Matthew 22 - 08.22.24
SCRIPTURE -Matthew 22:8-13 NIV
““Then he said to his servants,
‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.
So GO to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’
So the servants went out into the streets
and gathered all the people they could find,
the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was FILLED with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests,
HE noticed—a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot,
and throw him outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
OBSERVATION
Jesus shares a Parable about “The Wedding Banquet”
In the Culture of Jesus’ day, two invitations were expected whenever a Banquet was given.
The First invited the guest to attend; the Second announced that everything was ready.
In this Parable, a King is giving a Banquet for his son. When the King sent his second invitation to announce that all was ready—the guests who had already “accepted” the invitation “refused” to come. The King became furious and even sent out his armies to destroy their city (22:7) and then instructed his servants to GO Out into the Street Corners and Invite EVERYONE regardless of their social standing, reputation, or moral character—outcasts and sinners!
APPLICATION
ROOM AT JESUS’ WEDDING FEAST—For ALL who say-YES!
Jesus parable was about “The Wedding Feast—in—the Kingdom of Heaven”.
The Invitation to “attend” the Wedding Feast—went First to God’s Chosen-the Jews.
The Problem was—most of them—though Chosen-were relying on their own “identity” as Jews to save them—and NOT on God’s Promised Messiah. They studied scripture-and missed “Their MESSIAH” who was the hope and redemption of ALL mankind—The Way, The Truth, and The Life—when HE was standing right in front of them.
The invitation—Good News—went out to the Jews First AND then proceeded out to the Gentiles and then—to EVERYONE—
The Good News is that we are ALL outcasts and sinners—but Jesus takes us IN and clothes us in His forgiveness and righteousness AND assures us of eternal life in Heaven with Him-when we Accept “HIS Invitation”.
“Then Jesus came to them and said,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore GO and MAKE disciples of ALL nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to OBEY— everything I have commanded you.
And remember—I AM with you always,
to the very end of the age.””
(Matthew 28:18-20)
Who was the man at the “wedding banquet” without the “wedding clothes”?
Anyone who goes to a wedding would naturally wear their very Best— Perfectly Clean-attire. You would never think to wear an old, soiled, dirty garment.
The Church-as The Bride of Christ will be no different.
We will be dressed for “This Wedding Banquet” with the Pristine “Garment” provided by Christ-His bright, clean, ROBE of Righteousness!
Anyone without this Robe will NOT be permitted into this Banquet.
-instead—they will have been thrown into hell and after Judgement the Lake of Fire.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give HIM glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and HIS bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, BRIGHT and CLEAN, was GIVEN her to wear.” (Revelation 19:7-8 NIV)
“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
The lake of fire is the second death.
Anyone whose name was not found
written in the [Lamb’s] book of life
was thrown into the lake of fire.”
(Revelation 20:14-15 NIV)
Heaven and Hell are very REAL Places. Heaven is a FREE Gift. But it is a Gift that must be Received. Anyone whose NAME is not written in the Lamb’s book of Life (Accepted Christ’s Free GIFT of Salvation through faith in Jesus ) will be eternally separated from God.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
Two very different eternal consequences. This gives me such an ache in my stomach for those who will be eternally lost.
