The Wedding of All Weddings
R.S.V.P. – Part 1

Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:5-6

Key Verse: John 3:16

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

RSVP is a French phrase meaning “please respond.” We use the letters all the time, especially for wedding invitations. We use it when we really need an answer from those we are inviting. When a room must be rented and food has to be ordered, we need to know your answer, “Are you accepting our invitation?”

In Jesus’ parable, it is a king who is preparing a wedding banquet for his son. He must know how many are coming, he wants to make sure the room is full and that his son is honored. Jesus didn’t use just any parent who was planning a wedding; he chose to use a king as the person doing the inviting. Jesus was intentionally putting emphasis on the importance of the banquet because of the person who was doing the inviting. It might not be so abnormal not to RSVP to a common person who was preparing a special day for their child, but surely everyone would respond to the king!

But the parable took a surprising turn when Jesus said that the people who received the invitation from the king “paid no attention and went off; one to his field, another to his business” (Matthew 22:5). This part of the parable got the attention of all those listening to Jesus. It was an obvious dig at the Pharisees and Scribes that had rejected Jesus’ invitation to the New Covenant with God. It would also be a warning to everyone in the future who receives an invitation and ignores it. Think about the privilege this invitation represents, a king inviting you to his son’s wedding banquet. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to attend? Yet, in Jesus’ parable about the Kingdom of Heaven, “they,” meaning many religious people, paid no attention to the invitation. You have been invited as well; have you given your RSVP? (Continued)

Father, I am so grateful for your invitation! In Jesus’ Name, amen!