The Importance of Submission –part 1
Matthew 22:1-14 (1-7)
June 24, 2012
As you know we are studying here the passion week of Jesus.
• On Monday He entered Jerusalem
• On Tuesday He cleared the temple
• And now on Wednesday we have found Him locked in debate with the religious leaders who did not like the fact that He is doing these things.
Matthew 21:23 “When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
And so the topic of the day is the authority of Jesus.
They wanted to know where He got it.
And of course since they would not recognize God’s authority,
As evidenced by the fact that they didn’t submit to John the Baptist,
So Jesus wouldn’t tell them.
They wanted to know where He got His authority,
But Jesus turned their question on its head and instead
Began to confront them as to why they didn’t submit to it.
And in order to do that Jesus presents 3 parables to them.
We have already seen the first 2.
The first was of a man with two sons,
Both of which were told to go work in the vineyard.
• The first said “no”, but then felt guilty and went.
• The second said “yes”, but never did.
Jesus wanted to know which one did the will of the Father.
Obviously the 2nd.
To which Jesus said:
Matthew 21:31b-32 “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
And so the first issue was that they did not recognize God’s authority through Him or John, and therefore would not go to heaven.
But Jesus wasn’t finished.
Last week we saw another parable.
And that was the parable of the vineyard owner who hired vine-growers
To work his vineyard and give him fruit during the harvest.
• When harvest time came he sent his slaves, but the vine growers
beat and killed them.
• Finally the vineyard owner sent his son, but the recognized him as
the heir and willfully chose to kill him and try to steal the vineyard.
When He asked them what they thought would happen
To the vine growers the priests answered:
Matthew 21:41 “They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”
To which Jesus eventually replied:
Matthew 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.”
There Jesus confronted them with their failure submit to His authority
And therefore they would be judged because of it.
So they came asking Him about His authority,
He turned the argument around and condemned them
For failing to recognize it and submit to it.
BUT JESUS STILL ISN’T FINISHED.
This morning He comes with a third parable,
And one that follows the same manner of thought,
WHICH IS THE NECESSITY OF SUBMISSION.
And it reminds us that authority comes with an expectation.
God’s authority is not token authority.
And the authority God has given His Son is not token authority.
God has given all authority to the Son
With the distinct expectation that all would submit to the Son.
We’ve all read Philippians 2
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
God’s intention for how the world responds to the Son is obvious,
They will bow to Him.
This is also what Jesus spoke of in:
John 5:19-23 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
Jesus was there speaking of the authority the Father has given to the Son,
And it is an authority that comes with an expectation.
That all will honor the Son.
In fact Jesus went so far as to say, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
And that is obvious, for the Son walks with the Father’s authority.
And so it is not only necessary to recognize the Son’s authority,
But to submit to it and to submit to it fully.
And Jesus will again reveal that here in His third parable this morning.
There are three things we see here. (only 1 this morning)
#1 A REJECTED INVITATION
Matthew 22:1-7
We talked about it last week, but often times Jesus’ parables
Were meant to be stories that shocked those who listened.
We certainly saw it last week with the parable of the wicked vine-growers.
It was shocking to the hearer to think that there would ever be such wicked renters who would actually kill the son of the vineyard owner.
Well this morning we get another shocking parable.
And yet like the previous one, it also rings true.
This morning we see a wedding feast.
“Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.”
And just like the parables involving vineyards, Jesus again chooses a subject that would have been extremely familiar to His hearers.
“a wedding feast” was one of the biggest celebrations
That Jews could look forward to.
And if it was given by a wealthy person it could literally last a couple of weeks
In which all the invited guests were invited to stay at the house of the person
And enjoy all the lavish delicacies that he could afford.
In this case we are talking about the son of the king
So this feast would have been second to none.
• It would have been longer than anyone else’s…
• It would have been more extravagant than anyone else’s…
• It would have been larger than anyone else’s…
And to receive an invitation to such a prestigious event
Would have been the highlight of one’s life.
It is just not the sort of thing you miss, if you are allowed to go.
In fact missing it would run the risk of angering the king
And bringing repercussion upon yourself.
But that really wasn’t a danger, because no one would miss.
And right off the bat Jesus uses a king’s wedding feast
As a picture of heaven.
