The Rejected Invitation Matthew 22:1-14 Part II

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Last week, at the seven verses of Matthew 22, what we saw is the...
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In this parable that Jesus is telling, there's a king who has a son that is getting married, and the king is going to throw a big wedding feast.
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And he invites the whole country to attend this feast. As the servants go out, what they find is that most of the people don't want to go.
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The first group that servants talk to are indifferent. They can make it to the wedding, but they don't really want to be there.
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But the second group is even worse. These are the ones who are hostile to the invitation.
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This grand wedding feast has been prepared, and they don't want to attend.
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They despise the king, so they treat his servants, the messengers, poorly. And they even kill some of the messengers.
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In this parable that Jesus is telling, God the Father is the king over the land, and he is throwing a feast for his son
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Jesus. And the servants are all Christians down through history. And even us, who are given the responsibility to proclaim the message of the gospel of the kingdom.
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As the invitation goes out, the response to the message is often indifference or even hostility.
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Now this morning, as we continue this two -Sunday sermon, we are going to see the remainder of the parable in verses 8 through 14.
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Once again, the big idea is this. You are to understand that the invitation to the king's future feast most often falls on deaf ears.
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The invitation to the king's future feast most often falls on deaf ears. And as I already mentioned, last week we saw the first way how.
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That way how is through showing indifference or hostility to God's glorious future.
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Now before we begin, let's begin by reading verses 8 through 14. And then we'll jump into the text.
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Matthew 22, verses 8 through 14. Then he said to his servants, the wedding feast is ready.
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But those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.
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And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good.
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So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.
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And he said to him, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
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Then the king said to the attendants, bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness.
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In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
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So here's the second way how. The second way how you are to understand that the invitation to the king's future feast most often falls on deaf ears is this.
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Through receiving acceptance from a minority of people.
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Receiving acceptance through a minority of people. And we'll see this in verses eight through 10.
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What we saw in the first point is the rejection by many who refuse to come to this grand future feast.
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But God still desires to have a people in. So let's read about this in verses eight through 10.
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Then he said to his servants, the wedding feast is ready. It was invited, we're not worthy.
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And so go to the main 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.
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So the wedding hall was filled with guests. So what we see here is that the same servants he sent who were rejected, he sends out again.
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They have this grand wedding feast planned. But at this point, many have not come because the first ones invited have largely rejected the opportunity to feast with the king.
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As I mentioned, the first ones invited were the Jews, God's chosen people. They had all these promises that were theirs through the promises that God made to Abraham, David, and through the new covenant found in Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31.
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God made all these promises with the people of Israel, but they didn't want these grand promises.
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Instead, they chose their own idols over him. Their rejection of God's plan as to how one enters the kingdom disqualified them.
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What verse eight says is that this is what made them unworthy to attend this grand future wedding feast.
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You don't get there through your own merits. You get there through God's way, through repentance and faith, as we saw two weeks ago in the previous two parables that Jesus told.
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Most of Israel rejected God's plan as to how to enter this kingdom.
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A small percentage believed, but most did not. Now, as we talk about the rejection of Israel, this does not mean that God is done with Israel.
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Some Christians try to say that since Israel largely rejected their
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Messiah at his first coming, this means their promises are removed and given to a new people.
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The new people being the church. This is known as replacement theology.
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But replacement theology is not biblical. The Old Testament predicted the rejection of Israel, but the
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Old Testament also predicted its restoration. After the Messiah was largely rejected, there will be a group of Israelites in the end times who will receive their
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Messiah. In the end times, there will be a substantial number of Jews who believe that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the
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Christ. At his first coming, we don't know the exact number of Jews that believed in him, but to guess,
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I'd probably say less than 10%. It was a very small number. And the percentage of believers was smaller among the leadership than it was for the common people.
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The leadership of Israel largely rejected Jesus. Do we have Nicodemus?
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Joseph of Arimathea? How much? But as we think about the future restoration of Israel, what percent of the
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Jews in the end times will believe in Jesus as their Messiah? This is what
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Zechariah 13, verses eight and nine say. In the whole land, declares the
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Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.
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And I will put this third into the fire and refine the one as one refined silver and test them as gold is tested.
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They will call upon my name and I will answer them. I will say, they are my people, and they will say, the
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Lord is my God. One third of Israel in the end times will believe in Jesus as the
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Messiah. And what's interesting is that what this text is telling us is that the two thirds who do not believe are going to die during the final seven year tribulation.
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Which means that God is supernaturally keeping these ethnic Israelites alive.
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He will keep them alive during the tribulation and they will be sustained until the end.
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And then when Jesus comes back, you know what the scripture says? They will look on him whom they have pierced.
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They will look on the one whom they have pierced, as Zechariah 12, 10 says.
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This is the future of Israel. This is not referring to the church. The church is gone at this point as the church will be raptured.
