WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.040 Second Bible and go to Matthew chapter 22. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:12.560 We've been going through the Gospel of Matthew for a little over two years, and we're getting into the last week of the life of Jesus and his earthly ministry. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:28.239 This morning we're going to be looking at the third of three parables that Jesus gives in answer to a band of religious leaders who had demanded of Jesus an answer for what he was doing in the temple complex. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:35.840 Jesus was healing and teaching, and these men came to him and said, By what authority are you doing these things? 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:37.759 We looked at that last week. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:42.799 You glance back in chapter 21, you can see the substance of that. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:48.560 Jesus brought these men into a stony stalemate by asking them a question. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:52.159 John the Baptist, did he come from heaven? 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.119 Or was this coming for some other reason? 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:59.759 And the men refused to answer that because they knew they couldn't. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.240 There was trouble on both sides. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:10.319 And so Jesus said, if you're not going to answer that question because of the insincerity of your hearts, I'm not going to answer your question. 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:22.079 And that brought three stinging stories, three parables that Jesus gives, one right after the other, two of them in chapter 21, and the third one we'll look at today in chapter 22. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:34.560 He gave the parable of the two sons, one who was told to go into the field and work, had refused to do so, but later repented and went, and one son who said he would go, but didn't. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:44.239 And then the parable of the vineyard owner who had prepared a property, had rented it out to tenant farmers, and had come to expect the fruit at the harvest time. 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:58.640 And these men, instead of giving the vineyard owner the fruit, decided to harass and kill the servants of that owner and to kill the son and to try to usurp the field for themselves. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:04.400 Today we're going to look at the third of this, these stinging stories that Jesus gives. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:08.319 There's similarities between what we'll look at today and what we looked at last week. 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:24.400 I separated them because at the end of the second story, Jesus gives some substantial statements of substance, where he speaks about himself as being the rejected stone that becomes the headpiece. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:29.520 And we learned some other lessons as we glanced back at these two chapters. 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:40.159 But today we're going to look at the third of these three stinging stories that highlights the culpability of these religious leaders and their wrong responses to God's invitation. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:42.879 As we look at this, we're going to be looking at a parable. 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:52.240 Not every detail is to be understood in its fine points, but the overall bridging story is for us. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:56.080 Let's read it together, beginning in verse 1 of chapter 22. 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.360 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:20.719 Come to the wedding banquet. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:29.280 But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:34.960 The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops and killed those murderers and burned down their city. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:40.639 Then he told his servants, The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:45.919 Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet. 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:50.800 So those servants went on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:53.840 The wedding banquet was filled with guests. 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:59.840 Then the king came in to see the guest, and he saw a man who was not dressed for a wedding. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:03.759 So he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:05.840 The man was speechless. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:13.759 Then the king told the attendants, tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.439 For many are invited, but few are chosen. 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:31.519 First thing I want us to notice in this section of scripture, in this parable that Jesus gives, is the repeated invitations from a rejoicing royal, the repeated invitations from a rejoicing royal. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:33.439 The setting here is a parable. 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:35.120 It's a celebration. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.480 A king has prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:44.399 This kind of ceremony would have been a countrywide celebration. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.600 And it probably would have lasted for several days. 00:04:48.720 --> 00:05:05.519 I was in Jordan last June, just before the wedding of Al-Hussein bin Abdullah, who's the crown prince of Jordan, and his marriage to uh Rajwa al-Sahif took place there in a palace in Amman. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:08.160 I missed it by a day. 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:19.759 After the wedding ceremony, the bride and the groom rode down in procession through the streets of Amman, and they reached the palace, and there they had a state banquet of 1700 people. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:24.720 And the queen said about the wedding, about her son, Hussein. 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:32.399 She said, To our entire Jordanian family, our joy is one and the same. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:36.079 She said that about the 11 million people that live in Jordan. 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:40.319 Hussein is your son as much as he is mine. 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:45.279 You are his family, and this is your celebration. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:50.879 What a wonderful invite for the whole nation to feel like they were part of this wedding. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:55.839 Well, this is the same sort of wedding we're reading about in this parable. 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:04.079 When I was in Amon, the buildings were adorned with flags and pictures of this beaming couple who were about to get married. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:13.519 And on the day, people flocked into the streets, and there were large screens set out in public places where people could watch the wedding. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:26.879 The Jordanians were given a two-day holiday, and the king put on free public concerts and firework displays and all sorts of things for them to rejoice together. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.399 This is what's happening here. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:37.920 It's this kind of occasion, this countrywide celebration of the king for his son. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:44.480 But when we look at this parable, there's something shocking that's happened. 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:48.959 Not a single person has RSVP'd. 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:57.759 Not a single person is indicated that they would come or not come to the wedding. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:03.519 Yesterday I went to a wedding planning website called thenot.com. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.240 And I read this article. 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.879 Expect this many people to RSVP no to your wedding. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.439 I was like, well, okay, well, how many? 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:14.800 And they wrote this. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:29.199 They said there's no magical formula to determine exactly how many invitees will RSVP know, but it's safe to plan roughly 15% of people will decline the invitation, and more like 20 to 30% if it's a destination wedding. 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:42.959 Well, this king had sent out the invitations, and he didn't get 15% RSVP no, or 20 or 30% RSVP no. 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:47.040 He got 100% silence. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:08:01.439 The king's son was getting married, and nobody said they would show up or not show up. 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:06.639 The king's son is gotten married. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:27.279 And so in verse three, the king sends out servants to personally encourage the people who had been invited to come. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:34.240 But nobody responds to the urgings of those servants. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:41.279 They come back to the king and they come back with disappointing news. 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:43.200 They don't want to come. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:52.399 Although one might think, well, overlooking the written invitation, well, we all do that. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:55.200 I meant to answer that, right? 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:56.720 We've done that. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:06.720 But when the servants are personally at your door and you say, I just don't want to come, what an offense that would be. 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.519 What is this king going to do? 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:24.639 Well, he gets other servants and he sends them back out, and he sends them back out to all the invitees again, but this time they've got the menu in their hand. 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:31.279 And he tells them to go and tell them the food is ready. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:34.000 He's prepared prime beef. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:36.159 In fact, it's A5 Wagyu. 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:38.000 It's fatted cattle. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.120 And you don't have to wait for it. 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:42.399 It's already cooked. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:46.799 You just got to come in and you can grab a plate and eat right away. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.600 And so all the servants spread out. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:51.759 They go back out again. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:55.120 What do they receive? 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:57.759 Some responses. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:03.759 Two ways of response: indifference and hostility. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:11.840 Before we go any further, let's pause for a moment to kind of flesh out what Jesus is saying here. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:14.480 Who are all who's the king and who's the son? 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:15.840 And what's the banquet? 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:17.200 And who are the invitees? 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:18.639 And who are the servants? 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:22.240 Well, the king is God. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:25.919 The king is the central character in here. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:27.919 He's the one that's doing all of these things. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:29.519 He's hosting the wedding feast. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:31.039 He's sending out the invitations. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:34.639 He's bringing out the wave of servants and a second wave of servants. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.120 He's the one who's had the menu planned. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.519 He's got all of that cooked and ready. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:41.600 He's opened up the banqueting hall. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:43.519 He's sending out everything. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.080 And later he sends out his troops. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:51.120 In the middle of the story, we have God active. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:55.759 His Son, Jesus Christ. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.759 The wedding feast, the messianic banquet. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.600 Come to the celebration of the Son of God. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:20.480 The king's servants, all of those who've been out bringing gospel proclamation, invitations, prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, all of them crying out, Come, come, come, the feast is ready. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:24.480 What are we to learn from this? 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:36.080 We learn something about the nature of God, that He's patiently and persistently inviting all the nation of Israel to come to the Messianic banquet. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:41.200 He sent his servants again and again and again. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:46.399 He sent John the Baptist, he sent his own son. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:55.679 All of his servants have been calling out, come, come, come, the feast is ready. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:57.200 Come enjoy the food. 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:59.279 Join in the celebration. 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:01.360 Rejoice with me. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:09.440 God is patiently and persistently inviting the people to the messianic banquet. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:11.600 God is gracious. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:13.519 God is generous. 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:15.679 God is patient. 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:21.279 He's sending out word again and again and again. 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:29.919 But there's another element to this story. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:38.639 Not just the repeated invitations of a rejoicing royal, but this the repugnant refusals from these renegade residents of this of the land. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:46.960 We look at this parable and we're surprised, shocked by the response. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:52.559 No RSVP, if the king sent you an invite to the banquet. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:00.000 To go again? 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:06.080 And the servants come back and they say they just don't want to come. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:13.679 The brevity of that shocks us. 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:28.480 But the brevity of that is replaced with the shock that the king would regather himself and send out another wave of servants and urge them to come. 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:36.159 And this last wave are sent with the very words of the king. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:39.039 Take a look at what it says there. 00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:45.200 Tell those who are invited, see, I've prepared my dinner. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:48.320 My oxen and fatted cattle have been slaughtered. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:49.679 Everything is ready. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:51.519 Come to the wedding banquet. 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:54.320 They've got the very words of the king. 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:55.279 Out. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.279 These are the king's words. 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:04.639 But they again reject the invitation. 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:12.240 And verses five and six give us the two basic types of rude rejection of these rebel residents. 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:16.000 The first one is just a busy indifference. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:19.919 And the second is a violent indignation. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:26.000 Verse 5, they paid no attention and went away. 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:29.440 One to his own farm, another to his business. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:34.559 This first group paid no attention. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:37.039 Paid no attention. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.279 This is the king. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:45.600 This is the wedding of the prince, the the one who'll take the throne soon. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:52.080 This is an invitation that's been offered once and twice and three times. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:56.639 This is an invitation that's filled with food you couldn't buy for yourself. 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.120 This is the finest affair. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:01.840 This is a feast ready for eating. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.080 The banquet hall is open. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.000 Everything is ready. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:08.240 Just come and eat. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.240 And they paid no attention. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:22.799 If somebody said to you, hey, I'll buy you a lunch at Ruth's Chris, how many of you are going to say no to that? 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:30.240 Some of you might go, Well, I kind of like uh another place. 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:31.679 I like Lori's better. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.279 But no, you're gonna say, Thank you. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:34.720 I'm gonna eat at Ruth's Chris. 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:38.080 This is better than any of those chain steakhouses. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:39.440 This is the best. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:41.919 They pay no attention. 00:15:43.759 --> 00:16:01.840 Here we have people that Jesus talked about in another parable, the parable of the sower, where the cares of this life, their jobs, their family, their possessions are more important to them than God and his word. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.519 Think about your average unbeliever today. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:10.879 Put a name to that person. 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:19.360 They don't necessarily want church doors to close, they don't want preachers to be shut down, they just don't want their ears opened. 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:27.120 They just want to go about and do more important stuff than what you're talking about. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:37.120 We live in a world today where people are so busy that they don't stop and listen to this generous invitation. 