Matthew 22:1-14

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 is a parable of the wedding feast. Jesus was apparently fond of weddings. I leave it to you to look up the times when Jesus mentions wedding and is present at weddings.

The source is material Matthew has in common with Luke. Most scholars think the wording in Luke is the closest to what Jesus actually said. However, I will discuss these verses in three sections as I think Matthew intended us to hear them.

First, in verses 1-10, does a parable disclose or disguise. If you consider many of the parables of Jesus and their puzzling nature, one legitimately wonders. Matthew says one can compare the kingdom of heaven (literally “the heavens”) to the parable he is about to tell. The other gospels do not use the term even once. While the other gospels will use “kingdom of God” often, Matthew uses only four times, in 12:28, 19:24, 21:31, and 21:43. Some scholars will suggest that Matthew has a distinction. “Kingdom of heaven refers to the community founded by and centered on Jesus, in other words, he is thinking of the church. “Kingdom of God” would then refer to would refer to the eschatological realm inaugurated at the end of human history. If that distinction is accurate, then we need to listen to this parable in Matthew as speaking to the matter of the faithful community on earth. A king, who represents God in the parable, gives a wedding banquet for his son. He sent slaves, who represent the prophets, to call those invited to the wedding banquet, who represent Israel. In the context of the ministry of Jesus, God issues the invitation to the feast through the ministry of Jesus.[1] 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 reality, 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. Further, the tripling of the invitation is also a feature of oral transmission of the story. 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.[2] 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.[3] On the side of God, everything is ready for people to participate in the wedding banquet.[4] 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. To return to the parable, 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. However, some of those originally invited mistreated and killed the slaves (prophets). 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. The response of the king (God) is anger that leads him to send troops to destroy the murderers and burn their city. Matthew, writing after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, may have worded this part of the parable in light of that event. I should stress that when the banquet is ready, those originally invited have rejected the invitation. The king now has other slaves (prophets) to invite everyone in the streets, whether good or bad, in order that the wedding banquet will be full. The nature of this invitation shows a basic respect for all human beings.[5] 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.[6] 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.

You want your friends at the wedding. You are excited when they can be present. 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. 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. The king notices a man not wearing the festive clothing suitable for the banquet. The king addresses him as, “Friend.” The friend cannot explain his lack of proper festive clothing. 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.[7] 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. At this point, the concern is for present ecclesiology and future eschatology. At this point, however, I offer a word of caution. If proper presence in the community or in the rule of God requires a “bouncer,” so to speak, God is the bouncer. You and I must not put ourselves in that position. Our worry is not who is properly in or out when it comes to the present community of the people of God or the eschatological future of the rule of God. The parable wants to prevent religious complacency among the community of Matthew. The community is not immune from judgment, as we see in 20:1-16 and 21:33-41. The judgment awaits Christians and non-Christians alike.

In verse 14, many called but few chosen, continues the warning against overconfidence upon the collective election of a people. We also find it in Jewish apocalyptic, such as IV Ezra 8:3.[8]

---

[1] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 285-6.

[2] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [72.4] 851.

[3] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [69.3] 246.

[4] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [71.1], 490.

[5] Barth, Church Dogmatics III.4 [55.1] 347.

[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 285-6.

[7] Barth, Church Dogmatics II.2 [37.3] 588.

[8] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 439.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (NRSV)

³¹ He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; ³² it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶ on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

 

