The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE WEDDING FEAST
The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE WEDDING FEAST
Golden Text: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not!” (Lk. 13:34)
Lesson Plan:
1. The Royal Marriage Feast as a Type of the Kingdom of Heaven (vs 1, 2)
2. The King’s Invitations Sent Out and Refused (vs 3-7)
3. The World-Wide Invitation (vs 8-10)
4. Spreading Broadcast God’s Invitations
5. The Guest without a Wedding Garment (vs 11-14)
Lesson Setting:
Time: Tuesday, April 4, A.D. 30. The same day as our last lesson
Place: The courts of the Temple.
Place in the history: The last day of His public teaching. Three days before His Crucifixion.
Research and Discussion: The kingdom of heaven compared to a wedding feast. The invitation is given in what ways? The reasons for not accepting. Why are those trying to lead others to Christ so often hated and defamed? Modern ways of going into the highways and hedges with the invitation. The wedding garment.
Introduction: Hopefully, placing The Monk and Bird story at the first of our lesson might help us gain a more vivid and impressive idea of the marriage feast as representing the unspeakable blessings of the kingdom of heaven. A monk, in his lonely cell, learned through experience that even the “sweetest things weary by excess,” that even joy and peace, if continued long enough, bring weariness to the spirit. Thus he began to fear that the eternal joys of Paradise would cloy or weary the soul by excess. He began to be concerned that even the delights of heaven might become a weary monotony. One day he went out into the woods, and while wandering, “Lo, he heard The sudden singing of a bird! It seemed a thousand harp strings ringing; And long, long With rapturous look, He listened to the song, And scarcely breathed or stirred.” After what seemed a brief hour he returned to the convent; but everything had changed, because he had been gone a thousand years. “Such had been the power Of that celestial song, A thousand years had passed, And had not seemed so long As a single hour.” And in his departing days he had only one dread, “Lest an eternity should not suffice To take the measure, and the breadth and height, Of what there is reserved in Paradise” (From Trench’s Poems). This parable of the King’s Son is the third in a series of three parables Jesus directly addressed to the Pharisees. Consider the following parable analogies: The king represents God. The king’s son is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The marriage supper stands for the privileges of the true faith. The messengers are the evangelists of all ages who preach the truth. The mistreatment of the messengers refers to the hostility of the Pharisees against the apostles, first, and to other preachers later. The rejection of the invitation is the rejection of Christ’s message by the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders. The destruction of their city is the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and Vespasian in 70 A.D. The sending of the messengers into the byways prefigures the call of the Gentiles. The man without a wedding garment represents all who despise the privilege of true faith, and, while professing it, prove themselves unworthy of it. The coming of the king to see the guests is the arraignment of all men at the final judgment. The binding of the offender and casting him out show the punishment of the wicked in hell. The speechlessness of the offender shows that evil men at last shall concur in their own punishment, being able to make no defense of their own conduct.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:1, 2
1. The Royal Marriage Feast as a Type of the Kingdom of Heaven
v 1 ... “Jesus answered” the feelings awakened by His last parable; or the needs of the people.
v 2 ... “The kingdom of heaven.” The new order of things which Jesus had come to establish upon the earth, in which, as King, ruling over the hearts of men, He would direct their lives according to those principles of love and righteousness governing saints and angels in heaven, and which, if universally obeyed, would make earth a heaven.
v 2 ... “A certain king.” Representing God the Father, the King of saints, who forms the kingdom, makes its laws, governs it, defends it, all for the good of the subjects, in whose prosperity and happiness and noble living the King’s glory is found.