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:48.559 Good people doing good things, but careless about the good news of a generous and gracious God. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:56.399 Preoccupied, so preoccupied that they have no thought about their soul. 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:02.399 It's like that rich man who had a huge harvest one day and said, Wow, look at this. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:14.319 I can tear down my barns, I can build bigger, I'm gonna fill it up, I'm gonna quit work, I'm gonna take my ease, and I'm gonna say to myself, Eat, drink, be merry, enjoy the rest of your days. 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:20.079 And Jesus said, You fool, this night your soul's gonna be required of you. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:28.960 What is the greatest response of humanity to a God filled with a gracious, generous invitation? 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.480 Indifference. 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:32.720 Just indifference. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:38.319 But there's another group here, there's a hostile group. 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:47.920 Verse six, while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:54.160 Well, this group is anything but indifferent. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.880 This group is out for blood. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:05.279 And this these servants who have come this last time with menus in hand, they don't get to go back home. 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:06.640 They're dead. 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:10.720 They're not just ignored, they're murdered. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:17.279 They seize the servants of the king, they treat them shamefully, and then they kill them. 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:26.079 Now, this is a parable, and this is in parables, there's always some absurd, exaggerated thing that happens, and this is it. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.720 But is it all that absurd? 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.039 And is it all that exaggerated? 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:47.920 When you look at the context of what's going on here, these religious leaders who are confronting Jesus are plotting against him, trying to catch him out, are looking for ways to upset him, to bring him to trial, are conspiring about his death. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.599 There's nothing exaggerated about this at all. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:59.119 In this third parable that Jesus gives, this is where the knife goes into the third rib. 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:07.279 These religious leaders are these murderous rejectors. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:26.240 Their monstrous behavior against these servants is one-to-one in the monstrous reaction of the Pharisees and the chief priests as they come across the son who's invited them to a wedding. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:32.559 But there's a third response in this parable because the parable doesn't end with this first phase. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:35.599 The parable moves into a second phase. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:44.240 We'll skip some of the details for a moment, but we come to the second part of the parable where the wedding banquet is happening and it's full of people. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:50.000 And now the king is coming in to mingle with the crowd and to meet them. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.000 Take a look at verse 11. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:59.920 When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who is not dressed for a wedding. 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:04.640 So he said to him, Friend, uh, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:07.039 And the man was speechless. 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:12.799 This man is seen as somewhat of an intruder because of the way he's dressed. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:17.519 What is all of this? 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:30.559 Well, we'll look at this in just a moment, but all the people that are in this banqueting hall that are now part of the celebration, well, they've been sort of compelled to go in. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:40.240 The servants went out, another group of servants went out, and they basically said, The king wants you to come to the banquet. 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:45.519 And they grabbed all kinds of people, all the people that they could, and just brought them in. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:52.000 They didn't wake up that day ready for a wedding. 00:20:52.240 --> 00:21:03.759 They didn't wake up that day and sort of open up their wardrobe or open up their closets and go, I might just have to go to a wedding today. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.400 What am I gonna wear? 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:11.920 I was really just gonna go down to the 7-Eleven and grab a bagel. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.079 I'd better dress for a wedding. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:20.240 I was just gonna go to LA Fitness. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.960 Better put the gown on, might get a wedding invite. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:37.039 No, these people were dressed for a regular day, they were out busy doing whatever they were doing that day, and the king's servant said, Look, buddy, we got somewhere for you to go. 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:39.200 You're going to a wedding today. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:45.279 And so when they got to the wedding, something happened. 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:48.000 And this is where the dress comes in. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:55.920 In the ancient world, the kings would often supply clothes to those people that they wanted to honor. 00:21:58.559 --> 00:21:59.519 Genesis 45. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.039 Joseph gives his brothers clothes. 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:07.440 He gives Benjamin more clothes. 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:34.640 When Naaman is asked what to do for a person the king wants to honor, he says, and Esther, have them bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn, and a horse the king himself has ridden, which has a royal crown on its head, and put the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king's most noble officers and have them clothe the man who the king wants to honor and parade him around. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:43.839 You see, what's happened here is that everybody who's been compelled from the streets has been given a new garment. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.279 They've been given the king's garments. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:56.079 The king has opened up all of his goods and he's fitted them for the occasion. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:05.599 But this guest, this person, he's crashed the party. 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:10.160 He's thinking that what he's wearing is good enough. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:15.519 I had a fun moment with that back when I worked at Grace to You. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:16.799 I was serving there. 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:27.759 We're doing a sort of a Grace to You ministry photo, and we've got the risers there, the photographer, and everybody comes out, and we're all dressed, ready to have our picture taken. 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:32.559 And John MacArthur comes in, and he's, you know, he's tall. 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:36.720 He wouldn't be up front where Carol is, he'd be in the back where Mike and I are. 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:42.400 And he stands next to me, and I look at him, and he's wearing a tracksuit. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:47.519 There's not one of us wearing a tracksuit, but John's wearing a tracksuit. 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:56.319 Well, it doesn't matter because all of us in the back, all you see is a little bit of eyeballs and hair or bald head, like I have. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:05.039 And after after the photograph is taken, everybody kind of shuffles back into the building, and I'm outside. 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:11.200 And the only two other people that are outside are John MacArthur and Melinda MacArthur, his daughter. 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:16.319 And Melinda comes up to him and says, Dad, what's up with the tracksuit? 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:22.559 You know, we're having we're having a we're having a ministry photo here, and you're wearing a tracksuit. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:30.160 And and John just goes, Uh uh, I was, I was just, I just came out of my study. 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:42.640 He was dressed for a comfortable spot of spending some time studying God's word, and just thought, oh man, I need to be somewhere, and just got up and went and got the photo done. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:47.519 This man, however, is doing something more sinister. 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:56.640 He's looking around, and everybody is dressed in the king's clothes, except for him. 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:21.039 He's barging into the banquet, he's slurping down the caviar, he's chomping on the wagyu, he's piling his plate with the king crab legs, and the king says, Friend, he's like, Yeah, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:32.079 Because I've I've come to honor all my guests, friend, there's a generous question. 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:37.039 You don't say friend unless you mean it. 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:42.000 And he says to them, Look, explain yourself. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:46.319 Perhaps there's a good reason for this, and I'd like to hear it. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.920 But the man doesn't say a word. 00:25:52.400 --> 00:26:05.920 The man has refused the king's provision of the clothing, insulting the host and showing nothing but indifference and complacency and self-interest. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:09.599 Because I'm dressed well enough. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:11.039 Thank you very much. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:14.000 I don't need your clothes. 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:32.880 They didn't need different clothing. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:35.359 They had their own and they liked it. 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:45.440 But God does not accept those who think that they can enter into his presence with their own clothing. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:49.759 This king had provided the feast. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:53.839 This king wanted to celebrate the marriage of his son. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:57.359 The invitations had gone out far and wide. 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:10.400 He had called everybody in, even those who were not even paying attention, the the evil and the good, no matter what they were in their in their relationship and society and their their reputation. 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:21.119 And he said, I'll I'll bring you in, I'll feed you, I'll honor you, I'll give you clothes of honor, join in the banquet. 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:26.400 And this man says, I want to eat the food, but I'm just not going to wear your clothes. 00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:34.480 They thought they were confident in and of themselves to be where they were. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:41.039 Jesus is saying, No, in this parable, that's not good enough. 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:51.440 Indifference, hostility, and self-righteousness will keep you out of the kingdom, will keep you out of the banquet. 00:27:54.160 --> 00:28:03.279 Jesus said in Matthew 5, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you'll in no way enter into the kingdom. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:08.799 They can't get in wearing their clothes, and you can't get in wearing your own clothes. 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:12.880 You need the clothes from the king to be accepted. 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:19.920 Isaiah, there's echoes of Isaiah here. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:25.359 All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in the sight of God. 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:37.200 But in that passage we read together out of Isaiah 61, I rejoice greatly in the Lord, I exalted my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:40.880 He's wrapped me with a robe of righteousness. 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:47.119 Here are people who are wearing clothes they didn't wake up to put on. 