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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 22. Matthew 22, as we return to our 
exposition of Matthew's Gospel, I'll read the section that we're 
going to look at this morning and then we'll pray, and then 
just remind us of the context and what's going on at this particular 
point in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ revealed in Matthew's 
Gospel, beginning in chapter 22 at verse 1. And Jesus answered 
and spoke to them again by parables and said, The kingdom of heaven 
is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son and sent 
out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding. 
And they were not willing to come. Again he sent out other 
servants saying, Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared 
my dinner. My oxen and fatted cattle are 
killed and all things are ready. come to the wedding. But they 
made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another 
to his business. And the rest seized his servants, 
treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king 
heard about it, he was furious, and he sent out his armies, destroyed 
those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his 
servants, The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were 
not worthy. Therefore, 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. But when the king came in to 
see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding 
garment. So he said to him, Friend, how 
did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was 
speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 
bind him hand and foot, take him away and cast him into outer 
darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. For many are called, but few 
are chosen. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for the word of God and we pray now for the ministry 
of your Holy Spirit. Jesus said, apart from Him, we 
can do nothing, and that includes understand Scripture. So we pray 
the Spirit would come and lead us and guide us and direct us. 
Our Father, I pray that the Spirit would open hearts to receive 
the truth of God's Holy Word. We ask that today would be the 
day of salvation, that there would not be those in this place 
that continue unwilling or indifferent to the preaching of the Gospel. 
that there would not be those who violently oppose the truth 
as it comes to them. We ask God that in your sovereign 
grace you would teach men, women, boys and girls to fear you, the 
living and the true God. We pray that today you would 
grant grace in terms of faith and repentance so that sinners 
may turn from their idols to the true and the living God and 
would know the joy of being found in Jesus Christ. We ask that 
you would forgive all of us now for all of our sin and unrighteousness, 
that you would cleanse us in the blood of the Lamb, wash away 
anything that would darken our understanding, and keep us from 
receiving your truth. God help us to take these things 
to heart. May it affect us for good. And 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, remember, 
we're in the Passion Week. The last several chapters of 
Matthew's Gospel basically involve one particular week. And here, 
specifically, Jesus is in the temple. Notice in chapter 21, 
at verse 23, it says, Now when He came into the temple. So this is the Tuesday of the 
Passion Week. On Tuesday night, He will give 
the Olivet Discourse. That is recorded in Matthew chapters 
24. So, Jesus has a busy day on this particular Tuesday. Now, 
there are eight confrontations going on between the Lord Christ 
and the religious leaders. Note, specifically, in chapter 
21, verses 23 to 27, there is a question concerning Jesus' 
authority. Jesus then responds with three 
parables, and then there are four confrontations. We are in 
the third parable, the parable of the wedding feast. Remember, 
in chapter 21 we saw the parable of the two sons, and then the 
parable of the wicked vine dressers, and basically each of the parables 
concerned the same thing. The religious leaders who have 
opposed the Lord Jesus Christ, and those who follow those leaders, 
have brought on the very judgment and wrath and fury of God Almighty. Now, if you use the McShane calendar 
in your Bible reading, and you read Luke 14 this morning, Luke 
14 verses 15 to 24 is very similar to our passage, but it's a different 
context, it's a different situation. And most likely, Jesus, as an 
itinerant preacher, would use the same analogies, would use 
the same metaphors, would use the same parables and stories, 
but he would give them different meaning in the context in which 
he spoke. So, this is a different particular 
setting and context than what you find in Luke 14. Now, having 
said all that, let's look specifically at this parable of the wedding 
feast. And it does, in many respects, go along with what we considered 
last week in Isaiah 55. And that was purely accidental 
on my part. I didn't think that 55 went with 
Matthew 22 until I started doing the work this week on Matthew 
22 and saw how closely joined together Isaiah 55 and Matthew 
chapter 22 are. This is a very sobering passage 
of Scripture. I hope that you were sobered 
by the hymn that we sang before we looked at this. The fact that 
God is going to judge the living and the dead. The fact that all 
of us will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to give an account 
of deeds done in the body, whether good or evil. All of us will 
go into the joy and bliss and glory of heaven, or we will go 
into the terrors and the punishment of hell. And this passage describes 
that in some detail. So let's look at three things 
this morning as we consider this particular parable. First, the 
subject of the parable, and secondly, the teaching of the parable. 
It's under the teaching that we'll see three things. The subject 
of the parable, I've already stated the setting. Jesus is 
in the temple, it is the Tuesday of the Passion Week, and his 
audience are the religious leaders. Note specifically in verse 28 
of chapter 21. But what do you think a man had 
two sons? He gives the parable. Note verse 
33 in chapter 21, here another parable. Note chapter 22 verse 
1, and Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parable. So you see, these three parables 
are closely joined together. They are spoken to the same audience, 
the religious leaders who are apostates, who have rejected 
our Lord Jesus. Note the subject of the parable. 
Verse 2, the kingdom of heaven is like. We see that in Matthew 
chapter 13, we see it as recently in Matthew chapter 18 verse 23. Jesus spoke concerning the kingdom 
of heaven in this particular parable. It's not this, the kingdom 
of heaven is like this king or his son or the prophets and apostles. 
The whole situation that is in view here is like the kingdom 
of heaven. And then the identification of 
the parties involved. The Kingdom of Heaven is like 
a certain king. Obviously, that would be God 
the Father. And this king arranged a marriage 
for his son. This would be the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The servants who go to invite the persons to come to 
this wedding feast are the prophets and the apostles. And there are 
two invitations that are given, and that's what will bring us 
now to the teaching of the parable. Three things we ought to appreciate 
here. First, the invitation of the 
first guests, verses 3 to 6. Secondly, there is the invitation 
of the second set of guests in verses 8 to 13. And then the 
conclusion of the parable in verse 14. So that's an overview. Let's look first at the invitation 
of the first guest. Notice verse 3. He sent out his servants to call 
those who were invited to the wedding. Now, typically in antiquity, 
they sent out two invitations to a wedding. The first wasn't 
like our save-the-date, but it was sort of like that. There's 
an event, in this case a wedding feast, and it's going to be at 
this particular time frame, And then the second invitation would 
rally those who had been invited and say, it is on, you need to 
come, you need to respond to this. We see that in verse 3. 
