Matthew 22 as we continue our series on the parables of Jesus.
It's about a wedding, so let's read it all and then we'll come
back to it. And Jesus answered and spoke to
them again. Now notice verse one.
Now, chapters and verses aren't in the original text.
And so one of the things you all and one of the first lessons I
learned as a new believer, Pastor Tom Whitaker gave us some
verses. Go home, study them, come back,
tell me what you think. And I focused on the verses and
he said, no, it's not right. You didn't read before and you
didn't read after context. So Jesus has been challenged
about his authority and he's already dealt with the parables
to the Pharisees. And remember that why was Jesus
speaking in parables? Now for those who wanted to know
about the Lord, they would lean in and ask.
And for those, the religious leaders, mainly of Israel,
Pharisee scribes and Sadducees who weren't interested there,
only wanted to pick a fight, only wanted to trap Jesus.
Actually they wanted to kill Jesus.
The parables they couldn't understand it wouldn't work out
didn't know what they're about South Jesus is speaking
parables. He's just spoken to them about
the landowner who had a vineyard put a hedge around it went away
and came back to get the fruit and so he picks up and it says
verse one Jesus answered and spoke to them again.
So it's he's continuing in his discussion with the Pharisees
because they've challenged by what authority do these do these
things and say these things and said by parable, the Kingdom of
heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his
son sent out his servants to call those who are invited to
the wedding and they were not willing to come again.
He sent out other servants second time, saying, tell those
who are invited the same ones. See I prepared my dinner, my
oxen fatted, cattle I killed, and all things are ready, come
to the wedding. He's invited them third time.
But they made light of it, went there their way, one to his own
farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his
servants, treated them spitefully and killed them.
But when the king heard about it, he was furious.
He sent out his armies. Actually, it's the word.
Troops destroyed those murderers and burned up their city.
Then he said to his servants, the wedding is ready, it's still
going ahead. But those who were invited,
we're not worthy. Therefore, because of that go
into the highways and as many as you find anybody invite to the
wedding. 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. But when the king came in to see
the guests, he saw one man there who did not have on a wedding
garment. Because I'll explain.
So he said to him, friend, now notice he sends it very nice
friend. How did you come in here without
a wedding going? And he was speechless.
The guy didn't answer anything. That's called guilt.
Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, take him away, cast him into outer darkness.
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many are called, you could say, invited.
Few are chosen. It's coming into wedding season
now here as the weather begins to break and much preparation
goes into a wedding, doesn't it Book the place, photographers,
the food, who you going to invite, the location, the day,
the time, the gowns, the suits being chosen, the food being
sorted, the meals and finally the invitations are sent out.
Who is invited? There are not too many people
who have not been invited to a wedding at some time in their
lives. So Jesus gives another parable
in our text tonight of a very special wedding banquet.
He's speaking to the Pharisees, a King's wedding banquet for his
son. Jesus answered and spoke to them
again. So he's still addressing the
Pharisees by parables and said the Kingdom of heaven is like a
certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, said any
service that call those who are invited to the wedding and now
and they were not willing to come, the feast is ready, all
should come. But on this occasion those who
are invited refused to come. And it's quite insulting to the
king, to his son, and even the servant who brought the
invitations to those who had been invited.
But this king is patient, sends a second round of invitations to
the same people who refused. Verse 4 again, he sent out other
servants telling them, hey, the food, the place, I've got the
best cattle cooked. Come to the wedding.
This time there was greater detail in the invite.
Hey, everything's ready, it's late on.
Again, the words of an invite are repeated.
Come to the wedding. But with the second round of
invites, those receiving them did not just reject the
invitation, they also mistreated the messengers bringing the
invite, and some were even killed.
There's five. But they made light of it, went
their ways. Not that went their way.
Went about their business, their own lives, what they were busy
about, doing their own stuff. One to his farm, another to his
business. The others captured the
servants, treated them spitefully.
Some killed them. When the king heard of what had
happened, he sent his armies and burned up their city.
New invites sent out. We've read that different people
this time, totally different people.
So what is this parable all about?