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:53.039 And that leads in this parable in two different places. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:29:00.559 Not just the repeated invitations of a rejoicing royal and these repugnant refusals from rebel residents. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:04.480 There's a ready retribution of a rejected king. 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:15.440 In the second half, the king has this man bound hand in foot and thrown into outer darkness where there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:25.519 In the first half, the king takes the murderers and in his rage sends out his troops and kills the murderers and burns their city. 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:49.920 Again, these parables tell us something about God. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:53.519 Yes, God is king. 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:56.559 Yes, God is a sovereign ruler. 00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:02.640 Yes, he has a gracious, generous heart. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:08.000 He's inviting people to a wedding feast, the feast of his son. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:09.680 And he is patient. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:14.640 He sends out his invitations time and time and time again. 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:19.519 He is patient beyond our ability to understand patience. 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:30.960 But he's also holy and he's also just and he will meet out justice to those who reject his invitation to the party. 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:40.000 We live in a culture that gets angry about this idea to think of a God who would meet out justice. 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:45.440 We hate this idea of a loving God being wrathful. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:46.319 C.S. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:56.480 Lewis put it this way: we don't want so much a father in heaven as we want a grandfather in heaven, a senile, toothless, benevolent soul. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.000 But this is justice, not injustice here. 00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:09.839 Is God unjust in this? 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:12.960 The people that had murdered his servants? 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:16.960 Like the landowner murdered the landowner's son? 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:20.480 No, that's justice. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:27.359 It's uncomfortable, but it's true. 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:40.559 And Jesus gives this side of an understanding of God just as much as he's given us the other side of God's patience and generosity and welcome and interest. 00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:49.680 The problem is not God, the problem is our understanding of God and ourselves. 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:54.000 Because we don't see ourselves as God sees us. 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:57.839 We don't understand our sin as it is. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:31:58.880 R. 00:31:59.039 --> 00:31:59.119 C. 00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:10.480 Sprohl said that our sin is not just some little thing that we do, it's cosmic treachery, it's treason at the highest level. 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:17.440 Because we were made to glorify and to enjoy God forever. 00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:22.400 And every time we say no, I want to do it my way. 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:26.559 No, I don't think that's good for me. 00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:28.960 What I think is good for me. 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:34.559 We are saying to the king, I don't want your way. 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:36.319 I don't want your robes. 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:37.920 I don't want your food. 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:39.759 I don't want your banquet. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:41.599 I don't want your feast. 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:44.000 I don't want to be in your presence. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:48.960 And as created beings, that is cosmic treachery. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:56.960 God is patiently, persistently inviting to the messianic banquet. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:04.079 But there is an end to that patience and that persistence. 00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:09.920 But I don't want to end there because there's something else to learn here. 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:16.799 We have these repeated invitations, we have these repugnant rejectuals and this ready retribution. 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:22.799 But there's also in this story some remarkable rejoicing that's going on. 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:26.160 It's in the background, but you can see it there. 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:29.039 Look at the second half of the parable. 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:32.640 The banqueting hall is full. 00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:34.720 It's not empty. 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:36.720 It's full of people. 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:42.240 And they're there filling their plates with sumptuous food. 00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:46.400 And they're clothed in the finest of garments. 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:49.200 Who are these people? 00:33:49.440 --> 00:33:51.200 And how did they get here? 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:56.480 Well, the parable tells us who they are and how they got here. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:01.359 The people are, well, they're commoners, is who they are. 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:03.039 They're commoners. 00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:07.839 The wedding last year in Jordan, there were 1,700 people at the state banquet. 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:10.400 There were not 11 million at the banquet. 00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:14.719 There were 1,700 people at the banquet. 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:23.760 The dignitaries, the state officials, the kings and queens and princes of the lands around the world were there. 