The parable of the Wedding Banquet

Read Matthew 22:1-14 “The parable of the Wedding Banquet”

Dear Church family,

This is the last parable of the three parables Jesus told in response to the questions from the chief priests and the elders of the people about His authority, while He was teaching and healing people in the temple in Jerusalem. Remember that the first parable that we read about a few weeks ago was the parable of the two sons, and the second parable was the parable of the Wicked Tenants. Then the last one is “the parable of the Wedding Banquet.”

Jesus said again to them “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.”

Who doesn’t like a wedding party? I know I do! I love going to weddings because, at a wedding, you get to see two families coming together. And if some of you have ever had a chance to talk with an African couple, they may tell you that, sometimes it is not easy to bring two families together. Because at some point, there may have been disagreements, misunderstandings, or even conflicts between the families. But then, on the wedding day, something beautiful happens. Two families that may have struggled to get along, come together to celebrate the love and the new life of the couple. That is one of the things I love about weddings. They are not only about two people coming together. They are also about families coming together.

Now, think about this parable. This is a royal wedding. The king is preparing a wedding feast for his son. When everything was ready, the king sent his servants to call the people who were invited to the wedding feast. But, the people who were invited refused to come.

For those of you who are married, think back to your wedding day. How would you have felt, after preparing your wedding, sending invitations to people you wanted them to be there, and receiving RSVPs from family members and friends, and expected them to be there, but when the day came, some of them simply did not show up? Some of you would have felt very disappointed, right? Now, imagine how the king must have felt. Everything was ready, and when he sent his servants to call them, they refused to come. And the problem was not that they did not receive an invitation. They were invited.

When we look at verse 4, we can see the humility and patience of the king calling the people he invited to come and celebrate with him and his son. And I can only imagine what was on the menu! But they paid no attention. Then, in verse 9, the king decided to invite everyone from the street. He told his servants to go out and invite everyone they could find. They gathered everyone they found, both the bad and the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Think about that for a moment. The people who were invited first rejected the invitation. And I can imagine the king saying, “If those I invited first did not come, I know there are other people who will accept my invitation.” And dear church family, those people who accepted the invitation are us. We are the people who have received God’s invitation. We are the people sitting here this morning to celebrate with Him, and say thank you for everything He is doing in our lives. We may come from different backgrounds. We may have different stories. We may not be perfect. But God has invited us to come and celebrate with Him.

Maybe at some point, one of the servants said to the king, “my king, these people do not look like us. They do not dress like us. They do not talk like us. Are you sure you want us to bring them to the wedding banquet?” And the king said “Bring them.” You know, the king did not say, “Bring only the people who are perfect, or people who have the right background. He simply said, “Bring them.”

You know, “God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.” Look at the people in this parable. They were not a group of perfect people. They were people from the street. The people without identity. But God’s grace found them. The invitation was not based on their social or economic status, or their background, or their perfection. The invitation was based on the king’s grace.

Beloved in Christ, God’s invitation is not only for people who have everything together. The invitation is also for people who may feel unworthy, people who may feel unprepared, and people who may even feel unqualified.

Maybe someone here today has said, I am not good enough for God. I don’t know enough. I have made many mistakes. I am not qualified. But the good news is that: God does not wait for us to become perfect before He invites us. And when God calls us, He does not leave us the same. His grace changes us and prepares us to live as people of His kingdom.

And if you are here today and you feel like you do not belong, please hear this: you are in the right place. You belong here. Just like the people who were gathered from the street in this parable. God is inviting you today to be part of His kingdom. You do not have to be perfect to respond to God’s invitation. The same God who invited the person sitting next to you in this church is the same God who is inviting you. The same grace that reached me is reaching you. And the same God who called me is calling you. Sometimes we look at ourselves and say, “I am not qualified. I don’t know enough. I am not good enough. I am not ready.” But God says, “Come.” Come with your brokenness. Come with your weaknesses. Come with your past. Come the way you are. God will clothe you with His grace, give you a new identity, and remind you that you belong to Him.

And if you are here today, when you look at your life, if the way you see yourself is holding you back from responding to God’s invitation, please remember, this morning, God is inviting you to come as you are.

If there is anybody among us who is not a believer and you want to be saved, I pray that God meets you wherever you are.

And if you are here, and when you think of the coming back of Jesus, perhaps fear controls your heart. And sometimes you may feel afraid, because you are seeing yourself as not belonging to God’s kingdom. Maybe you have tried your best to respond to God’s invitation, but you feel that you always fail. And maybe something always pushes you back, when you look at your life, yourself, and maybe your family. I am not going to ask you to stand or kneel down, but if you feel the Spirit of God, pushing you to stand or kneel down, while I will be praying, please do it. Because, this parable reminds us that God’s grace reaches people who may feel unworthy, unprepared, or unqualified. Amen.

Prayer:

Gracious and loving God,

We come before you today, to say thank you for your love and grace. Thank you for inviting us to be part of your kingdom. Some of us are like those people who were gathered from the streets in this parable. Some of us have felt unqualified and unworthy. Some of us have looked at our past and wondered if we really belong to your kingdom. Dear God, you know our hearts, our lives, our weaknesses, and our struggles. And today, Lord, I pray that you help us to respond to your invitation. Lord, please transform our lives by your grace. And may your grace reach every person who feels unworthy, unprepared, or unqualified. Remind us that you always love us, forgive us, and transform us for your kingdom’s glory. In Jesus’s name, we pray Amen.