The King’s Wedding Invitations

David W Palmer

(Matthew 22:1–2 NKJV) And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: {2} “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son.”

In Mat. 22:1–10, Jesus gave us an absorbing parable about the wedding celebration that a King gave for his son. This is obviously speaking of Jesus and the marriage supper of the Lamb, but it also speaks of the magnificent banquet of spiritual food that he prepares each Sunday and the worshipful celebrations he arranges. In this parable, the Lord speaks about the various invitations that the King sent out and the way his invitees responded to them.

First, the King sent invitations to the usual crowd of his privileged friends, family, and acquaintances. This speaks of God’s enthusiasm to have his family together for each Sunday spiritual banquet, and to be included in the marriage supper of the Lamb. For us, this is speaking of church regulars, all who have been born again in the past, have been exposed to the gospel, children’s church, youth meetings, and/or other Bible teaching, plus those who have simply drifted away from Jesus and his church. Their response was astounding:

(Matthew 22:4–7 NKJV) “He sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ {5} But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. {6} And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. {7} But when the king heard about it, he was furious.”

It seems that those on the initial invitation list all made excuses and didn’t seem to care that their King wanted them to help him celebrate. This made the king “furious,” and he simply assessed them as “not worthy.” So he employed a new approach to getting his celebration hall filled:

(Matthew 22:8–10 NKJV) Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. {9} Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ {10} So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

Amazingly, the approach to these people is still “invite,” but they gathered everyone they “found.” Not only does this instruct us about how to get people to the church, but it tells us that they don’t have to be qualified in any special way: “they found bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.” This is therefore revealing God’s heart and what he wants today.

In Luke’s account of Jesus’s parallel parable, he clarifies other groups of people to gather and the way to go about it. Again, the servants had to find them:

(Luke 14:21 NKJV) “So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’”

Here, Jesus said to “bring” those who need a miracle in their lives: “The poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.” He wants us to gather people to his banquet who desperately need his help—in health, finances, and physical wholeness.

Then Luke clarifies God’s heart in his desire for people in his house by adding not only another group of attendees, but shows the enthusiasm with which he wants us to gather them:

(Luke 14:22–23 NKJV) “And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.’”

Amazingly, Jesus used the word, “compel,” when talking about how to get his banquet and house filled with attendees. Here the people we are to “compel” are in the “highways and hedges.” This implies that they are homeless, misplaced, outcast, or unsettled people. Jesus’s wording is far more forceful than we would think. He wants his house filled; he has prepared a banquet of spiritual nutrition and celebration, and he wants his house filled with those who will benefit from what he has prepared. So he said “compel” them to come in.

This is exactly where we are now on God’s time clock. He wants his celebration at the marriage supper in heaven to be filled; and he also wants his weekly celebrations and spiritual banquets to be filled every Sunday at church—whether in person or online. God is calling us to be “his servants,” who, like in Jesus’s parable, go out into the highways, etc. and gather people—whether bad or good—and bring them in to dine and celebrate with him. He even wants us to “compel” the stragglers until it is full. This is what the king wants.

He made his judgment against those he politely invited:

(Luke 14:24 NKJV) “For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.”

Today, let’s ensure that we are among those who say, “yes,” to God’s invitation by being born again and committed to Jesus; and by simply saying, “yes,” to his invitation to come on Sundays--in person or online if we can't-- for his praise, celebration, and spiritual banquet. And let’s be ready to serve his desire to have “the wedding hall” “filled with guests”—by finding people and extending his invitation to them—even if we have to compel them, convince them to attend, or bring them. God is guiding you.