The Wedding Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14

The parable of the Wedding Banquet

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet,’ But they paid no attention and went off-one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

There has been a lot going on in my brain and heart recently. God has been stirring me in a way that makes it hard to organize my thoughts and learnings. However, the thing that I am most bothered by today is that there are many Christians who take what their teacher (pastor) is teaching them and not search out the bible for themselves. I understand it seems that the bible is difficult to understand and I too have struggled with it extensively and as a result it can be intimidating and defeating. So, in the effort to help edify anyone who is reading this, I want to share what it is that I have learned that made the bible reveal things more clearly. However, I didn’t feel that I could just outline a number of study techniques. I had to have scripture that could explain to me and for me how these study skills can come together and work.

To begin with here are the things that I try to keep in mind when I read any section of the bible:

1. Who is the bible, or God, talking to in the scripture?

It is very important to remember that the bible is not written as a whole to Jews and Gentiles alike. In fact, the majority of it is written to only the Jews. In my relationship to the bible, I am the Gentile.

2. What era are we in when cross referencing verses?

I follow a structural framework that the bible is actually divided into different Dispensations, or periods based on Bible Hermeneutics in which God relates and deals with humans in different ways under different biblical covenants (or promises). There are varying opinions of how many dispensations there are but I myself am not super concerned about that point.

3. Research the scripture from a cultural perspective.

The traditions and “times” within our own culture are very different today than they were even only 50 years ago. For the most part of the bible we are dealing with an entirely different culture then ourselves as Americans. It is important to know who the people of the bible were and the cultural traditions so that you can understand their actions and Gods dealing with them. When you understand this, a lot of the language and especially the parables Jesus uses make a whole lot more sense.

4. Do not only hear what the bible is saying but also ask what the bible is NOT saying.

There is a lot of answer in scripture when you listen to what the bible does NOT say.

The passage above stood out to me to help me better grasp a lot of the questions that I have been researching and although I have found positions on many of these issues, I thought it was a confirming passage tying together most of my questions in one single parable from the words of Jesus himself. I am not going to outline the questions I have had in the beginning because I do not want to approach this from a topical perspective. I think that is where a lot of us go wrong in our bible reading. We are trying to find answers instead of just learning what the bible does and does not say. We can take any scripture out of context of the true meaning when we are trying to find supporting evidence to a topic and make it fit into our already preconceived idea of what we want the answer to be. The end result leaves us confused and mislead. So here we go.

First off whom is the bible talking to, or about, in this section of scripture?

The answer to this is in the section of verses BEFORE it. This draws attention to the point that you have to read what the bible says. Without that knowledge, the parable could be to anybody and I believe it is not. In Matthew 21:45 Jesus is talking to the chief priests and the Pharisees. The chief priests were the primary teachers of the temple and the Pharisees were a special group or sect of the Jews. They were distinguished by their strict observance of the traditional (see there it is, “what was the culture like?”) and written law (here we have the question to ask “what covenant are we dealing with, or better yet, what covenant do the Jewish leaders think we are dealing with?”).

Next, what era or dispensation, are we in?

We are still in the age of the law, or the Mosaic dispensation. We know this because Jesus is down here, trying to get the Jews attention and teach them, in the flesh, that the covenant is changing. He is warning them of things to come. The church age, or the dispensation of Grace doesn’t actually start until the death of Christ. A lot of us have misunderstood that. I thought for a long time that the age of the church started with the beginning of the New Testament. There are deeper answers to that but we will leave it right there for now.

What is the culture like?

Well, we are dealing with orthodox Jews here about 1900+ years ago. It was a lifestyle very different than today. They are part of the elite group that they are because of their ability to uphold the Law that was presented by Moses. Now, in their defense, that was the primary responsibility of that time. To obey the Law. So to know that helps me understand why these people are as resistant as they are. The parable itself covers many things that can only be understood if you know what their culture was like and the history of the promises that God has made withthem. And it makes sense that it would take understanding their culture to “get” the parable because Jesus is not talking to Gentiles, he is speaking specifically to a group that is not ours, just like our group of Gentiles is not their group. I couldn’t expect the Pharisees to be able to understand our modern culture. One, it didn’t exist and two, they wouldn’t have interacted with us anyways.

What is the bible not saying?

I will ask this after I exhaust the first three study questions.

So knowing Jesus is not talking to us, but rather the chief priests and Pharisees and they are people who are to uphold the Law of Moses and not only that but they are the group considered elite in their ability to do that we start in on the scripture.

Matthew 22:2

My NIV version says “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.”