Bigger, better, longer, more extravagant than anything else.
And Jews would have been right along with Him in this story.
(3) “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast…”
And this was also protocol.
• The king would have sent out invitations in advance,
• And the people would have been expected to prepare to attend.
• And then once the event was ready, slaves were sent out to tell everyone it was time to come.
And so the king sent out the slaves.
But the strangest thing happened.
“and they were unwilling to come.”
Listen closely and you can hear the gasp of the crowd Jesus is talking too
Someone leans over to his friend and says, “What are they crazy?”
Not only were they missing out on the event of the century,
But they also ran the risk of upsetting the king.
So already the unthinkable has happened.
But then another shocking thing happens.
(4) “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘
And this is unthinkable because it makes the king appear like a beggar.
It almost challenges the dignity of the King.
So we know that this must be an extremely gracious king.
Any other would have already punished the guests for not being ready.
And then it gets even worse.
(5-6) “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.”
And there the crowd really begins to gasp.
This is absolutely absurd, these people must have a death wish.
Whether they did or not, I don’t know, but death is what they received.
(7) “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.”
And while the story is shocking it does end with justice.
No one in the crowd would have faulted the king for what He did.
It actually reminded me of an Old Testament story.
2 Samuel 10:1-5 “Now it happened afterwards that the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console him concerning his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent consolers to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”
And so David’s response was obvious.
2 Samuel 11:1 “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.”
What David did made perfect sense, and so does what this king did.
And so we see it begins with a story of a rejected invitation.
And we don’t have to guess as to what the story means.
In fact those first 7 verses nearly copy the previous parable to a “T”
It is the same story.
The king, like the vineyard owner had an expectation.
But those he was dealing with was unruly and he ended up destroying them.
And again we get it.
• The King is the Father
• The Son is Jesus
• The Wedding Feast is heaven
• The people invited are the Jews
But as people were invited through the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus, and even the apostles they would not respond
And will end up being judged.
And so we see a group of people who were invited,
But they rejected the offer.
THE QUESTION I HAVE IS WHY?
In verse 3 we simply see that “they were unwilling”
That doesn’t explain much other than the fact that
They really didn’t care about the king’s wishes.
They were simply unresponsive to the invitation.
They weren’t concerned about the King, the Son, or the feast.
So they just said no.
BUT AGAIN, WHY?
Verse 5 however gives more insight, “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business.”
And that is starting to clarify things.
THEY WERE DISTRACTED.
More concerned about their own “farm” and their own “business”.
Jesus tells a parable very similar to this in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 14:15-24 “When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘ I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.'”
It was a picture of people too consumed with the things of this world,
One had property
One had livestock
One had a wife
And all of those were more important to them than the king.
And that screams volumes to us.
I would argue that it still remains the number one reason
Why people fail to enter the kingdom of heaven
And that is because they love the world more.
Why did the Rich Young Ruler not enter?
He loved his money
Why would the Pharisees not enter?
They loved their prestige and accolades
And loving this world will not put you on a path to God.
James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
It is simply people who love the world,
Who are distracted by the world,
And who are unwilling to forsake this world in order to follow Christ.
And because they are so distracted by the world,
They actually neglect the things of God.
Listen to what the writer of Hebrews said: (you should turn there)
Hebrews 2:1-4 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
The writer of Hebrews begins with a nautical illustration
And nautical terms.
“pay much closer attention to” translates PROSECHO
“to moor a ship; to tie it up”
“do not drift away from it” translates PARARHEO
“refers to a ship that has been allowed to drift freely”
Here is what the writer is saying.
What are the odds that a ship left to drift in the sea will ever enter the port and tie itself to the dock?
None.
You must take this seriously.
You must take hold of the message of truth
And take deliberate steps toward making sure you grab salvation.
Now go on in that verse.
(3) “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
See that word “neglect”
It translates “AMELEO”
Now look back in our text here in Matthew 22:5
“But they paid no attention”
That is the exact same word in the Greek – AMELEO
These people didn’t necessarily throw the invitation
Back in the face of the king, they just didn’t do anything with it.
They threw it on the bar or in the pile of junk mail
And just failed to act on it.
They neglected it,
They ignored it,
And as a result they were not ready to attend the feast.
They were so preoccupied with all of their worldly plans and dreams
That they never took time to consider what the King wanted.
