The Church of Eleven22 - You Are Invited - Religion to Redemption - Matthew S6E3

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

What happens when religion gets in the way of redemption?  In Matthew 21:23–22:14, Jesus confronts the religious leaders through three powerful parables that expose the difference between simply looking religious and truly surrendering to Him. We see that salvation cannot be earned through good works or religious activity.  The invitation to the Kingdom is extended to everyone, but we must respond with repentance, faith, and surrender to Jesus. 📖 Scripture References • Matthew 21:23–22:14 • Matthew 4 • Matthew 5 • Matthew 25 • Luke 15 • Isaiah 5:7 • Isaiah 14 • Isaiah 64:6 • Psalm 118:22–23 • Philippians 2:10–11 📌 Supplemental Resources From This Week: • Full Service • Deepen Podcast • A Message from Our Elders • Matthew Season 6 The Church of Eleven22® is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Eleven22 is led by Pastor Joby Martin and based in Jacksonville, Florida, with multiple campuses throughout Jacksonville and the surrounding areas.   To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here.

Amen and amen. It's always great to hear from our elders. Amen? If you want to hear more from them and be prayed for by the elders, be here Monday night at whatever campus you're at. And like you've already been told, text, word prayer to 44, 1122, so we can be praying specifically for you.

If you've got your Bibles, I hope you do, Matthew chapter 21. So where we're going to be, we're going to pick it up. Right where we left off last week, we're in episode three of this season called Religion to Redemption, just to catch you up. There's been a lot going on in Jesus' week. He has, on Sunday he comes in, we call it the triumphal entry on the back of a donkey. He is fulfilling. Well, one of the prophets said that he would come into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey in humility.

He goes and he cleanses the temple. He cleanses them of the religious leader, makes a whip, flips over tables, makes all kind of ruckus. He invites the lame and the blind end. He begins to heal them. He confronts the religious leaders. He curses a fig tree. All of these things have happened. and that leads us right to where we are in Matthew 21, 23.

And what's going to begin to happen is that as Jesus gets closer to the cross, the teaching intensifies. And I know if you were here last week, you may think, well, how can we get more intense than that? My head's going to explode. I don't know, but Jesus does. He gets more and more intense. In the beginning of his teaching ministry, he's talking about birds and flowers and so like that. And by the end, man, he is just bringing this thing home to make sure we don't miss the point. Matthew 21, 23, says this, and when he, that's Jesus, entered the temple.

The chief priest and the elders of the people, they came up to him as he was teaching. And they said, by what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? Here's what they're saying. Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are to do the things that you are doing? Who gave you this authority? There's two things here that they're asking that we've got to pay attention to do.

One is the question of authority. And the reason that they ask about the authority is because the religious leaders are losing their authority. Because they are concerned with power and control and they don't like it. And they ask this authority question because it's obvious that Jesus is claiming to be God in the flesh, the son of God. And he's operating in that authority. And the problem that the Pharisees are having is you can't deny the miracles that are happening. The storms are being seafed. people are being fed, lame people are walking, blind people are seeing, and it bothers them like

crazy. And so they ask him, by what authority are you doing these things? And I wonder, what things are you talking about? Like, what are the things that you're bothered about? Is it coming in on the donkey? Is it fulfilling the scriptures? Is it the healing of the people? Is it inviting the lame and the blind into the temple? Is it? Now, you might be mad about getting whipped. You have that may be that'll take you off is it that he teaches in authority is it because he's receiving worship from the people from the children like what exactly religious leaders are you mad about if you remember what I said last week and I know you remember every word of everything I say we said that anger is love in motion to protect what you love most and what they loved most

was them they love their authority they love their control they love their influence So they say, Jesus, we got a question for you. By what authority do you do these things? I want you to see how Jesus answers their question. He's going to answer it with a question. Verse 24, and Jesus answered them, I also will ask you one question. And if you tell me the answer,

then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. So Jesus says, all right, you want to know what I think? Let me ask what you think. If you answer my question, I'll answer your question. Sounds fair, right? And here's what he puts before them, verse 25. The baptism of John. From where did it come?

From heaven or from man? And you can't hear this in the text, but the Pharisees went, because he's got him. He's got him. Look what happens. And they discussed it among themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he will say to us, why then did you not believe him?

You see, because they can't deny what John the Baptist did. And what John the Baptist did is he pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. He said, Behold, the Lamb who's come to take away the sin. He said that Jesus is the Son of God who came to fulfill every promise and prophecy about God in the Old Testament. So they're like, well, we can't say that because then he'll turn it back on us. Verse 26. But if we say from man, we're afraid of the crowd because they're still living for the applause of man. What man thinks to them is greater than what God thinks.

