I invite you to turn tonight in the scriptures to Matthew chapter 22, Matthew chapter 22. And we are in God's providence continuing our reflection in what the meaning of the Lord's Supper is. And that will be found. I'd like to read that actually first. If you're a visitor tonight. We are thankful that you're here. If you can affirm that you have been baptized and are a professing member in good standing of a Protestant church where elders oversee the preaching of the gospel, the administration of the two sacraments, and the application of church discipline, if you can affirm that, we do invite you to join us tonight. If not, please talk with me afterward. I'd love to meet you and to explain, as we will in the sermon, what the supper means and why it's important that we be believers in Christ to partake. I'm going to look at Lord's Day tonight with you, 29. Lord's Day 29, and I will read those two-question answers, and then we'll read the text from Matthew chapter 22 as we're working through what we believe and confess in the words of the Heidelberg tonight. Lord's Day 29 on page 232 in those prayers books. I apologize, the forms in prayers book. It's question 78. I'll read the answer. Do the bread and wine become the real body and blood of Christ? No, just as the water of baptism is not changed into Christ's blood and does not itself wash away sins but is simply a divine sign and assurance of these things, so too the holy bread of the Lord's Supper does not become the body of Christ itself, even though it is called the body of Christ in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments. Why then does Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood? And Paul uses the words a participation in Christ's body and blood. Christ has good reasons for these words, good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that just as bread and wine nourish this temporal life, so too his crucified body and poured out blood are the true food and drink of our souls for eternal life. But more important, he wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge that we, through the Holy Spirit's work, share in his true body and blood as surely as our mouths received these holy signs in his remembrance, and that all of his suffering and obedience are as definitely ours as if we personally had suffered and made satisfaction for our sins. And now the text is from Matthew tonight, chapter 22, the first 14 verses tonight. This is the word of the Lord. And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again, he sent other servants saying, Tell those who are invited, see, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent troops and destroyed those murders and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, the wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go, therefore, to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find. And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to his attendants, bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen. And there we'll end the reading of God's word. well tonight we have the great privilege to come to the table of our Lord and last week you'll if you were here you'll remember as we're working through what we believe and confess about the Lord's Supper that there is something that is held out for us in anticipation of the glorious day when Jesus returns, that we will, he made a promise, we will eat and drink anew with him in his kingdom when it comes in all of his fullness. That is a wonderful thing to think about too in light of the supper tonight, that this anticipates something. It's not just a mindless practice of the church. We are actually participating, as you'll notice in the life, You'll notice that beautiful thing that's said in question 79, that we are assured by this visible sign. And he goes on to say that a crucified body and poured out blood are the true food and drink of our souls for eternal life. This is all anticipatory of something to come. That's really important to think about tonight. It is his kingdom that is being proclaimed. It is something that is held out for us, too, as we're being helped in the present, that is given to us in the Holy Supper. And so on the one hand, like those disciples we considered who heard his call, who have believed in him. Last time we did that contrast, remember, with the woman poured the alabaster flask over Jesus' head, and then the disciples who were troubled in light of Judas' betrayal. His disciples who have believed in him and trusted in him are anticipating what Jesus said, a glorious wedding banquet. And I think we have something of that captured here in Matthew chapter 22 to help us think about what is to come and also the problem that was in Israel regarding the coming of the kingdom and how people were receiving it. That's why the Lord's Supper is really important. It is meant, you'll notice there, just like with baptism, the catechism says to remind and assure us of something. Assure us of the Lord's love. Assure us that we have entered that kingdom. That we belong to him. Something more glorious is coming. But you'll remember it was instituted on the night in which he was betrayed. And in his ministry, Jesus expressed great concern for those who had not yet entered the kingdom. This was a great concern for him because they didn't see the need for him. They really had no appreciation of belonging to the kingdom of God. Their attitude was one of self-confidence. Their attitude was one of arrogance. Their attitude was one of general apathy to anything God was doing in the work of his son. And it exposed a certain kind of attitude in the kingdom. And Jesus here is helping his disciples, encouraging them through this. But this parable is important because as he has a word of comfort for his sheep who have responded, there's also a word of warning for those who refuse to enter in. There's a strong word of warning here. And that's why this parable is important tonight. You'll notice here that we have a joyful celebration, an invitation that goes out in the first part of this parable. And then we have surprising responses to this, which ends with a really sobering challenge by Jesus. And