November 13, 2019
RSVP: "Please respond!"
Matthew 22:1-22
Lee Robinson
Central Truth
We all must decide how we will respond to God's call.
Key Verse | Matthew 22:14
"For many are called, but few are chosen."
Matthew 22:1-22
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
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 1 22:3 Or bondservants; also verses 4, 6, 8, 10 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.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 2 22:16 Greek for you do not look at people's faces 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 3 22:19 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
Dive Deeper | Matthew 22:1-22
In 2017, my wife and I attended 13 weddings. We had not planned for all these, but felt blessed to have so many good friends invite us to celebrate with them. They weren't all local or always convenient, but it was fun to share in the joy of two becoming one. As you can imagine, every few weeks another RSVP would show up in the mail requiring a response. What would we decide? We could choose either to respond to the invitation and "accept with pleasure" or "decline with regret."
A wedding banquet is a great analogy for God's call to us. In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells a story about God's coming kingdom. He likened it to a king who prepared a great wedding banquet for his son. Invitations went out to those on the guest list, but those who were invited did not respond or made poor excuses. In fact, some of the invited guests mistreated and even killed the messengers. So the king called others to the banquet, many of whom responded favorably. One guest, however, showed up improperly dressed and ended up being thrown out. Jesus summarized emphatically: "For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14) Declining God's call will always end in regret.
Israel was invited (chosen) by God, but did not collectively respond to Him. God then called all the people of the world to Himself, and many did respond. My life growing up was a lot like this. I knew about God's call, but I did not respond. I kept the invitation in the back of my mind, but quickly got distracted chasing all the things I thought would lead to life. After nearly a decade of open rebellion, I responded "Yes" to God's call after having come to realize His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). However, just like a wedding RSVP, there comes a point when there is no longer time to respond. We must always remember that no decision is a decision.
How will you respond to Jesus' call: accept with pleasure, or decline with regret?
Discussion Questions
1. Have you accepted God's call? If so, does the current state of your life proclaim this "chosen" status?
2. Are there others in your sphere who have yet to respond to God's call? What can you do this week to be a faithful friend, coworker, or neighbor and share the "good news" with them?
3. How are we to live in light of this truth? Paul gives us a helpful imperative:
"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)