Chapter 90
PARABLE OF THE WEDDING BANQUET
Matthew 22:1-14
Before we begin our study of the “Parable of the Wedding Banquet or Feast” let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, we ask that You would please move upon us and cause us to better understand and take to heart the message of this parable.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
We begin our study by reading the following parable:
[1] And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: [2] “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, [3] and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. [4] 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.”’ [5] But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. [6] And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. [7] But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. [8] Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. [9] Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ [10] 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. [11] “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. [12] So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. [13] 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.’ [14] “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
To more fully understand this parable, let us note that:
1. The king represents God the Father.
2. The son represents God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
3. Those who were initially invited to the feast represent the Israelites.
4. Those on the highway represent the Gentiles.
5. The wedding feast represents the time when all who have been granted eternal life and are spiritually united with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To verify this let us consider what is written in,
Revelation 19:7-9
[7] Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” [8] And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. [9] Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
Let us notice the following verses,
7-8 … The wedding feast will be in honor of the marriage of Jesus Christ (The Lamb) and His wife or bride. Throughout the New Testament times, these saints or the bride of Christ are the true born again believers in Jesus Christ (Romans 1:7, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, etc.).
With the above correlations in mind, one comes to the realization that the parable covers the following three periods of time:
1. The time prior to Jesus’ physical death and resurrection.
2. The time period after Jesus’ physical death and resurrection.
3. The time period of the wedding feast.
Thus, in this study we will discover that this parable describes to us the actions God had and will perform within the above periods of time.
With the above background and introduction in mind let us begin with,
THE TIME PRIOR TO JESUS’ PHYSICAL DEATH AND RESURRECTION
This is the time written about in,
Matthew 22:1-3
[1] And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: [2] “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, [3] and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.
In considering verse 3 there are two significant points to be made.
First, the servants were sent to gather to the wedding feast people who already had their invitation. However, they were not willing to attend.
Secondly, considering verse 3 in its relationship with the second time period, it is interesting to note that the feast or banquet was not yet prepared. Hence, at this time those who were called to the wedding feast were called prior to or during its preparation. As we will find the preparation of the wedding feast were all the events and activities that would conclude with Jesus’ physical death and resurrection. In other words, this was the time of Jesus’ physical sojourn upon this earth.
During this time period, one of the servants God the Father sent to call the Israelites to the wedding feast was,
JOHN THE BAPTIST
To see this let us read about the mission or ministry of John Baptist. To do this we go to,
Matthew 3:1-3
[1] In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, [2] and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” [3] For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’
Another way of describing John the Baptist’s mission is by reading the following excerpt from the Gospel of John. However, before we do it is noted that the Light referenced in the following Scriptures is Jesus Christ (see John 8:12). With this in mind let us now read from,
John 1:6-8
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [7] This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. [8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. [9] That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. [10] He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. [11] He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
Let us notice the following verses,
10 … Even thought the world was created through Jesus Christ, the peoples of the world did not know Him.
11 … Those whom Jesus came first to save were His own, the Israelites. These were the people who already had an invitation to the wedding. However, as Jesus foretold in the parable, they did not receive Him.
This now brings us to the second period of time that is addressed by this parable. Specifically,
THE TIME AFTER JESUS’ PHYSICAL DEATH AND RESURRECTION
To read what the “Parable of the Wedding Feast” has to say about this period of time let us read from,
Matthew 22:4-10
[4] 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.”’ [5] But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. [6] And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. [7] But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. [8] Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. [9] Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ [10] 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.
Let us notice the following verses,
4 … The wedding feast is prepared. Consequently, the king sent out other servants to gather those who had been invited to the feast.
5-7 … As before, some of those who were invited ignored the invitation. Others treated some of the king’s servants spitefully and some of them they killed. The king was furious and sent His army to destroy them and their city.
9 … As a result the king sent his servants into the highways to invite both good and bad to the wedding. Now, the wedding hall was filled.
