Well, I just want to make sure you all know who Jiwon Rai is.
So Jiwon, who led us this morning in worship, he and his wife, Caitlin, down here yonder,
they recently came to our church.
Jiwon is from Nepal, and the way we like to think about it is we are praying for a worship leader,
and God sent one from Nepal.
But they are a dear couple. Their son Sammy is precious, and they've been staying with us for a little while.
And so Jiwon and I were riding our bikes over here this morning, and at one point Jiwon says,
looks at my tie and is like, do I need to wear a tie this morning?
And I said, no, of course not.
Have you ever been turned away from somewhere because you weren't wearing the right thing?
Or maybe you've shown up somewhere before and you realized within a second, you're like, I am so overdressed.
Or it's like, oh no, I shouldn't be wearing flip-flops.
Maybe you get, that wasn't aimed at you.
It wasn't aimed at you.
Now, if God wants to do a work, let him do the work.
But it wasn't aimed at you.
Well, maybe you get an invitation somewhere, and the first question you think of is, well, what am I going to wear to this?
Something happened in my life 22 years ago that changed how I dress.
I married Jenny.
With surprising regularity, I get a question on my way out of the house that goes something like this.
Are you really going to wear that?
We all know it's not a question.
God is at work.
Well, this morning, Jesus asks a question via a parable.
And here's the question that he asks.
There's this king in this wedding feast, and a guy walks in, and this king says to him, friend, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?
In other words, did you not know there's a dress code?
Did you not know there's a dress code to this wedding ceremony, this wedding feast?
Brothers and sisters, friends, did you not know there's a dress code to this wedding feast?
To the kingdom of heaven?
In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, there's a dress code.
Do you know what you need to put on in order to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Do you know what to wear in order to come under God's saving reign?
Well, this morning, we're going to look at a parable.
And this parable tells us how to rightly respond to the gospel invitation that God the king is making to all sinners.
And he's saying, come into this party of salvation.
So what are you wearing?
Would you open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 22, verses 1 through 14?
And I'll just read through this, and then we'll talk about how we're going to proceed.
And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
And sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, and they would not come.
Again, he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who were invited, See, I've prepared my dinner.
My oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready.
Come to the wedding feast.
But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
while the rest seized the servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.
And those servants went out in the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good.
So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.
And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?
And this man was speechless.
Then the king said to the attendants, Bind him hand and foot and cast him in the outer darkness.
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Listen, this passage is all about how we are to rightly respond to the invitation to come to the party of salvation.
And so here's how we're going to go through this morning.
We're going to, I'm just going to walk you through the parable.
So I want to make sure all of us are on the same page of what Jesus is saying here.
And then we're going to ask the question, what's the point?
What's the point of this parable?
And then we'll close by saying, what does this mean for us today here in Kenosha, 2017?
So what?
Again, this is all about how to respond to God's gracious invitation to come into the wedding feast.
So let's look at this parable.
Let's walk through it.
In 22.1 we see, and again, Jesus spoke to them.
The them are the Jewish leaders, both the religious leaders and civic leaders.
They're in the temple.
We saw this last week.
Jesus is speaking directly to these Jewish leaders.
And it's to them he's going to speak this parable.
Now remember, this is Tuesday of Passion Week.
And it turns out that Tuesday is an extremely long day for Jesus and his teaching.
So he goes back in the temple.
He teaches these three parables.
And then he's going to kind of respond to some questions of these religious leaders.
And then if that weren't enough, he leaves Jerusalem, goes to the Mount of Olives,
and he speaks what's known as the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24 and 25.
It all happened on Tuesday.
And then three days later, Jesus is going to get railroaded by the Jewish leaders,
and he's going to be hanging on a Roman cross.
This parable is a third parable in a trio of parables that Jesus spoke to these leaders.
And so they are very much confrontational.
They're very much Jesus asserting his messianic authority.
And there's this one other thing I want you to be aware of.
There is this huge kind of sea change going on with Jesus right now.
Up until this point, John the Baptist was the last prophet of the old covenant.
And Jesus' coming has come to initiate a new covenant.
