“And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention.” (Matthew 22:1–5a (ESV)
“An understanding of parables is essential if one is to understand the teaching of Jesus, since the parables make up approximately 35 percent of his recorded sayings. At no point are the vitality, relevance, and appropriateness of his teaching so clear as they are in his parables. While the parable form is not unique to Jesus, he was certainly a master at using parables as a way of teaching. The parables are not merely illustrations for Jesus’ preaching; they are the preaching, at least to a great extent. Nor are they simple stories; they have been truly described as both “works of art” and “weapons of warfare.” –Tyndale bible Dictionary
The Oxford Dictionary defines a parable as “a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.”
For the third time in the same context and to the same audience, Jesus taught a parable. The first was about two sons (Matt. 21:28-32). The second was about ungodly tenants of a vineyard (21:33-46). This third one concerned a wedding feast a king gave for his son. Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to such an event.
A wedding feast in the ancient Jewish culture was a major event. It was often a weeklong celebration. Additionally, today’s text states this was a royal wedding feast.
“In parables rabbis often compared God to a king, whose son represented Israel; the setting was also often a wedding feast for the son. Wedding feasts were frequently large gatherings; a very wealthy person could invite an entire city to one. Coming to a wedding feast required some commitment of valuable time on the part of guests (Jewish hearers would assume a feast lasting seven days, and a king would expect his guests to remain throughout the feast); this commitment would be difficult for peasants working the land. But the honor of being invited by a king—and the terror of displeasing him—would have motivated intelligent invitees to attend. The invited guests may have been aristocratic landowners anyway (22:5), who had the leisure for such activities,” explains commentator Craig Keener.
Appropriately, the king sent his servants announcing the wedding feat for his son to all the invitees. This was, as is the case today, a preliminary invitation announcing the date, time and place for the celebration. This gave ample time for the invited guests to plan to attend. Such an invitation would be a great honor.
It was at this point the story significantly shifts. Jesus said the invited guests would not come. No reasons were given. Seemingly, no apologies were made. Imagine how you would feel if you invited family and friends to your child’s wedding and no one said they were coming. It would be devastating. You would be hurt.
Dismissing any embarrassment, the king invited his wedding guests a second time saying, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention.”
Who wouldn’t want to attend the wedding and the accompanying feast and festivities. It would be a weeklong holiday. It would how honor to the king and appreciation for his gracious invitation. It’s not as if the bridal party were lacking for wedding gifts. They were a royal couple. No expense was spared.
“These verses strongly remind one of the parable of The Wicked Tenants. In both parables the patience and persistence shown by the Sender is stressed,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
“This marvelous longsuffering of “the king,” in the present parable, reveals itself in the fact that a. he first issues a “call” or general invitation; b. then he sends servants earnestly summoning the invited ones to come; and c. when the latter are unwilling to come he sends other servants, instructing them to present an even more urgent, moving appeal: all things are now ready, and there is no lack of food: butchered steers and fatted cattle.”
“According to God’s plan (Matt.13:10–17), impenitent sinners harden their hearts further as they listen to the story about the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1–10 (v. 15), but those who have open ears hear again the grace revealed in Christ’s teaching about the expansion of God’s kingdom,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Soli deo Gloria!
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