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 is a good example of what it was like to learn from Jesus. The text is primarily a set of parables concerning the rule of God. Although the rule of God is difficult to see today, Jesus invites us to see and then act appropriately. Such response would mean with joy and total commitment. As we learn in his ministry, Jesus invited people to follow him by leaving behind everything. These parables will invite us to consider what we value in an ultimate way. Jesus calls us to make a total commitment to something that we will not easily see or observe. The difficulty we will have in seeing is something like the difficulty many people have with wisdom. They may hear wise words from a person, but to hear in a way that leads to an insight or enlightenment that affects the way they live is a different matter. Such an observation also invites us to reflect upon the way we treat people who do not see what we see. Regardless of the truth we think we see clearly, we need to remember that truth has a hidden quality to it. Making our way through life is not easy. We know incompletely as if through a poor reflection in a mirror (I Corinthians 13:9, 12). We have some light, but only the dim light just before dawn (John Locke). We do not see clearly or distinctly (in contrast to the hopes of Rene Descartes). Jesus is hinting at such difficulty in these parables.  Is the rule of God already present? If so, the rule of God is hardly obvious and tangible. In what sense is the rule of God present? Should I give myself to something that is not clearly observable? Many scientists would answer in the negative. Many poets and novelists would answer in the positive. Jesus seems to side with the latter. If the rule of God is so intangible, what type of influence will it have upon individuals and society? If the rule of God is present in this hidden way, in the natural processes of human life, then God must have much patience, grace, and respect for us to allow for the influence of the rule of God to spread in this way. If so, then we as those who learn the lessons of the parables must have the patience and grace with each other when we see little evidence of that rule in self, others, church, or society. Let us explore such matters for a moment. It just might be that we could develop some modern parables from domestic and business life as well.
He will teach the lesson of the mustard seed (31-32), which Matthew gets from Mark. The rule of God is like a mustard seed. In a proverbial sense of his time, the mustard seed was the smallest of all seeds. The weed was an annual shrub that would grow from two to six feet tall. One could cultivate it for spices.[1] In unusual cases, it might get 9 to 15 feet high, so “tree” might be appropriate. Birds will make their nests in the branches. Jesus is drawing on imagery from the Old Testament. Ezekiel 17:22-23, 31:6 refers to the mighty cedar providing shade for the birds. Daniel 4:12 has a similar image that finds its interpretation in the king providing protection to people in verses 20-22. The distinctiveness of Jesus at this point shows itself in the image of the rule of God as a shrub rather than the mighty cedar or oak. The image may even be a critique of the arrogance of the image in Daniel. The arrogance to which the image appeals in Daniel gives way to the modest affair of the rule of God as proclaimed by Jesus. The rule of God offers little by way of earthly reward, and thus contrasted his view of the rule of God from the typical hope human beings have for greatness. The rule of God is inconspicuous, growing in its ability to provide shelter for others.[2]  He will teach the lesson of the leaven or yeast (verse 33), which has its source in the Q document, the material in common between Matthew and Luke. The rule of God, for Jesus, is like the yeast a woman works into flour. The yeast is present, working its influence, even though hidden from sight. Just as the woman intentionally hides the yeast, so also God intentionally planned the hidden quality of divine rule within humanity. Jesus takes a simple image of domestic life and turns it into an image of the rule of God. The small amount of yeast contrasts sharply with the large amount of flour. The smallness of the amount is an indication of the profound affect it will have. This hiddenness is the result of the divine plan. The rule of God will not appear to succeed. A surprising element here is that Jesus takes an image he uses for evil and now uses it in a positive sense. He refers to the leaven of Herod and Pharisees. Paul will use the image negatively in I Corinthians 5:6-9. Such a use would be striking and provocative. Jesus might even suggest that the rule of God has dubious moral value. If so, he would be contrasting the values of the rule of God with the values of human authority. The difficulty of this image is whether humanity will be able to discern the working of the rule of God at all. Yet, according to Jesus, the rule of God is near, in the natural relationships and processes of a human life.[3] Jesus taught the lesson of a hidden treasure (verse 44). This parable is unique to Matthew. The rule of God is like a jar with coins or jewelry hidden in a field. Given the nature of the oppressive rule of the Romans, hiding household valuables like this would be common. It was also a way to protect against thieves. Surprisingly, someone finds it, hides it, and has joy, which is the focus of the parable, and sells everything he has in order to buy the field. The treasure is the real actor in the story. Jesus could point to the dubious moral quality of the act of the finder, but a focus upon that would seem to miss the point. The rule of God is like a hidden treasure that one finds, has great joy in finding, and is willing to sell everything one has in order to possess it. If one would put forth such effort for an earthly treasure, should one not give up everything if one finds the rule of God? The finder has joy because of the presence and nearness of the rule of God. Such joy and commitment reflects the call of Jesus for his audience to respond to the nearness of the rule of God.[4] Those who see the rule of God will spare no effort to attain it. The point is the joy and sacrifice of the finder. Jesus taught a lesson involving the merchant as the finder of an excellent pearl (verses 45-6), which we find uniquely in Matthew. The pearl was a common image for something precious. Jesus used it to refer to wisdom in Matthew 7:6. The rule of God is like one of the few of the upper middle class entrepreneurs of the day, a merchant, who is searching for excellent pearls. In this case, he finds one of immense value, sells everything he has, and buys it. As a practical matter, such an act would do nothing for the merchant. The merchant seems silly. Yet, Jesus invites us to reflect upon what we value. Jesus implies the excitement and joy of the merchant, but also stresses the sacrifice and commitment of the merchant in order to possess the pearl. Jesus also viewed his ministry as proclaiming what is of ultimate value, the nearness of the rule of God, before people who are searching. Jesus calls his hearers to make the type of total commitment the merchant makes here for something that is of only finite and earthly value.[5] Jesus taught a lesson of the fishnet (verses 47-50), which we find uniquely in Matthew. The rule of God is like anglers who drew into their nets fish of every kind. Only at the end will they separate the good from the bad. Jesus would eventually face such a bad fish in Judas, of course. The fellowship of the church will always include some bad fish. The fellowship is always a mixture.[6] The point here would appear to be patience until the end. Human beings do not have enough knowledge or wisdom to make the decision while they are fishing for people. As Matthew ends this collection of parables (verses 51-52), he has one more thing to add about parables. The disciple has a responsibility to interpret the parables. Matthew wants people to “understand.” The disciple is the new scribe schooled in the rule of God. Draw upon old and new images. One needs to understand the claim the rule of God has upon our lives. The rule of God as Jesus understood it draws upon images from the Old Testament, but in the light of Jesus, the follower of Jesus will see the rule of God in a different way than did Israel. The way to wisdom in the present the unfound door, the lost lane, and the forgotten language of the past. Remembering it will be the key to our enlightenment today.

---

[1] (M. Eugene Boring, "The Gospel of Matthew", New Interpreter's Bible Commentary [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995], 309, Craig Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, [Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1999], 388; H. L. Ellison, "Matthew" New International Bible Commentary[Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979], 1136).

[2] (Warren Carter, "Matthew", New Interpreter's Study Bible [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003], 1770).

[3] Barth, Church Dogmatics III.3 [51.2] 434.

[4] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 329, 333.

[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 329, 333.

[6] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.1 [62.2] 697.