All right, if you will open your
Bibles to Matthew chapter 22. Let's read the first two verses together
here. And Jesus answered and spake unto them again, by parables
and said, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which
made a marriage for his son. Now, what we're going to look
at this morning is one of the Lord's parables. And it's important
to understand what parable means. A parable is something that shows
likeness to another thing. You're comparing one thing through
this story that the Lord tells us here. that is supposed to
show a likeness to something else. And so when we look at
that, we need to understand kind of who the characters are, if
you will, in our story here that the Lord's telling us. So first
we read about the king. Who's that? King is God the Father. We also read about a son for
whom he made a marriage for. His son is Christ Jesus the Lord. And this is the parable of the
marriage feast. What does a marriage represent?
Marriage represents a union. A union where two are made one. The father, it says in this,
the king made a marriage so we can say the father made a marriage,
God the father. He made a union between his son
and his bride. This was an eternal union that
was decided on long before any of those who were in his bride
were around. Now marriage, doesn't just happen in a moment. Marriage
is not something that just happens. It's something that's planned.
It's something that is agreed upon long before it ever takes
place. Many of you who have gone through
the process of planning a marriage realize in this case that there's
a lot that goes into it. And so it's something that is
planned long before. And so the same is true here.
The king made a marriage. So he made a marriage for the
salvation of God's elect. And for this, it's no different
than planning this marriage. God the father made a marriage
for his son. The father chose a people for
a bride for his son. An eternal union that began long
before time ever was. Now this story begins with election. God's choosing. Elect according
to the foreknowledge of God, 1 Peter 1-2. We looked at that
this morning in Sunday school. What does it mean? What's it
say? It says elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father. So the only reason that you or
I will be elect is if God the Father chose us before time began. That's all election means. It's
God's choosing. Now we offer no excuses and no
explanation as to why God chose this way and why he chose to
save this way. In fact, we proclaim it. It's
what the scriptures teach. Is God really God? Do I want
into His heaven? How then can I judge Him and
not say unto Him, do as you please, Lord? He can do as He pleases. He's God if He is God. So He
can do as He pleases. We spread this news because this
is the only reason you or I can or will be saved. This is the
first step in the process of salvation. God chose a bride
for his son. He said unto Jeremiah, before
I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. I had personality before
God, before I ever was. And thank goodness, because if
I was, then I would have sinned and he could have never chosen
me. He had to know me before I had ever sinned. Before I formed
thee in the belly, I knew thee. How did he know me? He only knew
me through eternal union with His Son. I was in Christ. And
so what we looked at in Sunday school this morning was looking
at many different ways in which God the Father chose some of
the benefits, if you will, that He gives unto His elect. Now,
election, as I said, kind of closing out Sunday school this
morning, is the first thing that God does for you. But it's the
last thing that you'll ever know. If you're looking for assurance
in your salvation, If you're trying to determine if you're
one of the elect, you're never gonna know it until after you
died and you truly are standing before God. We can look at some
signs and look at some things, some evidences in this life,
but it's the one thing that we're never told. But we can look some
evidences around those things to say, God's done something
for me or he hasn't. It's the first thing that God
has to do for me if I'm saved, if I'm to be saved. But it's
the last thing that I'll ever truly know And that's where it
comes in faith into the whole equation. Because if you really
knew, where does faith fit into this? We have to have faith.
So this is, I guess, some of the reasons why, if you will.
So picking up in verse three, and he said, he sent forth his
servants to call them that were bid into the wedding, and they
would not come. So we're looking again at the
characters in our story here. Who are servants? Servants here
are the preachers of the gospel. The preachers of the gospel go
out and call forth whatever it is that their king has bidden
them to call forth. In this case, God the Father
calls his servants to proclaim forth the riches of his grace,
that salvation is in his son. So he sent forth his servants
to call them that were bidden or called to the wedding. You
are called. you are commanded to come and
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the call of the
gospel. And in doing so, you'll find
that you're dead in sins, that your actions outwardly are polluted,
and they're polluted because we're polluted in here in the
heart, our inward, what we are by nature is polluted. I sin
because, I'm not a sinner because I'm a sinner. I'm not a sinner
because I sin. I sin because I've got sin in
my heart. It's what I am in my nature.
