The Twentieth Sunday After Trinity

Jesse Jacobsen

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Time-stamp: "Sat Oct 8 16:42:58 2005"

Matthew 22:1–14 (selected verses)



“Then he said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'

“So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, `Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, `Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

How can I know if I am chosen?

Is there anyone in Jesus' parable that was not invited to the wedding feast? Think about what He said. First, the King invited from the guest list. When they proved unworthy, He sent His servants out to the throngs of people with this command: “As many as you find, invite to the wedding.” Was anyone turned away at the door? No, they were all invited, and were all welcomed. It didn't matter that some were in their travel-stained and dusty clothing. It didn't matter that they had not prepared, and came filthy with the dirt of the forge, the workshop, the stables, the granaries, and so forth. As every guest came to the door, he was given a fresh and clean garment, suitable for the wedding feast. There were enough for everyone, and everyone was invited. So when Jesus says at the end of this parable, “For many are called,” He doesn't use the word “many” in a relative way. The “many” who were called to the wedding feast included everyone.

But what about the chosen? Only the chosen remain in the wedding feast. Only the chosen will enter the kingdom of heaven. There have been teachers who say that some are chosen for heaven, while others are chosen for hell. Others say that being chosen means only that God forsaw that you would be choosing Him. Which is it? There are uncomfortable questions that arise with this saying of Jesus. I'd like to address them this morning under the theme, “How can I know if I am chosen?” There are three parts. First, the King has accomplished your complete justification. Second, the King has given you a real invitation. Third, the King has provided you with reliable transportation.

Complete Justification

After the King sent his servants out the first and second times, and the guests would not come, we read, “When the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.' ” Did you notice that those invited were pronounced unworthy only after they refused the King's invitation?

Are you worthy to be a guest at this wedding feast? Am I? We ask ourselves the same question, and there is only one who can give us a reliable answer: the King himself. So we must pay attention to what the King tells us.

The King is God in heaven. The wedding feast is paradise itself. Will God speak to us? Will we hear Him? As it happens, He does speak to us through His Word. That is, He speaks in the Bible and its message. That's where we find the King's teaching about our worthiness.

God's Word tells us that He is completely perfect, and a perfectionist. Jesus described this in Matthew chapters 5–7. It's not enough to avoid taking the life of another person, because hatred alone is sin. It's not enough to avoid acts of adultery, because a lustful eye commits sin. Divorce is sin whenever the spouse has not already broken the marriage through acts of adultery. We can see that God's idea of perfection is different from the ideas we find on earth. Jesus says, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Are we worthy? Not by that standard. We are sinners. Yet God is not finished with us. The same teacher in Matthew 5–7 was God's Son, sent to keep the same laws in complete purity. Jesus was perfect. He lived here on earth and did not sin. God sent Him to do that, so that His record of perfection could be transferred to you and me, while our foul records of guilt were transferred to Him. That exchange truly happened, and that's why Jesus also suffered and died. Before God, He was the only sinner on earth, because all of our evil acts, wicked thoughts, and hurtful words had been laid upon Him. Now, God's message to us is not just information. It's a proclamation. He declares us to be “not guilty” on account of Jesus. In other words, you and I have complete justification. It would seem that we have indeed been chosen.

Genuine Invitation

But why did the King pronounce His entire guest list to be unworthy? He even “sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” Did Jesus not live and die also for them? Then why were they unworthy? Was the King serious about inviting them from the start, or was He only play-acting?

Remember that the King only called them unworthy after they heard and rejected the invitation He sent. Those were genuine invitations that they rejected, and we know that by the King's response to their evil deeds.

When Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, it made salvation possible, because only through Jesus can we find mercy. Outside of Jesus, God still demands perfection. With Jesus, He doesn't demand perfection of us; He gives perfection freely, and it satisfies His perfect Law. So when God invites us, He says, “I have given my Son Jesus to live and die for you. Receive His perfection, and I will bring you to eternal life.” We can't add anything to His invitation, but we can surely reject it. After the first round of invitations, “they were not willing to come.” In other words, they said, “I don't care that Jesus lived and died for me. I don't want His perfection, because my own is good enough. I prefer to rely upon myself.”

Yet the King sent his invitation twice. His mercy is greater than they deserved. “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.” In the end, He granted their wish. They wanted to stand upon their own righteousness, and He allowed it. But their righteousness was not enough. You see, our worthiness to receive the invitation comes from Jesus. But if we refuse it, we become unworthy again.

How about the rest? Was the invitation still real when the King said, “Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding?” Yes, it was real as ever. So it has now come to you and me. The King says, “I have given my Son Jesus to live and die for you. Receive His perfection, and I will bring you to eternal life.” In this way, God reassures those who recieve His invitation that we have indeed been chosen.

Trustworthy Transportation

The wedding hall was filled with guests. But how did they get there? What good is an invitation when there is no way to keep it? We know that the King provided a wedding garment for every guest, and that shows us that He made all the necessary arrangements to bring them.

Jesus provides our passage to the wedding feast of heaven. He is the wedding garment that covers our own filthy rags and gives us a place at the King's table. Galatians 3:27 says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Through holy Baptism, we are each given an everlasting garment of pure perfection. Jesus on the cross 2,000 years ago doesn't help us at all if we do not also have Him today. But we do have Him, because Baptism provides all the blessings He won for us. Jesus also brings the feast to us when He gives us His own body and blood to eat and drink. These are truly present and distributed for us, because His Word is joined to the earthly elements of bread and wine.

So we are clothed with Jesus through Baptism, and we are fed with Him in Holy Communion. Joining them together is his Word. Jesus calls upon human beings like me to preach and teach it, and to apply it as a medicine for the mortally wounded and water for those dying of thirst. So Jesus is bringing us now from the dusty roads of earth into the palace of our King. He has justified us completely. The invitation we hold is genuine. And now, we have the trusty transportation of Word and Sacrament. These do not fail, because they truly provide us with Christ Himself. Faith rests upon no other.

Throughout this parable, some proved themselves unworthy, even though they were invited. The first guests refused to come. The man toward the end preferred to wear his own rags over the righteousness of Christ. We were unworthy too, but God has justified us, invited us, and is now transporting us to the wedding. As Jesus said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” We have all heard the call. Receive it with thanks, and know that God's faithful love for you is the proof that you are also chosen. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria! www.grace-els.org

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.