For they all hold that John was a prophet. So they answered Jesus. We don't know. And Jesus said, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. I love this so much. Let me tell you why I love this so much. Not all questions deserve to be answered. Just because somebody accuses you of things,

does not mean you have to respond to all these things. What Jesus says is, hey man, I'm not going to play your game because I know that you are a bad actor. And because the heart motivation behind what you're doing is you don't, actually care, you don't actually want answers to the questions, you're trying to get me in trouble, so I'm not going to play your game, all right? My daddy told me one time, he said, son, don't ever fight with somebody on the internet. It's like wrestling a pig, and here's what happened. Everybody gets dirty, and the pig likes it. This is what Jesus is doing. He says, I know the game you're playing, so I'm not playing your game. So instead of answering your authority, what I'm going to do is I'm going to

share three parables back to back to back. Let me tell you why this is important, okay? Here at 1122, we believe in the inspired, infallible word of God. This is the revealed word of God. The living word is Jesus. This is the revealed word of God. Every word in it is inspired by God, infallible and perfect. I mean, I believe it cover to cover. I believe the leather's genuine.

You understand what I'm saying? So if he says anything, it's important. But when he says the same thing, three times in a row, you might want to pay attention. And he doesn't repeat himself because he's lazy. He does it for emphasis, and Jesus has a habit of doing this. If you'll remember him in the sermon on the Mount, he said, you are salt of the earth. Light on a stand, city on a hill, three things in a row. In Luke chapter 15, when he's teaching about the character of God,

searching after the loss, he tells three parables, the last coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. We call it the prodigal son. In Matthew 25, we'll get there in a few weeks. He shares three parables back to back to back on how to be ready for when he returns. It's the parable of the virgins, the parable of the talents, and the parable of the sheep and goats. And what he's going to do is he's going to give three parables, and they all have the same point. They just get a little more intense every time.

And just in case you fall asleep, and I hope you don't, I'm going to tell you the point of the parables now. He's going to share these three parables, and the point of the parables is this. He's looking at the religious leaders, and he's going to say this. He's basically saying this. What's wrong with you? That's what he's saying. What is wrong with you? How did you miss the point?

Like you had an advantage, you had a head start. You had the Torah. You had Hebrew school. You had the temple. You had the prophets. You had the sacrifices. You had everything that you need to recognize when the Messiah, the Son of God, showed up on the scene, and you're going to miss the whole thing.

And the people that you thought were last in line are actually first in line, and you're just criticizing the line what is wrong with you. That's what he's going to say. except he begins, it's a little bit nicer, and then it gets real tough at the end. So buckle up for this. So here's his parables. Number one. He says, so what do you think?

A man had two sons, and he went to the first, and he said, son, go and work in the vineyard today. And the son answered, I will not. And some of you look at that and be like, oh, wow, my son is biblical. Look at that. He's just like, I've got one of those. He says, I will not. but afterward, pay attention to this, underline this in your Bible. This is key to all three parables.

He changed his mind and went. The theological terminology for that is repentance. He repented. He said, I ain't going. And then he's like, you know what, I should probably go. And he changes his mind. And he was going in his own direction. And instead, he changes direction.

And he goes in the direction of his father. This is very important. He changed his mind and he went. And then the dad goes to the other son and he said the same. And that son answered, I will, sir, but did not go. Now, Jesus has a question. So which of these two did the will of his father? And they said, the first.

You see, he's talking about the religious Jewish people rejecting Jesus. That's what he's talking about. But it has major applications to church people today. So don't think I'm going to get up here and yell for an hour about a group of people that lived 2,000 years ago that can't do anything about it. What we have to do is hold up the word as a mirror and see where we can see ourselves in this. That intentions are useless, man.

Intentions are useless. And I've got some really good news for you. In the gospel, it ain't how you start that matters. I hope you know that. It's how you finish. And so there's one guy that says the right thing. but he doesn't follow through. Let me ask you, are you obeying Jesus with your life?

Because I'm just going to tell you, man, if you show up here every week or not every week, but you know, like when it's convenient for you. And you sing real loud, especially the songs you like good, and you know the parts to raise your hand, and you know when to say amen, and you kind of do all the kind of church stuff, you know, because every church kind of has a culture,

and you figured out how to do the thing and carry your Bible in. But you don't do what the Father says, to do, then you're like the second kid, not the first kid. Not good. And so he goes, all right, so which one did the will of the father? They're like the one that followed through. And Jesus said to them, truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes go into

the kingdom of God before you. Now, when we hear tax collector and prostitute, it doesn't land on us like super heavy, especially if you've been around church, you know. But when they heard this, they were like, wow. I mean, Jesus is like, look here religious people with your fancy robes and all your things, smells and bells and all the things you have. Bro, the hookers and terrorists are going to heaven and you're not. And I know somebody would be like, he said hooker.