Remember, a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly
meaning. What is Jesus teaching here?
What is he teaching by parable to the Pharisees?
And what about the disciples? What are they learning from
this? Because they're going to lean
in. They'll understand what he's
talking about here. The king sending out the
invitation is God the Father. The Son for whom the wedding
banquet is, is none other than Jesus Christ his Son.
The banquet is what? The marriage supper of the Lamb,
the messengers, who are they? The prophets, the preachers of
the gospel. Those who are invited at first
are the Jewish people, the religious Jews And those who are
eventually who eventually accept the invite and come to the feast
are we can put our hands up the outcasts, the poor Gentiles in
John chapter one verse one verse 11 it says John writes Jesus
came to his own and his own did not receive him.
By what authority do you do this stuff, but as many as received
him to them he gave the right to become the children of God to
those who believe in his name. You see the tragedy of the
parable. Here is the wilful refusal to
come to the wedding banquet by those who were initially
invited. This is the tragedy of Israel.
It was not that they could not come.
They're invited. They were the official guest.
Remember the woman that came and said, you know, can you just
pray for my daughter and help her?
And Jesus said, no, I've got to deal with it.
The shepherd's got to go. And you know, the bread is for
for the people of Israel first. The children of Israel received
the invitation. John the Baptist had prepared
the way. Palm Sunday was the prophecy
fulfilled by Daniel. On this day.
He will come in Zechariah, riding lowly on a colt.
The king comes. You see, it was not that Israel
could not come. They were struggling.
No, it was that they would not come.
And there's a big difference in John chapter 12 verse 37, it
says of the children of Israel. But although he Jesus had done
so many signs for them and remember they he'd do something,
do something, heal something. And they say give us a sign this
come on, just fit 5015 thousand someone's raised from the dead,
healed blind cuts and now I can see the lion can walk.
Jesus said an evil and adulterous generation seeketh
after a sign. There is just but one sign that
of the prophet Jonah who was three days and three nights.
He's Speaking of his death and resurrection.
John 1237 says, but although Jesus had done so many signs
before them, they did not believe in him.
Ever had someone say to you? I have I remember many years
witnessing in my job sites, different job locations talking
to people about Christ and they go, well, if God does a miracle
and I could see a mirror, then I believe no, no, you want, no,
you want because in the Bible Jesus did all these miracles and
it says they did not believe in him that the word of Isaiah the
prophet might be fulfilled. It goes on to say in John 12,
which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report and to whom
has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Then it says this in verse 39 of John chapter 12.
Therefore they could not. It's like, it's like Pharaoh.
How often did Moses come? I mean, think of the plagues,
plague after plague after plague, children of Israel, the
Jews, nothing's happening to them.
Plague after plague after plague.
And then it says finally that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
You ain't changing. It's not that you could not,
it's just that you would not. But what is also saddening is
the attitude to the messengers bringing the invitation by this
first group of invitees, It says.
But they made light of it, went their ways, one to his own farm,
another to his business, and the rest seized his servants,
treated them spitefully, and killed them.
If the invited guests felt this way toward the servants, it was
obvious they felt this way toward the king who'd sent them.
Because the servant is representing the king.
I come in the name of the king. This is the invitation.
So they would not come because they actually despised the king
and were hostile to him. Stephen preached one sermon that
we know of and in the detail of his first and only sermon, and
then they killed him for preaching it.
Death by sterling. Stephen says this to the
religious leaders of Israel. You stiff necked, uncircumcised
in heart, because they were circumcised.
They were Jews, uncircumcised in heart and ears.
You always resist the Holy Spirit as your Father's did, so
do you. Which of the prophets did your
father's not persecute? And they killed those who
foretold the coming of the Just, One of whom you now become the
betrayers and murderers who have received the Law by the
direction of angels and have not kept it.
People today do not kill prophets.