Do you remember in Matthew 26, just a couple days from where Jesus preaches,
he's going to be doing the Passover with his disciples,
and he's going to hold up a cup, and he's going to say,
this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
And so he's inaugurating a new covenant,
a new way in which God will relate with a new people, the church.
And so here we are on this kind of,
the old covenant is gone out,
and the new covenant is coming in,
and Jesus is bringing it in.
So all this to say, there's a lot going on.
And when we turn our attention here to this parable,
you've got to know up front, this is a rather elaborate parable.
In fact, Jesus develops this parable along three stages.
The first stage, he addresses this invitation malfunction,
verses 2 through 10.
And then he addresses this wardrobe malfunction,
in verses 11 through 13.
And then he addresses some thinking malfunction,
in verse 14.
It's his concluding statement.
So let's dig in.
Verse 2, Jesus begins the parable by saying,
the kingdom of heaven can be compared to.
And so, right out of the gate,
we've got to remember that this parable
is making a point about something.
Jesus is using the parable to teach about a reality.
The reality of the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is God's active, saving reign
in which God is bringing people to himself
and entering into a saving, life-giving relationship
with the living God.
When you come under the saving reign of God,
you get rescued.
You're delivered from sin
and delivered into life.
The life of God in Christ.
And so, what we see here is,
Jesus is setting up this whole thing
by saying the kingdom of heaven can be compared to,
and then in verse 2,
we read what he's going to compare it to.
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
The salvation is being compared to a party!
A wedding party.
And back in the day,
these wedding feasts would go on for days.
They were big deals.
But this is no ordinary wedding feast.
This is a royal wedding feast.
This is a wedding feast a king is giving for his son.
For us, this would be like a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Back in July 1981,
I'm not sure of those of you who would remember this.
Princess Diana,
Prince Charles got married.
Do you remember that?
Big deal for those of you who do.
Remember that?
That was a big deal.
And it wasn't a wedding feast,
but in St. Paul's Cathedral,
there's this video of the guests
who were there,
who were watching Diana come down that red carpet.
And those guests were the privileged invitees
of this wedding event.
Unforgettable.
It was a royal event,
and the whole world watched.
It was once in a lifetime.
And so what is going on here,
this parable of a wedding feast
thrown by a king for his son?
If we were living there,
it would be like this is the event of our lives.
The king's son is getting married,
and it's a picture of salvation.
In verse 3,
we see the king sending out his servants
to call the privileged who had been invited,
literally called,
to this wedding feast.
Now, you've got to remember,
back in the day,
they did not have cell phones.
There was no email,
no watches.
And so what would happen is,
the protocol is,
for an event like this that happened,
you're the host,
you send out invitations,
and then the day of the event,
you send out your servants to say,
hey, it's happening today.
Come on, it's ready.
Let's rock.
And so what we see going on here
is that the invitations have gone out,
the host, the king,
sends out his servants
to go invite,
to call these people to the feast.
Christ.
But the first surprise that we see is,
the privileged invitees
would not come.
They were unwilling to come.
Now, just to give you a sense already
of who the characters are in this parable,
the king, of course, is God the Father,
the son is Jesus,
the guy speaking this.
This is kind of like an autobiographical parable.
You know, he's referring to himself.
The privileged few
who are inviting to the wedding feast
are represented by the Jewish leaders,
the one Jesus is actually speaking to.
And it's them that are unwilling
to come to the party
that the king is throwing for the son.
This wedding feast is a picture of salvation,
and at the center of this feast is the son.
Jesus is at the center of our salvation.
In verse 4,
after the king gets word back
that nobody's coming,
he resends graciously,
reinvites everybody,
sends his servants back out,
and he says,
make sure you make it sound really good
what it is.
He's like,
tell them about the oxen
and the fattened calves,
tell them everything's ready,
it's going to be a blast,
tell them that it's all ready to go.
Come to the wedding feast
in honor of my son.
Make sure they all know.
What we see here is this king
wanting to share,
these people to share in his goodness.
Come into my celebration over my son.
