THE SYMBOLISM OF THE WEDDING BANQUET

In the concluding part of this series we are going to look at the symbolism of the wedding banquet, its place in our Christian living and why He attended the wedding ceremony.

JOHN 2: And again Jesus spoke to them in parables (comparisons, stories used to illustrate and explain), saying, ² The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son^3. We know that when Jesus comes back for His bride [the body of Christ], a wedding will take place. This is giving you and me who are His followers on Earth a picture of how it is going to be when He comes. See you there. Amen! Child of God you are not serving Jesus Christ in vain.

...And sent his servants to summon those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they refused to come.⁴ Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my banquet; my bullocks and my fat calves are killed, and everything is prepared; come to the wedding feast. Who are His servants that the scripture is referring to here? They are you and me who already believe in Jesus Christ. We have been sent into the World to preach the gospel, the good news of salvation so that whoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life. What awaits everyone who believes is the Zoe or ‘God kind of life’ [dynamic, powerful, peaceful and complete] in eternity. The scripture say we have not known neither have our eyes seen what He has in stock for us that believe.

Beloved, before Jesus gave up His Spirit on the cross, He said these words. It is finished! Meaning the price has been paid in full. Redemption is possible for all. It also means the wedding banquet is ready waiting for guests who would honour the invitation extended to them. We are in the invitation sharing time. Go out and invite as many friends, family and strangers as you can out there. Nobody should be left out. Therefore we should not neglect evangelism. For how will they know unless we tell them about Jesus? How will they attend the party unless they are invited? Think about how blessed you are to know Jesus; to be able to pray and get help from God. I honestly do not know how people get through this day and age without Jesus.

Practical Christianity

Share this gift. Please, beloved ask God what you should be doing. The bible says he who wins souls is wise. Why? It is because the souls of men are the true riches of the kingdom of God. Not money, cars, houses and material things. All these things are temporal and will perish. They are all vanity. That is why we must be very careful about our motives for prosperity. Similarly, the scripture above is also talking about taking care of the physical need of the less-privileged members of our society – both believers and unbelievers.

The blessing of the Lord is for a purpose. It is given so that you can support the work of the kingdom of God. It costs a lot of money to do ministry. Many need shelter, clothing, food, training, equipping, buildings, etc so get involved in some of these activities. These are what help to expand the frontiers of the kingdom of Heaven. It takes the compassionate heart of Jesus Christ to do this. Note, I am not talking about ministries that are not being run like the church in the book of Acts. I am not talking about money making schemes. No beloved, I am talking about taking the gospel to those that need it and having resources to help them so that they do not perish.

Tell me, how can you tell a hungry person Jesus loves them without taking care of their physical needs? A hungry man is an angry man. This gospel is practical. God will meet your needs and that of others if you understand this important principle.

How to deal with rejection in evangelism

JOHN 2 ⁵ But they were not concerned and paid no attention [they ignored and made light of the summons, treating it with contempt] and they went away—one to his farm, another to his business.Not many will give heed to your invitation but those who do not will later see how they sealed and cemented their fate in eternal hell fire. But this does not please our Father for He desires that no soul should perish. Many will give you excuses why they will not be able to honour the invitation. Some will say to you “I am so busy”, “I have no time”, and they would as the bible says go “one to his farm, another to his business” but you should not relent or be deterred in your invitation sharing efforts. Remember one plants’ and another waters but it is God that brings growth.

It is also apparent that our faith is being attacked from all quarters. We live in an age where what is wrong is being touted as right and vice versa. Christians are being labelled as narrow minded, judgemental etc. In some cases it is true but what I am referring to is an incremental eroding and attack on our faith. Why do you think people have become undercover Christians? It is because they do not want to be ostracised in society. If you are such a believer, I want to ask you would you rather please/fear man or obey God who has the power to destroy a soul? We will see later in this teaching what happens to those who sit on the fence.

Ask God to show you how you can use your gift and talent to touch the lives of others for His glory. Remember to not bible-bash people but follow the leading and prompting of God. My spiritual father says it starts with relationship. When we build relationships we are given permission by people to speak into their lives.

