Parables #40 The Great Wedding Feast
Parable #40 – Matthew 22:1-14The Parable of the Wedding Feast?”
Jesus told the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14. This parable is similar in some ways to the Parable #27 of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24), but the occasion is different, and it has some important distinctions(and much harsher) What do you remember about the parable of the Great Banquet?.
This event took place after the Jesus’ triumphant entry when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey colt. And after He cleared the Temple.
Things are reaching a climax and this parable is the third in the series of the Kingdom. The first was the parable of the two sons then we studied the parable of the Wicket farmers. He is still addressing the scribes and the Pharisees and His last words to them was at the end of Chapter 21:43-45 43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
Matthew 22:1-14Jesus also told them other parables. He said, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!4 “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ 5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.7 “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
How do you feel when you plan a big event and it is poorly attended? What kind of excuses for not coming do you most resent people using? How does the parable of this party (banquet) fit into Israel’s history? How did the character of the banquet change given the new guest list?
To better understand the context of this story, it is important to know some basic facts about weddings in Jesus’ day.In Jesus’ days, it was customary to send two invitations to a wedding party—the first to announce it and the second to tell the guests that everything was ready. and in Jewish society, the parents of the betrothed generally drew up the marriage contract. The bride and groom would meet, perhaps for the first time, when this contract was signed. The couple was considered married at this point, but they would separate until the actual time of the ceremony. The bride would remain with her parents, and the groom would leave to prepare their home. This could take quite a while. When the home was all ready, the groom would return for his bride without notice. The marriage ceremony would then take place, and the wedding banquet would follow.The wedding banquet was one of the most joyous occasions in Jewish life and could last for up to a week.
In His parable, Jesus compares heaven to a wedding banquet that a king had prepared for his son Matthew 22:2
2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.
Many people had been invited, but when the time for the banquet came and the table was set, those invited refused to come (verses 4-5)
4 “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ 5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. . In fact, the king’s servants who brought the joyful message were mistreated and even killed (verse 6). 6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.The king, enraged at the response of those who had been invited, sent his army to avenge the death of his servants (verse 7)
7 “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.
He then sent invitations to anyone his servants could find, with the result that the wedding hall was filed (verses 8-10). 8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honour. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’
Were those who refused to come the first time invited again?
10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
Verse 10 affirms the “Great Commission,” that the Gospel invitation is to be spread to all, both “good and bad”During the feast the king noticed a man “who was not wearing wedding clothes” (verse 11).
11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.
When asked how he came to be there without the furnished attire, the man had no answer and was promptly ejected from the feast “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (verses 12-13).
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. In the parable, the wedding clothes that were needed for admittance to the banquet represent what? (Isaiah 64:5-6) Many commentaries take the proper wedding attire to be righteousness, and find many passages that seem to support that. But that may be pushing the symbol a little too much in this story. Where would he get the righteousness? The King expected him to have it to join the wedding feast! Some have suggested that the King provided the attire (i.e., righteousness) but this man refused to have it. That is adding quite a bit to the parable, and such an addition is not necessary. But we can look at the symbolism of clothing more generally and just say that the man did not prepare properly to act on the invitation he received. So there was an invitation to the banquet, but not all who responded to the invitation were allowed to remain.Then in verse 13
13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’The outcome of this man’s situation informs us of the true meaning of the symbolism. We have to say that the proper attire would correspond to all that Jesus said was required for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven—true repentance for sin and faith in Christ, and then a commitment to love and obey the Lord as evidence of saving faith. In Jesus’ day many people certainly wanted to enter the kingdom, but when Jesus started telling them to come to him and take his yoke upon them and learn of him, they went away. And in the day of judgment many will claim to have done good deeds, but Jesus will turn them away because they will not have dealt properly with the basic issue of salvation—they will not be prepared properly and spiritually to be received by the King at the wedding of the Son.Isaiah reinforces the view that the wedding clothes of the guests do not represent their own (or our own) righteousnessin Isaiah 64:5-6.5 You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways.But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly.We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved?6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.Were the clothes of the expelled guest filthy rags (his acts of righteousness)? Perhaps.But more to the point, this passage says that all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags in God’s sight.