Come into this wonderful event.
I've provided everything you need.
You just come.
Come into this.
And what's shocking is that
these people don't come.
In fact,
in verses 5 and 6,
we see descriptions
of their not coming.
In verse 5 we read,
but they paid no attention
to the servants,
and they went off,
one to his farm,
another to his business.
It's essentially saying,
you know,
I've got more,
thanks for the invitation,
I'm sure it's going to be a blast,
but really,
I need to get back to my farm.
I need to get back to my business.
That's got priority
over this once-in-a-lifetime event
thrown by the king of all.
I'm just going to say no.
And then the rest
of those invitees,
we read in verse 6,
that they treated
the servants shamefully,
even killing them.
Now that should ring
a little bell from last week
in the parable of the tenants.
In the parable of the tenants,
we have this father
who sends these servants
to the vineyard,
and those working the vineyard,
remember what they do
to the servants?
They beat them up,
they kill them,
like whatever.
And so what we have here
is a thread being Jesus
is pulling through
these parables.
And so what these servants
represent are the Old Testament prophets.
John the Baptist, of course,
was the last prophet
of the Old Covenant.
And do you remember
how he died?
He had his head removed
because he was speaking
to Herod
about the unrighteousness
of taking his brother's wife,
Herodias.
And it was John the Baptist
who was proclaiming,
repent for the kingdom
of heaven is near.
So we see these responses
and they're surprising responses.
And then in verse 7,
if you look at verse 7,
the king was angry
and he sent his troops
and destroyed those murderers
and burned their city.
their rejection
and their treatment
of the servants
kindled the king's wrath.
So in this parable,
we see God's,
this gracious invitation
as well as authoritative justice.
He sends a detachment of soldiers
who kill those people
who murdered the servants
and he sets ablaze their city.
And I don't know about you,
but when I was initially reading
about this,
I'm like, man,
that's a seriously strong reaction
for people not coming
to your party.
But it's more than that.
There's more going on here
than people refusing
a party invitation.
This is more than saying no
to a party.
This is a rejection of authority.
This is a rejection
of the authority of the king.
This is a rejection
of a gracious invitation
from the one king
to come and participate
in the events of the lifetime.
What it is,
is rebellion.
It's insurrection.
The killing of his servants.
It's an unwillingness
to live under the king's reign.
The reference Jesus makes
to the setting ablaze
of the city.
Some theologians believe
that it's an allusion
to the destruction
of Jerusalem,
which will just take place
a couple decades
from Jesus saying this
in 70 AD.
And I'm a little bit,
I'm a little bit,
I lean that way
because Jesus,
on this same day,
on the mountain of olives,
speaks of the destruction
of Jerusalem
in Matthew 24, verse 2.
There's judgment
in the air
with these words.
And what our sense is,
the backdrop here,
is God is turning away
from the people
under the old covenant
who've refused him
over and over again.
And he's now
turning to a new people
of a new covenant
who will receive him.
But what we see
going on here
is a God who is,
a God who invites,
come to the wedding feast.
And then there are consequences
for rejecting
his invitation.
Verse 8,
the king says to his servants,
the wedding feast is ready,
but those invited
were not worthy.
Referring to all those people
who've rejected the invitation.
They were unwilling to come.
That word worthy
shows up in Matthew
a few different times.
And there's one point
where it shows up
in concentration.
Listen to Matthew chapter 10,
verses 37 through 38.
Whoever loves father or mother
more than me,
this is Jesus speaking,
is not worthy of me.
And whoever loves son
or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me.
And whoever does not
take his cross
and follow me
is not worthy of me.
If you reject
the invitation of God
to come to the wedding feast
of the son,
you're not worthy of the son.
Verse 9,
after rejecting those
who were initially invited,
he says something,
another surprising thing
to his servants.
He's like,
okay,
these folks aren't going.
Let's regroup.
Here's what I want you to do.
Go, therefore,
to the main roads
and invite,
literally call,
to the wedding feast
as many as you find.
Those main roads,
those would be like
the distance road.
That's like the,
that would be like
the intersection
on 94 and 75.
