Matthew 22:1-14
A. INTRODUCTION
One of the most frustrating things in life, for me at least, is when people say they will do something and they end up not doing it at all. For example:
Like when you’ve invited someone to a party, or other such occasion, and they accept the invitation, and then they simply just don’t turn up. And then later you find out that they had either forgotten or had decided to do something else, and they just didn’t bother to tell you.
Like when you’ve stayed at home and put off doing other things, waiting for a tradesmen or a delivery to come, and at the time that had been agreed upon. Only then to find that you’ve waited in vain, because they didn’t turn up. And, later, you find that they had no intention of turning up either. Because they had something else on, and just hadn’t bothered to let you know of a change of plan.
And from personal experience, like when people have wanted to come and see me, and have even booked an interview, for whatever reason, only to find, again, that they didn’t turn up. Indeed, something else came up or they decided that they didn’t need to see me anymore. And they simply didn’t have the courtesy to let me know.
People can be very unreliable and self-centred. And people don’t always think of others who are affected by their plans. And people can be a cause of much frustration.
But, you know, that isn’t just a modern-day phenomenon. It is something that has been true throughout time.
B. THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING BANQUET
1. Story One (2-10)
And a good example of what I’m talking about is illustrated in this passage from Matthew’s gospel. Because the gospel story begins with the preparations for a wedding banquet (2). And not just any ordinary wedding banquet either. This was a royal wedding banquet, and for the king’s son. And the expectation would have been that the king would put on a magnificent feast. It would be expected that many important people would be invited, that they would be very glad to receive an invitation, and come. However, that was not to be.
Now it was normal in those days to receive not just one invitation, but two. In a time when there were no watches and when a feast took a long time to prepare, it was helpful to be notified not only that you were invited but also when it was time to go (3). Having said that, two invitations were also helpful in case someone was invited by mistake, because they weren’t likely to get the second invitation.
So, at the time the banquet was ready, the king would have sent his servants out not to give out the first invitation at all. But rather to tell those who had already accepted the first invitation that it was now time to come to the feast. Which is what we have here.
But in this instance we are told that those who were invited refused to go.
Now a royal invitation was not normally refused. People were usually glad to be invited to a royal banquet. And having now issued not one but two invitations, the king was concerned there may have been some mistake. So he sent his servants out again, this time with a third invitation (4). And this time he could not have been any more explicit in stating that the feast was ready.
But even the third invitation, was to no avail (5). Those invited, and who had already indicated that they would come, just didn’t care. Which was an incredible attitude to take in the face of a royal command.
Some of them didn’t even provide an excuse, they just went on with their normal work. They had no genuine reason for staying away from the banquet, they simply just didn’t care. And others treated the king’s messengers with scant respect.
Furthermore, in no society is it considered acceptable to lay hands on anyone who comes bearing a warm invitation, even if one does not intend to accept it. But these invited guests treated the king’s servants with contempt. They mistreated them, and then killed them. As a consequence, the rejection of the king was complete.
Unfortunately, they had not thought hard enough about the king (7). They had not taken into account that the king was not the type who would take the snub so lightly. So, not only did the king send a detachment of his soldiers to deal with the offending guests, but he put into place plans to replace the invited guests. After all, the banquet was still ready (8), and it was important that it wasn’t cancelled simply because some ill-mannered guests had refused his second and third invitations.
So the king instructed his servants to go to places where the other people lived—the poor (9), and invite those who would not normally be expected to be invited to a wedding feast, to join him in the feast. The king was determined for the feast to go ahead. So, the servants did as they were instructed (10), and the wedding hall was filled.
2. Story Two (11-13)
Now, the king, at this stage, would not have known whom his servants had brought in (11). He couldn’t rely on his invitation list because no-one on it had come. So he went in person and made his presence known; he mixed with those who had come, to see for himself those who had come to the feast
Now, at that time, it is likely that when a king took in all sorts of poor people from the streets into a banqueting hall, he would have provided suitable clothing for them to wear. And that obviously is what happened here. But what did the king find? One man in particular who was inappropriately dressed because he hadn’t made use of the clothing that the king had provided.
So the king approached him (12). And he asked the man why he had declined to wear the right clothing. To which the man had nothing to say.
So the king, who we’ve already seen, wasn’t prepared to put up with people’s nonsense (13), decided that if the man could not dress himself appropriately—given that the proper clothing had been provided—he had no business joining in the festivities. And, as a result, directed that the man be bundled up and cast outside. And that is where the story ends.
