Word of Salvation – Vol.11 No.25 – June 1965

 

The King’s Royal Feast: Admitted Or Thrown Out

 

Sermon by Rev. G. De Ruiter on Matthew 22:1-14

Scripture Reading: Luke 14:15-24

Psalter Hymnal: 232:1,2,3; 123:2-(After Law); 384; 416; 435

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

This parable strikes a note and presents to our imagination a picture that immediately commands our attention.

It was not only the listeners in the long past who pricked up their ears because they were intensely expectant of the end of the world and the coming of the messianic Kingdom.  On the contrary, the dream of an everlasting Kingdom with perfect righteousness and peace has moved men’s minds in every age.  In our days it extends all the way from the thought of the millennial Kingdom in the last book of the Bible (het duizendjarig rijk) to Karl Marx’s classless society and workers’ paradise.

And always it is the same deep yearning that is reflected in it: someday the mystery of suffering, of misery, of death must be illuminated; someday the paralysing contradiction between wealth and starvation must be overcome.

But it is precisely when we put it in this way that we become aware of that altogether different world that emerges when we read this parable.  The events of this parable were completely in accordance with normal Jewish customs.  When the invitations to a great feast, like a wedding-feast, were sent out, the exact time was not stated.  But when everything was ready and prepared, then the servants were sent out with a final message to tell the guests to come.

So, then, the King in this parable had long ago sent out his invitations, but it was not till everything was set that the final summons to attend was issued … and insultingly refused.

Now the first thing which strikes us is that this Kingdom-of-God parable centres on the King, i.e. God Himself.  The Kingdom is the King’s business; the King is the Source and Sustainer of everything that happens.  This Kingdom has nothing to do with reformatory and revolutionary efforts of man, who wants to realize social and political programs.

It is not a matter of an ideal state or society, of Utopias as result of human, idealistic activities.  It is God who acts.

It is the King who prepares the royal feast and invites His guests.  God wants to prepare a feast for us.  God wants us to be His guests.  God wants us to have fellowship and peace with Him.

Nothing from our side, no contribution whatsoever; everything from God.  No man could ever fairly arrive at this idea of such a feast.  For God has no reason whatsoever to take us seriously, to invite us, to like us, to love us.  The very fact that God should invite us to be at His table and His feast is in itself a great miracle.

There are no indications whatsoever that would give us reason to imagine such a monstrous thought that God must be pleased with us as His guests, because we are such nice fellows, with all kinds of good qualities of character, exactly the people able to make the King’s feast a great success.

Let us not forget that we are the rag-tag-and bobtail, the scum of the streets, mentioned in the second part of this parable.  Let us follow the story.  The first, official guests refused to come.  These are the Jews.  Ages ago they had been invited by God to be His chosen people; yet, when Gods Son came into the world with the definite invitation to follow Him on His way to the great Kingdom-of-heaven-feast, they refused the invitation.

Oh no, they did not go off on a wild carousal, or immoral adventures.  One went to his estate, another to his business, a third to marry the nice, decent daughter of the rabbi.

They went off on the – in itself – excellent business of everyday life people.  Nothing wrong with that.

As a rule the road to hell is paved, not with crimes and great scandals, but with things that are quite harmless, such as business transactions and love and marriage life, taking over Gods place in a man’s life and heart.

The fault of these people was they were not interested in the King and His invitations, His feast.  They thought they could live and work and be happy without the King and his business.  And that is why they refused just as many people have refused to come throughout the ages.

There are parents – migrants – who were so busy making money, trying to establish themselves in a new country, that it was at the cost of the education, the spiritual development of their children.

There are young people who prefer a marriage with an unbeliever to obedience and faithfulness to their Lord and King.

There are still always many ways to refuse Your Kings invitation.  Your Lord, He died for you and rose again to give you the joy and happiness of eternal life, eternal contact with God, your heavenly Father.  Your Lord, He is the only one to turn your life into a real feast.

And now Jesus’ invitation is here: “Come unto me, and follow me,
“come, for the feast is spread hark to my call,
come to the living bread, offered to all.”

But don’t stay away now.  Don’t reject the invitation to follow Jesus.  Don’t think your car, your own house can give you more satisfaction than Jesus can.

Even your boy-, your girl-friend cannot.  And especially an unbelieving friend could be just a hindrance to follow the Lord and to accept His invitation.

So don’t reject the Kings invitation.  For your life’s sake: don’t reject!  Read this parable again – the consequences of a refusal to come are terrible.

Hostile armies came, Roman legions marched against Jerusalem, the temple was burned, the city was destroyed stone from stone, complete disaster came to those who refused to recognize the Son of God when He came.

It is the sad story of the self-inflicted exclusion and destruction of the Pharisees and their followers, and of the substitution of outcasts and heathen as guests at the great feast.

For the royal marriage feast must go through, with many guests.  So the servants, i.e. the new testament preachers, after the destruction of the guilty city, Jerusalem, had to bring in the outcasts, a negro from the Sudan, a jailer in Philippi, your and my forefathers, wild, uncivilised Friesians and Saxons.

And here our place and value in Gods Kingdom becomes clear – not such an impressive situation, nothing to boast about.  We are the people found on the edges of world’s highways, the tramps and hobo’s from this parable, all in all a nice gang of people.

And only in this way, by the grace of the King, the feast did not fall through.  And then the King appeared!

This is the main thing – to see the King, to be able to speak to Him.  This is the real aim and end of the invitation: to be with Him.

