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Grace Bible Church Expository Sermon Notes Parable of the Rejected Banquet Invitation cf. Matt. 22:1-14 The Lord’s Day 6/22/97 AM In this paragraph, Jesus gives a third parable confronting the disobedient Jewish leadership. Just as the parable of the Disobedient Son warned about their past rejection of the ministry of John the Baptist and the parable of the Disobedient Tenant Farmers warned of their present rejection of His own ministry, Jesus’ parable of the Disobedient Guests of the Banquet Feast looks forward to their rejection of the Apostles ministry. In this parable we have Two Invitations to the King’s Banquet. Invitation Number One Matthew 22:1-7 And Jesus answered and spoke unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage [or banquet] for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding; and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them who are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage [or banquet]. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to merchandise; and the remnant took his servants, and treated them shamefully, and slew them. But when the king heard of it, he was angry; and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Once again Jesus gives a parable about what the kingdom of heaven is like. cf. Matthew 13. However, here His parables about the "kingdom of heaven" were given to His enemies to warn them about their impending doom. Obviously, the King in the Lord's story represents God the Father, who gave a large banquet for His Son, Jesus Christ. The King sends His servants, referring to the Apostles who would appeal to the nation of Israel one last time, but unfortunately two responses of rejection were received. A. The First Response of Indifference. First, some simply "would not come" and even "made light of it and went their ways." That is, they failed to grasp the significance of the Son, the feast, the invitation and the honor due the King. Some simply ignored the offer by going to their farms and others ignored the offer by going to their "merchandise" or business. But they all responded with indifference at the invitation. cf. Ps. 118:22 with Luke 20:17-18; Matt. 7:26-27 with Luke 6:46-49; Matt. 11:16-19, etc. B. The Second Response of Hostility. The second response of rejection was more serious, as these were not indifferent but hostile: they took the servants and "treated them shamefully and slew them." The first group were indifferent and rejected the King and His Son; the second group were hostile and insulted the King and His Son. cf. Ps. 2:1-3; Matt. 22:33-45; John 15:18-24, etc. And they did this by their direct reaction to the messengers of the King, i.e., the Apostles, as we discover in the Book of Acts. Jewish leadership was generally either indifferent or hostile, rejecting the Gospel invitations. Once more we marvel at the grace of God offered to those who rejected John the Baptist, were instrumental in crucifying Jesus Christ but were now given a further opportunity through the Apostles preaching. Jesus then moves in His parable from the response of these two groups to the response of the King, relating... C. The Third Response of Judgment. This third response was by the rejected King, obviously representing the offended God, whose Gospel invitation through the ministry of the Apostles has been rebuffed by the indifferent and hostile Jewish leaders. This angry King or God the Father whose servants or Apostles were treated with indifference and hostility, launches an attack against both groups, but especially those who "shamely treated and slew" the Apostles and He burns their city to the ground. Although, Jesus was yet to fully predict the destruction of the nation and the burning of the city of Jerusalem, by the Romans in 70A.D., this is obviously what He was hinting at. Under generals Vespasian and Titus, the Romans marched on Palestine, following a zealot uprising and killed over 1,000,000 Jews, along with destroying the Temple and entire city of Jerusalem. They had to set an example once and for all to the stubborn Semitic peoples of the Middle East. Invitation Number Two Matthew 22:8-10 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding [or banquet feast] is ready, but they who were bidden were not worthy. Go therefore, into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage [banquet]. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all, as many as they found, both bad and good; and the wedding [banquet] was furnished with guests. The King sends another group of servants, i.e., others than the Apostles, representing the great missionary outreach of the early church who marched the highways of the ancient world to bid lost men and women by presenting them with the great invitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Two responses are mentioned... A. The First Response of Acceptance. During this time of Gospel invitation, many respond with a positive acceptance to the banquet, i.e., some "bad and some good." Some were morally and ethically evil and some were morally and ethically good, but both were unworthy of the gracious invitation of the King, God the Father. Obviously this represents the universal Gospel offer, to religious or ethical people and to ungodly or immoral people. Which sets the stage for Jesus' conclusion of His third parable... Matthew 22:11-14 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding [banquet] garment. And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in here not having a wedding [banquet] garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. B. The Second Response of Deception. An intruder to the feast is noticed by the King. This man had received the invitation just like the rest, but stuck out like a sore thumb because he didn't have the right clothing on, i.e., a banquet garment. No doubt, because the invitation of the King was given to such a broad range of people, found on the highways, both "evil and good," he would also provide for them the proper attire for the formal banquet feast. Evidently, one man had accepted the invitation to the feast but came on his own terms to the dinner, seeking to deceive the King. We know that only the God provided righteousness of Jesus Christ will make any acceptable. Others, trying to attend with the clothing of their own righteousness, will stick out and be bound "hand and foot" to be cast out into outer darkness. This speaks of the torments of hell where "weeping and gnashing of teeth" will accompany their self condemning conscience. Although God was in the process of sending the Apostles to invite the nation of Israel to the banquet feast of His Son, they would respond with indifference and hostility, resulting in their Temple and city being destroyed by the King's army of Rome. A further invitation would result in a full group attending the gracious feast of the King, but some will be found without the provided righteousness of Christ. They will intrude on the banquet feast with the arrogance of claiming their own righteousness, resulting in their separation from the King and punishment of being cast into the lake of fire. Jesus' final point is obvious: men and women can't come on their own terms, they must repent of their sins, discard their own claim to righteousness and cloth themselves in the provision of Christ's righteousness. To summarize, in the parable of the two sons the leaders rejected John the Baptists' ministry; in the parable of the tenant farmers, they rejected Jesus as the Christ; and in the parable of the banquet feast, they rejected the invitation of the Apostles ministry to come. Question: How many opportunities will He extend to you, until you finally embrace Jesus Christ as your Savior? Will you put it off forever, and even try to intrude into the "kingdom of heaven" by appealing to your own works? Exploring the Bigger Picture The Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus (The Complete Works of Josephus) gives a contemporary account of the devastating judgment of God by the Roman army for Christ rejecting Israel. This was Josephus’ first book, written when he was 38 years old, about five years after the war with Rome. What Should We Do About this Passage? - Application Recommendations - From a human perspective most people embrace the Gospel invitation after repeated rejections, many by indifference and some by hostility.
Do your children show an indifference to the Gospel or hostility to the Gospel?
The summer is a great time for Gospel sharing, as people enjoy the outdoors and relax. Purpose to get involved this summer in going into the highways and byways to impel the lost to embrace Christ.
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