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The group described here is Israel and they will mourn that their people rejected the
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Messiah long ago. But now in the end times, they have received him. But even with this mass conversion in the end times, the vast majority of Israel down through history rejected the
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Messiah. They rejected the invitation to this future grand wedding feast.
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If most of Israel, God's ancient chosen people are not going to attend the wedding feast, then there is only one thing left to do.
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And that is to go to the rest of the world, the Gentiles. The Greek word for Gentiles is ethnos, meaning the nations.
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The invitation is supposed to go to the nations. Probably everyone in this room is a
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Gentile. The invitation to enter the kingdom of God's way and to be at the grand feast is being removed from the rebellious
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Jews and being offered to the nations. This is what
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Jesus is communicating in verse nine. When he says, Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.
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When kings invited people to their son's wedding feast, they invited their own country, their countrymen.
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But now that their own countrymen aren't coming in large numbers, most are indifferent, most are hostile.
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Now that they're not coming, the invitation goes to everyone else. A number of years ago,
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I used to do street evangelism to Somali Muslims in Minneapolis. And I did this with a friend of mine.
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At this time, there was a great famine in Somalia in East Africa. And one of the
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Somalians we got to know pretty good. His name was Roble. And he told us about a fundraiser to help with this famine back in their home country.
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And we knew we needed to be there, my friend Brad and I. So we showed up to the venue, and we learned fast that we were given the wrong information.
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There was not a fundraiser going on at this facility, but rather a wedding. And when we learned of this, we started to walk away.
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But the man at the door would not let us walk away. He insisted that we stay for the wedding, the
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Somalian wedding. So two white men walk in, and they put us at the back table.
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To say we stood out would be an understatement. We watched the ceremony and didn't understand a word since it was in Somalian.
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And once the ceremony was over, they brought the food out for us to eat. And we ate.
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It was Somalian food. We were not invited to this wedding, but this man insisted that we come sit at the table and share in this grand celebration.
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It was truly a unique experience. What happened to us that day is similar to what's happening here in our text.
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The king tells his servants to invite a new people, a people who were not invited at first.
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The servants are told to go to the main roads. They're told to go to the main roads because that's where the
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Gentiles are. And there's still a small percentage of Jews that they're trying to reach. Yes, but the main road takes them to the nations.
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And they're invited to the wedding feast. But this feast was first prepared for another people.
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It was prepared for Israel. And how these people are described in verse 10 is interesting.
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What Jesus says is that the servants sent out by the king gathered all whom they found, both bad and good.
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So who are the bad and the good? No one who is invited to this grand wedding feast is invited because of their moral achievement.
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The consistent testimony of Scripture from the very beginning is that every human is fallen and in need of a savior.
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Romans 3 .23 says that for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. As those who grow up in the north where people tend to be polite, we can lose sight of how corrupt humans really are.
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And that John just mentioned, the government in Guatemala, they'll take your stuff. They don't have to have a reason. They'll just take it.
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There's lots of places like that around the world where it's barbaric. There are in fact villages on planet
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Earth where it's okay to have cannibals.
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In other words, if foreigners come to these lands, it's okay for the people to eat the foreigners.
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I mean, think about that. People are not inherently good. The reason we are deceived into thinking that people are good is because our culture is a
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Christianized one. Over 100 years ago, a group largely made up of Scandinavians and Germans came to Minnesota and Wisconsin and the people who came here were
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Christians. Danes started this church in 1881. It was the
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Christians that influenced the culture more than anyone else. You hear the word
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Minnesota nice? Where did that come from? Well, Christianity's influence on this region.
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So people tend to be polite. People tend to be nice. People don't want to hurt others' feelings.
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And so we can think, well, you know what? Maybe people are really good. You haven't seen some of the darkest places on planet
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Earth. To see what humanity is really like without the influence of Christianity.
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And as we understand the total depravity of mankind, we must understand that no one can earn heaven from one's own achievement.
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In God's plan of redemption for humanity, the Jews were invited first, but not because of their moral fitness to be in the kingdom.
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They were invited before the nations because God in his wisdom chose them as his people.
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He chose a nation, a small nation in fact, a very small nation, to bring salvation to the world.
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In John 4 .22, that verse says, salvation is from the
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Jews. And it's from the Jews because God chose one nation on the Earth to bring salvation to the world.
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As we understand the depravity of humans, who are the good ones that Jesus is talking about in this parable?
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Who are being invited to the feasts? One commentator answers this well. Among the ancient
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Jews were those who lived exemplary upright lives, who were helpful to their neighbors, told the truth, never used the
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Lord's name in vain, never cheated in business, and never committed adultery or murder or theft.
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So as the servants go out, they're not looking for the
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Gentiles only. They're also looking for Jews who have not yet rejected the invitation to attend the grand feast.
