The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1910-09-01
THE KINGS
MARRIAGE FEAST
Sunday Seheo! Lesson for Sept. II, 1910
Specially Arranged for This Paper

OO>DEN IEAT.-'Many are called-
but few are chosen. Matthew 22i4
TIME.-Tuesday. April 4. A. ID. 30. Three
days before the Crucinxion.
PLACE.-The Temple court at Jeru-
salem.
Suggestion and Practical Thought.
The Kingdom OF Heaven Like
wedding Feast.-Vs. l, 2. And Jesus
answered the unspoken needs. desires.
and questions of the people. By para
bles. the most picturesque method,
compelling attention. but not antagon-
istic. The enemy could not easily at
tack II. while to those who wished
to know II was full of light
The kingdom of heaven. the new
order which he came to establish on
earth. in which each citizen lived ac-
cording to the laws Of heaven. The
king represented God. The son was
Jesus Christ.
This feast represents all the bless
ings which God has provided In his
gospel. enjoyed in large measure here.
and perfected in heaven. The en-
phasis is on the marriage, the union
between Christ and his people. II Is
the highest ideal of love and friend
ship. II expresses intimate fellowship
with God. the mutual love and delight
in one another. the protecting care on
the one hand and perfect trust on the
other. the unity of purpose. of char
acter. of hope. the abiding forever in
enc perfect home. all of which belong
to the union of Christ with believers.
The Invitation.-Vs. 3, 4. And sent
forth his servants to call them that
were hidden. Literally. ito call the
called" to summon those who had pre-
viously been invited; because they
had no timepieces. and the hour when
the feast could be ready was very I'M
certain. This custom is not now OBJ
served very strictly among the COM
mon people, nor in cities where west
ern manners have greatly modified the
Oriental; but in Lebanon II still pre-
walls. II a sheik begs. or emeer In
vites, he always sends a servant to
call you at the proper time. These
having refused TO come, he sent forth
other servants, who were mot merely
to invite to. but to command the feast,
with a view to create a desire" Be-
hold, have prepared my dinner: my
oxen and my fatlings. I. e.. smaller
animals. as lambs, calves, specially
fed for the occasion. All things are
ready: come.
How the Invitation Was Received
VS.. SO They refused without giving
any reason. they would not come. They
simply did not regard the invitation
as worth attending to. They treated
Il with Indifference. They plead other
interests. Their farm duties. their
business gains. weighed more than
their kings service and good will.
Others displayed active opposition.
The king was wroth. Any
ordinary earthly king would be angry
at the insult. and indignant at the fol-
ly of those that refused, and would
feel the necessity OF furnishing those
who openly rebelled in the act of re-
fusing. There was no other way of
preserving his kingdom. Gods IAN
ger" is never passion, never desire TO
harm even the worst OF beings, but
burning indignation against wrong.
Go yet therefore into the highways.
Or. "the partings of the highways"
the crossroad- the places where
great numbers meet, "the broad. we'll
trodden ways of the world"
Gather together all both
bad and good. whoever was willing to
come and by that very act showed
that they wanted to be good.
The fullness of the time had come.
The preparations were complete.
Everything was prepared for the re-
demption Of man-heaven. love, the
atonement, the strongest motives, the
power of the Holy Spirit The world
was In the best condition for the com.
ing of Christ. Never before or since
has there been so fitting time-one
government. one language. peace.
roads. synagogues OF the Jews every.
where. The Staying of the animals is
an allusion to sacrifice. Only when
the Lamb was slain on Calvary were
all things ready for the marriage. The
long preparations for the Gospel were
completed; the forerunner had done
his work; Jesus himself had come
from Heaven, and had taught the
Jews the divine message.
The leading Jews had very much at
stake-their country. their holy city,
their temple. their synagogues. their
rank aud wealth. their leadership of
the people. They were so busy with
these. they were so afraid they world
lose them II they accepted the humble
Nazarene as their teacher, and obeyed
his precepts. that they were unwill-
ing even to consider his claims.
The kingdom of God was trans.
ferred from the Jewish nation to the
Gentiles. The Jews henceforth. instead
of being the people and kingdom of
God. would be mere Semitic nation
atty Many Of them then and since
belong to the kingdom of the Messiah.
The Messianic kingdom is today the
mightiest power on earth.
There has never been a king on
earth with a 1.-THE OF the power and
influence. and of the number of sub.
jects which King Jesus today pos
sessea.