Yeah. It would have been shocking to them. He's like, you're so religious. You're going to miss out on redemption. And the people that you thought were going to be looked over. they're going in before you. Verse 32, for John came to you, speaking to John the Baptist, for John came to you in the way of righteousness,

and you didn't believe it. And again, John the Baptist showed up and said, I'm preparing the way of the Lord. And then he goes, there he is. And John baptizes Jesus, and God the Father speaks out loud over his son, behold my son, in whom I am well pleased. And the spirit of God like a dove dwells, comes and dwells upon him. And he's like, you were there,

and you missed the whole thing. John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe in him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes, they believed him. They trusted him. They put their faith in him. Here's why this is important.

Do you remember how, it's all the way back, Matthew chapter 4, I know you remember everything I say, but just to remind you, Matthew chapter 4, and Jesus began from that moment teaching, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. heaven is within grasp. For who? For anyone who would take hold of it? For anyone that realizes, I don't have what it takes. Then he begins his teaching ministry on the sermon on the mount with this.

Congratulations. Blessed are you who are poor in spirit. Congratulations when you realize you're spiritually bankrupt and you realize I can't do anything to make myself righteous. I'm busted. I need somebody to do for me what I cannot do for myself. He's like, perfect. The kingdom of heaven is right there because you know what you need to be saved? Need. And if you don't think you need a savior, man, then you won't reach out for one. Like if you don't know you're lost and I offer you a map, you will not receive it. This is what he is saying. It is not until your need supersedes your ego or your comfort that you will bow your knee and surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ.

And he says, and even when you saw it, you did not afterwards change your mind and believe in him. Repent and have faith. That's what he say. You see, here's the crazy thing, man. This is the crazy thing about the gospel. You ready for this? It's not that we have to repent from our unrighteousness.

Everybody agrees with that, right? Everybody understands, whatever you describe evil is or bad or sin or whatever. everybody believes we shouldn't do those things. The gospel is that we actually have to repent of even our righteous deeds. Isaiah says that our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God. I'm not even going to tell you what filthy rags mean. Google that for a little while. That's fun.

Here's what that means. If you think that you have a right standing before God because you do the right thing, we even have to repent of that. And these guys think that they are right with. God because of their religious activity. That means God saves us from our rebellion and our religion. And the way that we're saved is when we come to him, pour in spirit and say, I got nothing.

My Sunday school attendance and my church attendance and how many Bible verses I know are not going to save me. I've got to repent and believe that you save me. That's parable one. Parable two, he just doesn't even stop. He's just motoring through. Ready? He goes, hear another parable.

He goes, there was a master of a house. The master is God, okay? Who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants and went into another country. Now, the moment these first century Pharisees heard this, they knew that he was talking about Israel. Because Isaiah 5'7 describes this, and it just says, the vineyard is Israel. So this is like bottom shelf for these guys that know the Bible. that God created the world. He fits off a little piece of it. He gives that piece to Israel to steward for everyone. He gives them favor. That's the wine press. And he gives them power. That's the tower. Verse 34. And when the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get its fruit. And what Jesus is saying is that season is right now. I am here to seek and to save the loss. And what you were supposed to do was to steward this thing in such a way. remember, we've talked about this a thousand times,

God blessed Abraham not to be blessed, but so that he would be a blessing through the whole world. And he set up a temple system and a sacrificial system so that it would be a picture to the whole world that every family would be blessed by coming to know the one true God. That's what they were supposed to do. By the way, just as a side note, 1122, we are in the season of harvest right now.

I mean, the number of people getting saved and baptized and all the things, we are right smack dab in the middle of it. Not because of us. What we're doing is not new. It's just our turn. We stand on the shoulders of faithful generations who have gone before us, who have planted seeds and planting seas and planting seas and planting seas, but the time to receive the fruit is right now.

And so Jesus is here to accomplish the point of the vineyard. And not only that, what he's going to go through is pictured by this wine press. Because what you would do is you would take the fruit and you would squish it in the wine press and then the juices would flow, and that's what you would make wine out of. That's what's going to happen to Jesus. He is going to be crushed on the cross. His blood is going to flow like wine, and then his people drink, receive that, and we are reconciled to the Father.

This is what he's talking about. And so he sent his service to get the fruit, and the fruit here, the fruit of Jesus' finished work is that people, all people, all kind of people, come to Christ. and what the tenants were supposed to be doing, what the religious leaders were supposed to be doing, what church people today are supposed to be doing is we are supposed to be holding open the door

and being the welcome committee to all the people that God wants to bring in. The Bible says in Psalms, it's better to be a doorholder in the kingdom of God than sit on the throne of iniquity. But instead of being a doorholder, the religious leaders have become a bouncer. And they got a checklist.

