The Scriptural context for the Parable of the wedding feast can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, verses 1 through 14:
Matthew 22:1-14
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went off–one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
In the last two parable teachings of Jesus, He focuses on the rejection of him as God’s Son and God’s resulting judgment. In Part 28, we studied “The Parable of the Two Sons”. Jesus showed us that the rewards of the sons are switched based on their ultimate service to their father. In Part 29, “The Parable of the Wicked Tenants”, Jesus showed us that the tenants of the vineyard, because of their rejection of the owners servant’s and son (God’s Prophets and Jesus), would have the vineyard taken away “other tenants” would be given the vineyard. In this parable, “The Parable of the Wedding Feast and Great Dinner”, Jesus will tell us that those least expected will enter the kingdom of heaven/kingdom of God. I would point out that in this parable, the King is God and the Son is Jesus.
Looking at this teaching in Matthew 22, verses 1-4, Jesus tells us upfront what His subject is….“the kingdom of heaven”. Something that I find interesting and would want to point out is that the king sent his servants to……look at what the Scripture says……“He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.” In this ancient culture, two invitations were often issued, one announcing the feast (obviously this invitation had already been issued in this story and accepted) and one announcing that the banquet was ready (this second invitation is the one being offered here…and rejected). Jesus is telling us that the guest were expected to come as they had not declined the first invitation. Just like the last two parables we have studied, the kingdom is offered to those that would be expected to accept. So here we have invitations being offered and rejected. These guests placed a higher priority on their farms and businesses, deciding not to go to the great banquet the King had prepared. The Messiah had arrived, yet they went about their daily business as if nothing important were happening.
Let’s stop here a moment……..God sends out servants to gather the guest every day. Are you one of those servants? In this parable alone, it is pointed out that those who invite others to meet Jesus will experience rejection……some passively and some actively. This rejection should not be taken personally, as you are just the messenger. You are but to faithfully deliver the message God has given you.
Back to the Scripture…..here, in verse 4, the invitation is again refused (a third time), more servants are sent out, and most of the recipients just ignored the invitation, but some seized the messengers (servants), mistreated them and killed them. This could be an obvious parallel to the parable of the wicked tenants in which prophets were mistreated and killed.
Verse 7 tells us the consequences of refusing God’s invitation. Today, many people don’t want to hear that there are consequences to their actions or inaction’s. It’s a shame, as consequences are a part of life. I believe that Jesus is foreshadowing the final war between good and evil. This is often described in Scripture in similar ways (Isaiah 25:6-8; Ezekiel 39:17-24; Revelation 19:17-21). The bottom line is this….those who accept the invitation will attend a great banquet……those who refuse the invitation will be deemed unworthy. Additionally, the burning of the city could certainly refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 under Titus.
This next verse is very important….
Matthew 22:8-10
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
This poses an entirely different twist…..“anyone you find “ ……the invitation is offered to ALL people (all races, all nationalities, ALL people). The servant here goes out into the streets with the invitations to ALL people and gather all who accept, “both good and bad “……….no illusion here, the servants didn’t discriminate with regard to social standing, reputation, or moral character. This metaphor focuses on the outcasts and sinners (remember Matthew 21:31-32) as well as righteous people. God gives salvation to all who hear and respond. Many people don’t want to hear this, yet the Scriptures make this perfectly clear.
Ah, by now though you may say to me…..”But what about the rest of the story? Someone accepted the invitation and was thrown out?” Let’s take a look, “
Matthew 22:11-14
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
The banquet hall is filled with a cross section of invited guest, both good and bad. This one guest sticks out as he is not covered like the other guest, he is not wearing the wedding banquet attire… either he neglected to dress for the occasion or he refused the wedding robes possibly offered at the door. I do not believe this is about attire, but rather about truly accepting the invitation. No one there had earned the right to be there, yet most had accepted the invitation with forethought and come prepared…..some had not come prepared, some had not acknowledged their unworthiness. When asked about his attire….this guest was speechless…………interesting.
I like the explanation rendered in the Life Application Bible Commentary best:
“This speechless character represents a superficial response to Christ’s gospel. Such persons view the gracious invitation of the gospel as a mere formality. They assume themselves worthy of the invitation. What others receive as grace, they take for granted. They are unwilling or incapable of seeing themselves honestly. Therefore, when God confronts their unworthiness, they can say nothing. We dare not consider the invitation of Christ lightly. We must be ready to meet the One who invites us into the kingdom of heaven.”