3. Comment
Now, of course the story is all very graphic, and it’s actually like having two stories in one: A story of the original invited guests who didn’t turn up, and then the poor man who did go but refused to wear the appropriate wedding garments that would have been provided.
But what does it all actually mean? And how can we apply Jesus’s teaching for ourselves?
C. IMPLICATIONS
Well, I’m going to suggest three things.
1. Religious Leaders
And the first thing is that not everyone whom God has invited to join in his marriage feast will join in with the celebrations.
The religious leaders of the day were given their first invitations, which they accepted. And as a consequence, were ‘seen’ to be people who had religious faith. However, when the second invitation came to actually ‘be’ the people of faith, to join in the feast, they refused to go.
Now Jesus, Paul, and the Apostle John all spoke of marriage and weddings in terms of describing the relationship between God and his church. The feast that the religious leaders were invited to, then, was the feast at the end of time—the feast that lies ahead, when God sits down with the faithful at the inauguration of his kingdom in all its fullness.
So what this parable means then is that not only will the religious leaders of Jesus’s day—who only accepted God in a superficial way—not be present at the feast and will be punished for their lack of any real response to God, but any other person who responds positively to God’s first invitation to join him in the kingdom but fails to go on with it, will be excluded from the feast as well.
Lip service to God’s invitation is not enough. As a consequence, if someone is to be a person of faith, and that includes people who seek or accept a position of responsibility in the church, then they must realise the significant responsibilities that go with that faith. Because there are penalties to be paid if our commitment to God is superficial only.
2. The Others
The second thing about this parable is that despite the lack of presence of the religious leaders of the day, God is determined that the feast at the end of time be filled with people joining in the celebrations.
And if the religious leaders—or the respectable people of the day—are to be largely excluded because of their lack of true commitment (and remember this parable talks in generalities), then God will find others to join in with him in the festivities and to share the rewards that go with true faith.
As a consequence, this parable serves as a warning of the kind of people we are likely to see at God’s table. Indeed, it may not include table after table of respectable people at all. But, more likely, there will be tables filled with people who have been or are currently looked down on and not considered worthy at all.
With the kingdom being torn away from the religious leaders of Jesus’s time—and their like—the kingdom of God will more likely be filled with normal everyday people—people who were—and are—excluded by the snobbery of the elite. Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus spent much of his time with the poor, the lonely, the prostitutes, and the tax collectors of the time.
And the implication of that is, that if we choose to concentrate on telling the poor the message of the kingdom, then we would probably expect a far greater response to the gospel than if we concentrated only on the more respectable people in society.
3. Not Half-hearted
And the third thing about this parable is the warning about being half-hearted.
Now, we’ve already seen what happened to the religious leaders, who said they believed but were more concerned about other things. They were not only absent from the feast but they were punished because of their lack of faith.
However, even amongst the poor it is still important to not only accept the invitation but to be prepared and to be dressed properly for the occasion too.
When the king came to the banquet to see who was actually there, he saw a man from the street who had shunned the special clothing that had been provided. And, as a consequence, the king had him kicked out of the feast and punished.
And that means that even amongst the poor there will be people who will accept the invitation of God, but their heart really won’t be in it either.
The need to be whole hearted and not half-hearted, then, is a warning for us all. Yes, the leaders will be excluded if they are only superficial in their faith, but so too will anyone else who has been given the opportunity to fill their place, if they are not serious about their faith either.
Faith isn’t just the acknowledgement of God being the creator. Faith isn’t just the intellectual belief that Jesus came to earth to die for us. Faith isn’t just going through the motions of Christian belief or being in a position of leadership within the church. Faith is the commitment to God and his church, 100%.
Being whole-hearted and accepting the right clothing—on top of accepting the invitation to the feast—then, is an essential factor if we are to join with God at the feast at the end of time.
D. CONCLUSION
As I indicated at the beginning, I’m sure we probably all know and have met many people who are very poor in the reliability stakes. People who say they will do something, but when it comes to it they are not very reliable at all. Well, that’s what this parable is all about.
It’s a parable that serves as a warning, for us to not only accept God’s gracious invitation to the feast, but for us to go on with our faith and to prepare ourselves—to dress ourselves—appropriately for the occasion.
The question is though, does what we do match what we say we believe? Have we really accepted the invitation to the heavenly banquet? Or do we find other things more important to do too? And if we have accepted the invitation, are we preparing ourselves> Have we put on the appropriate clothing?
Posted: 1st April 2023
© 2023, Brian A Curtis
www.brianacurtis.com.au
