Context No. 3986 of 4322 · Matthew

Matthew 22:1-7: in context

1Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son, 3and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast!”’ 5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise; 6and the rest grabbed his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Jesus tells of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son and sent his servants to call those who had been invited. But they would not come. Even when he sent again, urging them that everything was ready, they made light of it and went off to their own concerns, one to his farm, another to his business.

It is a picture of an astonishing thing: people refusing a royal invitation to a feast, preferring their ordinary affairs to the king's celebration. This is a parable about the invitation of God. God has prepared a great feast, salvation, fellowship with him, the joy of his kingdom, and he graciously invites people to come. And the tragedy the parable exposes is not that people are too wicked to be invited, but that they make light of the invitation, treating so great a gift as less important than their own everyday pursuits. They are not too busy for evil, only too busy for God. The danger is not usually a dramatic rejection but a casual making-light of it, letting the farm and the business and the ordinary crowd out the King's gracious call.

Am I treating God's gracious invitation to his feast as less important than my ordinary affairs, making light of so great a gift, or will I come when the King calls me?

Sources

Matthew 22:3: "He sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come."
Matthew 22:5: "But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise."
Matthew 22:4: "Behold, I have prepared my dinner... all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast!"