My KJV puts this verse like this “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,”

When comparing the two versions it makes more sense to understand that Matthew 22:2 is confirming that there was an arranged marriage planned. In Hebrew tradition it was customary that the son would leave his fathers’ house to prepare a tent for his bride. A bride that he had selected. Here, it is God the Father who arranged for the marriage of the Bride (Jews/Israelites) to his son (Jesus).

Matthew 22:3

NIV

“He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.”

KJV

“He sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.”

When the son would find the girl he wanted for his bride he would approach the father of the girl and negotiate a bid for her to pay for her purchase (I know, hard to understand from a free world perspective but hang in with me here). So here we have a bride (Jews) selected by the son (God the Father and God the Son) and the bride refused the betrothel. The girl could do that. When the father and the son approached the house of the father of the girl, they would knock on the door. The father of the girl would see who was calling and with the door shut look to his daughter to confirm that the door should be opened. If the door was opened it wasn’t about “can I have your blessing to marry your daughter”, simply opening the door stated that. At the time the door was opened it was set that the two would be married. Opening the door meant they have moved on to the negotiation of the price the son had to pay for the daughter. Here we have that God has selected the Jews but they did not open the door for actual betrothal. They denied him. They refused him and gave into themselves and the world over God and his promise. I think the people in this verse are the original people before the flood of Noah. A lot of my opinion comes from what the bible DOESN’T say here. There isn’t much that needs to be said. They rebelled, God wiped them out. They were a group of people who couldn’t get right. Not wouldn’t get it, but couldn’t get it right. I can’t help believe that because they couldn’t get it right God took them out of the world to save them from themselves. But that is just my opinion.

Matthew 22:4

NIV

“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet”

KJV

“Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, ‘tell them which are bidden, behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.”

First notice that the KJV states “them which are bidden”. The people Jesus is referring to have been betrothed. Which means there can be no backing out of the bride from the arrangement. After the bid had been negotiated, the son would return to his fathers’ house and prepare his own estate to give to his new bride. In Hebrew tradition that took about 12 months. So now we see that not only have the Jews been betrothed and are unable to be separated from God but he is telling them that he has established his estate to give them and that it is time to come to the marriage. The son and the father were the only ones who knew of the wedding date. The bride was to wait for the completion of the preparations until the son called on her on the day of the wedding and announcing it to her only then. Now, she was not without her own duties in the time of betrothal, there were things she was to do as well to be prepared to go.

Matthew 22:5,6,7

NIV

“But they paid no attention and went off-one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.”

KJV

“But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”

I understand this to mean that here we are dealing with a group of people who know what has been promised to them and they still put their worldly selves, lives, and circumstances at a higher level of importance than the hope of being united with God. Another, totally different group of people who still can’t get it right. And because I have not been trained at the seminary level, right now I assume that this means the current era of Jews that Jesus is talking to, not just the Jews in front of him but the Jews of the most current generations. I assume that because of how many groups that were recorded in this passage to have been elected by God and the way that he dealt with each group (i.e. each dispensation). Once again, they ignored their responsibilities as the bride during the betrothal period. God has taken more time to elaborate the details in this section unlike the lack of detail in the first group. This group has the history of the last group to be able to lay their testimony on and it still didn’t do it for them. I also think that Jesus is sharing some foreknowledge of what the Jews are going to do to him and his disciples. “and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them”. Remember, it was the Jews themselves who crucified Christ and persecuted/murdered his disciples. The Jews of this particular era have lost their land to the Romans through war. And they would continue to battle over it as they still do today.

Matthew 22:8,9,10

NIV

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find’. So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

NKJV

“When saith he to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.’ So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

So previously God has dealt with two separate eras of people, those pre-flood and those post-flood up until the time of Jesus’ ministry. The former refused and the later ignored Gods promises. This third group of people that Jesus is talking about are us! The Gentiles. We see in this parable alone that God has dealt with the two groups of people differently but true to his covenant with them each. The first group he wiped out, the second he is still dealing with at this point and now we see God is changing the dynamic by throwing us in the mix. Jesus is telling the Jews that a new covenant will be made and that the times are changing. But here is the powerful point in this set of verses, we were bidden just like the Jews of the Mosaic dispensation and the entire human race of the pre-flood dispensation. We have been chosen, by Jesus and God as his bride also. We are chosen, both good and bad. The bad. The most broken of all. Who before Christ and the gospel had no hope for anything better and after the gospel are restored with hope. Because we have been chosen. Remember, in Hebrew tradition, if we are chosen we cannot be separated once we respond to the invitation. No one whom God has made a covenant with can be separated. The Jews have been bidden for as well as the Gentiles.

