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.