Matthew 22:1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Feast

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 So 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, the bad as well as the good, 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 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ 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.”

Have you ever been asked to do something you didn’t want to do? Did you do it anyways, or just say no thank you. In some cases, knowing when to say no is needed, but that all depends on who is doing the asking.

In this parable, Jesus is telling-the King (God) is doing the requesting. If you hold allegiance to the King, you should probably do as asked.

However, as we look at this parable, we see two groups of people- the originally invited guest and the newly invited guest.

The originally invited guest are the people one would expect to be at the Wedding of the Prince, think Nobels and high-class citizens. Well, in God’s wedding feast, you can think of the religious leaders and people who claim to be following the Lord. However, these people not only reject the call, but some of them also harm the messenger as well.

So, the King invites the people off the streets (sinners, everyday people) to join him in his feast.

Many answer the call. Many come. Most come because the King has asked them to come, and they are honored… but one does not. He is not wearing a wedding garment. Why did he come? Free food. Since of belonging. We don’t really know. But we do know he was not properly dressed for the occasion, meaning his heart was not for the King.  So, the King has him thrown out.

Many rejected the call. One came unprepared. But some came and celebrated with their King. The call to God’s Kingdom is for all, but not all will accept the call. Even then, some who accept the call are not prepared to fulfill the obligation of Kingdom life (wearing wedding garments for example.)

Faith takes action and obedience.

Friends, which invited guest are you?

1-No, thanks God I have more important things to do?

2-Sure God, but let me come on my own terms (in my own clothing)?

3- I’m there, Lord and willing to do what is requested of me?