Invitation to the wedding banquet

Invitation to the wedding banquet

Scripture:

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. “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.’

“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 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.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

“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.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14

Observation:

All preparations had been made. The wedding banquet was prepared and ready. The king beamed with pride for the big day of his son’s wedding was at hand. Quickly, he sent his servants out to invite the guests to come. The oxen and fattened calf had been butchered and everything was ready for the feast.

However, the guests did not respond. They paid no attention and went off – one to his field, another to his business. Some did even worse, mistreating and killing the king’s servants. Filled with rage, the king sent his army to destroy the murderers and burn down their city.

Thereafter, the king called his servants again and told them. “Since those who were invited did not deserve to come, go to the street corners and invite anyone you can find and gather them all for the feast. So the servants went out and gathered anyone they could find, whether good or bad, and the wedding hall was filled with new guests.

However, as the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man who was not wearing wedding clothes. The man was speechless, without answer, and because of his disrespect was thrown outside into the darkness.

The allegory of this parable is clear. The Jews, God’s chosen people were given the first opportunity to receive Jesus and find salvation in God. However, as a nation, they rejected Him and God’s servants, refusing to believe that He was God’s Messiah. Instead, they hung and crucified him.

His own did not receive Him, but God then extended the invitation of salvation to everyone and anyone on the street, whosoever who would respond. Even today, all are invited to the wedding banquet, anyone and everyone on earth. However, we need to bear in mind too that we must wear wedding clothes. Otherwise, we would disrespect the bridegroom and his family and be chased outside.

What are the wedding clothes? In Revelation, it is written how fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. On our own, our works are like filthy rags before God. However, when we are clothed with our Lord Jesus Christ, His righteousness becomes our righteousness. In faith, we need to believe that we are righteous in the Lord. However, how do we know this faith is genuine? It must be expressed naturally in the works that God calls us to do, inspired and led by the Holy Spirit.

Application:-

Thank the Lord for His great generosity in extending the invitation to the wedding banquet to all of us. We are invited, whether we are good or bad, worthy or unworthy. It is purely by His grace that we are invited to share in His joy.

In spite of this, we need to remember that we need to come wearing the right wedding clothes. We need to bel ieve that in Christ, we are clothed with His righteousness. We should put no boasting or confidence in our flesh. Yet, we need to review our lives to see that our faith is expressed in works, powered not by our own human wisdom but naturally flowing from the power of the Holy Spirit as we walk closely with God.

We need to beware too that we are not too busy with the affairs of the world, that we lose track of our relationship with God and His service. Remember that they too perished in the city with the murderers when the king’s army came.

Prayer:-

We thank You and praise You, Father in Heaven, for Your loving generosity. You do not treat us as our sins deserve but give us strength and hope in salvation through Your Son whom you gave us. We praise You, Lord Jesus, that You are our righteousness. On our own, we have nothing but filthy rags, but in You, we have Your righteousness. Let Your righteousness and purpose continue to flow through us in You Spirit. Let us work out Your righteousness in serving others and being a blessing, even as You teach us. We praise You, and love You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen!