In Matthew 22:1, the parable begins.
"And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables
and said, The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain king,
which made a marriage for his son."
The Greek word used in the Bible for "parable" is PARABOLE,
translated "a placing beside". In other words it is a comparing of
two ideas by placing them side by side. A parable is a
provocative allegory (symbolic story). Technically it is an
extended simile. The Kingdom is like a feast. Notice the words
"is like". This indicates a simile--a figure of speech expressing a
likeness between objects of two different classes. In this case,
between The Kingdom of Heaven and a king's wedding feast.
The Kingdom of Heaven is not a place that you ascend to after
you die. The Kingdom of Heaven is exactly this--an historic
Kingdom where the the King from Heaven will reign. Ultimately,
that will be when all evil is destroyed and all things are judged.
When the smoke clears and the dust settles--that's the Kingdom
of Heaven. An argument can be made that wherever Jesus was,
is and will be--there is the Kingdom of Heaven! I, for one, concur
with that view.
Jesus spoke parables not only to inspire and provoke his
disciples to deeper commitment, but also to bewilder and incite
those enemies who sought to use his words against him.
Here he compares the Kingdom of Heaven to customs concerning
royalty and weddings. Most people of the time were familiar with
monarchys and emperors and kings and they knew of the harsh
penalty that could be dealt to those that offended. (The proverb
says, when in the presence of a king put a knife to your throat.
Get it?).
The parable continues in Matthew 22, verse 3:
"And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the
wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other
servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden. Behold, I have
prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all
things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of
it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his
merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated
them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof,
he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those
murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his
servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden
were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as
many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants
went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as
they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished
with guests.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a
man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto
him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither not having a wedding
garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the
servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast
him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.
FOR MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN. This is the
point of the entire parable. The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a
wedding feast because many are called to both but few are
chosen to both.
Who are the many called and who are the few chosen? and who
is the guest without an appropriate garment? To answer these
questions, let's look at the context. This and two other parables
preceding this one in the book of Matthew form a triad which
helps illustrate the divine judgment facing the rulers of Israel in
the time of Jesus. These are Matthew 21:28-32 and Matthew 21:
33-43.
It all starts out in Matthew 21:8 as Jesus enters into Jerusalem
riding on the colt of an ass. The multitude of followers spread
their garments out and lay branches before him because they
presume that he will soon become the new king of Israel fulfilling
the messianic prophesies (and also because he had just raised
Lazarus from the dead).
Jesus then cleanses the temple of moneychangers and certain
merchants (Not a small feat considering he probably did not use
the help of his disciples and there were probably well-armed
temple guards and Roman soldiers on hand). He heals the blind
and lame that come to him. All these things are performed under
the scrutiny of the chief priests and scribes. They are angry,
especially when they hear the children in the temple praising
Jesus with the term "Hosanna to the son of David".
HOSANNA is a term of well wishing used especially at the feast of
Tabernacle, translated, "Oh Save, I beseech you!". "Son of
David" indicates that the crowd was expecting Jesus, the
promised Messiah, to miraculously defeat the Romans, straighten
out the kinks in their religious system and take over as king that
very day.
However this didn't happen. And the next morning Jesus and his
disciples return to Jerusalem (after spending the night lodging in
Bethany). Going to the temple, he is confronted by the chief
priests and leaders. They are upset because it seems to them
that Jesus is usurping their authority and teaching things contrary
to the law.
To these rulers Jesus tells the first parable:
"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to
the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and
went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he
answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
They said unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say
unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom
of God before you."
This parable is a simple message to the leaders of the temple
who chose to appear righteous and religious but ultimately would
reject God's will. They are like the second son who, although
assuring his father he would do his will, did it not.
Jesus said that publicans, who pandered to the hated Romans,
and the harlots would more likely be candidates for the kingdom
of God. They are like the first son who eventually did the father's
will even though he originally refused.
(All those who acknowledge their sins and shortcomings are
more likely to reach out for salvation, but those who are self-
adequate seeing only faults in others, will reject the Lord — not
seeing a need for him. God's will, at the time of this parable, was
for all men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do as he
instructed. These leaders were not only rejecting him but were
already conspiring to have him killed.)
Now we come to the second parable, in verse 33. This concerns
a householder who let his vineyard to husbandmen. When it was
time to collect his profits, the householder, who owned the
vineyard, sent servants. The husbandmen beat one and killed two
others. The householder sent more servants and, once again, the
husbandmen did the same. At last the householder sent his own
son, believing that the husbandmen had enough sense to respect
him. However the husbandmen killed the son thinking that they
could somehow seize on his inheritance. Of course, the house
holder was not happy and destroyed all the husbandmen and
then let the vineyard out to different husbandmen.
The message of this parable to the religious leaders is that they
would lose any religious powers and privileges and those
blessings would be given to the more deserving.
The parables, specifically addressed to the leaders of the temple,
warned them that their authority was consigned to them by God
and would be removed by God--and judgement was FAST
approaching.
The third parable—the marriage for the king's son—is likewise
spoken to leaders of the temple (the chief priests, the Pharisees,
scribes and elders). It illustrates that, like in the wedding, many
are invited to the Kingdom of Heaven but only a few will ultimately
be show up in good graces.
Jesus Christ warns these leaders to neither assume that they will
be among the few chosen, nor that they will inherit eternal life with
all its blessings in the Kingdom of Heaven, when Paradise is once
again established on earth.
To clarify the parable's major point, "Many are called but few are
chosen", it is important to understand that it was spoken against
the religious heads of Israel obstructing Christ's teaching.
It is NOT written to all men; neither to the Born Agains as is
taught in many commentaries. It wholly concerns the biblical
nation of ISRAEL who, as will be shown, was called as a nation
but will not be chosen as a nation.
Why is it important for Born-Again Christian believers to know the
true purpose of this parable? Because the faithful who have done
the will of God as expressed in Romans chapter 10:9 and 10 (that
they confess with their mouths the Lord Jesus and believe in their
hearts that God has raised him from the dead) are robbed of their
assurance of hope when they are taught that their election to the
Kingdom of Heaven is not by grace alone (as revealed in the
Pauline epistles) but can be lost by falling short or not meeting
someones expectations.
Therefore, by showing that this parable is speaking strictly to
Israel, you can relax and enjoy the Born Again Christian's calling
and secured election, through Christ Jesus, to the Kingdom of
Heaven.
Copyright Pete Lounsbury 1994
| Chapter 1 The Parable |
For Many are Called but Few are Chosen."
