Matthew 22:1-14 “MANY ARE CALLED INTO THE KINGDOM BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN”
Progressing on in our continuous study of God’s Word in the Gospel of Matthew every Lord’s day, today we come to Matthew 22. Reading our passage from vss. 1 -14, I was brought to understand, this wasn’t one but a set of two interconnected parables that the Lord gave in response to the attitude the Pharisees had taken up at the end of chapter 21, in which we saw after they’d realised He was referring to them in His parables they’d sought to lay hands on Him… (21:46).
The parable of the vineyard He given earlier represents the sin of the rulers that persecuted the prophets; it shows also the sin of the people, who generally neglected the message, while their great ones were persecuting the messengers, as this one does.
Here is a dinner prepared for this marriage. All the privileges of church-membership, and all the blessings of the new covenant, pardon of sin, the favour of God, peace of conscience, the promises of the gospel, and all the riches contained in them, access to the throne of grace, the comforts of the Spirit, and a well-grounded hope of eternal life. These are the preparations for this feast, a heaven upon earth now, and a heaven in heaven shortly. God has prepared it in His counsel, in His covenant. It is a dinner, denoting present privileges in the midst of our day, beside the supper at night in glory.
Gospel calls and offers are represented by an invitation to this feast. And this is a royal wedding feast. Without charge and bountiful.
The cold treatment which the gospel of Christ often meets with among the children of men, represented by the cold treatment that this message met with and the hot treatment that the messengers met with, in both which the king himself and the royal bridegroom are affronted. This reflects primarily upon the Jews, who rejected the counsel of God against themselves; but it looks further, to the contempt that would, by many in all ages, be put upon, and the opposition that would be given to, the gospel of Christ. As many / all are called but few are chosen. The message was basely slighted (vs 3); They would not come. Note, the reason why sinners come not to Christ and salvation by him is, not because they cannot, but because they will not (Jhn. 5:40……).
And the reason why they made light of the marriage feast was, because they had other things that they minded more, and had more mind to; they went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. Note, the business and profit of worldly employments prove to many a great hindrance in closing with Christ: none turn their back on the feast, but with some plausible excuse or other, (Lk.14:18….)
Yet with this also was the wrath and judgment the Jews experienced when Jerusalem their city and the Temple itself, were destroyed in AD 70, after they’d rejected God The Father, God The Son and God The Holy Spirit. Here’s the case of hypocrites, who are in the church, but not of it, who have a name to live, but are not alive indeed, its represented by the guest that had not on a wedding garment; one of the bad that were gathered in. Those come short of salvation by Christ, not only who refuse to take upon them the profession of religion, but who are not sound at heart in that profession.