It's all that can proceed forth from me. If I did it, it's evil. And it's evil because I did it. All men are our sins. And in
doing so, we find God commands all men everywhere, with that
exception, to repent. To change your mind about how
Men can be found clean before God. How men are dead in sins,
and how Christ is the only means by which we can be saved. So
this is what we're called upon to change your mind. You're called
upon to come unto Christ. Now this is what we call the
general call. Everybody in here has heard it. But yet, not all
men and women come, do they? This is the general call. Because
as we read here in verse three, it says, His servants had bidden
these many who were bidden to the wedding, said they would
not come. Men rebelled against God from
the beginning. You think about this, you think
about all the laws that if we were to live under the Old Testament
law, that we would have to keep to remain pure before God. This
goes way beyond the Ten Commandments. Dietary laws, feasts, commandments,
holiness days, all the things that are written in the scriptures
that there's no possible way. It's written just to expose.
You can't do it. So we look at Adam and say, Adam
had one rule, just one. Don't eat anything off that tree.
Anything else you want to do, do it. Don't eat off that tree. That's your only, that's your
only rule, Adam. Yeah, you couldn't do it. This exposes how corrupt
we are. We have no ability to stand before
God, even if you had, because somewhere somebody might be thinking,
if there were just less rules, maybe I'd be okay. Adam had one. Don't eat off the tree. Adam
couldn't do that. So if he couldn't do that, no
amount of reduction in the rules or degree of acceptableness is
something that we could do. Cain. This speaks of the enmity
man has towards God. Cain, he had been around for
a while. He had seen his family offer
sacrifices. Blood sacrifices is the only
means for atonement. It's by the blood. But yet, one
day he decides, I'm gonna bring something else. Why would he
do that? He didn't bring a blood sacrifice
and the Lord rejected him for it. He said, I will come into
the presence of God by another means, not by the blood. Man's
enmity towards God. How about Uzziah? King Uzziah,
he was one of the greatest king, 16 year old king. The Lord blessed
him and said, marvelously helped him until he was strong. When
he was strong, do you remember what he did? He decided, I'm
gonna go into the Holy of Holies. I'm gonna bring the censer in
and bring it in before the Ark of Atonement. I'm gonna go throw
the blood on the mercy seat. He's saying that I don't need
a mediator. I can come into God's presence as I am. Only the high
priest could go in, but he tried to bypass the high priest because
he wanted to come before God. So you see, all these things
are pictured to show us that we, by nature, hate God, and
if it was in your power, you would dethrone God from his throne.
This is how evil we would be if God didn't restrain us. How has it been in our own experience?
Even after all this, so all these things that men have done, we
just talked about, even think of the things that you've done
in your own experience. After all this, what do we see from
our Lord? Let's look at verse four. He
said, again, Send forth the servants saying tell them what you're
bitten behold. I prepared my bender my oxen.
My fat wings are killed All things are ready Come unto the marriage
What do we see from the lord in all this? He calls us even
again, even after all this they said they would not come What
we see here is the lord's long-suffering How many times how many times
has he called me? How many times has he called
to you and we would not come? but yet the Lord is long-suffering
with us. He, by all rights, could have
said, all right, you won't come the first time, wipe them out.
And he'd have been just in doing so. But yet we see long-suffering
out of the Lord. How thankful I am that he is
kind, even to the unthankful and to the evil. Can that be
said of me? Can that be said for you? If
he wasn't long-suffering, where would you be? Where would I be? Aren't you thankful the Lord
is not like me and not like you? Because if he was like me or
you, about after the 5,000th time, you'd be done. You'd say, that's it, no more.
And then you'd say, just wipe him out, cut him off. But yet
the Lord's long-suffering. He calls unto me again and again
and again. He says, all things are ready.
Come to the marriage feast. My friends, salvation is absolutely
free. God has provided everything. All things are ready. That's
what this verse speaks to. Remember, we're comparing the
likeness of one thing to another. All things are ready in salvation.
There's nothing you have to do. Come. This is the call of the
gospel. There will be a feast. Come.
