Matthew 22 1-14
Introduction
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet, as we find it in Matthew’s Gospel, is packed full of meaning. It teaches us many things about our acceptance or rejection of the truth found in Jesus Christ. This parable is in fact two parables. The first one refers to the rejection by God’s people of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. One result of this rejection was the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. (In the parable the King sends out troops to destroy the town of the evil doers.) A second result of this rejection is that the Gentiles, the outsiders, are invited insead. And they respond in great numbers.
The second parable is tacked on this first parable. It is about a man who came to the Kings banquet wearing the wrong clothes. it’s this second parable we shall be looking at today.
‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, “How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?” The man was speechless.
(Matthew 22:11-12)
.
The deeper meaning of the parable
At first sight it all seems terribly unfair to us. This man who had come to the banquet apparently was turned out from the feast simply because he was wearing the wrong clothes. Surely this can never be right! Of course no t – there is a much deeper meaning to this parable here.
I wonder if there is anyone here who has ever been invited to Buckingham Palace to be presented to the Queen, either for an award or to attend a garden party in recognition of service to the community. Over the years I have met a number of people who have been summoned to Buckingham Palace in that way. No one that I know of has ever refused such an invitation. It always involves a great deal of discussion about what to wear, and perhaps spending a bit of money on getting some clothes suitable for the occasion.
Now the man in the parable had turned up to the King’s banquet in clothes which were totally unsuitable for the occasion. He was just wearing his everyday clothes and he failed to do honour to the King. This man was indifferent to the King. It is as though he were saying, “You will have to just take me as I am. I haven’t got time for this sort of thing. I’m here, am I not?” This attitude would have been completely disrespectful. He had no notion of the honour conferred upon him, or the efforts that would be taken for his enjoyment. In the parable he is reprimanded severely and kicked out.
Now we have to be careful that we do not interpret this parable literally, as though it is all about what we wear when we come to church. That is not what the parable is about. The church of Jesus Christ was never meant to be a fashion parade (although there have been times in the life of the Church where it has been so). Nowadays we do not tend to dress up so much when we come to come to church. We wear clothes which are respectable but not showy. Over the years fashions have changed. For most people today their best clothes are the smart-casual ones. And when they appear in church in these clothes they mean no disrespect to God at all. No true Christian person would want to turn away people from worship because of what they are wearing. We would rather see people come to church in their ordinary clothes to sincerely worship God, then come all dressed up simply to show off. So we don’t dress up to come to church, we just see that we look respectable.
No, this Parable is not about what we should be wearing when we come to worship God. It is not about our outward coverings – it is about our inner attitudes. We should worship God in the right spirit. Listen to what Paul says:
As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
(Colossians 3:12)
Paul says we are to clothe ourselves inwardly with the right attitude. This is far more important than outward garments.
.
Coming to worship God
When we come to God’s house to worship him (and especially when we come to the Communion Table) we need to examine ourselves, to see whether we are coming to God’s banquet wearing the right clothing inwardly. I am sure some people just turn up on Sunday without really preparing themselves to worship, without seeking to repent of their sins, without coming in humility and wanting to worship God. But when we come to worship God (and especially when we come to the Communion Table) we need to come with two particular inward garments, as it were: gratitude and humility.
Gratitude is the only proper response to the Gospel (and that’s why in some churches the Communion Service is known as the Eucharist – which is Greek for “Thanksgiving”).
And then there is humility. With this attitude we recognise our unworthiness, our sinfulness, our selfishness and our need for forgiveness. And so we humbly and gratefully come to worship God.
.
The Robe of Righteousness
But who is worthy to come into God’s presence, and who is worthy to sit at the King’s Table? If any person thinks that their own righteousness grants from the right to come then they are wearing the wrong clothes. If any person puts their trust in their own goodness rather than God’s goodness then they must learn the lesson that
“all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 – King James Version )
It’s not a question of being worthy, it’s a question of accepting the invitation and receiving the Grace that God gives us.
As it says in the Presbyterian Service Book, with regard to the Lord’s Supper:
“Come to the Holy Table, not because you’re strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own give a right to come, but because you need mercy and help.
Come, not because you love the Lord enough, but because you want to love him more.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apparently it was the custom in the East at the time of Jesus that if a guest were invited to a royal reception and for some reason or other did not have the appropriate clothes to wear, then the royal personage would provide the necessary robes for the occasion.
Something like this happened almost 65 years ago, at the time that Sir John Hunt and his team conquered Mount Everest. Tenzing Norgay the Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary were the two men to first stand on the peak of Everest. When the climbers returned to Kathmandu there was a flood of congratulatory telegrams, including an invitation for the team to attend Buckingham Palace. This caused a major crisis for Tenzing and for the rest of the team. Tenzing refused to go. He wasn’t going to Buckingham Palace. He had never even been out of Nepal before. He wasn’t used to high functions of this kind, and besides he didn’t have anything to wear, except his rough Sherpa clothes.
John Hunt and his party tried all they could to persuade Tenzing to change his mind, but they completely failed. On the other hand, there was no way they could think of accepting the Queen’s invitation without Tenzing, the first to reach the top of Everest. In desperation they sent a message to Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, asking him to intercede on their behalf with Tenzing. And so Nehru summoned Tenzing to Delhi and plainly told him that it would be an insult to the Queen and indeed an insult to his own Nepalese people, if he refused this royal invitation. And then he added: “I understand that clothes are your difficulty. I have anticipated that – come with me”.
And so he took Tenzing to his apartment. He said to him, “We’re about the same size. Put on these clothes.” And there was a complete outfit, in immaculate condition of the Prime Minister’s own clothes! So it was that Norgay Tenzing went to Buckingham Palace after all. He appeared before the Queen in the garments of the Prime Minister of India!
We have no garments of our own with which to appear before the King of Kings. But Christ has died on the cross to provide us with garments. He has provided for us a robe of righteousness and holiness that makes it possible for us to come before him. Our own good deeds and self-righteousness are worth nothing, but the goodness of Christ is a robe that we can wear.
What Jesus asks for is not any kind of elaborate ceremony or ritual, but a simple personal faith in him. It is a faith that believes that he’s able to do what we cannot do. A faith that believes in Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross. A faith that believes that Jesus can clothe us with his own righteousness. A faith that with a humble, grateful reliance on him alone goes out, is his strength alone, to do those things that are worthy of his name. All we have to do is say “yes” to his invitation.
.
Conclusion
Well then, have we answered his invitation with a “yes”, or are we still finding other things to do and say is an excuse for staying away and missing out on the richest of all blessings – his daily presence in our hearts.
The man in the parable was speechless before the King when he was challenged about not having the right robe. Let us be careful that we do respond to the King with words of gratitude and appreciation for all that he has done for us.
(Sermon preached at the Brecon Presbyterian Church, based on an outline prepared by the late Rev. R. B. Owen, Prestatyn.)
Revdhj's Weblog 