Sent out his servants to call those who were invited. So they had been invited previously, 
the hour had now arrived, so the servants are sent out to 
invite those who had been invited. Notice the refusal, verse 3. We'll look at that in more detail 
in a moment. and they were not willing to come." Now note what 
the king does in verse 4. He describes the wedding feast 
in more detail. And I think this highlights for 
us the goodness of God. It highlights the patience of 
God. Because what's at stake here in this particular instance 
is that when these persons are invited to the wedding and they 
refuse to come, that brings dishonor to the king. It is a sign of 
great dishonor and as well disobedience to the command that the king 
issued. Now I've had several children 
get married and I've always been honored when persons that are 
friends of mine come to the wedding. It's a sign of honor to the person 
that you're special enough to them that they will attend your 
particular event. So you see, in the first instance, 
when this invitation goes out to call the persons who had already 
been invited to attend this particular feast, they were not willing 
to come. Now, certain kings might be liable to say, well, forget 
them then. If they are not willing to come 
to this grand event that would honor me and fulfill the command 
that I have given, then I'll just cut them off and destroy 
them right away. But this king doesn't do that. 
Notice what he does in verse 4. He says again, he sent out 
other servants saying, tell those who are invited, see I have prepared 
my dinner, my oxen and fatted cattle are killed and all things 
are ready. Come to the wedding. This is 
just like in the parable he tells previously. God the Lord sends 
His servants, the prophets, to Israel. He calls upon them to 
respond to Him. And they reject those prophets. They stone them. They seize them. 
They beat them. They murder them. And then the 
Lord God of Israel sends His Son, the very heir to the throne. He says, certainly they'll receive 
Him, certainly they'll honor Him, but no, they seize Him and 
they destroy Him as well. This underscores the patience 
and the goodness of God. That patience and goodness, though, 
we must notice, does run out. If you are testing and trying 
and rejecting the patience and goodness of God, there is a time 
when that will run out, when it will be no more. Again, rehearse 
the song we sang in number 240. There will be sinners on that 
day, unprepared to meet Him, because they were unwilling in 
this life. They refused and rejected the One who called in the overtures 
of His gospel. And I see in verse 4 something 
similar or parallel to Isaiah 55. What does God, through the 
prophet, do in Isaiah 55? He says, Oh, everyone who thirsts, 
let him come. Let him drink. You who have no 
money, come, buy and eat. Not only water, but you're able 
to purchase wine and milk and everything that satisfies. Then 
he asks the question to these people, he says, why do you spend 
your money for that which is not bread? Why do you spend wages 
on that which does not satisfy? And then he says, listen to me, 
incline your ear to me, and I will tell you. And he says, come to 
me and you'll have abundance. Come to me and your soul will 
live. Come to me and you'll have the forgiveness of sins. Come 
to me and I will pardon you abundantly. You see, God the Lord, through 
the prophet Isaiah, is showing His heart, He's showing His goodness, 
He's showing His patience, He's showing His kindness, and He's 
bidding sinners to come. And the same thing is true in 
this case. This invitation had gone out 
to Israel. And they were told to respond 
on such and such a day. The day had come. The things 
were made ready. And the persons refused to come. 
So the Lord God sent more servants. And He said, Tell them there's 
fatted calves. Tell them there's all sort of 
delicacies. Tell them that we've got a banquet. 
Tell them that we've got a buffet. Tell them that there's good things 
for everyone. And notice the response of the 
persons at this particular time. There are three ways that Israel 
had responded to the invitation that this certain king had issued. 
And I submit that these are the three ways that men, women, boys 
and girls respond to the invitation today. In the first place, they're 
unwilling. Imagine that. The king of heaven 
and earth calls you to come to him and feast at his table. And what do you do? No, I don't 
want to. I'm unwilling. It's what the 
prophet Jeremiah spoke to concerning Israel, when the Lord God says, 
they turn the back to me and not the face. I've used that 
illustration before. Don't you love it, parents, when 
you're reproving your children, and I'm being sarcastic, and 
they turn their backs on you? That is the height of disrespect. That is wretched. If you're a 
child here that has ever been tempted to turn his or her back 
on your parents, don't do it. But that's what sinners do to 
God. They turn their back. They're not willing. They're 
not willing, as Paul says in Romans 1, to retain the knowledge 
of God in their thoughts. They want to cast God out. They 
are unwilling. But as well, sinners are indifferent. This call goes out through God's 
prophets and apostles in Old Covenant Israel. And what happens? 
Persons are indifferent. Notice what verse 5 says. But they made light of it and 
went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. They made light of it. Can I 
just encourage you this morning, when the High King of Heaven 
itself, the Creator of all things seen and unseen, the Governor 
over all His creatures and all their actions, when that God 
issues you a command, do not treat it lightly. Do not resist it, do not reject 
it, and do not refuse it. In the first instance, they're 
unwilling. These ones are indifferent. They 
don't care. This isn't their priority. This 
isn't what matters. And it says that one went or 
some went to their farms and others to their businesses. Those 
are legitimate pursuits. It's not wrong to have a farm. 
You'll never come to this church and hear a sermon on how wicked 
it is to own a farm. You'll never come to this church 
and hear a sermon on how wicked it is to own a business. Those 
are legitimate pursuits. But look at what happens. When 
those legitimate pursuits trump the word of the living and true 
God, we are in a bad place. Bruner says that legitimate occupations 
become sinister when they become preoccupations. They're indifferent 
to the command of the king. They're indifferent to the reality 
that this is a time to honor the king and to celebrate the 
marriage of his son. And instead of going and responding 
and giving that honor and praise and glory, they're indifferent. 