If you will turn with me back to Isaiah chapter 55. Men are without excuse before
God because the scripture is absolutely full of His calls
unto us. You'll read with me just this
first verse here. Oh, listen up, and to everyone
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He that hath no money,
come ye, buy and eat. Yes, come buy. Buy wine and milk
without money and without price. So what's this saying here? Everyone
that thirsts does anybody leave feel left out there Everyone
so there's nobody that's left out there What's the requirement? Are you thirsty if you're thirsty? come and drink So this is the call of the gospel
do you not have any money? What's the requirement? I need
something and I don't have the money to buy he says come buy
buy without money and without price and So everything has been
provided. How can these things be? How
can he provide things without money, without price, and all
I am is thirsty and just to come? Well, you can only do this if
it's already been paid for. You see, in my house, if my son
comes into my cabinet, he opens it up, there's plenty of food
in it. And if he wants something, just take it. You don't need
to give me anything. What if he tried to pay me for
it? You wouldn't take it, would you? if your children tried to
pay you something for in your own cabinets. No, because it's
already been paid for. It's mine to freely give them
to him as I choose to. This is the same as the Lord
and his children. Salvation's been paid for. The marriage feast
is ready. Christ has bled and he's died
and he's brought righteousness for his people. And there is
nothing for you to do and nothing for you to bring, but you're
called upon to come. And this is his gift to his people.
Christ paid with his blood. Your currency and my currency
is no good here. We cannot buy salvation. You
come without money and you come without anything or else you'll
be turned away. Come to the marriage. Let's pick
up reading in verse five. I'm sorry, in our text, Matthew
22. So he's called unto them again,
remember, but they made light of it and they went their ways,
one to his farm and another to his merchandise. They made light
of it. They esteemed it as not important. We will turn over to Luke chapter
14. We're going to look at the other
Luke's account of this parable, gives us a little more information. Luke 14, we'll start reading
verse 17. And he sent his servant at supper
time to say unto them that were bidden, Come, for all things
are now ready. And they, with one consent, began
to make excuse. And the first said unto him,
I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it.
I pray thee, have me excused. And another said, I have bought
five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. I pray thee, have
me excused. And another says, I've married
a wife and therefore I cannot come. So excuse here is more
than just saying, I'm sorry. It says it means to avoid or
to refuse. Their reasons sound pretty poor
and pretty ridiculous, even by our standards. I bought a piece
of ground and so I can't come. It's not going to be there tomorrow.
So even we can see this. but how blind we are to our own
excuses for not coming. We're called upon to come, but
yet we, again, like these people, have our own excuse. You're called
upon to believe the gospel, to confess Christ, and to be baptized. Our excuses sound something like
this. Somebody says, I'm too sinful to come. I know what I've
done. I can't come. It's to you the door's wide open.
Christ Jesus came in this world to save sinners. There's no excuse
for not coming because you feel like you're too sinful or that
sin's in your life or you should stop doing something before you
come. You must come. Christ Jesus came in this world
to save sinners. So you can't be too sinful to
come because that's who He came to save. Our excuses might sound
something like this. I don't know enough. I don't
really understand him to come. I need to know more before I
feel comfortable in coming. Have we ever really given ourselves
to know? I fear too often we just crack open these books sometimes
on Sundays and maybe on Wednesdays. How much am I giving myself to
know? Have you sought him at a desperate need and not been
able to find him? And to which of his promises
has he fallen short to give unto you? We're to hold the Lord accountable
to His promises which He gives in His word. Seek, and you shall
find me. Ask, and it's gonna be given
unto you. We're to call upon Him, seeking the things that
we ask for because of the promises which He's given us. We're called
upon to come. Our excuses might sound like
this. I need to believe more. Turn with me over to John chapter
20. This verse speaks to that because
this is something is I think. As someone who grew up under
the gospel was not out of false religion, I think when I was
considering, you know, concept of being baptized, I was always
I don't know what I was waiting for. I always thought, well,
something's I've got to believe more. You know, I believe it,
but I've got to believe more. Somehow, if I believe more, I'll
feel more comfortable in being baptized. But that's such a wrong
view of it. If we look here in John 20, verse
31, he says, but these are written that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might
have life through His name. Now this verse says believe,
not believe more. It says to believe. Don't look
to the faith of others. If you start comparing your faith
to someone else's, you'll always wind up short. Because what I
was doing, I guess, at that time was trying to compare myself
from the outward faith of what I saw in others. And I can say
from my own experience today, just in terms of my experience,
my faith that I have today is stronger than when I first believed.
