I'd like you to turn to Matthew chapter 22 for our evening sermon and study in God's Word and the parable of the marriage feast. Matthew chapter 22. I will read verses 1 through 14, the verses in which this parable is found. Now, in Matthew's account, the Lord Jesus has been speaking to them in parables. In chapter 21, starting at verse 28, you have the parable of the two sons. And then in verse 33, and following the previous chapter, you have the parable of the landowner, and now the parable of the marriage feast. Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, the kingdom of heaven will be compared may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast. And they were unwilling to come. Again, he sent out other slaves saying, tell those who have been invited, behold, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast." But they paid no attention and went their way. One to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, the wedding is ready, but those who are invited were not worthy. Go, therefore, to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast. Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good. And the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes. And he said to him, friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes? And the man was speechless. And the king said to the servants, bind him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen. Father in heaven, your son spoke these parables to us, illuminate for us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. And now, Lord, we do desire this night to be able to be freed from all of our other thoughts that we have with us from the week and from life in this world and reflect on this matter of the Kingdom of Heaven as it is presented here. We ask it through Christ our Lord. Amen. Now, the parable is a story. And when you read a parable, You just have to follow whatever is in the parable. It's best, I think, not to come to a parable with preconceived ideas like the parable is just an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It is that, but it's more than that. Or with the preconceived idea that the parable only teaches one thing. The safest way to interpret a parable is to just consider everything that the parable is saying. Who is this parable about? What is this parable about? What subject? What theme? What is the story of this parable? Just like you would read a historical narrative in any part of the Bible. And what you do when you read a parable is that you first identify things and then you interpret them. Try to avoid the temptation to interpret them as soon as you read them. You identify them first and then you read them. And I'll try to do that this evening as we go through the meaning of this parable. Now, our Lord taught parables, it appears, in groups. And at different times in his ministry, the parables took on a different significance. So that this parable, along with the other two in Matthew 21, were all parables that Jesus spoke near the end of his ministry in Jerusalem, where the tension with the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees was as thick as it ever was or had been in his ministry. And so these parables have a flavor of judgment upon the nation of Israel. And so there is a big story here, and maybe you picked that up in the reading of the parable of the wedding feast tonight, for example, where it says that the king sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. That statement in itself doesn't seem to fit with the story of the parable. where the king just gives a banquet for his son and these people refuse to come. So there's a much bigger story going on in this parable and that I encourage you to keep in mind. But as I stated a moment ago when you read a parable you try to identify what is this parable talking about? Who are the actors in this parable or in this story? What are they doing? Where are they? And so as I read this parable I see six things and I'll mention them at the beginning and then look at them one by one. I see six things in this parable. First of all, I see this wedding theme. It's a wedding, so it introduces a wedding theme. We'll call it the gospel wedding theme, adding a little interpretation to our heading. We could just call it the wedding theme. It's about a wedding. Some parables are about agriculture, or about making bread, or about losing a coin, or or two sons, one who is obedient and one who is disobedient. But this parable is about a wedding feast, or a wedding and a feast. Secondly, this parable is about a king, a very glorious king. He is a central part of this parable. Everything focuses on the king, because the king gives the wedding feast. Thirdly, you have, and not mentioned as much, is the king's son, because the wedding feast is for him. So we have to include him as one of the main elements of the parable, the king's son. The fourth thing to identify in this parable is the invitation. Notice the whole parable centers around these invitations given to the wedding. The fifth is a very interesting one and we'll call this one the proper clothing or the wedding garments, the proper attire for the wedding feast. That's a big issue here as you see even in the reading of it. And lastly we have what I will call ultimate realities which in which point I would hope to summarize and tie together all of the things that the parable teaches. Now a parable is helpful also for children. If you're young here this evening, you're a young person, this is especially helpful to you to hear the story as Jesus told it and understand what he was trying