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Jesus must have shared the parable of Matthew 22 with a heavy heart!
The parable is short briefing on the the frustrations He has had in His attempt to reach Israel and the rest of the world with the good news about salvation through faith in His name. This poignant parable tells the story of God's relationship with Israel over the years. The king represents the Father and the wedding feast represents the Marriage Supper of the Lamb as spoken of in Revelation 19:9 - " And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
This marriage supper represents the feast we believers will have one day in the presence of God and His holy angels. This will happen one day in Heaven and will be a time of great rejoicing among all of us as believers in Christ. Sadly, this parable speaks about how many of God's people - the Israelites - will miss out on the design and blessing God had prepared for them.
The servants going out and inviting people to come to the wedding feast represent the prophets of God whom God sent over thousands of years to warn the people of Israel of their wicked ways and to turn to God. But, the guests (or people of Israel) ignored God's warning and invitation.
It's interesting that Jesus shares how busy they were in their lives - way too busy to take time for God! So, God tells His prophets to go out and invite "everyone" - which included everyone who wasn't a Jew. God's invitation is for ALL people to come to Christ!
The person identified in the parable who didn't have wedding clothes represents those whose spiritual garments weren't accepted at the feast. God tells us in Revelation 19:8 that once we get to Heaven, God clothes us with new garments. They are white and bright, representing the holiness of God. Only those who are true believers will be clothed with a garment of holiness in God's Kingdom.
Sadly, as Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders of His day, they were offended by this parable. Instead of recognizing Him and accepting Him, they dug their heels in and totally rejected Him.
In fact, these religious leaders were nothing more than "religious." But, God isn't impressed with religiosity, but rather in us having a "relationship" with Him. There are many religious people in the world, but very few who have an intimate relationship with God. Like the farmer and businessmen in the parable, they were so immersed with earthly things that they never really took time to put God first place in their lives.
What about you? Are you just so busy that you have no time for God? Does the TV, your cell phone, the internet, your job, your family keep you so preoccupied that God takes a back seat to your life and priorities?
The religious leaders were so spiritually broken and full of pride that Jesus spends all of Matthew 23 blasting them for their hypocrisy. What was their problem?
1. They loved the praise of men more than the praise from God!
2. They loved teaching the Bible, but didn't live the Bible!
3. They loved being praised, but were not acquainted with being humble!
4. They appeared Godly on the outside, but they were spiritually dead on the inside!
No wonder Jesus called them "snakes", "vipers", "murderers", and "hypocrites." They were the descendants of those who killed the prophets.
Perhaps the most powerful statement Jesus made is also the most horrifying!!! Notice what He says of these religious leaders in 23:35, "As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation."
Imagine that! Jesus will call on those men of His day to account for all of the killings of the past and in the future! Wow!
As we read Matthew 24, we need to keep in mind that this chapter is speaking of Jesus' 2nd coming, and not the rapture - as many people ignorantly think. As the disciples seek understanding of the last days, Jesus tells them of all the things that will be signs of the coming of the end of the world as we know it. When He refers to Daniel's prophecy of the sacrilegious offering within the Temple, this is AFTER the rapture and just prior to His return to set up His Kingdom on earth for 1,000 years.
He tells us that we can know the time of the end by watching the signs of the times.
As we look at what's going on in the world today, His coming is so soon! Perhaps today!
Are you ready?
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