Matthew 22 Devotional

Gathered In from the Crossroads

“Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’”Matthew 22:9 (BSB)

A king prepares a wedding feast for his son, and everything is ready (22:2-4). Yet the invited guests refuse to come. Some go off to their fields and businesses, and others seize the servants who brought the invitation and kill them (22:5-6). Then the king sends his servants to the crossroads to bring in everyone they can find, bad and good alike, until the hall is full (22:9-10).

Everything at this banquet comes from the king: the meal, the hall, the invitation itself. The guests from the streets bring nothing and are welcomed anyway. Yet the story will not let the invitation be treated lightly. Those who refuse it are judged unworthy (22:7-8), and one man found without wedding clothes is thrown out (22:11-13). Many receive the call, Jesus says, but only a few are chosen (22:14). The God who invites is generous, and he is also King. If you have heard his invitation, the fitting answer is not delay but coming, on his terms.

To think about: Is there any part of God's invitation you have been putting off, and what would it look like to come to him today?