The Greatest Wedding

Matthew 22:1-14 Read the New Testament in a Year: Romans 2 The last big royal wedding in the UK was between Prince William and Catherine Middleton – now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Imagine what it would have been like to open the post and find an invitation to their wedding. Jesus says that all of us receive an invitation to the greatest royal wedding of all time. Likewise, in the case of the wedding banquet, God issues an open invitation for an intimate friendship with him. It is such a great privilege to be invited to this royal wedding. It is a costly invitation (v.4) and an open invitation (vv.9–10). Everyone is invited. The invitation is repeated over and over again (vv.1–4). I find it fascinating that Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a party. This is the opposite of how many people think about God, church and faith. They think it is something sombre, dull and boring. But Jesus says the kingdom of God is a party. It is a celebration with lots of laughter, joy and feasting. However, there were some who, when reminded of their invitation, ‘only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop’ (22:5). Their possessions and their jobs were higher priorities than a relationship with Jesus. Some were extraordinarily rude and hostile – they ‘seized his servants, ill-treated them and killed them’ (v.6). Jesus says, ‘The king was enraged’ (v.7). God’s amazing and wonderful invitation is not something you should take lightly or flippantly. It is a huge privilege that a transcendent God invites you to have an intimate friendship with him. However, it is not enough simply to go along. You need the right wedding clothes (vv.11–13). You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven on your own terms – only on Jesus’ terms. Thankfully, through his death and resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has provided the clothes you need.]]>