Today I pray this ache will not leave me. I pray it is not passing or “emotional” but rather Your Calling. I pray Your Holy Spirit bears hard down on my Soul—Filling me and using me to Share Your Love-even when I’m fatigued, even when I’m in pain, even when I’m feeling like my words won’t make sense. Help me to rely on the knowledge that YOU are ALL I need. Your Faithfulness will be complete and Your Power IS made manifest in my weakness. Father, SEND Me and SEND More people out INTO Your Harvest Fields to Know Your very Great Love for them. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Tina L Kudelka
Matthew 21 - 8.21.24
Scripture
..‘The Lord has need of them,’.. (Matthew 21:3)
Observation
The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on a young donkey which we celebrate as Palm Sunday today, is recorded in all the four gospels. It is very interesting that only Matthew has recorded an additional bit of detail which is missing in the other three gospels. All the four gospel writers record that Jesus rode on a young donkey also known as a colt. Only Matthew records that Jesus asked his disciples to go and find a mother-donkey which was tied along with her colt. “Loose them, and bring them to me”. If anyone asks the disciples about what they were doing, they were instructed to answer “the Lord has need of them”. I remember hearing a Pastor in India narrate his personal experience regarding this story, when I was in high school, which greatly influenced me. This Pastor was intrigued that the Lord asked for the old mother-donkey to be brought along with the colt. He asked the Lord why He needed the mother-donkey. It didn’t make any sense. Jesus only needed the colt on which He would ultimately ride. Why did the Lord ask for the mother-donkey to be brought along as well? As he pressed in prayer, he felt the Lord impressing the following answer on his heart. “It is not your business to know what I needed the mother-donkey for. Just know that just as I had a purpose for the young donkey, I had a purpose for the mother-donkey!”
Application
The Lord needs you. Whichever season of life you are in, the Lord has a purpose for you. He has called you according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). You are not meant to drift aimlessly through life, but to accomplish His plan for you, a plan that was conceived even before you were in your mother’s womb (Jer 1:1). All the days ordained for you were written in His book, before you were born (Psalms 139:16). When I heard this story I was a young teenager similar to the young colt, ready to change the world! Now, with one kid having left for college and the other one leaving for college in a year, my husband and I are getting ready for an empty-nest, and I can relate better to the mother-donkey! I am grateful to know that the Lord has a purpose for me in this season of my life as well as the future seasons of my life as I pass from middle-age to old-age, just as He had a purpose for me in my youth.
Prayer
Father, I want to thank you because you need me. Thank you for knowing me. Thank you because you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:13-14). Lead me into the good works you have prepared for me to do (Eph 2:10). Please fulfil the purpose for which you created me, as I can do nothing without you (John 15:5). Let your will be done in my life as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). Help me to be obedient to your commandments and live a life that is pleasing in your sight. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight (Psalms 19:14). Make my life a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to you (Romans 12:1). In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
- Asha Chacko George
Matthew 20 - 8.20.24
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 20:1-16 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, "You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." So they went. He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?" "Because no one has hired us", they answered. He said to them, "You also go and work in my vineyard. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, "Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first. The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. " These who were hired worked only one hour", they said, "and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day". But he answered one of them, "I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
OBSERVATION: In this parable, God is the landowner, and the workers represent believers. This parable is about salvation, and God's kingdom of grace.
Naturally the workers who were hired at the beginning of the day expected to receive more wages than the workers who were hired at the end of the day. That makes sense to us, but God rewards and blesses everyone according to His will and good pleasure, not according to what we deserve! The landowner did what he had promised each of them; they were all to receive a denarius for a days work. Even though it didn't seem right to the workers, the landowner explained that he had been completely fair to all he had promised to pay.
APPLICATION: God rewards us according to Who He is, not according to who we are. We are all given the same reward regarding heaven. Jesus paid the full price for all of us to receive God's mercy and grace, and for us to have our sins forgiven, and to receive eternal life. No matter if we've been a Christ follower for decades or only seconds; everyone who has put their faith in Jesus is able to receive God's gift of eternal life. All believers who faithfully serve the Lord will receive an equal inheritance regardless of when we were "hired".
Once we enter heaven we will be rewarded crowns according to the time we spent allowing God to work through us to achieve the good works of our life. We will acknowledge God's sovereignty by casting crowns at His feet while we worship Him in heaven. These crowns are:
THE CROWN OF VICTORY, (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
THE CROWN OF REJOICING (Phil 4:1)
THE CROWN OF LIFE, (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10)
THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: (2 Timothy 4:8)
THE CROWN OF GLORY (1 Peter 5:4)
PRAYER:
I thank God for the gift of salvation, and for the rewards that He will hand to His faithful servants as our eternal inheritance in Christ. I pray I will not store up for myself treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but my heart will be centered around God's eternal kingdom. (Matthew 6:19-21).
- Robin Orefice