v 2 ... “Made a marriage,” i.e., a marriage festival. The word is plural, like our “nuptials,” expressing the festival’s several stages lasting several days. It also expresses the many forms of joy, as well as kinds of entertainment. Being a royal marriage expresses the highest degree of each and every blessing. This feast represents all the blessings which God has provided in His Gospel, enjoyed in large measure here, and perfected in heaven (see Is. 25:6; 55:1-3). “Enough for each, enough for all, enough for evermore,” the satisfaction of every want, every right desire, every thirst of the soul, without cloying, i.e., causing distaste or disgust through excess, but with ever-increasing power of enjoyment and use. It proves that life is not all “a grinding at the mill,” a time of unrequited toil and sacrifice, but also of spiritual refreshments, of joys unspeakable, of exquisite satisfaction and rest. Even the hard duties are sweet because inspired by love; they are the alabaster boxes of precious ointment poured out upon our Lord. The blessings of this feast are greatly increased, because they are for all. Joys lose their heavenly wings and peace its sunshine for any one holding them selfishly inward. A spiritual miser is as miserable as a miser of material gold. The Feast is for both this life and the next, eternal. What a glorious thought: our possibilities are infinite.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:3-7
2. The King’s Invitations Sent Out and Refused
To those previously invited: “And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden” (v 3). Literally, “to call the called,” to summon those who had previously been invited; because they had no timepieces, and the hour when the feast could be ready was very uncertain. This custom is not now observed “very strictly among the common people; but in Lebanon it still prevails.” Those in the Parable were the Jewish nation whom God had chosen to be His people, representing His church and kingdom. The servants who gave the invitation were the early founders of the nation, all the good kings and prophets, the inspired Word of God, the influences of the Holy Spirit, the wonders He had wrought for them. Throughout all their history the invitations were coming to them, urging them to live and obey so they might receive the peace and prosperity, the pure and holy life of God’s true religion. Consider the promises in Isaiah and in the Psalms.
The refusal: “And they would not come” (v 3). The whole history of the Jews is the history of this refusal, culminating in the exile.
The second invitation: All things ready – “He sent forth other servants,” (v 4), who were not simply to invite, but to commend, i.e., creating a desire, to come to the feast. These were the later prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus Himself, His disciples.
v 4 ... “Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings,” i.e., smaller animals, such as lambs, calves, specially fed for the occasion.
v 4 ... “All things are ready: come.” Not threatening, but rather a loving, earnest invitation. It is as if they might have misunderstood the first invitation, or did not realize its value. The fullness of the time had come. The preparations were complete. Everything was prepared for the redemption of man – heaven, love, the atonement, the strongest motives, the power of the Holy Spirit. The world was in the best condition for the coming of Christ. Never before or since has there been so fitting a time – one government, one language, peace, roads, and Jewish synagogues everywhere. The long preparations for the gospel were completed; the forerunner had done his work; Jesus Himself had come from heaven, and had taught the Jews the divine message, and even now He was uttering His last words. The great sacrifice on the cross was about to be offered for man. The time had come when the Jews must decide whether they would accept the Messiah or not. All things were ready. Jesus had given them foretastes of the feast.
v 4 ... “Come to the marriage feast.” At this point it might be helpful to read aloud the invitations: Isaiah (55:1, 7): “Ho, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Jesus (Matt. 11:28- 30): “Come unto Me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” “Come unto Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” “For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
The final refusal (They refused in three ways) – First: “They made light of it,” (v 5), as something of no account, not worth noticing.
Second: “One to his farm” (v 5) (R.V., ‘his own farm’). Business seemed to be of more importance. “A contrast lurks in it. It was his own concerns, and not the gratification or honor of his sovereign, in which he was interested” (Trench).
v 5 ... “Another to his merchandise;” his business. Their farm duties and business gains weighed more than their king’s service and good will.
Third: Others displayed opposition. They did not like the king. They hated his rule, his commands, and his enforcement of law. These interfered with their unjust gains.
Hence, they “entreated them spitefully (shamefully) and slew them” (v 6) as the Jews had treated the prophets, and John the Baptist, and were about to do to Jesus, and later to the apostles and Christians. Compare the reasons why the Ephesian shrine-makers tried to kill Paul when Christianity interfered with the sale of silver shrines of Diana (Acts 19).
The consequences that followed: “But when the king heard thereof” (v 7): when the time came for God to take notice of this rebellious spirit against Himself and His Son.
v 7 ... “He was wroth.” God is never angry, in the sense of unreasoning passion; but He has that deep, abiding indignation against wrong which must exist in all noble minds. The more one loves good, the stronger must be the repulsion against sin and the stronger the indignation against those who, in spite of every influence to make them better, yet persist not only in sinning, but in destroying others by sin.