We don't have prophets like in the 12, like in the in the
Bible. I know people name themselves
prophets. You know, actually if you read
the ball, I wouldn't want to be a prophet because they killed
them all. True prophet to God, they killed
them all. It's said of Isaiah that they
put in between two planks and cut him in half while he was
alive. But God's messengers are killed
today, aren't they? In Nigeria, in India, in Muslim
countries, they're ridiculed, they're abused, treated
violently. But some of those in the parable
who initially invited to the gospel banquet do not openly
express their hatred to the one, to the messenger who gives it.
Instead, they go excuse them. This is where it fits in very
much with us today. You know, I'm busy.
I got I got stuff on, it says. But they made light of it, went
their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.
In Luke's account, Doctor Luke of the same parable, he adds a
little more detail of the excuses given and excuses, a lie
wrapped up in skin in Luke 14 or 18, it says.
But they all with 1 accord began to make excuses.
The first said, well I've bought a piece of ground, I've got to
go and see it. I asked you to have me excuse.
No one buys land without first seeing it.
You buy a bog, a swamp. Although swamps, we don't have
swamps now, they're water parks or something, whatever they are
now. No one buys land without seeing
it first. It's a lie.
Verse 19 another said I bought 5 yoga box and I'm going to test
them. You test them before you buy
them. I ask.
You have me excused. And still the last bloke.
He was just a joke. Still another said I'll marry a
wife before I can't come. She won't let me remember.
These people had received 2 rounds of invitations.
Charles hadn't. Spurgeon, I recommend him to
you. Preach. 7 messages on this
parable and in one he used the following illustration.
He said a ship owner was visited by a godly man.
The Christian asked the ship owner, well sire, what is the
state of your soul? To which the merchant replied,
Soul, I have no time to take take care of my soul.
I have enough to do just taking care of my ships.
But he was not too busy to die when he did just a week later,
Jesus words to the religious leaders of Israel, the people of
Israel at that time for you and I tonight and never wants to be
trifled with, ignored or cast aside because John 316 says for
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that
whosoever there's the invitation, whosoever would
believe him shall not perish, but I have everlasting life.
That's the invitation the world is invited to a wedding.
The invitation, the wedding of Christ.
The church is the bride of Christ.
So every time an invitation is given from this pulpit, and I do
most Sundays, every time the invite is refused by some, Jesus
speaks of the danger of refusing God's invitation to worship his
son Jesus, because there comes a time and ladies are studying
with Helen on Tuesdays. The book of Romans where God
says as he did to Pharaoh, as he did to the religious leaders, he
said, all right, OK, I've asked and I've asked and I've asked
and I've asked, have your way. That's the worst thing to do.
The worst thing you can do as a parent is let your kids have
their way. It's child abuse.
The worst thing that God can do to us is give us over.
It says in Romans one, give us over to our reprobate mind.
OK, you want to live without me, Go ahead.
I don't ever want that. The Bible says in Hebrews that
God chastises those whom he loves.
You know, if you're being chastised at all, and I get
chastised all the time and I hope you do too.
You know why? Because it shows that God loves
me. It doesn't want you to harm
yourself or or to create a situation that will hurt others
or damage him. That's why He chastises us in
His love today. I think the greatest treasure
that you have is not wealth in the sense of resources like this
world, but the greatest treasure that you can control is your
time, your 24 hours, the time in which you live.
As we looked at Daniel, the breath with which God has given
you to breathe. What are you doing with the life
I have given you? What do we do with this treasure
which is of the utmost importance?
Time. I know in my life I've had more
time back here and now I have this much time in front of me.
It's pretty important. We do not have to take the life
of a prophet to miss out on God's eternal blessing for us of
salvation through His Son Jesus. No, all we have to do is make up
an excuse. Can't make it.
I'm busy. Things on, you know, in
Australia, you know what the devil did with Australia?
He gave us everything. You know, we are the top 3%
wealthiest people in the world. Individually you go well, don't
know which Aussie where, which place that is.
No, no, no. And some of you have come from
different countries and you've you've seen poor, I mean real
poor people. You've seen people struggling
for for clothes like they have one shirt, they have no clean
water, they have no shoes, no place to to live, no bed, no
room, no house. They don't know where the next
meal is coming from. Now all we have to do this is
what the devil has done to Australia is fritter away our
time wasted on meaningless things of the world, to keep on
refusing God's invite as we literally waste our lives on
things that will eventually pass away.
