Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14
I want to make three points in today’s sermon… Number One: Faith Perseveres. Number Two: Grace Transforms. And Number Three: Grace Is Enough.
Many of us are old enough to remember the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, 45 years ago, which was watched by millions around the world. I was eleven. I remember my mom and my sisters watching it. I remember everyone talking about it. That wedding was the biggest deal imaginable. To say the least, if you got an invitation to thatwedding—or even more recently, to William and Kate’s, or Harry and Meghan’s—you would likely move heaven and earth to be there… to show up… All of us would!
So when this king in today’s parable has a wedding for his son, it was the exact same kind of big deal. And to turn down the invitation would be unthinkable!
Yet that’s what so many people do… Still others do far worse: they commit outright treason and murder and suffer the harsh consequences in verse 7.
To understand the parable, we have to understand that in the ancient world, a wedding invitation came in two parts. There was an initial invitation, almost like a “Save the Date.” At which the point each invited guest would R.S.V.P. “We plan on coming,” they would say. And then, when the wedding feast was ready, there was a second invitation: “The feast is ready. Time to go.”
So keep in mind: each of the people who now refuse to go to the wedding at one time said that they would go. And make no mistake… at that time, for all we know, they may have been completely sincere! But they later changed their mind; they didn’t persevere.
And here, brothers and sisters, is a warning for all of us…
At a previous church, a youth pastor named Josh led several of our youth through a months-long confirmation class. He was very conscientious about it. And my main concern for the entire confirmation class—a concern which Josh also gladly shared—was that we do everything we could, within our power—understanding that only the Lord can ultimately change hearts and lives—to ensure that these 12-, 13-, 14-year-old young people would commit to following Jesus as his disciples for the rest of their lives.
At a weekend retreat, I told all the kids what confirmation meant: that they were going to be promising the Lord, promising their families, promising their church family, and promising the world that they were going to live the rest of their lives as dedicated followers of Jesus.
I told them that confirmation is, at best, just one early step in a lifetime of following Jesus. It’s an important step, but hardly a one-time decision. Being a disciple of Christ is a lifetime of decisions to follow Jesus, enabled by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation, I said, isn’t some rite of passage like getting a driver’s license or graduating from high school—after which you can get on with the rest of your life… because you’re telling God, the church, and the world that you’ll spend the rest of your life making Jesus your top priority. Because Jesus is your life!
I told them that!
In fact, I told them that I wished our Methodist confirmation liturgy were as direct and to the point as the confirmation liturgy of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. That denomination asks its confirmands the following question:
“Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?”
And the answer is supposed to be, “Yes, I will.”
In the case of this Methodist church it seemed like some of these young people and their families—who dropped out of church not long after confirmation—were “falling away” from the promises they just made for reasons far less consequential than potential martyrdom.
But do you see what was happening?
It was as if, when these young people went through confirmation, they were R.S.V.P.’ing for that future wedding between Christ and his Bride, the church, which today’s parable points to. And they were saying, “I’m going to be there.” “I am completely sincere.” “I have every intention of showing up for that future wedding.”
And of course, maybe they still will be there. I hope!
But what I’m about to say is true for all of us Christians: being accepted by God in final judgment—rather than being rejected—is never about merely getting started, however important and necessary getting started is. It’s also about finishing.
If not, how else do we interpret Paul’s words—about himself—in 1 Corinthians chapter 9?
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it… So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.[1]
Even Paul understood that, in spite of all he had accomplished for God’s kingdom through his ministry in the past, even he should not presume upon God’s grace; he understood that even he could potentially be excluded from an eternity with Christ unless he persevered in his faith.
So my urgent message to young people is, by all means, R.S.V.P. for Christ’s future wedding banquet! Repent of your sins. Pray to receive Christ if you haven’t already. Get baptized. Make a profession of faith. Get confirmed. These things matter! But when you grow up, don’t imagine that something you did twenty or forty or sixty years earlier makes it impossible for you to miss out on spending your eternity with the Lord.
By God’s grace, keep following him. Keep trusting in him. Finish the race.
So that’s Point Number One, Faith Perseveres…
Jesus doesn’t end the parable there. Let’s look at verses 11 to 14.
The King walks into the banquet hall to greet his guests, and he asks one of them a strange question: “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?”
And suddenly we have another problem to solve.
Because this man, unlike the ones originally invited, did show up for the wedding…
But apparently showing up isn’t enough!
Which brings us to Point Number Two: Grace Transforms…
Jesus makes clear that if we’re not wearing a proper “wedding garment”—whatever that means—we will not enjoy this heavenly banquet. We will be separated from God for eternity.
So we better make sure we’re “wearing it,” right? Whatever it is!