I'm not any more holy or have anything different about me,
but in terms of my experience in faith, The faith that you
have today is stronger than it was yesterday. This is growth. We have growth in faith, growth
in grace. So we're not to look to the faith in others or to
compare our faith saying, I need to believe more. We're called
upon to believe. And in believing, we come unto
the Lord Jesus Christ. And here's the last one. Somebody
might say, I'm afraid I'm not elect. Again, you said earlier,
election's the first thing God does for you, but it's the last
thing you're ever gonna know. See, you might be able to see
it in others, but not in me. If you will turn with me over
to John 6, I think the Lord deals with this in a very powerful
way. John 6, verse 37. This is speaking of the elect.
All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me. and him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." What more confidence
do we require than this? In my coming to Christ, we evidence
that we were given by the Father. So we're looking for evidence
of election. Do you come to Christ? This is as much evidence as we're
going to be given in this life. of election, do you come to Christ?
Now, my not coming to Christ surely evidences he did nothing
for me and that I'm not one of his. This is the message. The call of this parable is come.
We're going to come to the marriage feast of the son, even the weakest
who comes, even the weakest. What's the verse say? In verse
37, he says, I want no wise cast out. So even the weakest of faith
that comes, the weakest who believes he's not going to cast you out
for the you're called upon to come. Now, we make light of the
gospel. If you go back to our text in
Matthew 22, we make light of the gospel when we hear it without
solemn and careful attention to it. Why do men make light
of the gospel? Because it says right here, these
men, after they heard it, they made light of it. Men make light of the gospel
for three reasons. They don't know it. Second reason is they
won't know it. or they have something better,
third reason. They don't know it. What did Felix say to Paul? He says, I'll call upon you at
another season. After having heard the gospel,
he said, you almost persuaded even me to become a Christian.
And I'll call upon you at another season when it's more convenient
for me. So he doesn't know it. You've never seen your need of
Christ if you're willing to come back to it, because this is the
only means by which we can be saved. We are sinners on death
row walking down the hall to the electric chair outside of
Christ. There is nothing that separates us from swift judgment
outside of Christ. If we're recognized as sinners,
we've got to get to Him and get to Him quick. So we're called
to come unto Him and not make light of that. We say it's of
moderate importance. We say, I'll get to it. I'll
come to it later. I'll devote myself to looking
at it later. The gospel can't be of moderate
importance. It's either of all importance or no importance. It can't be of moderate importance.
So why do men make light of the gospel? They don't know it. Secondly,
they won't know it. To not come because of the cares
of this world. My family doesn't believe this
way. So what if they don't? Just because my family puts out
their eyes doesn't mean I have to put out my own. So am I willing
to suffer and die because my family won't come to the truth?
No. My friends will reject me. Nobody
believes this way. They'll reject me once they know
what I believe. What if they do? Find new friends.
We're all part of the same family as a body in Christ. All my friends
that I need are in the body of Christ. And I don't need to worry
about it. If my friends reject me because
they don't believe what I do, I would rather stand for something
than stand for nothing. How about this? It interferes
with my pleasure. I want to do things. I want to
go fishing today. I used that earlier today. And what if I
did? But to miss Christ, to miss salvation,
we're here for a short time. We don't know how long we're
here. And we may be here for a shorter time than what we think.
I don't want to miss Christ because I have other interests and I
won't come. Or here's one here, conflicts
with my ability to further myself in this life. Speaking of your
career, take a job in a town where there's no gospel church
that you know of. That's a big gamble. What we're doing when
we say that is all these things, my family, my friends, my interests,
my job, all these things are more important than my relationship
with Christ. That's what we do when we do
those things. Charles Spurgeon said this, he who gives Christ
a little of his affections makes light of Christ. For Christ will
have the whole heart or none of it at all. So why do men make
light of the gospel? They don't know it, they won't
know it, or they have something better. What good is a doctor
if you're not sick? What good is Christ to you if
you're not a sinner? If you don't see that all you are is sin and
that you're guilty before God, you have no need of Christ. Why
do I need to buy something that's free when I have the money already?
