An Invitation You Cannot Refuse Text: Matthew 22:1-14
Introduction: The Treason of Indifference
We live in an age of casual invitations. We get them by text, by email, and they come with an RSVP link that we can click or ignore with equal nonchalance. We have become masters of the polite refusal, the vague commitment, and the last minute cancellation. We treat invitations as suggestions, as options to be weighed against our other, more pressing engagements. But the parable before us today is not that kind of invitation. This is a royal summons, and to refuse it is not a matter of bad manners. It is an act of high treason.
Jesus is speaking in the final week of His life, in the temple courts, surrounded by His enemies. The chief priests and Pharisees have just challenged His authority, and He has responded with a series of parables that are like well aimed artillery shells, landing squarely in their midst. These are not gentle stories with a warm, fuzzy moral. These are sharp edged, confrontational declarations of judgment. This parable, the Parable of the Wedding Feast, is the third in that series, and it is perhaps the most severe. It is a story about a gracious king, a glorious feast, a beloved son, and a shocking, multifaceted rebellion.
This parable is an allegory of the history of redemption, from the call of Israel to the Great Commission and the final judgment. It forces us to ask ourselves two critical questions. First, how have we responded to the King's invitation? Have we, like the first group, treated it with contemptuous indifference, preferring our own farms and businesses to the King's table? Second, if we have accepted the invitation, on what basis have we come? Are we attempting to enter the feast on our own terms, clothed in our own righteousness, or have we gratefully put on the robes provided by the King Himself? This is a story of two rebellions: the rebellion of outright refusal, and the more subtle rebellion of self righteous presumption. Both are met with the unmitigated wrath of the King.
The Text
And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been called to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been called, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were called were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, call to the wedding feast.’ And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
(Matthew 22:1-14 LSB)
The Spurned Invitation (v. 1-7)
The parable opens with the most joyous occasion imaginable, a royal wedding.
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son." (Matthew 22:2 LSB)
The King is God the Father, and the Son is the Lord Jesus Christ. The wedding feast is the great celebration of the union between Christ and His bride, the Church. This is the goal of all of redemptive history. The central event in God's kingdom is not a funeral, but a feast. It is a picture of joy, fellowship, and extravagant provision. The Father is throwing a party to honor His Son, and the invitation is the gospel itself.
The first summons goes out to a specific group: "those who had been called." This is the nation of Israel, the covenant people who had been invited for centuries through the law and the prophets. The "slaves" sent out are the prophets of the Old Testament, culminating in John the Baptist. But the response is a shocking and blunt refusal: "they were unwilling to come." Notice, it was not that they were unable, but unwilling. This is a rebellion of the will. It is a direct and personal insult to the King and His Son.
But the King, in his remarkable patience, sends a second invitation. This time, he elaborates on the glories of the feast. He says, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast." This is the apostolic message. The work is finished. Christ has been sacrificed. The feast is prepared. All that is left is to come and enjoy it. The gospel is not a call to work, but a call to feast on the finished work of another.
The response to this second, more detailed, and more gracious invitation is even worse than the first. It splits into two categories of rebellion. The first is contemptuous indifference. "They paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business." Their sin was not some great, scandalous evil. It was the mundane idolatry of the ordinary. They preferred their own small kingdoms, their personal economies, to the Kingdom of God. They were not atheists; they were simply preoccupied. Their damnation was not caused by a dagger, but by a day planner. This is a sober warning to us all. The greatest rival to the kingdom of God is often not the kingdom of Satan, but the kingdom of self.
The second response is violent hostility. "And the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them." This is a direct reference to the persecution and martyrdom of the apostles and early Christians at the hands of the Jewish authorities. To reject the King's message is to attack the King's messengers. This escalates the situation from insult to open warfare. And the King responds accordingly. "But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire." This is a clear and terrifying prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. God used the pagan Roman legions as His "armies" to execute covenant judgment upon the nation that had rejected and crucified His Son. God's patience has a limit, and His wrath, when it comes, is fierce and just.
The Dragnet Invitation (v. 8-10)
The rebellion of the first guests does not thwart the King's plan. The feast will go on.
"Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were called were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, call to the wedding feast.’" (Matthew 22:8-9 LSB)
Their unworthiness was not some inherent quality, but was demonstrated by their refusal. They judged themselves unworthy. So the King's servants are sent out with a new commission. They are to go to the "main highways," the crossroads of the world, outside the privileged city. This is the Great Commission, the call of the Gentiles. The invitation is now thrown open to all.
And notice who is gathered. "And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests." The gospel is a dragnet. It does not go out only to the respectable, the moral, or the religiously inclined. It goes out to everyone, the good and the bad. This tells us two things. First, salvation is by grace alone, not by merit. No one is invited because they are "good." Second, it tells us that the visible church, the gathered assembly, will always be a mixed multitude. The hall is filled, but not everyone in the hall truly belongs to the feast.
The Necessary Garment (v. 11-14)
The scene shifts from the general invitation to the individual inspection. This is a picture of the final judgment.
"But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes..." (Matthew 22:11 LSB)
It is not enough to simply be in the building. It is not enough to have answered the external call. There is a required uniform, a dress code for the kingdom. This wedding garment, in the consistent testimony of Scripture, is the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is a gift, provided by the King himself, that must be received by faith. This man represents all those who attempt to enter God's presence on their own terms. He is the religious formalist, the churchgoer who trusts in his own morality, his own good deeds, his own baptism, or his own church membership. He has accepted the invitation, but he has refused the King's provision. He wants the party, but he wants to come in the filthy rags of his own righteousness.
The King's confrontation is personal and penetrating. "Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?" The use of "friend" makes the rebuke all the more severe. It highlights the man's presumption. He is an intruder. And the question leaves no room for evasion. The result is telling: "And the man was speechless." On the day of judgment, in the presence of the holy King, every excuse will die on our lips. All self justification will be silenced.
The judgment is swift and terrible. "Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is one of the Bible's most stark descriptions of hell. It is a place of restriction ("bind him"), of separation from all that is good and light ("outer darkness"), and of eternal, conscious torment ("weeping and gnashing of teeth"). This is the fate of all who presume to approach God on any basis other than the finished work of His Son.
Jesus concludes with the central lesson of the parable: "For many are called, but few are chosen." The "called" refers to the general, external gospel invitation that goes out to all, gathering both good and bad into the visible church. The "chosen" refers to the elect, those whom God has not only called externally, but has also worked in their hearts by His Spirit, causing them to be born again, to repent of their sin, and to trust in Christ alone, clothing themselves in His righteousness. The call is broad, but salvation is specific, and it is entirely the work of God.
Conclusion
This parable leaves us with no room for neutrality. The King has prepared a feast to honor His Son. The invitation has been sent to you. You cannot simply ignore it. To ignore it is to despise it. To prefer your farm, your job, your hobbies, or your family to this feast is to declare yourself an enemy of the King. That is the first rebellion, and it ends in fiery judgment.
But there is a second, more subtle rebellion. It is the rebellion of showing up in your own clothes. It is to think that you can make yourself acceptable to God through your own efforts. This too is an insult to the King, for it spurns the costly garment He has provided at the expense of His own Son's blood. This rebellion also ends in the outer darkness.
The only proper response is to hear the call, abandon your own pathetic attempts at self righteousness, and gratefully receive the wedding garment that is offered to you freely in the gospel. That garment is Christ Himself. Clothe yourself in Him by faith. Do not be found speechless on that final day. Acknowledge your unworthiness, receive His worthiness, and come to the feast. For all things are now ready.