I don't think you can come. And this makes the king angry. Verse 35, and the tenants, so the servants show up. You get this, the servants show up. He said, hey, we're here to get the fruit. And the tenants took its servants and beat one and killed another and stoned another. By the way, what Jesus is talking about here is the way that the religious leaders treated the prophets of old. In a few weeks, you'll see that Jesus is going to come before Jerusalem, and he's

going to say, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. You stoned the prophets and attacked the messengers of God. This is the way they had treated the people of God. Look at verse 36, and again, he sent other servants, more than the first,

and they did the same to them. Remember last week? I talked about God as slow to anger. He's so patient. He relentlessly pursues his people. I mean, listen, man, if I sent one of my staff to your house to pick up something and you beat them up, I'm not sending

more staff. I'm calling to police and we're going to take you to prison. And yet God, when we reject him, continuously offers and reoffers until verse 37, finally he sent his son to them, saying, they'll respect my son. Here's why he sends his son. Because to know the father is to know the son and to know the son is to know the Father, and you cannot divorce the two. We live in a world right now that tells lies. I don't know if you know that. There's a lot of people that,

no, we all just worship the same God. You cannot simultaneously reject God the Son and say that you know God the Father. The way you treat the Son is what you think about the Father. You ever see 300? No, y'all don't watch that. Y'all just watch House of David. That's all you watch.

All right, thanks. Sorry to wake you up. You ever seen 300? I'm not condoning it. I'm just saying it's awesome, okay? Remember that scene when the messenger from Arta Zerkseys throws up? Shows up, you know, he's like super tall, ballheaded to do. Almost like he's glowing.

Looks like he fell into a tackle box, you know what I'm saying? He's got tattoos everywhere and piercings all over the place, and he's like, I come in the name of a lot of succeeds. Remember that? And what he's doing is he's saying, you surrender, Sparta. I speak on behalf of the king. And then Leonidas is like, mm-mm. Not on my watch, man.

Remember this? And he begins to refute him. And the guy's like, no, no, no. If you, whatever you do to me, you're doing to the king. And then Leonidas looks over his shoulder at his wife. Wives, you don't know the power you have. And she's like, get him, baby. Remember this?

And he's like, this is Sparta! And then he kicks him all the way down that hole. Remember that? And then what happened? They go to war. Why? Because whatever they did to the messenger you did to the king. So what do you think happens if you were just?

a son, you reject a father. This is what he's saying. But when the tenants saw the son, this is so big. So he sends the son. He sends the son. He's like, surely they'll respect the son. If they respect me, they respect my son. But when the tenant saw the son, they said to themselves, this is the air. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. This is such a big deal. First and foremost, Jesus is foreshadowing, prophesying what they are going to do to him. Friday of that week. The Son of God has been sent on a rescue mission, and these people are going to kill the son.

But it's not just that. Theologically, this is rich. This is the root of sin, because they see the sun, and they say, let us kill him and let us have his inheritance. This is what religion will do, is that I just want to take from God, I don't want what God has for me. It's the root of sin. The way that we know it's the root of sin is this is.

is what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. Lucifer was an angel in heaven. In Isaiah chapter 14, this is what happens. He was actually in charge of worship. The Bible says that he was like clothed or covered in gemstones, and he was supposed to refract the light, which was Christ sitting on the throne. And then one day his pride took over. He got tired of being looked through and he wanted to be looked to.

And in Isaiah 14, he says this. It says, how you are falling from heaven, O Daystar, in Latin. That word is Lucifer. That's where we get his name. Son of dawn. How you were cut down to the ground. You who laid the nation's low. You set in your heart.

This is what the devil said in his heart. I will ascend to the heaven above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high. I will sit in the mount of the assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself the most high. And God said, no, you won't. cast him out like lightning. When we sin, that's what we do. He wanted to be worshipped. We won't

control. The baseline of sin is this, is we think what we want is better than what God has for us. Listen, man, when you get high, it's because you don't believe that the peace of Christ is enough, and so you go searching for it for somewhere else. When you mess around with somebody that's not your wife, it's because you don't think God's way of marriage is enough, so you think I'm going to do this thing my own way. When you make much of yourself,

it's because that's it. You want to be worship. You want to sit on the throne. The core of sin is we think what we want is better than what God has for us. And we want to sit on a throne that was made for him. And that's the throne of our hearts. It was

made for him. And that's what these guys do. Come, Let us kill him. We'll have his inheritance. And so they took him and they threw him out of the vineyard and they killed him, talking about the son. When therefore the owner, Jesus, remember, he's talking to the religious leaders. And he says, when therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these tenants?

