Matthew
Guest of the Kingdom Must Wear Royal Garments
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'Matthew 22:11-13
The scriptures speak of putting on clothes like
Put on the garment of praise Isaiah 61:3
Put on the Armor of God Ephesians 6:11
Put on love Colossians 3:14
Underneath the royal garments are the shame of both good and bad
We cannot be like the person who did not wear the royal wedding cloth
The royal garments are freely given
And must be worn to enter the Kingdom of Heaven
Our works will never be good enough
The royal garments are not easy to put on and can be very uncomfortable
As we try to cover our pride of good works and our shame of bad deeds
No matter what the reason is to not wear the royal garments
We must never take them off or we will be cast out of the Kingdom of Heaven
This is why Jesus said
"For many are invited, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14
Guest of the Kingdom Must Wear Royal Garments
Ever dream about what heaven will be like?
Ever think you want to go there, but not now?
When I was dating Sandy, I prayed…
“God, please don’t come until after Sandy and I are married.”
I was, and still am, so in love.
So in love I wanted God to put off His plans for me.
After all…
Heaven is for eternity.
But these days are few,
so let’s get all we can out of
this life before it is too late.
When Jesus tells the story
of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like…
He does not describe the gates, and streets, or the angels.
Jesus does not focus on the preparation
because they are done,
the prime rib is already cooked.
What Jesus focused on is…
None of those invited had come.
Jesus set the scene with the greatest celebration
known to man…
The celebration of marriage.
It wasn’t a birthday celebration
or a graduation celebration…
It was the marriage of the Son of God.
As we read the parable,
we see there was an invitation already sent out…
"God's kingdom," he said, "is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn't come! Matthew 22:2,3
The King sent his servants with a second invitation…
"He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, 'Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!' Matthew 22:4
There are three different responses from the people.
Invitations to three types of people who let…
Pleasure and Responsibility keep them from coming.
The third group killed the messengers
because their kingdom was more desirable
than the Kingdom of Heaven.
"They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and then killed them. The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city.
Matthew 22:6-8 MSG
In the first half of the parable
Jesus was talking about the Children of Abraham,
but we all can respond in the same ways as they did.
The second half of the parable
Jesus lets us know the invitation
to the Kingdom of heaven is to everyone.
Like the first half there are three types of people.
In the second half there are three types of people.
Jesus says…
"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'
Matthew 22:8,9
Imagine going about your business
and somebody comes up to you
with an invitation to the great celebration of Heaven.
Imagine any day in the past week
a messenger from God comes up to you…
Maybe it is when you are shopping,
going to school,
sharing an act of kindness to a stranger.
It is one of those days you are doing the right things,
your life is full of goodness.
But that is not why you are chosen…
Because across the street
a servant of the Lord is inviting a man
who just raped a woman,
or a woman who had just slept
with another woman’s husband.
These invitations are going out to
both good and bad people.
So the servants went out into the streets
and gathered all the people they could find,
both good and bad,
and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Matthew 22:10
You accept the invitation and go,
you get there and feel ashamed, unworthy,
you have nothing to wear that is fitting for the occasion.
I know how long it takes my wife to get ready for church
or some big celebration and going out the door she is asking…
“Should I have worn something else?”
I think it would take all eternity for my wife
to get ready for this wedding feast.
So the servants went out into the streets
and gathered all the people they could find,
both good and bad,
and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Fortunately, when you arrive,
the guests are given garments from the royal wardrobe.
Maybe Revelation 19:6-9 is a picture of what Jesus
is trying to tell us in the parable…
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,
like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
9 Then the angel said to me,
"Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
Joni Eareckson is one of my heroes of the faith.
Look at what she says about being clothed…
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and as a quadriplegic, it’s frustrating to have other people dress me. Being paralyzed, I don’t have the ability to put on my own clothes; and sometimes, I sure do wish I could put on my own sweater or coat. But recently I came across Isaiah 61 where it says, “…my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness….” Friend, when it comes to the righteousness of God, there is absolutely no way you and I can dress ourselves. God does that for us. And if we try to clothe ourselves with garments of salvation, as the Bible puts it, it’ll end up looking like filthy rags. And so, now I have gained a whole new appreciation for not being able to get myself dressed. Join me today in praising the Lord for His robes of righteousness, for when it comes to our salvation, let’s leave the “getting dressed” part to God.
https://www.joniandfriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/JAFX_DID5_06-13-20.mp3
It is recorded that great kings would have
a royal wardrobe for servants, as well as guests,
when they would come into the royal palace.
It seems this is the case in Jesus’s parable.
Both good and bad people needed
to be covered in royal garments,.
As we read on…
We see a third person.
He could have been one of the good
or one of the bad people.
Both good and bad,
and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Matthew 22:10
This person was not dressed in wedding clothes.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
It is mandatory to cover up your works…
Both good and bad.
It is mandatory to put on Christ.
Do this, knowing the time,
that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep;
for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
The night is almost gone, and the day is near.
Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
Let us behave properly as in the day,
not in carousing and drunkenness,
not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality,
not in strife and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Romans 13:11-14 NASU
The scriptures speak of putting on clothes like…
Put on the garment of praise
Isaiah 61:3
Put on the Armor of God
Ephesians 6:11
Put on love
Colossians 3:14
Underneath the royal garments are
the shame of both good and bad.
We cannot be like the person
who did not wear the royal wedding cloth.
The royal garments are freely given
and must be worn to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our works will never be good enough.
The royal garments are not easy to put on.
And can be very uncomfortable….
As we try to cover our pride…
Of good works
And our shame of bad deeds.
No matter what the reason is to not
wear the royal garments…
We must never take them off
or we will be cast out of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is why Jesus said…
"For many are invited, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14
Scripture Reading
Matthew 22:1-14 NIV
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
5 "But they paid no attention and went off — one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
13 "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen."
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