For Many Are Invited, But Few Are Chosen (Matthew 22:1-14)

For Your Life in Christ the 18th Sunday after Pentecost

October 12^th, 2014

Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine, CA (LC-MS)

Pastor Espinosa

Introduction: the Chief Priests and Elders = Attitudes that Persist!

1. Two Sundays ago we heard about these leaders questioning Christ’s authority (Matt. 21:23-27).
2. Last Sunday we heard about these leaders rejecting the prophets and Christ Himself (Matt. 21:33-46).
3. Questioning and rejecting Jesus. Does this sound familiar? Today’s parable of The Wedding Banquet continues to teach what God does about this situation.

Part I: The Parable Speaks to Us!

1. The parables are remarkable & represent oratory genius & yet we mustn’t get too comfortable and forget that through these parables God continues to speak and He is speaking to us!
2. There are two parts to this parable:
3. 1-7: Christ is teaching that when God’s call is rejected, there are catastrophic results; it quite simply leads to hell, being separated from God and life for eternity.
4. 8-13: Jesus teaches that sometimes some people pretend that they’ve been called – they become a part of the visible church; they go to church and participate as one known as a “Christian” – but in fact they are hypocrites. Yes, God’s Word teaches that there are real hypocrites in the visible church of Christ; He tells us so in this parable. And this parable is God’s way of confronting each of us so that each one of us would ask ourselves the question, “Is it I?!”
5. So, in response to this parable, we ask ourselves the first question, “Have I continued to reject God’s gracious call?” And then we ask ourselves the second question, “Am I one of the hypocrites only pretending to be one of the Christians?”
6. And Jesus wraps up this parable and the inherent two questions with this astounding statement:

Matthew 22:14: “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Part II: What Do The Figures in the Parable Represent?

1. God the Father is the King.
2. The Wedding Banquet is the banquet of redemption and salvation.
3. It is for the King’s “Son” = we all know who The Son is! It is the Savior King who is given all glory, power, dominion and authority! The banquet is for Jesus Christ!
4. Another title for Jesus Christ is “Bride-Groom”…now guess who His “bride” is? Answer: YOU/The Church!
5. So the parable is answering a very important question: exactly who is the Church? Who are those identified with “Bride?”
6. Who gets to stay? Who gets thrown out?

Part III: We Have Reason to Be Anxious:

1. For example, take the concept of faithfulness in marriage and to the family. Today, the epidemic of adultery, divorce and the epidemic of child abuse (while they are still in the womb when they are not given a chance to be born and then when they are permitted to be born but are mistreated) continues to be rampant in our country. These are stark reminders of the fact that faithfulness is becoming less and less popular. One Hollywood actor said in an interview I saw: “people are not meant to be in a single relationship for life, but to have many relationships.”
2. There is all-out evil assault on God’s plan for the family: 1. First the gift of sexuality is assaulted; as a result, Gender roles and therefore marriage is assaulted; as a result, parenthood is assaulted…why even have children? the culture asks…they are too much work since I’m here on earth to have fun and to only worry about myself!; as a result, children are assaulted; and finally the concept of “Father” is assaulted, the very image of God. 71% of all high school drop-outs are from fatherless families; 85% of all youth in prison come from fatherless families (see the documentary “Irreplacable”). The abortion situation reflects this: if a woman – even if she has material resources – is pressured by the man to have an abortion, there is a high likelihood that the child will be aborted; but if the woman – even if she is in poverty with no resources to speak of – has a man who will stand by her side and resolve to care for his unborn child, it is far more likely that abortion will be avoided.
3. What threatens our families is that relationships have been put into the category of consumerism. Our children are exposed to a culture that does not understand the idea of living for God. Instead, the culture teaches that we are here to learn how to use other people. As an example of this is the “hook-up” trend that is popular in our country. What is so terribly disturbing is that relationships start to become devoid of emotional investments (to say nothing of lacking all commitment). The “hook-up” culture is detached from all personal investment and exists only for selfish use. The great tragedy – among other great tragedies in all of this – is that young men are referred to as “players”…given a heroic status, they are considered cool; and achieve something that is good for their reputation; but what of the girls who participate? They are not given a “good” name, but a bad one…and I won’t say it in church, but the name they are given doesn’t make them win but lose. When interviewed and asked if participation in this culture makes them happy the answer is an emphatic “No!” So why participate? From the pressure of peers – esp. other girls — and to be approved of. This is why the goal for popularity is so dangerous…it makes one feel important and loved; but it also puts one in the vortex of wanting to please others…but what if the standards of others are immoral and against God? This is a terrible state of affairs. So Christian parents, know your children’s friends, know your children’s friends, know your children’s friends…the moment a child keys in on a certain friend, have them over, invite them for dinner. Don’t dread this, but embrace it…talk about an opportunity for the Gospel!
4. But the threat of the hook-up culture is the result of atheism, agnosticism and the fundamental rejection of the Lord. If one lives this way, then the guiding principle is “what I want,” [the rapper Jay Zee has a clothing line that has the words “Do What Thou Wilt” on some items and others have the words “I am Da God”…yes, these also reflect the occult] so that one is encouraged to follow self-serving urges much like animals do and this is precisely the enormous danger of Darwinian Evolution because at the end of the day – according to this theory — we are just animals following their instincts and you just can’t change your stripes so you may as well go along with the crowd! This is a terrible, horrendous way of thinking and it is utterly destructive to one’s self, to others, and to society.
5. The reason I am discussing these moral aspects is because in the Old Testament idolatry (false worship and the rejection of the true God) was described as spiritual adultery.
6. You see God has put you here so that you would know Him as your first love, your only God, and the One and Only One to whom you are called to be faithful to. And by the way, if you are faithful to HIM, then faithfulness to others will follow like being faithful to the one you are married to.
7. But the world resists this message more than I can say. The culture today says in so many words, “We are not meant to follow One, we are to be open to all, following all, committed to nothing, serving ourselves and uniting to whatever seems most attractive, appealing, and beneficial at the time.”
8. Now this mentality is not simply reserved for the irreligious, being religious or not really has nothing to do with it. The chief priests and elders were very religious, but they had no idea what being faithful to the Lord was about. They may have been religious, but they were very far from God!
9. So in telling this parable, Jesus makes it clear that they have just been hard-hearted and unfaithful.