COMING TO THE TABLE
MATTHEW 22:1-14
In the first part of verse 1 we read “Jesus spoke to them again”. This
tells us that Jesus is still addressing the Chief Priest and Elders, which are identified in the 23rd verse of
Chapter 21. We are also told this is a parable and, as you recall, a parable is a story within a story … a short
story that conveys a moral teaching. In this parable the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet
for his son.
Obviously, “a certain king” is God the Father and “his
son” is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Also please note that The Father prepared the banquet and the purpose of the banquet
was to honor The Son!
In verse 3 the king sent his servants to those who had been invited. The ones who were
invited here represent the lost sheep of the house of Israel, the Jewish Nation – God’s chosen people.
The servants who went out were the Old Testament prophets and we also remember that
Jesus sent out the 12 to the Jewish people. But as we know the Nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah; Jesus offered
the Jews the Kingdom however they refused.
In this passage we see that the king sent out several invitations over a period of
time. In verse 3 we see the Jews refused to come. In verse 5 we see the weak excuses that they made and in verse 6 we read
they mistreated the king’s servants and killed them.
We do not want to miss the significance of the self-centered, weak excuses in verse
5. These people placed more importance on their own business and their personal interests than they did on the king’s
business. Ultimately these people totally rejected their king’s authority by killing the king’s servants.
The reference in verse 7 to the king sending his army to kill the murderers and to
burn their city is undoubtedly a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Titus the Roman.
We need to be clear. This passage is not teaching that God totally rejected the Nation
of Israel. … Chapters 9-11 of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans are crystal clear. God has not totally rejected the
Jewish people. Paul opens the 11th chapter of Romans with a question: “Did God reject His people?”
And then he emphatically answers, “By no means.” God will fulfill His promises to Israel but it will be
in the future!
The significance for us in our text is that the Gentiles were invited to come into
the Kingdom of Heaven. When the Jews rejected the kingdom the Gentiles (Non-Jewish people) were invited to come and be a part
of God’s eternal kingdom. The lesson here that we need to see is that this parable is a warning to us not to make the
mistake that the Jews did by not responding to our Lord’s invitation.
The meaning of this parable was clear to the Chief Priest and Pharisees and it should
be clear to us in the Church today… we are not to take the king’s invitation lightly this is a command performance.
It is a matter of life and death for us. God expects His people to show up for the wedding banquet of His Son! You see, we
are the ones on the streets; we are the good and the bad. God expects His people to respond.
But as generous and as broad as the invitation to come is, this parable clearly teaches
this is not a come as you are party. We must be properly dressed. As we have said many times, the physical things in the Bible
point to the Spiritual things. The wedding clothes in verses 11 and 12 are the righteousness of Christ. All are invited but
we must accept God’s free gift of salvation to be saved and to be a part of His kingdom. The righteousness of Christ
is imputed to all who believe that Jesus is God and to all those who accept Jesus as their personal Savior (Romans 3:22).
The invitation to be a part of God’s kingdom is open to all, but we must come
on God’s terms not on our terms. Note in verse 12 the man was speechless - there are no excuses for those who
do not accept God’s free gift of salvation. In verse 13 we see the punishment for not accepting the righteousness of
Christ is severe. “Tie his hands and feet and throw him outside into darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.” This is a clear reference to hell and speaks of the eternal punishment and pain that awaits all those
who do not accept the righteousness of Jesus Christ. "For many are invited, but few are chosen."
So, how are we to come to our Lord’s Table? First and foremost, from our Matthew text we must be clothed
in the righteousness of Christ. We are all sinners so we need to confess our sins and ask for God’s forgiveness. We
need to get right with God and in our text from 1st Corinthians we also see that we need to get right with our neighbors.
We also see we need to come to the table in humility. None of us are deserving nor
are any of us worthy to sit at our Lord’s Table. We are not admitted to the table because of what we did, but we are
admitted because of what Christ did. So we also need to come in appreciation. As we come to our Lord’s Table we come
to celebrate what Christ has done for us. Jesus defeated sin and death. Jesus took our place. Jesus paid the penalty for our
sins. When we come to the table we proclaim Jesus as our Savior. We acknowledge that He is the Lord of our life.
And, yes, when we come to the table, we come in anticipation of The Wedding Supper
of the Lamb we read about in our text from The Book of Revelation. This is the day we will sit at the table with our Lord
in Heaven. This is a banquet to honor Jesus The Christ!! So we come in celebration, anticipation, proclamation.
In our text from 1st Corinthians we read that we need to examine ourselves before eating
the bread and drinking of the cup. Therefore the elements are to be received in humility and they are to be set apart with
prayers of confession and thanksgiving. We must come to our Lord’s Table clothed in the righteousness of Jesus The Christ,
our Savior and our Lord.
We also read that “whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body of
the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” In this sacrament, the promises of God are made visible and concrete.
According to Luke, when our risen Lord was at table with his disciples, he took the bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave
it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. Holy Communion reminds us that in this sacrament we are made
one with Christ and with each other. We are in communion with our risen Lord!
So when we come to our Lord’s Table we not only come in confession, humility,
and appreciation but we also come to the table celebrating all that Jesus has done for us, is doing for us and we come anticipating
our Lord’s return and the establishment of His eternal kingdom.
We come proclaiming that Jesus is our Savior and our Lord! AMEN