Jesus then ends the parable with this statement: (verse 14).14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”Does receiving an invitation guarantee that all will be allowed to attend the feast, i.e., enter the kingdom of heaven?There are many people in this parable: The king, His son, His servants, Those invited the first time who did not come, Those who killed the servants, The people on the streets invited the second time.
The king is God the FatherThe son who is being honored at the banquet is Jesus Christ, who “11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.”John 1:11His servants are the prophets.Many prophets, including John the Baptist, had been murderedMatthew 14:1010 So John was beheaded in the prison,Those invited the first time who did not come represent Israel they held the invitation to the kingdom, but when the time actually came for the kingdom to appear Matthew 3:1, they refused to believe it. In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is nearJohn 1:6-106 God sent a man, John the Baptist,[c] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.
Those who killed the servantsThe self-righteous Pharisees who heard this parable did not miss Jesus’ point. In the very next verse, Matthew 22:1515 Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.
The king’s retaliation against the murderers can be interpreted as a prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70 at the hands of the Romans Luke 21:55 Some of his disciples began talking about the majestic stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said, 6 “The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
More broadly, the king’s vengeance speaks of the anguish and sadness mentioned in the book of Revelation.
God is patient, but He will not tolerate wickedness forever Obadiah 1:1515 “The day is near when I, the Lord,will judge all godless nations!As you have done to Israel,so it will be done to you.All your evil deedswill fall back on your own heads.
His judgment will come upon those who reject His offer of salvation. Considering what that salvation cost Jesus, is not this judgment well deservedHebrews 10:29-3129 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 30 For we know the one who said,“I will take revenge. I will pay them back.”He also said,“The Lord will judge his own people.”31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Note that it is not because the invited guests could not come to the wedding feast, but that they would not comeLuke 13:3434 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.Everyone had an excuse.
How tragic, and how indicative of human nature, to be offered the blessings of God and to refuse them because of the draw of mundane things!The people on the streetsThe wedding invitation is extended to anyone and everyone, total strangers, both good and bad.
This refers to the gospel being taken to the Gentiles. This portion of the parable is a foreshadowing of the Jews’ rejection of the gospel in Acts 13. Paul and Barnabas were in Pisidian Antioch, where the Jewish leaders strongly opposed them. The apostle’s words echo the king’s estimation that those invited to the wedding “did not deserve to come”: Acts 13:4646 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.The gospel message, Jesus taught, would be made available to everyone. The matter of the wedding garment is instructive. It would be a gross insult to the king to refuse to wear the garment provided to the guests. The man who was caught wearing his old clothing learned what an offense it was as he was removed from the celebration. This was Jesus’ way of teaching the inadequacy of self-righteousness. From the very beginning, God has provided a “covering” for our sin.
To insist on covering ourselves is to be clad in “filthy rags” As we just read in Isaiah 64:6. Adam and Eve tried to cover their shame, but they found their fig leaves to be woefully inadequate.
