Matthew 22:1-14

Matthew 22, 1-14. When Chris did the reading, if you're familiar with the Bible, you might have thought déjà vu. You might have said to yourself, I've read something very like that somewhere else before.

And you'd be quite right, wouldn't you? Because if you're precisely in Luke's Gospel, in chapter 14, there's another parable, or story, and Jesus sounds almost identical.

But it's quite different, and quite distinct.

A story about a man who was holding a feast, and he sent out invitations, which was normal for a feast.

And then people were pressed to come. And the emphasis of that parable, if you remember it, is that people made excuses.

Got a field, got lots, and all sorts of things. I'm getting married. I can't come.

The emphasis of this parable, though, is there's a king who has made a feast.

And this feast is a wedding feast, and the person who's getting married is his son.

And the emphasis, as we're going to look at it, is not so much on the excuses that are made,

as upon the refusal of those who were invited.

They refused even after repeated invitations.

And we'll see how the way that they refused elicited the anger of the king.

And the account of Matthew has a sting in the tale, it adds a little bit,

a particularly sharp reminder that the invitation the king gave is to be accepted on the king's terms.

And so the story is a different one from Luke 14.

Here in Matthew 22, the circumstances of this story are different.

Jesus has been engaged, has he, with controversy with the religious leaders.

It's the start of the week, when he will be killed on the Friday.

And they're moving to the point where they're trying to ensnare him, and arrest him, and destroy him.

And they hope to silence him forever.

They're challenging him on his authority.

Who do you think you are?

He teaches and performs miracles.

And it's within that context that Jesus tells this remarkable story.

There are four scenes in the story.

In verses 1 to 6, there is the invitation.

The rejection of an invitation.

In verse 7, there is the indignation of the king.

The king is enraged and sent in his army.

And then thirdly, you see, the third scene is, this invitation is redirected

to an altogether different company of people.

And then the final scene is the exclusion of an intruder.

For those who are listening when Jesus preached, it wouldn't have been difficult

for those who immediately grasp who and what he was speaking about.

All of these parables focus on them.

He is addressing the Jewish leaders.

He's addressing the people who are already plotting his death.

And he's at the same time explaining to them his ministry.

And it doesn't take much imagination or much knowledge

to see that Jesus is speaking about that.

When the king gives his invitation.

When he's preparing the marriage of his son.

And the invitation is pressed upon the king's subjects.

And they refuse.

And the king is angry.

It's very easy for you and I to see exactly who Jesus is speaking about.

And as we go through, you'll see that this is not only speaking to those original hearers.

But the sting in the tale is we find ourselves in this story this morning.

So first of all, the rejection of an invitation.

The rejection of an invitation.

You need to realize that there's a preliminary scene which we all get here.

Jesus doesn't even speak about it because it was taken for granted

that when anyone was sending out invitations in this particular time in history.

There was of course no postal service.

No email.

No church suite.

No Facebook.

No Insta.

But they did have couriers.

And the king had couriers who were his servants.

And he dispatched through the kingdom

with the initial invitation that we don't see here

that his son was getting married.

The invitations are not like the wedding invitations we receive.

Saying there's going to be a wedding on such a time

and such a date in such a place.

There was a kind of casual and laid back attitude towards times and dates.

And what would happen is that the messenger would initially have gone and said

that the king's son is getting married.

You're welcome to come.

But then he would have sent another messenger.

He would have gone and said the people concerned.

And he would have said everything is ready.

When that initial invitation came

nobody thought of saying where and when and what time.

Because the invitation would be repeated.

And that's why you get the king saying

the food is ready.

Everything is now ready.

Come.

So the invitation that we read up in verse 1

and verse 2

is actually the second invitation.

It was the pressing personally

of an invitation which had been delivered earlier.

And the couriers went back out

when the wedding plans had come to a climax.

And they say everything is ready.

They would have allowed just the right amount of time

for people to come

to make their way to the king's banquet in Paul.

And they went out and they pressed this invitation

on those people.

And what happened was totally unpredictable.

The altogether unbelievable happened.

To be invited to any wedding

we know, don't we, is a privilege.

But to be invited to the royal wedding

that's a great privilege.

To be invited to the wedding of the king's son

just imagine you've got an invitation

to a royal wedding.

An invitation sent out

from the greatest person

that they could have imagined

for the greatest occasion

that they could ever have imagined.

they were, weren't they,

the most privileged of people.

And so it's an extraordinary thing

to receive this information

and the amazing thing is

they turned it down.

All of them.

You'd have almost thought

that there was a pact.

They refused the invitation.

And the most remarkable thing

of all is that

the king then sent his servants back.

