Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen

Yeah, so this morning we are back in our series of Matthew chapter 22.

Matthew 22 · chapter mention

! We are in verses 1-14 this morning.

And I just want to say it is a joy to be able to do this.

To get up here.

To bring the word of God to you guys.

To worship with you.

To worship our Lord together.

To look out and to see relationships that I've built.

To hear my son scream.

I will be hearing much of that.

It is a joy and a privilege to bring the word of God to you guys today.

So we are in the last of a set of three parables.

A set of three parables that we've been going over in Matthew so far.

While Jesus enters the temple and is giving these three sets of parables.

We are seeing that they are directed against religious leaders of Israel.

And if you remember all the way back to the parable of two sons in chapter 21 verse 28.

One of the main points drawn from that parable was Jesus exposing hypocrisy of their love for God.

They pretended like they loved God.

But they didn't live like it.

And Jesus explicitly in that parable condemned them for their lack of response to John the Baptist ministry.

What was the central message of John the Baptist ministry?

If you recall the beginning of Matthew.

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And basically Jesus said, well, you Israel, the leaders of Israel, you acted like you had honor and time for John.

But you didn't listen to his message.

You are hypocritical.

You didn't repent.

And then in the parable of the landowner, Jesus explicitly deals with the religious leaders of Israel's rejection of Jesus' own ministry.

And now that brings us back.

That brings us to our passage today.

So I would invite you this morning, if you would stand with me, in honor of reading of God's word.

Matthew chapter 22, verses 1 through 14.

Matthew 22:1–14

Oh, I forgot.

Does anybody in here not have a Bible?

Would you like to have a Bible?

Raise your hand, please.

We would be glad to get you a Bible.

Okay.

Matthew 22, verses 1 through 14 says,

Matthew 22:1–14

And again, Jesus spoke to them in the parable saying,

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son

and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast,

but they would not come.

And again, he sent out 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.

But they paid no attention and went off,

one to his farm, another to his business,

while the rest seized his servants,

treated them shamefully, and killed them.

The king was angry,

and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers

and burned their city.

Then he said to his servants,

The wedding feast is ready,

but those invited were not worthy.

Go, therefore, to the main roads

and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.

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.

But when the king came in to look at the guest,

he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.

And he said to him,

Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?

And he was speechless.

Then the king said to the attendants,

Bind him hand and foot

and cast him into outer darkness.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For many are called,

but few are chosen.

May God add a blessing to the reading of his word.

Please, guys, be seated.

And I will then ask now for God's help.

God, we come before you, Father,

and we ask, O Lord,

that you would open the eyes of our hearts and minds

to once again this morning

to see your glory,

to see your love,

to see your patience

and your kindness towards us.

And Father, that we would also, Father,

be reminded of the sobering reality

of the judgment to come, Lord,

for those who reject your message.

O Lord, draw us near.

Build us up.

Encourage us and draw us closer to your son, Jesus,

in whom all things are for.

We pray.

Amen.

This parable of the wedding feast

actually breaks up into three parts

quite nicely for our time this morning.

First, we see that the king sends out

a royal call to those invited.

And those invited reject the invitation

in verses 1 through 5.

Secondly, we see the king sends out

an invitation to all people

in verses 7 through 10.

Lastly, for the final section of the parable,

we'll see that the king's just response

when a man in his own neglect

shows up without the right attire

in verses 11 through 14.

So it's a pretty straightforward passage

of what we have.

Not a super complicated text

before us this morning.

But don't pass over this parable quickly.

Don't pass over any word of God too quickly.

This text should be a startling

and shocking, sobering text.

And at the same time,

it should be a joyous text for us.

Jesus is bringing the shock factor

to help his audience see the reality

of what happens when we reject

his gospel offer.

God has spread his feast for us

in his gospel through his son.

It has cost the very life of his own son.

And he most graciously invites all to come.

He makes it clear here

that there are only two options.

