The Marriage Feast

In Luke 22:1-14 Jesus tells the chief priests and the pharisees the parable of the Marriage Feast. This parable is both difficult and informative, telling the reader/hearer much about the kingdom of heaven.

We know that Jesus is speaking about the kingdom of heaven in this parable because He explicitly says so in v. 2: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son." In keeping with the nature of parables, it is critical to keep in mind the original audience in order to best understand the points of reference in the parable. Although the story being told is fictional, it communicates truth about the kingdom of heaven and should evoke a response in the hearers (much like a joke elicits a laugh ... at least a good one does!). So far, we have two characters in view: The King and his son. These characters can be identified as God the Father and God the Son (Jesus).

Jesus continues: And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, "Tell those who have been invited, 'Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.'" But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them (vv. 3-6).

We see that the king (God the Father) sends his slaves (prophets) to invite guests (the Jews, God's chosen people) to the wedding feast (the kingdom of heaven). However, instead of accepting the invitation these invitees are "unwilling to come." The king sends more messengers declaring that everything is ready for them (the Jews), yet they pay "no attention" and go "their own way." Some even mistreat and kill the messengers who were sent to them (e.g. Jeremiah and Jesus). We must remember that Jesus is telling this parable to the chief priests and pharisees ... the religious leaders of the Jews at the time. This is surely a pointed statement!

Notice the reaction of the king to his invitation being declined/dishonored and his slaves/messengers being mistreated and killed: But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire (v. 7).

Jesus continues: Then he [the king] said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast' (vv.8-9). We see here a clear shift in the invitation to the marriage feast/kingdom of heaven. We see that this is a common thread running through the biblical witness: salvation comes first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles (see Acts 18:6; and Romans 1:16, 2:9-10). Because those who were first invited to the feast have declined the invitation, the king has opened the doors to others. The feast will go on ... someone will partake of the goodness of the king! We see this coming true in v. 10: Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

This verse contains an interesting statement from Jesus, in that the slaves gathered all the people they could find, "both evil and good." For those who are willing to come, God's grace and mercy extends to them all. There is no one, no one, who is beyond forgivable to God. There are two major requirements to being allowed to come to the feast, and we see the first here: we must accept the invitation and come willingly. God does not compel our worship, even though He could. His desire is for the kingdom of heaven to be filled with willing guests, not forced slaves. The second requirement will become apparent in the next few verses.

Jesus continues: But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (vv. 11-13). Not only must the guests come willingly, but they must also come in the proper way. Even though God/the king invited everyone to the marriage feast, the expectation was that those who are willing come in the proper fashion. In these chilling verses we see that one guest decided to come however he pleased, not taking the time to put on the appropriate clothing for the occasion. This guest was invited prior to having the proper clothing on, but was required to change his clothes after accepting the invitation. Instead, he came as he saw fit, ignoring the king's protocol.

Being a parable, this "clothing" should not be understood as God cares about our literal clothing and will cast us "into the outer darkness," where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Hell) simply based on our everyday attire! However, this is still communicating a very important truth about entry into the kingdom of heaven. Since the original audience of this parable were Jews who were familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament), it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that they would understand the clothing necessary to enter heaven is not made of linen, but of righteousness (see Job 29:14; Psalm 132:9; and Isaiah 61:10). This is consistent with Jesus' teaching earlier in this gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 5:20 ~ For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 21:32 ~ For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

The way of coming to God (the Father) is made very clear elsewhere in the New Testament. In John's Gospel, one of Jesus' disciples asks Him how to get to Heaven. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). The Apostle Paul also makes it clear in 2 Corinthians 5:21: He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [Jesus]. It is only through faith in Jesus and His completed work on the cross that we may be properly clothed (in righteousness) for entry into the kingdom of heaven.

The parable ends with this statement: For many are called, but few are chosen (v. 14). The invitation is broad, but only a few accept it. Among those who do accept the invitation, there are still some who refuse to "attend" in the proper fashion. Both improper responses to God's invitation are met with disastrous results.

What about you? Have you accepted God's invitation? If you believe in "God," do you also believe that there are many paths that lead to Him, or do you acknowledge that there is only one way to God ... through the Savior, Jesus the Christ? This parable of Jesus is equally clear that both ignoring God and also attempting to enter His kingdom in an improper way both lead to destruction and being cast out into outer darkness. If you've never done so before, today can be the day of your salvation.

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36).

About the "Death Ticker"

**The "Death Ticker" on this blog has changed since this was first posted. The new ticker is aimed at non-believers. Most of the below response is still applicable, however, since the criticism to which I was responding was very poorly constructed.**

I know that not everyone appreciates the so-called "Death Ticker" at the bottom of this blog, which reminds people of the reality that (*gasp*) people die. I also know that not everyone thinks that Christianity is True, or relevant, or even sane.

Recently, I read this criticism about the "Death Ticker" from an atheist who thinks the concept of Hell is silly.