So let’s figure it out…
First of all, I think—alongside many preachers and commentators—that the king in the parable provided the proper garment to all of his guests. We see this portrayed in at least two other places in scripture: Genesis 45:22 and Esther 6:8-9. But even more, notice that the king’s servants usher in all these people from off the streets. And the meal was ready right now. No time to delay… No time to get your act together… Even if these people owned or could afford the proper wedding attire—and keep in mind that many of these people were poor—they still wouldn’t have had time to purchasewhat they needed or even to go home and change.
If they were going to be properly dressed, then it stands to reason that the king supplied everything these newly invited guests needed in order to enjoy the banquet.
The king supplies the wedding garment…
And what is this garment? Christian thinkers have argued about it over the centuries, but I accept the consensus opinion—and we Wesleyan Christians, especially, should have no problem accepting the consensus opinion: The proper wedding garment represents one’s personal holiness… by which I mean an inward change by the Holy Spirit that enables us to begin overcoming sin, to begin loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to begin loving our neighbor as ourselves. That may be a lifelong process of change, by God’s grace, but Jesus says there must be evidence of that change if we are truly saved.
Now that’s a little scary of course…
And we’re also good Protestants! We believe we are justified, or brought into a right relationship with God through faith alone… like the criminal on the cross next to Jesus: He turns to Jesus with the most threadbare faith imaginable—knowing very little orthodox theology, as the great Scottish preacher Alistair Begg has memorably pointed out in a famous sermon: “The man on the middle cross said I could come.” Because Jesus told him, “Truly I tell you, today you’ll be with me in Paradise.”
That dude can do nothing except turn to Jesus in faith… yet he’s saved. Because it’s faith alone that saves us! Nothing we can do.
We believe that!
Yet I’m here to tell you that Jesus doesn’t contradict that doctrine in this parable when he says that we must be wearing this “wedding garment” of personal holiness!
The apostle James certainly agrees with this. James says faith will necessarily produce a changed life that overflows with good works. You can’t have faith without good works, James says. And Paul makes the same point: Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Or Ephesians 2:8 though 10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith,” he begins. And then verse 10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
So this kind of faith that saves us is, by definition, a faith that changes us within and produces actual holiness in our lives!
As many good preachers have said: we are saved by faith alone… but not by a faith that remains alone: we will also have holiness… we will change and become more like Jesus… and this change will inevitably overflow into loving action. So even the criminal on the cross, had he been able to come down off the cross, recover from his injuries, and live the rest of his natural life, he would indeed have shown forth this evidence of holiness.
“But hold on, Pastor Brent… Didn’t you say earlier that the king supplied the wedding garment? And now you’re talking about stuff that we have to do.”
Yes! There is no authentic Christian out there who is empowered by the Spirit to love more like Jesus who will then say, “Look what I’ve done! Look how special I am!”
No! Inasmuch as we Christians discern changes that the Holy Spirit has made in their lives, we say, “Thank you, Jesus, for the grace that has changed me!”
The wedding garment is nothing other than a beautiful picture of God’s sanctifying grace! Yes, we have a tiny role to play in a lifetime of saying, “Yes,” to Jesus—of responding to grace, of cooperating with this grace—which includes worshiping regularly, praying, reading scripture, receiving Holy Communion and the other means of grace. By all means! But even after we do that, we can never take credit for the person we become—because it’s all grace from beginning to end!
Because… Point Number Two: Grace Transforms Us.
Which brings us to Point Number Three: Grace Is Enough.
I love the idea of grace. I love knowing, for instance, that God gives me good things I haven’t earned and don’t deserve.
At least I love grace most of the time…
Sometimes—like the people originally invited to this banquet—I also love the idea that I’ve earned something… that I deserve something… that I am “owed something”… even from God.
This thought struck me recently in my quiet time. I was reading Joshua chapter 17. This takes place after the twelve tribes have conquered the Promised Land and Joshua has distributed their allotments: He says to each of them, “Here’s the geographical region where your tribe will live.”
Beginning in verse 14, the “tribe of Joseph”—that is, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh—come to Joshua asking for more land. In so many words they say: “A tribe as large and important as we are—after all, remember what our forefather Joseph did in Egypt—don’t we deserve more land?”
Joshua says, “You already have enough land. Remember that forested hill country over there? It’s already yours. Go clear it and develop it, and you’ll have more than enough room.”
They say, “Yes, but there are still Canaanites living there—enemies who wish to harm us—and they have chariots of iron!”
And Joshua essentially throws their own argument back at them: “Okay, but you just said you’re a numerous and powerful people? Then surely you can drive out the Canaanites and take possession of the land God has already given you.”
See… instead of going to the trouble of fighting their enemies for the land, they wanted Joshua to give them an empty tract of land somewhere that didn’t come with all the trouble to settle it!
