“The kingdom of heaven is like
a certain king who arranged
a marriage for his son,
and sent out his servants
to call those who were invited
to the wedding”
(Matthew 22:2 – 3)
In this parable in Matthew 22:1 – 14
People are invited to the wedding
Nothing strange there
As we are familiar with weddings
A man and a woman decide to marry
There is a wedding ceremony
Guests are invited to attend the ceremony
And the following Wedding Feast
However, in this parable
When the king sends out his servants
To call those who are invited
They refuse…to come
Some are too busy
Others appear uninterested
And there are those who are
Aggressive towards the servants
Calling them to attend
And this is where we start to be
Confused with the picture
Of a Wedding
On the one hand…
It’s not that big of a deal
You either go or you don’t go
Why was the king so angry?
Then perhaps, this is THE King
Who is giving the invitation
So maybe we should give this
Wedding more serious consideration
Also as you read on in the parable
You discover that the king provides
The Wedding garments for the guests
Brilliant – no expense on your part
Is needed in order to attend
But then, let’s take a step back
For a moment…
There is a message Jesus is trying
To share through the telling
Of this parable…
Who is invited…?
Initially it is the Jews
And as we know
They rejected their Messiah
Just like the first people
Who were invited to this Wedding
Then the king told his servants
To go and invite ANYONE
That they could find
Now notice…
People are still “invited”
They are NOT forced
But they ARE invited
And those “people” are us
Gentiles, non-Jews
“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,
‘Friend, how did you come in here
without a wedding garment?’
And he was speechless”
(Matthew 22:11 – 12)
The Wedding garment is provided
For the Wedding by the king
Why would anyone REFUSE
To put it on and yet
Still attend the Wedding?
You don’t have to do anything for it
You don’t have to BUY a dress or a suit
A garment is provided for you…
FREE
Simply “put it on” and ATTEND
What is so difficult about that?
IF…by this stage…
You are still thinking about a Wedding
You have missed the point…
Salvation is for EVERYONE
First the Jew and then the Gentile
(Romans 1:16)
Believing and trusting in Jesus
Is the ONLY Way to enter in
And Jesus gives the FREE gift
Of Eternal Life to all who will
Accept His invitation
Simple really…