They'd rather do their business. They'd rather do their farms. 
They just shrug it off. J.C. Ryle puts it this way. He says, Open sin may kill its 
thousands, but indifference and neglect of the gospel kill their 
tens of thousands. You see, I think that's probably 
where a lot of people find themselves today. There's a third category 
we'll look at in just a moment, and certainly those persons are 
alive and well today, but it's these first two places that I 
think most people are at. They're unwilling. God, the Lord, 
has commanded you to believe the Gospel and repent, but you're 
unwilling. You say, but I thought you were a Calvinist, Pastor. 
I thought you were Reformed. I thought you held to the 1689 
London Baptist Confession of Faith. Yes, God is sovereign. 
God does predestine. God does choose. God does elect. That same God, in His Son, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, reproved the religious leaders of His day, 
and He said, you are not willing to come to Me that you may have 
everlasting life. This same Lord Jesus Christ in 
Matthew 23 is going to lament over Jerusalem because He wanted 
to gather together her children as a chicken gathers together 
her chicks, but you were not willing. So yes, on the one hand, 
God is absolutely sovereign, but that does never argue against 
your responsibility before Him. Check your Bibles, read the Scriptures, 
and understand these things. you will perish and end up in 
hell for not being willing, for being indifferent, for being 
more preoccupied with your business or your farm than the Lord God. 
You see, that's how wicked we are, brethren. A good pursuit, 
farming and business. But if we put that as our priority, 
to the neglect of the Lord God, when He commands us to come and 
sup at this feast, you see the problem there. This is why Jesus 
says, if you don't hate your parents, if you don't hate your 
parents and follow after me, you're not worthy of me. Jesus 
is not teaching rejection of the fifth commandment. He's talking 
in terms of priority. Same with Matthew 6.33, seek 
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then these 
things will be added to you. It's a matter of priority. And 
this applies equally to the unbeliever and the believer. I tried to 
prosecute this last week. Do you spend your wages on that 
which does not satisfy? Believer, do you have a saving 
interest in the Lord God Most High, and yet he's fifth or sixth 
or seventh on your priority list? Is there a hobby, is there a 
pursuit, is there a business or a farm that's more valuable 
and more precious than time with the Lord God Most High? And unbeliever, 
what do you have in your life What do you have in your existence 
that is more excellent than communion with the living and true God? What is there of more value than 
to have the forgiveness of sins? Don't you want to sing that someday 
and mean it? My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought, my 
sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I 
bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. 
For anybody here blood-bought, they know that there is nothing 
more blessed than to be able to sing that and mean it. It's great to have sin forgiven, 
isn't it? My sin, O the glorious thought, 
my sin, not in part but the whole, He doesn't just atone for 50% 
of our sin and send us upon our way. He doesn't just atone for 
99.9% of our sin and send us upon our way. The blood of the 
Lord Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, and in this we 
greatly rejoice. So what is there in your life 
that is far more important than seeking this God, than responding 
to this wedding feast, Why do you spend money for that which 
is not bread? Why do you take your wages and 
purchase those things which do not satisfy? In Isaiah's day, 
he might have said to the people, why do you bow to Baal? Why are 
you bowing before Moloch? Why are you casting your riches 
before Asherah? Why is it that these idols have 
captivated your hearts? And in our own day, we might 
say the selfsame things. They're not Baal, it's not Asherah, 
it's not Moloch, but it's money, it's sex, it's drugs, it's whatever 
it is that trumps this relationship with the Lord God Most High. 
So you see the patience, the kindness, the mercy of the king 
in this instance, and you see the lawlessness of rebel sinners. They're unwilling, they're indifferent, 
but as well, they're violently opposed. This reminds us of the 
previous parable, when these men, to whom the prophets were 
sent, seize the prophets and they stone them, they murder 
them. Notice what we have here in verse 
6. In Matthew 22, and the rest seized his servants, treated 
them spitefully, and killed them. They arrogantly mistreated these 
servants. Isn't that terrible? I mean, 
just think of the scene for a minute. You're a father, your son's getting 
married, and you send out wedding invitations. And you meet with 
various responses. Persons are just unwilling, don't 
want to go. It's going to throw it away. 
No RSVP, no common decency, no basic social grace. They just 
throw it away. They're unwilling. So you send 
back your invitation through your servants, and they say, 
you know, we've got more important things to do than honor the king 
and his son. We've got businesses to tend 
to, and we've got farms to tend to. Interesting that business 
owners and farmers can find persons to man the shop when it's time 
for holiday, though, isn't it? This would be offensive to a 
king. This would be offensive to the son that is to be honored 
at this feast. But just imagine if you sent 
this invitation out through your servants and they beat your servants. They spitefully treat them. They arrogantly abuse them. This is the history of Israel, 
isn't it? What happened to Isaiah? History 
tells us he was sawn in two. What happened to Jeremiah? He's 
treated like a common criminal and lowered down into a pit. 
What happened to Micaiah when he stood before Ahab and told 
the truth? He got a slap on the face, prison, 
and bread for the rest of his life. This is the history of 
Israel. They're unwilling, they're indifferent, 
but they're violently opposed. Now, you may not be violently 
opposed today, but if, by God's grace, you don't close with Jesus, 
it's probably not going to get better. It's probably not going 
to get more soft towards the things of Christ. You need to 
consider this. Now, notice, under this heading, 
the invitation of the first guests, the king punishes. Verse 7, but 
when the king heard about it, he was furious. So that's the 
interesting thing for the unwilling, the indifferent, and the violently 
opposed. They don't think the king's watching. 