that's how I want to look at this today, especially beginning with this joyful invitation of a celebration that is announced in this parable. This is an important parable. Jesus has been giving many parables at this point, and he's about to go to the cross, and he has now stepped up his pressure, if you will, his calls upon them to take seriously the coming of the kingdom. In fact, in the previous verses, it says that the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the leaders, they all perceived in these parables that he was talking about them. They knew what he was saying. They knew what he was doing. And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables. You'll notice here in Matthew 22, 1, beginning with our parable tonight, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast. You see what Jesus is doing here. He is likening the kingdom of heaven and entering that kingdom. This is really important. Entering that kingdom is like this. It's like entering a great feast, a great banquet that the father is giving for his son. A father is. And lo and behold, we know exactly who Jesus is talking about, don't we? A great banquet, a great feast. This is what entering the kingdom is like. You know, it's interesting, whenever we have this description of this banquet in Scripture, all throughout the Scripture, but especially at the end, the anticipation of the one that I talked about that is to come, listen to the language of this from Revelation chapter 19. Then I heard what seemed to be a voice, the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, write this. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God. Blessed are those. Imagine it, beloved, for a minute. You look around and you're absolutely overwhelmed. We're in the future in Revelation 19. You've entered into glory. You've entered the kingdom. And you enter this glorious banquet hall. And there you see, there's Abraham. There's Isaac. There's Jacob. And then you look up and the Savior comes up and hands you a cup. Drink of it. I told you we would do this together. In the new heavens and the new earth, the cup of blessing, the cup of happiness, the cup of joy, that's what's coming. That's what you're celebrating and anticipating tonight, what he did so that he might give you that. it's a wedding feast. John knew that the groom would come in his best attire with his friends and they would sing and bear torches and they would come to their betrothed and have a great procession taking the bride home and then his bride would come into the dining hall and this great feast would be spread. This was John 2. But Jesus had made it very clear in John 2. My time has not yet come for my wedding feast. This is somebody else's wedding feast. But my wedding feast hasn't come yet. My hour hasn't come. So here we are. And the reason I rehearsed some of that glorious invitation and the beauty of what this is, is to encourage you that this is everything that the Lord has prepared for those who love him. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered in the heart of man the things that God's prepared for those who love him. Here's my point. Do you understand tonight that the Lord's Supper anticipates this? Do you understand that the Lord's Supper anticipates this? We're not just looking there. We get to enjoy something now. It's a celebration. This is a grand celebration that's happening right now. Think about what was just said to you in the Heidelberg about the supper. Christ wants to teach us in the supper that as bread and wine sustain us in his temporal life, sow his crucified body and shed blood are true food and drink for our souls. That is wonderful news. But even more important, He wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge in a feast that he has given us together to enjoy. That through the working of the Holy Spirit, we share in his true body and blood as surely as we receive with our mouth these holy signs in remembrance of him. And second, that all his suffering and obedience are as certainly ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins. This is what the supper's about. This is what we come to celebrate. Jesus given for you. Jesus laying down his life for you. Jesus feeding you. Anticipating this face-to-face eating and drinking together in the kingdom of the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is a glorious, glorious banquet that we have and this is nothing compared to what's to come when we get to use our resurrected eyes and look with resurrected eyes on the resurrected Savior with all the resurrected saints throughout history. But this is an interesting moment in the parable. We're not waiting. I want you to think about this for a minute. We have this rhythm in life of work and rest. This is why Sabbath's important. And then the table is important that anticipates what is coming. And I think the real encouragement of this before we get to the responses is to say, we're not waiting to see whether we will enter that day. That's a wrong way to look at salvation. We're not waiting to see if hopefully we will eat and drink this anew in the kingdom. You either have entered today or you haven't. Which is the question that Jesus is now pressing. Have you entered? Have you entered this kingdom? And that's evidenced by faith as we commune together and feed together on the body and blood of Christ. So you would send the invitation to these feasts. The person would accept. And then right before the feast, the announcement would come. Everything's ready. Everything's ready. Come. Come. The table's set. Table is all set. And now come the surprising responses. This is what entering the kingdom is like. This is the struggle in this age. So he went to those to call those who were invited. You'll notice here, the invitation went out. When the time of the supper came, he went out and he'd come. And here we are. It's interesting what Jesus captures in Luke. We have an interesting interjection in the Luke version of this, which is entirely different with a different purpose. And that's why I sometimes don't like to cross them too much. We have to look at the very purpose of the author here. But at least