can afford it.

 

Are you astonished at this grace?  Do you hear the music of the party in your heart?  This is a good test to see if you understand what the Kingdom is all about. 

 

This is why grace is so incredible.  Those who expect the feast sit solemnly around and when the food comes they say "oh, is that nice."  But when a beggar is welcomed in and they expected nothing, every dish causes them to cheer and celebrate.  "Look at this broccoli, isn't it great!"  They rejoice at all dishes.  They can't contain themselves because just moments before they were begging in the streets and now they're dining with the king.

 

Are you cheering at every plate in your life or do you take His gifts and graces for granted?  Do you say, "oh that's nice," or are you cheering?

 

Do you know why we're not cheering for every plate?  Because we think we deserve it, or that we deserve better.  We have forgotten that we live and move and have our being in Him and that everything we have is a gift.  Are you celebrating?

 

How do you get into this party?  By wearing a wedding garment.  Who provides the wedding garment?  The King.  How do you get it?  You receive it. 

 

Q: In what ways have you tried to come to the banquet clothed in your own righteousness? How have you served under your own steam, talents, or strength only to find out that God was not interested in any of that? (Only in His son's righteousness and the power of His Spirit.)