Introduction
Will you treat God’s invitation like a nice idea you admire from a distance, or will you actually come to Him and be changed? The central teaching of Jesus in Matthew 22 is that the kingdom of heaven is a wedding feast freely offered by the Father through His Son, but only those who respond in faith and “put on” Christ’s righteousness will remain in the celebration. Jesus tells this story with a picture we all understand: a wedding invitation. You can receive a beautiful invitation in the mail, genuinely want to go, and still feel the weight of the logistics, time, cost, travel, inconvenience. And yet, when you actually go, you realize it was worth everything. That’s the doorway Jesus uses to help you see the kingdom of God: the Father is inviting you into the greatest joy you can’t yet fully imagine, and the question is not whether the invitation is real, but whether you will come.
Main Points
Will you treat God’s invitation like a nice idea you admire from a distance, or will you actually come to Him and be changed? The central teaching of Jesus in Matthew 22 is that the kingdom of heaven is a wedding feast freely offered by the Father through His Son, but only those who respond in faith and “put on” Christ’s righteousness will remain in the celebration.
Jesus tells this story with a picture we all understand: a wedding invitation. You can receive a beautiful invitation in the mail, genuinely want to go, and still feel the weight of the logistics, time, cost, travel, inconvenience. And yet, when you actually go, you realize it was worth everything.
That’s the doorway Jesus uses to help you see the kingdom of God: the Father is inviting you into the greatest joy you can’t yet fully imagine, and the question is not whether the invitation is real, but whether you will come.
The King’s Invitation Is Salvation
Jesus begins: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged for his son to be married” (Matthew 22:2). In this parable, the King represents God the Father. The Son is Jesus. The wedding feast is the joy of union with Christ and citizenship in His kingdom, this is a salvation message.
Notice what’s assumed: the feast is real, the King is generous, and the invitation is sincere. God is not baiting you with false hope. He is announcing a celebration He has prepared and a relationship He truly offers.
Indifference Rejects Joy
The first response is simple and sobering: “They were not willing to come” (Matthew 22:3). They received the message and just didn’t want it.
This is one of the most common spiritual conditions: not hatred, just disinterest. “I don’t care about God. I don’t care about heaven. I’m not moved by any of it.”
If you’ve ever been there, I want you to be honest: indifference is not neutral. To refuse the King’s invitation is to refuse the King Himself.
Busyness Makes Light Of Eternity
The King sends more servants with a clearer announcement: “I have prepared dinner… all things are ready. Come to the wedding” (Matthew 22:4). The feast is prepared; the cost is covered.
But the guests “made light of it and went their own way, one to his own farm, another to his own business” (Matthew 22:5). This is not outright atheism. This is preoccupation. It’s the mindset that says, “Do you know what I could accomplish with my time? I have responsibilities. I have plans. I have money to make.”
Let me press this into daily life: you can be “successful” and still miss the feast. You can be productive and still be spiritually lost. The farm and business aren’t evil, but they become deadly when they keep you from coming to Christ.
Hard Hearts Fight The Light
Then Jesus reveals an even darker response: “The rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them” (Matthew 22:6).
Some people don’t merely ignore the gospel, they oppose it. Why? Scripture gives the reason: “Everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:20). When the gospel threatens our autonomy, exposes our sin, or challenges our self-rule, the heart can lash out.
If you recognize that kind of resistance in yourself, don’t excuse it. Bring it into the open. Ask God to soften you. The fact that you feel conviction may be evidence that the King is still pursuing you.
Rejecting The King Brings Judgment
Jesus does not leave the consequences vague: “When the king heard about it, he was furious, and he sent out his armies… and burned up their city” (Matthew 22:7).
This is hard for modern ears, but Jesus is making a clear point: to reject the King is to set yourself against His rule. There are not endless middle options. Ultimately, there are only two ends to the story:
- Receive the invitation as a free gift and enter the feast.
- Reject the King and face judgment.
I’m not telling you this to win an argument. I’m telling you because Jesus loves you enough to warn you honestly.
Grace Still Invites The Highways
Here is the mercy of God: the story does not end with rejection. The King says, “The wedding is ready… go therefore into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding” (Matthew 22:8–9).