They don't think the king pays attention. You may be here this 
morning unwilling, indifferent, or violently opposed. We can't 
tell that about you. We don't see that under the surface. We don't know your heart. We 
don't know your state. In fact, you might be able to 
fool the persons that are closest to you. You don't look unwilling. 
You don't look indifferent. You don't look violently opposed. 
You can't fool God. The king knows what's happened. 
The king knows that these invitations were rejected and refused. The 
king knows that his servants have been mistreated. The king 
understands and sees with pinpoint accuracy. In fact, this king 
knows you better than you know yourself. That really should 
terrify you. I don't think any of us have 
ever even begun to consider just how bad we really are. God sees 
us in all of it. That's what makes it amazing 
that He pardons iniquity abundantly. But if you are here this morning 
unwilling or indifferent or violently opposed, take notice of verse 
7, the king saw, the king knew, and the king was furious. So 
what does the king do? He does what was already specified. Notice in chapter 21, after Jesus 
told the parable of the wicked vinedressers, Jesus asks the 
question in verse 40, therefore, when the owner of the vineyard 
comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? They said to him, 
he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard 
to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their 
seasons. Notice in verse 43, Therefore 
I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and 
given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. You see, the Lord 
Christ is consistent with this particular parable. He illustrates 
in verse 7 how the king does destroy those wretched men wretchedly. He does demonstrate how at least 
visibly this kingdom will transfer from Old Covenant Israel to the 
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes vis-à-vis the destruction 
of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Now, some will say, well, 
it doesn't say that. It certainly does. Notice in 
verse 7, When the king heard about it, he was furious, and 
he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up 
their city. That is precisely what took place 
in AD 70. When we get to the Olivet Discourse, 
we will see that. In fact, in Luke's version of 
the Olivet Discourse, in Luke 21, the Lord Jesus says, when 
you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know its desolation 
is near. The Lord Christ is telling these 
people via parable what He will develop later on that evening 
via prophetic word in the Olivet Discourse. R.T. Frantz says, the phrase, their 
city, thus depicts the devastating result of the failure of Jerusalem's 
current leadership. You know, I wonder if this is 
another reason why Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2 that we ought 
to pray for kings and those who are in authority, because if 
leaders are wretched, wicked, vile, evil, rebellious persons, 
God's wrath comes down. Perhaps this is what Paul has 
in mind in 1 Timothy 2. Pray for these men that you may 
lead a peaceable and a quiet life. See, there's no peaceable 
and a quiet life when the Roman armies converge upon Jerusalem, 
when the Roman armies destroy the temple, when the Roman armies 
slaughter multitudes of Jewish people. There's no peace there. 
Brethren, we need to pray for our leaders. Yes, for their well-being, 
but also for the good of the land in which we dwell. France 
says, Jerusalem is now no longer God's city. Notice that, verse 
7. When the king heard about it, 
he was furious, and he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, 
and burned up their city. Jerusalem was the city of God, 
wasn't it? When Solomon ascends the throne 
over all of Israel and in Jerusalem, he sat upon the throne of Yahweh. Yet the Lord God, Christ, specifically 
here says, it's theirs. Jerusalem is now no longer God's 
city, but theirs, and the community as a whole, is implicated in 
their rebellion and its punishment, as had so often happened in the 
past when Israel's sin had led to the city's destruction by 
invading armies. This is nothing new. This happened 
in the 8th century BC. This happened because the northern 
tribes continued, impenitent, against Yahweh. So God sends 
the Assyrians to destroy them, This happened in the 6th century 
BC, when the southern tribes of Judah rebelled against God. So God dispatches whom He calls, 
My servant, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonians, to destroy Judah. And here, the measure of their 
guilt has been filled up, and in accordance with the curses 
of the covenant, the Lord Christ, as the God-man, is telling these 
persons that judgment will come upon them. But in this instance, 
the kingdom will actually be taken from them and it will be 
given to a new nation. And it will be a Jew-Gentile 
church made up from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 
And they will bear fruits consistent with it. Spurgeon comments on 
verse 7 this way, he says, But he was unconsciously working 
out the eternal purposes of the Most High God, even as the kings 
of Assyria and Babylon had been in the olden time. They were 
the instruments by which the Lord had punished His rebellious 
people. You see what's happened here? 
We have lost this sense of the judgment of God. And this particular 
passage, this parable as a whole, tells us not only of His temporal 
judgment, but it tells us of His eternal judgment. That's 
what we'll see in a moment when we get further on in the text. 
But this is crucial that we do not forget this. How often do 
we simply survey Scripture for beneficial tips for our lives? How often do we look for Scripture 
to make us a complete man or woman? To make us a fulfilled 
man or a fulfilled woman? How often do we treat the Scriptures 
as if those books, chicken soup for the soup, are actually accurate? 
Do you know that the Bible is not chicken soup for your soul? It is the message of salvation 
by Jesus Christ. Salvation from what? From the 
wrath of God! The judgment and fury of God. In this instance, a temporal 
act. He destroys the city. You say, 
well, I don't hear much about this. Read your Bible. Read Josephus, 
the Jewish historian. He records in great detail what 
happened in A.D. 70. It was not pretty. Ladies 
ate their children because of the famine, like they had during 
the Babylonian captivity. Persons were slaughtered in mass 
because of the wrath and the fury and the judgment of God. 
