Matthew 22:1-14…
Jesus had been teaching for three years, but the leaders have rejected Him, becoming hostile. He used parables as a sign of judgment against all those who would not receive Him as Messiah. This is the last of three consecutive parables used to convey this spiritual truth.
In the story, a king sent out invitations to a royal wedding for his son, with a feast that would be lavish and a festival that would last for days on end. It would be inconceivable that those invited would not come to this wondrous occasion. In fact, they would be in trouble if they dishonored the king and his son by not coming. Yet they rejected the first invitation.
However, the gracious king offered another invitation to these same guests. There was still plenty that had been prepared. Yet they were indifferent. To the people listening to this story, it must have seemed impossible to believe. Who could be so ignorant, and so ridiculous?
Worse, some of the people actually took and murdered the messengers. Not coming to the feast was bad enough, but killing the servants was simply malicious. The king had finally had enough, and his judgment of the people was swift and severe.
So a new invitation was given to everyone and anyone. The moral and the immoral are invited just the same. But one man came as an intruder; it was obvious that he didn’t come on the king’s terms. He was thrown out and would suffer great regret.
In the story, the Father was the king, and the son was Jesus. The guests were the Israelites, the servants would be the preachers and prophets, and the feast would be heaven. But we must realize that vs.11-14 talk about us. And there are no “gate crashers” in the kingdom. You have to have on the right clothes (cf. Isaiah 61:10 / Jeremiah 23:6 / 2 Corinthians 5:21). The evidence of this is a life that desires holiness, a living faith (Galatians 2:20 / 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8).
The gospel invitation goes out everywhere. We must accept the gracious invitation by coming to God on His terms. That is, humbly, gratefully, receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in repentance and faith. This is what it means to be among the chosen, not just the called.
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