Now let me make sure you understand this.
Do not assume that salvation
Is some thing that just automatically happens.
No one will be surprised to wake up in heaven someday and say,
“Well, what do you know, I did make it.”
Those who are in heaven will know why they are there,
Because they yielded their life to the commands of how to get there.
Listen to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
In Luke’s gospel it says it like this:
Luke 13:22-24 “And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Jesus spoke of an intentional decision to change course.
And you get the point again.
Entering the kingdom is not something that just naturally happens.
People have this view where we’re all born headed to heaven,
And as long as I don’t do something dumb then I’ll make it.
But that is not true.
Man is born headed to hell.
(We all start out as drifting ships)
Man is not born with a ticket to the wedding feast.
That was a rare, but gracious offer.
These people should have seized that offer as a rare opportunity,
But they weren’t concerned about the will of the King,
Only their own personal desires.
In fact in verse 8 look at what the king says:
(8) “Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.”
That is an interesting statement.
“were not worthy.”
Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
It makes the same point.
They weren’t worthy because they were committed.
They didn’t take it serious, they didn’t let it affect their life.
• They were more concerned about their parents than entering the kingdom…
• They were more concerned about their children than entering the kingdom…
• They were more concerned about their comfort than entering the kingdom…
And so when the invitation to come to the wedding feast came,
THEY WERE BUSY.
But that is not all they were, they were also bitter.
(6) “and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.”
See, they didn’t like the slaves pushing them to make a decision.
They didn’t like the slaves telling them it was time to go.
They were so angry that they actually mistreated and killed the slaves.
And the result is they ended up being destroyed and burned.
I think it warrants us getting really honest here this morning.
What are you concerned with?
Your life is like a ship on the sea, and in the great scheme of things
That ship needs to get to port and anchor itself there.
But, many people in their ship are too distracted
To grab the rudder and make the necessary changes.
• They’ve got other stuff to do.
• They’ve got a job…
• They’ve got plans…
• They want to have fun…
• They’ve got family…
And so they aren’t concerned about the direction of their ship.
Deep down they just assume that somehow, someway
That ship will probably make it into port and tie itself up.
BUT IT WON’T
• If you neglect the call of Jesus…
• If you neglect surrendering your life to Him…
THEN YOU WON’T MAKE IT
Now listen again, I’m not talking about a little religion.
I’m not talking about a little church attendance.
(These same Jews had all that)
I’m talking about submitting to the authority of the King.
I’m talking about submitting your life to Christ.
Quit worrying about the things of this world
And start focusing on the will of Christ.
That is what Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount.
People were worried about this world,
What they would eat, what they would wear.
Jesus said:
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Quit focusing on yourself and what you want.
Give that up and start listening to the will of the King.
Maybe I can illustrate this another way.
Look at your life now. All you’ve achieved
• Your education
• Your job
• Your retirement plans
• Your family
• Where you live
Now supposing you had never heard of Jesus,
Do you think your life would have turned out any different?
In other words, has Jesus ever changed your plans,
Or has your life just gone according to your will the whole time?
I can tell you the changes He made in my life.
• Graduated to be an Ag teacher
• Move to A&M
• Carrie to school
But God changed that.
I can tell you the changes He made in Carries life.
• Going to UTA
• Going to be an Engineer
But God changed that.
Certainly I’m not saying your road should resemble mine.
I’m saying it has to resemble Christs.
So many people live this life only focused on this life
And their ship is just drifting to and fro out there in the ocean.
They have never let Jesus direct anything.
Oh, they got the invitation to the wedding feast,
But they’ve been far too busy with their other endeavors
To stop and get ready for it.
I read a great quote the other day.
“When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die.”
– Jim Elliot
But there are many who face death with mounds of unfinished business.
They realize they have thus far neglected their ship
And have never made provisions to steer it into the harbor.
Friend, let me encourage you to submit to Christ
And let Him control your life.
Let me encourage you to quit focusing on this world
And the things of this world and start following Jesus.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
Don’t focus on this world, it is a sinking ship.
Turn control of your life over to Christ.
Get ready right now for the wedding feast.
Hebrews 2:1-4 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
• When do you intend to put your life aside and start living solely for Jesus?
• If not today, when?