You see, you need to understand that. You need to get that in 
your heads. You need to come to grips with 
that reality. To be an unbeliever, to be unwilling, 
to be indifferent, to be violently opposed, means you're on the 
wrong side when it comes to the day of judgment. It means that 
God the Lord will meet out, visit you with great punishment. And 
in this respect, verse 7 is a description of a war that occurred in the 
first century. People died, city was burned, 
the temple was destroyed. But in many respects, that would 
be a walk into a park as to what the final day will be when sinners 
will stand before their God. You need to get that. I'm all 
for having a happy life. Don't leave here this morning 
saying, Butler doesn't want us to be happy. I do. I want you 
to be happy men, happy women, happy kids, well-adjusted, profitable 
human beings, decent contributors to society and whatnot. Butler 
wants you to be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Butler 
wants you to go to heaven, not hell. That's the point. Notice the second, or the invitation 
of the second guests, verses 8 to 13. We see in many respects 
the trajectory of gospel movement in the first century. It's not 
strictly chronological. The Gentile mission didn't begin 
after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. When we read the Book 
of Acts, we see that it was going on right after the Great Commission. 
They took seriously that mandate to go there for and disciple 
the nations. They took seriously our Lord's 
Word. So when we get to the Book of Acts, that's what we find. 
They are evangelizing, they are testifying, they are telling 
people about the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. This is 
not strictly chronological, but it certainly follows the trajectory 
that we find in redemptive history. Notice the indictment concerning 
the first guests. Jesus says in verse 8 in the 
parable, Then he said to his servants, The wedding is ready, 
but those who were invited were not worthy. They were not worthy. It's an interesting passage. 
It ought to remind us of Acts 13, when Paul and Barnabas are 
preaching in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, and the Jews reject 
what Paul is preaching. The Jews want nothing to do with 
Pauline apostolic preaching. The Jews are blaspheming. The 
Jews are revolting against him. And Paul makes this statement. 
It says, Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said to these unbelieving 
Jews, It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken 
to you first. But since you reject it and judge 
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the 
Gentiles. That's the movement in the parable. 
The Jews, as the covenant people of God, had resisted their God. The Jews, as the covenant people 
of God, had rejected this certain King. This certain King brings 
the Son of His love on the sea. This certain King invites these 
Jews to participate in this messianic feast These Jews refuse through 
their unwillingness, through their indifference, and through 
their violent opposition. So what does God say? He says 
to the disciples, go to the Gentiles, and Jews as well. He doesn't 
move strictly in ethnic lines. The Church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ is made up of Jew and Gentile. Notice that very specifically 
what Paul says. It was necessary that the Word 
of God should be spoken to you first. But since you reject it 
and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, 
we turn to the Gentiles. And then they cite Isaiah 42 
and Isaiah 49. For so the Lord has commanded 
us, I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should 
be for salvation to the ends of the earth. So you see this 
movement in the parable. You see what's happening. The 
Lord Jesus, in this parable, is giving them a glimpse of what 
is to come. The parable of the wicked vinedressers pretty much 
consolidates upon Old Covenant Israel, in the time of the prophets. 
But we've moved to the time of Christ, and not only prophets, 
but apostles. This is what happens in the book 
of Acts, doesn't it? What happens to Paul when he 
goes to synagogues? Do they say, yeah, you're right, 
Jesus is the Messiah? No. They reject him, they oppose 
him, they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life. So what do Paul 
and Barnabas do? They turn to the Gentiles. They 
cite Isaiah the prophet, 42 and 49, which underscores to us that 
this is the plan of God. It's not like this is somehow 
a mistake, or a plan B, or God didn't see this coming. This 
is the way it was purposed. In Abraham, all the nations of 
the earth would be blessed. That's fleshed out in the rest 
of the Bible, to the point where we get to the New Testament, 
where we see it's a Jew-Gentile church. It is made up from every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation, all to worship our great God. 
That's the movement. That's what's happening. And 
in verses 9 and 10, the king gives instruction to his servants. 
Therefore, go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite 
to the wedding. That's what the church should 
look like, isn't it? Isn't that what the church should 
look like? We need to invite. We need to 
testify. We need to say there's a certain 
king who's ordained a wedding feast, and it's in honor of his 
blessed son. Come! Taste and see that the 
Lord is good. Evangelism and missions are absolutely 
crucial to the church. In the parallel, in Luke 4, not 
the parallel strictly, but in the same sort of idea, the language 
of our blessed Savior is, compel them to come in. Now, that doesn't 
mean by force. We're not Muslims. We're not 
chopping heads off to make disciples for the kingdom of God. We compel 
them through preaching. We compel them through prayer. 
We compel them through being nice to them. We compel them 
through our good works. We compel them using the means 
by which God has commanded. You see, that's what's happened 
here. Jerusalem, the city of God, the city, rather, of Old 
Covenant religion, has been destroyed. The Gospel command is to go and 
take this message to every creature, preach it all over the earth. 
And then notice, the servants do what they're told. I quite 
like that, too. What part of go don't we get? 
What part of go don't we understand? What part of shine as lights 
in a crooked and perverse generation, holding forth the word of truth, 
do we stumble with? We just need to be obedient. 
We need to be these sorts of servants. We need to be like 
the apostles. And we need to tell people about Jesus. Notice. So those servants went out into 
the highways and gathered together, all whom they found both bad 
and good. The bad and good there ought 
to be sort of consistent with what we saw in the kingdom parables 
in Matthew 13. The gospel call goes forth. What happens? Within the church 
there are weak and terrorists. When the gospel call goes forth, 
it's like a dragnet being cast out into the sea. When that net 
is pulled back in, there's good fish and there's bad fish. You 
see, here's what I think Jesus is doing in this particular parable. 
He wants to warn the church as well. He's got a message, not 
only for Old Covenant Israel, vis-à-vis these religious leaders 
that will taste the wrath and fury of God in A.D. 70, but he 
also has a message for the church as a whole from then on out. 