What say you? Now here's the thing, okay? Jesus, he's telling a story and they can see it clearly because they're a little bit removed from it. You ever notice how easy it is to see sin and everybody else? But when you're in it, you're like, oh, no, hold on. And they said to him, he'll put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits of their season.

And Jesus is like, bingo, you nailed it, boys. They don't realize they're damning themselves. Verse 42, in Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures? the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. In it is marvelous in our eyes. He's quoting Psalm 118, 22, and 23. Here's what he's saying.

He goes, this stone that you are rejecting, which is me, it's going to actually be the cornerstone of the thing that our faith is built upon. You see, you're going to reject me, and you're going to do this, and you're going to nail me to a cross, and you're going to stumble over me because I claim to be the son of God. And the thing that you stumble over is going to be the thing that people put their fate then, which is me dying on the cross in their place. That's what he's talking about.

It says, therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. Commentators say, this was Jesus predicting the fall of the temple, which is going to happen 37 years later. And what he's saying is, listen, the reason that God bless you, was to be a blessing, to share the good news of the gospel to the ends of the earth. And this movement has been for all people, and it is your religion because you think you're better than everybody else that's going to prevent you from being redeemed.

Verse 44, and the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush you. Yeah, you can't break the truth of the gospel. You can only break yourself against it. and the same one that came to save is coming back to judge. Please hear that. The same one that came to save, full of grace and truth, will come back to judge.

And Paul says in Philippians chapter two that when he returns, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord. The question is, Lord of what? He will be your Lord. He will either be Lord of your salvation or he will be Lord of your damnation. God will be glorified in your life, either by demonstrating his justice,

by enacting his wrath upon us because we deserve it, or a demonstration of grace because we've trusted him to pay for our sin debt. He says, and the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. Verse 45, and when the chief priest and the Pharisees heard this parable, they perceived that he was speaking about them. They're a little slow on the uptake. They're like, hey, wait a minute. Why are you looking at me so mean? I think he's talking about us.

You think? And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds because they held him to be a prophet. And still, their fear of man is greater. than their fear of God. This moment, they could fall into their face and they could trust Christ. I love this, verse 22. And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables.

They're like, trying to leave. He's like, I'm not done talking. They're like, we got it. Oh, you're going to get it. So he keeps going. And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, verse 2, the kingdom of heaven may be compared

to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Oh, this is such a big deal. The kingdom of heaven, by the way, The kingdom of heaven is wherever the king rules and reigns. We've talked about this. Our whole years focused on this. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of God is wherever the king rules and reigns.

That's not just one day when he returns, but he's here now and the kingdom of heaven is here. This is why those of us in his kingdom are to pray, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so he's like, all right, this is what it's like. This is the gospel. It's compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. This is the biggest party that they could ever imagine. This isn't just like a regular wedding like you think you get invited to a wedding, okay?

Somebody invites you to a wedding and you're like, who gets married during football season? I ain't going to that, all right? And it's like 30 minutes and if you stay for the reception, it's an hour or something like that. This thing was like seven days long. This is a big deal, man. And if the king invited you, I mean, think about it. Even Americans are obsessed with royal weddings. Like when what's her name and what's his name got married a few years ago, I don't know the people.

Because we won that war. I don't know why people are still obsessed with it. Anyway, whatever. I don't care. But people care. And in the scripture, this wedding feast is talked about, man. It's talking about it in Isaiah. It's talked about it in Revelation.

And the wedding is one of the primary illustrations of salvation. Why? Because there is a union. Like in my wedding, it's between a man and a woman. in this wedding, in this great cosmic wedding, it is between the groomed Jesus and his bride to church. There's a union, and there's a vow, and there's love, and there's a celebration, and there's a deepening,

a growing in this love over time. And this is like the greatest thing you can, listen, if you were just like a normal little first century regular person, you didn't get invited to stuff like that, and you're like, where will we stay? King's like, I got you. How are we going to get there? I'm going to send an Uber.

What am I going to wear? I got you. What are we going to eat? Oh, we're going to eat for seven days. This is the greatest invitation you've ever received in your life. Verse three, and he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast. But they would not come, not could not come. They would not come.

It doesn't make sense. I mean, from the outside, when you're hearing this parable, you'd be like, who would skip that wedding? Think about whatever your favorite thing is. I don't know what your favorite thing is. Just imagine. Any Jags fans in the house? Go Jags, anybody with me? Praise B.

All right. Now, listen, this is our year. So, imagine if Liam called you and said, listen, man, we made it to the Super Bowl, all expense paid trip for you and your family, you're going to fly with us, you're going to stay with us, you're going to be on the practice field with us. When we beat whoever we're going to beat from the NFC, you're going to party with us afterwards. You'd be like, I think I'm going to do that. If you're a fan, this is the kind of invitation, man.

