Invitation for the Kingdom of God

Introduction:            All of us will be excited if we are invited for a meal with the President. The Prime Minister or any Royal dignitary and we make sure that we are there in our best attire. We dare not refuse that invitation. We know that did not deserve to get that invitation but since we have been called to make it point to attend. The parable that we are going to look at is about a similar royal weeding feast.

            In this study we are discussing one aspect of the Kingdom of God. There are many other dimension of the Kingdom of God that Jesus taught, which are not dealt with here, due to the paucity of space and time (e.g. Kingdom values sermon on the Mount – Mathew 5:7)

I.    Royal Invitation to the Kingdom – (Mathew 22:1-14)

            In the parable that was read we notice Jesus comparing the Kingdom of Heaven/God to a King who have a Wedding banquets. There are four things that we can take note of:

      1.   The invitation is to a feast:   The invitation to a feast only when there is a cause for celebration. There is tremendous             joy and we want others to participate in this. In this case there has been a repeated    invitation for the wedding banquet. The first invitation had already gone out. Now he sends his servants to call those whom he had already invited. That is invitation number two. The      answer is that they refuse. He then sends them a third invitation and this time with tremendous sense of urgency. Tell them that I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered. Everything is ready – please come – pleading with them to come.

      2.   The invitation is a call to celebrate life: Wedding feast is a call to celebrate life. There is a coming together of two people who       want to celebrate life. It is not just two people but also the wider families who came   together in this event. Similarly God is calling us to join in this celebration of life.

      3.   The invitation is an offer of abundant life:     The Kings invitation is an offer to live life abundantly. He wants these people to celebrate together with him the joy that he was experiencing. The quality of life that he was offering was spectacular. He had prepared everything and all one had to do was to take on     that offer.

II.    Distinctiveness of the Kingdom:      With the coming of the Kingdom in and through Jesus Christ there is radical change in the way one looks at the law and the commands. For the scribes and the Pharisees, the     keeping of the letter of the law as absolutely vital than to look at the spirit of the law. This is exactly what Jesus confronts in the Sermon on the Mount. External keeping of the law is not sufficient of the heart continues to be wicked whether it is in the matter of murder, adultery, revenge, rituals and prayer, fasting or alms – giving. Internal attitudes and motives are more important than external show. The standards that God sets for us as member of his kingdom may seem to be highly idealistic and not workable. But wait a minute! We are not alone in this. He has given us his Holy Spirit to enable us to work and achieve these standards. Moreover, the keeping of the commandments is no more a legalistic requirement where we are worried about the letter of the law, but rather keeping it as an act of gratitude for what God has done.

III.   An invitation of grace:

      1.   Invitation is an invitation of grace, open to all.

      2.   Invitees have no claim on the King.

      3.   Invitation comes from the generous hospitality of the King (Luke 5:31-32).

      4.   Jesus life and relationship with people demonstrated grace – Jesus handing of woman caught in adultery (John 8:4-11); Jesus touched and healed lepers; went to dinner at the   home of Simon the leper (Mark 14:3); Sinners and publicans (Luke 15:1-2); Accepted a    prostitutes anointing (Luke 7:37).

      5.   Jesus taught absolute ideas and absolute grace. The sermon on the Mount tells us what God is like – His standards for us. Grace is for the desperate. The needy, the broken, those who cannot make it on their own (e.g. calling of Zacharias Luke 19:10) (Yoncey      what’s so amazing about grace?).

IV.  Response:  Paid no attention – one to his field – one to his business. What are the responses? One of Apathy – it does not concern me.

Other of animosity – seized his servants, mistreated them and event killed them.

Kings reaction:        King was enraged – sent his army – destroyed the murderers and burned their city.

            In Mathew the writer is primarily addressing the Jews. God had chosen Israel as a nation to be a light to the people around her. Abraham was the first one to be called by God and his descendants to carry on that work. But Israel as a nation failed miserably, God sent his servant the prophet’s message was no different. The message of salvation was first preached to the Jews, but they rejected it and so the message went to the Gentiles.

            Mathew 22:8-10. The King likewise decides that those invited do not deserve to come. The invitation is now thrown open to those on the streets. The servants gathered all people they could find both good and bad and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

            God invited us to a banquet, and the best invitation for us has been that he sent it through a special messenger, his only Son Jesus Christ. Secondly, God not only invite us to this feast but also to celebrate life. This offer is true for us today as well. A banquet is a sign of joy and overflowing happiness that God wants us to have. The question that we need to ask is whether we have accepted this invitation to celebrate life. Following Christ or being a Christian.

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