23. THE WEDDING BANQUET OF A PRINCE (Matt.22:1-14)
BACKGROUND: A wedding was one of the highlights in the everyday lives of people in Jesus' time. In the book of Revelation heaven is sometimes called "a wedding". The invited guests in this parable originally referred to Jews, but now they mean anyone who has contact with Christian church, but doesn't take its invitation seriously.
- Recall a royal wedding that you have seen on TV. What sort of people were invited?
- Who in our day do you think would perhaps behave in the way described in verses 3-5?
- What did the invited guests perhaps think about the king?
- Why was it comparatively easy for the guests to refuse the invitation?
- Why were the invited guests not afraid of the consequences of their
behavior?
- God calls us people to his royal wedding in heaven through his servants and the Bible. Why do most of the people behave like those invited in this parable
(vs.3-5)?
- How do you feel when you are invited to church, a Bible-study etc while you are busy with other things?
- Based on your attitude towards God's invitation (the Bible), how much do you value the royal wedding, i.e.
heaven?
- Why are God's servants sometimes treated in this world like those in verse 6?
- When was verse 7 fulfilled? / When will it be fulfilled?
- Compare the everyday life of the first and second group invited to the wedding
(verses 5,10).
- Who in our day are those who come to the kingdom of heaven from "street corners"
(vs.9-10)?
- How could the loiterers believe that the invitation of the king was meant to be taken seriously?
- For whom is the invitation to God's heavenly wedding a joy rather than a
drudge?
- It is usually thought that the king had prepared a garment for each of the guests who came from street corners. Why do you think one of the guests had refused to wear this garment
(verses 11-12)?
- In the Bible a wedding garment often refers to the robe of righteousness that God puts on a sinner. What kind of faith has the person who thinks he can go to heaven wearing his own
"clothes"?
- What does verse 14 mean in the light of this parable?
- Who haven't got the invitation to the royal wedding of God yet?
- Who are not chosen? Stick to the text.
- Why had Jesus to experience the same fate as the servant without the wedding garment of
(verse 13)?
GLAD TIDINGS: The leader should read Rev.7:13-14