I mean, you look back on your early life.
I do. I look back on my life, man, I
was so stupid. And I think of things that were,
you know, get your licence, once you get your licence, that's it.
You don't need anything else. When you get a job, it's
actually paying some money. Oh, well, that's it.
I don't need anything else. You know, you, you have all
these pretty low goals. But then we move, we move, we
get more and more and more. And you know, the the devil just
says I can't, you're growing out of that.
Here's another one. This is good for you.
And they can be good things in and of themselves.
They make us turn our back upon God and we have 5 oxen, we have
a farm, we have a wife in the situation, The excuses that
we've made up here and you know what, our lives eventually pass
away and thus you let your opportunities for repentance and
faith in God pass by. I love that old hymn that we
sing. Pass me not all, gentle Saviour.
That's the message of half the parallel of those who did not
come, of those who refused to come, although invited over and
over. And remember, he sent out troops
and burned down everything. Remember 70 AD Israel rejected
Jesus on Palm Sunday in 70. Remember Jesus wept.
Why did he weep as he's riding in?
Because he knew you're going to reject me.
And you know what? 70 AD, the Roman general Titus
is going to kill 1.1 million Jews, slaughter and take others
away as slaves. There's going to be no temple,
your religious structure that you've held on to, that you've
looked it's going to be destroyed stone by stone, not
just bowled over, not just become a ruin, every stone.
Isn't that a isn't there a message in that that God will
remove every stone that you place that you think is where
your life should stand instead upon the rock of Christ.
The second half of the parable tells us of who did come verse 9
So they went into the highways and as many as you find invite
to the wedding. So those servants went out,
gathered together all they found, both bad and good, and
the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Dr Luke and his Gospel account makes it plain that these
persons were drawn from the lower ranks of life.
Paul talks about that, doesn't he?
The base in Corinthians, lower ones go out quickly into the
streets, Luke writes. The lanes of the city.
Bring in here the poor, the main, the lame and the blind,
and the servant said, master, it is done as you command, and
still there is room. Luke 1422 Then the master said
to the well go out and get some more, compel them to come.
Then my house made me filled. And Luke 71 Those who came to
the wedding feast were more grateful than the first invited
through his 82 year life. John Newton, you know of him.
He wrote Amazing Grace. If you ever read about his lot,
he was so deprived as a young man that even the sailors he
sailed with said he is a revolting man.
He's a revolting man. Well, in his memoirs, he wrote
his memoirs later on. He was such a depraved sailor, a
miserable outcast on the coast of West Africa, a slave trading
sea captain. He dealt in human trafficking.
Newton comes back to his own salvation more than anything as
the source of tenderness. He writes in his memoirs.
And I quote, till the day he died, he never ceased to be
amazed that he said at the age of 72, and I quote, such a
Wretch should not only be spared and pardoned, but reserved to
the honour of preaching your gospel, which he had blasphemed
and renounced. This is wonderful indeed.
The more you have exalted me, Lord, the more I ought to abase
myself, abase myself. This was no usual wedding feast.
It was from the king himself. This is God's invitation in
Revelation chapter 5 verse 8, it says now when he had taken the
scroll, Speaking of Jesus, the four living creatures, the 24
elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp, golden
balls of incense, which are the prayers of the Saints.
And they sang a new song saying, you are worthy to take the
scroll to open its seals for you as slain and redeemed us to God
by your blood. Out of every tribe, tongue,
people and nation, we're the invites and have made us kings
and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth.
But there is one more important lesson in Jesus parable for us
to finish on and the wedding hall was filled with guests
verse 11. But when the king came in to see
the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding
garment. So he said to him kindly friend,
how do you come here and without a wedding garment?
Now it's important, everyone that's been invited to the
wedding, where are they from? The poor, the blame, the line,
the the the blind, they're from the back streets.
You know what? They don't have any clothes.
So when they came to the wedding, you know what the king
says? I'm going to don't worry about
when you've got nothing to I'll, I'll provide all the clothing.
