Better Than An Engraved Invitation

“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come”
Matthew 11:2-3

Matthew 22:1-14 contains a parable concerning the fate of those who refuse God’s invitation to enjoy the blessings He offers. There is another point here which is very necessary to the story but is often overlooked. Throughout the parable the king invited people to the wedding of his son by way of his servants. In other words, God calls non-Christians to His Son Jesus by sending Christians out to invite others.

The king arranged the marriage – God has made the arrangements so that man can have the blessings He offers. God has done His part and then He “sent out His servants…”

In the parable, the servants faithfully did their job – they invited people. We need to first ask ourselves if we’ve been faithful servants. The King has sent us, but who have we invited? Who have we told about the blessings they can have in Christ?

Unfortunately, the servants returned with negative responses from those who were invited – “they were not willing to come.” Notice that the servants were not punished, they had done their job. We will find that people will sometimes reject our attempts to interest them in spiritual things, but we still must try. The failure must not be ours.

The king sent servants out again to tell those invited of the benefits in coming, but “they made light of it and went their ways” (Mt 22:4-5). As “inviters,” we must not give up easily, we must be willing to go again to show them the riches that are in Christ. Create opportunities and invite them again!

It is true that as servants we risk being “treated spitefully, and killed” (Mt 22:6). Our willingness to invite others is a test of our faith and our willingness to serve God and others. Unfortunately, those we might expect to have the most interest in spiritual things may not have any at all. This disappoints us, but it must not stop us!

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore, go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding” (Mt 22:8-9). When people reject the invitation of the gospel, our job isn’t over. There are many others – family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. – who need Christ and need our invitation. If we don’t invite them, we have decided for them! It’s our job to give them the chance to respond. If we don’t, who will? Speaking to them is better than an engraved invitation! Who will you invite?     dd