wedding feast

A Standing Invitation

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1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” –  Matthew 22:1-14 ESV

wedding feast

In this, the final of the three parables Jesus shared on this occasion, He told the story of a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. When the great day arrived, the king sent his servants to escort all the invited guests to the festivities. But, shockingly, all those who had received the king’s gracious invitation refused to come. So, he sent additional servants, equipped with details concerning the elegant and elaborate feast awaiting them.

“Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.” – Matthew 22:4 NLT

They were told that the king had prepared this feast with them in mind, and he had spared no expense. This was going to be an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime event that they would long remember. But each of those who had received the king’s personal invitation to this very special occasion chose to ignore his kind offer. Instead, they gave lame excuses, stating they had other, seemingly more important things to do with their time. They showed no interest in the king, his son, or the feast that had been prepared on their behalf.

But it gets worse. Jesus described some of the invited guests showing their disdain for the king by verbally and physically abusing his servants, and even putting them to death. Obviously, they had never heard the age-old maxim, “Don’t kill the messenger.” Their violent treatment of the innocent servants of the king revealed their attitude toward him as their sovereign. They showed him no respect and refused to extend to him the honor associated with his title. They displayed no fear that the king, the father of the groom, might seek retribution. Their actions revealed a total disregard for the king’s position and power.

But they were in for a big surprise. Upon hearing of the murder of his servants, the king ordered his army to seek out and destroy these people, burning their town as recompense for their ungrateful and unrighteous actions. He accused them of being murderers and treated them accordingly. And the king made it clear that their actions had exposed their inherent unworthiness to be guests at the wedding feast of his son.

“The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.” – Matthew 22:8 ESV

Their actions had disqualified them. But it wasn’t the fact that they had murdered the king’s servants. It was that they had refused his gracious and repeated invitation to be guests at his son’s wedding feast. They had placed no value on the king’s decision to include them as his guests to this invitation-only event.

By now, Jesus’ intent behind this parable should be clear. He was telling His disciples about the coming kingdom of God. The king in the parable represents God, the Father. The king’s son is Jesus. The wedding feast is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, a future event described in Revelation 19.

Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” – Revelation 19:7-9 ESV

The guests who had received invitations to the wedding feast but who had refused to attend are meant to represent the nation of Israel. God had extended His invitation to the Jewish people, sending His Son to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of heaven. But as John records in his gospel, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11 ESV). Not only that, God had sent His prophets, years in advance of Jesus’ incarnation, and they had proclaimed the future coming of the Messiah. The Jewish people had been “invited” by the servants of God to be His guests at His Son’s great wedding feast. But the Jewish people had rejected the words of the prophets, even putting some of them to death. Jesus would later declare His sorrow over Israel’s rejection of Him.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.” – Matthew 23:37 ESV

In the parable, Jesus described the king’s decision to extend his invitation to others. He sent his servants to invite anyone they found – “both bad and good” – to fill the banquet hall for his son’s wedding. In other words, the king opened up the invitation to anyone and everyone. The chosen ones had refused his kind offer and been deemed unworthy, so now the king was providing an open invitation to any and all.

And it seems that many of those whom the servants found were unlikely candidates to receive an invitation to an event of this magnitude. The king even supplied them with the proper clothes to wear to a wedding. Having not been part of the original group invited to the wedding feast, they would have had no time to prepare for the occasion. So, the king provided everything they needed: The invitation that provided them with entrance into the feast and the proper attire to wear to an event held in the king’s palace.

And the king’s gracious provision of garments should not be overlooked because Jesus points out that, in spite of the king’s gracious provision of clothing fit for a wedding, one man had the audacity to show up improperly dressed. He had failed to put on the elegant clothes he had been given by the king, and, as a result, he was promptly bound and thrown out. He was denied entrance to the feast. The invitation alone proved insufficient. He was expected to come properly attired for an occasion of this magnitude.

