By Pastor Dave Farmer
This third parable is about the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ after repeated invitations to come to Him for salvation. Woven into the story is a warning that their failure to believe will end in eternal separation from God. It highlights the choice that we make to receive Christ or to reject Him.
The text of this study is Matthew 22:1-11.
Introduction of the parable
Matthew 22:1,2
1] Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying,
2] “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
This is the third parable which was spoken directly to the Sanhedrin. Again, our Lord Jesus Christ lovingly reaches out with the Gospel. He is their Messiah, their only Savior. How can they enter the Kingdom of Heaven without trusting Him?
The Story
The story is about a Father who was arranging a wedding party for his son. The father in the story is our Heavenly Father, and His Son is the Lord Jesus Christ. The bride is not mentioned for all eyes are on the Son. He has center stage. The father sends out invitations to join him in celebrating the Son’s wedding. What are we to see? The picture being painted is people being invited to believe in Jesus Christ. The invitation is the gospel. Coming to the wedding is that same as believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The First Invitation
[3] “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
This is the first gracious invitation to come to the King‘s Palace and join in celebrating His Son's wedding. The first invitation historically takes place in the Age of Israel. The servants in the parable are all those who possessed a communication gift and who was commissioned to disseminate the good news. The patriarchs, judges, prophets, and priests all played a role in preparing the way for the first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, the gospel was about the future work of Christ on the cross. The first invitation represents the invitation to unsaved Israel to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Second Invitation
4] ‘Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner' my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready' come to the wedding feast.” ’
Again! What amazing grace. God is not willing that any perish, so He continues to pursue them with the Gospel. Heaven is prepared, and it is a wonderful place. There are no works involved. Just accept the invitation!
5] “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,
6] And the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.
They refused the message of the King and became tired of hearing the gospel, so they punished the King‘s messengers. So, after all, that divine love could do, after their repeated refusals, the king brought judgment upon those who rejected His invitation.
7] “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.
This is a prediction of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and another warning to them for their arrogance and hostility toward the Son. The Roman army will attack the city and torch its walls, buildings, and even the Temple which had been there for over 900 years. The sacking and burning of the city of Jerusalem is the result of their disobedience to God. 2
The Third Invitation
8] “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
9] ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast’
10] “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
The third invitation is to a different group and takes place at a future time. The message on the invitation reads the same, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved" [Acts 4:31], but now it is addressed to whosoever will may come, “Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast”. Jesus, after His resurrection, said to His disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every living creature." Mark 16:15
The Great Separation
11] “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,
12] and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes’?’ And the man was speechless.
13] “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The interpretation of this last section of verses is aided by the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Our Lord uses this phrase five times in His teaching: Matthew 8:12; 13:42,50; 22:13; 24:51;25:30. In the parable of the sower, He explains that this occurs "at the end of the age." This is the Jewish age and “the end” is a technical prophetical expression which means the final seven years called the Great Tribulation.
The question is, “Does this refer to an event in the future?” If so, what does the Scripture teach? The Word of God explains that when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to earth to establish His kingdom, He will separate the unbelievers from the believers. The unbelievers that survive the Campaign of Armageddon, both Jews, and Gentiles, will be cast off the earth, held in Hades to await final judgment. The Millennial reign of Christ on the earth will begin with believers only. Sadly, the description is not a very pleasant one. I believe that the extreme sorrow that this phrase graphically portrays is due to the fact that they have seen the Lord Jesus Christ and now know their fate is sealed. They will beat their breasts and in a weeping moan say, ”why didn’t I believe in Jesus Christ when I had the chance.” In that day there will be no bravado, no shaking their fist at God, no defiant attitudes, just “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Put on the Garment of Righteousness
The man not dressed in wedding garments was cast out of the celebration. He did not belong there, for all who truly accept the invitation [to believe in Christ] are wearing the proper clothing. I am thankful that it is the Father who decides the matter. He examines the heart, and He never makes any mistakes:
Hebrews 4:13
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and lay bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
One of the 39 irrevocable blessings 3 that is given to us when we believe is the righteousness of God. Abraham represents the way of salvation in the Old Testament. It is said that when “Abraham believed in the Lord and He imputed to Him His righteousness [Genesis 15:6]." When Abraham trusted in the Lord, God the Father gave him an undeserved, unmerited, and unearned righteousness. The Apostle Paul later explains our acceptability before God is not based on any merit we have, but because we have the righteousness of God.
Philippians 3:9
and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Some like the Pharisees chose a Jewish way to God through ritual and legalism. Others like the Sadducees chose a path through nationalism and politics. Then others chose to establish a political kingdom, like the Herodians by keeping the
status quo. They all wanted to establish the kingdom of God on the earth without the cross. However, we who have trust in Christ have put on the garment of His righteousness. The only garment to be worn at such an awesome and majestic occasion [Revelation 19:7, 8].
The Point of Doctrine
As we have seen, parables have two parts; first, there is the story, then the truth that is being highlighted by the story. Here is the truth. Jesus said:
14] “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Our Lord points out this disappointing fact, not everyone who is called accepts the invitation to trust in Him. What keeps “the many” that are called to salvation from being chosen? Their own volition! Their own stubborn pride! The few that are chosen to enter into the kingdom of God have made that choice to believe. They are the chosen. They are called "the chosen" because they chose to believe in Jesus Christ.
Your heavenly Father has invited you to join Him in heaven for a great celebration. The invitation reads: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” Will you trust Him today?
Endnotes
An expanded version of this parable with the main point interpreted.
Matthew 22:1-14
1] Jesus spoke to them [the Sanhedrin] again [a third time] in parables, saying,
2] “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king [God the Father] who gave a wedding feast for his son [the Lord Jesus Christ]
3] “And he sent out his slaves [those commissioned to go with the gospel] to call [An invitation to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ] those who had been invited to the wedding feast [to heaven], and they were unwilling to come [They rejected the call to salvation; they rejected Christ].
4] “Again [the second invitation] he [God the Father] sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’
5] “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,
6] and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.
7] “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies [The Roman Legions of Titus in 70 AD] and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.
8] “Then he said to his slaves [a third invitation], ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy [unbelieving Israel].
9] ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’
10] “Those slaves [those commissioned to go with the gospel] went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
11] “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,
12] and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless.
13] “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’[The great separation between believers and unbelievers at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom].
14] “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
2 See study on the Five Cycles of Judgement Link Here
3 See study on the Riches of Divine Grace. Link Here