And said there must be

some kind of mistake.

The servants went back again

and they paid no attention.

What makes their refusal

even more extraordinary

is the number of times

they were asked.

It's the third time.

The third time

they'd be invited to the wedding.

The trouble that the king

has gotten to

the nature of the feast

is a glorious

and lavish affair.

And the nature of their reply

well it's extraordinary.

Look at verse 5.

But they paid no attention

and went off.

They just ignored him.

One went off his field

another went off his business.

They were indifferent

about the king's invitation.

They were apathetic.

They couldn't care less.

And they were really saying

to him

they were saying to him

in our lives

and in our plans

you and your plans

have no place.

Do you see the application there?

In our lives

and in our plans

you

and your plans

have no place.

And so they went on

in their daily business.

But not all of them.

I'm looking very sick.

Some of them

get angry.

Some of them

react violently.

And they didn't respond

with apathy

and care less

but with antipathy

with anger

and rebellion

and hostility

and enmity

towards the king.

And some of his

servants

mistreated them

and killed them.

So for some reason

we're not told

in the parable

the overtures

of the king

and the summons

they received

to enter into his plans

and receive the riches

of what he was giving them

infuriates them.

You ask yourself

as you read it

what unburden

would stop you

gladly accepting

and coming

but instead

it actually

enraged them.

it produced

a venom

and a hatred

in them

that ultimately

led to murder

because they murdered

his servants

and abused others.

And it wouldn't be

taking much thought

for this

or much imagination

for the Pharisees

in some corner

of their minds

to recognise

that Jesus

is describing them

precisely

and describing

their ancestors

because what were

they planning to do

what were they plotting

to do

they were planning

to kill him.

The glorious

good news

good news

of restoration

and joy

and forgiveness

and God's kingdom

coming

it had produced

in these people

what?

Envity

and anger

and rebelliousness

and hatred.

And so by the end

of the week

they had been crucified.

And down through

the years

the ancestors

of these people

had stoned

and killed

the prophets.

They had reacted

against God's servants

with violence

and rage.

And you say

what a generation

are they in?

How primitive

these people were.

How uncultured.

How uncultivated.

But you know

it's not just true

is it to say

that a reaction

to the Lord Jesus

and the gospel

and the riches

of God

that's offered

in Jesus Christ

when that's offered

to people

it's not true

just to say

that the reaction

is apathy today

in our world.

There is

isn't there

really infuriatingly

enormous amounts

of apathy

in our culture.

Materialism

that preoccupation

with the business

of our daily life

has blinded people

for real values.

That certainly happened.

Sultan Eatsen

spoke about

the western world

that it was like

a shop window

where all the price tags

have been changed

and so the cheap things

are the most expensive

and the really

valuable things

are priced cheaply.

And the estimates

that our culture

puts on

all manner of things

is crazily upside down.

And so people

value things

which are worth

nothing

and that which is

worth most important

is not valid

at all.

There's an enormous

amount of apathy

from the dead

and the blind

and we must never

be surprised

when we find that.

We find ourselves

dealing with it

but there's something

else isn't there?

When people

hear about the Lord

Jesus

and they understand

his claim

on their life

we see particularly

in dead religion.

When the invitation

comes to the Lord

Jesus Christ

and from the Lord

Jesus Christ

and people

understand

what the message

of Jesus

is all about

that it is about

you and I

being naturally

spiritually dead

and we need

new life

and we are under

the wrath of God

unless we accept

his son.

What is that?

There is often

anger

and there is

often

incense

outrage

how dare

you believe

that?

We find

don't we

that when

somebody is

confronted

with the

authentic

gospel

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

with that

sobering

reality

of his

kingly

right

of the

living

God

over every

single one

of us

it's amazing

isn't it

how apathy

gives way

to anger

don't you find

that?