And they're like, I don't think I'm going to go. Here's what he's saying. He's like, this is what it's like when you get invited to be a part of the family of God. And you're like, I don't think I'm going to. What? What are you talking about? C.S. Lewis says, listen, man, we're like a bunch of dumb poor kids playing and making mud pies in a mud puddle when the king has invited us to a vacation at the beach.

He says, our problems is not that our dreams are too big, but we're satisfied with so little, like mud pies, when eternal life is hanging in the balance. It happens to church every week, man. Now, here's the thing. In this context, he's talking about the religious Jewish people who have been invited. In this context, I'm talking about church people that hear the gospel all the time, the invitation of the king to be a part of his family. And you're like, eh, he sent his service and he called those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they wouldn't come. And again, he sent other servants.

How patient is God? Mamas. Look at me, mamas. All the mamas look at me. What do you do when you cook dinner for your kids? And you're like, all right, dinner's ready, and they don't come. Do you just think, well, they might not be ready. I should just ask them again.

I can tell you what I do at my house. I feed it to the dogs. Yeah. I'm like, y'all won't starve to death. You better get here when I say, come. Not Jesus. Look at this. And 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. Ain't a vegetable in here, bro. It's all ready, at great cost to the king. These people, this would actually be like a seven-day meal. This is what this is. Verse five, but they paid no attention. And they went off, one to his farm and another to his business. while the rest seized the servants and treated them shamefully and killed them. Let me give you a big fat warning right here. Some people respond with outright rejection.

And you can see these people in this world. They outright reject Jesus. They're anti-Jesus. They hate the church. They hate Christians. You right? Am I. They hate it.

but if you're here you probably don't but the number of church people they get an invitation they hear the good news of the gospel and think man you know what i mean i got other stuff to do one went to his farm and another went to his business one guy's like i got a boat i mean i got you know i got stuff to do i'm not anti-jesus i mean if i come to church i think it's you know occasionally when i can i think it's good i think i got kids i certainly want to raise them in it I mean, our country's lost its mind. So at least I can hear some true things at church, but I'm not like, I mean, I'm not in. I'm just kind of, I'm kind of busy.

Here's the warning, church. The result for the one who rejects and the one and the one who ignores is the same. It's the exact same. Is that when the party starts, when you breathe your last, whether you just ignore Jesus or you outright, rejected. That result is the same that the party has started. Eternity begins and you are not a part of it with him. Verse 7 and the king was angry. He's slow to anger. We talked about it last week. He's slow to anger. But there is a day coming when the invitation is over and the judgment begins. And you do not know when that day comes. You do not know when that day comes. And the king was

angry and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city and then he said to his service the wedding feast is ready but those invited were not worthy so what does it take to be worthy like how do you get on the list are you worthy you want to hear the scandal of grace you know what it takes to be worthy to go to the wedding feast just accept the invitation this is a crazy thing you've ever heard him in your life you know what you know what what I've done? Oh, he knows. Look, watch. Go, therefore, to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you can find. As many as you can find. Sometimes people ask me, why does your church got to be so big? We're just trying to do what the king said, man. We just want

to invite as many as we can find. My favorite thing to say when people are that, why is it so big? Who do you want me to un-invite? Because you're at the top of the list right now, Scooter, all right this is why we're going to keep planting churches and campuses and do all the things because we are about the father's business and then look who the people they find it says and those servants went out into the roads and they gathered all whom they found both the bad and the good anybody bad in here me too look at us anybody good you know you just raise your hand in your heart you're like I'm really good You know you did.

I got good news, man. It don't matter who you are, what you've done or what you've believed or whatever it is. Then we all get invited, both the good and the bad are invited. I mean, think about it. Can you imagine the people are out there and be like, yeah, but what about him? He's like a one-percenter in a bike gang. King's like, bring him. She works at the strip club.

Bring her. They have an addiction. Bring him. This one's in prison. Bring them. That's a Sunday school teacher. They can come too. This person is a member of the HOA.

Come on. How about a Florida fan? The good and the bad. Everybody's invited. This is the scandal of the gospel. And here's the thing. Here's why, man. It's not actually about being good and bad.

Some of you are good at being good. I married one of those people. Some of you are good at being bad. My wife married one of those people. It ain't about good and bad. It's about life and death. And the reality is, before a holy and perfect God, none of us are good. Because even our good deeds are like filthy rags before him.

And we realize that I'm not a bad person that just needs to do better. I'm a spiritually dead person that needs life. And Christ came that we may have life. And so they found all kind of people, both bad and good. And so the wedding hall was filled with guests. And let me tell you, man, if this parable ended right here, this is the feel-good hit of the New Testament. Get them, Jesus.

