- Gospels and Acts(NT) Matthew 22:1~22
THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING BANQUET
Question
THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING BANQUET
Matthew 22:1-22
Key Verses: 22:1,2
"Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: `The
kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding
banquet for his son.'"
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. According to this parable, what is the kingdom of heaven like? Who
is the King? The Son? Read also Revelation 7:17; 21:1,2,4;
5:8-10,12; 3:20. What do these verses add to the Biblical picture of
the kingdom of heaven?
2. Read verses 3-6. What was the first response of the invited guests
to the king's invitation? What do the king's actions teach about
God? (4) What does the second response of the invited guests tell us
about sinful man? What did the king do? (7)
3. Read verses 8-10. How did the king fill the wedding hall? Who do
these guests represent? What does this teach us about God's shepherd
heart? What can we learn from this parable about the work of
servants?
4. Read verses 11-13. Who does the man without wedding clothes
represent? How can we prepare wedding clothes for the heavenly
banquet? What does it mean to make a commitment to Jesus? (See Col
2:6,7; Eph 3:16,17; Php 3:10) What does verse 14 mean?
5. Read verses 15-22. How did the Pharisees try to trap Jesus? How did
Jesus answer? What does he teach us about our responsibility to our
nation and God? Think about the meaning of responsibility and
commitment.
Manuscript
Message
THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING BANQUET
Matthew 22:1-22
Key Verses: 22:1,2
"Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: `The
kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding
banquet for his son.'"
In the last passage, through the parable of the tenants, we
learned that we must be careful when we obtain God's blessing so that
we may maintain God's blessing properly. If we don't maintain God's
blessing properly, we fall into the illusion that the vineyard is not
God's, but it is ours. We can say, "My children are not God's children
given to me as gifts, but they are mine. This one is mine and that one
is mine. All my children are mine. My life is mine." Those in this
illusion abandon God; finally they become godless and candidates for
the kingdom of the devil. Today we study about how God wants to bring
his children to his glorious kingdom, the kingdom of God through the
parable of the wedding banquet. Let's learn the importance of having a
living hope in the kingdom of God.
First, the kingdom of God (1-2). Look at verse 2. "The kingdom of
heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son." This
verse tells us that the kingdom of God is like a king who prepared a
wedding banquet for his son. The kingdom of God is the place of
happiness and joy and is full of blessing.
People who live in this world suffer much, but they suffer most
because of their sorrow. One pianist almost mastered her piano
performance. In order to concentrate only on piano practice, win a
contest, and be a piano soloist known around the world, she divorced
her husband. As soon as she divorced and began to live by herself,
contrary to her wishes, her right hand began to suffer from rheumatism.
Instead of practicing piano, she had to suffer from unbearable pain.
After two months her right leg was also invaded by rheumatism and she
could not practice piano at all. In addition, after divorce she
suffered from loneliness. So she gained weight remarkably. Suffering
from rheumatism was nothing compared to her loneliness. Now she is
slightly more than middle-aged; her hope of becoming a world famous
pianist left during her time of suffering from rheumatism and
loneliness. In short, she is a very sorrowful woman, caused by her
human ambition. There are many gorgeous looking young men and women.
But during the time of Bible study with them we find that their hearts
were broken when their parents broke up. They could not overcome their
sorrow, and they cry endlessly. When they don't cry in sorrow, they
engage in outrageous behavior toward others. America is a rich country.
But America may be number one in the world in having sorrowful people.
Two sisters who are very sincere are always sorrowful because their
parents are quarreling every night without any obvious reason. They are
sorrowful because their parents quarrel over very trivial matters. They
study so well, but they are not happy; they are sorrowful. Because of
this, Jesus Christ came to this world and became a man of sorrows and
was rejected and despised in order to wipe the tears from our eyes.
Revelation 7:17 says, "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be
their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God
will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Here the phrase, "And God
will wipe away every tear from their eyes," means there is no sorrow in
the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of God there is only happiness and
joy and peace. Again, Revelation 21:4 says, "He will wipe every tear
from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or
pain, for the old order of things has passed away." At the beginning of
this verse, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes," means that there
is no one who sheds tears due to sorrow in the kingdom of God. There
are so many people who are pretty much aged. They are crying because of
the premonition of their miserable deaths. But in the kingdom of God
there is no death. There is only eternal life and eternal beauty in the
likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. In short, there is no sorrow in the
kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is ruled by love and peace.
Revelation 5:9,10 say, "And they sang a new song: You are worthy to
take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with
your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and
people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to
serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." Again, Revelation
5:12 says, "In a loud voice they sang: Worthy is the Lamb, who was
slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor
and glory and praise!'" This verse tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ
is worthy to be the eternal Ruler of the kingdom of God, because as the
Lamb of God he was slain for our sorrows and sins. The kingdom of God
is not like a worldly apartment unit. The kingdom of God is indeed
beautiful. Revelation 21:1-2 say, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and
there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband." The kingdom of God is like a wedding banquet.
