1. Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this 19th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Matthew 22:1-14. It’s entitled, “Come to the Wedding Feast,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. As the title figure in the movie Father of the Bride, Steve Martin does everything he can think of to cut the cost of his daughter’s upcoming wedding: trying on the old tuxedo he’s outgrown, offering to be the backyard chef at a down-home barbecue reception, slashing the guest list down to a minimum. But, when the king in Jesus’ parable sends out invitations for the wedding of his son, no expense has been spared, and no guests are crossed off the list. This is a banquet no one would want to miss, and it’s ready. The question is, are we? In this parable the king is God, the wedding feast, God’s kingdom, and the Bridegroom is, Jesus Christ (Mt 9:15).
3. Today Jesus tells us that the wedding feast is ready! Matthew 22:1-3 says, “1 Again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.” Today we send out “Save the Date” notices; in the parable too, the king had alerted guests that the big event was coming. Now the date is set, the wedding hall has been made ready, and the food is prepared. The servants are sent out to invite the invited to the wedding feast. All is ready! This will be extravagant! This is a royal wedding! Look out Meghan Markle & Prince Harry and Kate Middleton & Prince William of the British Royal Family!!!
4. But many who are invited are not. All the work is done, but no one comes! (v 3). This is rude. Do you sense the king’s frustration? He felt the way modern parents of a couple do when they send out wedding invitations and guests don’t show courtesy at least to RSVP! The servants are sent out again, but no one pays attention. Matthew 22:4-5 says, “4Again 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.’ 5But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business…” Jesus is telling us that there is no time to waste as everything is now ready. As God first asked Adam and Eve in Eden, he continues to ask sinful men and women, “Where are you?”
5. Whatever ready is, they’re not. One went off to his farm. Another went off to his business. “Too busy. Gotta work.” Sound familiar? A Christian woman wrote to a family who had hosted her daughter on a trip and mentioned some of her activities at church. She received a response that said, “Going to church is not one of our hobbies.” In spite of several invitations, each one goes off to his other priorities. The overemphasis we often place on our work and careers in the 21st century is no different from what the king encountered in Jesus’ parable. Still other guests weren’t just indifferent (v 6); they seized the servants and killed them! Not only is the invitation refused, but the servants who brought the invitation are treated shamefully and killed, as in the previous parable of the vineyard (Mt 21:33–46). This provides a dramatic portrayal of Israel’s treatment of God’s prophets throughout the Old Testament. Our Lutheran Confessions teach us that, “The cause for this contempt for the Word is not God’s foreknowledge, but the perverse human will. The human will rejects or perverts the means and instrument of the Holy Spirit, which God offers it through the call. It resists the Holy Spirit, who wants to be effective, and who works through the Word” (FC SD XI 41)
6. The king does what you’d expect. 7The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. (Matt. 22:7). “Burned their city.” Here Jesus looks ahead to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 where many Jews were killed and the Temple was destroyed. Still, the king does have a wedding feast made ready, so: the invitation goes out again. Matthew 22:8-10 says, “8Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good.” Now the hall is filled with guests, as many as the king’s servants could find. These do come—and the feast is ready.
7. And what of those who do come? Are they ready? Both good and bad were invited; both good and bad arrived. And the king does everything he can to see that all of them—good and bad—are ready. In ancient Israel, special attire was commonly required at a wedding. But these wedding garments were often supplied by the host, as surely in our parable. The king has provided what every guest needs to be ready. But as he looks over the wedding feast, he sees that not everyone is ready (vv 11–12). Matthew 22:11-12 says, 11“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.” Amid the splendor of this royal wedding, the king notices one not dressed for the occasion. Even when addressed kindly as “Friend,” this man has no excuse, no explanation for refusing the clothing the king has offered him. The king is patient and addresses the man as “friend.” But, when the man makes no excuse, he’s removed from the wedding hall and cast into the “outer darkness.” A passing acquaintance with Jesus isn’t enough. Those who merely cry, “Lord, Lord,” will not enter the kingdom. “Cast him into the outer darkness . . . for many are called, but few are chosen” (vv 13–14).
8. Many are called, but this one was not ready. Our Lutheran Confessions teach us about this phrase in our understanding of God’s Election, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” God wants all people to be saved, but not everyone will respond to the Gospel invitation in faith. “This does not mean that God is unwilling to save everybody. But the reason some are not saved is as follows: They do not listen to God’s Word at all” (FC Ep XI 12).
9. So, then, are we ready for the wedding feast? God is the King, and he invites everyone to the marriage feast of his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross has earned a seat at the feast for every person who’s ever lived. God’s Word is serious when it says to every soul, “Jesus has given heaven to you!” Some will ignore the invitation. They’re too busy. Of course, daily work is not evil in itself. It becomes an issue when it’s chosen above the wedding feast of God’s Son. Does that—too busy, a career to build, a living to earn, leaving only an afterthought for the Savior—describe us?
10. Some will accept God’s invitation on their own terms, but not on the Host’s. They plan to clothe themselves in their own deeds, their own fervent prayers, their good name, their church attendance or offerings. They will have no excuse when asked why they didn’t instead clothe themselves in the righteousness offered them in Jesus Christ. But in his grace and mercy, the King extends the invitation, filling his hall with rejoicing. In Baptism, he provided us garments of righteousness we may wear into eternity, garments won for us by his Son’s death and resurrection. In ancient times wedding guests in Israel were expected to be dressed for the occasion, even if it meant the host supplied the garments. Failure to wear the garment provided for such an occasion would give offense. Here, the garment represents Christ’s righteousness, as does the white gown on a child about to be baptized or a funeral pall on the casket of a Christian (cf. Is 25:7).
11. Jesus has fulfilled these hosting responsibilities by His life and work on our behalf. Through His death on the cross for us and His resurrection from the dead He adorns us for the feast and makes us His honored guests. He “has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). This baptismal garment serves as our “wedding clothes,” but also as our “work clothes.” We never take it off, for we can never truly separate our lives in Christ and our lives in the world. Our entire lives are joyfully lived as His children. Yes, Clothed in Christ’s Righteousness, We Are Ready for the Wedding Feast!
12. Even in our very casual day and age, we know there are certain clothes required for certain situations. When God the Father invites us to the wedding feast at which his Son will be the Bridegroom, he supplies us with that right thing to wear, the righteousness of Jesus given at our Baptism. “Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling. Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die” (LSB 761:3). Clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we are ready for the wedding feast! Amen. The peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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