以赛亚书25:6-9

愿恩惠、平安、喜乐从主耶和华而出，赐给你们素来等候祂的人。阿们。

我们听完今天的福音经文可能会误以为神本来无意拯救我们外邦人，就是非以色列人，好像我们只是为了填满婚宴的席位，只是因为国王为了撑场面才随随便便在大街上召人进来坐席的，其实并非如此。国王先邀请的人都是因为不信而拒绝，有的理都不理，把请帖一放继续忙自己的事情了；有的找了各种借口，地里活儿太多做不完，生意上的事需要出行等等，礼貌地推脱掉；更有甚者是不耐烦了，直接把送帖子的仆人给杀了。他们这些先被召请的人因为不信就不配出席。我们呢？我们是后来被邀请的人，事情总是有先有后，之前我们也听主耶稣所讲的：在后的将要在前，在前的将要在后。我们是后面被召请的，但并不意味着我们的父神不在乎，把我们带进教会只是为了凑够人数，或者为祂的爱子耶稣娶亲——就是基督的教会——而随随便便。后面我们也看到，没有穿礼服出席的人，就是那些不按着主的吩咐，不披戴耶稣基督救赎的义袍的人，要在羞愧中被驱赶出去。

我们回到旧约以赛亚书25章的经文。主耶和华宣告说，在这圣山上，要为万民摆设筵席，有陈酒和肥甘。从旧约中我们就可以处处看见，主耶和华神的拯救旨意和计划本来就是给万民、给所有人的，不只是以色列人，或者说不只是本来属于祂百姓的。主的救恩是给万民的，这丰盛的筵席也是给万民摆设的，因为我们人人都需要主所摆设的筵席。这筵席是救恩的筵席，“我们必因祂的救恩欢喜快乐。”（赛25:9）

那位被赶出去的人没有穿礼服，因为如果我们没有披戴基督的义袍，我们都是赤裸羞愧的，就像那时的亚当夏娃犯罪之后，眼睛明亮，看见自己没有穿衣服，就自觉羞愧，赶紧找无花果树的叶子遮盖自己的身子和羞耻。国王差派仆人出去到街上召人，无论好人坏人，或者说无论善的还是恶的，统统邀请来；大家要知道，这个“无论好坏、善恶”是按着人的标准说的，在神眼里，有一个好人吗？没有，没有一个。“世人都犯了罪，亏缺了上帝的荣耀。”

而今天旧约以赛亚书的经文也告诉我们，万民都被遮盖，万国都被遮蔽，这“遮盖之物”和“遮蔽的帕子”是什么呢？是死亡。不是这样吗？世世代代，没有一个人可以逃脱死亡，没有。事实上，万民都是被死亡所奴役，所捆锁的。所有人都活在对死亡的恐惧之下，哪怕今天的人如何尝试去掩盖死亡，甚至美化死亡。你别看今天的人多么忙，有那么多的娱乐活动，有那么高级的享受和舒适，但是，说到底，这些能够掩盖死亡的恶臭，挪去死亡的毒钩吗？一样都不能。事实上，人之所以让自己这么忙，让自己被各样的娱乐充斥，不就是为了掩耳盗铃，不去关心将来的大事吗？管它明日如何呢？过好今天就行了，最重要的是自己活在当下并且活得开心就可以了，管它死亡或者死后的事情呢？我离躺在病床上还早呢？！

万军之耶和华必要在这山上，为万民摆设筵席，就是救恩的筵席、得胜的筵席。这山就是各各他，是国王的儿子——新郎基督为万民舍命，迎娶新娘教会的地方。这筵席是需要代价的，那就是基督要吞灭死亡，以自己的死亡来打败死亡。我们能想象吗？举个例子，这就好像一位拆弹专家，遇到最难拆卸的炸弹，唯一可以保护民众的方法就是自己用身体包裹炸弹，并且引爆，自己死了，代替周边的人群死亡。我们的救主基督就是这样，“祂已经吞灭死亡，直到永远。”祂的死一次永远解决了死亡，为什么？因为祂本不该死，是为了我们死的，并且按着神的大能从死里复活了，哈利路亚。你说，死亡还能怎么样呢？你说万民万国，到那日，能不因着这位吞灭死亡的救主欢喜快乐吗？我们怎能不说：“看哪，这是我们的神；我们素来等候祂，祂必拯救我们。这是耶和华，我们素来等候祂，我们必因祂的救恩欢喜快乐。”（赛25:9）那日已经来了，就是主耶稣钉十字架的日子。

当天国的大君王向我们发出邀请来参加筵席的时候，我们怎能拒绝呢？我们怎能拿各样的借口开脱呢？我们的房子、事业、儿女、爱好等等，哪一样可以跟奔赴基督的筵席相提并论呢？我们怎能说，一次两次错过上耶和华的殿朝见神的面无所谓呢？我们怎能说，来到主的圣餐桌前领受祂亲自摆设的筵席，就是祂赐生命的身体和血，无关紧要呢？我们怎能因着不信和拒绝而成为不配奔赴天国最后的筵席的人呢？我们怎能不时常把婚宴的礼服穿戴整齐，不沾染污秽，保守自己的身体和灵魂圣洁无瑕疵呢？我们怎能与世界不信的人同流合污，完全不在乎主的呼唤和警告呢？

感谢上帝，我们今天坐在这里，带着疲惫不堪的心，带着软弱祈求主怜悯的心，不是我们多么积极主动寻求神，而是主出于怜悯继续呼召我们，差派祂的仆人，藉着祂的圣经话语不断地呼唤我们，让我们来奔赴祂的筵席。我们来不是为了充数，而是切切实实为了我们自己的益处，领受主的恩惠和礼物。在基督里面，因着我们的信心，我们被神算为配参加筵席的人，配作为祂的儿女、神家中的一员。这都是祂的恩典。正是在这新的圣山，就是基督教会中，主耶和华按着祂的应许，不断地擦去我们脸上的眼泪，除掉我们的羞辱，就是赦免我们的罪，赐给我们脱离死亡，得着永生的盼望。奉耶稣基督的名。阿们。

Isaiah 25:6–9

May grace, peace, and joy from the Lord GOD be upon you who have waited upon Him. Amen.

