Weddings are such a beautiful thing. As I’m sure most of us have, I’ve been to quite a few weddings. Some of close friends. Some of obscure family members. Some weddings that most people watching from the outside agreed never should have happened. Weddings in my family are interesting to say the least.
But those are the only kind of weddings I get invited to. Unless you’re rubbing elbows with the social elite, folks like me, and maybe you too, don’t get invited to the really fancy weddings such as that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana or Prince William and Princess Kate. Weddings like that, you don’t even get near the church, let alone the reception, unless you’ve explicitly been invited. There is no way that you crash a wedding like that. But see, those are the weddings that you want to crash. Those are the weddings that everyone wants to be at. They may televise them, but to be able to say that you were there immediately elevates you to a whole new social status. Not to mention the goodie bags. Did you know that at the wedding of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian they gave out gift bags worth $125,000? That’s the kind of wedding I want to be invited to. Instead I only get invited to the weddings where my relatives try smuggling firearms.
But did you know that Jesus tells us a story that talks about this very same thing. In fact, in the 22nd chapter of Matthew Jesus tells a parable about a wedding banquet. Now, a parable is a story; however, it’s also more than a story. It’s a story that reveals to us a hidden truth about God, and this parable is no exception (Matthew 22:1-2).
Now, this would be just like when Prince William was married. In case you didn’t know, the son of a king is called a prince, and in this parable, this prince was getting married. In this time period things were a little different than they are now. In today’s world when you send out wedding invitations you make sure you put a date. In fact, nowadays we get a “Save the Date” card well before we ever get an invitation. So at this point the king, when he started preparing the wedding, would’ve sent a message to all those invited letting them know that a wedding would be taking place EVENTUALLY. It was understood that they would prepare themselves so that when the time came they would be ready (Matthew 22:3).
Again, this was the wedding of a prince. The type of people that would be invited would be the dignitaries and rulers of the land. This was the elite of the elite, the very well to do people, that were invited. They’ve been notified well in advance that this was going to be happening. Yet, when the messengers came and told them that it was time for the prince’s wedding, they refused.
This is the event of the century. These people were the select few that were important enough to be invited. They had been given ample warning, but when the time came to actually attend the wedding, they refused. They received an invitation that anyone in their right mind would love to receive, yet they refused.
Now, maybe they had a good reason. I heard it said that for Prince William’s wedding there were many guests that declined to come. In one such case a king that had been overthrown by his people was invited as well as the new king of that same country. The new king declined the invitation due to the fact that the other king was invited. You can imagine how awkward it would be if the new king and the former king were to accidentally bump into each other during the festivities. I think we can all understand that one. What is a king to do? (Matthew 22:4)
After sending out the initial notification and the subsequent “let’s get this party started” notification, the king now sends a personal invitation to the guests telling them specifically how grand the wedding banquet is. It’s like the first time around the king simply sent an invitation, but this time he’s calling them up and saying, “Please come. I’d really like you to be there. It’s going to be grand. We’ll have caviar, fine wine, ” and whatever else rich people eat. But as it says in Matthew 22:5, “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.”
As we see, it’s not like they had good excuses. They simply were too busy with their own lives to celebrate this occasion with the king. They paid no attention and carried on with their lives as if the invitation had never been given. They were too busy with their own things to be bothered with attending “the event of the century.” But, that’s better than what happened with the other servants (Matthew 22:6-10).
Now, I told you that a parable is a story, but that it’s a story with deeper meaning. It reveals to us something about God. In this case, as Jesus said when this parable started, it reveals to us something about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Before we go any further, let’s take a look at what we’ve seen so far. The king in this story, as all scholars agree, is God. Likewise, the people that were originally invited are understood to be the Jews. Long ago the Jews had been invited to be God’s chosen people. Yet, when the time came, they refused to follow. They were so caught up in their own lives and their own religion to see that the banquet had started. God sent even more messengers and prophets to them; yet they ignored these messengers and some were even killed.
