The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come! [Matthew 22:2-3 (NLT)]
In explaining the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus told a parable about a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. Weddings are notable events but this was a royal wedding of great significance! Perhaps the most famous royal wedding was that of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in 1981. Broadcast all over the world, the wedding was viewed by 750 million people and 3,500 people attended the royal nuptials. In spite of the honor it was to receive an invitation from the Queen, not everyone who got one attended the festivities. The Presidents of the Republic of Ireland and Greece along with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain spurned the invitation for political reasons.
News of the royal wedding in Jesus’ parable would have spread all over the land and the guests already had received and accepted the first invitation (the 1st Century equivalent of a “save the date” card). When the feast was prepared, the king sent his servants to notify his guests that all was ready and the time had come. Unlike the few people who declined Queen Elizabeth’s invite, everyone invited by the king refused to attend: an inexcusable affront to the monarch. Nevertheless, in spite of his people’s deplorable behavior, the king was patient and sent out a third invitation.
A king’s invitation is more of a command than a request, but the people ignored his messengers; some were even abused or killed. When the people’s behavior went from insult to outright rebellion, the king reacted as would any king: by sending soldiers to kill the murderers and burn their town. With the wedding feast prepared but no guests, the king sent his messengers out to invite everyone they could find (both good and bad) until the banquet hall was filled.
Up to this point, the parable isn’t hard to understand. The marriage feast is the Messianic reign—the Kingdom of Heaven (or Kingdom of God since the two terms were synonymous). The King (God) had sent his messengers (the prophets, including John the Baptist) to invite His people (the Jews) to the wedding feast for His son (the Messiah). Since the original guests rejected His invitation, God extended his invitation to everyone (both good and bad Gentiles). His servants (the Apostles) would bring them into the banquet hall. The punishment of those who abused and killed his messengers along with the promised destruction and burning of their town points to Jerusalem’s fall and the destruction and burning of the Temple (the center of Judaism) by the Romans in 70 AD.
Matthew placed this parable immediately after the Parable of the Evil Farmers in which Jesus warned, “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.” [21:43] This parable expands on that theme. For centuries, the Jewish people had been invited to the Messianic feast, but they were showing contempt for God’s grace by their refusal to attend.
When Luke relates a somewhat similar parable about a feast, we shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus taught for three years and, like any good teacher, probably repeated Himself from time to time. Both versions made it clear that, even if the initial guests refused to come, God’s plan would not be stopped. His Son would have a people who would enjoy the benefits of the Kingdom! The parable in Matthew’s gospel, however, carries an unmistakable message with its description of the king’s punishment. The parable then takes an unexpected twist. Just when it seems that all were welcome at the King’s banquet, not everyone who came was allowed to stay. More about that tomorrow!
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. [Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)]
Hamartia is the word most frequently used in the New Testament for sin. Originally an archery term that meant missing the target when hunting with a bow, hamartia came to mean missing or falling short of a goal, purpose or standard. In Scripture, it conveys the idea of missing God’s perfect standard of what is righteous.
Rather than introduce himself as an apostle, Paul often identified himself as a slave of Christ Jesus. In the New Testament, the Greek word doúlos is often translated as servant or bondservant but it clearly meant slave. Of course, with our 21st century mindset, we find the word “slave” abhorrent, especially when applied to us! The word’s use by Jesus and the epistle writers, however, was never an endorsement of involuntary servitude or thinking of people as chattel. Used as a metaphor, doúlos was an honorable word that applied to believers who, as devoted followers of Jesus, willingly lived under His authority.
Even though I’m not an angler, whenever I read about casting my cares, I picture using a fly rod and casting my concerns out into the river so the fast moving water can carry them away to God. When we lived in the mountains, one of our favorite walking trails ran alongside the Yampa River and we often paused to watch as the fishermen (and women) cast their lines into the water. Fly fishing is all about the art of casting and a bit like poetry in motion. It was fascinating to watch an angler flick the rod back and forth, gradually increasing the speed of the motion, before finally casting the line forward so the fly would land in the perfect spot. Masquerading as a water insect, the fly is made of things like fur, feathers, fabric and tinsel and secured to a hook. Rather than purchasing flies, many fishermen spend hours tying their own flies. Not wanting to lose either fly or fish in the river, anglers use at least five different knots to securely connect the reel to the backing, fly line, leader, and tippet before finally tying on the fly.
Yesterday, I wrote about Jesus’ Parable of the Three Servants, often called the Parable of the Talents. Although I used it as an example of excuse making, that’s not what the parable is about. This parable comes right after Jesus’ description of the end times and the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids in which He urged readiness for the Day of the Lord. Immediately following this parable about the talents, Jesus spoke about the final judgment. The story of these three servants makes it clear that, when that last day comes, the master will settle accounts: faith will be rewarded and the righteous servants separated from the false ones.
Devotions of the Heart 