Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22:1-14 (v. 1-10[1] = Luke 14:15-24) (Year A October 9-15) is a parable of the wedding feast. Its message resembles the previous one. Jesus spoke to them in parables (Mark 3:23) concerning the rule of God. It has allegorical features that concern the dealings of God with Israel. It prepares for the three conflict stories that follow. Jewish parallels have the unworthy guests who are not ready for the royal feast at the right time will have to look on and go hungry.[2]
2 “The kingdom of heaven (βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν, “the heavens”) may be compared to a king (God) who gave a wedding banquet for his son. The wedding is an image of the fellowship of the community with God.[3] 3 He sent his slaves (the prophets) a first time to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet (Israel), but they would not come. The parable exhibits outrageous situations typical of the parables of Jesus. All parties refuse the invitation of the host. 4 Again a second time he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited (Israel): Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ In the context of the ministry of Jesus, God issues the invitation to the feast through the ministry of Jesus.[4] They represent the righteous whose piety has made them remote from God and unable to hear the invitation and unable to follow the call of God.[5] Typical of the parables of Jesus, we have an exaggeration in that not one of those originally invited would come. Imagine today if a very wealthy parent threw a massively expensive wedding, made it known in the media, invited a thousand people to come, and not one person would come. Such a story would not happen in real life, but it can happen in a parable if the teller of the story wants to emphasize the point of the extent and depth of the rejection. The king (God) sends even more slaves (or prophets) to stress that everything is ready for them to come to the wedding banquet. I would like to pause and consider the nature of the evangelical message today. The evangelical ministry of the church today is a matter of inviting people to a feast.[6] The evangelical ministry of the community occurs in the context of the victory of Jesus in the resurrection and ascension that signals the future reconciliation and redemption of the world. For that reason, the feast is ready.[7] On the side of God, everything is ready for people to participate in the wedding banquet.[8] Such an invitation suggests an invitation to joy and a glorious offer of grace (Eduard Schweizer). Thus, one lesson in this parable is that followers of Jesus are inviting others to join them in the feast or festival. You want your friends at the wedding. You are excited when they can be present. 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, those originally invited have superficial reasons for not coming to the banquet. For Matthew, any failure to accept the invitation is superficial when compared to the banquet. Even so, their intent is to come later. The story suggests that the moment of decision is now (Eduard Schweizer). The invitation should take precedence over everything else. 6 While the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them (prophets). The tradition of martyrdom of the prophets of Israel and the earliest apostles appears We can see a similar theme in Matthew 10:16-23, 21:35-46, and 23:29-39. For Matthew, we have an illustration here of Israel rejecting Jesus. 7 The king (God) was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city (Jerusalem). This response is out of proportion to the offense. Matthew, writing after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (Josephus, Jewish Wars, 6.249-408), may have worded this part of the parable in light of that event. Matthew interprets it as judgment upon the Jewish people, a notion used of Assyria and Babylon as imperial powers God used to judge Israel (Isa 10, Jer 25:8-14). 8 Then a third time, the tripling of the invitation a feature of oral transmission, he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, emphasizing the joy of the wedding banquet, and echoing the sense that now is the accepted time, the day of salvation (II Cor 6:2), but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets (or to the ends of the streets, where city road gives way to country roads)[9]and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ In another example of the outrageous situation described in the parable, the king must issue invitations to people in the streets to fill the house. It emphasizes the message of Jesus as good news for the poor.[10] 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, in a social rather than moral sense;[11] so, unexpectedly, the wedding hall was filled with guests. An indiscriminate invitation to the wedding banquet is offered. The parable of the prodigal son also shows the father making no requirements upon his son to welcome him home.[12] The parable would mean an invitation to joy, an incomprehensible, glorious offer of grace in images as concrete as possible (Schweizer). The nature of this invitation shows a basic respect for all human beings.[13] The parable might even be an allusion to the disputed table fellowship of Jesus with tax collectors and sinners. It reminds us that the meals Jesus celebrated are anticipatory signs and depictions of the eschatological fellowship of the rule of God. Such meals or the central symbolic action of Jesus in which the message of the nearness of the rule of God and the salvation it offers finds expression.[14] Thus, one lesson this parable teaches us is that God has invited all people to the table. God invites us - the good and the bad and the in between - to be part of the people of God. God calls and invites us all. God has prepared the feast for all. Matthew may also be suggesting that a final judgment and final separation will come with the arrival of the kingdom of God.
The center of the story tells how the invited guests were left out of the feast by their own act and their places taken by a rag-tag group who did accept the invitation. The heavenly banquet was a traditional symbol of the bliss of the enjoyable time coming when the rule of God over the created order becomes reality. It suggests the rejection of the call of God that is appearing in the ministry of Jesus by the righteous and its acceptance by sinners.[15] The invited guests refuse the invitation, and they are replaced by the next best, which relates directly to the clash between Jesus and his critics and opponents, vindicating the good news against them.[16] The parable illustrates that the rejection of Jesus by Israel opens the way for an invitation to Gentiles. It becomes an allegory of the history of the plan of redemption from the appearance of the prophets, embracing the fall of Jerusalem, up to the Last Judgment, thereby vindicating the transference of the mission to the Gentiles, since Israel has rejected it.[17] God fulfills the prophetic promise, finally coming out of concealment. Yet, the theologians and the pious pay no heed to the invitation, while the despised and ungodly will take their place. A time will come when it will be too late.[18]
A wonderful hymn by Charles Wesley, published in 1747, relates to the theme of the parable. It speaks to the universality of the invitation, the needy condition of all who receive the invitation, the welcome they will find from Christ, the reception of the evangelical message as if God were speaking directly to the hearer, and that now is the moment to respond. I share just a few of the phrases of this long hymn that relate to the parable.
Come, sinners, to the Gospel feast;
Let every soul be Jesus’ guest.
Ye need not one be left behind,
For God hath bid all humankind.
Come, all ye souls by sin oppressed,
Ye restless wanderers after rest;
Ye poor, and maimed, and sick, and blind,
In Christ a hearty welcome find.
My message as from God receive;
Ye all may come to Christ and live.
This is the time, no more delay!
This is the Lord’s accepted day.
Come thou, this moment, at His call,
Verses 11-13 have an independent character in that they introduce other elements that are important to Matthew, who is expanding the parable.[19] We have an abrupt shift in emphasis. We move from the gracious gift of entry into the banquet that show respect to all, good and bad, to the selective and uncertain qualifications for entry. In the missionary setting of the early church, its proclamation of grace and forgiveness was open to misinterpretation. Let us do evil that good may come, should we continue in sin so that grace might abound, and should we sin because we are not law but under grace (Rom 3:8, 6:1, 15). Some have entered congregations and perverted the grace of God into licentiousness (Jude 4). It introduces the principle of merit and the necessity of repentance before one is accepted into the wedding banquet. Thus, those who accept the invitation have moral responsibilities.[20] It denotes judgment upon the guests, which is a warning to the community Matthew represents that unfaithfulness will bring condemnation. It suggests the importance of repentance in the image of putting on the wedding garment, symbolizing the dawn of salvation, before it is too late.[21] 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, suggesting dishonor to the king, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ This disdain of the guest for the king's dress code displayed a lack of appreciation for the party and love for the king. Thus, those allowed to enter the wedding banquet might not have the proper attire. The point could be that the individual in question is not ready to celebrate and join the festival. As such, the individual may well have kinship with the previous rejections of the invitation. The individual had declined the invitation in the sense that the individual is present unwillingly. Reluctant obedience to the invitation is not obedience.[22] Thus, another lesson from this parable is that while some people will officially reject the invitation and consider themselves outside the people of God, one can be just as rebellious and show up anyway. The larger point is that only the king himself did the bouncing. He determined who was in and out. He will determine who is wearing the righteousness of Christ. And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The expansion on the original parable brings it within the orbit of the concern of the early church for who qualifies as a member of the community. This was a practical concern, as the fledgling community expanded its membership from those with a Jewish background to those who came various Gentile backgrounds. Matthew is recognizing that it would be impossible to expect purity of membership. This portion of the parable also focuses upon the accountability inherent in the final judgment, not wanting religious complacency to infect the early communities of faith.
Too much focus on who is in or out of the church has been an obstacle in the witness of the church. Human beings became the “bouncer,” a position all too many people in the history of the church were willing to adopt. Bickering over if the right music is used in worship, if one looks or dresses appropriately, or who has the tightest theology, has hurt witness of the church in the world. The focus of concern ought to be the joy of receiving the invitation. The missionary task is to enjoy and invite.
Matthew 22:14 offers in the form of a single stranded Jewish proverb[23] (IV Ezra 8:3, where “many” refers to the incalculable number of who have been created, but the number of those who are saved will be small) an independent apocalyptic saying[24] For many are called (κλητοὶ), but few are chosen (ἐκλεκτοί), dialectical sense of many are called and yet few are called, many are elected and yet few are elected, and therefore it is never to be taken for granted but is continually to be set afresh under the judgment and grace of God.[25] In context the righteous and sinners (21:31), Israel and the Gentiles (21:41, 43), and guests representing Israel and the Gentiles (22:3, 48, 8), suggesting that considering the universal principle of the calling is the choice of God, the invitation implying obedience. Election is fulfilled in obedience, suggesting a dynamic theology oriented to the right attitude of the elect. To receive gifts is of no avail if there is no readiness to obey. Living history is the context of election, demanding responsibility and decision. The invited are not forced to refuse or to accept, the point being that one is free to decline or accept the invitation.[26] The number who receive the call is incalculably great, but only a few will belong to the community,[27] continuing the warning against overconfidence upon the collective election of a people. The saying refers to verses 1-10, neither asserting nor denying that some of the Jewish people have accepted the invitation, who were the first invited, and are chosen. When one is vindicated in the judgment one is among the chosen.
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[9] Michaelis, TDNT, V, 108.
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[11] Harder, TDNT, VI, 558.
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[25] K. L. Schmidt, TDNT, III, 494-5.
[26] Schrenck, TDNT, IV, 186-7.
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liked this one good thoughts. Especially on church discipline I really think this is true. We are to announce God's invitation to all. Being good enough for church gets in the way of many preventing them from attending the feast.
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