PENTECOST
20
October
13-15, 2023
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Matthew 22:1-14 (EHV)
“ AN OFFER WE CAN
BUT BETTER NOT REFUSE!”
1.
Free
Banquet!
2.
Free
Clothes!
If you have been reading the little Theme
of the Day summaries provided in the service folder (and I hope you have been!)
you saw the summary of this parable of Jesus as ‘A story of insane rejection.’
I know what the writer means but I personally would like a little more
accuracy. We have this way of talking. You see some social media dare or
challenge like the superhot One Chip Challenge and you say, “That’s insane!” Or
someone tells you they are going to jump out of a perfectly good flying
airplane to go skydiving and you say, “You’re crazy!” Probably time to change
our speech. Mental health issues are real, just as real as physical health
issues. Certain mental health issues can’t be dealt with unless there is proper
medical treatment just like certain physical problems won’t just go away
without treatment, so if you need help, get it. But my point is this. Someone
who truly is crazy or insane and is not treated can’t be responsible for their
actions any more than someone who breaks their leg and is not treated is
responsible for not being able to run.
I’d say a better title for the theme of the day is ‘A story of idiotic
rejection.’ You see, our word idiot comes from the Greek word idios which means
‘one’s own.’ In Biblical context an idiot would be someone who chooses their
own way instead of what God gives freely through Jesus. Now listen to Jesus’
story of idiotic rejection!
Matthew
22:1-14 (EHV) “Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, 2 “The
kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his
son. 3 He sent out his servants to summon those who
were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come. 4 “Then
he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have
prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and
everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’5 “But
those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm,
another to his business. 6 The rest seized the
king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 As
a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers
and burned their town.8 “Then he said to his servants,
‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not
worthy. 9 So go to the main crossroads and invite
as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those
servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both
good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But
when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing
wedding clothes. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how
did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was
speechless. 13 Then the king told the servants,
‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are
called, but few are chosen.”
Jesus’ picture story is easy. A king
has invited people to come to the wedding banquet for his son. Now, I am not
into royals. I like to remind those who go gaga over British royalty, “You know
we beat them, right?” And yet an invitation to a royal wedding. The best of
food and drink and pomp and circumstance. All free. You’d have to be an idiot
to refuse that. And you got my attention when you said it was free. And yet there
were a bunch of idiots. These were the important people in the eyes of the
world. Successful business owners. Minor nobles. The movers and shakers and
celebrities of the time. They rejected free food. They had other priorities,
work or recreation. Some took it a step further. Others mistreated and killed
the messengers. They rejected the generosity of their king and went their own
way. What a bunch of idiots. What did they think the king would do?
Remember, earthly story, spiritual
meaning. Jesus told this parable right after His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem. The Pharisees and chief priests were there with the people. Jesus
was reaching out to them in love to try to help them see that rejecting God’s
Son and their Savior was idiotic. Refusing to be a member of God’s kingdom on
earth is idiotic. Refusing an eternity of joy in heaven is idiotic. And what do
you think the King of Heaven will do to those who mistreated and killed his
prophets and rejected His Son? Sadly, history tells us most of these people
remained true idiots and chose their own way to try to get to heaven and failed
miserably because they lacked their own righteousness and now suffer in Hell.
Idiots. But we can still be sad for them.
Jesus’ parable went on. The gracious
King extended the invitation to this most sumptuous and glorious banquet to
others, the “little” people of the time. The average day worker, the poor,
those considered good for society and those considered bad. All were invited.
All were given wedding clothes to wear. Coming in from the highways and byways
their own would not be good enough. Everyone gets brand new wedding clothes,
for free. You’d have to be an idiot to refuse that and once again you had me at
Free! But in the parable someone rejected the free clothes. He chose his own
dirty shabby clothes over brand new clothes from the king. As a result he was
uninvited from the wedding banquet. What an idiot?
Again earthly story, spiritual
meaning. The Bible makes frequent use of the picture of your clothes or robe as
what you look like to God. People on their own have filthy robes because of our
sin. And we are filthy. Any of you young people want to disagree with me give
me your phone unlocked after service. By the way mom and dad, when is the last
time you checked your child’s phone? If you are choosing to provide them with a
tool that is dangerous and has been used by Satan for so much wrong and harm,
it is your responsibility to check and monitor. The robe or clothes provided by
Jesus is His righteousness like we sang in the beautiful hymn. “Jesus your
blood and righteousness my beauty are, my glorious dress.” My daughter’s used
to call my pastor robe a dress. Daddy’s dress. It’s not a dress. It’s a robe.
The main reason we wear it is to cover us and to signify we are in the role of
a spokesman for God. Believers in Jesus are covered with His perfect life of a
obedience. A robe of righteousness that presents us as perfect people in the
eyes of God. You would have to be an idiot to hold up your life next to Jesus and
say, “I’m good enough.” Sadly, as Jesus’ parable points out and our fellow
Americans demonstrate, there are a lot of idiots out there.
That’s kind of fun, isn’t it? Calling
other people idiots. Try it with me. Idiots. But God’s word has not been given
to us so we can look down on and despise other people. It’s to warn and
encourage us. First, don’t be an idiot! It’s unlikely that anyone here is going
to blatantly say to Jesus, “I’m better than you” or “I think I’m good enough to
get to heaven on my own.” And yet we have in us this “I want to do it my way”
sinful nature that the Devil wants to cultivate so eventually we do. And here’s
how we fall into his trap. Jesus offers us His very body and blood for the
forgiveness of sins in the Lord’s Supper and yet, Jacobi members, how often
have we responded with a No? “I’ve got business to attend to. Sports things to
get my kids to.” Free banquet. Nah. Idiotic, don’t you think?. “Cast your
burdens on the Lord” we are encouraged and yet too often prayer is the last resort,
‘all we can do now’ as though we are so important. We have an idiotic tendency
in all of us. My way. This parable provides a warning we need.
And an encouragement. Someone in your
life making you feel like you are not good enough? Got your own mom guilt going
on? Life’s struggles make you think about your sins and why you should be
suffering? Free clothes. You are covered by Jesus. There is nothing you have to
do or can do to make the King love you anymore than He already does. He treats
you on the basis of grace no matter how you feel or what anyone else says. God
invites you to regularly receive comfort, strength, peace, help in His word and
Sacraments and through the gift of prayer. It’s an offer we can but better not
refuse. And why would we? It’s all free and by God’s grace we are no idiots.
Amen.