God took away their handmade clothes and replaced them with skins of (sacrificed) animalsGenesis 3:7, 217 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves……. 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.In the book of Revelation, we see those in heaven wearing “white robes” Revelation 7:99 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.and we learn that the whiteness of the robes is due to their being washed in the blood of the Lamb (verse 14).14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in[a] the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
We trust in God’s righteousness, not our own Philippians 3:9I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[a] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.Just as the king provided wedding garments for his guests, God provides salvation for mankind. Our wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ, and unless we have it, we will miss the wedding feast. When the religions of the world are stripped down to their basic doctrine and code of belief, we either find man working his way toward God, or we find the cross of Christ. The cross is the only way to salvation John 14:6 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.For his crime against the king, the improperly attired guest is thrown out into the darkness. For their crimes against God, there will be many who will be consigned to “outer darkness”—existence without God for eternity. Jesus uses the term “outer darkness” in the parable to describe a condition of great sorrow, loss and woe. It stands in vivid contrast to the brightly lit and joyous celebration attended by those who accepted the king’s invitation. Interpreting the wedding feast as heaven, the “outer darkness” must be the place of eternal punishment. Most Bible scholars agree that the phrase “outer darkness” refers to hell or, more properly, the lake of fire Matthew 8:1213:42 13:50; and 25:23The outer darkness of Jesus’ parable is called “blackest darkness” in Jude 1:13. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.Again, a place of judgment is the obvious meaning, since it is reserved for “godless men” .Acts 2:23This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.Perhaps the place of judgment is pictured as “dark” because of the absence of God’s cheering presence. Psalm 104:2929 You hide Your face, they are terrified; You take away their spirit, they expire. And return to their dust.God is called “light” in 1 John 1:55 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.and if He withdraws His blessing, only darkness is left. Throughout the Scriptures light symbolizes God’s purity, holiness, and glory. Darkness is used as a symbol of moral depravity (Psalm 82:5 Proverbs 2:13 Romans 3:12). Darkness can also refer to trouble and affliction Job 5:12 Proverbs 20:20 Isaiah 9:2and to death and nothingness (1 Samuel 2:9Ecclesiastes 11:8 Job 3:4-6).The outer darkness of judgment is accompanied by “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The “weeping” describes an inner pain of the heart, mind, and soul. The word in the original denotes a bewailing or lamentation by beating the breast in an expression of immense sorrow. The “gnashing of teeth” describes an outward pain of the body. Taken together, the weeping and gnashing of teeth says hell is a place of indescribable spiritual agony and unending physical pain Luke 16:23-2823 and his soul went to the place of the dead.(Greek:Hades) There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’The outer darkness is a place of anguish, heartache, grief, and unspeakable suffering. Such will be the lot of all who reject Christ John 3:18, 36.18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son…… 36 And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”Christ is the Light of the World (John 8:12). When one rejects the Light, he will be cast into eternal darkness. Just like the man in the parable, the one who rejects Christ will lose his chance for joy, blessing and fellowship and will be left with nothing but darkness and eternal regret.Christ concludes the parable with the sad fact that “many are invited, but few are chosen.” In other words, many people hear the call of God, but only a few heed it.To summarize the point of the Parable of the Wedding Feast, God sent His Son into the world, and the very people who should have celebrated His coming rejected Him, bringing judgment upon themselves.
As a result, the kingdom of heaven was opened up to anyone who will set aside his own righteousness and by faith accept the righteousness God provides in Christ.
Those who reject the gift of salvation and cling to their own “good” works insteadwill spend eternity in hell.The Parable of the Wedding Feast is also a warning to us, to make sure we are relying on God’s provision of salvation, not on our own good works or religious service.14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
In today’s terms, who might this be: A) an imposter, B) a non-Christian, C) someone trying to enter the kingdom on his own terms, D) an unrighteous person.Verse 14 says,
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Who does the choosing? the word “many” is not intended to be a restricted number.
The invitation has gone out to all who care to listen, but some just refused, and some wanted to come but refused to submit to the requirements of entrance into the kingdom.
So none of these will be present in the kingdom.
Those Jesus refers to as “chosen” are the people who respond to the invitation to come, and respond in the proper manner so that they are prepared to enter the kingdom. In Jesus’ parable the invitation to the Messianic banquet had been extended to the Jews first, but they refused. Then Jesus began to turn to the Gentiles, and as many as believed in him would enter the kingdom in the place of the others, even if the ones who believed were formerly prostitutes and sinners. More people will reject the invitation or fail to meet the requirement of faith in Christ than those who are chosen, that is, those who truly believe and enter the kingdom. Which group are you in? Are you sure?
What do you personally take away from this parable? Will you be one of the chosen ones? Are you sure? If not, what must you do to be sure?