The second parable speaks
of the believing tax collectors and harlots who will enter the Kingdom of
God. Luke indicates Jesus told this
parable on at least one other occasion, at the home of a Pharisee where He had
been invited to dinner.
v
The
Parable of the Wedding Feast.
We must be careful in
pressing the details of a parable. But
in these powerful parables (Vinedressers, Wedding Feast) Jesus is quite
specific. The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage
for his son (v2). The marriage of
the Beloved Son to His Bride is arranged by the Sovereign God.
As the Father loves
His Son He wants to honor Him by having a large wedding with many guests. The response of those on the guest list is
quite rude. They were simply not willing to come (v3). But when pressed on the matter some made light of it while others abused the
servants sent out with the invitations, to the point of killing some of them
(v6). This would have been unusual (the
killing part) but it is part of this parable because it reflects the extreme
rejection of God’s offer by the shepherds of Israel.
The response of the
king is also specific to the interpretation.
First He destroyed the city of these people, a reference to Jerusalem
and its destruction in 70AD. Then He
sent the servants to the highways, a reference to the gospel’s advance to the
nations. Remember that the guests are
from Israel; the bride is the Church. So
the reference to the highways refers
to the gospel which was taken to every corner of the Roman Empire, to the Jew
first in each case. It also speaks of
the offer of the gospel in the time of
Jacob’s trouble, the Tribulation Period as it is often called. In that time God will cleanse the regathered
nation and all Israel will be saved
(Isa. 59:20-21; Rom. 11:26-27) and that saved nation will welcome back their
King and His Bride (Rev. 19:5-10).
The friend without a
wedding garment (22:11-13) makes a powerful point. The servants went to the highways inviting both bad and good (v10). The message is for whosoever will. God is so
gracious to meet us where we are. But no
one is permitted at the feast who has not received his righteous covering that
comes by faith in Christ. This is how
Abraham was declared righteous: Abraham
believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). It is how we are declared righteous: through
faith in Christ who became sin for us
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
In this way Jesus
concludes the parable: the invitation went out worldwide (many are called) but
only those who have not stumbled over Him but have trusted in Him (i.e. the
elect of God) will be present when the Church (the Bride) and saved Israel (the
guests) join together glorifying God by exalted the Lord Jesus. As Peter said, let us grow in faith so as to
make our call and election sure lest
we stumble over Jesus, the stone of
stumbling (2 Peter 1:5-11).
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