Who is to blame for the fact that your life and your world look the way they do? The answer usually comes easily: there are always some of them, a spouse, the neighbours, the politicians, the people who ruin everything. This sermon turns to the subversive parable of the king’s wedding banquet (Matthew 22), which begins innocently enough and then twice cuts straight across our calculations. Listen if you are willing to find out whether the story might in fact be a mirror.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In the parable in Matthew 22:1-14, the guests first accept the invitation and then refuse to come when the feast is ready. How might the original listeners, familiar with two-stage invitations, have heard this?
- Why did the religious leaders realize Jesus was talking about them, and what does this parable reveal about whom they actually saw as the problem?
- The king tells his servants to invite people from the street corners, "both bad and good." What does this picture say about God's kingdom, and why might tax collectors and prostitutes go ahead of those who consider themselves good?
- The sermon said that no matter how good a person is, rejecting Jesus' invitation means choosing eternity without Him. How can the belief "I'm good enough" close us off to God?
- What does this statement mean to you: Jesus invites you as you are, but He won't let you stay as you are? What might your wedding garment be?
- In what area of life do you come to Jesus on your own terms, perhaps in forgiving, serving, or reconciling, and what step can you take this week to accept His terms?