So what’s the point? God had invited the nation of Israel into His kingdom. Over the centuries, He had sent His messengers, the prophets, to the Jewish people, with His call to repent, but they had refused God’s messengers, rejecting and even killing them. So, through this parable, Jesus reveals that God, the king, was going to deal harshly with all those who had received a personal invitation to His Son’s wedding feast. Even the Jews of Jesus’ day were going to reject Him as Messiah, effectively refusing the Father’s gracious invitation to join Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

As a result, the invitation would be extended to the “both bad and good,” a clear reference to the Gentiles. The refusal of the Jews would cause God to open up the doors to the feast to those outside the Jewish community. He would even provide these formerly uninvited guests with the proper “attire” for a wedding.

Through His upcoming death on the cross, Jesus would clothe those who believed in Him with His own righteousness. He would replace their rags of sin with the white garments of righteousness, making them acceptable before God the Father. But if anyone tries to enter God’s Kingdom clothed in their own righteousness, they will be rejected. As the prophet Isaiah so aptly put it, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). An invitation to the feast is not enough. You must come appropriately attired, dressed in clothing provided by the Father of the Groom: Wearing the righteousness of Christ.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness… – Isaiah 61:10 ESV

The nation of Israel had received a personal invitation from God to enter into His kingdom, but they had refused. They had rejected the message of the prophets, even killing some of them for speaking the truth of God. And while many of the Jews had seemingly accepted the message of John the Baptist, even undergoing the ritual of baptism meant to symbolize their repentance, they would eventually reject Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NLT).

All of this ties into the issue of authority. Remember, that is what the Pharisees had asked Jesus.

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” – Matthew 21:23 ESV

Jesus had authority as the Son of God. He was the Son of the King and the rightful heir to the throne. And the message of the prophets concerning the coming Messiah was fulfilled in Him. But that raises additional questions: Is Jesus Christ the authority in your life? Do you hear what He says and obey it? Have you accepted His invitation, or are you too busy, too good, or too smart to buy into something so hard to believe? Does the way you live your life reveal that you sometimes question whether Jesus has authority over your life? Do you refuse to put on the righteousness He has provided because you prefer your life just the way it is?

Jesus not only wants to be the Savior, but He also wants to be your King. He wants to rule and reign in your life. He wants to lead you and direct you. He wants you to worship and obey Him. He wants you to live in submission to Him. Because He loves You, and He alone knows what is best for you. He is a gracious, loving, merciful, righteous King who longs to provide for and protect His people.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

An Invitation-Only Event.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” –  Matthew 22:1-14 ESV

wedding feast

In this, the final of the three parables Jesus shared on this occasion, He told the story of a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. When the great day arrived, the king sent his servants to escort all the invited guests to the festivities. But, shockingly, all those who had received the king’s gracious invitation refused to come. So, he sent additional servants, equipped with details concerning the elegant and elaborate feast awaiting them.

“Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.” – Matthew 22:4 NLT

They were told that the king had prepared this feast with them in mind, and he had spared no expense. This was going to be an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime event that they would long remember. But each of those who had received the king’s personal invitation to this very special occasion chose to ignore his kind offer. Instead, they gave lame excuses, stating they had other, seemingly more important things to do with their time. They showed no interest in the king, his son, or the feast that had been prepared on their behalf.

But it gets worse. Jesus described some of the invited guests showing their disdain for the king by verbally and physically abusing his servants, and even putting them to death. Obviously, they had never heard the age-old maxim, “Don’t kill the messenger.” Their violent treatment of the innocent servants of the king revealed their attitude toward him as their sovereign. They showed him no respect and refused to extend to him the honor associated with his title. They displayed no fear that the king, the father of the groom, might seek retribution. Their actions revealed a total disregard for the king’s position and power.

But they were in for a big surprise. Upon hearing of the murder of his servants, the king ordered his army to seek out and destroy these people, burning their town as recompense for their ungrateful and unrighteous actions. He accused them of being murderers and treated them accordingly. And the king made it clear that their actions had exposed their inherent unworthiness to be guests at the wedding feast of his son.

“The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.” – Matthew 22:8 ESV

Their actions had disqualified them. But it wasn’t the fact that they had murdered the king’s servants. It was that they had refused his gracious and repeated invitation to be guests at his son’s wedding feast. They had placed no value on the king’s decision to include them as his guests to this invitation-only event.

By now, Jesus’ intent behind this parable should be clear. He was telling His disciples about the coming kingdom of God. The king in the parable represents God, the Father. The king’s son is Jesus. The wedding feast is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, a future event described in Revelation 19.

Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” – Revelation 19:7-9 ESV

The guests who had received invitations to the wedding feast but who had refused to attend are meant to represent the nation of Israel. God had extended His invitation to the Jewish people, sending His Son to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of heaven. But as John records in his gospel, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11 ESV). Not only that, God had sent His prophets, years in advance of Jesus’ incarnation, and they had proclaimed the future coming of the Messiah. The Jewish people had been “invited” by the servants of God to be His guests at His Son’s great wedding feast. But the Jewish people had rejected the words of the prophets, even putting some of them to death. Jesus would later declare His sorrow over Israel’s rejection of Him.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.” – Matthew 23:37 ESV

In the parable, Jesus described the king’s decision to extend his invitation to others. He sent his servants to invite anyone they found – “both bad and good” – to fill the banquet hall for his son’s wedding. In other words, the king opened up the invitation to anyone and everyone. The chosen ones had refused his kind offer and been deemed unworthy, so now the king was providing an open invitation to any and all.

And it seems that many of those whom the servants found were unlikely candidates to receive an invitation to an event of this magnitude. The king even supplied them with the proper clothes to wear to a wedding. Having not been part of the original group invited to the wedding feast, they would have had no time to prepare for the occasion. So, the king provided everything they needed: The invitation that provided them with entrance into the feast and the proper attire to wear to an event held in the king’s palace.

And the king’s gracious provision of garments should not be overlooked because Jesus points out that, in spite of the king’s gracious provision of clothing fit for a wedding, one man had the audacity to show up improperly dressed. He had failed to put on the elegant clothes he had been given by the king, and, as a result, he was promptly bound and thrown out. He was denied entrance to the feast. The invitation alone proved insufficient. He was expected to come properly attired for an occasion of this magnitude.

So what’s the point? God had invited the nation of Israel into His kingdom. Over the centuries, He had sent His messengers, the prophets, to the Jewish people, with His call to repent, but they had refused God’s messengers, rejecting and even killing them. So, through this parable, Jesus reveals that God, the king, was going to deal harshly with all those who had received a personal invitation to His Son’s wedding feast. Even the Jews of Jesus’ day were going to reject Him as Messiah, effectively refusing the Father’s gracious invitation to join Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

As a result, the invitation would be extended to the “both bad and good,” a clear reference to the Gentiles. The refusal of the Jews would cause God to open up the doors to the feast to those outside the Jewish community. He would even provide these formerly uninvited guests with the proper “attire” for a wedding.

Through His upcoming death on the cross, Jesus would clothe those who believed in Him with His own righteousness. He would replace their rags of sin with the white garments of righteousness, making them acceptable before God the Father. But if anyone tries to enter God’s Kingdom clothed in their own righteousness, they will be rejected. As the prophet Isaiah so aptly put it, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). An invitation to the feast is not enough. You must come appropriately attired, dressed in clothing provided by the Father of the Groom: Wearing the righteousness of Christ.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness… – Isaiah 61:10 ESV

The nation of Israel had received a personal invitation from God to enter into His kingdom, but they had refused. They had rejected the message of the prophets, even killing some of them for speaking the truth of God. And while many of the Jews had seemingly accepted the message of John the Baptist, even undergoing the ritual of baptism meant to symbolize their repentance, they would eventually reject Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NLT).

All of this ties into the issue of authority. Remember, that is what the Pharisees had asked Jesus.

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” – Matthew 21:23 ESV

Jesus had authority as the Son of God. He was the Son of the King and the rightful heir to the throne. And the message of the prophets concerning the coming Messiah was fulfilled in Him. But that raises additional questions: Is Jesus Christ the authority in your life? Do you hear what He says and obey it? Have you accepted His invitation, or are you too busy, too good, or too smart to buy into something so hard to believe? Does the way you live your life reveal that you sometimes question whether Jesus has authority over your life? Do you refuse to put on the righteousness He has provided because you prefer your life just the way it is?

