WELS Walking Together
2011
Jesus Sends His Servants
Matthew 22:1-14
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Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a
wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell
them to come, but they refused to come.
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“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my
dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding
banquet.’
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“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his
servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those
murderers and burned their city.
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“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to
come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out
into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was
filled with guests.
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“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding
clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
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“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
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“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Introduction
As he looked at the history of the Christian church, Dr. Martin Luther observed that the gospel is not always
preached in its truth and purity forever in the same place. He said, “God’s Word and grace is a passing
downpour, which does not return to where it has already been. It has been with the Jews; but what’s lost is
lost, now they have nothing. Paul brought it to Turkey; what’s lost is lost, and now they have Islam. Italians
have also had it; what’s lost is lost, and now they have Roman Catholicism. And you dare not think that you
will have it forever.”
What places used to have the pure gospel preached very commonly but now hear it very rarely?
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2011
Germany might come to mind immediately. The birthplace of the Reformation has a very small number of
congregations still preaching the gospel in its truth and purity.
The Scandinavian countries in Europe have a similar history.
Many countries in the Middle East used to have flourishing Christian communities. Now Islam and Christian
churches with a lot of false doctrines dominate the religious scene there.
Some people might think that the U.S. is such a place. It is probably true when the doctrinal decline of the
Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod is taken into consideration.
In what places is the pure gospel being preached more often these days?
Africa is still our fastest growing mission field.
The Christian church is growing most quickly in Korea.
Reliable statistics are more difficult for China, but it is clear that our own mission efforts there are being
blessed in an exciting way.
Jesus tells a parable that presents God’s perspective on the preaching of the gospel in different places to
different people. Matthew 22:1-14 records that parable.
Part I: The Message: God Prepares a Banquet
Read Matthew 22:1-4 – The Message Is Prepared
1. Not every detail in a parable is meant to be interpreted, but it is easy to identify the message God is
preparing.
a. Who is the king in the parable?
God the Father is King over all, and wants us to celebrate what his Son has done.
b. Who is the son in the parable?
The Son of God has accomplished our salvation, and the church celebrates its relationship with him as
a bride beautifully prepared for her husband (Ephesians 5:25-27).
c. What is the wedding banquet?
Isaiah 25:6 identifies worship activities as a banquet. We think of the Lord’s Supper. The Bible also
talks about hearing and speaking the Word of God as eating it (Ezekiel 3, Revelation 10).
2. A Lutheran hymn writer, Martin Franzmann, used this parable as the basis for a hymn, “O Kingly
Love” (Christian Worship 335). In stanza two, printed below, how does he summarize the message?
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2011
O lavish Love, that didst prepare A table bounteous as they heart That men might leave their puny care
And taste and see how good though art, This day we raise Our song of praise, Adoring thee, That in the
days When alien sound Had all but drowned Thine ancient, true, and constant melody, Thy mighty hand
did make a trumpet none could silence or mistake; Thy living breath did blow for all the world to hear,
Living and clear: The feast is ready; come to the feast! The good and the bad, Come and be glad! Greatest
and least, come to the feast!
A bounteous table. Taste and see that God is good. The feast is ready; come to the feast!
Read Matthew 22:3-9 – The Servants Are Sent with the Message
1. What do the servants have to know to be faithful messengers?
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The king has prepared a banquet.
There is a reason for the banquet: the son is getting married.
The banquet requires an invitation.
2. Why do some people reject the invitation?
Their home life, and especially their work life, is more important to them. They do not like the servants
sent to issue the invitation. These actions prove that they do not deserve the invitation.
3. Why do people reject the invitation today?
Their home life, and especially their work life, is more important to them. They do not like the servants
sent to issue the invitation. They change the message to match what makes more sense to them,
which usually involves our doing something to deserve to go to the banquet.
