Matthew: 22: 1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.’ 5 But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment;[a] 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Once again brothers, we are facing a well-known passage from the Bible which motivates us to reinforce the idea about the word of God, although written centuries ago, it is alive! Glory to God!
Here we see Jesus teaching the people of that time about the secrets of the kingdom of heaven that He came to reveal to us. Today we are going to use this story to learn the difference between “Being in the kingdom of God” and “Being in the kingdom of God”.
Within this passage, but out of context here narrated by Jesus, we often stick to the end of verse 14 which tells us “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” But what does this really mean to us? Why would God invite any human being to the Kingdom and in the end not choose this human being to be by his side?
In addition to this question we can add:
Psalm 139: 16
16You saw me before I was born. The days you gave me to live were all written in your book when none of them existed yet.
My God! If everything that will happen to me is already determined by God before I was born, why play with me by inviting me to the Kingdom and then discarding me?
Of course, brothers, these concepts are wrong when we try to understand this mystery with human logic. Let’s read another verse from Psalm 139 to switch from human thinking to spiritual thinking.
Once again brothers, we are facing a well-known passage from the Bible which motivates us to reinforce the idea about the word of God, although written centuries ago, it is alive! Glory to God!
Here we see Jesus teaching the people of that time about the secrets of the kingdom of heaven that He came to reveal to us. Today we are going to use this story to learn the difference between “Being in the kingdom of God” and “Being in the kingdom of God”.
Within this passage, but out of context here narrated by Jesus, we often stick to the end of verse 14 which tells us “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” But what does this really mean to us? Why would God invite any human being to the Kingdom and in the end not choose this human being to be by his side?
In addition to this question we can add:
Psalm 139: 16
16You saw me before I was born. The days you gave me to live were all written in your book when none of them existed yet.
My God! If everything that will happen to me is already determined by God before I was born, why play with me by inviting me to the Kingdom and then discarding me?
Of course, brothers, these concepts are wrong when we try to understand this mystery with human logic. Let’s read another verse from Psalm 139 to switch from human thinking to spiritual thinking.Psalm 139: 17
17And how precious are your thoughts to me, O God! How big is their sum!
Yes, brothers, the Lord’s thoughts are precious, they are difficult to know and understand. Thank God we have the Holy Spirit to help us!
So, let’s go deeper into the question: why would God invite any human being to the Kingdom and in the end not choose this human being to be by his side?
There is a simple answer to this question: free will.
However, I don’t want to settle for a simple answer, I want to go deeper and learn how to practice this free will so that God will be pleased with me!
The preparation
2 – The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who has prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3Then he sent the employees to call the guests, but they did not want to come.
God had prepared everything so that the Jews could celebrate the coming of the Messiah. The arrival of the Son of God on Earth so that He would be received with the honor of a prince despite his humble origins. Our creator wanted his people to recognize in the simplicity of Jesus of Nazareth the greatness that it is to be anointed by the Lord. That’s because it would be easy to honor Jesus if He were born in a golden cradle. However, in this case, Jesus would be honored with human honors, not spiritual honors.
So, the first servants, the prophets, called the guests, but they did not want to celebrate a humble man born in an unimportant city even though this man was the Son of God!
The second chance
4Then he sent other employees with the following message: “Tell the guests that everything is prepared for the party. I have already killed the calves and the fat oxen, and everything is ready. Let them come to the party! ” 5 – But the guests did not care about the invitation and went about their business: one went to his farm and the other to his warehouse. 6 Others seized the servants, beat them and killed them.
God still loves his people, despite being rejected by them. Jesus went through the world in flesh and blood, showed that he is the Son of God, the Messiah long promised to come and take away the sin of the world. Jesus sent his disciples to, once again, directly call not only the Jews, but all people to his feast and celebrate the salvation and grace brought by Jesus.
However, again, people were too busy with the physical world to pay attention to the spiritual world. The messengers, Jesus’ disciples, for insisting on the message, were considered undesirable and murdered.
God’s respect for our free will
7The king was so angry that he had those murderers killed and their city burned. 8Then he called his servants and said: “My wedding party is ready, but the guests did not deserve it.
Yes brothers, it may seem cruel, but that is what happened. Spiritually, God killed those who rejected him three times. For thus Jesus also taught:
Matthew 18: 15-17
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and, alone with him, show him the error. If he hears you, you have won your brother. 16But if he doesn’t hear you, take one or two others with you, so that ‘any accusation is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses’. 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church; and, if he refuses to listen to the church as well, treat him as a pagan or a tax collector.
1st time: Adam denied God when he disobeyed him. And God talked to him.
2nd time: the Jews denied God when they did not accept Jesus.
3rd time: those who denied God by killing Jesus’ disciples.
But God did not give up on us! Hallelujah!
9 Näo go out and invite all persons You see on the streets. 10 Then the servants went out and reunited everyone they could meet, even good people and bad people. The saloon become crouded.
At least God could get some of the invited to his kingdom. And so it is till nowadays. Everyone is called, good and bad people, to live in the grace of god. The churches grow and miracles happen and the fiest of god is nice.
We live, as in former times, like today, things that changed the world, great things and little things, changed nations , only families or only one or another person. And every new person invited came to the feast, as god told them.
The churches promote shows, feasts and other events, most of the persons come and enjoy. Gospels call a lot of persons in big places and all worship the Lord.
Brothers, this is verx good, it is not to blame. Many are saved this way, because many come to know Jesus and the Holy Spirit changes their lifes.
But keep an eye on the outfit of these persons !!
The outfit:
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment;[a] 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Here is a part of the parabel we sometimes do not see properly: Between many of invited persons the king saw one without the proper outfit. In those times, when Jesus lived, it was common, that persons without adequate outfit could beg for some when arriving at the event, the owner of the feast gave it to them. See, Jesus invites You to be his follower and promises for You the Holy Spirit when You agree.
To join the celebration of the Lord´s grace without the Holy Spirit may perhaps function during some time, but as got makes the first proof for this person, the feast for him will be ended.
But god never does not give another chance. He will show the mistake and offer otherwise the Holy Spirit. This is the moment, when the person comes and nees bevore god begging for forgiveness and begging for help. But some do not listen to the voice of the Lord and are thumb to the help of the Holy Spirit.
Everyone of the invited has the free will to decide to follow the invitation but also to come with the proper outfit, the help of the Holy Spirit.
Here we have the difference between “to be in” and “to belong” to the kingdom of god.
Only by seeking the Holy Spirit, asking in prayer and following Jesus’ teachings can we be well dressed for the feast of the King of kings!
May God have spoken to you today.
Let us pray:
Lord, once again I thank you for your immense kindness and mercy in offering us countless opportunities to be part of your kingdom. Please Lord, allow your Holy Spirit to reveal to me where I am sinning so that I can repent, no longer sin and present myself properly dressed before the Lord. Amen!