Tag Archives: Clothes

Covered – Sermon on Matthew 22:1-14 for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 22:1-14

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Weddings and marriage are all over the Bible. Scripture opens with the marriage of Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:21-25). It closes with the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9). And one of the most common pictures of God’s relationship to His people is marriage (Is. 54:5-8; Hos. 2:16-20; Eph. 5:25-32). So when we hear this parable opening with a king giving a wedding feast for his son, it sounds like it’s going to be a really good story.

The king sends out an announcement that he’s prepared the dinner. Oxen and fattened calves have been slaughtered. Remember how the father of the prodigal son had one fattened calf for the feast that welcomed his lost son home (Lk. 15:23)? Well, this king had all the grills and smokers going for this party.

But the parable takes an unexpected turn because the guests don’t show up. Some fancy weddings will have valet parking, but this wedding has chauffeurs that go out to bring the guests in. So, the king is befuddled that no one will come. He sends his servants back out to tell everyone about the feast. “Tell them about the menu and the venue. Tell them it’s all ready.” The servants go again, but this time, they don’t come back. The people who were invited take the servants and beat them, treat them shamefully, and kill them.

The king is done sending his servants. Now, he sends his military, and they level the place, utterly destroying it. The king, his son, and the soon-to-be princess are waiting at the palace to begin the wedding, but there are no guests. The king sends out more servants to find anyone who will to come to the feast—both good and bad (Mt. 22:10).

So, the parable started out good, got messy in the middle, but now it seems like it’s getting better. The reception is filled, the music is playing, the food is served, the dancing has begun. You can imagine the king going around the ballroom with his goblet filled and greeting the guests. But then, he comes to this guy who isn’t clothed in a wedding garment. The king confronts him, “How did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And the man is speechless. So, the king has his servants bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth—in other words, nothing but sorrow and anger. “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The parable is a warning because it’s a picture of what has happened. God’s own people rejected and killed the prophets. Even worse, when Christ came, they rejected Him. So, God destroyed them. But the parable is still happening, even right now. God’s invitation to come be a guest at His feast is still being extended throughout the world.

Dear saints, we are the ones who were in the roads and gathered from all sorts of different places to be at this banquet. You have been brought into the feast to celebrate the wedding of God’s Son. Now, the question is: are you worthy to be there? Do you have the right clothes, or are you at the king’s feast without the wedding garment? Is the king going to see you and cast you out?

There’s no question that this king has a strict dress code. But is it reasonable for him to be so hard-nosed about what people are wearing? Remember where these guests came from. They were just out wandering around the roads and doing who knows what. Why should they be expected to have the right clothing for such a fancy feast?

It’s true that you can’t just show up to a wedding. It takes time to get ready—especially when the wedding is in the palace. You can imagine the people wandering along the roads hearing the invitation. The servants come up to them and say, “I’m here to bring you to the palace for the royal wedding.” They would probably say, “I can’t go like this, all dusty and dirty in these old rags.” But the servants would reply, “Don’t worry about that. The king has plenty of extravagant robes. We’ll find one just for you.”

This was how it was done back then. If you went to the palace, the king would provide the right clothing for you to be there. If you were going to go to the palace, the king would deck you in fancy new clothes that would have been way out of your price range. If you were going to see the king, the king had to make you ready. This is how it was then, and this is how it is for us now.

If you or I are going to appear before God in the splendor of His holiness, He has to make us ready. He must provide the robe and give us what is needed. And He does this in holy Baptism. Galatians 3:27 says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Einar, that brings me to you. Today, Christ has joined you to Himself in those waters. Our eyes could only see water being poured on your head. But our ears heard Jesus joining His Word and promise to that water. Scripture promises that God saw you receive the righteousness of Christ (2 Co. 5:21). Einar and all you saints, Ephesians 5 says that Jesus has given Himself unto death so that He might sanctify you, having cleansed you by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present you to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that you might be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27). In other words, you have been brought into the wedding banquet of the King of kings, and you have been covered in the most precious and expensive garment of Christ’s righteousness. That garment is free of charge to you, but it is fully paid for by the Blood of Christ.

That covering isn’t a new idea. God has been covering His people ever since the Fall into sin. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they knew they were naked, so they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves when God showed up (Gen. 3:7). God had something better. God Himself slaughtered an animal to show that He would accept the death of another in place of the sinner. From that animal, God made garments of skins that clothed and covered their nakedness and shame (Gen. 3:21).

Dear saints, you are covered. In those waters, Christ has joined Einar to Himself, and He has joined you to Himself. The promise from Galatians 3, that those who are Baptized into Christ have put on Christ, that isn’t wishful thinking. You are covered and you remain covered not by adding your own works or your own righteousness to dazzle up the garment. You remain covered by faith. Philippians 3 puts it this way, you are found in Christ, not having a righteousness of your own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. It is the righteousness that comes from God that depends on faith (Php. 3:9).

Don’t be that man without the wedding garment. He insisted on keeping his own dirty, stinky, stained, ragged clothes. He did not want the covering the king had provided. In other words, he didn’t have faith in the king’s provision. Don’t do that.

God has covered you. The garment is His own precious Son, and it remains yours by faith. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Just as He Transforms You – Sermon on Matthew 22:1-14 for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 22:1-14

1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If this text was your only indication of God‘s character, what would be your opinion of Him? Because this parable is about the kingdom of heaven, we know that God is the king, but we see that this king gets very angry. He sends out his troops and destroys the murderers. He burns their city and then mocks the very same people he invited to his feast calling them ‘unworthy.’ But what might be the craziest thing about this king is his super strict dress code. He doesn’t just kick the underdressed man out. He has him bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Now, maybe you get a little uncomfortable with a text like this. You might find yourself wishing that Jesus would stick to good parables – happy, nice parables like the Prodigal Son or the ones about seeds and birds. Or, maybe, you wish that God always talked like He did in our Old Testament lesson (Is. 55:1-9) where He lovingly invites, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money come buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” We like that kind of God. But the God Jesus presents here – maybe not as much. I mean, seriously, who wants a God who gets all bent out of shape over a guy who doesn’t have the right clothes? Why does God have to be such a hardnose?