You see, not everybody who receives the invitation will enter into 
the feast. We'll see that in just a moment 
with this man who has no wedding garment. You see, there are those 
who profess faith. There are those who say they're 
part of the church. There are those who say they 
do want Jesus, but they're bad. They have no faith. They have 
no belief. They have no relationship with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So these disciples, these apostles, 
the church through the age, goes and throws the net out and drags 
it back. The church through the age takes 
that seed and casts it far and wide. The church through the 
age sees not only wheat, but also tares. The church throughout 
all the age is told that the angels of God Most High will 
deal with the tares and will deal with the bad fish on the 
Day of Judgment. So go back to our text. Notice 
the examination by the king at the wedding hall. I've noticed 
this as well. When I've been at receptions 
or it's been my children, the parents walk around and they 
meet people and they say, it's nice that you came. It's a blessing 
that you've shown us this honor and this kindness and been willing 
and not been indifferent and certainly not been violently 
opposed. We really appreciate that and we like it that you're 
here with us. So that's what this king is doing, 
but the verb suggests that he's scrutinizing, he's examining, 
he's looking things up, he's sizing things up. And he spots 
this man who doesn't have a wedding garment on. Now commentators 
suggest that the king would have provided the garment. He didn't 
have that garment, therefore he was an imposter or a fake. 
The evidence doesn't suggest that that was the case. It probably 
wasn't that the kings always provided the garments. It was 
probably that you cleaned up before you went to a wedding 
feast. You didn't wander in in your most dirty clothes. You 
wore white clothes. Whatever the particulars are, 
this man was not fit. This man was not properly attired. This man did not have what was 
essential to be at this wedding feast. Note, the king examines, 
the king says, verse 12, Friend, how did you come in here without 
a wedding garment? Now, interpreters wonder what 
that wedding garment is. The early church fathers taught 
it was holiness. In other words, to be at this 
wedding feast, you must be a holy man, woman, boy, or girl. Augustine 
taught that it was love. That was the wedding garment. 
A certain king sees this loveless man and says, how did you get 
into my kingdom? Luther, not surprisingly, taught 
that the wedding garment was faith. Faith in Christ. Calvin taught that it was faith 
and works because you can't have one without the other. Gil, whom 
I quite love, says that it's the imputed righteousness of 
Jesus. It's hard to read this and not 
get that, right? Because it sort of combines everything 
else. If we have the imputed righteousness 
of Christ, we'll be holy. If we have the imputed righteousness 
of Christ, we'll be loving. Not lovely. Lovely to maybe our 
mothers and God, because He's so nice. But we will have that 
love. If we have the imputed righteousness 
of Christ, that means we have faith, because that's the hand 
by which we receive it. And if we have the imputed righteousness 
of Christ, there'll be good works. Right? I think Gil is on to something. Spurgeon sort of brought it all 
together this way. He says, the wedding garment 
represents anything that is indispensable to a Christian. So for Spurge, 
he said, all of the above. It's always a safe answer, right? 
All of the above. The wedding garment represents 
anything that is indispensable to a Christian, but which the 
unrenewed heart is not willing to accept. Steve Lawson read 
the prophet Isaiah at the outset of worship, and in Isaiah 61.10, 
I think it moves along this way, this wedding garment imagery. 
The prophet says, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul 
shall be joyful in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments 
of salvation. He has covered me with the robe 
of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, 
and as a bride adorns herself with jewels. Beautiful. So let's just kind of bring this 
to a conclusion here. The Jews were unwilling, were 
indifferent, and violently opposed to this certain king. What does 
he do? He brings judgment and he brings 
punishment. And then he dispatches his servants 
to go into the highways and into the byways and compel them to 
come in. He sends the church on that missionary 
enterprise to gather the people of God from every corner of the 
earth to notice that not everybody who names the name of Christ, 
not everyone who shows up at this particular feast is clothed 
in the righteousness of Christ. Now note what the king does. 
Here's the warning to the Church, brethren. Don't think these things 
can only happen to Old Covenant Israel. Don't think that judgment 
is confined to the Old Testament. Don't think that this is something 
far removed from where we live and move and have our being. 
It is important for us, as we were reminded this morning, to 
examine our hearts to see if we are engaged simply in formality. Are we just about external? Do 
we say the right things and go to the right places and yet there's 
no power of godliness in our lives? This is an indictment 
upon those who Paul says will punctuate the last days in 2 
Timothy 3.5. They hold or they have a form 
of godliness, but they deny its power. You see, it's not me you 
need to impress. It's not your spouse you need 
to impress. It's not anybody you need to 
impress. It's Christ you need to believe on. It's Christ you 
need to come to. Notice what the king does. Before that notice, notice the 
response of the guy without the wedding garment. He was speechless. 
What can he say? The king is omniscient. The king 
is omnipotent. The king knows all. He can't 
defend himself at this point. Well, I really do have a garment 
on. Somebody stole my garment. I've been framed. I got knocked 
out. He's speechless. What should 
you take away from that? That if you continue unwilling, 
you continue indifferent, you continue violently opposed, and 
you're called to account on the day of judgment, you're not going 
to have 15 things to say in your defense. You're going to be speechless. This always reminds me of Romans 
3.19. The apostle says that, now we know that whatever the 
law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every 
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before 
God. It's a terrifying picture, isn't it? King executes judgment, 
this time not temporally, but eternally. Then the king said 
to the servants, verse 13, bind him, hand and foot, take him 
away and cast him into outer darkness. There will be weeping 
and gnashing of teeth. That is the punishment of hell. 
And I know that this is an affront to many people in our own day, 
and many people within the church. How could our good God ever send 
poor sinners into hell? And our poor sinners, they're 
unwilling to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. They're indifferent 
to the very invitation that God extends, and they are violently 
opposed to those things that come to them through gospel preaching. 
They're not poor sinners. They are rebels against the majesty 
of God Most High, and this is a fit and appropriate punishment 
and judgment. You see, the God who is described 
by John as love is a God of justice, a God of wrath, A God of righteousness. In fact, that psalm we sang, 
Psalm 89, describes Jehovah's throne. It says that righteousness 
and justice are the foundation of your throne. What must a righteous 
or a just God do to rebel sinners? You see, instead of being shocked 
at verse 13, be shocked that there's ever mercy to be had. 