For this portion of our study we will expand upon the following three observations.
1. The wedding feast is prepared.
2. Those invited refused a second time to attend the feast.
3. The king sent his servants to the highways.
Let us now quickly review how
THE WEDDING FEAST WAS PREPARED
To do this let us first reread,
Matthew 22:4
[4] 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.”’
Let us expand upon the first part of verse 4 in a little more depth,
4a … Notice this time the banquet or feast was prepared. As Jesus said, while He was hanging on the cross and just before He gave up His Spirit: “It is finished” (John 19:30). In other words, as we saw and reviewed in previous studies, atonement for the forgiveness of our sins was made and our redemption by God was imminent. In addition, as we will see later, the wedding garments are now cleansed and ready to be worn to the wedding feast.
With the above in mind let us move on and read about,
THE SECOND REFUSIAL OF THOSE WHO WERE INITIALY INVITED TO THE WEDDING FEAST
Before we do this it must be pointed out that not all of the Israelite population rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, on the day of Pentecost when the Apostle Peter presented to the Jewish people the Gospel of Jesus Christ, approximately 3,000 souls gladly accepted and obeyed God’s invitation to the wedding of His Son. This is recorded in,
Acts 2:36-41
[36] “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” [37] Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” [38] Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” [40] And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” [41] Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Let us notice the following verses,
38 … Even though what Peter said is often called as the invitation to become a born again believer in Jesus Christ and be filled with God the Holy Spirit, it is also the invitation to the wedding feast for God the Father’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
39 … Notice this invitation and promise was for the following four types of individuals: (1) Those that were present at the time of Peter’s speech, (2) Their children, (3) Those that were not present or far away, and (4) Those who God will call throughout the upcoming ages (both Jew and Gentile alike).
41 … Three thousand people accepted God’s invitation to the wedding feast.
However, many Israelites and especially the priests and/or elders rejected God’s call. To see this let us return to the parable and reread,
Matthew 22:5-7
[5] But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. [6] And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. [7] But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Let us notice that in the above verses Jesus foretold the following three things were going to occur: (1) His servants would be spitefully treated, (2) Some servants would be killed and (3) The king would destroy them and their city. Let us now see how all three of Jesus’ prophecies were fulfilled.
First of all, the New Testament records the fact that,
The apostles were beaten
For example, let us read what happened when the apostles were brought before the Jewish ruling council for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To read a short summary of what occurred we begin by reading from,
Acts 5:27-33
[27] And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, [28] saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” [29] But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. [30] The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. [31] Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. [32] And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” [33] When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.
Even though the council wanted to kill them, Gamaliel, a Pharisee, advised them to keep the apostles alive. His advice is recorded in,
Acts 5:38-39
[38] And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; [39] but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”
Let us now read the response of the council. It is recorded for us in,
Acts 5:40-42
[40] And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. [41] So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. [42] And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Let us notice the following verses,
40 … The apostles were beaten; thus, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy.
41 … The apostles rejoiced for the privilege to be able to suffer for the cause of Jesus Christ.
42 … The apostles continued to teach and preach about Jesus Christ. In other words, they kept extending the invitation to attend the upcoming wedding feast.
In addition to being beaten and spitefully treated, the New Testament also records for us the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy that,
Some of Jesus’ servants would be killed
For our first example, let us read about the martyrdom of Stephen. To do this, we go to the time after Stephen preached the good news of Jesus Christ to the Jewish ruling council. To read what happened we go to,
Acts 7:54-60
[54] When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. [55] But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, [56] and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” [57] Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; [58] and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. [59] And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” [60] Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
As a side note, in verse 58, the young man named Saul was Paul. As we will later discover it was Paul who God ultimately sent to the highways to invite the Gentiles to the wedding feast of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament also records that King Herod had James, the brother of John, executed. This is recorded in
Acts 12:1-2
[1] Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. [2] Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
The third and last prophecy for this portion of the parable was that,
The king would destroy them and their city
As we have read and explored in previous studies, this prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman army, under the leadership of General Titus, over ran Israel, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
We now come to the third and last event Jesus predicted of what would occur during this time period. Specifically,
THE KING WOULD SEND HIS SERVANTS TO THE HIGHWAYS
To read what Jesus foretold let us reread,
Matthew 22:8-10
[8] Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. [9] Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ [10] 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.
