The Wedding Feast of the Kingdom

When it comes to declining great invites, history is full of them.

For example, back in the 1970’s, Nolan Bushnell, the founder of the gaming company ATARI, met with a young entrepreneur who invited him to become a 1-3rd part share holder in his company for $50,000 However, after considering the invite offer, Nolan decided to decline the invite. However, years later this would become an invite he would regret declining as the company, being Apple, is now worth over 2.38 TRILLION dollars.

In the fall of 2003, while an undergraduate at Harvard University, Joe Green and another student began their entrepreneurial careers working to develop new cutting edge websites. And his first social experience didn’t get off to a good start. What it was, was a website that allowed users to compare and rate the attractiveness of their fellow students at Harvard University. But then after numerous students complained, Mr. Green and his development partner were threatened with expulsion if they did not take the site down immediately. And so they did.

Then, after brain storming for new ideas, Joe Green decided he wanted to create a social site that was centered around politics, However, his partner wanted to go in a different direction. But in light of the recent controversy, Joe Green wasn’t so sure he wanted to accept the invite to another, what could be, controversial creation. And so taking his father’s advice, Mr. Green declined Mr. Zuckerberg’s invitation to join him in the creation of little ole company you may have heard of, called: Facebook. And so years later this became an invitation that Joe Green deeply regretted not taking.

On September 25, 1976, a young group of Irish high schoolers met in a kitchen, after seeing a flier in their school looking for anyone interested in forming a Rock Band. And so on that day, the band called: “The Hype,” consisting of 5 members, came together and began their musical careers together. And for a while that’s what they did. But then, the band decided it was time to reinvent themselves by relaunching with a new name. However, one of the band members suddenly received a grant from the Irish government to study computer science at Trinity College in Dublin, and so leaving his younger brother behind (who was also in the band), he declined invitation to join a band you may have heard of, called, U2.

When it comes to declining great invitations, history is full of them. In fact, I’m sure many of you can look back at times in your life where you’ve done the very same and wish you had done otherwise. And, I’ll venture to say, that if you had known how great that invitation was, you wouldn’t have declined it!

In Matthew 22, we find a great invitation, which is an invitation to a Kingdom’s great wedding feat, and not only do we find our invitations to this great feast, BUT We also find the reasons for why we’d be absolutely FOOLISh to decline it. And so if we are going to be wise enough to not decline and accept this great invitation, then we have to know why it’s such a great invitation! Right? Like if Nolan Bushnell and Joe Green understood how great Apple and Facebook would one day become, do you think they would have declined their invitation? Absolutely not. And so for us too, if we are going to be wise enough to accept the invitation to the Kingdom’s Wedding Feat, we too need to know 3 things about the greatness of the invitation.

To accept the invitation to the kingdom’s wedding feast, we must know:

1. The greatness of the King’s feast (v. 1-4)
2. The greatness of the King’s fury (v. 3-7)
3. The greatness of the King’s forgiveness (v. 8-14)

Before we jump into our passage, let’s do a Matthew chapter 21 in 2 minutes RECAP. In Chapter 21, we saw how Jesus examined the Jewish Temple, which was the center of Jewish religion, and we saw how Jesus found that there was no spiritual fruit whatsoever It was dead! Sure it seemed like it was spiritually alive But when you got up close and actually looked at it - it wasn’t. There was absolutely NO spiritual fruit!

And to show us, Jesus used the illustration of a fruitless fig tree. And as you remember, Jesus approached a fig tree expecting there to be fruit And He expected there to be fruit on the tree, because from a distance He saw that it had leaves. And if you know anything about Fig Trees, you know that if you see leaves on it, you can expect fruit! But, when Jesus approached the Fig tree, He didn’t find any fruit on it, did He? Nope - none! And so He cursed, and miraculously it was withered up the very next morning. And all of that was a picture of exactly what Jesus found at spiritually fruitless Jewish Temple and the judgment of God which would soon come upon it.

Sure it looked like it might have fruit, At least from a distance. Because as Jesus approached it on Palm Sunday riding on the donkey with people waving leafy palm branches. The reality was, those green leaves, were fake news, cuz when Jesus got up close to the temple it was completely spiritually fruitless! For there was no true living faith in it at all.

And so Jesus cleanses the temple, The religious leaders get angry, and they ask Him, basically, to show his badge. “What gives you the right to say & do what you’re doing?” And Jesus answers that question by way of 3 parables.

Now last week we looked at two of those parables together, and today we are looking at the third one. And if you want to know what those first two parables were about, well you’ll have to go back and listen to the recordings.