to teach. Not just older people like mom and dad or aunt and uncle, but you as a young person. So consider first of all the gospel wedding theme. The king, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Now there are several things I want to say about this wedding theme. And the first is that it is a prominent theme in the New Testament. And I think that its prominence was signaled or announced in the Gospel of John chapter 2. You've heard sermons on the miracle of the turning of the water into wine in Cana of Galilee, I'm sure, even from this pulpit. But think again. Why does John's Gospel and why is Jesus' first miracle performed at a wedding? Is it just because that was a quaint and homely kind of place to introduce your ministry? I think it's much more than that. I think that Jesus performed his first miracle at that wedding in Cana of Galilee to announce what would be and is seen in other passages as a prominent gospel theme. So that when you think of the gospel, you can't help but think of the wedding. Because the gospel is all about wedding. Now this wedding theme is parabolic It is prophetic, it is theological, and it is practical. So let me say a few words about those four things. This wedding theme is, first of all, parabolic. And of course, that's what we're looking at here, a parable that teaches it. So that point is simple, fast, and easy. It's parabolic. Secondly, it's prophetic, because the marriage theme is something that relates to the eschatological wedding banquet. Here we must turn to Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19 verses 7 through 9. This amazing set of visions of the book of Revelation where the reader has seen before his eyes flash the seals and the trumpets and the bowls of God's wrath and being telescoped and back and forth again into the end time after time after time. We find once again in the book we are at the end and it says in verse 7, It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, Write, 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." So you can see, and I think you will agree with the earlier statement that the miracle in Cana of Galilee is was the beginning or the introduction of this theme, which you find at the end. So the beginning and the end. John 2, Cana of Galilee. He goes to a wedding and he blesses that, and he provides for the needs of that wedding reception, and he does his miracle and shows his glory. And now, at the end, the marriage supper of the Lamb. You could say, the marriage supper of the Lamb has finally come. Revelation 17, 7. Because that's the idea. It has finally come. As it has been anticipated throughout the entire book of Revelation. The end. The end. The end. What is the end? This is the end. It's this marriage supper. The marriage supper for the Lamb. Or in our parable, it's for the Son. The king gives the feast for his son. So it's parabolic. It's prophetic, and it's also theological. Because if you turn to Ephesians chapter 5, you will see that the Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit of God, showed that the relationship that our Lord sustains to His blood-bought people is the relationship of bride to bridegroom. Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 23, For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church. He himself being the Savior of the body, but as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing. There is the wedding garment. But that she would be holy and blameless. Then he goes on to describe even further the relationship between husbands and wives based on this relationship. That the church is the bride and Christ is the bridegroom. And then he says in verse 32 that this is a mystery. This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. And so it's a theological theme. And if you turn back to John chapter 3, verse 39, you will see how John the Baptist saw it himself and even preached it. John 3 and verse... Let's see. I think it's chapter 1 and verse 39. 29, John 3, 29. When they came to John in verse 26, they said, Rabbi, he who is with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, he is baptizing and all are coming to him. And John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. So John puts another touch on this where he says that Jesus is the groom and I am the best man. But here once again is that theological significance of the gospel wedding theme in the economy of this new covenant age. The wedding theme is prominent. When you think of the gospel, you have to think of a wedding. When you think of your relationship to Christ, it has to do with a wedding. A wedding, a marriage to him, a feast that is coming. eschatological prophetic feast that is coming based on a theological truth that is already in place. That is, Christ has saved me. And He is nourishing and cherishing me, for I am part of the Bride of Christ. And then, finally then, under this point, the parable is practical. There are five things that I've mentioned here. It is prominent, it is parabolic, it is prophetic, it is theological, and it is also practical. As practical as every wedding is, in all the preparations, So it is that this gospel wedding requires a lot of practical preparation. We'll come back to this subject in a few moments. The parable, or the theme, I should say, of this parable is practical. There are lots of preparations, many details. When you're getting married, there's a focus on the day, there's a focus on the event, a focus on the setting, a focus on the circumstances, the honor, the glory, the goodness, the grandeur, the joy and the blessing that will come on