To confirm the fulfillment of this prophecy, let us read what God the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Paul and Barnabas, to those living in Pisdian Antioch. To read what was said we go to,
Acts 13:44-48
[44] On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. [45] But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. [46] Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “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. [47] 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.’’
[48] Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Let us notice the following verses,
44 … The non Jewish inhabitants of the city of Pisdian Antioch knew that Paul and Barnabas were speaking the Word of God.
45 … Because a great many of the Gentiles were listening to Paul and Barnabas’ preaching and teaching, the Jews became envious. Instead of receiving the Word of God and accepting God’s invitation, they came against or refuted what the Paul and Barnabas was telling them.
46-47 … By rejecting the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, through Paul and Barnabas, said that these Jews had judged themselves to be unworthy of everlasting life. In other words, these contentious and unbelieving Jews condemned themselves. Consequently, as the Lord commanded, Paul and Barnabas were now going to speak to the Gentiles, who were the non Jewish people. As a side note these are the people Jesus referred to as those who were on the highways, both good and bad (see Matthew 22:10a).
48 … The Gentiles were glad and glorified the Word of God. In addition, many believed the good news of Jesus Christ and received eternal life in Him. As the parable foretold, the wedding hall would be filled (see Matthew 10b).
We now come to the third and last period of time that was/is addressed in Jesus’ parable. It is noted that this period of time is yet to come and is
THE TIME OF THE WEDDING BANQUET/FEAST
To refresh our memories with respect to this portion of the parable we go to read from,
Matthew 22:10-13
[10] 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. [11] “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. [12] So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. [13] 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.’
In reading the above Scriptures the question arises as to; “What was or will be the wedding garment?” In the beginning of this study we already touched upon the answer to this question. To refresh our memory let us reread about the marriage supper of the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ, as recorded in,
Revelation 19:7-9
[7] Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” [8] And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. [9] Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
Let us notice the following verse,
8a … God granted the saints to be clothed in fine linen
8b … The fine linen or wedding garment is; “the righteous acts of the saints.”
Before we jump to the hasty conclusion that verse 8 is teaching us that our salvation or acceptance to the marriage supper of the Lamb is based upon our good works, we must understand this verse in the context of the entire Bible.
First of all, we must never forget that,
JESUS IS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
To see this let us read a teaching about our call to eternal life with God. The teaching of interest for this study is recorded in,
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
[26] For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. [27] But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; [28] and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, [29] that no flesh should glory in His presence. [30] But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—[31] that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
To emphasis the significance of what we just read let prayerfully reread the following Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 1:29-31
[29] … no flesh should glory in His presence. [30] But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—[31] that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
To expand upon this a bit more, let us read one of the visions the Apostle John was given with respect to some of the activities that will occur in Heaven. The vision of interest for this study is recorded in,
Revelation 7:9-17
[9] After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, [10] and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” [11] All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, [12] saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.
[13] Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” [14] And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. [15] Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. [16] They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; [17] for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Let us notice the following verses,
9 … A multitude of people clothed in white robes will stand before God the Father and Jesus Christ.
10 … The cry of the people was and will be that their salvation belongs to God the Father and to Jesus. Please notice that their cry was not about their good works.
14 … Their robes were made white by the blood of the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ. As we found in previous studies, these are those who accepted and received the forgiveness of their sins through the atonement Jesus made through His bloody death and glorious resurrection.
