SHARING BREAD
1 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 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, both good and bad, 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 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ 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.”
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 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, both good and bad, 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 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ 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.”
Matt
22:1-14 (NIV)
In the parable presented today Jesus sets forth examples of the
rejection of faith and the hypocrisy of faith both ending with the same sad results. Clearly, salvation is offered to all – Jesus
tells of God’s invitation extended to everyone.
The very well-known verse in John comes to mind:
16 “For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 (NIV)
Christ is the Bridegroom and His Church, the bride. Preparations were (and continue to be) in
process for the marriage banquet given by the Father. The favor of God, the fullness and promise of
the Gospel, the Fruit and the comfort of the Spirit all serve to prepare the
saints for this grand fete. We must be
readied here for our eternity there. The
Gospel calls are represented by the invitations to the wedding banquet. Amazingly, God stoops to elevate man to be a
guest at His celebration:
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of
man that you care for him? 5 You
made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and
honor. Psalms 8:4-5 (NIV)
God goes first to the Jews with His gracious invitation –
the chosen people to carry His light to the world of darkness. Interestingly, none are excluded but those
who chose to exclude themselves – one declined the invitation to work in the
field, another goes off to his business and still others mistreat and even kill
those bringing the good news.
Hmmm…….sounds a bit like our day and age does it not? Busy, distracted, in love with the world and
in love with self, flatly not interested and often furious if confronted with the
Truth because it brings conviction and demands a verdict - these are all signs
of our times as well. The Gospel is also
often received with cold treatment from the children of men – those having no direct
aversion to it yet maintaining a prevailing indifference regarding the matters
of their souls. Jesus tells us this
enrages God and rightly so. Heaven is
readied and waiting – shall we be unready?
God delights in no one perishing.
The busy and indifferent forfeit their eternal opportunity.
“The safest road to hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, one that is soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” C.S. Lewis
Next God sends His servants to the streets to gather all
they could find – both universal and undistinguishing – all invited without exception
to fill the King’s halls with guests. It
is thankfully the bringing in of the Gentiles – those grafted in through faith
in the work of Christ. These are all gathered
to partake of the privileges of the new covenant the Lord Jesus came to usher
in. We are told the guests were a mixed
multitude – good and bad – genuine and hypocrite. Ministers preaching the Good News by casting
the net of the Gospel catch both good and bad fish. The hypocrites who were in the church but not
of the church (the faith) are represented here by Jesus as not wearing wedding
clothes. Interestingly, in Revelation
the Bride of Christ has made herself ready in fine linen bright and clean
representing the righteous acts of the saints.
Righteous acts can only be done through the righteousness of Christ and
His power alone. Good acts flesh can
accomplish but not righteous. The saved
are clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. Notice the fine linen “was given her to wear”:
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the
wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of
the saints.) Rev 19:7-8 (NIV)
What I glean from this:
· God’s
invitation is for all. He delights for
none to perish but all to turn to Him in repentance.
· Amazingly,
God in His mercy rises to show me compassion and stoops to elevate me.
· Hypocrisy has
no place in God’s Kingdom.