You say that salvation is free, but I've got the money, I've
got payment, I've done things in this life that can recommend
me to God. Why would I want to throw all
those things away and accept what He's showing forth that's
free in His gospel? I've done all these things. I've
got some credit built up here. They have something better. Would
the man who is possessed in the tombs have come running to Christ
like he did after he came off the boat and fall before him
worshiping had he been able to throw those demons out of himself.
Because he didn't have anything better. Once he saw Christ, he
knew this is the only means by which I can be made clean. This
is the only means by which I can be rid of this. And he came running
unto him. And it's only when we see him
as all, it's only when we see that, that we see what we have
is nothing. I have nothing better and I must
get to him. So let's pick back up at our text in Matthew 22,
in verse six. And the remnant took his servants
and they treated them spitefully and sleuthing. How much does
the father love his son? With what care do you love your
own children? You order every moment of their day that you
can. You protect them, you love them,
You want others to love them. That's really a sign of something
as a parent. I want others to love my child
as well. I know this, that it's far better for ridicule, harm,
and bad things to come my way, than to come towards my children.
Because I guard them with my life, as you do for your own.
Now we're made in God's image. Is his love to his son any different?
Does he not love his son? differently than the way that
we love our own children? It's in him in whom he is well-pleased,
the father is well-pleased, whom the father loveth. In him, whom
should he dash his foot against the stone? The angels would do
it. The father cares about his son. The father loves his son.
We read here, the remnant took his servants and entreated them
spitefully. The people who were proclaiming,
come to the marriage of the son. It's a dishonor unto the son.
They hated his son, so they killed the servants. In verse 7 and
8, But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth. And he sent forth
his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their
city. And then said he to his servants,
The wedding is ready. But they which were bidden were
not worthy. Isaiah 65, 12 speaks to this
and he says, therefore, I will number you for the sword. Speaking
of those who slay serpents and all of you for slaughter, bow
down. Because when I called, when I
called you to the marriage feast, you did not answer. When I spake,
you wouldn't hear. But you did evil before mine
eyes and chose that wherein I delighted not. It is a serious thing to
offend an all powerful God. His message has come to the marriage
feast. We're called upon to honor his
son. This is what all the marriage
is built around. It's an honor to his son. And
so for the father to be offended because we rejected, we reject
his word from his servants. We were doing dishonor unto him
and to his son. And so he says, they were bidden,
which were bidden, were not worthy. Who then is worthy? That's what
I want to know. Who is worthy to come into this marriage feast?
If you will go back to Luke 14, the other account of this. Verse 21. So that servant came
and showed his Lord these things, and the master of the house,
being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets
and the lanes of the city and bring either in the poor, the
maimed, the halt, and to the blind. Who then is worthy? The poor, those who have nothing
to pay and have no claims on God. I can't say you owe me something. I have nothing. I have nothing
to pay you with. I have nothing to require from you. And the
only reason if I have something, it's gonna be because it's given
to me. That's the only reason why. This is picturing being
poor in spirit. I have no righteousness. I have
no holiness about me. If you don't give me your spirit,
I can't believe. If the Lord doesn't quicken me,
give me life, I'm done. I'm poor, I'm completely reliant
upon him to give this to me. Next, it says the maimed, the
crippled, the disabled. Paul said, Paul described it
this way. He's unable to do that, which I would do and that which
I would, which I allow not. That's what I do. I have been
crippled by sin. Everything about me, when Adam
fell, it crippled me in a way where there was no recovery from
this. Remember when he had a fall, he was crippled for the rest
of his life. He could never get better. There was no coming back
from that. for the rest of his days, he was crippled and had
to be carried everywhere he went. This is the same here. Because
we're sinners, we are gonna have to be carried every single day
by God. The only way we're gonna get
somewhere is if he takes us. So I am crippled by sin and in
complete need, and I'm a charity case. It says next, the halt,
which is the lane. A lane can't walk in a way that's
pleasing to God. They're unable. You and I have
not kept one commandment one time. We cannot walk in a way
that is pleasing to God in and of ourselves. So I'm ashamed
of my walk. I don't want God to see me as
far as and judge me for what I have done in this life. Because
everything that I've done, I'm ashamed of. Even the good things,
there's sin in it. Because something creeps up in
your heart when you feel like you've done something good and
you suddenly have to do it again. Somehow, that was a good thing, but that's
sin. So I'm completely unable to show my walk before God. I'm
like the seraphims, those holy beasts, they cover their feet.
