There are 52 parables that Jesus spoke of, and one of the significant parables He put forth is the allegory of the guests who were invited to a wedding feast. Matthew 22:2-4 says; “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.” We learn from this parable that the guests who were initially invited to the wedding reception refused to respond to the invitation and declined to show up. Irrespective, of the king’s continual call and plea for them to come to the wedding reception, they snubbed and turned down the invitation.
I want us to examine a few points: The King represents God; The King’s son is the bridegroom; The King’s son represents Jesus; The bride represents the church; The feast represents a church service. The people the king sent out to call the guests to the feast, Jesus calls them “servants.” As we established earlier, the king represents God the Father. Hence, His servants would be called servants of God.
This means that anyone who is a servant of God has been commissioned to invite people to the feast that the Father is throwing for His Son Jesus Christ. A Servant of God is a title applied to a variety of persons in the Bible such as ministry gifts, saints, and the patriarchs of faith. In this context, Jesus used the term to reference the ministry gifts and the saints. Since you are a saint: someone who is saved and washed in the blood of Jesus, you are also a servant of God. Everyone who is a servant of God has been commissioned and sent to invite people to the feast that the Father is throwing for His Son Jesus Christ.
What was important to this father and his son, the invited guests took it for granted. According to the text, “(1) they were not willing to come and (2) they made light of his invitation.” The king was disappointed that those invited refused to come and made light of his invitation. That is how God feels when we fail to invite people to His feast and when the people we invite refuse or take it for granted.
In Matthew 22:5-6, Jesus gave three basic reasons why people refuse to respond to the invitation of the King. He said; “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully…” People do not respond either because they are entangled with household chores, entangled with work, entangled with nothing, or entangled with having an unfavorable disposition toward Christians and the gospel. Bottom line, they’re entangled with excuses.
Jesus sacrificed His life for us, and we should be willing to make some sacrifices for Him. Our ultimate as Christians should be to be like Jesus, and we can’t be like Him if we are not willing to sacrifice our farm, work and hostility for Him. In Matthew 16:24, He said; “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Dr. Sadick Arthur is the Senior Pastor, along with his lovely wife Maame Boatemaa, of International Central Gospel Church in Northern Virginia. He is a multi-gifted and dynamic teacher of the Word of God. As a man of God and a gentleman of unlimited potential, Dr. Arthur has distinguished himself as a caring, loving and anointed pastor.
He has authored several books and is a seasoned extraordinary motivational speaker. He pioneered the planting and establishment of ICGC in New York and quite recently the Virginia Assembly of ICGC.He speaks extensively on issues relating to self-improvement, social, economic and spiritual empowerment. His passion and desire is to see each person to whom he minister become all that God has created them to be. For more on Dr. Sadick Arthur, visit www.icgcva.org
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