So with that said, now we turn to parable number 3. Beginning in verse 2 it reads: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent 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.” ’

So in this 3rd parable, we find Jesus telling us that the kingdom of heaven is like a great wedding feast, where the King sent out invites to all the people to come and enjoy the wedding of His Son! And this is a feast beyond your wildest imaginations! It’s a party unlike ANY party you’ve ever been to, where each day just get’s better and better!

And the Bible talks about it A LOT Let me show you just one example.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 25:6-8 ESV

Ya know, when it comes to a lot of people’s understanding of heaven, it’s honestly just kind of sad... Which makes it no wonder why so many people aren’t very excited about it... “Sit on clouds and play harps all day… uhhh, I guess that’s better than the other place… but not by much!”

But listen, that’s not heaven! Heaven is a very PHYSICAL REALITY New physical bodies! Where we eat and we drink! And not cheap stuff either!

I mean look at what Isaiah said! He says the LORD will prepare a “feast of rich food, feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of morrow, of aged wine well refined!” That’s not cheap lunchables with fake juice cups, that I’m pretty sure isn’t actually juice anyways...

Do you realize that heaven is on EARTH? That’s where we spend eternity! Not some cloud land in the sky playing harps!

Look - we’ve gotta get this right, because we to understand the importance of the invitation!

Look at what the text says in verse 4: The King says: “See I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fatted calves - EVERYTHING IS READY!” We are about to celebrate a Thanksgiving Meal as a church, And as a society soon after that. And as great ya’ll cook - no offense - but it’s NOTHING compared to what is coming!

Did you know that in the ancient east, when they celebrated weddings, it wasn’t just a one day and done sort of thing... In fact, it was usually 7 days of feasting and feasting and feasting! It was awesome and something you definitely didn’t wanna miss! And especially so when the King invited you to His wedding feast! Cuz you knew if it was King’s feast it was gonna blow away every other wedding you’ve ever been to! And so how could you not be excited for such a feast?! How could you reject such a generous invitation? And yet sadly, that’s exactly so many do. Which leads us to our next point, which is the King’s furious response.

To accept the invitation to the kingdom’s wedding feast, we must know:

1. The greatness of the King’s feast (v. 1-4)

and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent 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.

Matthew 22:3-7 ESV

When the king sends out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, they decline. And you probably have no idea how RUDE this was. How RIDICULOUS this was.

You get invite from the King - you don’t decline it! You go! And yet, all these invitees are like: “Mmmm.... nah… we got better things to do that come to your Son’s wedding feast!” It’s completely preposterous! And the people listening to Jesus’s parable would have thought just that

And in response what does the King do to such blatant disrespect? He sends in the troops, right? Slow down… not yet. He graciously sends out more servants to invite them again, saying: “Please come! I want you to come! Won’t you come to the great and wonderful feast that I’ve prepared?” And they DON’T! They Won’t!

What do they do instead? They respond in one of two ways: They respond with indifference, or they respond with hostility.

If you look at Luke’s account of this parable, the indifferent group makes up a whole bunch of excuses! Let’s look at it fast

But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

Luke 14:18-20 ESV

Do you see that? They are all pre-occupied with their lives! They are too busy! They don’t time! They got more important thing to do, that to go to the King’s great feast! it’s ridiculous!

And yet, how many of you are doing the same exact thing? The King of Kings and LORD OF LORDS has invited you to His great heavenly feast, and though you’ve received the invitation, you’re too busy. You’re too caught up with your lives! You’re too busy living for the things of this world than to live for the greater eternal things of the world to come! Which makes even the best things of this life look like a SHADOW in comparison to the things that coming! And yet you’re clinging on them, refusing to let go! And yet, what did Jesus tell us back in Matthew chapter 6 in His sermon on the mount?

He said:

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Matthew 6:24 NASB95

Make no mistake, you can’t serve both the Creator and the Creation For you will either hate the one and love the other or be DEVOTED to the one and despite the other! Which is precisely what then happens as they respond in hatred hostility towards the King’s servants for simply inviting them to come! Look at verse 6:

while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.

Matthew 22:6 ESV

First, God sent His servants, the prophets, and what did the people do? If you read your Bible, you’ll see that they basically killed all of them And, then God sent them the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist, and what they’d to him? They cut head off and put on a plater! AND, when God sent His one and only Son, they killed Him as well! And why? Cuz they were devoted to the things of this world, not the God of this world. Which is nothing but high-handed rebellion against the King of the Universe.

and what do all good kings do in response to treasonous rebellion? They unleash they just fury upon them. Which is precisely what this king does in verse 7, which reads:

The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

Matthew 22:7 ESV

We need to understand here that the Jewish people were the initial invites to God’s Kingdom Feast, and yet, though they claimed they wanted to go, Though they claimed they were excited for it, The truth was, they really wanted nothing to do with it - on their actions spoke louder than their words. And the reason they wanted nothing to do with was because they were in love with the things of this world, instead of the God of this world. And so when the time came for them to accept the invitation and come to the wedding feast, they declined, they responded with indifference, and then violence towards the king.