Feast or judgment.

So if we want to feast,

we must go, repent, believe, obey.

When we reject the call to the gospel,

it's rebellion against God Almighty.

And we deserve judgment.

So what I want to invite you

to come away with today

is that our need is to come

and receive the righteous robe of Christ

so that you can feast in the goodness

and the good of his gospel.

So that brings us to point number one this morning.

Look with me then at verses one through four.

And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables

saying the kingdom of heaven

may be compared to a king

who gave a wedding feast for a son

and sent his servants to call those

who were invited to the wedding feast,

but they would not come.

The king has prepared a wedding feast,

but this is no ordinary wedding feast.

Not an ordinary wedding feast

in what we might even think of today

in our time, in our culture.

Wedding feasts often in Jewish culture

lasted up to one week.

And this also on top of that

is a royal feast

celebrating the wedding of God's son,

the king's son,

the crown prince,

the heir to the throne.

This wedding feast

is what all of history

has been making its way towards,

the telos of all things.

And this, my friends,

is the feast

to end all feasts.

As you know,

a wedding feast is not a feast,

is not a celebration without guests either,

without those you have chosen to invite,

those you hold dear,

those who you love.

The king wanted this select group of people

to be present,

to be there.

So he sends his servants

to call this select group,

Israel,

God's chosen people,

and he says,

hey friends,

it's time.

It's time.

And they should know this,

and they should be ready.

It's time.

It has come.

The time has come

to celebrate my son.

But this invitation

is not your simple little RSVP

or like apps that we have now

that send out a text

and a reminder

to sign up with fun little emojis on them.

This invitation though,

it's a call.

It is a call

and a summons from the king.

So when a king sends out his messengers

!

And he calls you to come

to his kingdom,

to his palace,

into his presence,

you come.

In the epic trilogy,

Lord of the Rings,

there was a king.

Why are you guys laughing?

It is an epic trilogy.

Go check it out.

Seriously.

There was a king,

King Islador.

King Islador forged an oath

between his kingdom

and the men of the White Mountains

to fight within one another

when called upon.

And a time came though

when King Islador

summoned these men

to fight with him

against the rising dark power of Sauron.

But these men of the White Mountains

refused his summons.

So King Islador,

in his anger,

in his fury of them,

in their rebellion

against his summons,

cursed the men

as they fled into the mountains,

cursed as the sleepless dead indefinitely.

So when a king calls,

you come.

Yet,

in stark contrast

to any earthly

or storybook king,

what we have here today

in our text,

what we see in the scriptures,

the eternal king

of the cosmos

is not a king

who is quick

to curse us

for all eternity,

who is harsh.

Rather,

here today,

we see God's patient

and extravagant love.

My friends,

the Lord our God

is patient

and slow to anger,

abounding

in steadfast love.

How does he respond

when they do not come?

He sends out more servants.

This time,

he tells them

what's on the menu.

He tells them

what's on the menu,

trying to coax them

even more

to give them

another chance.

See,

I have prepared

my dinner,

my oxen,

my fat calves

have been slaughtered

and everything

is ready.

Come

to my wedding feast.

It's kind of like

when our church

announces

there's going

to be a potluck.

You know,

the spread

is going

to be good.

Boy,

it's good.

You look

at the spreadsheet

online

and you see

the menu

and you know

it's going

to be a feast

and you don't

want to miss out.

You don't want

to miss out

on our potlucks

here.

So just like that,

you are being

coaxed into our meetings.

It's another way

that we bring

you guys

into our meetings.

So God here

is giving us

the full spread.

He's revealing

and giving us

every chance.

Our God

is such

a kind

and loving God

that in

his forbearance

of our sin,

our rebellion,

he chooses

to share with us

the menu

of his glorious feast.

A feast

of all feasts

where he provides

everything for us.

All you have to do

is show up.

Leave your

Oreos at home.

Those aren't

needed at this feast

as grateful we are

for you guys

to bring the Oreos.