However, just as the king then extended the invitation, God has done the same. Paul, in many of his letters in the New Testament, speaks of this very thing. The good news of Jesus is given first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. That’s you and me. Notice, the king’s orders were to “go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” Anyone! And if you are sitting there and still thinking that this invitation isn’t for you, just look again at verse 10, “So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good.”
Notice that “the bad” are mentioned first. Typically when we say a phrase like this we say, “the good and the bad.” The emphasis is on the good, but the bad are included also. However, this is flipped around. The emphasis is on the bad, but the good are included also.
Now, I’m pretty sure that everyone in this room falls into one of those two categories, either the bad or the good. To everyone included in either of these categories, this invitation to the event of the century has been extended to you! That’s the good news of the gospel! It’s not for the social elite. It’s not for those good enough to earn their way in. It is for ANYONE, both bad and good. Anyone and everyone has been invited. The invitation has been extended to you. That person that cut you off in traffic, the invitation has been extended to them. That kid that bullied you all through elementary school and junior high, the invitation has been extended to them as well. No matter how much good or how much bad a person has done, the invitation has been extended. That’s good news of the gospel! You don’t have to earn the invitation. It’s already been given to you. Not because of what you’ve done but because of what the king has done. That’s good news, but that’s not the end of it. (Matthew 22:11-12)
Now, at first glance, it seems rather odd that the king would go to someone that had just come off the streets to join the wedding banquet and complain that they aren’t dressed properly. However, customs were different back then. With prestigious events like this, it was common for the king to provide wedding clothes for the guests. This man knew what was expected.
Proper clothes had been provided. This man had the capability of wearing the right clothes. We can see this by his response. The man was speechless.
Think about that for a second. How often are you speechless. If you showed up to a wedding without wearing your nice clothes and someone came up to you and asked, “Why aren’t you wearing your tux?” or “Why aren’t you dressed up?” There are likely a couple different things you’d say. You might try to explain what happened. Maybe you don’t own any nice clothes. Maybe the dog ate them. If that’s what happened, you’d explain yourself.
On the other hand, maybe you didn’t know you needed to dress up. It’s possible you thought jeans and a tuxedo t-shirt were appropriate attire. In that case, you would respond with your surprise at the comment on your clothes. However, this man didn’t do either of these things. He was speechless. He had no excuse. He had no good reason why he wasn’t wearing the proper clothes. (Matthew 22:13-14)
This seems like a very harsh punishment for a man who simply wore the wrong clothes, but we must understand, this is more than just a story. This is a parable. There is a much deeper meaning here. Just as many of you here today understand this phrase, the people listening to this understood what was meant when someone was thrown outside “where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That is hell. That is the worst place possible to be sent.
But what exactly happened here. This was more than a man wearing the wrong clothes. As a parable, this story holds a deeper meaning. The fact that this man wore the wrong clothes represents more than just a simple mistake. It represents something more.
I’ve been to quite a few weddings in thirty-five years of life. I remember when as a teenager I’d be invited to go to my mom’s friend’s daughter’s wedding. Seeing as how it’s my mom’s friend, I was pretty much required to go. I only vaguely knew the person, let alone her daughter. You know the kind wedding where according to your mom “you two used to play together when you were still in diapers.” Sorry, I don’t remember much about being in diapers.
It was weddings like this that I would try to see how little I could get dressed up. I’d wear khakis and a polo if I could get away with it. Fast forward to a few years ago when I went to my cousin’s wedding. Some family members I couldn’t even tell you their names, but there are some cousins that are almost like extra brothers and sisters.
This family of cousins were the latter. I remember when he was born. I remember holding on to his hands as he learned to walk. When he was married a couple years ago, I packed up my family and travelled halfway across the country to go to the wedding. And you had better believe that my family was among the nicest dressed there. We put on our very best, not because it was a requirement, but because we wanted to. Our love for that man and his family was the reason for the journey and what caused us to get dressed up.