15-17 … This is another glimpse of what it will be like when we, the true born again believers in Jesus Christ, enter into eternal life with our God. To refresh our memories let us prayerfully reread from,
Revelation 7:15-17
[15] … they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. [16] They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; [17] for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Even though, by God’s Grace and Mercy, we have been saved from the fires of damnation, the born again Christians are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for,
GOOD WORKS
To see this, let us read a glimpse of the new condition or state of the born again believer in Jesus Christ. To do this we go to,
Ephesians 2:4-10
[4] But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Verse 10 raises the questions as to: (1) “How are we to do these good works and (2) “What are the good works?”
The answer to the first question is that our good works or righteous acts are to be done by Him, Jesus Christ. To see this let us first reread,
Ephesians 2:10
[10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Notice: The born again believer was created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
We find a similar instruction or teaching in,
Colossians 2:6-7
[6] As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, [7] rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Let us notice the following verse,
6 … As we received Jesus we are to walk in Him. Question: “How did we, the born again believer, receive Jesus?” The answer to this question is: “By faith.” Therefore we are to walk in Him by faith.
To see this more clearly, let us read how the Apostle Paul considered His life after he became a born again Christian. To do this we go to,
Galatians 2:20-21
[20] I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. [21] I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
The answer to the second question of: “What are the good works we have been created to do?” is provided in Jesus’ answer to the scribes question regarding the greatest commandment. To read what Jesus said let us go to,
Mark 12:28-31
[28] Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” [29] Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. [30] And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. [31] And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
In other words, the righteous or good works we are to do in Christ Jesus is to place our faith in Him to bring forth from within us His love, peace, joy, etc. As we read the New Testament we discover that the above works or fruits are identified as the fruits from God the Holy Spirit who now lives inside the born again believer.
To see this let us the following instruction from Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. The Scriptures of interest is,
Galatians 5:16-18
[16] I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [17] For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
To help us to walk in God the Holy Spirit we are given some examples of two types or categories of fruits that may come forth from within us.
The first example is when we are not in God the Holy Spirit and are actually walking or living in our flesh. When we are in this state a sample of the fruits we would be bringing to light are given in,
Galatians 5:19-21
[19] Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [21] envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Let us pay particular attention to the following verse,
21 … As we learned from the ‘Parable of the Wedding Feast’ if we are not wearing the wedding garment, the righteous works of Jesus Christ, we will not be allowed to partake in Jesus’ wedding banquet. Before we jump to the conclusion that since there have been times when I had walked in my flesh, I will be cast out of the wedding feast, let us from,
1 John 1:9
[9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The second example is when we are in God the Holy Spirit. A sample of the fruits He will produce from within us are provided in,
Galatians 5:22-24
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24] And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Let us notice the following verse,
22-23 … These fruits do not come from us. These are the fruits from God the Holy Spirit. This does not mean I am going to live a perfect life. Let us remember only God is perfect. To see this let us read from,
1 John 1:10
[10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
However, it does mean that, in the born again believer’s life, the fruits of God the Holy Spirit should be present and growing. (See 2 Peter 1:2-14 and Romans 8:12-15)
With all we have covered in mind, we now come to
THE POINT OR MESSAGE OF THIS STUDY
Actually, there are at least the following two points to be made.
1. Unless we have recognized, accepted and received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and have been born again of God the Holy Spirit we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (John 3:1-7). Hence, we will not be allowed or permitted to participate in the Wedding Feast/Banquet of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
2. Unless the fruits of God the Holy Spirit are present and growing in our lives we are in jeopardy of not being welcomed to participate in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Hence, we should be sure we are true born again believers in Jesus Christ (see 2 Peter 1:2-14 and Romans 8:12-15).
CLOSING
Before we close this study, let us first pause for a moment and consider all we have covered. Specifically, (1) All those who were invited but did not want to attend the wedding feast, (2) Those who spitefully treated the servants and (3) The person who tried to attend the feast without the wedding garment. With all of this fresh in our minds, let us now close this study by prayerfully reading the last verse of Jesus’ “Parable of the Wedding Banquet.”
Matthew 22:14
[14] “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Shall We Pray?