Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-08-21

MIN v 49, q { SdLlCtStn z w
brood under wings, and We would not"
Luke 1894 R. ".
To catch the full significance of this
parable which is alone recorded by
Matthew we need to be more or less
familiar with the Jewish pride of race
and their feeling of superiority over
all heather" or outsiders, and the his
tory of their treatment Of Gods rep
r~esentatives, 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 Och. 21:46),
though restrained for fear of the peo-
pie.
In this lesson the figure of the king
dom is changed from a vineyard to a
feast. There is no suggestion Of toll
or responsibility, and every thought is
that of joy and festivity. There is,
however, the suggestion of RESPONSE
bility to the messengers of the king.
Relation to His People.
/. The Kings Invitation Rejected,
w. ~. The change of figure just re
ferred to suggests not alone an occa-
sion of festal JOY duke 1910, but
also Christ's relation to his people,
which is that of a husband to his wife
Che being the son referred to, see l
Cor. 11:12; Eph. G:24-32; John 1920.
These Jewish leaders and their nation
were first to be invited to the mar
rage. This had been done by the
prophets of old and later by John the
Baptizer. Under this figure of a mar
riage our Lord speaks of three differ
ent invitations. The first one was re-
ceived with indifference, but indiffer-
enc never removes responsibility.
The second invitation was received
with hostility. Nothing more fully
reveals the foolishness and hardness
of the human heart than the way in
which men treat the gracious invita-
tons of Gods love. Notice they shut
out themselves, the king was in no
way to be blamed: Jesus reference to
all things being now ready" points to
the period of his rejection and to the
hour of the destruction of Jerusalem.
The third invitation is that in which
those outside the bounds of the He
brew national life would be called to
the privilege Of grace in the kingdom
Of God, u day of grace.
Wonderful indeed is the forbearance
of God. The sin of rejecting the cross,
Gods offer of grace, is i~mmeasurably
greater than that incurred by those
Jews who rejected the Man of Cali
lee" Verse five suggests who these
men were SO Indifferent, wiz, business.
It is our business to work most Ger.
tainly, but this is the work of God
that We believe on him whom he hath
sent" Historically we see the culmi-
nation of this rejection, not only on
Calvary, but in the lives of the disci.
pies also, see Acts Alb; 7:54-59, and
even today Gods servants are SO
treated. Verse seven is a prophecy OF
the final overthrow of the nation
which came in the destruction of Jeru
salem and the cause thereof, viz, the
c~rucifxion of Jesus, see 1924;
21:2O-22, also Daniel 1926; Micah 3:12
Question of Worthiness.
II. The Kings Invitation Accepted
v \. $40. Those invited had judged
themselves mot worthy" Now go ,t1
the parting of the ways where people
c~ongregate and gather them in" Oul
w~orthiness is in that we accept, and j
we reject we are mot worthy" This
command to go outside was a prophec,
of the time when the Gentiles SHOULD
likewise be "partakers of grace"
Those who finally accepted ths
kings invitation were both good ant
bad ". 100, but the act of acceptance
was not an assurance of position al
we can see from the last part of the
parable. 1t is sad to think of the man,
servants of the king who have neg
lected his command thus to go fortl
and recruit the banquet feast. Final
iy ". 100 we read that the wedding
was filed" Heaven will nos be al
empty place, Rev. 1914.
III. The Unprepared Guest, wv. 11-14
Every guest was scrutinized by thu
king. 1t was a strange sight to SCI
one who had neglected to avail him
self of the garment freely provided il
which to appear on such an occasion
This robe is symbolical of the robe o
righteousness with which God vii
clothe all who accept his invitation
lisa. CLIO; Rev. 1877, 8; Eph. aga
Rom 1874. For this man to presen
himself clothed in his W carmen
was to insult the king, SO u owl
righteousness is as filthy rags" in hi
sight, lisa. 64:6; Phil. $50 R. ". Whel
questioned about this act of insolenc
the guest was speeches." So like
wise will all unbelievers stand on
day before the great king.
The Teaching of this parable en-
phasizes our privileges in the kim
dom of God. A full realization of tina
kingdom means Joy, gladness and pei
feet satisfaction. On a previous occs
sion Jesus gave up the parable of tn
Great Supper which so much resen
bles this. Both of these parallels hav
to do with the attitude OF men to tn
Gospel invitation. There is the furthe
emphasis upon the nature Of the al
swer of men to this invitation. TIL
first is that of men who are blind I
the glory and beauty OF that which
offered t them, though their refuse
was not final. Men, still blind, tres
this invitation contemptuously an
turn to their own interests, seekin
satisfaction while others shameful
treat the kings messengers. TIL
treatment is followed by swift jud,
ment. Once more the invitation an
and a mixed company are gathere,
some with worthy and some with III
worthy motives.
The Masters final words ". 14) er
phasize service and responsible,
The call was an open, general unive
cal one. Those chosen were not on]