Introduction:
Years ago, I was introduced and became fascinated with the topics on the kingdom of heaven, however if I was to introduce or even describe this kingdom, I would not use this morning reading to do so, because although this reading appears relatively easy to follow, it is rather complex, and it has had many theologians in disagreement; however, the overall meaning to this parable I think is quite clear although quite disturbing, as I will now explain.
What is the kingdom of heaven?
And before we begin … we are in disagreement, as not everyone agrees with this, but what exactly is the kingdom of heaven? … Well, for some, it is where you go when you die … for others, it is the day of the return of Christ, that day “when he shall come again in glory, to judge the living and the dead” … for others, it is that heavenly kingdom right in front of our eyes, it is in the present, its a kingdom that we cannot see, but a kingdom that Jesus revealed on the mount of transfiguration … and yet for others, it is that place where they go, when they are deep in prayer or meditation … and of course, there may be other definitions.
So, already we are in disagreement, or confusement, but … I don’t think that really matters, because whatever you believe, it all still adds up, it still makes sense, because we are talking about a kingdom that is so complex that even Jesus struggled to describe it, and that is what today’s reading, or parable is about, it’s an attempt by Jesus, to describe a complex but very real kingdom, a kingdom that Jesus said at his trial in John 18:36 that was not “not of this earth”.
Who is who in this Wedding.
So, in this kingdom, which we are told is real, but we cannot see, hear, feel, smell or touch, is somehow related to a king organising wedding banquet, for his son, and invited guests.
Who does the king represent?
Nothing difficult about that … but who is involved in this wedding, and I think it is safe to say that the king represents, and is symbolic for God the father, whether he may be male or female … (another layer of complexity), although the son is definitely masculine in Jesus, for now.
What does the wedding represent?
And, what does the wedding represent, well the wedding itself is symbolic of the kingdom of course, as some may refer this wedding to Revelation 19:7-9, which says, “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb”.
Who are the servants?
… And who are the servants in verse 3, the servants that we see the king sending out to call forth the guests. … Well, it generally accepted that these servants are the prophets of old, whom God sent to the people, however, they could also be interpretated as our modern- or latter-day preachers and evangelists in their various manners, and means which is ok.
Who do the first guests represent?
… And finally, who are the guests, in particular, who are the first guests? … Well, and again, this can be a bit subjective, but the first invited guests are generally symbolic of God’s chosen people, the Jews themselves. Those people whom God set apart as a nation … his nation, to learn his laws and regulations, and to worship him as their God of Israel. There are other interpretations of guest, but that is well beyond this sermon.
The scene is set.
Now, with all these difficulties, (sort of accounted for), the scene is kind of set, and we can move on and explore the narrative which starts with the “king giving a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come”.
Now, to the Jewish people, this part of the story wasn’t new, because they knew the book of 2nd Chronicles 36:15-16 which reads, “And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers … because He had compassion on His people … But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” The Jews in the past had already rejected the calls or appeals from the Lord in their various cycles of discipline, and so Jesus knew, they would reject him, which they did.
“He sent out other servants,
So, what did the king do after he was rejected, well, and this is absolutely brilliant, the almighty God of heaven and earth showed compassion, he shows mercy and grace, because verses 4 to 7 tells us that “he sent out other servants, to plead and encourage the invited, by promises of goodness, but they not only rejected and made light of these new servants, but reacted against them, abusing them, and some they killed, which displeased the king so much that in his wrath, “he sent out his armies, to destroy those murderers, and burned up their city”.
Now you may be saying, did the Jews really do this, did they really kill these servants … well as you know, we don’t have to go far to prove this one, look at prophets like John the Baptist who was thrown in prison and whose head was delivered on a plate … and of course, look at Jesus himself, who was rejected, mocked, beaten, and crucified …. and there have been many other such servants of God who have suffered throughout the ages.
Why did these guests not attend?
And so, we now have to ask, why did these guests not attend, why did they do this? Well, our text tells us these guests were so consumed with their daily lives, they “went away, one to his farm, another to his business”, … yet this does not explain the anger and mistreatment.
For this we can look to the “Parable of the Great Supper or great feast” in Luke chapter 14, where Jesus revealed some of their excuses for not attending. He said, “They all with one accord began to make excuses, one said … ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it … another said, ‘I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I am going to test them … still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. … The prophets basically exposed their hearts, to their shame.
