A Certain King Made a Marriage Feast (Jelinski wedding)

The point: Exchange vows not only to one another but into the ears of God, recognizing His presence and future judgment.

Martin illustrates the universality of marriage by referencing diverse cultures, from the Amazon bush to West Irian tribes and highly civilized places, to show that marriage is a fundamental human relationship, not an accidental one.

Her father and mother leaves to her husband. And the scripture says that they enter into a relationship so deep, so pervasively permanent, that our Lord Jesus Christ himself said, Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. And marriages are a part of every culture, whether you go down into the bush in the interior of the Amazon, or over into the stony...

2:48 - 3:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But it was locked up in the largeness of the king's heart to make so lavish a feast, and then to make that feast free to all who would have held themselves up.

He contrasts the king's lavish feast, where 'oxen and fatlings are killed,' with a 'little snack kind of a reception' to emphasize the bounty and graciousness of God's provision in the gospel.

This was no little snack kind of a reception that we often have. Here was a king who could say, My oxen were. I mean, this wasn't just a choice piece of beef. This was the whole thing, cut up, and broiled, and baked, and barbecued, and all of the rest.

7:24 - 7:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Almighty God against whom you have sinned and I have sinned, whose wrath we deserve, that God has sent his only begotten son to become a man, to live on this earth and then to go to that awful place called the cross and …

Martin uses the analogy of treating the Bible like a 'magic charm that sits on a stand' to highlight the superficial way some interact with Scripture, contrasting it with taking it seriously enough to read and understand its profound truths.

in Jesus Christ a wonderful, a lavish feast of the forgiveness of sins, pardon for all our iniquities, acceptance into the fellowship and friendship of God, the promise of his presence now and of his glorious presence in the world to come. Now when we read the scriptures and do something more than treat the Bible like some kind of a magic charm that sits on a stand in the house, blow the dust off and the priest or the rabbi or the preacher is coming, if we take the Bible seriously enough to read it, we find that the Bible speaks again and again of forgiveness of sin, pardon for our iniquities,...

11:19 - 12:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Almighty God against whom you have sinned and I have sinned, whose wrath we deserve, that God has sent his only begotten son to become a man, to live on this earth and then to go to that awful place called the cross and …

He describes terms like 'forgiveness of sin,' 'pardon,' 'justified,' 'redemption,' and 'sanctification' as 'just different courses in this wonderful feast of good things' to illustrate the multifaceted blessings God provides in the gospel.

in Jesus Christ a wonderful, a lavish feast of the forgiveness of sins, pardon for all our iniquities, acceptance into the fellowship and friendship of God, the promise of his presence now and of his glorious presence in the world to come. Now when we read the scriptures and do something more than treat the Bible like some kind of a magic charm that sits on a stand in the house, blow the dust off and the priest or the rabbi or the preacher is coming, if we take the Bible seriously enough to read it, we find that the Bible speaks again and again of forgiveness of sin, pardon for our iniquities,...

11:19 - 12:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Acknowledge that you are a sinner, have nothing to commend yourself to God, and desire to be clothed with the covering for your sins that comes from the hand of God himself.

Martin explains the oriental custom of a king providing wedding garments for all guests, illustrating why the man without a garment was speechless and inexcusable, and applying it to the necessity of Christ's righteousness for salvation.

It says the king came in and he looked at the man who had the wedding garment and said, friend, how come no wedding garment? And it says the man is speechless. Well, you've got to understand a little bit of oriental custom. If you provided a feast such as the king provided, you also had a royal tailor who would make up these garments that would be made out of the finest of the royal cloth and would be available to the king.

19:43 - 20:06 Read in full sermon