Sunday, 3/30/25

The Road to Redemption Part 3: The Invitation and the Warning

Last week we looked on the Road to redemption at Matthew 21:12-17 the cleansing of the Temple. 

We learned that Matthew 21:12–17 isn’t just a story about a temple long ago; it’s a blueprint for our lives today. 

It was a call to Purity  

It was a call to Prayer. 

It was a call to Praise: 

We learned that Jesus didn’t cleanse the temple to leave it in ruins; He did it to restore its purpose. And He doesn’t confront the mess in our lives to shame us—He does it to redeem us.

Jesus didn’t curse that fig tree out of spite. He did it to wake us up—to show us what’s at stake and what’s possible. He wants us to be fruitful, not barren. He wants us to live with a faith that changes things—starting with our own hearts.

Two parables and two questions. First, are we saying “Yes” to God with our words but “No” with our lives? Second, are we stewarding God’s gifts faithfully, or rejecting His claim on us? 

Our story this morning is both an invitation and a warning, a picture of grace and a call to readiness. 

It’s the Parable of the Wedding Feast: Matthew 22:1–14 “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.” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The king sends his servants to call those who’d been invited, but here’s the first twist: they refuse to come. 

He tries again, but the invited guests shrug it off. 

The first reason is a Defiant attitude. verse 3 says “they would not come.” 

The second reason is, they had a “It’s not important because I have other things I want to do attitude. Verse 5 says they paid no attention to the invitation. 

The third reason is in belligerent, angry attitude. Verse 6 says that “the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.”.  

Hebrews 3:7–8 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion…”. 

Hebrews 4:7 “again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

The king doesn’t take this lightly. Verse 7 tells us he’s angry—righteously so. 

This is a stark picture of judgment. 

God’s grace is boundless, but His justice is real. To spurn His invitation isn’t a neutral choice—it carries weight.

The feast isn’t canceled because of rejection; it’s opened wider. 

Jesus came for the tax collectors, the sinners, the outcasts—not just the “worthy.” 

Romans 5:8, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

The invitation isn’t based on our merit; it’s based on the king’s goodness. 

The man stands out—not because he’s unworthy of the invitation, but because he’s unprepared for the occasion.

Isaiah 61:10 “He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” 

The garment is Christ Himself—His righteousness given to us. 

He wanted the feast without the transformation. 

God’s invitation is free, but it’s not cheap. It demands a response—a change of heart, a willingness to let go of our old rags and put on Christ. 

The chosen are those who respond, who accept the garment, who enter the feast on the king’s terms. It’s not about exclusion; it’s about readiness.

The cross was the cost, the resurrection the victory, and the Spirit is calling us now. 

Live like you belong at the table of the redeemed. Live like you are a child of the King.