In John 1:11, John tells us about this response, saying:

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

John 1:11 ESV

And so because they rudely and violently refused to accept the King’s invitation, the King then responds with a violence of His own, wiping them out.

Psalm 2 (ESV) Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

To disregard the King of the universe’s invitation to the great heavenly banquet comes with serious consequences. And for the Jewish people, not only was their city destroyed, Not only was their temple completely tore down But, they themselves were cast out and missed out on the invitation of a lifetime!

And yet, what does the king do? Does He cancel the great wedding feast? Nope. He goes on to show the greatness of His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Which leads us to our final point.

To accept the invitation to the kingdom’s wedding feast, we must know:

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.

Matthew 22:8-10 ESV

Do you see the great grace and mercy of God here? After the Jewish nation rejects their invitation, He then graciously tuns to all people, ALL PEOPLE - both GOOD AND BAD, and then invites them into His great wedding feast!

Are you a good moral person? Guess what, you’ve been invited! Are you an immoral, unreligious person who’s lived a life of sin? Guess what, you too have been invited!

And the point is - You having received the invitation has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU BUT EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HIM! For the free invitation is about HIS GOODNESS NOT YOURS! It’s not based upon your merit, Your works… or lack of them It’s based ENTIRELY upon HIS MERCY AND GRACE! SO ACCEPT THE INVITATION!

How? By exchanging your robes of sinful filth for HIS ROBES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. For if you don’t, you too may receive the invitation, but then find yourself being rejected and cast out from the heavenly banquet.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, 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 the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Matthew 22:11-14 ESV

Why was this man cast out? Was it because he was a Christian who didn’t do enough? Was it because he try hard enough to live for God? If you think that, then YOU DO NOT GET IT! That’s not what this passage is talking about! For these robes do not come from your righteous achievements, but from CHRIST’S and unless you are wrapped in His righteous wedding garments you will be cast out of the great heavenly feast into the outer darkness of hell.

When I look at the sad end of this man, it makes me wonder how many are here, who like the Jews, thought that because they were called, they were chosen. And yet, they’ve never truly repented of their sins They’ve never truly trusted in Christ by grace through faith, and their lives show that. Their lives are as fruitless as the Jewish nation of Jesus’s day, and it’s fruitless because it’s faithless! and yet, they’ve deluded themselves into thinking that just cuz they go to church just cuz they said a prayer means they are in. Or, I’ve heard some people say that when they stand before God, they are going to plead their case. Explain why they are good enough for heaven. Why they above all others should be allowed in

And yet, what happens to this guy who tries that here in this parable? The text says “He’s speechless.” And make no mistake, if you try to take your dirty clothes of sin, and make them good enough for the heavenly feast, it won’t work! It doesn’t matter how hard you scrub them with the brush of good works, it’s not going to get the stains out! But you know what can? The blood of Jesus, which washes our filthy sin-stained robes and makes them white as snow.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Isaiah 1:18 ESV

How does this happen? What must we do? By faith we must trust in the pure spotless lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

How did Christ become sin for us? By leaving heaven’s feast so that He could suffer the fury that you and I deserved upon a cross. and He did that so we could experience the forgiveness of the King that comes freely and fully by faith. And when you’re wrapped in that, only that, can you say as the prophet Isaiah said:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10 ESV

The feast is coming church! and it’s a feast that is beyond our wildest imaginations or dreams! It’s a feast that the Apostle Paul describes, saying: 1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV) “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” -

Are you ready for that day? Are you living for that day? Because today is the day of salvation! Not tomorrow, or next month, or next year, or when you’re old and gray.

In Matthew 25, Jesus warns us by way of another wedding parable, telling us that no one knows the day or the hour! and the point He's making in that passage is that we must be ready! For Christ can return any moment!

So are you ready? For as Jesus told His disciples, He has gone to prepare a place for us, and one day soon He will return to take us to be with Him for that great feast Which is not a measly 7 day feast, but I believe, is the 7-year feast we find in Revelation chapter 19, which doesn’t end there, but goes on and on into the honeymoon of the millennial kingdom on earth.

The feast is coming The invitations have been sent! Are you ready? Or, are you living for the things of this world, which will one day bring down the full fury and wrath of an almighty God upon you for all of eternity?

Many are called, but few are chosen, Jesus says. And those who are chosen are the children of faith who trust in His righteousness for their wedding garments, not their own! And so may we live faithfully for Him, By not only going out into the highways and the byways, calling all to repent and turn by faith to Christ Jesus, so that they too might enter this great feast But by living a life of faith as we serve Him and long for the day of the Kingdom’s Great Wedding feast!

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.