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:27.679 But not your average Jordanian. 00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:32.079 The rest of Jordan, they got a couple days off. 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:33.599 They got a free concert. 00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:44.719 They got a firework display, and they had some big screens that were put out, and they got to maybe see the procession go down the streets of Amman, but they weren't in the banqueting hall. 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:53.039 These original, these people that are here, they had never been given an invitation. 00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:58.559 They had never had that looking at them with the menu. 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:11.199 They got up that morning and they were just going to go to work, or they were just going to go visit a friend, or they were just going to go to a shop, or they were just going to enjoy some recreation. 00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:14.400 They just got up that day to go about their business. 00:35:15.679 --> 00:35:18.880 But their day was radically changed. 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:26.800 They were brought into the banqueting house of the king. 00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:33.280 They were given a plate and told to eat the food. 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:41.360 They were brought into a dressing room and saying, Take your clothes off and wear these instead. 00:35:42.480 --> 00:35:55.360 And they were ushered out to the sound of music and laughter and joy as they looked at the platform and saw there the prince and his bride. 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:57.920 And they got to be there. 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:02.960 And the king comes around and says, How are you today? 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:06.239 Are you enjoying my food? 00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:10.079 What do you think of this day? 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:14.639 And they're like, Boy, it's a lot different than I expected. 00:36:18.639 --> 00:36:29.039 The imagery here is of this king urgently calling people to come from everywhere and to come to his banquet. 00:36:30.320 --> 00:36:35.920 And yes, in the telling of the story, the king looks a little desperate, doesn't he? 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:43.360 But it's an extravagance of generosity that's here, not desperation. 00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:52.079 He wants to display his generous extravagance to these people. 00:36:54.000 --> 00:37:07.039 And in John the Baptist, in the invitations into the kingdom of heaven, there were tax collectors and prostitutes who repented and listened to John the Baptist. 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:19.760 And when Jesus came, he touched those who were sick and blind and broken, and he made them whole, and they were tax collectors, and they were sinners. 00:37:20.079 --> 00:37:23.519 And he calls them into the banqueting hall. 00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:32.239 And at the end of Matthew's gospel, Jesus will say, Go to all the nations of the world. 00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:39.599 Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them everything that I've commanded you. 00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:43.039 And I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:53.440 People who just got up to go about a regular day found that their whole, whole world had been changed. 00:37:54.800 --> 00:37:59.840 Carol sat there and told us exactly that, didn't she? 00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:11.519 She got up one day full of anger and bitterness and hatred, despising a God who would let these bad things happen to her. 00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:22.719 And by the end of the day, she is shocked to say to herself, I am a daughter of the king of heaven. 00:38:23.519 --> 00:38:25.119 I'm forgiven. 00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:29.280 And I don't wear my own clothes anymore, I wear his. 00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:37.280 And I don't feast on the food that I produce for myself, I feast on the riches of his grace. 00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:45.519 These guests woke up that day without any thought of participating in the wedding. 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:48.559 And the servants compelled them to come in. 00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:51.920 Why were they there? 00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:59.679 They were called, they were compelled, and they were chosen, and they were clothed. 00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:02.079 That's why they were there. 00:39:03.760 --> 00:39:06.719 This wedding feast was going to happen. 00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:09.519 The king would have his celebration. 00:39:10.400 --> 00:39:19.920 And if he would call and call and call again to indifferent, hostile, self-righteous people. 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:31.199 And if they said, no, no, no, the king was going to find people to rejoice with. 00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:44.320 The party's going to go on, but you won't be there. 00:39:45.199 --> 00:39:52.159 The celebration is going to happen because this king is going to have a feast. 00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:54.880 This king is going to have a wedding. 00:39:55.199 --> 00:39:57.440 This king is going to have a party. 00:39:57.760 --> 00:40:01.039 This king is going to have a full banqueting hall. 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:03.360 And look at us. 00:40:04.719 --> 00:40:05.840 Look at us. 00:40:07.039 --> 00:40:09.679 From all around the world, we're here. 00:40:10.159 --> 00:40:31.440 And as children of God in Christ Jesus, we woke up one day to find out that God had something a whole lot different for us than to simply go to work or simply meet a friend or simply go to the gym or simply shop at a store. 00:40:32.239 --> 00:40:43.199 He woke us up so that we could eat the finest of foods and wear the best clothes and rejoice in the greatest wedding, the marriage supper of the Lamb. 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:49.679 And this king has clothed us all with the same garments. 00:40:50.079 --> 00:41:02.320 And whether we're poor or rich, we don't have to walk into the banqueting hall embarrassed by our threadbare clothing or to walk around in pride at the extravagance of the expense of our wardrobe. 00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:04.400 We wear the same clothes. 00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:11.679