Jesus not only wants to be the Savior, but He also wants to be your King. He wants to rule and reign in your life. He wants to lead you and direct you. He wants you to worship and obey Him. He wants you to live in submission to Him. Because He loves You, and He alone knows what is best for you. He is a gracious, loving, merciful, righteous King who longs to provide for and protect His people.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Day 101 – Matthew 21:33-22:14; Mark 11:27-12:12; Luke 20:1-19

/ kdmiller55 / 1 Comment

The Three Parables.

Matthew 21:33-22:14; Mark 11:27-12:12; Luke 20:1-19

They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?” – Mark 11:28 NLT

This question posed by the Pharisees seems a bit odd, unless you keep it within its context. Jesus is walking with His disciples through the Temple area. They have just recently arrived back in town from their long walk from the village of Bethany where they are staying during the Passover celebration. According to Mark’s chronology of the events surrounding this last week of Jesus’ life, the day before Jesus had been in this same area, but was in a slightly different mood. He had walked on to the Temple grounds and angrily cleared out the moneychangers, overturning their tables. He drove away all those buying and selling animals for the sacrifices. And most importantly, Mark tells us, “he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace” (Mark 11:16 NLT). If you think about it, Jesus completely disrupted the entire sacrificial system for that day. He threw a wrench into the well-oiled machine of the corrupt religious system that had somehow replaced what God had established through Moses in the wilderness. What He observed taking place in the Temple that first Sunday He arrived in Jerusalem was more about men than God. He witnessed a religious system built on greed and corruption. Extortion and graft were rampant. At this point in time, even the priestly office had become more political than spiritual. They held their offices thanks to Rome and many of them held their positions based on payoffs made to the Roman government. So Jesus shut the whole thing down – even if only for one day.

That sets up the passage we are dealing with today. It is the next day and Jesus has arrived back in town. He is immediately confronted by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law and the elders. They demand to know who has given Him the authority to do what He has done. They are specifically talking about His disruption of the sacrificial system the day before. They are incensed because His efforts have made a personal impact on their pocketbooks. These men benefited financially from the sale of the sheep and doves for sacrifice. It is said that they had arranged the system in such a way that when people brought their sacrificial lamb to the priests for inspection to deem whether it was unblemished or not, the priests would find some fault with it, then require them to buy one of the truly unblemished lambs they had for sale. Then they would take the very lamb they had rejected and turn around and sell it to the next person in line. They had also set up a system that required everyone to exchange their currency for Temple currency, tacking on a high fee for the privilege. All of this revenue went into the Temple treasury, but much of it lined the pockets of the leading priests. So when they came to Jesus, they had a personal stake in this whole thing.

Their question had to do with authority or right. By asking their question, they are inferring that Jesus had no right or authority to do what He did. His actions were not in keeping with accepted tradition. In their mind, Jesus was a renegade and a trouble maker. He was not one of them. He had not gone through the proper channels or training. He had no authority because He had never been a disciple of one of the great rabbis. He was an imposter and needed to be dealt with as such. Without knowing it, they were actually questioning Jesus’ kingship. Remember, just a few days before Jesus had rode into town to the shouts of “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!” (Mark 11:9-10 NLT). Jesus had been welcomed as a king. But now they were questioning His authority and attempting to paint Him as a radical and a revolutionary.

Rather than answer their question, Jesus counters with one of His own. “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!” (Mark 11:29-30 NLT). Jesus puts them squarely on the horns of a dilemma. If they said John’s authority was from heaven, they would be guilty of rejecting God. If they said it was of human origin, they risked alienating the people who saw John as a prophet. So they decided to plead ignorance. “We don’t know,” they responded. And as a result, Jesus refused to address their question regarding His authority. But in reality Jesus does answer their question. He does so by telling three short parables. He turns to the crowd and begins to teach in His usual method, using simple stories to teach a much deeper truth. But the context tells us what Jesus has in mind by telling these stories. The issue is one of authority and Jesus uses these stories to address their original question.

Three Parables – One Message

Over in Matthew’s account, we have the three parables and they are the parable of the two sons, the parable of the landowner, and the parable of the wedding feast. In the first one, Jesus tells about a father with two sons, who orders the first son to go into the household vineyard and work. The son refused, but later repented and did what the father had asked. He orders the second sons to go and he initially agrees, feigning obedience, but later refuses, never doing what the father asked. Jesus asked, “Which one obeyed?” and they answered, “The first son.” So what’s the point? The religious leaders believed they were sons of the kingdom due to their heritage as descendants of Abraham. Jesus makes it clear that corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s Kingdom before they will. Why? Repentance and belief. The religious leaders refused to repent. They refused to believe. They would not acknowledge Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah and His authority as their rightful King.