Martyrs for the kingdom

⁶ While the others seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and put them to death. Beloved some of our brothers and sisters have been put to death for proclaiming the gospel. There are countries in the world where the bible and Jesus have been outlawed. Yes in this day and age. Regardless, we have brave believers that have risked and still are risking their lives because they want to invite as many people to the wedding supper of the Lamb as possible.

To them, to live is Christ and to die is to gain. Let us pray for the persecuted church, for God to strengthen those awaiting trial or those that have been sentenced. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to open up the Moslem nations to the gospel. To protect and guide with wisdom those that preach the gospel in such nations. Pray also for the new converts in these nations. They too face death and separation from their families. Some of our brothers and sisters get disowned by their loved ones. Let us pray for the body of Christ. It is part of the armour of God to pray for believers all over the World.

A parting promise concerning this is that the Lord has promised through the prophets in Hosea 6:2 AMP After two days He will revive us (quicken us, give us life); on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. If you know a loved one or a believer who has been martyred, let this promise encourage you. Remember the word tells us as soon as their spirit left their body they were present with the Lord. Let us go back to the scriptures to see what happened at the wedding.

God’s commandment to you and me

JOHN 2: ⁷ [Hearing this] the king was infuriated; and he sent his soldiers and put those murderers to death and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, The wedding [feast] is prepared, but those invited were not worthy.⁹ So go to the thoroughfares where they leave the city [where the main roads and those from the country end] and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.

Beloved the word “go” is not a suggestion it is a commandment.

JOHN 2 ¹⁰ And those servants went out on the crossroads and got together as many as they found, both bad and good, so [the room in which] the wedding feast [was held] was filled with guests. The crossroads here are making an inference to the valley of decision. This is the place where every man, woman and child has to choose the Lord Jesus Christ out of their own free will. If the free will of a person is not involved, a deep root is seldom formed in the convert and they usually fall away worse off than they started. If God allows people to choose Him out of their own free will it means that we should allow people the space to make a conscious decision. All this should be done by the leading of the Holy Spirit because the bible tells us that some people need to be snatched from hell. Never witness or minister in the flesh because you will do more harm than good.

JOHN 2 ¹¹ But when the king came in to view the guests, he looked intently at a man there who had on no wedding garment. This wedding garment is the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness which we can only get through the blood of Jesus, belief in Jesus and not by works. ¹² And he said, Friend, how did you come in here without putting on the [appropriate] wedding garment?

This is referring to those who were invited and they accepted but soon backslide. They went back to their vomit. They are still Christian but only in name. They go to church and are living in sins. Once you become born again an appropriate wedding garment is sown for you. It is your duty to keep it clean and as white as snow by obeying the commandments of Christ Jesus and living in righteousness through the Spirit of God.

Self righteousness vs. His Righteousness

Righteousness is simply right standing with God beloved. There is only ONE PATH to it, Jesus. He says, I AM the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me. A common excuse given by those that reject Christ is “But I am a good person, I have not killed anybody, I pay my taxes and don’t break the law. Surely, if God is a loving God He will not send me to hell? Anyway I don’t believe in hell only heaven.” The bible tells us that no one is good. We are all sinners but for the grace of God. Remember the Only difference between you and an unbeliever is the blood of Jesus. We have all fallen short and can never do enough to pay off the wages that sin demands. Only Jesus can and has. If you think about what Jesus went through to give us the gift of salvation, it truly is a great insult to spit on it as if it is nothing. Jesus is very clear that those that deny Him before anyone He shall deny before His Father. It will never be your portion in Jesus name.

The consequence of rejecting the free gift of salvation

JOHN 2 And he was speechless (^[a]muzzled, gagged).¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. This is a reference to a region in hell called the ‘outer darkness’ where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Beloved this region of hell is pure torment. The darkness that is mentioned here is not the type you are accustomed to where after some time your eyes adjust and you can at least make out shapes and other objects. This is the type of darkness where the human eye never adjusts and one cannot literally see 1cm in front of them. The torment also comes from the fact that one does not know what lies beyond. This is the fate of all those who reject Christ or deny Him. Let those with ears hear what the Spirit is saying.