The Dolores star., 1914-08-21
INTERNATIONAL
SUNlNSGlOM
LESSON
LESSON FOR AUGUST al
rHG WEDDING rGAs4. Y
(Dy Z. o. SELLERS. Director Of Evening
Department. The Moody Bible Institute.
Chicago)

SS -
LESSON TExT--Matt. n.l-lA
GOLDEN TExT--"O Jerusalem, Jsru-
salem. that kiiieth tho prophets. and ston-
est them that are sent unto ker how often
would have gathered thy children to-
gether, even a. a hen gathersth her own
brood under wings. and " would not"
Luke 1894 r. v.
To catch the full significance Of this
parable which 10 alone recorded by
Matthew we need to be more or less
familiar with the Jewish pride Of racs
and their feeling Of superiority over
all heather" or outsiders. and the his
tory Of their treatment Of Gods rep
resentatives. the prophets.
Following upon the parable referred
to in our last lesson the Pharisees per
ceived that Jesus spake Of them and
they sought to arrest him (ch. 2l:46).
In this lesson the figure Of the king
dom IL changed from . vineyard to .
feast.
Rsistien 70 his People.
!. The Kings Invitation Rejected.
w. ~. The change OF figure just re-
ferred to suggests not alone m occa.
sion OF festal Joy Luke 1870. but
also Christ's relation to his people.
which Is that Of a husband to his wife
The being the son referred to, see ]
Cor. 1l:12: Eph. 5:24-32: John 500.
These Jewish leaders and their nation
were FIRST to be invited to the mar.
riage. This had been done by the
prophets OF old and later by John the
Baptiser. Under this figure Of mar.
rage our Lord speaks OF three differ
ent Invitations. The first ono was re-
ceived with Indifference. but indifIer.
ence never removes responsibility.
The second Invitation was received
with hostility. Nothing moro fully
reveals the foolishness and hardness
Of the human heart than the way In
which men treat the gracious invita-
tons Of Gods love.
Wonderful indeed 10 the forbearance
OF God. The sin OF rejecting the cross.
Gods offer Of grace, 10 immeasurably
greater than that incurred BY those
Jews who rejected the Man Of Cali
lee"
Question Of Werthinsss
u. The kine's Invitation Accepted,
w. 80. Those invited had Judged
themselves not worthy" Now 90 to
the parting Of the ways where people
consregate and gather them In" Our
worthiness ID in that we accept. and II
We reject We are mot worthy" This
command to 20 outside was prof. scy
of the time when tho Gentiles 81 )uld
likewise be "partakers Of grace
Those who finally accepted the
kings Invitation were both good and
bad ". l0). but the act OF acceptance
WAS not an assurance of position as
We can see from the last part Of the
parable. 1t Is sad to think Of the many
servants OF the king who have neg.
lected his command thus to 20 forth
and recruit the banquet feast, Hpsi
ly ". l0) We read that "the SiAe
was filled" Heaven will nN 20
empty place. Rev. 1914.
~. The URprsparsd Quest, w. fi.t&.
Every guest was scrutinized by the
king. It was . strange sight to see
one who had neglected to avail him
self Of the garment freely provided In
which to appear on such an occasion,
This robe Ii symbolical Of the robe Of
Righteousness with which God will
clothe all who accept his invitation.
lisa. 6l:l0: Rev. 1877. 8; Eph. 4:?4:
Rom. 1914. For this man to present
himself clothed In his own garment
was to insult the king. 20 our own
Righteousness II A. "flthy rags" In bis
sight. Isa 0:6: Phil SO r. v. When
questioned about this act Of insolencs
the guest was "speechless." So like,
wise will all unbelievers stand one
day before the great king.
The Teaching OF this parable en-.
phasixes our privileges IN tho king
dom OF God. A full realisation Of that
kingdom means Joy. Eladness and per
feet satisfaction. On . previous occar
sion Jesus gave up the parable Of the
Great Supper which so much resem-
bles this. Both OF these parallels have
to do with the attitude OF men to the
Gospel Invitation. There Ii the further
emphasis upon the nature OF tho an.
swer OF men to this invitation. The
first II that Of men who are blind 10
the glory and beauty OF that which 10
offered TO them, though their refusal
was not ANAL. Men. still blind. treat
this invitation contemporary and
turn TO their own interests. seeking
satisfaction. while others shamsfuliy
treat tho kings messenger. This
treatment 10 followed By swim judy.
ment. Once more the invitatioa and
and . mixed company are gathered.
some with worthy and souss with nm
worthy motives.
Tho Masters Anal words ". ~ en-.
phasiss service and responsibility.
The call was IN open. general unlvsr.
sal ono. These chosen we're not only
those who came but those who accept.
ID the conditions laid down. The In.
different. or hostile. as1 those vAe e