It was Spurgeon who said, a woman comes to him and says, from Romans 
9 and Malachi the prophet, you know, I struggle with Jacob I 
loved and Esau I hated. It doesn't seem right that God 
hated Esau. Spurgeon said, I struggle with 
Jacob I loved. We struggle with the wrath and 
the judgment and the fury and the anger of God. And we're the 
people that would say to a criminal court judge in our own day, prosecute 
them to the fullest extent of the law. You take that pedophile, 
you take that child molester, you take that rapist and you 
punish them. And yet, when we have cosmically 
transgressed against the living and true God through unwillingness, 
through indifference, or through violent opposition, we want to 
actually call into question the justice of God, and we want to 
actually suggest that this just doesn't seem fair. We have sacrificed 
our right to try and arbitrate as to what is fair or not when 
we sinned in Adam. This is the legitimate punishment 
that comes upon those who reject this invitation by this certain 
king to feast at the wedding supper of his son. Now notice 
the conclusion. Verse 14. If there was a list 
of the top ten Bible verses that are commonly misunderstood, verse 
14 might be on there. For many are called, but few 
are chosen. Just read a few things concerning 
this verse. The statement does not mean that 
only three people will be saved. If we are going to be hyper-literalists, 
isn't this what few means? If I say a couple, I think of 
two. If I think of some, or I say some, that's four, five, I don't 
know. I don't know that this is in concrete anywhere, like 
two plus two is, but few typically suggests three. If you were brought 
up in a different home and it suggested four, that's okay, 
too. It doesn't mean that. Many are called, but few are 
chosen. Can't mean that, can it? Three people are saved, four 
people are saved, which even then would be an amazing feat, 
an amazing testimony to the grace of God. The statement should 
not be used as the battle cry for hyper-Calvinism. Well, the 
text says many are called, but few are chosen, so we ought never 
to expect anybody ever getting saved. Hyper-Calvinism is right. No, that's not what it means. 
The statement does not contradict other passages of Scripture. It's intriguing. In Matthew 8, 
Jesus talks about Gentile inclusion into the covenant promises of 
God. He says, many will come from east to west, and they will 
sup with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. 
In Matthew 26, when the Lord Jesus inaugurates the new covenant 
in His blood, He says, this is my blood, which is shed for the 
remission of sins, for what? For many. Well, Jesus, didn't 
you say in verse 14 it's few? There's no contradiction in Scripture, 
brethren. The statement does not invalidate 
the reality that the wedding hall was filled with guests, 
wasn't it? In this second, group of invitees, 
the wedding hall, we are told conspicuously, was filled with 
guests. Now, there was one man in there 
without a garment. It wasn't that there were 99 
men in there without garments and one who was perfectly clothed. 
The statement makes an ethical impression. It is not a prophetic 
declaration. In a helpful essay called, Are 
There Few That Are Saved?, based on Luke 13, 23, B.B. Warfield highlights the difference 
between what is an ethical impression or prophetic discourse. Jesus 
is not teaching with verse 14 how many persons are going to 
populate the New Jerusalem. He is impressing upon his hearers 
the reality that do not be unwilling, do not be indifferent, do not 
be violently opposed. If there has to be a literal 
application of verse 14 to this parable, it certainly would apply 
to the first group of invitees. Unbelieving Israel, right? Jesus 
comes to His own, John 1, 9, and His own receive Him not. 
There is that warning to us today that many are called through 
the preaching of the gospel, but that does not mean that everyone 
who receives the invitation will participate in this great feast. So Christ tells of the temporal 
judgment coming upon earthly Jerusalem. And that has a significance 
beyond just the sacking of a city. It was a covenantal transformation. It was when the kingdom of God 
was taken from them and given to a nation bearing the fruits 
consistent with it. That is the church of the Lord 
Jesus. But Jesus goes on to describe 
the church and the inclusion of Jew and Gentile. He says the 
very selfsame thing. Paul alludes to this in Romans 
11. He says that the Jews were cut off because of their transgression. He says to you Gentiles, us Gentiles, 
do not be haughty, but rather fear. If He didn't spare them, 
He's not going to spare you either. So there's a warning in this 
passage to each and every one of us to take heed and to consider 
where we are at before God. Well, in conclusion, we see, 
as I've said, a warning to the Church. The Church must learn 
from the practice of the King. We must go into the highways 
and the hedges and compel men to come in. Missions, evangelism, 
these are important things. There's a whole host of sinners 
out there that need to hear the truth of the gospel. There's 
a whole host of people out there that are hell-bound. There's 
a whole host of people out there in North America that have no 
clue whatsoever as to the Gospel. We assume that North Americans 
understand and know the Gospel. Have you ever witnessed? Have 
you ever started talking to somebody and they say stuff like, Wow, 
I never heard that! Wow, I never knew that! We have 
moved from that place where we can safely assume that all persons 
have gone to church or Sunday school and have heard the Gospel 
call. We have moved from that place, 
and the Church's responsibility and duty is to fall in line with 
the Great Commission, and to go there for, and to make disciples, 
to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation, to hold 
forth that Word of Truth, Philippians 2.16. As well, the church must 
learn from the pattern of Israel. After the Gentiles are included 
and the wedding hall is filled, there is never the less a man 
who is unclothed. Listen to Ryle. He says, all 
false professors of religion will be detected, exposed, and 
eternally condemned at the last day. You may be able to fool 
me, you may be able to fool your parents, you may be able to fool 
your spouse, you may be able to fool your family and friends, 
but you can't fool God. When you're called out on that 
day and exposed for having no garment, no righteousness of 
Christ, no faith, no works that result from faith, you don't 
have any of that stuff, you're going to be speechless. You're 
not going to be able to say, well, you just haven't read the 
data properly, God. You just don't understand, God. 