Just show up

and he will

give you

all things.

As 18th century

theologian

and pastor

Jonathan Edwards

so wonderfully

helps us

understand

even further

the significance

of this feast

here.

The creation

of the world

seems to have been

especially for this

end

that the eternal

son of God

might obtain

a spouse

toward whom

he might fully

exercise the

infinite benevolence

of his nature

and to whom

he might

as it were

open and pour

forth all

the immense

fountain of

condescension

love and grace

that was in

his heart

and that in

this way

God

might be

glorified.

sounds good

right?

Sounds great

but shockingly

none of those

whom the king

calls

shows up.

In fact

we see here

some even

respond

with anger

and hatred

in their hearts

terrorizing

and killing

his messengers

but they

paid no

attention

and went

off

one to

his farm

another to

his business

while the

rest seized

his servants

treated them

shamefully

and killed

them.

Jesus

here is now

starting to

point out

to the people

of Israel

their indifference

to God

their hypocritical

hearts

and their

unworthiness

their utter

unworthiness

to come

to be

a part of

the king's

invitation

but they

paid no

attention

going right

back to

their own

ways

what was

more important

to them

focusing on

work

going back

to their

homes

working on

their homes

their

businesses

revealing

the idols

of their

hearts

God's

chosen

people

are expected

to share

in this

feast

yet

in their

hardness

of hearts

they are

missing

it

they are

completely

missing

it

they are

turning

away

from it

they are

ignoring

it

they don't

believe

it

think back

to the

Old Testament

scriptures

and see

God's

great

patience

and loving

kindness

has already

done so

much for

his people

he is

sending

prophet

after prophet

to remind

them

he said

even since

John the

Baptist

prepared a

way for

Jesus

to remind

them

to call

them back

to himself

pointing to

the coming

of the

promised

Messiah

to free

them

from their

bondage

of sin

and shame

I'm

more

reminded

here

of

faithful

witness

of

people

that can

get

distracted

and caught

up

and live

in the

church

and live

their

lives

hearing

the gospel

over

and over

and over

again

being

surrounded

by Christians

being surrounded

by the

church

reminds me

of a

story

of

one of

my

friends

who

worked

in a

factory

for

years

he was

sharing

the gospel

with a

guy

in the

factory

and he

would

come in

and share

and the

guy would

hear it

for years

upon

years

my

friend

would

continue

to be

faithful

and

sharing

the

gospel

and he

would

share

even

just

how

the

Lord

spoke

to him

in his

devotions

that

morning

man

I

was

reading

in

Job

this

morning

and

this

really

affected

me

man

God

is

incredible

and it

was

actually

in that

moment

of him

sharing

about

how God

spoke to

him

to

the

passages

of

Job

that

this

guy

realized

his

need

for

Jesus

and saw

the glory

of Jesus

and repented

and came

to faith

God

it

was

in that

persistence

of him

sharing

the gospel

to someone

who had

just been

so hardened

to the gospel

who had

been

assumed

the gospel

so here

!

here

we see

we've

seen

this

multiple

times

and

most

recently

we

see

just

before

this

one

there's

a

warning

there's

a

warning

here

that

God's

patience

it

does

have

an

end

date

for

us

as

Ed

pointed

out

to us

a couple

weeks

ago

God's

patience

has

an

end

date

for

those

who

continually

reject

God's

invitation

to come

the

king

was

angry

and

he

sent

his

troops

and

destroyed

those

murders

and

burned

their

city

then

he

said

to

his

servants

the

wedding

feast

is

ready

but

those

invited

were

not

worthy

and

you

may

be

wondering

to

yourself

this

seems

pretty

severe

my

friends

make

no

mistake

there

is

no

one

innocent

!

