THE CALLED, THE CHOSEN, AND THE CLOTHED

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Matthew 22:1-14
Lesson #53

THE CALLED, THE CHOSEN, AND THE CLOTHED

• Memory verse: Rom 10:3
• Read Mat 22:1-14 Parable of the Marriage Feast and Garment
• This parable is related to the last 3 parables:
  • Review:
    • Parable of the fig tree and faith: The central truth:
      • Jesus looked for some evidence of Godliness among the Jewish nation. They had the outward trappings of religion, but there was no inward fruit of the Holy Spirit. No faith.
      • Like the tree, Israel failed in its purpose.
      • Jesus therefore, cursed Israel, for He knew the Jews were going to reject Him the next week.
      • Jesus condemns the manner of the Jewish religion.
    • Parable of the two sons and the vineyard: The central truth:
      • God set aside a people, the Jews, of which all were sinners.
      • Some did the will of God by repenting of their sins, while the religious leaders did not repent.
      • Jesus therefore condemns the methods of the religious leaders.
    • Parable of the householder and the heir: The central truth:
      • God gave a sacred trust to the Jews and gave them many promises and privileges but they failed Him by killing His prophets and rejecting His Son, Jesus Christ.
      • God would therefore set aside the Jews for a time and build upon a believing group of Gentiles.
      • Jesus therefore condemns the motives of the religious leaders.
  • Background to the parable of the marriage feast:
    • In normal Jewish custom, a person would send out an invitation to a great feast, but he would not state the time. Guests were only told to be ready. It was after this invitation that one would normally inform the host that you would be unable to attend. When everything was ready for the feast, the host sent servants to tell the guests to come.
    • The king in the parable had long ago sent the invitations but there were no refusals.
    • When the final summons was given, the invitation was refused. This was the ultimate insult.
  • Who is the “certain king” (2)? God
  • Who is the king’s son? Jesus
    • Before we saw Jesus as the heir to the householder, but here He is the son of the King.
      • He is the bridegroom. (Joh 3:29)
      • A feast such as Jesus describes here was given at the commencement of a king’s reign, who then symbolically married himself to his people (1Kin 1:5,9 1Chr 29:24)
    • The invitation:
      • The invitation is to share a time of glorious joy.
      • The Christian life is not one of gloom for giving up everything for Christ. The Christian life is filled with joy.
  • Who are the servants (3)? Old Testament prophets.
  • Who are the “other” servants (4)? More prophets like John the Baptist.
  • An indication of God’s long suffering mercy:
    • The parable indicates the sending forth of 3 invitations. We’ll consider the first 2 here.
      • Vs. 1-3 the invitation was returned by those who treated God’s call indifferently and casually.
      • Vs. 4-7 a more urgent invitation was met with mockery, scorn, and ultimately with violence.
    • The refusal:
      • Notice that the refusal was not necessarily because of bad or immoral reasons.
      • One man went to his estate, one went to his business.
        • Many times we are so busy making a living we fail to make a life.
        • We get busy with the things of time and forget the things of eternity.
      • The consequence and the prophecy: Vs. 7 indicates the results of their refusal.
        • It is a prophecy that predicts the fall of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD when the city and temple were totally destroyed and burned.
        • Jesus indicates that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was a direct consequence of the Jewish rejection of Christ as their Messiah.
    • Who is the “remnant” (6)? Jewish religious leaders.
    • What does the “marriage“(wedding) represent? The coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.
    • Who were the guests that came (10)?
      • This is the third invitation.
        • It indicates God’s enduring mercy and grace despite previous rejection.
        • Those who would believe: Gentiles, those that come to the Lord in repentance.
      • Notice that it says they consisted of both the bad and the good. All are sinners even though one lives a good life.
      • These were people who had no claim on the king. They never expected an invitation, but in his mercy the invitation was extended to them.
  • Read Rev 19:6-9 The Marriage Supper of the Lamb occurs when Jesus Christ comes back a second time.
  • What does the wedding garment represent? It represents being clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
    • It was the custom in the east for a king to supply his royal guests with a simple robe to wear that would not outshine that of the king.
    • The Greek indicates that the man had no intention of putting on a robe that was supplied by his host. It’s an outright act of rebellion.
    • The final result is that he was cast out of the kingdom of God into outer darkness–an eternity without God.
      • To be acceptable to the King (Jesus) in His kingdom, we must put on the righteousness of Christ.
      • Our own righteousness and good works are like filthy rags (Isa 64:6).
      • We must be dressed spiritually the way God desires so that when He looks at us He sees the perfect sinless life of Christ and not our sinful lives.
  • What does he mean by “many are called but few are chosen” (14)?
    • God would that all would come to Christ, but some harden their hearts and therefore, God does not choose to work in their life and bring them to Christ. Many are called but few are choice ones for God. God chooses to work with only those people who have an open heart to God.
    • The wedding feast represents all the blessings of a relationship with God:
      • Pardon for sin, favor with God, peace of conscience, access to the throne of God through prayer, comforts of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life.
      • These are only a few of God’s multifaceted blessings.
  • What is the central truth of the parable?
    • God called the Jews over and over to be part of His kingdom, but they refused even killing the prophets that God sent with the invitation.
    • As a result, God would destroy Jerusalem and call the Gentiles instead.
    • Anyone is acceptable in the kingdom if he puts on the righteousness of Christ. How do we do that?
      • Pray to accept Him and receive Him into your heart as Lord and Savior.
      • Read Gal 3:26-28
      • The message to Jesus’ hearers is one of impending doom and condemnation because they would not repent and believe in Him.

Homework

Matthew 22:15-33

• Application of Mat 22:1-14
  • Have you put on the righteousness of Christ by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior and inviting him into your heart and life? Are you letting Him clean up your life to correspond to his call?
  • Read Galatians 3:26-28 Eph 4:17-32 Col 3:1-10
    • What changes do you need to make in your life?
• Preparation for Mat 22:15-33
  • Read Mat 22:15-22
    • This passage contains the second test question by the religious leaders. (The first one was in Mat 19:3 concerning divorce).
    • What was the second test question?
    • What does Jesus’ answer mean to you?
  • Read Mat 22:23-33
    • This passage contains the third test question by the religious leaders.
      • What was the third question?
      • What does Jesus’ answer mean to you?
    • What do we learn about Jesus from these two passages?
• Memory verse: 1Cor 15:52