I believe it is important here to note that while we accept an invitation to this great banquet, the kingdom of heaven, our entry in, and invitation to stay, is not something that hangs on a thread, it is entirely in our hands. We need not be insecure in our acceptance. Yet we must realize that accepting the invitation is not an insurance policy. Christian faith is living in a new relationship to God, characterized by love and proven by faithful service. God’s love will never let you go, but we can’t be presumptuous. We can’t just recite the sinner’s prayer and then believe that we have our ticket. God calls us to a life of love and service. To truly respond to the invitation, we must follow Jesus in faith every day.
The last verse in this parable is 14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” The word “called” here is a simple invitation. I believe that Jesus is telling the Pharisees here that the invitation has gone out to all of Israel….and only a few had accepted it and followed Him. The Jews believed that simply because they are descendants of Abraham, they were sure to enjoy the blessings of God’s kingdom through the Messiah. But Jesus teaches us here that many of those invited will not actually be among those chosen by God. Remember Matthew 7:13, “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”.
This similar teaching, the Parable of the Great Dinner, in context, can be found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14, verses 15-24:
Luke 14:15-24
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 ” ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ “
Today’s CLUE: Jesus tells us that the invitation to the kingdom of heaven/kingdom of God is offered to ALL people (all races, all nationalities, people of different social standings, reputations and moral character…..ALL people, good and bad). Yet, not all who are invited accept, and some who do, accept superficially. Jesus teaches us here that many of those invited will not actually be among those chosen by God.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
My friend RonLawHouston commented: I think the wedding parable was directed to the Israelites. I think way too many people feel they are God’s messengers. After all, does God even really need messengers?
I replied: I belive you are correct, the wedding parable was directed at the Israelites I like your question, “does God even really need messengers?”. I believe that God does not need messengers, however, He made it clear in Scripture that He sent messengers and by my reading of Jesus’ teaching in Scripture, He made it clear in Scripture that we are all to be messengers to one degree or another. Interesting question. It seems to me to imply that God only does what He “needs” to do It’s kinda like, “did God really NEED to create us and our world?” I would say the answer is no. But He did so. Thank you for your comments.
My friend RonLawHouston commented: Jan – it is an interesting question. My thinking was on the whole Jehovah witness thing you’re going through. No doubt God does send messengers, but it just when you think YOU’RE a messenger that you might not be.
I replied: I apologize and see what you are saying. It’s funny, I believe there has to be room to intrepret Scripture and that dialog is of the utmost importance concerning Scripture. There are many organizations/religions that I have a problem with only because they leave no room for either….from fundemental Christians to the Jehova’s Witness organization. In fact, what I see, what I read and what I believe is not a closed book…it is living and breathing. I question any organization in which Scripture is a closed book and is not living and breathing.
So…you bring up a good question (one that you did not exactly ask)….is it possible to determine who God has sent as a messenger. One way that I have been taught is that prophecy is always fulfilled. This is certainly not true with the Jehovah’s Witness organization….they have prophesized numerous times in which it was not fulfilled. Do they still believe that they are God’s messengers? Yes, I believe they do. There are other pointer’s as well. That is another post
It’s also funny, I tell my community group Bible study as well as anyone here…….I am studying Scripture and presenting the fruit of my study for discussion. Don’t believe a word I say, when in doubt….seek the answer. In other words, I am not sure that in some senses I could even consider myself God’s messenger. In many senses, I believe that Christ called on each of us as believer’s to share the Good news.
My friend Jason commented: Jan, I really appreciate your thoughts and insights. I’m going to come back to this study from time to time, for I feel that God has placed me in the middle of the same subject right now. What does it mean to be a part of the Kingdom of God? What is the Kingdom of God?
There is a certain amount of mystery involved, yet, on some levels….abosolute clarity. I’ll be keeping in touch. I miss your kindness. That may be funny to read, but this world, when your out on your own and don’t know anyone….is sometimes very unkind. I hope to see you soon.
I replied: This study has been and continues to be fascinating to me. Thank you for being one of the one’s who initiated the desire to look closely at “The Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God”. Great questions! It’s an everyday learning experience. I have seen much since I started serving at Grace and Grits. This is much more than I can put in a simple comment as it really is not about the serving of food but the loving of people.
I agree with you that I have also often experienced a harshness, loneliness and unkindness out there in the world. It is only something we can change one person at a time, beginning with ourselves. God bless you for all that you are doing for the kingdom, Jason! We would all like to hear more about your experiences since you have been gone. We are all also anxious to see you and your family again soon. God bless!