In this story, that was the problem, at least in part, with what this man was wearing. This man’s unwillingness to wear wedding clothes demonstrated his lack of love for the host of the banquet. The fact that he didn’t wear his wedding clothes when they were provided to him showed that he didn’t care enough to make an attempt.
This parable shows both sides of the coin. First it shows the grace that has been extended to all. The gift of eternal life has been extended to all who will accept it. However, while God’s grace is a gift, it is also a grave responsibility. When we accept that grace we cannot help but be transformed by it. We cannot help but to show our love and gratitude to the one that has extended grace. We cannot go on living the life of sin that we lived before.
Like with many other things in this parable, these wedding clothes aren’t just clothes. These clothes represent the righteousness of God. When we show up to the wedding banquet and notice everybody else wearing extravagant clothes provided by the king, we notice that we don’t quite fit. We notice that we don’t have the righteousness that is required of us. We are continuing to wear our old dirty clothes and baggage we brought with us, the life of sin that we’ve been called out from.
However, the king has provided for us the righteousness, the extravagant wedding clothes, that we are to wear. Everything we need has been provided to us, we need only to put it on. But there’s a big difference between those who love the king and those who just came for the $125,000 gift bag. Those who love the king desire to please him and put on the clothes, the righteousness provided. They would be happy to be there even if there was no party and they were the only ones to show up. Those who are just in it for the gift bag will disregard the righteousness provided for them and will continue to wear the same dirty, old clothes and live in the same sinful, dirty lifestyle. They don’t care about the clothes the king has offered, their only concern is what’s in it for them. They’re looking to get that gift bag and get out with as little inconvenience as possible.
You see, this invitation is open to all, but it is not an invitation to come and remain in sin, to remain in the dirty old clothes that we came in. It is an invitation to holiness. It is an invitation to be changed. “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
As Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
This invitation is given to all, but unfortunately even out of those who come to the banquet, not all will do so out of love. If you truly love the king, you will not only come to the banquet, but you will clothe yourself in the righteousness that he has provided to you. And in the end that is what is required in order to fully accept this invitation. You can accept the invitation, but if you truly love the king, you will also accept his righteousness.
Unlike Jesus, I don’t know the hearts of every person, but I know that there are many that have yet to accept this invitation. Whether you’re the bad or the good, this invitation has been extended to you. The king has graciously extended this invitation to you, but I want you to ask yourself, why do you want to go to the wedding? This is not an invitation to be taken lightly. It’s not an invitation to accept because your mom says you should, or because your boyfriend or girlfriend says you should. It’s not an invitation to be accepted simply because all of your friends are going. It has to be accepted in love.
If you’ve already accepted this invitation, I want you to ask yourself, why do you want to go to the wedding? Have you accepted this invitation because you want the benefits that come along with it? For the $125,000 goodie bag being given to the guests? Have you accepted this invitation because you fear being left out? Everyone else is going and you feel like you need to as well. If you didn’t accept the invitation you were going to be left out. Have you accepted this invitation out of obligation? You feel it is expected of you. Maybe you’re the son or daughter of a pastor or your parents have always been involved in the church. You feel that is it your obligation to go, even if you don’t particularly want to.
Or have you accepted this invitation out of love? Have you fully understood this invitation that has been given to you, this invitation that you surely didn’t deserve? Have you accepted this invitation because of your love for the one giving it? If so, it’s going to show. It will be obvious by the clothes you wear and the lifestyle you lead. If you truly love the king, you will not only show up to the banquet, but you will put on the wedding clothes, the righteousness, that he has provided for you. And everyone else that ignores that righteousness and continues on in their old, dirty clothes, their filthy, sinful lifestyle will be thrown into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Not everyone who enters the banquet hall will get to stay. Not everyone that comes to the altar and says a prayer will be ushered into the kingdom of heaven. It all comes down to love. Those who love the king will put on the banquet clothes and do the will of the Father. All others will be thrown into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We don’t like to talk about eternal judgement, but there are real consequences for the choice we make. So I want to leave you with this one question. Why do you want to go to the wedding?