The Parable of The Great Feast
“The Kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come! So he sent other servants to to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet! But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them. The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and those I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. Friend, he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.” -Matthew 22:1-14
A Banquet is a festival or party of celebration. The Kingdom of Heaven is symbolized as the banquet in this parable. God has called each and every human to spend eternity with him and although He extended the invite, not everyone will accept. The invitation to enter into God’s Kingdom is Jesus Christ. The people in the story that were to busy with their farm or business missed out on this ultimate celebration because they were too busy focusing on themselves.
When the King became furious and sent out his army to destroy and burn their town, this represents the power of God. Just as when God flooded the earth, or destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was for a reason. The people living during those times were not obeying God and were living only in the desires of their flesh. God had to start over, and He did. He sent Jesus into the world to be the final sacrifice for all of mankind. God gave Jesus to everyone in the world, but not everyone will accept Him. Those who do confess Jesus is Lord and acknowledge His resurrection will be the ones who have accepted God’s invitation into His Kingdom. God is able to know who is for Him and who is against him by those that ‘arrive to the party.’
It doesn’t just stop at receiving and accepting the invitation, there’s more. Just as the man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for the wedding was thrown out of the party, so will the people that say Jesus is Lord but don’t live according to His teachings. God doesn’t want us to just accept the invitation, He wants us to wear our holy crown and be covered in the armor of Christ.
The Armor of God
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.