4. How does stanza four of “O Kingly Love” describe the reasons for rejection of the message?
O holy Love, thou canst not brook Man’s cool and careless enmity; O ruthless Love, thou wilt not look On
man robed in contempt of thee. Thine echoes die; Our deeds deny Thy summoning: Our darkling cry,
Our meddling sound Have all but drowned That song that once made ev’ry echo ring. Take up again, oh,
take the trumpet none can silence or mistake, And blow once more for us and all the world to hear, Living
and clear: The feast is ready; come to the feast! The good and the bad, Come and be glad! Greatest and
least, come to the feast!
Cool and careless enmity. Man robed in contempt of God. Our deeds denying the Lord’s summoning.
Our own darkling cry and meddling sound.
Part II: The Banquet Itself
Read Matthew 22:10-14.
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1. The ultimate banquet with God is eternity with him in heaven (Revelation 7:16). How can both
“good and bad” people be in heaven?
We don’t get to heaven based on what we do. We go to heaven simply through faith in Jesus as our
Savior.
2. Why do we need wedding clothes when we are in heaven?
None of us is pure enough to go to heaven. We need to be clothed in the righteous robes of the Savior
to spend eternity there (Galatians 3:27).
3. The point of the parable is not that a person could get kicked out of heaven. The point is that our
being in heaven is based on something that God has given us, not anything we have done. What
great comfort do these verses give to you? To your church? To your synod?
The comfort that we receive here as individuals, churches, and as a synod is that our salvation is
based on Jesus, not on anything we ourselves, our church, or our synod has done.
4. How does the writer of “O Kingly Love” capture the certainty of our salvation in stanza one?
O kingly Love, that faithfully Didst keep thine ancient promises, Didst bid the bidden come to thee, The
people thou didst choose to bless, This day we raise Our song of praise Adoring thee, That in the days
When alien sound Had all but drowned Thine ancient, true, and constant melody, Thy mighty hand did
make a trumpet none could silence or mistake; Thy living breath did blow for all the world to hear, Living
and clear: The feast is ready; come to the feast! The good and the bad, Come and be glad! Greatest and
least, come to the feast!
God keeps his ancient promises. He chooses to bless us. His melody is ancient, true, and constant.
No one can silence or mistake his trumpet.
Part III: Application
Discussion Questions for Matthew 22:
1. Many of the people of Israel, who heard the promises and invitation of their God, rejected the
Savior and his invitation to the wedding banquet. What assurance do we have that our
congregations and synod will remain faithful to the truth?
God has kept us faithful by his grace, and we need to rely on that grace to keep us faithful, not on any
of our own activities. By nature we have no assurance that we will remain faithful. In fact, by nature,
we do not deserve to be invited to the banquet. When things distract us from the Word and promise of
God, we need to repent.
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2011
2. The purpose of pooling our resources as a synod is to train the king’s servants and then send them
out. What should we expect them to do?
Primarily, invite people to the wedding banquet of the Lamb. Everything else is secondary.
3. Agree or disagree? The Wisconsin Synod is doing a good job of inviting people to the king’s wedding
banquet.
Agree. The Wisconsin Synod is training its students in the truth and purity of God’s Word, making the
gospel the center of everything we do. We are doing mission work in many countries around the world
in many different languages.
Disagree. There are many opportunities for speaking the gospel to which we cannot respond because
we do not have the resources. We are tempted to prioritize our economic prosperity above the gospel.
4. How does the hymn writer capture the urgency of our work as a synod in stanza three?
O seeking Love, thy hurrying feet Go searching still to urge and call The bad and good on ev’ry street To fill
thy boundless banquet hall. This day we raise Our song of praise Adoring thee, That in the days When
alien sound Had all but drowned Thine ancient, true, and constant melody, Thy mighty hand did make a
trumpet none could silence or mistake; Thy living breath did blow for all the world to hear, Living and
clear: The feast is ready; come to the feast! The good and the bad, Come and be glad! Greatest and least,
come to the feast!
Hurrying. Searching still to urge.
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