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And what they find is that there are both Jews and Gentiles who were people who were considered to be upstanding citizens.
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They're not saved, but they pay their taxes.
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They're law -abiding citizens. They're good neighbors. But who are the bad? Described in the middle of verse 10.
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These were the ones who wore sin on their sleeves. These were the ones whom everyone in the community knew were sinners.
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The drunkards, the prostitutes, the gluttons, the thieves, and many more. So there were those who lived clean lives and those who were considered taboo among both
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Jews and Gentiles, but both have the same problem. Both are destined for hell unless something happens.
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They need a Savior. The call is for upstanding citizens and the taboo of society to put their trust in Jesus.
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What Jesus is communicating through this parable is that a small percentage of Jews would make the feast and there would also be
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Gentiles, the nations. As Jesus said at the end of verse 10, the wedding hall was filled to the best.
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I once had a professor who said something sobering. He said, we will be surprised to find out who is in heaven and who is not.
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Now in our text, Jesus is going after Israel, to whom the kingdom was offered first, saying most of Israel will not be at this future grand feast.
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But think about the church. Think about those who grew up in the church who think that because they have a long history in the church and still identify as a
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Christian that somehow they have a special status, that somehow they will be in this kingdom.
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There will be people who signed a card who will not be at the grand feast. There will be people who are baptized who will not be at the grand feast.
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There will be people who walk forward at a Billy Graham crusade who will not be at the grand feast.
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Sometimes people make superficial commitment to Jesus, but it was a commitment that was not genuine.
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At the final judgment, your credentials as a Christian won't.
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There will be pastors and seminary presidents who will miss out on the grand feast.
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Those who had lots of education, prestige, and power who will miss out because none of those things will matter.
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None of the credentials will matter. Think of how credentialed the Jewish leaders were.
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Their credentials weren't going to get them there. Jesus was unimpressed, and he had no problem telling them that the door to the kingdom of heaven would be shut in their faces.
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We will be surprised who is there and who is not. The thief on the cross will be there, while many people who had lots of credentials as Christians will not.
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The path is narrow, and few travel down this path. Jesus told us it would be this way.
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Matthew 7, verses 13 and 14. But Christ is going to fill his kingdom as the invitation goes out, as people receive this invitation, expecting his terms for entering.
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People will only enter based on his finished work at the cross.
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So understand that the invitation to the King's future feast most often falls on deaf ears. The second way how is through receiving acceptance from a minority of people.
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The third way how you are to understand that the invitation to the King's future feast most often falls on deaf ears is this, by trying to enter the wrong way.
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And we'll see this in verses 11 through 14. Let me read those again. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there was a man who had no wedding garments.
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And he said to him, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
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Then the king said to the attendants, bind him hand and foot, and cast him into outer darkness.
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In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What we read is that the king comes into the wedding hall to see the guests who came from far and wide to feast with the king to celebrate his son's wedding.
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But when he comes in, a man catches his attention. And the man he notices misses something that everyone else has.
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This man didn't have a wedding garment. In ancient times, when kings threw a wedding feast, they would provide a garment for the guests to wear so that everyone would wear what he prepared.
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And if someone didn't have it, everyone would notice it. As you read this, some might think that the king was discriminating against the man, but this is not the case.
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What is happening is that the king has given garments for everyone to wear, and this person has chosen not to wear the garment provided by the king.
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And in so doing, he is despising the king's authority. This man is insulting the king, and he stands out like a sore thumb.
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And as the king approaches him, the reader is surprised to see how the king treats him.
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The king shows him kindness. He says, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?
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What the king does is show the man undeserved kindness. Jesus did this to Judas when
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Judas handed over Jesus to be arrested. You know what Jesus said to Judas? Matthew 26, 50 says that Jesus said to him, friend, do what you came to do.
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He called Judas friend. What we see in these examples is the kindness that God shows even to the condemned.
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In Ezekiel 33, 11, the Lord says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. When God judges someone,
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He does not laugh as He does it. He does not get some twisted pleasure, but at the same time,
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He never has regret when He brings judgment upon a person.
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He is satisfied with His justice. It is truly amazing that the
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Lord shows kindness even to those who spurn Him in the worst ways. As the king asks the man who does not have the proper attire how he got into the wedding hall, the man is not able to answer and the king knows what he must do.
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The king's kindness is not going to keep him from doing what is right and just. Verse 13 tells us what he does.
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He tells him, find him hand and foot and cast him into...
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As all the wedding guests celebrate with the king and enjoy the feast, this man who got in but did not belong was taken far away.
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And he will forever be filled with regret and sorrow for missing out on this grand feast.
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What verse 13 is describing is eternal punishment. Hell is being described.