before

God

there

are

no

victims

here

the

first

three

chapters

of

Romans

makes

that

clear

to

us

it

is

in

the

very

unrighteousness

that

one

suppresses

the

truth

we

have

been

revealed

everything

has

been

made

known

about

God

but

in

our

very

unrighteousness

we

suppress

the

truth

of

God

so

here

we

see

indifference

to

his

gospel

is

rejection

of

his

gospel

there

is

no

middle

ground

when

Brittany

and I

lived

in the

Middle

East

we

lived

in a

country

ruled

by a

very

prestigious

royal

monarchy

while

speaking

to

native

citizen

out

on

a

college

campus

one

day

he's

a

Muslim

guy

I

was

sharing

the

gospel

with him

talking

to him

about

all

things

gospel

debating

whatever

and I

asked

him

at

one

point

what

would

happen

if

you

or

I

were

to

be

invited

to

the

king's

palace

here

but yet

we

would

only

reject

his

invitation

but not

just

reject

him

but we

would

spit

in

his

face

and we

would

mock

him

and

jeer

at

him

you

know

what

his

response

was

he

responded

that

that

person

should

be

imprisoned

at

least

but I

think

he

should

be

killed

and I

looked

at my

friend

and I

said

so if

we

spit

in the

face

of

God

the

king

of

the

cosmos

by

rejecting

his

invitation

for

salvation

through

Jesus

what

do

we

deserve

he

was

silent

he

didn't

have

a

response

this

should

be

a

sobering

reality

that

judgment

is

coming

for

all

who

reject

the

invitation

and

it

should

bring

a

sense

of

urgency

even

in

our

witness

as

we

go

out

from

this

place

to

those

around

us

and

we

need

to

be

reminded

the

sobering

reality

of

who

we

have

as

a

God

we

have

a

glorious

God

who

deserves

all

praise

and

honor

and

glory

he

is

the

eternal

king

of

the

cosmos

he

is

our

creator

and

he

is

completely

just

and

righteous

in

his

judgment

to

condemn

and

to

destroy

all

those

who

in

their

sinfulness

reject

his

invitation

continually

this

is

a

stark

warning

here

Jesus

is

putting

before

the

people

of

Israel

those

who

reject

who

have

rejected

and

are

rejecting

this

invitation

will

justly

face

the

judgment

and

full

wrath

of

God

he

makes

it

clear

that

God

has

not

held

back

no

he

has

not

held

back

anything

rather

he

has

provided

everything

and

his

loving

kindness

and

patience

has

done

everything

for

them

to

come

this

leads

us

now

to

our

next

point

the

king's

invitation

to

all

people

in

verses

8

through

10

then

he

said

to

his

servants

the

wedding

feast

is

ready

but

those

invited

were

not

worthy

go

therefore

to

the

main

roads

and

invite

the

wedding

feast

as

many

as

you

find

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

now

here

we see

the king

is sending

out his

servants

then

now

for a

third

time

but

this

is

not

just

to

a

select

group

of

people

this

time

it's

to

all

people

so

that

the

wedding

hall

is

filled

with

guests

it's

ready

the

first

group

was

not

worthy

in

what

is

a

wedding

feast

again

without

guests

so

now

Jesus

makes

it

clear

that

the

message

of

the

kingdom

of

God

is

not

only

here

for

ethnic

Israel

but

it

is

also

for

the

Gentiles

it

is

for

all

people

throughout

Matthew's

gospel

we

have

seen

glimpses

to

the

reality

that

the

gospel

invitation

is

to

the

Jew

first

but

it

is

also

to

the

Greek

if you

can

remember

reaching

far back

into our

series

this part

of the

parable

is yet

just an

echo

of what

Jesus

said

in

response

to the

faith

of the

Roman

centurion

the

Greek

Matthew

Matthew 8:10–12

chapter

8

verses

10

through

12

says

when

Jesus

heard

this

the

faith

of

the

centurion

he

marveled

and said

to those

who

followed

him

truly

I

tell

you

with

no

one

in

Israel

have

I

found

such

faith

I

tell

you

many