And you know what? I totally understand where they’re coming from!
Ephraim and Manasseh had already worked so hard. They had fought so many battles. They had already sacrificed so much at this point to secure the Promised Land for the nation of Israel. Couldn’t they just get a break already? Some of y’all remember the old McDonald’s jingle: “You deserve a break today… at McDonald’s.”
That’s what they were saying: “We deserve a break!”
We deserve… Uh-oh… You know what they were forgetting? They were forgetting something very important about their relationship with God: it was based on grace… not merit… not what they deserved.
I mean, let’s talk about what they “deserved”? How many times had they rebelled against God their king through sin and idolatry? The psalmist said, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” Psalm 130:3. Answer: no one!
So they better not ask God to give them what they “deserved.” Grace is about God giving them something far better than what they deserve. God gave them their lives, after all, and created this land, and promised to give them victory over their enemies if only they’d put faith into action and go fight the battle.”
Grace is never about getting what we deserve.
So, as I was reading these words about these two tribes and what they were asking, I thought, “Yep. I’m just like them!”
I’ve been a pastor for 22 years now! I’ve been to the “school of hard knocks.” I’ve learned a few things in that difficult school. I’ve grown. I’ve sacrificed. I’ve suffered over the years—in my own small ways. All of us followers of Jesus have!
“So why does my life… my career… my ministry… continue to be so hard?”
Surely you can relate, right?
We keep waiting to turn some corner after which everything suddenly gets easier.
But listen: God’s grace doesn’t mean easy.
Because of his grace, God gives us something infinitely better than “easy.”
He gives us Jesus. He gives us more and more of Jesus… more of his love… more of his presence… more of his power…
In fact, God loves us too much to let his children settle for anything less than Jesus.
But here’s the hard part: the Bible says that one way he gives us more of Jesus is through trouble… through pain… through adversity… through suffering…
Romans 5:3–5: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
“Rejoice in our sufferings…”
It’s like going to the gym—or so I hear; I wouldn’t know this from personal experience! But people who actually go to the gym regularly and get big muscles and six-pack abs tell me that it often hurts to get stronger. Right?
In the same way, it often hurts to get stronger in faith… Except in this case we don’t get to look good in a swimsuit at the beach, we get to experience more of Christ’s love, more of his Spirit, more of his presence, more of his joy, more of his peace.
In which case, isn’t it worth the pain?
But grace has another implication—and this one may sound more immediately like good news.
Just last week I was reading about the anointing of Saul as Israel’s first king in 1 Samuel 10. Samuel tells Saul that one sign that God is behind all this is that Saul will soon encounter a group of prophets filled with the Spirit. And when Saul meets them, the Spirit will come upon him too, and Saul himself will begin prophesying.
When this happens, people who knew Saul before are shocked: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
In other words: “Saul? Really? That guy? Because who is Saul? We know him. He’s no one special.”
And apparently Saul shares their doubts!
Because a little while later, when Samuel is ready to introduce Israel’s new king to the people, Saul is nowhere to be found. Where is he?
We’re told that he’s “hidden himself among the baggage.”
Why is Saul hiding? Because he knows he’s nobody special! Who is he to assume the role of king? How can he possibly live up to these expectations? Surely he doesn’t have what it takes!
So he’s terrified.
But good news, dear Saul: If our relationship with God is based on grace alone—not our goodness, intelligence, strength, status, beauty, accomplishments, or resources—then guess what?
God doesn’t require us to have what it takes—because by his grace, he gives us what we need.
And that fills me with great hope. What a relief!
Even right now in the life of Five Forks Methodist… I simply don’t have to have “what it takes” to lead our church through these scary-sounding transitions, first to Grace Church and then to our future church home…
I wish I felt like a strong enough leader, you know? I wish I felt self-confident… self-sufficient…
As recently as two years ago, after all, I was in a denomination that gave us pastors the equivalent of tenure. It was called “guaranteed appointments.” So long as we served our time and didn’t mess up too badly, the UMC guaranteed we’d always have a job… or they’d even have to pay us if they couldn’t find a job for us.
Nice work if you can get it, right? But I had that kind of “tenure” in the UMC. And I gave it up!
And now I feel like I’m walking on a tightrope. Is there a safety net down below?
It’s scary… I don’t feel up to the task… I feel weak.
But you know what? God is so faithful. He speaks to me, you know? And he says things like this:
My grace is sufficient for you, Brent, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore you will boast all the more gladly of your weaknesses, so that the power of my Son Jesus will rest upon you. For the sake of Christ, then, you will be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when you are weak, then you, dear Brent, are strong.
That’s a promise to me from my Father… And it’s a promise to you, too.
Amen?
[1] 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV