Come to the Wedding

Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church, Pinetop, Arizona

Rev. Michael “Mick” Mathews

The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – October 11, 2026

Sermon: “Come to the Wedding”     Matthew 22:1–14

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I may have mentioned this before, but going to a wedding reception is not my favorite thing to do. Weddings themselves are great. It’s wonderful when a man and woman are united as husband and wife as they pray for God’s blessing on their life together. The reception afterward, for me, is a different story. It’s usually a room full of people that I don’t know – the extended family and friends of the bride and groom. And most people don’t really look forward to a pastor walking up to join their conversation or to sit at their table. Then they have to watch what they say and do because the pastor is there, when they’d much rather be able to cut loose and celebrate. And if there is someone who is looking to talk to the pastor, it’s more than likely that they have some axe to grind, so those conversations aren’t so great either.

So I can sympathize a little bit with some of the folks in Jesus’ parable today who weren’t eager to go to a wedding feast – the ones who thought they had better things to do – things to do on the farm; running their own business; etc. (Matthew 22:5).

The thing is, the wedding that Jesus talked about in His parable was no ordinary wedding. It was a royal wedding. The king was throwing a feast to celebrate the marriage of his son. I think if I were invited to a wedding feast that was being thrown by a king, I would want to go – to see the spectacle, to taste the rich food, and to stay on the king’s good side by accepting his hospitality. But in Jesus’ story, those who had been invited refused to come. Some just ignored the invitation, thinking they were too busy with other things. But some actually turned against the king’s servants, those who had been sent to them to tell them that the feast was ready. They “seized [the king’s] servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them” (Matthew 22:6). The king was so angry when he heard about what was done to his servants that he sent out his soldiers to destroy those murderers and to burn their city.

The king then had a problem. He still wanted to celebrate the wedding of his son. He had everything ready for a big celebration. The only thing missing was the guests. So he sent out his servants to go out and basically grab anyone they could find to bring to the wedding. The servants “gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Matthew 22:10).

This story that Jesus told is really a retelling of the story of the relationship between God and His people Israel. That relationship is often depicted in the Old Testament in terms of a marriage: God had joined Himself to His people as a husband is joined to His wife. He wanted that joining together to be a cause for continuing celebration. But too often a portion of the people would wander away from God rather than being joined to Him. Some just got wrapped up in other things, but others openly rejected Him. God sent His servants, the prophets, to speak to the people and invite them back to God. But too often, the prophets were rejected and mistreated. Some were even killed by the people who didn’t want to listen to what they had to say. So God allowed His punishment to come upon those who rejected Him. He allowed Israel’s enemies to gain the upper hand, so that those who rejected God were destroyed.

Since those previously invited were not worthy (Matthew 22:7), God opened His invitation to be joined to Him to others. God sent His Son Jesus to the people of Israel to be their Savior, just as He had promised to do. After many Jews rejected Jesus, to the point of them calling for His death, God invited the other nations, the Gentiles, to be joined to Him through Jesus. Jesus has paid for the sins of the whole world by His death, and He has won the victory over sin and death by rising to life again. So the Father invites everyone to celebrate what Jesus has done and to be a part of it. He invites both the bad and the good – no matter how you have lived your life previously, God wants you to be with Him.

But notice that there’s another part to the parable that Jesus told. When the king’s servants had filled the wedding hall with guests by bringing in anyone they could find, the king came in to look at the guests. He wanted to enjoy the sight of so many people celebrating his son being joined to his bride. But when the king come in, he saw a man who was not wearing wedding clothes, so the king asked him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12). We might think that is a bit of a ridiculous question. We just heard that the king’s servants were grabbing people off the street and bringing them to the wedding. People on the street wouldn’t be wearing wedding clothes, and it doesn’t sound like they were given time to go home and change. So wouldn’t we expect most of the people there to be in their street clothes?

But remember this was no ordinary wedding. This was a royal wedding. And kings often showed their wealth and their generosity by giving gifts of clothing to their guests. We’re used to being able to go to Walmart to buy all kinds of inexpensive clothing and having closets full of clothes. But in biblical times, clothing was all handmade and so more expensive. Common people might only have one set of clothes. So there are several examples in the Old Testament where clothes were given as gifts to show wealth and generosity. For example, Joseph gave clothes to his brothers when they came to him when he was ruling in Egypt (Genesis 45:22). So it’s most likely that the king in Jesus’ story was giving royal clothes to all the guests.

Notice that when the king in the story asked the man why he wasn’t wearing wedding clothes, the man “was speechless” (Matthew 22:12). The man had no excuse. He couldn’t say, “Well, your servants just dragged me in off the street.” The king’s servants had likely offered him wedding clothes to wear, and he had refused. He was basically saying, “The wedding of the king’s son is no big deal. I’ll just wear my everyday grubby clothes.” He rejected the king’s generosity, thinking that what he already had was good enough. The man insulted the king and the king’s son and the other wedding guests by not being properly dressed in what the king was willing to give. So it’s no surprise that the king had him tied up and tossed out.

I think there are two main lessons to learn from Jesus’ parable. First, God wants everyone to be included in the celebration that His Son Jesus has joined Himself to His bride, the Church. Second, the only way into that celebration is through what God gives to us by faith in Christ. Anyone who tries to get into God’s presence based on their own merits or good works will fall far short of what God expects and will be cast out. Only those who are covered with the new clothes of Christ’s own righteousness will remain a part of the celebration. As the prophet Isaiah has said:

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God,

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

      as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,

     and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)

In the book of Revelation, the apostle John saw that the great multitude in heaven had “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). John also recorded this vision:

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

          “Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

      Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,

          for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

       it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:6–9)

God the Father has invited you to join Him in eternity for the ongoing celebration of the uniting of His Son with His bride, the Church. He provides everything that you need to be part of the celebration. Come to the wedding.

And the peace of God which passes understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Isaiah 25:6      On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples

              a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

              of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

7   And he will swallow up on this mountain

              the covering that is cast over all peoples,

              the veil that is spread over all nations.

8   He will swallow up death forever;

      and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,

              and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

              for the LORD has spoken.

9   It will be said on that day,

              “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.

              This is the LORD; we have waited for him;

              let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Matthew 22:1 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.

Matthew 22:11 “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.”