In order for us to better understand this parable of Jesus, it helpful to know that the first part of this parable, like the parable before it (the parable of the wicked tenants) which I preached on last week, is directed primarily at the corrupt leaders of the Jews, namely the chief priests and teachers of the Law. What Jesus is doing in both of these parables is illustrating to his Jewish audience then and to us today how God felt about their shameful treatment of His messengers, the prophets.
Even though Jesus does not explain this parable as he does other parables, the application is obvious. For about 2,000 years God had been sending prophets to His people with an invitation. For 2,000 years the Almighty King of heaven and earth had been inviting Israel to repent of their sin and unbelief and to believe in Him and His Word. As I have explained many times both from this pulpit and in the Bible studies that I have led, O.T. believers were saved or justified the same way we are today, that is by faith in the Lord God and most especially faith in His promise to send a Savior who would crush the serpents head or destroy the power of the devil by redeeming the world. The only difference between them and us was that that they were looking ahead to his coming and we are looking back upon it as an accomplished fact.
At any rate, the reaction of all too many of the people of Israel to the gracious invitation of their heavenly King was the same. They ignored it. They ignored Him. They paid no attention to His royal messengers and went about their business as if He did not exist at all. And some of them, their leaders in particular, took it upon themselves to mistreat and even kill the royal messengers, because they did not like to have their sins pointed out and they wanted the King’s power for themselves. They wanted to play God.
And how did God feel about that? He was justifiably outraged and as I mentioned last week God destroyed them and their beloved city, using legions of Roman soldiers in 70 AD which came and burned and leveled Jerusalem to the ground and slaughtered and sold her inhabitants into slavery. A very sad story, a sad ending indeed, and also a stern warning to all who would spurn God’s grace and ignore God’s Word.
But we might ask where do we fit in to this parable, we citizens of the U.S.A. nearly 2,000 years later? Well, we are the ones Jesus talks about at the end of the parable. We are the later invitees, the Gentiles and for almost 2,000 years now the wedding feast has been going on. The feast began when the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died on a cross for the sins of the world and rose triumphantly from the grave, in order to claim his bride--the church. This beautiful Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the world and by the work of the Holy Spirit our ancestors have received the invitation, they have heard it and believed it and have been saved, but there is a problem. Some among us are like the man that the good king has thrown out of His banquet because he did not wear the king’s garments.
What Jesus is doing here is giving us a brief, but complete picture of a sham or false Christian. A sham Christian is one who has accepted the invitation to the heavenly wedding feast, been baptized into Christ, heard the Word of God, entered into the wedding hall (which is the church) and confessed its pure doctrine and maybe even defended it with great zeal. Such a person may also mingle with the other festively adorned guests; that is have friendship and fellowship with true, believing Christians. He or she may even sit at the table with the other guests and eat and drink with them; that is they appear at the Lord’s Table and receive the sacrament. Finally, they may have even act like other wedding guests; that is live outwardly as pious Christians who could not be reproached for any obvious sins, betray no haughtiness, perform laudable deeds, show modesty, be industrious in their work and from all outward appearances appear to be a believer.
Yet, despite their honorable life, their good works, their pious exercises, and their active zeal, they are still not true Christians. Why? Christ says they lack the "wedding garment" (Matthew 22:12). The sham Christian, despite his or her outward appearance, does not wear the Christian faith in his or her heart. By this faith, true Christians wear Christ’s righteousness as a garment. The sham Christian appears to lead a Christian life, but before God's all-seeing eyes, his life has a form that cannot please Him, for the Scriptures say that "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
The sham Christian may be rich in so-called good works, but because these works do not flow from the fountain of a heart purified through faith, they are, before God, nothing better than sin, for Scriptures say that "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23).
What will be the fate of sham Christians in the life to come? Their hands and feet will be bound. The time of grace will be cut off and they will have no part in the kingdom where God and the Lamb shine as the sun. They will be cast out into the eternal darkness, where no light of 'comfort rises upon them and where the praise of God will no longer be heard from his hypocritical lips; instead there will be only "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 22:13).
Beloved, it would behoove us to examine ourselves before the Lord comes to inspect us. Let us not be content with the mere appearance of Christianity, but present ourselves to the Lord as we are. Let us, as poor sinners, daily fall at His feet, seek His salvation with earnestness, follow Christ from our hearts and serve Him so that He will one day recognize us as his own. That is what putting on the wedding garments is all about.