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In this verse, we get two images for hell, outer darkness and that it's a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Outer darkness describes the place that's far away, that is far from the celebration. It's a place where people are cast out and weeping and gnashing of teeth is describing the anguish of pain that people in hell experience.
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I've also heard it described as gnashing of teeth, as anger at God for sending people here.
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Two weeks ago, I shared the story from the Pilgrim's Progress, the story that concludes the book. In the final episode, the character whose name is
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Ignorant, remember the names fit the person. Ignorant comes to the gate of the
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Celestial City and he is rejected. And the reason he is rejected is because he doesn't have the certificate to get in.
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He doesn't have what he needs to get in. He didn't listen to what the king said as to how to get in.
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What happened needed to happen. Ignorant was rejected because he was ignorant of the true way about how to enter.
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He tried to establish his own way. He thought that his own righteousness would get him there.
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In our text in this parable, this man thinks that his own garment will get him there. But the mistake he made is that he didn't take the king's garments.
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The garment that everyone to receive who came to the wedding feast, he did not receive it.
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And this was horrible for him to do this. To not do it the king's way.
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This garment that this man needs can only come from the king. And once he rejected his garment, it makes entrance impossible.
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As Romans 10 .3 says, For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
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This is the story of life. People do not receive the provision from God for one to receive salvation.
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And that provision is Jesus Christ. He is the only provision.
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The only way for one to receive entrance. As the next verse says in Romans 10 .4,
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For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
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The only way is to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. At the final judgment, there will be many people who appeal to their list of works in order to enter
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God's kingdom. As we read earlier in the call to worship, on that day, many will say to me,
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Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?
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And Jesus says many will say this, but this is how He will respond. Then I will declare to them, I never knew you.
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Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. When people try to establish a righteousness of their own, what they are doing is going down the impossible road.
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It cannot be done. No one will be in heaven based on their own merit.
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They have a key that doesn't unlock the door to the kingdom of heaven.
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When you stand before the throne and Jesus asks you, why should
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I let you into my kingdom? Your response should be, only because of what you did for me.
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That unlocks the door to the kingdom of heaven. But what many people are going to find is that they are going to rely on their works.
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Do you know what Scripture says about the works of man apart from God? Isaiah 64 says that those works are filthy rags.
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Because the works done by unbelievers, none of them, no matter how good they are, no matter how much they help people, they are not done for the glory of God.
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And anything not done for the glory of God is sin. That's why they're filthy rags. The works are done for one's own glory.
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To have a certain appearance with people. To be seen as a good person. Who doesn't want to be seen as a good person?
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Most people do, right? But what we need to understand is that no one is good.
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And that only through Christ will one receive entrance into this future kingdom. And just as ignorant was rejected, and just as this man in our parable who does not have the wedding garment, so will many others be rejected from entering this future feast.
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To these people, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
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So understand that the invitation to the king's future feast most often falls on deaf ears.
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In this text, we've seen three ways how over the last two Sundays, let me list those for you.
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Through showing indifference or hostility to God's glorious future. Through receiving acceptance from a minority of people.
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And lastly, as we've just seen, through trying to enter the wrong way. This parable from Jesus pictures the world we live in.
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God has sent His messengers to invite people to the grand future feast that He is throwing for His Son.
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But the message mostly falls on deaf ears. And this is how the text closes in verse 14.
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Jesus says, Many are called, but few are chosen.
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The invitation to receive salvation in Christ to enter this grand future kingdom is to everyone.
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The invitation is to the world. But few receive it. And only those called by the
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Father receive it. As Jesus said in John 6 .44, No one can come to Me unless the
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Father who sent Me draws him. While most do not receive
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God's invitation for salvation, it is those who are drawn by Him who receive it. And they are the ones who will fill the wedding hall at this grand future feast.
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Jesus has His people. He has them. He's not going to lose them.
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John 10 .27 -28 My sheep hear My voice.
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I know them. And they follow Me. And I give them eternal life.
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And they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of My hand. He's not going to lose them.
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Many are called. Few are chosen. And the few who are chosen will be at this grand future feast with Jesus at the head of the table and with His people feasting with Him where there will be fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.
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And what a day that will be. Now next Sunday, the topic of taxes comes up.
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Tax day is usually a day for everyone. Not a fun topic. But it's so interesting what
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Jesus says as He talks about our responsibility to human government.
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And He gives us instructions about how to live as kingdom citizens in a foreign land.
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But at this time, let's bow our heads in prayer. Father, Your Word is so clear that it's only through Your Son that one will enter the kingdom.
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And everyone else will be rejected. It doesn't matter how many good things they've done.
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Nothing that is done on one's own merit will do any good at the final judgment.
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And I just want to say thank You for making Your Word so clear to us so that we know the way.
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And my prayer is that everyone here would understand this and trust
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Christ completely for their salvation so that they will be at this final feast, this grand feast in the future.