RSVP! You’ve Been Invited
Weddings are such a joy! I was recently reminiscing with a friend about my own wedding ceremony. Even though this summer will mark 15 years since that special day, it still feels like it was just yesterday.
Our wedding took place outdoors under a chuppah – a canopy symbolizing God’s presence over the covenant of marriage. We incorporated Jewish prayers, and my favorite tradition was the breaking of the glass by the groom after we were pronounced husband and wife. This tradition carries a twofold meaning: Even at the height of our joy, we remember the destruction of the temple, and it also serves as a vow – “We will remain together until someone can piece this glass back together.”
Of course, one of the best parts of any wedding is the celebration that followed – the food and dancing! We had an extensive buffet, a massive challah (a braided loaf of bread so large it took three men to hold it), and hours of joyful dancing. It truly was a beautiful and unforgettable celebration.
Now, imagine this with me – what if we had spent months preparing, planning every detail, creating a guest list, and when the time came for RSVPs, no one responded? Imagine how heartbreaking it would have been to pour time, energy, and resources into making this event special, only to hear that our invited guests simply “didn’t feel like coming” or “couldn’t make the time” for such an important occasion. I would have been devastated. It would have felt as though those closest to me didn’t care enough to celebrate one of the most significant days of my life.
We read about such rejection in Matthew 22:1–13 (NIV):
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off – one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.”
This parable appears in the middle of a long conversation Yeshua (Jesus) is having with the religious leaders (Matthew 21–23). He explains that the religious leaders have rejected God and His Son along with mistreating those who had carried the message of the kingdom of heaven. However, the story still has hope, and Yeshua continues the parable:
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
God is faithful! Despite the religious leaders rejecting their Messiah, there were others, Jewish and Gentile people who believed in Yeshua at His first coming; they would be the ones to lead and teach the new believers. However, the parable continues:
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
That seems a bit harsh, doesn’t it? The king first invited his chosen guests, but when they refused to come, he extended the invitation to others. Yet, one of the attendees failed to wear the proper wedding attire and was thrown out into a dreadful situation.
In biblical times, kings would provide garments for their guests, so refusing to wear the offered clothing was a rejection of a freely given gift. Isaiah 61:10 says, “For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.” By refusing the king’s clothing at the banquet, the guest was rejecting the very gift that had been provided for him – a blatant insult. He considered his own garments good enough, but they were not.
This parable illustrates a profound truth: We cannot enter heaven – or the marriage supper of the Lamb – through our own good deeds. As Isaiah 64:6 states, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” This understanding brings us to the final verse of the parable, Matthew 22:14 (NIV):
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Salvation is available to everyone. God loves His creation and has desired a relationship with humanity since before the fall in the garden of Eden. He established a way for us to be cleansed from sin through Yeshua’s perfect sacrifice. Even our kindest and most righteous deeds cannot purify us as completely as the salvation Yeshua secured for us through His death and resurrection. To receive this gift, we must personally accept it and respond to His invitation to join the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Written by Hannah, Life in Messiah staff
Think back to your own wedding or a wedding you attended as a guest. What was your favorite part of the celebration?
Even as followers of Jesus, we sometimes find ourselves slipping into the mindset of doing good deeds to earn God’s approval. At times like these, let’s turn back to the truth found in Ephesians 2:8–10: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Do you have a Jewish family member or friend who has yet to accept the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus? Let’s continue praying for our unbelieving Jewish friends, that they would have the opportunity to hear and receive the invitation to Messiah’s kingdom.