When we hear today’s Gospel text, we might mistakenly assume that God had no original intention of saving us Gentiles—that is, non-Israelites. It might seem as if we were invited merely to fill empty seats at the wedding feast, or that the king hastily summoned people from the streets just to keep up appearances. But that is simply not true. The ones who were invited first refused because of their unbelief. Some paid no attention at all, setting the invitation aside to go about their business. Others offered various excuses—too much field work to finish, business travel that required their attention, and so on—politely turning it down. Still others grew impatient and went so far as to murder the servants who brought the invitations. Those who were invited first were unfit to attend because of their unbelief.

What about us? We are those who were invited later. Things always happen in a certain order. As we have heard the Lord Jesus say before: “The last will be first, and the first last.” We were called later, but that does not mean our Father God does not care, nor that He brought us into the Church merely to make up the numbers or was casual about arranging a marriage for His beloved Son, Jesus, of whom the bride is His church. As we see later, anyone who attends without wearing a wedding garment—that is, anyone who does not follow the Lord’s command to put on the robe of Jesus Christ's redeeming righteousness—will be driven out in shame.

Let us return to the Old Testament text in Isaiah chapter 25. The Lord GOD declares that on this holy mountain, He will prepare a feast of rich food and well-aged wine for all peoples. Right throughout the Old Testament, we see that the saving will and plan of the Lord GOD has always been for all peoples, for everyone—not just for the Israelites, or strictly for those who originally belonged to His people. The Lord’s salvation is for all peoples, and this lavish feast is prepared for all peoples because every single one of us needs the feast the Lord sets before us. This feast is a banquet of salvation: “let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isa 25:9).

The man who was thrown out lacked a wedding garment. If we are not clothed in the robe of Christ’s righteousness, we are all naked and ashamed—just like Adam and Eve after they sinned. Their eyes were opened, they saw that they were naked, and feeling deeply ashamed, they hurriedly gathered fig leaves to cover their bodies and their disgrace. The king sent his servants into the streets to invite everyone, both good and bad, or the evil and the good alike. But we must understand: this “good and bad, evil and good” is spoken according to human standards. In God’s eyes, is there even one good person? No, not one. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Today’s text from Isaiah also tells us that all peoples are covered and all nations are veiled. What are this “covering” and this “veil”? They are death. Is it not so? Throughout all generations, not a single person has ever escaped death—not one. In truth, all peoples are enslaved and bound by death. Everyone lives under the fear of death, no matter how hard people today try to conceal or even romanticize it. Look at how busy people are today, with so many forms of entertainment, high-end enjoyment, and comfort. Yet, in the final analysis, can any of these cover up the stench of death or remove death’s sting? Not one. In fact, is not the reason people keep themselves so busy and flooded with all kinds of entertainment precisely to play the ostrich—so they don’t have to care about the ultimate reality ahead? Who cares about tomorrow? Just live well today. What matters most is living in the moment and being happy—who cares about death or what comes after? "I’m a long way off from lying on a hospital bed!"

The LORD of hosts will prepare on this mountain a feast for all peoples—a feast of salvation, a feast of victory. This mountain is Calvary, the place where the King’s Son—Christ, the Bridegroom—laid down His life for all peoples to take the Church as His bride. This feast comes at a price: Christ must swallow up death, defeating death by His own death. Can we even imagine it? To use an illustration: it is like a bomb disposal expert who encounters the most complex bomb imaginable; the only way he can protect the public is to wrap his own body around the bomb and detonate it—dying himself in place of the surrounding crowd. That is what Christ, our Savior, did: “He will swallow up death forever.” His death solved death once and for all. Why? Because He did not deserve to die; He died for us, and by the power of God, He rose from the dead. Hallelujah! What more can death do? On that day, how could all peoples and nations not be glad and rejoice because of this Savior who swallowed up death? How could we not say: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isa 25:9). That day has already come—it is the day the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross.

When the great King of the kingdom of heaven extends His invitation for us to attend the feast, how could we refuse? How could we offer all kinds of excuses? Our homes, careers, children, hobbies—which of these can compare with hastening to the feast of Christ? How could we say it doesn't matter if we miss coming before the face of God in the house of the LORD once or twice? How could we say that coming to the Lord’s holy altar to receive the feast He Himself has prepared—His life-giving body and blood—is of little consequence? How could we, through unbelief and rejection, render ourselves unfit to attend the final feast of the heavenly kingdom? How could we fail to keep our wedding garments clean and untarnished, preserving our bodies and souls holy and blameless? How could we go along with the unbelieving world, completely indifferent to the Lord’s call and warnings?

Thanks be to God, as we sit here today with weary hearts and with weak spirits pleading for the Lord’s mercy, it is not because we were so proactive in seeking God. Rather, out of His mercy, the Lord continues to call us, sending His servants to summon us again and again through the Word of Holy Scripture, inviting us to hasten to His feast. We do not come merely to fill seats, but truly for our own benefit—to receive the Lord’s grace and gifts. In Christ, through our faith, we are counted by God as worthy to partake of the feast, worthy to be His children and members of His household. This is all His grace. It is precisely on this new holy mountain—the Christian Church—that the Lord GOD, according to His promise, continually wipes away tears from our faces and removes our reproach, forgiving our sins and granting us the hope of deliverance from death and the gift of eternal life. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.