So it's not

surprising

we're taking

to the

second scene

which is in

verse 7

and that is

the indignation

of the

king

the indignation

of the

king

now the

reason the

king responded

and he did

the king is

enraged

he sent his

army and

destroyed those

murderers and

burnt their

city

was that they

mistreated his

servants of

course

but the reason

the king reacted

in the way that

he did was not

simply because

they were

ungrateful

and impolite

and they were

rude

but it was

simply because

they were his

mutinous

subjects

you see

these people

whom the

invitation went

out to

could not

simply say

I've got

nothing to do

with him

I don't

know him

his invitation

is irrelevant

to me

I've got no

relationship with

him and I

don't want it

and he's got

no relationship

with me

and the

longer that

continues

the better

I've got no

interest in

God

I don't

do God

he's got

nothing to

do with

me and I

want nothing

to do with

him

if he does

exist

I'm a free

man or a

free woman

or a free

boy and a

free girl

and I will

do whatever

I want

and I don't

want him

interfering

the simple

truth is

that that

position is

just a

figment of

our

imagination

because this

morning

whether you like

it or not

you do have

a relationship

with him

whether you

want it or

whether you

don't

you have a

relationship

with God

because he

is your

rightful

king

in the

coronation

of

Queen Elizabeth

the second

they came

and they

presented her

to the

lords and

the commons

in Westminster

and they

said I

present you

I present

to you

Elizabeth

our undoubted

queen

and the

lords rose

and the

commons

rose

and they

said God

save the

queen

and what I

am saying to

this morning

what every

faithful preacher

of the gospel

should be saying

to you

is in the

name of

God

I present

to you

your undoubted

king

whose name

is Jesus

Christ

the king

of kings

and lord

of lords

and you

are his

subject

whether you

want to be

or not

is irrelevant

God has

made him

king of kings

and lord

of lords

and you

are his

subject

this morning

and because

these are

his subjects

and the

king sent

out his

army

and after

repeated

impetitions

and repeated

rebellion

and repeated

refusal

his patience

came to

an end

but you

say to me

God

will never

do that

let me read

to you a

verse from

Genesis 6

in Genesis 6

the story

of Noah

when God's

patience ran

out in the

days of Noah

and God

said my

spirit

shall not

strive

always with

man

and God

sent

judgment

and that's

exactly what

Jesus is

telling us

here

there will

be a day

when the

patience of

God runs

out

the king's

lavish

hospitality

they would

never

experience

but his

wrath and

his judgment

they did

the third

scene

the rejection

of an

invitation

the indignation

of the

king

and thirdly

wonderfully

the redirection

of the

invitation

look at

verses 8

to 10

notice the

point of

this

the wedding

banquet is

now ready

but those

who are

invited

do not

deserve to

come

they refuse

to come

so the

king says

you go to

the street

corners

and you

invite to

the banquet

and you

find anyone

you can

and they

come back

to him

and they

say we've

done that

but there's

still room

and they

gathered

together all

the people

they could

find and

the wedding

hall was

filled with

guests

the whole

point is

that the

king's

plans were

changed

you know

when they

rebelled

against him

and when

they turned

against him

these people

and when

they murdered

his servant

they thought

that's the

end of it

it's all

over and

done with

but the

king's

plans

have not

changed

he was

going ahead

with his

purpose

he was

going to

have a

wedding

banquet

for his

son

and what

changed

was those

who were

invited

and I

want to

say to

you this

morning

that in

seeking to

set yourself

against the

sovereign

purpose

of the

holy God

that is

described

here

by his

son the

Lord Jesus

by setting

yourself

against him

that will

not change

God's

plans

but it

will

lead to

you breaking

yourself

against his

sovereign

will

that's what

it leads

to

exactly what

happened

the original

invitation

went out

and it

was rejected

and then

the king

turned to

all manner

of people

and the

invitation

was sent

to the

good and

the bad

and the

ugly

and it

was sent

to the

outsiders

and again

do you see

how the

parallels

be applied

the king

the king

was

God

and the

invited

guests

initially

they are

his people

Israel

whom he

has called

out of

Egypt

he says

out of

Egypt

I have

called

my son

that's

what he

said

the

wedding

feast

might

well be

a reference

to our

messianic

banquet

which

Jewish

tradition

spoke of

the

servants

the

servants

would

have

been

his

prophets

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Hosea

who came

and came

again to

Israel

offering the

invitation

and John

the Baptist

and now

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

but they

rejected

and they

stoned

and they

killed the

messengers

and they

were about

to crucify

Jesus

Christ

but now

the new

guests

are invited

and they

are

outsiders

you know

who they

were

the people

like you

the people

like me

they were

Gentiles

Jesus

himself

at the end

of this

gospel

repeats

that

invitation

doesn't

he

what we

call

the

great

commission

but the

gospel

the message

of the

kingdom

is to

go out

into

all the

world

and we

are to

make

disciples

of all

nations

which