You can't worm your way out. I'm sure I've mentioned to you 
before, at least one of our five children, I always thought should 
have been an attorney, the arguments and the reasons and the rationale 
as to why he shouldn't be punished for such and such an infraction. 
He used to say, man, you should be an attorney. You're great 
at putting together and weaving together arguments, 15 reasons 
why, Dad, you shouldn't punish me, why it wasn't me. Oh, you 
don't buy that? Well, it was me, but I was under 
a... There's not going to be that. Remember the famous O.J. trial many, many years ago now? 
Johnny Cochran defended O.J. Simpson. It's interesting. Later 
on, I think it was in Johnny Cochran's book concerning the 
situation, he says, the price of justice in America is green. What did he mean by that? I'm 
not saying my comment has nothing to do with O.J. You buy a good 
attorney, you're going to get a good defense. You have money 
to spend, you don't get some cheap public defender, you're 
going to get a better defense and you might walk. All of that 
doesn't matter on the Day of Judgment. There'll be no Johnny 
Cochran. There'll be no court-appointed attorney. There'll be no one 
to plead your case or your cause as an unbeliever. But for those 
who are in Christ, we have an advocate with the Father. We 
have one who pleads our case. We have one who died for us. 
We have one who rose for us. We have one who lived for us. 
We have one who provides for us that perfect atonement. So 
the speech that we will usher forth is praise God and the Lamb 
who sits upon the throne. That's what will fill us on that 
day. In terms of the doctrine of God, 
this passage teaches us concerning His patience. We saw that in 
the parable of the wicked vinedressers as well. What does the patience 
of God mean to you? Well, it means that you're not 
in hell presently because that's what you deserve. The patience 
of God means that you are able, by His kindness, to be under 
the preaching of the Word. The patience of God means you 
have Bibles in your laps, you have fathers or mothers who pray 
for you, you have people in your life that are urging you to flee 
to the Lord Jesus. That's the patience of God. Paul 
speaks concerning the patience of God in Romans 2.4. He says, 
"...Or do you despise the riches of his goodness? Forbearance." 
That means patience. "...And longsuffering." More 
patience. "...Not knowing that the goodness 
of God leads you to repentance." You know what you ought to do 
in light of the patience of God? You ought to believe. You ought 
to repent. You ought to forsake your sins. 
You ought to come to the Savior. And that brings us finally to 
consider the condition of man that this passage sets forth. 
The state's helpless, isn't it? The state is hopeless. I mean, 
men are unwilling, men are indifferent, and men are violently opposed. 
How in the world should they ever move from that position 
to life in Jesus Christ? Well, praise God for His sovereignty, 
praise God for His power, praise God for His ability, praise God 
for His Word, praise God for His Spirit. Because in the mystery 
of salvation, what happens is that this gospel is preached, 
this gospel is read, conviction of sin comes, persons find out, 
I am the man, I have rebelled against God, I have defied Him. I have raised my fist to Him. 
I have turned my back upon Him. I have valued my business or 
my farm more than Him. I have been violently opposed 
to His servants. I've been a real jerk to my parents, 
who only wanted me to come to church and hear the gospel. All 
of these things are true. The Spirit not only convicts 
us of that, but He shows us Christ. He shows us the glory and the 
majesty and the beauty of Jesus. He shows us that one who lived 
in obedience to the law. Why does Jesus live in obedience 
to the law? For Himself? No, it's for us. You see, we need a righteousness. 
We need a garment so that we can go to the wedding feast. 
And that's what the life of Christ is. Every step of the way, every 
act of obedience, every bit of law-keeping satisfies the requirements 
of His Father, such that when we, by the grace of God, believe, 
that righteousness is imputed to us. But as well, we need Christ's 
death. You see, we need that righteousness, 
but we need all the muck and the sin and the filth washed 
away. And that's what Jesus does on the cross. He doesn't go to 
the cross because He's a sinner. He doesn't go to the cross because 
He's a criminal. He doesn't go to the cross because 
He's unwilling, indifferent, or violently opposed to this 
certain King. He goes to the cross in our place. He goes to the cross in our stead. 
He takes the wrath of God for us. Isn't that beautiful? That's 
why it's good news, brethren. That's why it's gospel. That's 
why sinners will move from this place of darkness into marvelous 
light, because of what Christ has done, what the Spirit of 
God does do, through the preaching and the reading of the Word, 
by the power of His will. It is of Him that we are in Christ 
Jesus. It is of Him, by the Word of 
Truth, that we are brought forth. So never doubt that. If you're 
outside of Christ today, I don't say this to pick on you, I don't 
say this to isolate you, we're all outside of Christ. It's by 
grace that we are in Christ. It's not because of good works, 
it's not because we did well on a test or we outperformed 
our neighbors or friends. No, it's because God reached 
down in His mercy and grace, pulled us out of that dung heap 
of sin, cleansed us in the blood of Jesus, gave us this righteousness, 
put this wedding garment on us and said, come to the feast. And this same God does that today 
to all who by grace believe. Look to Jesus Christ this morning 
and you will live. You will participate in the wedding 
supper of the Lamb. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Word and we thank You for its consistency. 
We see the parallels with the prophet Isaiah. We see what Jesus 
is doing in this parable. And our Father, we pray that 
you'd open hearts today, not only here, but in other churches 
in Chilliwack. We pray that all over the earth 
today, the Gospel would go forth powerfully, conquering and to 
conquer, and that a great multitude would turn unto the Lord Jesus 
Christ and be saved. Go with us now, Father, grant 
us grace as well to take heed to this passage, to take the 
warnings as we ought, to study and be encouraged by the doctrine 
of God set forth here, and as well help us to contemplate and 
consider your judgment, not only temporally in the judgment upon 
Jerusalem, but eternally in the judgment upon sinners in hell. 
Go with us, we pray, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, 
we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed.