Matthew 22:1-33 Reservation Required

Chuck Musselwhite

Matthew • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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Intro

Leonardo’s wedding

Jesus uses a wedding feast as the setting of his parable

Israel has been invited to the feast but ignores it

God shows how he is going to open the feast to everyone who will come

Read Matthew 22:1-5

Transition:

This parable is the third in Jesus’ trilogy of judgment parables given in response to the Jewish religious leaders who maliciously challenged His authority

For three years Jesus had been preaching and teaching the gospel of the kingdom, which included proclaiming Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God and Savior of the world.

He had been offering Himself and His kingdom to the people of Israel, His own people, the chosen people of God.

But at the end of those three years, all but a handful of Jews had rejected Him.

Although Jesus had always been popular with the masses wherever He ministered, their acceptance of Him was for the most part superficial and selfish.

They deeply admired Jesus for His humble, self-giving love and compassion, and they must have rejoiced when He rebuked and embarrassed their hypocritical, self-righteous leaders, who looked down on them in contemptuous superiority.

I. Come to the Celebration vs. 1-14

The kingdom of God is like a celebration

vs. 1-7 Invitation Rejected

Jesus spoke in parables to help his listeners understand spiritual truths

Comparing Kingdom of God to a Wedding Feast

Wedding feasts were a big deal in Jesus day

Typically they lasted 7 days

When you were invited it was an honor and a commitment

Jesus is showing Israel that it has been invited into God’s kingdom

God sent his Son Jesus and its time for the feast

There will be a wedding ceremony

It’s called the marriage supper of the Lamb

God will wed His church to His Son for eternity

Revelation 19:7 (ESV)

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

The problem is that Israel rejected His invitation

God sent his son to the earth and they didn’t want anything to do with him

He sent the prophets and John the Baptist and the people ignored them

They even killed some of the messengers

They were more concerned with their own interests and profits

This shows us people even today reject the Gospel message

They know its the right thing, but are more consumed other pursuits

Well the King, who is God the Father, wasn’t too happy

He destroyed everything

This parable has a prophetic overtone because in 70 AD Roman troops destroyed the temple and the whole city of Jerusalem

vs. 8-10 Open to Everyone

With the feast ready the King pivots

He tells his servants to go into the Highways and biways and invite everyone

“Go therefore to the main highways,” the king told His servants, “and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.”

The plan was for them to go everywhere and find everyone they could and invite them to come.

This shows us God’s heart to reach everyone with the Gospel

Matthew 28:19 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

God has always extended His call for salvation to both evil and good people, because neither are righteous enough and both are equally in need of salvation

What makes a person worthy of salvation today is exactly what has made a person worthy of salvation since the Fall, namely, personal faith in God’s gracious provision in Christ.

All who accept God’s invitation to His Son’s celebration, that is, who follow the Son as their saving Lord, will be dinner guests in His divine and eternally glorious wedding hall.

vs. 11-14 Ignoring the Dress Code

These last four verses in this parable are interesting

The king discovers someone who had come to the wedding but wasn’t dressed appropriately

The king’s actions seem a little harsh considering the spontaneous invitations

The fact that all of the dinner guests except that one man were dressed in wedding clothes indicates that the king had made provision for such clothes

That man was fully accountable for being improperly dressed, but the gracious king nevertheless gave him an opportunity to justify himself

Had the man had a good reason, he would certainly have mentioned it immediately But he was speechless, unable to offer the king even the feeblest excuse.

It is therefore obvious that he could have come in wedding clothes had he been willing.

Until that point the man had been utterly presumptuous, thinking he could come to the king’s feast on his own terms, in any clothes he wanted.

He was proud and self-willed, thoughtless of the others, and, worst of all, insulting to the king.

Arrogantly defying royal protocol, he was determined to “be himself.

This shows us that you can’t do Christianity on your own terms

If you respond to the invitation of the Gospel you must now follow the standards set

Since Cain’s first attempt to please God by offering his self-appointed sacrifice, men have been trying to come to the Lord on their own terms

They may fellowship with believers, join the church, become active in the leadership, give generously to its support, and speak of devotion to God.

Like the tares among the wheat, they freely coexist for a while with God’s people.

But in the day of judgment their falsehood will become obvious and their removal certain.

Matthew 7:22–23 ESV

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

The proper wedding garment of a true believer is God-imputed righteousness, without which no one can enter or live in the kingdom

Isaiah 61:10 ESV

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult 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 like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

The binding of hand and foot probably represents prevention of the man’s resisting as well as prevention of his returning.

II. Give Back to God vs. 15-22

vs. 15-17 Attempt to Entangle

After hearing three parables preached against them, the Pharisees went out and plotted to entangle him

They wanted to catch Jesus in a trap so they could discredit his ministry

They sent some of their disciples

Probably young brash students who thought they knew it all

They also sent some Herodians with them

The Herodians were a group aristocrats who were loyal to Herod’s house

They had religious leanings similar to the Sadducees

This is why you often see them together

The Herodians were the political wing and wanted Jesus gone

If they could catch him on a tax issue they could use their influence with Herod to have him arrested

They ask him about paying taxes

Notice their tactics

You are true and teach the truth

You don’t care about anyone’s opinion or swayed by appearances

These are all things that they cared about

Is it lawful to pay taxes?

They were probably smug in their thinking

If he answers yes it’s lawful the people will turn on him

If he answers no, he will be declared a rebel against the Roman empire

vs. 18-22 Render Correctly

Jesus is on to them

He questions their testing and calls them hypocrites

He asks for a coin and who is on the coin

Then tells them to give to Caesar what is his

Jesus never tells us to disobey authorities

1 Peter 2:13 ESV

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,

A Christian should be a good citizen

1 Peter 2:15 ESV

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

III. God of the Living vs. 23-33

vs. 23-28 Life in Heaven

The Sadducees were the aristocrats of Judaism, being largely in control of the Temple and the operation of the priesthood, and it was primarily through the Temple concessions of money changing and sacrifice selling (see 21:12) that they obtained their wealth

Despite their great power and influence, and partly because of it, the Sadducees were not respected by most Jews, especially by the Pharisees. They were aloof from the common people and acted superior to them.

Because their power and wealth were founded in the Temple and its offerings, sacrificial system, and commercial enterprises, when the Temple was destroyed in a.d. 70, the Sadducees, like the entire priesthood, ceased to exist.

Like the previous group (v. 16), by addressing Jesus as Teacher, the Sadducees thought to put Jesus off guard with condescending flattery, what one commentator has called “polished scoffing.”

vs. 29-33 Don’t be Ignorant of Scriptures

Jesus’ first response was that they were ignorant of Scripture and the power of God

This was true because of their radical views on scripture, but also because of their greed

A believer needs to work at growing in their knowledge of scripture

2 Timothy 1:13 ESV

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:2 ESV

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.