They cover their eyes, they flew, but they also cover their feet
because they're ashamed of their walk. They didn't want their,
God was too holy to even see them. And lastly, the blind. One, I can't see anything. I
can't see why God would choose me in eternal election. I can't
see why God would show me mercy. And I can't see God in his word.
It's a closed book unless he gives me eyes to see. I have
no ability to do anything here. And there's one thing in common
with all these four people who were deemed worthy to enter the
feast. They were all dependent, completely dependent on someone
else to do something for them. This is the picture of us as
sinners before Christ. If he doesn't do something for
me, I'm lost. If he doesn't take me the whole
way, you can take me halfway. You can take me 99% of the way.
I still can't get there. You're going to have to take
me the whole way. And this is the only way that I'll ever get
in. If you turn back to our text in Matthew 22, we'll get this
up here. In verse 10, it says, So those
servants went out into the highways and gathered as many as they
found, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with
guests. The house was ready. All things
were ready, all things were provided. The one thing about the people
that entered this feast is that they all looked the same, because
they were all given a wedding garment. And that day, evidently,
wealthy people, when they had a wedding, wanted to provide
everybody a wedding garment. so that everybody looked the
same. If you didn't have nice clothes, here's a nice one. Everybody
looks the same. Everybody has a wedding garment.
So read on, verse 11. When the king came in to see
the guests, he saw there was a man which had not on a wedding
garment. And he said unto him, Friend,
how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And
he was speechless. This wedding garment speaks of
our union to Christ. This speaks of us all looking
the same. In heaven, we're not going to
look different. We're not going to have things
that somebody did better than somebody else. This is the righteousness
of Christ. Everybody gets the righteousness
of Christ, not plus or minus from it. The righteousness of
Christ is the highest you can get. And this man came in without
a wedding garment. And he was speechless. For the
first time in his life, he knew he was exposed. He did not look
like everybody else. He thought it would just all
work out in the end. He knows what my motives are, right? No. When God surveys around in heaven,
the vast number who shall one day stand before him, he better
not find you or I in anything less than the fine linen, clean
and white, which is the righteousness of Christ. This is the only means
by which we can be accepted. to not wear the wedding garment
could only signify you've got something better. If you had
something worse, take the wedding garment. But if you have something
better, say what I have is better than what he has to provide.
I want to do something more than that. So that's what that signified. Anything that we do, small or
great, which would recommend us to God, whether it's choosing
to believe or keeping a commandment, will be found in his house wearing
filthy rags. We're gonna stick out. We're
not gonna be viewed like the rest. And in verse 13, he says,
then the king said to the servants, bind him hand and foot, take
him away and cast him out into outer darkness. And there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All those who were worthy were
chosen by God. They were united to his son and
a part of his body. And they all looked the same.
They all think the same because they are the same. We're part
of His body. He's the head and we're the body.
You can't look out in your yard and say, there's a trunk, some
branches and some leaves. That's true. So we're being Christ. We're not going to be outside
of the body of Christ. We're part of His body. And so
we're going to all look the same. So God can look upon me and I
don't have to worry about things that I might be bringing in with
me. I look just like his son, because he's putting me into
his body. To find this out in the end, that you don't have
on the wedding garment, would be a great travesty, because
in verse 14, for many are called, but few are chosen. This story
begins with election, and this story ends with election. The
only reason that you'll be chosen and be able to come at all If
you've been called, do you fit the description of those who
are found worthy, poor, maimed, halt, and blind? Take heed because
it says many are called, but few are chosen. Deliver us from
making light of His call through many excuses. I want to be one
who is worthy and one who is chosen. And what is the evidence
of who they are? What do they do? One evidence. They came when they were called.