And so that's why everyone could come and there can be no excuse
about I've got nothing to wear. I've got no clothes, got no
shoes. No, no, no, don't worry about
that. So this was make this guy really
stand out because as you come to the wedding or here's the
outfit, he's I don't know, I'm not wearing it.
I'll wear what I want to wear. So the king said to him, bind
him hand and foot because he was speechless, take him away, cast
him into outer darkness. The man was not dressed in the
wedding garment, which had been provided by the king for every
guest he'd been invited, but he was improperly dressed.
The king had made provision for every guest to have wedding
garments. Because you know all what we
have, we have nothing. We, we, we have fig leaves.
And the king gave the man the opportunity to explain why he
was not wearing the the garment. He says, why aren't you wearing
what I provided for you? He didn't answer.
You know why he didn't answer? He knew it was at fault.
This is the language of tenderest compassion.
Why aren't you wearing it? But it says in Romans chapter
10, verse 3, 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 in
Isaiah chapter 61, verse 10. I'll read it to you.
It tells of the garment. Isaiah, the prophet says, I will
greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God. Why?
For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom
decks himself with ornaments, as a bride adorns itself with the
jewels. You remember Jesus comes to the
place of ghaderi. He steps off the boat, off the
galley. There's this crazy guy who's
living in the tombs roaring. He's going to change.
He cuts himself. And you know, the disciples
aren't with Jesus at this time. And they come back.
What do they do? They find this man who lived
naked amongst the tombs, clothed.
So did Jesus go Bibbidi bobbidi Boo, here's a suit for you.
No, he didn't do that. Where is this man going to get a
garment? I think my opinion, Jesus said
here you wear my coat. It says if they found him
seated, clothed, kneeling at the foot of Jesus and in his right
mind, you see, the man was speechless.
It's not enough that we merely believe.
And here's the this is where a lot of my concern is today.
A lot of people come to church. They're in no man's land.
They've made a religious confession.
They come to church, they bring a Bible, but they're not wearing
the garment. How's that key?
You see, it's not enough that we merely believe in, oh, I believe
in God. Yeah.
Bible says in James, who believes in God, the devil.
He believes in the Bible, too. But we must lay hold of the
righteousness of God. That's what Jesus said to the
religious leader Nicodemus. Nicodemus, you must be born
again. You know, all the religious
stuff. And he did, but he wasn't born
again. It says in Revelation, sorry, in
Romans chapter 3, verse 19. Now we know that whatever the
law says, it says to those who are under the law that every
mouth may be stopped. How often have you heard people?
Or when I see God, man, I'm going to give you, I'm going to,
I'm going to ask him this. No, when you're guilty and you
get resurrected, the second resurrection, you won't say a
word. It's not a judgement, it's a
sentence. The second resurrection.
You're guilty already, Donald. Great Barnhouse developed a way
of presenting the gospel. I love using this very text that
we've read tonight. He would ask, and this is how
we'll end. Suppose, suppose you should die
tonight and appear before God in heaven.
And God would ask you, by what right do you have to come into
my heaven? What would you say?
You see the man at the feast, We're speechless.
There are only three possible answers a person could give if
God asked that question. One many would say, oh, I've
been a good bloke. I gave the charities, you know,
I used to help out. I cook food for the poor, you
know. And which barnhouse would point
out that we have all fallen short of the glory of God, That
none of us a righteous Romans 320 Therefore, by the deeds of
the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight.
For the law says we're guilty. We've broken the commandments.
The second response is that they would have nothing to say.
I don't know, I don't know. They would be, as Paul says,
speechless. The only possible and correct
true answer when I asked what right do you have to come into
my heaven is Lord not at all. As far as myself, I'm concerned
nothing. As Paul said in Romans in May,
that is, in my flesh dwells no good thing, but Jesus Christ
died for my sins. He has given me the covering of
his own righteousness. I've repented before him.
I've asked him to be my Lord and Saviour, and this and this, By
this alone dare I stand before you in his name.
Come, come, welcome to the Kingdom of God.