Way out there.
That big intersection,
those crossroads,
the byways
and the highways.
Jesus is like,
you guys go out.
The king's saying,
you go out
and you get as many
as you're willing
to fill this,
this marriage hall
to celebrate
this wedding feast
of my son.
In verse 10,
we see the servants
go out into the roads,
into the crossroads,
and they gather
whom they found.
And what Jesus
in this parable
makes clear is
they're both
bad and good.
And what that
is getting at is
there's a mix
of guests
in the wedding hall.
They have responded.
They have come,
but it's a mix
of people
in the wedding hall.
So the king
fills the wedding hall
in verse 10
with those
who've responded
to this second invitation
to a bigger group
of people.
And by this point
in the parable,
we've had three surprises.
Surprise number one,
those who were
originally invited
refused to come.
Second,
those who refused
to come
were destroyed.
Third,
their judgment
and destruction,
their refusing,
it opens the door
to a whole new group
of people
on the crossroads
to be invited
to the wedding feast.
the first invitation
to that original group.
Think of that
as like the old covenant
established in Moses.
And this second invitation
is the new covenant,
the gospel invitation
that goes to everyone
on the planet.
The parable doesn't end
here though.
The parable continues.
So there's a second stage
of the parable
and that's in verses
11 through 13.
Verse 11,
the king comes
to the wedding hall
to survey all the guests
that his servants
have brought.
He wants to check it out.
And the part
of the parable,
this part of the parable
has some similarities
with some other parables
in Matthew,
Matthew 13.
The parable of the weeds
in the parable
of the dragnet.
And what happens
in those parables
is that there's
this big harvest
of something
and it's a mixed harvest
and as a result
there is a sifting out,
a sorting out.
And so what it looks
like is going on here
is there's a bringing together
of a mixed group
of people
and now what we're going
to see this king do
is do a little sorting out.
It happens
when the king's eyes
fall on those invited
and one stands out
because he's not wearing
a wedding garment.
Now, I'm sure you've got
an invitation before
to go somewhere.
And on those invitations,
oftentimes,
there's some instructions
for what you should wear.
For example,
you might read something
like business casual dress
requested
or formal attire
necessary
or just come as you are,
very casual.
The attire
of a first century
royal wedding feast
would be
you wear
a wedding garment.
you wear
something different
than your normal
everyday work clothes.
You've got to change
out of your sweat outfit
and you've got to change
into
some clothing
that's appropriate
for this event.
And so,
as the word went out
to invite
all of these people
from the byways
and highways
and crossways,
it would have been
understood
that to come
to a royal
wedding feast,
you've got to change
before you come in.
You've got to put
something else on.
Well,
if you didn't,
it would insult
the host.
It's like this
man at this wedding feast
is saying,
hey man,
I don't have to change
for you.
Oh,
but you know what?
Those bacon wrapped
water chestnuts,
I love them.
I'll have another one
of those,
but I'm not changing.
In verse 12,
look at what the king does.
He asks
for an explanation.
He asks
for an accounting.
He starts with
friend.
How did you get in here
without a wedding garment?
Did you not know
about the dress code?
Did you not know
that a wedding garment
is required
to enter
this wedding hall
in order to celebrate
the wedding
of my son?
And what we read
in verse 12
is that this man's
response is
he was speechless
and the original
language behind that
is he's muzzled.
He didn't have
anything to say
and it wasn't
a speechlessness
like,
oh,
I had no idea.
Mom's the word.
Not that kind
of speechlessness.
It's not the kind
of speechlessness
that comes from saying
he couldn't afford
his wedding garments.
That's not the issue here.
He was speechless
because he thought
he could skip
over the need
to change
and he didn't think
anyone would notice.
But who noticed?
The king noticed.
It's another snapshot
of judgment.
There's a requirement
to enter into the
wedding feast
of the son.
There's a requirement
to enter the kingdom
of heaven
into salvation.
What is it?
Do I have to do
good works?
Do I need to show
myself as worthy
and so live
this perfect life
and maybe
he'll let me in?