that day. Now, just in an earthly wedding? No. In the gospel wedding, you should have the same kind of preparation. And we'll come to that under one of the other points. So the first theme of this parable, then, is the gospel wedding theme. When you think of the gospel, you think of the wedding. When you think of your relationship to Christ, it has to do with a wedding. Now the second subject or theme in this parable is the glorious king. The glorious king is assumed in verse 1. It's in the world of kings and nobles and princes and rulers, not a democratic society type of government. The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king. Other parables compare the kingdom of heaven to a king. And God is compared in parables to a king, for God is a king. And naturally we would expect some stories about what kings do. So it is assumed in verse 1 that this king has glory, for all kings are glorious. Proverbs 25 and verse 2 speaks of the glory of kings. Kings have glory. Remember Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2, where it is said of Nebuchadnezzar, you, O king, you are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory. God gives his glory to earthly kings. I said, the psalmist said, you are God. Because kings stand in the place of God. If the king is a righteous king, the nation breathes easy and thrives. If the king is a wicked man, the nation languishes. And so the king is a critical person in human life. But his glory is also stated in verse 7 of this parable, where he speaks about the king being enraged. And that rage has to do with this factor that he is a glorious king, and that if he invites you to come to the wedding, you don't stand him up and stay away. So when that happens, when they stand away from the wedding, and when they mistreat the slaves, When the invited guests mistreat the slaves and kill them, the king is enraged because he's a glorious king. He's not enraged because he's a capricious king. He's not enraged because he's a fly-off-the-handle kind of king. His rage is related to his glory, his glorious being, stature, and office. He is the righteous king, and he's giving this banquet for his son. So there's a lot assumed here. It's just a story, remember? It's not real time, and yet you get the sense of what the parable is trying to communicate. The story is communicating that there is a glorious king with whom we have to do. Now thirdly, we see in this parable the king's son. The king's son. Now the son is mentioned in verse 2. And it seems like just a passing mention. The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Now, as I stated, in the parables, identification comes before interpretation. It's natural for us as Christians taught in the Word of God to immediately think that that is the Son of God, the Son whom we call Jesus. And that is actually correct. But don't go there just yet. Identify the world that the parable is speaking about. The parable is speaking about a king and his son. What does that mean? In Old Testament history, what does it mean when you read about the king and his son? Well, you might immediately think of Psalm 2, where God says, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. where he's speaking as the king, and he's also speaking of installing his son on Mount Zion. Or you could go back even further to 2 Samuel chapter 7, when God makes a covenant with David, and he speaks about his son, and the sons who will follow him. And the ultimate son who comes out of that chapter is Christ. So the king's son refers to the perpetuity of the kingdom. The king's son refers to the unity of the kings. The king's son refers to the plan and purpose of God. And so the parable is speaking about God's plan for history through the son. Which makes the refusal to come to the banquet all the more serious. The fourth thing that we see in this parable is the invitation. The invitation is highlighted. More is said about the invitation than is said about the son. You see the invitation in verse 3. He sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast and they were unwilling to come. You see it in verse 4. Again, He sent out other slaves, saying, Tell those who have been invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. You see it again in verse 8. Then He said to His slaves, The wedding is ready, but those who are invited were not worthy. So go, therefore, to the main highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding feast. Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests." Now, by the way, there are some details in this parable that the church fathers took the liberty to allegorize, and we won't get into any of that this evening. Some of the details, such as the one I just read in verse 10 about the evil and the good. It's difficult to interpret The purpose and the significance of that particular statement that invited the evil and the good. Because it's a story. And not much stress should be placed on an element like that. It could be, just in a story form, that it's just saying that they gathered everyone, without discrimination, the evil and the good, to come. And that's the interpretation that I would favor. So that the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. And so the invitation, in terms of its identification, it becomes the evangelism. That's how we interpret this. The invitation that goes forth, the gospel invitation, is the evangelism of the church. And yes, we can say, and we often do say, that the church is to go out into the main highways. It is to go out from its four walls and take the gospel out into the world, and