Not the heavenly crowns and crowds, the palms, the golden streets, the crystal sea, or any kind of pious or half pious talk of kingdom come; no, this: to see the King!

No longer to be limited to faith and hope, and therefore subject to temptation, uncertainty, fear, doubt.

No longer to fail, but to live in love, in perfect love alone, and in loving to be permitted to see the King, His power, His glory.  Eternal Easter.  Eternal feast of eternal life.  No worries.  No disappointments.  No failures.  No foibles.  No sorrows.  No sins any more.

Adoration.  Worship around the throne; face to face with the King.  Perfect faith and perfect love.  Yes, this is it!  This is the climax.

Please, say “amen”, preacher.  Yes, say “amen”.  Now we can go home again, with this vision in our mind.  But now I am sorry to disappoint you.  For at this point our parable takes a dramatic turn,

When everybody starts feeling at home, and put at ease, all of a sudden the feast, the joy, the gaity is disturbed.  One man has to be thrown out.  What a pity!  Why this?  What has he done?  What is wrong?

Well, to enter the hall everybody had to drop his dirty, filthy, shabby hobo-deeds, and to put on the King’s garment, the King’s festival clothes of mercy and grace, of forgiveness washed in the blood of the King’s Son.  That means you cannot enter the festive hall wearing the clothes of your everyday life, not even the clothes of religiousness and piety.  Not the mere fact that you are member of the reformed church, that you have gone through the Bible a hundred times, that you have gone to church a few hundred times, that you have prayed ten thousand times, does guarantee you admission free.  You must be aware of this great fact that you can only live, live eternally, and experience this great eternal joy: by grace.

Not what your hands have done can save your guilty soul.
Not what your toiling flesh has borne can make your spirit whole.
Not what you feel or do, can give you peace with God.
Not all your prayers and sighs and tears can bear your awful load.

Gods grace in Christ alone to you can pardon speak.
The power of Gods Son alone can this sore bondage break.
No other work save His, no other blood will do,
No strength save that which is divine, can bear you safely through.

That’s the idea of putting on the King’s clothes.  You are allowed to enter the great, festive hall, to take part in the feast of eternal life, but only because everything you need is available in Christ, everything you need: forgiveness of all your sins, the cleansing of your heart and life, justification, sanctification, purification, everything available in Christ – but in Christ alone.

It is there, to pick up in faith.  But now, unfortunately, there was that one fellow who did not agree, and who could not accept this idea of entering by grace alone,..  of admission free by grace.  And what about his own piousness, his own performances, his own good deeds?  The whole of his own life – worthless in the eyes of God?  He, one of a hobo-mob, one of a kind of press-gang?  Oh no!, what an exaggeration, what a nonsense!

And besides, is not the God of Israel a gentle God, kind and friendly?  Is not He a God of love?  So, let us take it easy.

Please, stop that heavy talk about sins and iniquities; about dirty souls and black hearts; that talk about special clothes prescribed.  I am good enough, just as I am.  But he was not.  He was thrown out.

And why?  What is his trouble, his mistake?  Where did he go wrong?

Well, for him God’s grace was a bargain, Gods invitation a beaut chance to have eternal joy in pure egoism.  For him the festival was not a matter of having eternal possibilities of worshipping the King perfectly, but just a matter of private, eternal pleasure.

Instead of being concerned with sanctification and purification he allows himself to play a frivolous game with God’s grace.

Maybe you are such a fellow: concerned to enter heaven – not concerned to live a sanctified life, concerned to be there when the King’s great festival starts – not concerned to serve and worship the King’s Son, the Lord’s Supper without self-criticism and repentance, praying for forgiveness without being forgiving, counting on God’s love without showing, giving love, interested in a heavenly feast, not interested in earthly obedience, redemption without gratitude, salvation without service.

This man wanted to enter the festive hall through the back door, not through the front door, not on his knees, underneath the cross of Jesus, stripped of all his dignity.

That humiliating, humbling hymn: “Naked I come to Thee for dress”, Oh boy how he hated it; that super orthodox idea of nakedness – of religious nakedness – no that was too much.  “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling”?

Oh no, not that!  Just the feast, that pleasant feast, without that humiliating stuff of religious nakedness.

I am a decent fellow, I have lived a decent life, I was religious (was not I member of one of the most orthodox churches?) that must be enough.

Well, I hope you’ll get it.  God has said that he who comes to Him, will not be cast out.  But then you must come to Him in the right attitude, beseeching Him, praying for undeserved grace.

The King’s Son is waiting for you, at the door of the great festive hall – but He stands there underneath a cross, and that means: no rights for you, no claims, no pretentions; nakedness, deepest humiliation possible, accepting joy and happiness from the King’s hands, by grace alone.

And now you are not going to reject all this, are you?  You are invited to God’s feast.  Yes, you.

Do come now – be willing and ready to drop what you are and what you have; do come with open, empty hands, and the King will fill them with eternal joy; do come with an open, empty heart; after your prayer for the cleansing power of Christ’s blood it will be filled with eternal, vital strength.

What a future.  How great and wonderful a grace.

For you. Yes, for you.

Pray and praise the Lord!

Come to the throne of grace, boldly draw near.
There in that land of light,
clothed in your robe of white,
resting not day nor night,
for your Lord you will sing.
You will sing of your Redeemer,
at the eternal festival,
of His heavenly love to you.

Amen.