John the Baptist
and Jesus,
when they started
their public ministries,
they started preaching
the same thing.
Repent
for the kingdom
of heaven
is at hand.
Repent.
Repentance
is a kind
of change.
Repentance
is a change
of heart
from trusting
in something
that is unable
to save you.
In fact,
if you're trusting it,
it condemns you
and so you move
from trusting
in something
other than God
to trusting
in the only one
who can save you.
It shows up
in things like
from trusting
in alcohol
to make everything
just right.
You turn from that,
you repent of that
from trusting
and buying things
in order to scratch
that itch
you got inside.
That's not going
to save you.
Trusting in the next
sexual encounter,
that's not going
to fulfill your life.
You've got to turn
from trusting
in your own obedience
to God's commands
in order to make you
acceptable in God's sight.
You've got to repent
of that kind of thinking.
This man is in
the wedding hall
but he's not wearing
the right clothes.
He didn't come in right.
He didn't come in
with the right clothes,
posture of heart.
His confidence
was in something else.
His sense of calling
was somewhere else.
He wasn't there
for the wedding feast
of the Son.
In Matthew 16,
Jesus talks about this
as, hey,
if anyone would come
after me,
they need to deny themselves.
Deny yourself.
Take up your cross
and follow me.
This is another way
of talking,
hey, are you willing
to deny yourself
to be a follower
of Jesus?
Jesus?
And in verse 13,
what the king does next
is somewhat surprising.
He has his servants
bind this wrongly dressed man
and cast him out
of the wedding feast
into outer darkness
where there's weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
And we've come across
that phrase before
in the Gospel of Matthew.
And what that phrase
talks about
is the agony and pain
that takes place
in the place
of eternal judgment.
And so this is one
of those points
in this parable
where this parable
bleeds into reality.
The consequences
of trying to enter
the kingdom of heaven
without repenting.
Trying to come in
on my terms,
not the king's terms.
The consequences
of that is so severe.
Our legal system
in the United States
is broken.
I think we realize that.
Different people
are treated differently
based upon who they are.
We know that.
But still,
there is an intention
in our legal system
to make sure
a punishment
fits the crime.
So part of what
the job of a judge
is to make sure
a punishment
fits a crime,
fits an offense.
And so this morning,
let's just ask the question,
does this guy
getting kicked out
of this wedding feast
because he's wearing
the wrong clothes,
is that fitting?
Is that fair?
If the wedding garments
represent repentance,
then yes,
it is fair.
The punishment
does fit the crime.
There's more going on here
than just a wardrobe
malfunction.
It's a posture of heart.
It's a willingness
to say,
there is no way
I can get into this party
on my own.
There's nothing
I can do.
In fact,
all the things
I've done
would keep me out.
I've got to turn
from those.
Recognize those.
So if you're unwilling
to turn from your sin,
what Jesus is saying
is you're not allowed
into the wedding feast.
You must acknowledge
your sin before God
so that you can be saved.
So the second stage
of the parable
focuses on one guy
who responded
to the invitation
for anyone to come,
but he did not
respond rightly.
He came in
thinking he wouldn't
be noticed.
He came in
skipping the thought
that he needs
to actually
change his clothes.
And by doing so,
he offends
the king.
He wasn't coming in
on the king's
terms.
The king noticed.
He notices you.
He knows
your thinking.
He knows
your posture
of heart.
He knows
what you're wearing.
In both of these
stages of this parable,
we have two examples
of what keeps
people out
of the kingdom.
The first
are those who don't
even respond.
The second
is one who responds
but doesn't respond
according to God's
requirements.
Repent
for the kingdom
of heaven
is near.
And therefore,
both are excluded
from the kingdom.
They're all invited
but only a few
get in.
Which brings us
to 14.
Jesus
concluding
summary of this
parable.
He says,
for many are called
but few are chosen.
This idea
of being called
is the sense
of being invited.
And we see it
throughout the whole
parable.
Invitation
after invitation
to varying groups
of people.
Come to the wedding
feast.
Come.
Under the new covenant,
God extends
the invitation
to everyone.