Most people live to eat well and sleep well. Eating seems to be
nothing. But eating is very important. Revelation 3:20 says, "Here I
am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." The kingdom
of God is the place where we can eat with our Lord Jesus Christ, who
was slain for our sins. We know how beautiful it is when a boyfriend
and a girlfriend, who grew up purely and nobly, are going to marry.
They have a final date right before the marriage and go to a very
expensive restaurant. They eat and look at each other and smile, and
sometimes the woman's face flushes in shyness and joy. The kingdom of
God is like this. The kingdom of God is where Jesus, who was slain, is.
There are no tears in the kingdom of God. There is no sorrow in the
kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is where our Lord Jesus Christ, who
was slain for our sins, rules together with us. The kingdom of God is
so beautiful that pen and tongue cannot describe it. It is partially
described by John who was on the island of Patmos. In short, there are
no tears or sorrow in the kingdom of God.
Second, the inimicality of the invited people (3-7). Look at verse 3.
"He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to
tell them to come, but they refused to come." The last part of this
sentence says, "...but they refused to come." They refused to come
because they were blind to the spiritual reality.
Look at verse 4. "Then he sent some more servants and said, Tell
those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and
fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to
the wedding banquet.'" In this verse, "he" refers to God. God really
wanted to bring his suffering people back to his kingdom. As we know
well, people's pride is very easily hurt. When people refused his
invitation, God could have punished them. But in his great mercy, he
invited them again. He even widely advertised through channels two,
five, seven and eleven. The contents of the advertisement were as
follows: "Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my
dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything
is ready. Come and rejoice and be happy."
Look at verses 5-6. "But they paid no attention and went offone to
his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants,
mistreated them and killed them." We can understand why they rejected
the invitation. In the past, a young and very ambitious servant of God,
who had a dream of world conquest, thought that a senior pastor who
talked a lot about the kingdom of God was too sentimental, mainly
because of his old age. The young servant of God thought that it would
be good to impute the idea of modernization and world conquest, and
that always talking about the kingdom of God makes people gloomy and is
impractical. Like that young servant of God, many Christians these days
do not have the slightest idea about the kingdom of God. Many young
people only want to achieve something. Some want to enjoy the fleeting
pleasures of sin. Some want to pick up a boyfriend. Some want to
establish future security, when there is no security in this world. But
they are very indifferent about the kingdom of God. When we study
Matthew's Gospel, we find 54 times the story about the kingdom of God
or the kingdom of heaven. And in Matthew's Gospel there are many
parables which make some of us very sleepy. These parables mainly talk
about the kingdom of God. Today's passage, "The Parable of the Wedding
Banquet," describes how God wants to bring his children back to his
kingdom so that they may be happy. But they have no idea about the
kingdom of God because their heads are buried in the earth and they
have no spiritual reality.
The kingdom of God gives us a living hope. But the people of the
world want to make some achievements and want to be men and women of
fame. One of our shepherdesses was once a feminist, simply because she
wanted to be the President of the United States of America. There was a
young American who became old during his Ph.D. program. Even after
sixteen years had elapsed, he could not pass his prelim, not to mention
getting a Ph.D. So he shot his advisor and he also shot himself in the
head. Some want to solve their security problem. As soon as they finish
undergraduate study they get a proper job and try to marry and
establish their future security. These kinds of people only lose all
their hair and later become couch potatoes. They have not at all the
idea of obtaining the kingdom of God.
Matthew 5:10 says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because
of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This is the
reason Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the kingdom (Mt 4:23). Matthew 13:38 says,
"The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the
kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one...." These verses
explain that those who do not have hope in the kingdom of God are like
evil men or weeds.
As we have seen, people of the world are very busy. Both husband
and wife work to make their future security. One woman worked three
full-time jobs for fifteen years, then lost all the money she had
earned through gambling. The most serious problem is that men do not
know who they are. They think that if they have money, they can live in
this world happily and forever. But God made a life span for each
person. It is appointed when they are born, and they will die and go to
eternity according to God's sovereign will. We cannot live in this
world forever. Those who try to do so are earthbound and only
interested in the things of the world. The feel bothered by the
invitation to the kingdom. So some of them even killed God's servants.
This is the reason our one-to-one Bible teachers are rejected again and
again, until sometimes they think they are born to be rejected or they
lose the sense of their holy mission. But we should not think so. We
must follow the footsteps of Jesus. Jesus was rejected again and again,
until he was crucified on the cross and shed much blood from his
wounds. Therefore, inviting people to the heavenly banquet is not a
happy job, but it is a glorious and holy mission given to us.
Third, God's broken shepherd heart. Look at verses 8-9. "Then he said
to his servants, The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did
not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet
anyone you find.'" In these verses we can see God's broken heart to
invite his suffering people in the world to his heavenly banquet. Look
at verses 9-10. "Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet
anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and
gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the
wedding hall was filled with guests." God wanted to invite his
suffering people in the world, without missing one. Finally God invited
all kinds of people and filled the banquet hall. In this way the
wedding hall was filled with guests. God's broken shepherd heart always
wants to invite anybody and everybody, and any kind of people. There is
no discrimination in God in inviting people to his kingdom.
