Remember to RSVP and Wear the Right Attire!


Image result for the parable of the wedding feast"

 The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 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 So 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, the bad as well as the good, 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 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ 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.”

 Today's parable is about a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son.  The list of invites were made and the invitations were sent out.  The wedding banquet was all prepared for his son, but there was only one problem.  No one came, much to the king's chagrin.  So the king sent his servants on a mission to bring those invited to the wedding.  He even motivated them by a hearty menu of beef, and lots of it.  Not only did those invited refuse to come, they even beat the king's servants.  The king was furious and his retribution swift and final. 

 Undeterred by the rejection of the original invitees, the king told his servants to go out and bring as many in as they could find.  He wanted the banquet hall full regardless of the types of characters who might wander in.  The good and the bad filled the hall in anticipation of a great feast.  But there was one man not wearing any wedding clothes.  Now comes the challenging part.  We don't know what the wedding clothes were or why there was an expectation that he should be wearing them.  Regardless of his intentions, the king was once again furious.  So furious in fact that he threw him out into the darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.  The idea is one of deep regret for missing out on something that was so readily available but you denied. 

 So what does it mean that the man forgot to or intentionally did not wear wedding clothes? Commentators think that guests were given wedding attire as part of their invitation as was the custom in Jewish culture. So for the man not to wear wedding clothes was a blatant "diss" to the king.  There was obviously something serious he did wrong.   Even more challenging is the last line of the parable, "Many are invited but few are chosen."  Would this mean that even though the man was invited he was not chosen?  And did this have something to do with his not having the right wedding clothes on?

 I wish I had all the answers to these questions but we can come up with a few conclusions/hypotheses:

 1. God wants his wedding banquet (heaven) full.
2. Though God originally sent invitations to his people (the Jews) they rejected His Son.
3. God sent his servants (the apostles) to invite all people (Gentiles) to the wedding banquet.
4. The wedding clothes represent the robes of righteousness (grace)we receive through Christ by faith. 
5.  To reject the gift of grace (the free wedding garment) is to reject the invitation to the banquet, which in essence of rejecting the son.

 Ok these answers are probably not perfect but I think it gets us closer to what Jesus was teaching.  The main thing is God has invited all people to come to Him through His Son. God wants all people to be at the wedding banquet in heaven.  Though he desires all people to be saved, some reject his free gift and will end up in darkness forever wishing they would have responded to the great inviation to the great banquet! Have you accepted the invitation?  Are you coming wearing the right clothes?  Assuming there are still some spots are you inviting your friends to come with you?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why are you persecuting me!"  Paul thought he was serving the Lord, but he was persecuting him b
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in
Read more