Invitation

Living the Parables
-Part XII-

#25 The Great Supper
Luke 14:16-24

#26 The Wedding Feast
Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.

Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are invited, but few are chosen.

Life Applications

Luke 14:16, Matthew 22:1
God invites us to a time of celebration

Luke 14:17, Matthew 22:4,8
The celebration is going on right now
John 3:29
Matthew 9:14
1 Corinthians 6:15-17

Luke 14:21, 22:7
An invitation from a King is also a command

Luke 14:17
Accepting the invitation is more than mere words
Matthew 7:21-27
Matthew 21:28-32

Luke 14:18-20, Matthew 22:3,5-6
Many reject the invitation
Some are self-employed
Some are pre-occupied
Some are already taken

Matthew 22:10
Many accept the invitation

Luke 14:22
There is plenty of room

Luke 14:23, Matthew 22:10
God wants the banquet to be full

Luke 14:24, Matthew 22:7
Opportunity doesn't last forever

Matthew 22:11-13
An invited guest must dress for the occasion
Revelation 19:1-9