In the second parable, Jesus tells of a landowner who planted a vineyard and then leased it out and moved to another country. When the grape harvest came, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers to whom he had leased the land, beat one servant, killed another and stoned the last. So the landowner sent a larger group or servants and they were treated in the same way. Finally, he decides to send his own son, hoping that they will show him the respect he deserves. But when he arrives, they grab him, drag him out of the vineyard and kill him. Jesus asks what they think the landowner will do to these farmers when he returns. “The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest” (Matthew 21:41 NLT). Their own answer condemns them. So what’s the point? Over the centuries, God had sent His prophets to His people, and they had been abused, rejected, and in many cases, killed. So He sent more and they were treated the same way. And now He had sent His Son, but He too would be killed in just a matter of days. In telling this particular parable, Jesus was referring to a story from the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1-7). Jesus makes sure they get the meaning of the story. “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on” (Matthew 21:43-44 NLT).

Jesus is the stone that the builders will reject, but He will become the cornerstone. And Jesus, as King, had the authority to do as He wished – even if it meant taking away the Kingdom of God from those who rejected Him. The Pharisees didn’t miss the point. “When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them – they were the wicked farmers. They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet” (Matthew 21:45-46 NLT).

In the final parable, Jesus tells about a king who prepares a wedding for his son. He sent his servants to to get the guests he had invited. But they all refuse to come. So he sends more servants, but the invited guests ignore them, giving excuses and even trying to murder the servants. The king, obviously upset and offended, sent out his army to destroy these people and burn their town. Then he sent his servants to invite anyone they saw – good, bad or indifferent – to fill the banquet hall for his son’s wedding. Evidently, the king even supplied wedding clothes to these people, because they would not have had any. But one man showed up improperly dressed, having failed to put on what he had been given. He was promptly bound and thrown out.

So what’s the point? God had invited the nation of Israel into His kingdom. Over the centuries He had sent His messengers, the prophets, to the Jewish people, with His call to repentance, but they had refused God’s messengers, rejecting and even killing them. So Jesus told His listeners that God was going to deal harshly with that generation and with those of His own day. As a result, the invitation would be extended to any and all (Gentiles). God would open up the invitation to even those outside the Jewish community, even providing the proper “attire” for the wedding. Through His upcoming death on the cross, Jesus would clothe those who believed in Him with His own righteousness. He would replace their rags of sin with garments of righteousness, acceptable before God the Father. But if anyone tries to enter God’s Kingdom clothed in their own righteousness, they will be rejected.

It’s all about a Kingdom and a King

Jesus had authority as the Son of God. The entire Old Testament message from the prophets spoke of Him. The nation of Israel had been invited to enter into His kingdom, but they would refuse. They had rejected the message of the prophets, of John the Baptist and would reject the offer of Jesus Christ. And the question you have to ask today, is whether Jesus Christ is the authority in your life. Do you listen to what He says and obey it? Have you accepted His invitation, or are you too busy, too good, or too smart to buy into something so hard to believe? Does the way you live your life reveal that you sometimes question whether Jesus has authority over your life? Do you refuse to put on the righteousness He has provided because you prefer your life just the way it is? Jesus not only wants to be the Savior, He wants to be your King. He wants to rule and reign in your life. He wants to lead you and direct you. He wants you to worship and obey Him. He wants you to live in submission to Him. Because He loves You and He alone knows what is best for you. He is a gracious, loving, merciful, righteous King who longs to provide for and protect His people.

Lord, there are so many times I question Your authority in my life. I want to do things my way. I want to rule and reign, making decisions according to my terms and on my timeline. I love the fact they You died for me, but sometimes, I’m not quite so sure I want You to decide for me. But You have the right and authority to be my King and my Lord. I have no business rejecting Your rule in my life. Forgive me and help me submit willingly to Your loving leadership in my life. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org