Everyone
from everywhere
is welcome
to come into,
invited to come
into the party
of salvation
with Jesus
at the center
of it.
Many have been
invited.
Theologically
speaking,
this is known
as the general
call of the gospel.
The gospel
is sent out
generally.
You don't know
who's going to respond.
You proclaim it
and it goes out
to everyone
you can.
That's what we
want to do
here in this church.
We want to get
the gospel out.
We don't know
who will respond
but we want to get
it out
to every nook
and cranny
of the city.
We don't know
how people
are going to respond
and so from our
perspective,
the general call
goes out
and we're extending
the invitation
of the king
to come to the
wedding feast
of the son.
Many are called.
Many.
But few are chosen.
The few
that Jesus
is speaking about
is a subset
of the many.
Of the many
invited
to the wedding feast
only a fraction
will come in.
Only a few
will be saved.
And this should
maybe ring a bell
from Matthew chapter 7.
Enter by the narrow gate
for the gate is wide
and the way is easy
that leads to destruction
and those who enter
by it
are many.
For the gate is narrow
and the way is hard
that leads to life
and those who find it
are few.
Many.
Few.
Many are invited.
Few are chosen.
And that word chosen
gets at this sense
that these are the
legit of God.
These are the ones
God himself knows
belong to him.
We see the same word
show up in Matthew 24.
There it's used
in terms of the word
elect.
And when Jesus uses it
in Matthew 24 that way
he's talking about
those God knows
who are generally
his.
Those who belong to him.
These are the folks
that Jesus talks about
in Matthew 11
where
he has chosen
to reveal the father to
that
Jesus chooses
to do that.
In theological terms
this is getting at the
idea of
effectual call.
When the gospel
is proclaimed
those to whom
the son has chosen
to reveal the father
they will respond
in repentance
and faith.
God knows that
he has elected them
from the before
the foundation
of the world.
When the gospel
is proclaimed
to all
in general
only some
will respond
effectually.
those whom
the son
has chosen
to reveal
the father.
And so what
Jesus is saying
here is
hey
many are called
this parable
shows as many
are called
but few
are actually
chosen.
Few actually
belong
to God.
And so what
Jesus seems to be
saying here is
don't confuse
the invitation
with the response.
And for
those
Jews
who are hearing
Jesus say that
he is radically
shifting their
understanding.
You're not chosen.
You've rejected
the son.
So what is this
point of this
parable?
The point is this.
You've got to
rightly
respond
to the gracious
invitation
to the
wedding feast
of the son.
It's all
about
how
you respond.
God's
gracious
invitation
calls for
an appropriate
response.
how we respond
to the king's
invitation
matters.
The first
group
they rejected
the invitation
and they
suffered a
severe
justice
for it.
The second
group
represented by
the one
who was not
wearing
the wedding
garments.
He was
invited.
He came.
He showed
up.
But he
wasn't
wearing
the right
clothes.
He wasn't
responding
in repentance.
You think he
could get in
on his own
terms.
How you
respond to
the king's
invitation
matters.
You must
respond
rightly.
And so what
does this mean
for us today?
What does
this mean?
What is this
parable?
How does
this show
up in our
lives today?
Well here's
how.
The God
that Jesus
was referring
to in
this parable
is the
same God
today.
He's a
God who
is gracious
and is
extending
the invitation
to the
wedding feast
to everyone
today.
To you.
He's inviting
you to come
into his
celebration
of his
son.
Come.
If you
have not
responded to
the invitation
by God
himself to
come into
the kingdom
of heaven,
come into
the kingdom.
Respond.
Say yes,
I'm coming.
He's a
gracious,
wonderful God
who invites
all to
come.
But the
same God
is a God
of authority
and justice.
For those
who reject
the invitation,
he speaks
of it as
destruction,
casting into
outer darkness.
To reject
his invitation
outright or
to try to
twist it to
make it fit
your life
is met
with severe
justice.
God.
But there's
one thing
else I want
to point
you to
about this
God that
Jesus speaks
of in
this parable.
This king
is a father
who delights
in his son.