You walked in there and you kicked out all those religious people. They saw it. And then you invited in all to everybody, good and bad. And then, woo, party. But he wants to make the point very, very clear. And so he is going to turn the screws in. And so the wedding hall was filled with guests. Verse 11, but when the king came in to look at the guest, he saw there was a man who had no wedding garment.

This doesn't make a lot of sense today. It's not like there was a certain dress code. That's not what it's talking about. In the first century, the way this thing would go, especially if you got invited to the king's wedding. Remember, he's out on the road. He's like, you don't come to the wedding? He's like, man, I'm just like in my jeans and stuff. I can't go to the king's wedding.

And he's like, oh, the king has a garment for you. And so what would happen in order to honor the bride and the groom and to honor, it was the father of the groom that put it on, right? So as a guy with the daughter, maybe we'll get back to that one day, but anyway. And so what they would do is they would provide wedding garments. And a part of it, it was because all of the attention was going to go to the bride and the groom. And so the real rich people would like silk suits on or whatever, you know, they didn't want you getting all attention and they didn't want anybody feeling bad if they were just kind of ratty. so everybody would put on the same thing. And if it was a king's wedding garment, man,

this would be probably like a white robe. It would be incredible. It would be a gift that you would get to give. And in order, so what you would do when you would get to the wedding, obviously, is you would take off the clothes that you had and you would put on what the king had given you. Seems easy enough. And so the king's strolling through the party, and it's pat, man.

It's thumping. And then there's one person, and they ain't got the wedding garment on. But what's you doing? And here's what this represents. This guy got the invitation. Here, you need to put this on. He went, nah, what I've got is good enough. It's not going to go good for this guy.

Let me just put it on the bottom shelf. What he is doing is he is saying what I bring to the wedding is enough. I don't need what you provide for me. For the Pharisees, this is why they don't bend their need to Jesus because what you need to be saved is need. And they're thinking, I don't need you, mine's good enough. And the gospel is this, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless I stand before the throne.

Are you faultless? I'm not faultless. In fact, it was because of all my faults, all my sins, every single time I wanted to sit on his throne. Every single time I thought, well, what I wanted was better than what he had for me. That's my sin. So how in the heck do I get to stand faultless before the throne? It's because I'm wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That God made Him who was without sin to be sin for us, that we would be made the righteousness of Christ.

And so here's what he says. He says, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? God speaks us. You see, all throughout the gospel, there's very. this picture of God clothes us in the righteousness of Christ. I'm going to read a bunch of them to you because you can't go wrong. Read Bible verses. Colletions 327.

For all of you who were baptized, immersed, submerged into Christ, have clothed yourself with Christ. Romans 12, I mean, Romans 13, beginning of verse 12, the night is far gone. The day is at hand. So then let us cast off works of the darkness and put on the armor of light. verse 14, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify his desires. Colossians 3, 8 through 10.

But now you must put them all away, anger and wrath and malice and slander and obscene talk, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. In Jesus' most famous parable, we call it the parable of the prodigal son. You remember the kid. rejects the dad. Dad, you're dead to me, give me my inheritance. The father gives it to him.

And then he thinks what he wants is better than what the father has for him. And the father would love him enough to let him find out. And he goes and squanders everything he has on what the Bible calls reckless living in a land far away. And he's alone and he's feeding pigs

and he's busted and he's broke. And he's jealous of what the pigs are eating. And then finally, the Bible says the boy comes to his senses. And he's like, man, even my father's servants, he better not do. So he repents, he changes his mind, he changes direction. And when he comes back home, the father has been scanning the horizon.

And while he was still a long ways off, the father runs to him, wraps his arms around him, covers his face with kisses. And then the first thing that he does, the boy tries to apologize. Father, I've sinned against heaven and sin against you. And he says, shut up, you're home, boy. And then the first thing did he do, he says, go and get my robe. And he wraps this robe around him. And nowhere in the Bible does it say that the boy stopped at a holiday Inn express and got himself cleaned up before he came home.

He came back a mess and the father would love him enough that he wraps his robe around him. It's a picture of the righteousness of Christ so that when everybody saw the boy, they didn't see the mess of his life. I saw the righteous perfection of the father. This is the gospel. And if you want to stand before your king and say, nah, my good works are enough. I don't need your wedding garment. I got this. Friend, how did you get here without a wedding garment?

And he was speechless, and then the king said to the attendants, bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He goes to hell. That's what that means.