It is important to go back and see what the Scriptures have to say about garments or clothing. The first garments we encounter are the garments God clothes Adam and Eve with after their fall into sin. They were embarrassed and ashamed about their nakedness and sin which was why they were hiding in the bushes, in a futile attempt to cover themselves with leaves, so God in His mercy provides animal skins to cover their shame. Notice that in order for them to be clothed however, something had to die. Now, let’s fast forward to the end of the Bible and look at the last mention of garments in Revelation chapter 7:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" …Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
In Scriptures garments often symbolize a person's character: filthy garments representing sinful character and white garments representing holiness and purity. In God’s kingdom all are clothed in white and they are made white by the blood of The Lamb, Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who died to take away the sin of the world. That is the garment of perfect righteousness given out by the King at His wedding feast. That is the garment that covers our shame and guilt. No other garment will do.
The Bible says that our righteousness, which we would clothe ourselves in, are like filthy rags compared to the perfect righteousness and holiness of Jesus Christ. No other garment than the perfect holiness and righteousness is acceptable at the high wedding feat of the lamb. That was the problem with the hearers of this parable when the Lord told it to them and it is still the problem with us today. We have heard the very same invitation and not only that, but we have something they never had and that is the full knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, we are even more culpable than the people Jesus spoke this parable to, because of our knowledge. Therefore if we reject it, the insult is greater, if we who know the truth look somewhere else for our salvation, either to our own works or to another person or an idol. That would constitute our discarding the king’s garment. May God grant that we never do such a thing.
But, now lest we focus exclusively on the upon the wrath and judgment of our good and righteous King in this parable of Jesus, I would like to point out the main idea or the most important part of this parable and that is that there is this magnificent wedding feast that has been prepared and everyone is invited. It doesn't make any difference whether you are good or bad, rich or poor, old or young, black or white. The King says, "Everyone is invited and welcome to come to my wedding feast."
This gracious invitation is open to us and all people and on the front of the invitation is a cross. For it is by way of the cross that Jesus Christ has taken away all our sins and won eternal life for all who would believe in Him. There is no invitation like it in the world. Nowhere will you find such hope or peace or joy.
Sometimes, I think we hear this good news so often that it loses its impact on us. So, I would ask you to try for a moment this morning to put yourself into this parable. Imagine you are one of those people in the streets in this parable. Imagine you are a beggar you can’t remember the last time you bathed, and you are dressed in filthy rags. The last time you ate was from a garbage can three days earlier. Suddenly, up comes the royal herald with your invitation written in gold on fine parchment. At first you think it is a joke, but the herald assures you it isn’t and so you go to the king’s palace and are welcomed. Upon entering your old dirty lice infested clothing is carted off and burned and you are given a nice hot bath or shower. Then you are fitted with a robe so splendid that you can hardly look at it. It is so white it shines like the sun.
As you go down a hallway toward the banquet hall the most beautiful music you have ever heard greets your ears and when you come into the great banquet hall you can hardly believe your eyes. The tables are filled with heaping plates of sumptuous food. It is so incredible and rich and lavish that it is beyond your wildest dreams.
Beloved, if all of this sounds to good be true, let me tell you as the king’s herald, that it is true. You are invited and by faith in Jesus Christ all of these things are yours. The filthy rags of your own righteousness have been taken away and Christ has put upon you his perfect righteousness as the prophet Isaiah says: For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest and a bride adorns herself with jewels.
In our baptism we were clothed in Christ as St. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
And we must not forget, that this is a wedding feast and that the Bridegroom does have a bride and she is us, the church, or all believers in Jesus. And it is important for us to remember that, because we need to know how our Lord feels about us. It is important for us to know that He loves us as a bridegroom loves his bride. And there is no love stronger than that. It is a love that took him to the cross, uncomplaining and unflinching. A love that cost every drop of his sweat and blood. That is the love that Jesus Christ had and still has not only for you and for me you, but for all people everywhere.
And that is why He asks us now to tell others that they too are invited, because He wants His wedding hall to be full to the rafters on the last day, when our bridegroom comes again to raise us up from the dead and celebrate with him and all the faithful forevermore. So come in, join the fun, the party’s waiting, in Jesus Name. Amen.