this is a valid support for that kind of evangelistic perspective of the Christian church and the Christian gospel. Don't keep the gospel simply local, but send it out as far and wide as you can. So we have number four, the invitation. Number five, we have what we call the proper clothing. In verse 11, When the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes. So we could call it wedding clothes or proper clothing. Now here we have to turn to a number of other passages in the book of Revelation to understand the meaning of these garments. And the first is in Revelation 7 and verse 14. Please turn with me, and there are three verses in Revelation that I'd like you to see. Revelation 7, 14. Starting at verse 13, one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they? And where have they come from? I said to him, My Lord, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation. And they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. So we've identified the proper garments in the parable. The wedding garments. You're in the feast. And the king discovers that you don't have the wedding garments, and you are cast out. What are the wedding garments in that parable? The wedding garments are these. Those who will be in the wedding feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb, are only those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And so, these are garments of justification, we might say. And I think it would be proper. It's not over-interpreting the parable. It's not saying too much. It's not allegorizing. Because based on this text, the wedding garments are the garments of justification. For washing our robes in the blood of the Lamb is just another way of speaking of all the provision that comes to us through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ and the cleansing power of His blood. Which brings about justification. The same justification which we have been studying in the book of Romans. And so that's the first important passage under this point. The proper clothing are the garments of justification. We are clothed, to put it another way, we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And that clothing is described as white garments. What does that remind you of? Well, in the wedding motif, it reminds you of the bride's white wedding dress. The second passage is in Revelation 19 and verse 8. Chapter 19 and verse 8. The passage I read a moment ago, which describes the actual eschatological marriage supper of the Lamb, which has not happened yet, which is slated to happen in the prophetic timetable, if you will. It was, let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. Now notice the statement, it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Let me read that again. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Notice that that verse is different from the one we just read in Revelation 7, verse 14. They both refer to white garments, but they obviously refer to those white garments and looking at them in different ways. In Revelation 7.14 they are white because they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. And that speaks of our justification clearly and absolutely. But here it doesn't speak about. the fine linen of the righteousness of Christ. In fact, it says very different. It is the fine linen of the righteous acts of the saints. It also speaks about the bride making herself ready. So it's not referring to our justification. It's not referring to what God does for us when he justifies us. through the blood of His Son. It's referring to our sanctifying work of our keeping our garments white and pure. It refers to the Christian sense that I am going to a wedding feast, I am going to see my Lord, and I am to keep my garments unspotted, as another passage says, from the world, unspotted and unstained. I try really hard to keep spots, I'm terrible with that. Pull off ties and shirts, and it's like a plague with me. And I try as hard as I may, they're just always there, especially when the shirt is just brand new. But, do I take that same care to keep my soul unstained and unspotted? Whenever I sin, This passage immediately comes to my mind. It's a motivation for me to turn immediately from my sin, maybe it's a sinful thought, or a lustful look, or whatever it may be, as soon as it is done. then I feel that there's a stain on my soul, that my white garments are spotted. And if the Lord were to come at that moment, I would not be white and pure and clean. And so I'm scrupulous and careful, as we all should be. Yes, we fail, but we try to be scrupulous about this matter. For the text is saying that the bride makes herself ready. The bride is always preparing, like the parable of the 10 virgins. Keep oil in your lamp for when the bridegroom comes. Always ready. Not just ready watching for the time when He appears on the horizon, but here, in this sense, keeping ourselves pure and spotless and dealing with our sins. So that's the second passage in Revelation. And the third one is actually found at the beginning of the book in Revelation 3, verses 18 through 19. Revelation 3, 18 and 19. Now this one takes a little more effort, a little more work to think through what is being said here, but I believe there is a clear interpretation of what we read here. And Jesus is dealing with the church in Laodicea. He says, I know your deeds, verse 15, you're neither cold nor hot, I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. And so, is he talking here to Christians? In all of these churches, he has something good to say about the church, and if there is