Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 22:1-3

"And Jesus answered and spake again in parables unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the marriage feast: and they would not come." — Matthew 22:1-3 (ASV)

Observe that it was a king who made this wedding feast; therefore, to refuse to come to it when the command implied great honor to those who were invited, was as distinct an insult as could very well be perpetrated against both the king and his son. They would not come. Had the one who invited them been only an ordinary person, it might not have been their duty to come, and they might even have been justified in their refusal.

But this was a king, who sent his servants to summon the guests to the marriage of his son; and I urge you to take notice that the gospel marriage feast, to which you are invited, is the feast, not only of a king, but of the King of kings, your Creator, and your God; and in refusing to come in obedience to his command, you commit an overt act of rebellion against his Divine Majesty. The king sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

They were invited, yet they would not come; from which I gather that those who think the invitations of the gospel are to be restricted to certain characters, because they say it is useless to invite others, do err, not knowing the Scriptures. What have we to do with the apparent uselessness of what we are commanded to do? It is our duty to give the invitation as our King directs us; but it is not our business to decide whether that invitation will be accepted or rejected. In this case, we know what happened: They would not come.