You get the drift, they were not interested, they didn’t want to go, because they had other or better things to do, things to them which were far more important, and far more enjoyable, and we can relate to them, but what we are reading here this morning is that there is more to life than simply living and being alive. … There is more to life that the silent majority of people do not understand, its beyond their comprehension.
They do not understand that there is an eternal life in this kingdom of heaven, which we on earth should be, or are, being prepared to enter … and life therefore, is really all about entering that heavenly realm. … and that is one reason why we are here this morning, in part of that preparation … because for us, that is what life is all about … the eternal world to come. … Life is not about the day-to-day things, (which although are important, very important, extremely important at times) … no life is really all about preparing us for the world or life to come … as described throughout the bible.
Why is this not so obvious?
And yet, we are not all holy and pious all the time, we fail, and we allow ourselves to fail at times, and there are many reasons for this, because we are all far from perfect, and one thing that does trouble us, is that it is not clear … that what we are doing, (in all our efforts in worshiping the Lord and trying to follows his ways), are the right things to do, and are worthwhile. … because it is difficult to measure how effective our progress is with the lord, even when we are on the right track … and that does worry us, as we only have our faith to measure our success.
And then, to made matters worse, we have to communicate this kingdom of God to others, a kingdom we are aiming for, but a kingdom we cannot describe or prove. It is so difficult and it is no wonder we fail.
I mean, the world today is all about things, and getting things, and, and doing things that we enjoy … and mention to anyone the church, and the Lord and churchy people, and instantly everything goes dead, the conversation changes, you have lost them … thanks, but no thanks … excuses are made, and they are off … as we all know.
But our faith however, does let us know that God is our priority, because it is he who dictates how we lead our lives, and how we grow in him. … For example, every Sunday at the offering, we say, “all things come from him and all things return to him”, and no matter how hard we think on that one, it is true of every level. … It’s an everlasting statement, that says everything starts and ends with the Lord, that he is the “alpha and omega”.
Anyway, returning to Wedding feast, remember it … well the king has done his best for those invited, but he became so disappointed in them, that in verse 8 he says to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy”.
And you can actually hear the disappointment in him saying, “they were not worthy”, however, the king was not giving up, because he told his servants in verse 9 and 10, to “go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ … So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
Bluntly, it is better to have people there, who are grateful to be there, than having the wrong people, or no one to share with you, because you can do a lot with people who are understanding and grateful. … In our case, we are grateful to be here because of Jesus, … and because of him, our salvation is secure, but can you see, how scary this is becoming … because without Jesus, we are not invited and we all need Jesus as our Lord and personal saviour to enter that heavenly kingdom.
You Need the Proper Attire (vv. 11-14)
Verse 11 confirms this in a roundabout way, verse 11 says, “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. … So, we have to ask, what wedding garment, nobody mentioned a wedding garment? Revelation 7:13-14 however provides the answer to this question, saying this: “‘Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’ …‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’.”
This man didn’t have on a robe that was “… washed in the blood of the lamb”, the blood of our lord Jesus Christ. And this suggest that although this man was invited, he had not accepted Jesus as his lord and saviour. … And because of this verse 13 tells us that “the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Again, this is quite scary. … and although I think most of us here can accept this verse … and we are ok with it, but think … what about our families, or loved ones. … … Are they washed in the blood of the lamb. … … I will leave that one with you … as this is so difficult, and quite frightening to focus on this, because I don’t wish the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” on anyone, least my own family.
I hope you see now, that this is a difficult but powerful reading. It was a very easy parable to read, but the real message is quite unsettling as verse 14 goes on to say, “many are called, but few are chosen”, … I hope you can see now why so few are chosen. Many people are invited, many people even profess in being a Christian, but only a few will make the commitment to accept Jesus into their heart, and by doing so, they accept God’s invitation to show up at the wedding and are welcomed into the privileges of God’s heavenly Kingdom; however, refusing God’s invitation to that wedding, means the “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
So finally, and after much prayer, my own personal revelation on this parable is this. … You need three things to enter the kingdom of heaven, (whatever that kingdom maybe to you).
1. an invitation from Jesus, which we already have; and whom we follow as Lord.
2. a grateful heart, a heart which develops a greater understanding of the love of God; as he is love personified, and
3. the humility to appreciate who God is, and what he has done for us, and is continually doing for us in preparation to enter that heavenly kingdom.
I cannot think of anything more powerful, can you?
Amen.