Fourth, wedding garments. Look at verses 11-12. "But when the king came
in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing
wedding clothes. Friend,' he asked, how did you get in here without
wedding clothes?' The man was speechless." Here "wedding garment" is
comparable to Jesus himself. Many think that when they say they believe
in Jesus, they can go to the kingdom of God, because God is love. But
it is mere hallucination. We need a wedding garment to attend the
heavenly banquet for the crown prince. We have to prepare wedding
garments as a matter of first importance. Ephesians 3:16,17 says, "I
pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power
through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith. And I pray that you (may be) rooted and
established in love...." In short, these verses tell us that our inner
man must grow when we accept Jesus Christ. Even if one believed for
forty years, if he did not grow, his inner man is like a little infant.
So he cannot know who Jesus really is. Again, Colossians 2:6,7 says,
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live
in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you
were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." In short, these verses
tell us that as the children of God we must commit ourselves in Jesus
and build ourselves up as mature children of God, and finally we must
have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In order to do this, we
need a decision of faith. One pretty young girl said, "I believe in
Jesus, but I didn't accept Jesus as my personal Savior." This girl is
very pretty. But one of her legs is in the kingdom of Satan and the
other leg is in the kingdom of God. So her inner person is in the
torment of Satan most of the time; sometimes she is happy when she
hears the word of God. These verses tell us that we must make a
personal commitment to Jesus. But these days the word "commitment" is
taboo in this country. It is because commitment requires
responsibility, and people cannot indulge their personal privacy. There
are many lesbians, homosexuals, and uncontested divorces in this
country because people don't want to be responsible for anything. How
can one commit to his wife? How can people commit to their jobs or to
God's mission? It is impossible. But it is possible. When one commits
to our Lord Jesus Christ, he can commit to his wife, and to his
children, and to his country, and to God's holy mission, and his reward
will be great. He will be great and he will be a blessing.
We must pray that this country may be rich with those who have
committed their lives and futures in Jesus and the kingdom of God, and
be poor in uncommitted people. St. Paul cried out in Philippians 3:10,
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death...." Everybody knows that St. Paul was the best philosopher in
the West and the East and the best theologian, who completed the
framework of Christianity by writing Romans. But he had never been
satisfied with his knowledge of Jesus. So he cried out, "I want to know
Christ." After a few minutes, he cried out again, "I want to know
Christ." In his dream he cried out again and again, "I want to know
Christ." When he woke up, he again cried out, "I want to know Christ."
Those who are shallow in learning have the motto: "I know what you are
saying." If somebody says something he doesn't know, he answers, "Yeah,
I knew that too." But practically, he doesn't know the answer. Such
people never want to know something. They become very habitual, like
Chicago squirrels. How can we prepare wedding clothes? There is only
one way: We must commit in Jesus our lives and futures and learn of him
day and night. Then we will be accepted into the kingdom of God and be
happy forever.
Those who have no inner man's growth in Jesus will have an
especially hard time. Look at verse 13. "Then the king told the
attendants, Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" Many
worldly Christians think that they can go to heaven because God is
love. God is love, and at the same time he is righteous. So those who
are not committed in Jesus will be tied up hand and foot and thrown
outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth forever.
Look at verse 14. "For many are invited, but few are chosen." This
verse sounds not so meaningful. But this verse is a sorrowful
lamentation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus wanted to invite all people
to his kingdom. This is the reason he came to this world and was born
in a stable of animals and laid in a manger. He was despised and
rejected and finally crucified to open the way to the kingdom of God so
that he might invite them all. He diligently invited them to the
kingdom of God through his preaching and healing. Jesus invited so
many. But few are chosen to enter the kingdom of God.
Fifth, the Pharisees' intrigue to kill Jesus through a taxation matter
(15-22). After hearing Jesus' words that the kingdom of God is like a
wedding banquet, they felt Jesus was telling this parable to them. They
were very upset. So they planned to trap Jesus in his words to kill
him. They made a very clever question. They said, "Teacher, we know you
are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance
with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention
to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to
pay taxes to Caesar or not?" This was a very tricky question. At that
time, the people of Israel were outraged to pay tax to Caesar, the
Roman Emperor. They had a fixed idea that they must pay only the temple
tax as the expression of worshiping God. Jesus knew their evil intent
and hypocrisy. He said, "Show me the coin used for paying the tax"
(19). "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "`Caesar's,'
they replied. Then Jesus said to them, `Give to Caesar what is
Caesar's, and to God what is God's'" (21). Jesus' answer is very
difficult to understand. When we think simply about this answer, we
realize that he is saying that we must fulfill our obligation to our
country and at the same time we must fulfill our obligation to God.
Human beings are human beings because we have small and large
responsibilities. Those who have no sense of responsibility are not
noble people; they are sub-human beings. They are those who should not
exist in the United States of America. We must fulfill our
responsibility for our families, and for our children, and for our
country. Most of all, we must fulfill our responsibility to our God
Almighty. God wants us to pray that God will make America a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.
Today we learned that our main goal in Bible study should be the
kingdom of God. And while on earth we should be men and women of
responsibility to our nation and to our God.