Yes! You're all going to hell- unless you believe exactly what I do! I know the secret, and the rest of you will burn! Only I know the answer- follow me without thinking or suffer for all eternity

Unfortunately, this individual has missed the point of the ticker completely. This is not uncommon for those who criticize Christianity ... most criticisms that I encounter are based on faulty understanding of the Bible or Jesus (not all, but most). In this particular case, the errors are many.

First, the "Death Ticker" is not for non-believers, but for believers. It is a motivator for Christians to go out and share their faith. Regardless of whether you believe Christianity or not, the Bible does clearly states that without having our sins forgiven through repentance and faith in Jesus that our final destination will be in Hell. If you don't believe that, that's fine. But since I believe that, I ought to be telling everyone I can about it. Therefore, the ticker exists as a stark reminder for Christians to put their beliefs into practice, to follow the commandment of our Risen Lord and Savior, and to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I [Jesus] have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20a). In fact, at the bottom of the ticker the question is asked, "Who have you shared with today?" Notice that the question is not, "What are you gonna do about it, sinner?" The ticker is aimed at professing Christians who are being negligent in their first and foremost duty: the proclamation of the gospel.

Secondly, the encouragement for Christians to go out and share has nothing to do with telling people, "You're all going to hell- unless you believe exactly what I do!" as is erroneously asserted. In fact, you need not believe many of the things that I do. Quite frankly, my beliefs are unimportant to a large degree. There is one central belief that is critical however, and that is concerning the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Many people believe many different things about him. Some think he is coming soon. Others think he has already returned. Some think they are him. Some think he was a myth. Some think he was a good teacher whose followers made him into something he never claimed to be.

Jesus said, "I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins" (John 8:24). We can make up our own version of Jesus if we want to. Meek and mild. Baby Jesus. Just a man. It doesn't matter if you believe everything that I believe about Jesus ... what matters (according to Jesus) was that you believe what He said about himself. The core content of Christian faith that is necessary for salvation is simple:

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve" (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:9-10).

According to the Apostle Paul and Holy Scripture, these are the basic content of belief that are necessary for salvation. We aren't saved by knowing facts about God, but by putting our trust in this fact that Jesus will save us if we ask him to.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him (John 3:36).

Third, this doosy: "I know the secret, and the rest of you will burn! Only I know the answer ...". This is plainly a false statement. The point of the ticker is that it's not a secret. Many people know and aren't telling people about it. I knew about Jesus before I knew Jesus. The difference is life and death. Secrets are meant to be kept, the gospel is meant to be shared. Christianity is one of the three major monotheistic religions ... clearly, I'm not the only one who knows/believes it.

Fourth, the last statement: "follow me without thinking or suffer for all eternity". Following Christ is not about not thinking (yes, that was a double negative). Following Christ is about being reasonable.

Nearly 2000 years ago a man named Jesus lived, he had followers, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius Caesar, and his earliest followers believed (and were willing to endure torturous deaths for their belief) that they witnessed him alive after his scandalous execution as a criminal. This belief of the earliest followers and the inability of the Romans or Jews to provide proof that these claims were false, which would have been easy if they simply produced the corpse, exploded despite the severest persecution into a worldwide phenomenon. These facts are virtually undisputed by historians, although some like Earl Doherty have attempted to make case that Jesus never lived (not a tenable hypothesis, but it does sell books!).

In order to convince the churches of Galatia, Paul writes 18 years after the supposed crucifixion and resurrection: You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. How could Paul try and convince people 18 years after the supposed events happened, that they had seen something that was mythical? How convinced would you be if I said, "You fool! Who has bewitched you, who yourselves rode upon a unicorn just 18 years ago!" I'm guessing not very .... Similarly, to the Corinthians Paul writes: After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. If you were trying to convince someone that Jesus was raised from the dead, would you tell them that there were hundreds of people still living who could vouch for it if you knew it was a lie? He was providing a way for his claims to be falsified (very scientific method ... go Paul). Yet, belief flourished.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31, emphasis added)

God gave evidence that Jesus was who he claimed to be. The Apostles pointed to this evidence. I talk to people about this evidence. Yet the same peope who believe without a shadow of a doubt that the universe began 15 billion years ago without the help of a god or outside intelligence (a unscientific thought in itself, since nothing doesn't make something, no matter how much time it has), and are thoroughly convinced that non-living material produced life, that consciousness sprung out of non-consciousness ... these same people don't believe that we can know with certainty that Jesus was raised from the dead, or even if he ever existed when we have historical documentation from intelligent beings, both friendly to the movement and against it (e.g. Jewish and Roman historians). And yet, it is the Christian who is accused of asking people to "follow them without thinking" ... give me a break.

Finally, this criticism completely misses the central tenet of Christianity (thus demonstrating the complete misunderstanding of this particular critic): follow me without thinking.... Following me will get you nowhere. Following Christ is all that matters. He is alive, follow Him.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:6-7)

Today's Meditation

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." ~ Matthew 6:25-34

Take some time to really meditate on Jesus' words. He knows what He is talking about ... do we really believe His word?

I'm working on it!