v 7 ... “He sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers.” Without doubt, this refers to the Roman armies under Titus, which destroyed Jerusalem. It’s been said, “The angels which ruined the Jews were War, Famine, and Pestilence. We may add Selfish Passions which prevented the Jews from uniting against Titus.” This destruction of Jerusalem was the end of the Jews, not as a race, but as a powerful nation. They refused God’s invitations to be the people who would join with Him in a closer union of love and service and righteousness, which in the Old Testament and the New is typified by marriage. The armies represent all those forces and laws and persons which, whether consciously or unconsciously, whether animated or inanimate, material or invisible, accomplish God’s purpose or judgment. They may be angels, earthquakes, remorse of conscience, or the literal armies of the nations.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:8-10
3. The World-wide Invitation
v 8 ... “The wedding is ready.” The time had come for a new world-wide development of the kingdom of God.
v 8 ... “They which were bidden were not worthy,” as they themselves proved, by rejecting the invitation. The Jews had been trained and guided by God for the very purpose of bringing in the kingdom of God but when the time came, they refused Him.
v 9 ... “Go ye therefore into the highways.” Or, “the partings of the highways,” the cross-roads; the places where great numbers meet who had not had this free, full invitation.
v 10 ... “Gathered together all ... both bad and good.” There is no condition regarding coming to Christ, except just to come. The bad are invited so they may be made better, enjoy higher privileges, and enter into wider usefulness. The beautiful words of Augustine on Christ’s love to His church may find here their application, “He loved her foul that He might make her fair.”
v 10 ... “The wedding was furnished [R.V. ‘filled’] with guests.” Christ’s purposes and plans shall not fail. Never have so many invited accepted, as today. The growth and extent are remarkable and bear witness to the promise that all the world will yet be brought to Him.
4. Spreading Broadcast God’s Invitations
(A) First, accept the invitation yourself. Prove by your own experience the blessedness of the Wedding Feast.
(B) God’s best gifts come from heaven to the poorest, i.e., those in the hardest and most unfortunate circumstances. Nothing outward can prevent you from being saint and hero, and few hindrances can prevent fair worldly success. History is as full of saints, heroes, authors, business men, presidents, leaders in every department, as there are stars in the sky. Those rising up from circumstances, from families, where nothing could naturally be expected.
(C) The worse of men, the most degraded and sinful; men with little or no opportunities; men most opposed to good, are men who most need the Gospel’s invitation. Every Christian needs to be reminded that lost sinners usually do not ‘go to church,’ so the church must go to them. The church must go out where the lost sinners are. “How shall we gain the masses? Go to them!” (Moody).
(D) Christians need to find ways to repeatedly canvass local areas to determine if any children and/or young people are neglected, and let invitation follow invitation. Children are sometimes the best recruiting messengers. In the United States of America this duty is especially pressing. The church of our Lord must constantly work to reach those in the highways, hedges and in the lanes of our city. Without such a work our country will not survive. God has plainly taught us to do our duty to the masses, the poor, the foreign immigrants, the oppressed, and if we do our duty then we can be a glorious part of the kingdom of God. Neglecting this duty surely leads our country toward destruction.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:11-14
5. The Guest without a Wedding Garment
The wedding garment was put over a person’s usual clothing, furnished by the king to all the guests on their arrival at the palace and before they entered the halls of the feast. In the parable it is assumed that the guests were supplied by the king’s servants on their arrival at the palace and they put these garments over their own before they entered the festival hall. This was necessary, for they came directly from the highways, both good and bad, in ordinary clothing. Wearing the wedding garment was a sign of acceptance of the king as their king. To refuse it was an insult and a rejection of the king’s rule over them. Everyone who trusts in Christ as Savior, receiving Him as Lord, devoting himself to His service, wears the wedding garment.
The man who refused this token was an enemy among loyal friends. He was a pretender. And when he was charged with his offense “he was speechless” (v 12). He had no excuse to offer.
He was not a guest but an enemy and therefore was cast helpless “into outer darkness” (v 13), the darkness outside the royal banqueting house. Between the brilliance, the social joys, the music, the feasting, the feast of reason, the feast of the soul, was the outer darkness.
The contrast was so great that it could be expressed only by “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v 13). Nothing else is possible to those who persistently refuse God’s most earnest invitations to be good and accept the help of His Son, Jesus Christ. Drunkards, debauches, criminals, give some faint hint of the evil of refusing the wedding garment. The choice lies before everyone. Which will you choose?
Conclusion: Just sitting down at the marriage feast was not sufficient to insure the king’s favor. Membership in the church, and acceptance of its privileges, are not enough to assure eternal life. Every diligence to appear before God clad in the garments of righteousness, should be exerted by all of us hoping to enter eternal fellowship with God (Rev. 3:18).