You try to earn your way to heaven? You won't make it. There's only two options. Everybody spends forever somewhere. Either in eternity, with Christ, that's what we call heaven. Or eternity separated from him. That's what the Bible calls hell, weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

And look at 14. For many are called, many are called, and few are chosen. I just wonder, even this weekend, the tens of millions of people that will sit in churches and hear the good news of the gospel, they will hear the invitation from a servant of God, saying, won't you come to the wedding feast? And there'll be some people in our world that outright reject it,

but they're probably not going to church this weekend. And there'll be a lot of church people, be like, I mean, we've got stuff to do and just ignore it. You see, here's the scandal of grace in this wedding feast that none of us deserve to be at. First of all, everybody's invited. For God so love, the world. that he gave his only-begotten son, that whoever would believe in him wouldn't perish but have

eternal life. He says, go and fill this place up. Everybody's invited. Yeah, but what about my past? He knows. What about I used to believe? Okay, that's fine. No matter how you start, everybody's invited.

And then, secondly, everybody gets in the same way. It's like, if you grew up this way, you've got a plan, and if you grew up that way, you've got to different plan. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth in the life, and no one comes to the Father, except through me. Everybody's invited. Everybody gets in the same way, and then the best part of all, and the price has already been paid. So are you worthy? You're like, no. Except in the kingdom of God, all it takes is for you to say yes to the invitation. I was preaching on the imputed righteousness of Christ years ago, and a guy named Jack Johnson texted me, not banana pancakes guy, but there's a guy in our church name Jack Johnson.

And he says, the only paperwork that matters in heaven is your RSVP. Not your resume. Not look all that I did, Lord. And it's not your birth certificate. Well, I mean, you know who my grandma is? We grew up in the church. That doesn't get you in. It's simply responding to the invitation.

of Christ to just lay down your life to first and foremost admit it I need you I need you I am poor in spirit I'm not just a bad person that needs to do better I'm a spiritually dead person and I need you to do for me what I cannot do for myself and I cannot make myself right before God I need your righteousness counted for me and I believe that when you died on the cross you died on the cross and you pushed up on your nail-pierced feet and you said, it's finished. I believe that somehow, by faith, that counted for me. And I want to say yes to the invitation.

I call on the name of the Lord. The Bible says, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And to call him Lord doesn't just mean, it's not just, if you just say the words, you're not in. It's like some kind of magic trick. It's not like a witch's incantation. You can just say the right words. No, no, no.

To call on the name of the Lord means I'm surrendering my life. to you. I'm going to take off my old self and say, that ain't it. I'm going to put you on and say you are my Lord. And whoever does that will be saved.

Here's the thing that keeps me up at night. Because we've got so many people and so many services and so many campuses and all the things, man. I feel like everybody in the planet's watching us online right now. And there's so many people that are just kind of flirting around the edges with the Jesus thing, you know? those are like the people that hear the invitation, but like, no, I'm good.

And the real question is, have you put your faith in Jesus? We followed him. Have you surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ? And so, I'm just like one of these sermons that has been sent on behalf of God

to say that you are invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb. That's what it's called in the book of Revelation. That God is inviting you right now to put your faith in him and to be a part of his family. And for anyone who believes

that when Jesus is down on the cross, that counted for you, for anyone who believes, trusts, then you receive the right to become a child of God. I want to give you that opportunity right now. Would you bow your heads? Would you close your eyes? And if that's you,

Whether you're good or you're bad. And that's you. And today that you know that you have been invited. And it's not just because of the sermon that I just preached. It's because that you know that deep in the deepest place of your heart and soul, you know that the God of the universe is inviting you to surrender your life to him. To not bank your eternity on your good works, but to bank your eternity on the finished work of Christ.

and today you want to say yes to the invitation to surrender your life to Christ, to be with him forever and ever and ever. If you're ready to do that, I would invite you to lift your hand as high as you can and just call on the name of the Lord. You can say in whatever words you want to, Lord Jesus save me, and that is a prayer that he answers 100% of the time. Our good and gracious heavenly, Father, God, we love you more than anything. And God, we rejoice with you and all the angels. angels in heaven because even in this moment Lord people are saying yes to your invitation. Lord I pray that you would always make us the kind of church that is on the welcome committee that is going to going out into the streets in every place inviting all that we could find

to come to the wedding banquet provided by you our savior and our king. God, we love you because you love us first. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Church, would you please stand? When you would go to a wedding feast, they would celebrate and they would party. And one of the ways he would do that is they would sing and we're going to sing and we need to sing like save people. And a part of the way we respond to the gospel is we bring.

One is just because he is worthy of it. He gave us his first and his best in Jesus Christ, so we gladly bring our first and best. And a part of what that does is that helps facilitate us going to every tribe, every tongue, every nation, taking the good news of this gospel saying, hey, won't you come to the wedding feast? And we pray. And listen, man, our prayer time at the end is not just for you if you're on the struggle of us. If you're on the struggle of us, come and pray.

Cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you. But a legit reason to come down here and get on your face before the Lord and humble yourself is that you're just overwhelmed with gratitude that the kids. King would even invite you. So let's sing, let's bring, let's pray. Let's respond.