Pages

Sunday 29 January 2012

Matthew 22:1-14 - Come one, come all

"Jesus told them several other stories to illustrate the Kingdom". It is not explicit who He told them to, whether they are still directed primarily at the religious leaders, or are for the people in general. The nature of the parable would seem to indicate that it the leaders are still the primary target. Whatever the case, the stories illustrate the kingdom of God, ie they illustrate how God's kingdom works, and how it is different from the world's kingdom.

A king had prepared a great feast for his son. So the parable is about the Father and the Son. Jesus is the only way to the Father. The invited guests, despite several attempts, refused to come to the banquet. Just think how different things would have been if the Jews, and the leaders in particular, had accepted Jesus!


So the king did two things. He sent his army to destroy the city. Now this actually happened in AD66-70. In Isaiah we read of Assyria being God's chosen instrument, here the Romans were His chosen instrument.This is a very sobering verse.

Secondly he sent his servants to the highways and byways to invite anyone who would come. This is illustrative of the tax collectors and sinners coming into the kingdom, and of the gospel going out to the Gentiles.

So many people came, but one person is singled out who was not wearing the right clothes. Could this be a reference to Judas?

No comments:

Post a Comment