some sin, he condemns it, and he calls upon them to repent. It doesn't sound like they're Christians based on these words, because they're non-committal. They're not hot, they're not cold. Except for verse 19, which says, just like all of the other letters say, those whom I love I reprove and discipline, therefore be zealous and repent. So I would conclude that the letter to the Laodicean church is written to a true church with true believers in it, although they have seriously defected from the Lord. Now having said that, I'll read the verse. Verse 18, I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may become rich. and white garments, so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed. And eye salve, to anoint your eyes, so that you may see." So what do the white garments refer to in this passage? Well, I would say they refer to the garments of repentance. Repentance. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent. So we can look at the white garments in these three ways. Justification. Our garments are washed by the blood of the Lamb. Not by our own works, but by the blood of the Lamb. After justification comes sanctification, in which we keep those garments as white as wool, without any spots. Or as Paul put it in Ephesians 5, without spot or even wrinkle. That's another whole subject in itself, right? Wrinkles. And then here, in Revelation 3, 18-19, you have what I would call the garments of repentance. All of this done so that we can prepare ourselves for the eschatological wedding. The marriage supper of the Lamb. Is that how you live your Christian life? Or does your Christian life just kind of take it as it comes? Tweedledee, tweedledum, you know. Yeah, I know, some, you say, I know, some Christians are very scrupulous, but I'm not so sure I'm wired that way. Well, maybe this imagery would help. The imagery of the white garments. And the reality, not the imagery, but the reality that there is going to be an eschatological wedding feast. And if you're in Christ, you're going to be there. And you're going to meet the Bridegroom. For you are the Bride. Whether you're male or female, you are the Bride. And then finally you have, in this parable of Matthew 22, ultimate realities. And here I come back to what I stated earlier, that the parable is really about some big issues. It's about, first of all, Israel. So the ultimate realities are four. The first one is Israel. You know, we tend to forget Israel being the church. But Israel is a big reality in the world. Even Israel that exists today, Israel, without any qualification, is a big reality in the world and in world history. Because according to Romans 11, Israel is the olive tree of God. As the olive tree of God, Israel represents the purpose of God in human history. So in human history, Israel is like the major thing. And the church, as important as the church is, and as far more glorious as the church is over Israel, the church is grafted in to the trunk of Israel. So Israel still remains in God's perspective as the great ultimate reality. Because in Israel you have election. You have the election of Israel. Paul says in Romans chapter 9 verse 6 that not all who are descended from Israel are the true Israelites. That is true. And that is part of the meaning of our parable when you come to the end where it says many are called but few are chosen. The many are called, but few are chosen. In our parable, Matthew 22, verse 14, is a reference to this reality of Israel. Israel was the people of God, but not every Israelite was a true Israelite. Romans 9 and verse 6. Some were just part of the physical lineage. Others were part of the faith of their father Abraham. Israel. You see, an ultimate reality. And in a sense, in order to be in the kingdom of God, you've got to be in the purpose of God. Remember how Paul in Ephesians talked about the Gentiles, and he said they are separated from the commonwealth of Israel. Without God and without hope in the world, they're separated from the commonwealth of Israel, meaning that if you're a Christian, you are part of the commonwealth of Israel. We've been grafted in. We've become part of the nation of Israel, the true Israel. So the first ultimate reality is Israel. And by the way, I would say everything that you can learn about Israel in the Old Testament will certainly help you to understand what it means to be a Christian and live in the Church of Jesus Christ. But the second reality is kingship. This parable is about a king and the king's son. So the great reality here is kingship. That's something we emphasize a lot from the pulpit here, and which should be when we read the Bible or preach the Bible or teach the Bible, that God is a great king. There are many things about God that warm our hearts toward Him. And He has given many reasons for us to draw near to Him. And we know that He will extend His pinions and His feathers over us in that kind of symbolic language. But still, He is a great King. And He has a Son. And there is a perpetuity in His kingship and His rule. And I am the subject, a subject in his kingdom. And so I don't take my Christian life lightly. I serve the King. And this parable helps me to see something of the King's grandeur. Third ultimate reality is the marriage, of course. We're summing things up. The third ultimate reality is the marriage. And I repeat it again, when you think of the gospel, think of marriage. When you think of gospel, think of wedding feast. When you think of the future of this old world, think of the marriage supper of the Lamb. Everything has its trajectory toward that marriage