Matthew 22:11,12,13,14

NIV

“But when the king came into see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

NKJV

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, ‘bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

In Hebrew tradition, when you were invited to a wedding feast and you could not be properly attired, the host would provide the proper clothing for you. This particular guest was inside the party but not properly attired. Don’t forget, this guest is a Gentile, no Jews have responded to the invitation. The bible doesn’t tell us if this guest was a “good person” or anything else. And the bigger point is that the guest didn’t have an answer to the question. The only reason he would have been improperly attired is because he did not accept clothing that the king or his servants had offered him. He was no longer fit to be a guest of the celebration so he was kicked out of the party but sent into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He was sent to hell. Lastly, the premise of the parable, many are invited and few are chosen. Many are going to the party but are going to be shocked to find they are not dressed appropriately. God dresses us down for the party. As the king he has supplied us with the proper clothing, the Holy Spirit. He indwells us with the Holy Spirit. He calls us. We respond and then we are clothed with the proper attire by God of the Holy Spirit.

Now that we have come this far, I will share some of the things that have been renting space in my head. I love this parable because it reveals so much about the bible as a whole from beginning to end and amplifies Gods nature on so many levels. More than anything I believe it answers some of these “controversial” theological topics that it seems lots of pastors/teachers avoid answering directly. But I am going to state that these are my OPINIONS. I try very hard not to put to much of my opinion into this journal but it has been pressed on my heart to put it out there. So, because of that, here it is.

Election:

We cannot save ourselves as I just stated above. We CANNOT do it. We make choices controlled by our fleshly nature. Our fleshly nature is sinful and evil and is propelled by what is most appealing to us each in each moment. We cannot choose God because God is the opposite of sin and evil which would be a result of us choosing something against our nature and I don’t think we are able to do that. Only God can save us. We need him but he chooses us. When we understand that concept the words of the bible reveal a whole new level of wisdom to us. Some of us think we have chosen him and are invited to the celebration but many will find that they were not. You either belong or you don’t.

Pre-Destination:

I believe some of us have to be broken in order to truly see that we cannot do this without him. Not all, but some. If you are at that place at the bottom, let it break you. Then you can be surrendered to God (and all the many upon many gifts he will bestow on you-not worldly gifts but untouchable gifts like faith and peace). I don't believe that God will compete for control. He doesn’t have to. God himself does not break us, we break ourselves so if you hear God calling you, then, in keeping with the Hebrew bride-groom analogy, answer the door already! As you have heard it said “we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way”. The bible is a history book of God’s plan unfolding exactly as he predestined. The Jews would not be broken as shown to us in the scripture including this parable. They will be (because the bible tells us they will be), but as of this moment they have not been and have not been for the last 6000 years. Again, all part of Gods plan.

Free-Will

God will save us from ourselves. You may see or hear about a story of a great person who is young with so much life left ahead of them be taken to soon to heaven. I believe that God will take some of us early to protect us from ourselves. Not from Satan but ourselves. God will save us from ourselves because we cannot save ourselves. We can only hurt ourselves. This parable tells us of generations of people who could not save themselves. They kept making choices (instituting their free-will) that fed their sinful nature (as we all do each and every day). I do not subscribe to the theory of free-will in the philosophical perspective that has been presented to the Christian community. I believe we have free-will that is limited to the confines of the nature that we feed the most. If we are saved and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and feed it daily, we are able to make choices that are inline with that righteous nature. If we are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit we will make choices that satisfy our sinful nature. However, once indwelt with the Holy Spirit, our sinful nature is not dead for the long-term. It must die daily. Free-Will as it is presented to Christians sells the theology that we are capable of choosing God. This parable has shown us that every time God has sent out his servants to gather his elect. Never did it say his elect just showed up early without being invited.

How do I know if I am elected?

The parable tells us a story of a man who thinks he is saved but isn’t. So how do I know if I am saved? The key is in the parable. He wasn’t wearing the proper clothing which is code for the Holy Spirit. I know that I am clothed with the Holy Spirit because every day I am able to make choices that are not in line with my true (sinful) nature as the people in the parable were not able to do. Without the Holy Spirit I would make the exact same choices as the examples in the bible. I know I am indwelt with the Holy Spirit because this nature gets hungry just like my sinful nature gets hungry. I feed it with the bible, teachings from sound teachers and edify myself with other believers. When I do not, my sinful nature doesn’t take long to surface to be fed. My sinful nature likes high maintenance houses, high maintenance horses and high maintenance cars. If I wasn’t clothed with the Holy Spirit, I wouldn’t have the ability to make choices against what appeals to my selfish desires.

So there it is, just some of my thoughts wrapped up in the perfect parable spoken by Jesus himself.