Well, dear saints, what if the God that Jesus presents in this parable is just as lavish, just as loving and inviting, as we heard in that Old Testament lesson? In fact, I would argue that even the ugly things that happen in this parable show God’s protection and provision, His mercy, grace, and love.

The king just wants people at his feast. So, he sends out “save the date” cards. When the time to feast comes, he sends his servants to invite those who received those notifications. Still, nobody comes. If we’re being honest, this king is a little too eager to have people at his banquet. Wouldn’t it be better if he was a bit more aloof? “Oh, you don’t want to come? That’s cool!” But the king isn’t that way. He desperately wants these people there at his feast. He wants them to celebrate with him.

So, he sends out his servants again saying, “See, everything is ready. The food is hot, the wine is poured. The music is playing. Come to the feast!” But now the people act wickedly towards the king’s servants. Yes, some only ignore the invitation, but some treat the servants shamefully even kill them. Not a good idea! To attack the king’s servants is the same as attacking the king himself. This cannot stand. The king is done sending his beloved servants to these wicked ingrates. Now, he sends his army to destroy those murderers and burn their city. All the king wanted of them was their presence so he could provide the feast of feasts for them. But they didn’t want anything to do with him.

We should be surprised that the parable isn’t over yet. The story continues. The king still wants a party. He wants guests. He wants people with him to celebrate the marriage of his son. So, he sends more servants out into the streets to invite anyone they can find – good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Just fill the banquet hall with people so we can celebrate. The servants go, and here we see how the servants love their king. The servants know what had happened to the last batch of servants the king sent out. But out of love for their king, they go despite the danger. And surprisingly, they have success! The hall is filled. People arrive at the palace. And every guest finds a place prepared specifically for them at the table even though they have come directly off the street. These guests have come just as they are, and everything is ready.

Now, a lot could be said about the king’s servants. A whole sermon could be preached from this parable about how the king cares for his servants and avenges them when they are wronged. We could consider how God protects you as you go about your work, witnessing for Him as you invite others to the feast. But you are smart people and have been paying good attention. So, I’m going to let you fill in those blanks because this parable is mainly about being worthy to be at the king’s banquet. And there’s one more glitch, one more snafu, in this parable that reveals God’s grace and mercy.

The king enters the banquet hall and spots one of the guests who is there without a wedding garment. So, the king walks over to him and says, “Friend,” or to put it in today’s vernacular, “Dude, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?” No response. Nothing but utter silence. The awkward pause turns into a tragic and even terrifying moment when the king summons his servants and renders swift judgment saying, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It’s shocking. This underdressed man gets punished even more severely than the people who murdered the king’s servants. They were only killed and had their city burned to the ground, but this underdressed, speechless man with no excuse, he gets hell.

Why? Why does the king get so bent out of shape when a guy, who has been brought in from the street, looks like a guy who has been brought in from the street? Well, here’s the thing. The wedding garment that this man was expected to be wearing but wasn’t, that garment would have been provided for him at the door. The king would have provided all the guests with wedding garments along with all the food and wine and entertainment. The king didn’t expect his guests to provide anything to be at the feast, not even the clothes on their backs. So, this underdressed man had despised the king’s gift which meant he despised the feast, despised the other guests at the party, despised the king’s son, and even despised the king himself.

So, dear saints, what does this parable teach us about God‘s grace? Well, there is no question God calls you just as you are. God certainly doesn’t need you at His feast, but He desperately wants you there. He wants you for Himself for all eternity. That is why God sent Jesus to shed His blood and die for the sins of all people (1 Tim. 4:10). In Christ’s death, everyone has been reconciled to the Father (2 Cor. 5:19). But the sad reality is that not everyone wants the forgiveness and restoration Christ has won and purchased. The eternal wedding banquet of God is only for beggars who have absolutely nothing and need everything provided for them – even the very clothes that they wear.

For the self-righteous and self-satisfied, the Gospel is insulting. Imagine going to a wedding reception and being told by the host, “You can’t come in here like that. You look and smell disgusting. Strip off all your clothes. Leave your filthy, smelly, smutty rags in the dumpster. Get hosed off and put these fine, fancy, designer clothes on instead. They’re yours to keep. By the way, we’re so glad you are here. Welcome! Enjoy the feast!” Now, if you are infected with lice, homeless, dirty, and hungry you will appreciate that cleansing and gift and have the most marvelous time at the feast. But if you like yourself just as you are, if you are comfortable with yourself in your sin and shame, hearing that is a total, complete insult.

Dear saints, God has invited you just as you are, but your God has no intention of you remaining just as you are. God loves you more than that. He transforms and elevates you. God has given you new clothes, splendent and radiant clothes. In your baptism, God closed you with the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:27). In that robe, you are without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; instead, you are holy and without blemish (Eph 5:27). Sure, you can despise that gift and treat it as though it is nothing. But you do so at your own peril.

God wants you at his feast, and at His feast there is only one rule: You don’t pay for anything. Everything is provided for you because of what Christ has done. And here’s the best part: Your God invites you now to this banquet where everything is ready. Come. You are invited just as you are. And God accepts you just as He has transformed and clothed you in Christ. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.