This king
is a father
who delights
in his son.
We see it in
the other
parables as
well.
The parable
of those two
sons,
there's father-son
theme.
The parable
of the tenants,
there's a father
sending his son
theme.
And here,
we have a father
delighting in
his son.
In fact,
God the father
set a plan
in place
from before
the foundation
of the world
to unite
all things
together
in his son
Jesus.
It's the
greatest party
ever.
So you've
got to remember
that the God
of this
parable
is the God
who is
reigning today.
The second
thing I want
to call you
to,
is to
honestly
examine
yourself.
To take
stock
of yourself.
It's possible
to delude
yourself
into thinking
that,
hey,
I'm in.
Maybe you're
not.
What are you
wearing?
What are you
wearing?
In 2 Corinthians
13, 5,
Paul writes
to a church,
a people
who profess
to be followers
of Jesus.
Jesus.
And he
urges them
to examine
themselves
to see
if they're
in the
faith,
to see
if they
are in
Christ,
to see
if they're
in the
kingdom.
them.
Paul were
to use
the words
of this
parable,
he's like,
hey,
are you
guys sure
you're
wearing the
right stuff?
And this
morning,
I just want
to give you
two questions
to be asking
yourself to
examine
yourself to
see if,
in fact,
you are
in the
kingdom.
Here are
the two
questions.
Question
number one,
where is
your confidence?
What does
your salvation
depend on?
If you think
that your
salvation depends
upon your
work and
actions to
get you into
the wedding
feast, you've
got the
wrong clothes
on.
Your
confidence is
not in what
you do,
it's what
the Son has
done.
Three days
from what
Jesus speaks
this parable,
he will be
hanging on a
cross and
he will be
bearing the
wrath of God
for the sins
of all those
who would
believe in
him.
That's the
work.
That's the
confidence.
you must
turn from
trusting in
yourself and
set your
heart on
Jesus.
Where's your
confidence?
What's your
calling?
Second question,
what's your
calling?
What's your
aim in life?
If your aim
is to advance
yourself,
you're wearing
the wrong
clothes.
If your aim
is Christ's
glory,
welcome to
the kingdom.
Come on
in.
What's your
confidence?
What's your
calling?
Repentance
means turning
away from
trusting in
yourself to
get into the
kingdom.
It turns away
living for
yourself.
Whoever would
follow me must
deny himself,
take up his
cross and
follow me.
take stock
of yourself.
There's one
other piece
of application
here.
And it's
secondary but
significant.
Do you
remember what
happened when
Jesus was
speaking this
parable and
that initial
group that was
invited to the
kingdom, they
rejected the
invitation?
The king
sent out the
invitation to
anyone.
We see
God's heart
to invite
anyone
into the
wedding feast
of the
son.
Here's what
that means for
us.
There are
people all
over the
city that
are waiting
on an
invitation.
and we
get to
say, hey,
do you
want to
come to
the wedding
feast?
Do you
want to
come to
the wedding
feast?
God
over all
has invited
you to
come to
the wedding
feast.
And all
you need to
do is wear
the right
clothes.
And what
those clothes
are is to
humbly
acknowledge your
need for
God.
To repent
and trust
him.
This
morning, maybe
you're realizing
that you
have been
responding to
God's gracious
invitation on
your own
terms.
Well, you
don't need to
be speechless
like the guy
that we saw
in the
parable.
To respond
rightly to
God's gracious
invitation is
to deny
yourself, take
up your
cross, and
follow Jesus.
And all
that you need
to say is,
Lord Jesus,
change me,
and welcome
me in.
Let's pray.
God in
heaven,
we do
thank you so
much that
you are a
gracious God
who warmly
invites sinners
into the
kingdom of
heaven.
God, you
part of that
invitation is a
call to
repent, to
don the right
clothes to
enter in.
God, would you
help us to see
ourselves as you
see us and to
respond rightly.
God, for those
of us who by
your mercy and
grace have come
into your kingdom,
all glory and
praise and
honor to
your name.
Jesus, we
say to you,
thank you.
Amen.