will

come

from

east

and

west

and

recline

at

the

table

with

Abraham

Isaac

and

Jacob

in

the

kingdom

of

heaven

while

the

sons

of

the

kingdom

will

be

thrown

into

outer

darkness

and

in

that

place

there

will

be

weeping

and

gnashing

of

teeth

Jesus

is

showing

Israel

in

its

leaders

that

this

gospel

in

tation

this

glorious

feast

of the

gospel

is

not

just

for

a

slight

group

of

ethnic

people

it's

not

just

for

a

certain

class

of

people

but

the

promise

was

for

all

it's

for

all

people

everywhere

it's

not

just

sorry

it's

you

might

even

recognize

the

same

language

from

the

end

of

Matthew

and

the

great

commission

here

go

therefore

the

king's

servants

go

therefore

out to

the main

roads

and gathered

all they

could find

the good

and the

bad

and guess

what happens

the wedding

hall is

filled

it's

filled

with

guests

who

despite

their

lack

of

any

advantage

that

Israel

had

were

willing

to

come

to

the

feast

church

what a

glorious

God

we

have

that

he

is

passionately

committed

to the

fame

of

his

own

name

that

he

is

passionately

committed

to

his

love

of

his

son

that

he

will

not

stop

he

will

not

stop

until

the

wedding

hall

is

filled

with

guests

from

all

nations

for

the

glory

and

the

praise

of

his

name

as

pastor

theologian

John

Piper

has

famously

said

worship

is the

goal

and

fuel

of

missions

exist

because

worship

doesn't

not

to be

confused

John

Piper

actually

on this

quote

has said

he's been

confused

multiple

times

to think

that

worship

just

means

worship

nights

singing

songs

and stuff

like that

so not

to be

accused

here

with

that

type

of

worship

but

the

worship

of

our

whole

being

of

people

coming

and

laying

down

their

lives

before

God

this

is

the

church's

primary

mission

motivation

the glory

of God

to bring

God

all

the glory

and honor

and praise

yes

people

will face

God's wrath

and eternal

judgment

without the

gospel

and yes

that should

grieve us

that is a

good thing

that aligns

with God's

heart

not wishing

that anyone

should perish

but that all

should reach

repentance

but missions

exist

so that

God

is at

the

center

that he

is made

famous

that he

is honored

that he

is delighted

in

often

we can

be easily

tempted

to a

more

man

centric

in our

mission

sometimes

doing it

without even

knowing it

we can

easily

focus

more

on the

suffering

of man

with even

simple

phrases like

millions

of people

are dying

daily

and going

to hell

so we

must

go

now

that can

come

from a

good

desire

but it

can

create

an

unhelpful

and

misguided

urgency

and it

may not

seem

concerning

at first

but when

alleviating

the suffering

of man

is not

kept

underneath

and tethered

to God's

glory

rather it

begins to

fill our

mission

the flight

of man

begins to

fill our

mission

in prayers

in the

beginning

you may

only

recognize

that you

are a

degree

off

but rather

as you

continue

unchecked

this degree

becomes

greatly

wired

and you

are several

degrees

off

God

is in

this

for the

glory

of his

name

and the

love

of his

people

there's

not a

false

dichotomy

here

so the

urgency

for our

mission

is real

guys

and we

must

go

but what's

comforting

here is

that we

do not

have to

worry

friends

we do

not worry

in our

evangelism

because

God

and his

eternal

glorious

love

for his

son

is

utterly

and

passionately

committed

to filling

the wedding

hall for

Jesus

so we

church

we can

go out

from this

place

with great

joy

those

enjoying

the feast

of the

gospel

and we

can have

great hope

calling all

peoples

rich

poor

black

white

asian

good

bad

to come

and enjoy

this glorious

feast in the

gospel

knowing that

God is

faithful

to fulfill

his promises

to fill

the wedding

hall

not because

we have it

together

not because

we are