includes

Gentiles

that's

why the

apostle Paul

went out

and said

he was

sent

by God

to the

Gentiles

to the

world

the

apostle Paul

is like

the invitation

of going

out

a second

time

to Jerusalem

to Judea

and Samaria

and all

the ends

of the

earth

he's

inact

and he

embraces

all who

will hear

and come

and of

course

that's

always been

God's

plan

it was

prophesied

and predicted

through the

Old Testament

you think

of Isaiah

those who

are not

my people

will be

called

my people

and that's

what Jesus

is speaking

about here

he's

speaking

about us

and so

the application

of the

parable

is really

obvious

to us

so far

but there's

a fourth

scene

it's a

thing in the

tale

it's the

exclusion

of an

intruder

not an

outsider

don't think

that

for they're

all outsiders

aren't they

they all

come in

at the

second

invitation

it's not

a gate

crasher

like we

would call

them

they'd all

been invited

but he stood

out amongst

the guests

as an

intruder

he stood

out as

the only

man who

was not

wearing the

proper

dress

notice

I'm the

king

in verse

11

he comes

in and he

looks at the

guests

and he

saw that

there was

a man

who had

no wedding

garment

no wedding

clothes

now since

all the

others

had wedding

clothes

and they'd

been rounded

up from the

streets

remember

and everywhere

they could be

found

it is quite

impossible

this man

was not

wearing the

proper wedding

outfit

it's quite

impossible that

he wasn't

wearing the

proper wedding

outfit because

he couldn't

afford it

that's what

some people

think

the

commentators

quite

extraordinarily

stupidly

suggest that

but what

had happened

obviously was

that the

king had

provided the

proper wedding

dress

these people

that came in

from all over

the place

from the

highways and

the byways

they came in

from the

streets

they had no

money

they had

nothing

and the

king provides

for them

but here

is a man

who is

unwilling

to come

to the

wedding

on the

king's

terms

that's the

point

certainly not

that he

couldn't afford

it

he came

to the

of course

he wished

to receive

the invitation

he wanted

to participate

in this

lavish reception

the riches

of the king

that he was

laying on

for them

but he was

determined

to come

on his

own

terms

I'm not

going to

wear

what the

king

has given

me

that's

what he's

saying

and arrogantly

he comes

not as the

king chose

and not as the

king chose

into

he refused

the king's

provision

there's little

doubt really

that what

Jesus is

referring to

in the

parable

is what

Isaiah

talks about

Isaiah 61

Isaiah 61:10

verse 10

Isaiah 61

10

let me read

it to you

it speaks

about when he

says this

he says

I will rejoice

greatly in the

Lord

Isaiah

says

my soul

will

exalt him

in my

God

because he

has clothed

me

with the

garments of

salvation

he has

wrapped me

in a robe

of righteousness

he has

clothed me

in the

garments of

salvation

he has

wrapped me

in robes

of righteousness

and that

is Isaiah

Isaiah 61:10

61

verse 10

and so

this man

at the

wedding feast

and the

host of the

wedding feast

he would have

offered to him

garments of

salvation

he's provided

for him

the robe

of righteousness

they need

the garments

of salvation

they cannot

choose

how they

will appear

before the

king

they have

to take

what the

king has

given

and be

wrapped in

his righteousness

and clothed

with the

garments of

salvation

you see

it's not

just a matter

of receiving

and healing

and accepting

an invitation

from God

you can only

come to

God

on God's

terms

and being

clothed

not with

a marriage

of your

own

and a

righteousness

of your

own

but only

in the

righteousness

that he

offers to

you

now what

about your

response to

God's

invitation

this morning

what about

it

there's a

personal

element

isn't it

to Jesus

teaching

which is

inescapable

don't turn

away at

this point

and say

to yourself

well I

know exactly

where

he's going

he's going

to talk

about

he's going

to appeal

to those

who've

never

received

Christ

that they

might have

the right

attitude

I want us

to think

more

than that

how do

you respond

to the

word of

God

and the

invitations

of God

in Jesus

Christ

this morning

so what

about the

apathy

what about

the

preoccupation

with the

business

of daily

living

the

preoccupation

with the

business

of daily

living

that shuts

out the

living God

and eternal

matters

out of your

life and

consciousness

by and large

for large

chances of

the week

we talk

about

apathy

in the

world

but God

knows how

much we

should be

concerned

about apathy

in the

church

apathy

towards

God

amongst

his

people

and what

about anger

against God

hostility

to his

demands

refusal

to bow

before his

rightful

place

in our

life

refusal

of his

rights

we're

really into

our rights

aren't we

we're

obsessed

with our

rights

but what

about God's

rights

in your

life this

morning

you should

like

study

Matthew

22

what I've

noticed

is that

I am

far

nearer

than I

imagine

to the

people

that I

read about

in this

story

and what

about

entering

the

kingdom

by

profession

yeah I've

accepted

the invitation

and then

going on

to try to

be part of

the whole

scene in

my own

terms

you see

there is a

great deal

more for

us to

ask God

to write

into our

hearts

here

and we

need to

pray that

in his

mercy

he will

help us

not to

run away

from it

let's pray

Thank you.