This is God’s heart, relentless pursuit. He keeps sending messengers. He keeps welcoming. The servants gather “both bad and good” and “the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Matthew 22:10).
That means you are not disqualified by your background, your shame, your mess, your past, or your reputation. The qualification is not your résumé; it’s your response. The call is: come.
The Wedding Garment Is Christ Himself
Then the most dangerous spiritual condition appears: a man attends the feast “who did not have a wedding garment” (Matthew 22:11). The King asks him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”, and the man is speechless (Matthew 22:12). The result is terrifying: he is cast out into “outer darkness” (Matthew 22:13).
This is not about fashion. It is about righteousness.
The man wanted the benefits of the feast without honoring the King’s terms. Spiritually, this is the person who wants heaven while remaining clothed in self-righteousness, standing before God saying, “I’m fine as I am. My goodness is enough.”
But Scripture says God provides a robe you do not earn:
- “He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).
- “Now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed… the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (Romans 3:21–22).
And this connects directly to baptism as a public declaration: when you are baptized, you are testifying that you are no longer trusting your old garments, your old identity, your old sin, your old self-defense, your old self-righteousness. You are identifying with Jesus, His death and cleansing, and declaring that you now belong to Him.
“As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Baptism doesn’t save you by the water; it points to the Savior who clothes you.
Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen
Jesus ends: “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). The call is wide, the invitation goes out broadly. Who are the chosen? In the logic of the parable, they are the ones who actually come on the King’s terms, receiving the gift and wearing the provided garment.
So I’m urging you gently and plainly: don’t be the one who hears the invitation again and again and still stays away. Don’t be the one who comes near but clings to your own “righteousness.” Come to Jesus. Receive the robe. Enter the joy.
Conclusion
God has invited you into the kingdom of heaven like a King inviting you into His Son’s wedding feast. Some refuse because they’re uninterested, some because they’re busy, some because they’re angry, and some because they want the feast without repentance, without the wedding garment of Christ.
But the King is still inviting. The feast is ready. The price has been paid, not by your life, but by the life of the Son who died for sinners and offers forgiveness and new identity.
If you will say yes to Jesus, truly yes, He will clothe you with His righteousness. And if you have believed but never taken the public step of baptism, I want to encourage you to obey Christ openly and joyfully, declaring that you have put on Christ and now belong to Him.
Father in heaven, thank You for inviting us into the joy of Your kingdom through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Forgive us for the ways we have been indifferent, distracted, busy, or even resistant to Your voice. Soften our hearts where they have grown hard. Give us eyes to see the beauty of what You are offering, eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and a place at Your table.
Jesus, I confess that I cannot stand before God in my own righteousness. I need Your mercy. I turn from my sin and I put my trust in You, Your death on the cross and Your resurrection. Clothe me with the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness. Give me courage to respond to Your invitation with obedience, and where baptism is needed, help me to take that step with faith and joy.
Holy Spirit, draw those who are far from You, and strengthen those who believe to live as citizens of heaven. We ask this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Conclusion
God has invited you into the kingdom of heaven like a King inviting you into His Son’s wedding feast. Some refuse because they’re uninterested, some because they’re busy, some because they’re angry, and some because they want the feast without repentance, without the wedding garment of Christ.
But the King is still inviting. The feast is ready. The price has been paid, not by your life, but by the life of the Son who died for sinners and offers forgiveness and new identity.
If you will say yes to Jesus, truly yes, He will clothe you with His righteousness. And if you have believed but never taken the public step of baptism, I want to encourage you to obey Christ openly and joyfully, declaring that you have put on Christ and now belong to Him.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, thank You for inviting us into the joy of Your kingdom through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Forgive us for the ways we have been indifferent, distracted, busy, or even resistant to Your voice. Soften our hearts where they have grown hard. Give us eyes to see the beauty of what You are offering, eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and a place at Your table.
Jesus, I confess that I cannot stand before God in my own righteousness. I need Your mercy. I turn from my sin and I put my trust in You, Your death on the cross and Your resurrection. Clothe me with the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness. Give me courage to respond to Your invitation with obedience, and where baptism is needed, help me to take that step with faith and joy.
Holy Spirit, draw those who are far from You, and strengthen those who believe to live as citizens of heaven. We ask this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.