supper of the Lamb. And the issue then becomes justification. Will I be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? How do I know? Well, one way to answer that question is to what garments are you wearing? What are you wearing right now? We'll tell you whether you're going to be in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. What are you wearing? I'm wearing white robes. How did they get white? You're a sinner. They got white because they were washed in the blood of the Lamb. And then what? Oh, and now I keep them white. I'm making myself ready every day. I don't know when the day is going to come when I will be absent from the body and be present with the Lord, and then after that some amount of time is going to go by when the actual eschatological wedding feast takes place. That's a mystery, isn't it? When we die in Christ, we are with the Lord. But that's not the end. The end is not yet. The end in Scripture is viewed as a great day of judgment. It's viewed as a marriage supper. It's viewed as a finalization, a tying together of all the strands of redemptive history. And so how do I know I'm going to be there? How do I know I'm not going to be cast out as this guy was? Well, I'm wearing these white robes that have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. Kind of ironic, isn't it? That you would wash a robe and make it white with the reddest of blood. And I'm keeping them white because I'm making myself ready. And how do I keep them white? By my righteous acts. Christians revel in the grace of God, and that's a wonderful thing to do that, but there is a tendency in the Christian mind, and the Christian mind said there is a tendency, probably for all of us, and more so with others, to minimize a Christian's good works, and to minimize a Christian's righteous acts. But Revelation 19 and verse 8 does not minimize them. When it equates the white garments, not to the ones that are washed in the blood, but the white garments that are kept white by the righteous acts of the saints. You say, well God loves me no matter what. He has unconditional love. The unconditional love doctrine that we hear about has some truth in it, but it is not all truth. Because my relationship to God does depend on my lifestyle, my behavior, and what I do. And Revelation 19 and verse 8 is proof of that. The righteous acts of the saints. And Revelation 3 verses 18 through 19 is also proof of that. Because Jesus calls us to repent. And the call to repentance is cast in this kind of language. He says, get yourself some white robes. Powerful, isn't it? It's a very powerful statement that he makes in Revelation 3.18. I advise you, get the eye sad. Get the white robes. You say, they already have white robes. Well, in a sense they do. But something has happened to those white robes in the church in Laodicea. So that's the third ultimate reality. It's ultimate to us. It's ultimate to us because as Christians, yes, we will live our lives in light of this marriage feast. We will because this is the thing that God has scheduled in His plan to happen. And I've been called to it. I've been called to it. And I also want to know when I get there that I'm not just one of the many who's been called, but not really chosen. When I get there, I want to know for sure that I've been called and I'm there to stay because I've also been chosen. And finally, you have judgment. The fourth ultimate reality in this passage is judgment. This and so many other passages in the Bible are about judgment. Judgment is a sobering theme. Judgment is an unwelcome theme. Judgment is a hard theme, but it's real. And so the parable issues a warning. In the most sobering words, bind him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And I close again reminding you that this is how the book of Isaiah and chapter 40 through 66, which is called the Gospel of Isaiah, also ends on the same note. It says, it shall be from new moon to new moon, from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow before me, says the Lord. Then they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me, for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be an abhorrence to all mankind. If I was editing all of the sermons of Isaiah, Somebody put this book together. If I was editing the book of Isaiah, with all those beautiful, majestic, grand prophecies, I wouldn't end it that way. There's just something in me. I wouldn't end it that way. But the true editor of Isaiah was the Holy Spirit. And He edited it that way. Why? The same reason why the parable ends on that same note. Judgment. Judgment is an awful reality. Judgment helps us to look at life more soberly. Judgment helps us to take the Christian life more seriously. And so may the Lord bless this parable story to your heart tonight. Dear Father, thank you, Lord. for sending your son to teach in these parable stories, helping us to see what the kingdom of heaven is like based on real life events and circumstances. And we thank you especially for the wedding, the wedding theme. What a beautiful way that you have accomplished for us to be comforted about our relationship to you. And so Lord, help us First of all, to know that we have those white garments made white by the blood of the Lamb. Help us, Lord, also to keep those garments white and to keep preparing ourselves for that great day. And Lord, when we sin or become stubborn in our sin, may we also remember the words of our Lord to the church in Laodicea as he spoke to them by way of advice. to get themselves white garments. We ask all of this in his glorious and matchless name. Amen.