JESUS SPEAKING
“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.’ “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and nashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22: 2 – 14)
FAITHFUL THOUGHTS
In this parable Jesus identifies the Jews as the people to whom He had originally been sent. Many of these individuals however, had rejected the gospel message. In turn, God chose to bless the gentiles (non-Jewish people) by offering them salvation also. Still, we read that the king discovered some in attendance at the wedding feast that were not dressed properly; meaning they weren’t clothed in the garments of salvation that only a faith in Christ can provide. These people were rejected and thrown into outer darkness. Such is the fate of all those who reject Jesus Christ.
My son really enjoys going to the trampoline park and bouncing around. When we arrive there, we are each given colored bracelets, which we must display at all times. They can’t be covered or hidden under a sleeve. The staff need to be able to see the bracelets to discern if we are truly legitimate members. Those who are observed not wearing a bracelet are ejected from the facility because they did not pay for proper admission.
In a similar way, those who have been invited into the kingdom of God must be wearing the righteousness of Christ; something that reveals their true identity as believers. Apart from the Messiah, there are no other pathways to God, and no other means of gaining entry into His eternal kingdom. May we all possess a genuine faith in Jesus Christ.
“Lord Heavenly Father, give us more of Your Holy Spirit, that we might remain covered in the blood of Your Son. May we walk in humility as we experience the genuine salvation You have so graciously offered to us. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.” God bless all of You!