in Luke, with the first set of responses, There were at least some excuses made. Here the feast was prepared. What Jesus is drawing out is they forcibly grabbed the invitation and they tore it up. They put it in the shredder. You actually get the sense that there is in this section real irritation and real anger that they might have to come and inconvenience themselves to this man's feast. it's so unimportant to them in this first set, this first response, that they don't even make an excuse. Notice this in verse three. And sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast. And these glaring words come back at us. But they would not come. They would not come. There was no interest in this feast. There was no value in this feast. There just was no appreciation for who was inviting them. Why are you troubling me and putting pressure on me to come to this? Is the attitude. And I stop and I say tonight, that's how Israel responded to her Messiah. That's how Israel responded to her Messiah. I think we would be wrong not to have some kind of challenge to us. A great feast is spread tonight. Anticipating the heavenly return of Jesus when we will do this face to face. He actually went to the cross to die to give you this. last week an announcement went out we're having the supper an announcement went out that you're going to have the supper tonight the elders call you come partake of something that celebrates question 79 that Christ's crucified body and poured out blood are true food and drink for your souls for eternal life. Maybe some couldn't make it. I think there's legitimate reasons. Maybe some are sick. Maybe some, because of old age, can't make it. Maybe some in the weakness of the body can't make it. I understand that. But if some said, I'm not interested, I've got better things to do. There's a problem of a stony heart. I don't care. I have no interest in that. Why, pastor, are you pressing me to be here? That's the attitude of the parable. That's the attitude of Israel. But they would not come. It meant nothing. It meant nothing. And you see, this parable is exposing this kind of attitude to the kingdom of God, to the work of Jesus, to all the sacrifice that was made. There's no interest in this man's supper. There's no interest in this. And Jesus tells us this, in the way he tells it, this gracious father is hosting this banquet for his wonderful son. It's the ultimate privilege you get. You get to feast, get to be happy, you get to enter in joy into this kingdom forever, which anticipates being with him forever. Can you believe this great father invited us to his son's supper is the sense we get from this. So merciful. They couldn't have said no. They couldn't have said, just leave me alone. Jesus says, so, father being so merciful went and sent other servants. My supper's ready. Tell them, look what I've done. I've killed the fatted calf and everything's ready. Come, taste and see that the Lord is good. That's what we declare. That's what he declares. Come to the wedding feast. Verse 5. But they paid no attention. One went to his farm and another to his business. Then the surprising thing. Then some got angry at the servants who went to give the invitation. They trashed them and they spoke badly about them and then they killed some of them. You see why the Pharisees perceived he was talking about them? The whole history was that they stoned the prophets who were sent early, rising up early, giving a call of mercy. All day long I stretched out my hands, O Israel, to you. Come, come. Enter the gracious kingdom. In the previous parable, there was a parable told of the landlord and the workers in the vineyard. They'll respect my son. But they said, that's the heir. Come, let us kill him. And there, cast him out of the vineyard and they killed him. There's an end to these calls. You know, the gospel ministry has gone on a long time. No one can accuse the Lord of being impatient and long-suffering. These calls have gone out and still go out to this day, to the ends of the earth. And one of the ways you see it is how the kingdom begins to take shape. The king gets angry. And some of those immediately faced his judgment. And he does something beautiful in verse 8. And he said to his servants, the wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go, therefore, to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find. This is a surprising development. And those servants went out to the roads and they gathered all whom they found, both, an interesting little statement here, bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. Go out quickly into the lanes. Go out quickly into the roads, and you go get Luke, the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. None could ever be brought there on their own, by the way. It'd be like walking down to Washington Avenue tonight, saying, why isn't the Escondido URC packed out for the Lord's Supper? I'll tell you what, pause. We're going to go down to Washington, and we're going to go gather. We're going to go to the train depot, and we're going to go to the homeless, and we're going to go to the prostitutes, and we're going to go to the bad and the good. We're going to put the bad and the good together, and a whole bunch of them, we're going to fill this place. What a moment. Come. See that general call? Come, come to the feast, announce it everywhere, open up the doors and announce it everywhere, we'll fill the kingdom of God. I'll have my feast full, I'll have my feast full with people who want to be there. I'll have people who are happy to be there. I'll have people who know the great sacrifice that was made. So imagine he pulls down in his limousine and he picks up and there he fills the limousine with all of the filthiest people you could ever imagine. There they come through the door. You understand the intention here? The blessing of the feast is enjoyed by the privilege of communing. those who understand the privilege of communing with the Father and the Son, through the Son. Who is being celebrated here? As surely as I receive from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, as sure signs of Christ's body and blood, so surely does he himself nourish and refresh my soul to everlasting life with his crucified body and shed blood. Do you believe that, what's happening tonight? Well, that's a remarkable feast. That's a remarkable feast. I didn't know the master loves me that much to invite me to a feast of his son and to give me his son that way. I didn't know that. That's wonderful. He loves me and he's going to shepherd me. the Lord is my shepherd. You see who's being offered to you tonight? This is not an ordinary meal. This is a sacred meal. Because you say I'm rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing and do not know that you're wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and dine with him and he with me. Here's where we get to the meaning of the parable. The kingdom of God in Christ had come upon them. God had sent everything that Israel anticipated and looked for, and what Christ was saying the whole time was, beloved, come to me. Come to me, all you are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon, notice that, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and I'm lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls in my kingdom. My yoke is easy and my burden's light. You know, when you come by faith to Jesus, you enter the kingdom right then and there. It's not in question. Oh, I hope I get in and enjoy the feast on the last day. When you come by faith, believing, you enter into a great celebration that now is signified in the supper. That's why he gives it to you. but I think Jesus here gives us this last caution. He will fill his church with eager people who want to be in his kingdom. Isn't it an interesting inclusion in verse 10? And those servants who went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good, so the wedding hall was filled with guests, both bad and good. Isn't that an interesting little inclusion? Who troubled the Pharisees the most? The bad. were the good. You know, in the previous section, you look over at verse 31. Here's what it says. Truly, second half of it, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. Whoa. You see what's on his mind. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw it, you did not afterwards change your minds and believe in him. The issue is not who is bad and good. The issue of this particular text is who has the wedding garment. That's one of the reasons we fenced the table. Right here. Somebody came in. Master says, what is this person doing here that doesn't have a wedding garment on? Who do you think he was talking about, the bad or the good? In this case, it's the good. The Pharisees who didn't think they needed him. You see, this is the message of the parable. There were those who thought they were righteous and didn't need Jesus. there were those who never took his kingdom call seriously. And Jesus is saying to you tonight, I want you to know that for those who refuse this call, stay away from the kingdom, your biggest problem is you don't have a wedding garment. You have to be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. And then tonight, I have good news for you. Look at the love with which he's loved us, beloved. Guilty as these wretched tax collectors and prostitutes were. He fills his hall with them. And believing in his son, he covers them. And this is why Jesus came. This is why Jesus came. To die on the cross and make this great announcement I have given you a way back. I have given you a way into my kingdom. I have given you the proper clothing to enter. I have done everything necessary. And my father, think about the great what we celebrate in Romans 8, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up freely for us all. How shall he not freely with him give us everything? That's what he's saying. And what I want to say tonight to encourage you is having come, his arms are extended, come, having believed the gospel, the Lord has done something for you so that you would be assured and reminded and fed and nourished on the life that truly matters. He has spread a table for you. He has set a table out for you, you who confess your sins, you who see your need for him, you who believe in him and understand the wonderful grace to be able to come to this feast. This is for you. This is for you. You realize who has been shown to you today and the privilege you have to be, have entered the kingdom of God by faith today. God carries us. God calls us. God gives us the faith to profess him, and he leads us to a table that he's prepared as our good shepherd in the wilderness, anticipating a day when we will eat and drink this anew in the kingdom. So nobody should refuse him who speaks. He tonight calls us to partake in faith, to believe his promises, and to know there is a glorious day coming. This doesn't just mean little. This means everything. You're going to enter soon. You know, my neighbor, my neighbor dropped dead last night at 45 years old. I don't know that they're believers. I don't think they are. But people were saying to them when I went to the doorstep, well, he's all around you now. He's all around you now. What do you say at a moment like that? Without hope and without God in the world are so many. And you can say in moments like that, Jesus died for me and there's a resurrection to come. And I have entered the kingdom by faith. I have everything. That's what's celebrated tonight. So come. Let all your gloom be turned to joy. Let all your sadness be turned to happiness. Let all of your distress and worry be put away. and come and taste and see that the Lord is good. Those who can enjoy the Lord that way, in love with not a stony heart, but a heart of flesh, have entered the kingdom, anticipating what is to come. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word to us tonight. Thank you for blessing us to be able to partake. Thank you for your wonderful blessings in the supper. Thank you for teaching us and training us in righteousness and your kingdom. May we come in faith, believing your word of promise. Hear our prayer. Receive our thanksgiving. Thank you for being good to us. May we taste and see that tonight as we come forward to the supper. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.