Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1914-08-29

GOLDEN TEX@"O Jerusalem -Jeru-
salem. that kiIleth the prophets, and eton-
est them that are sent unto her how often
would have gathered thy children to-
gether, even as hen gathereth her own
brood under wings. and we would not
Luke 1884 r. V.
To catch the fall 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
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. 81: 49,
In this lesson the figure of the king
dom is changed from a vineyard to a
feast
Relation to His People.
I. The Kings Invitation Rejected,
w. IL. 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 husband to his wife
Che being the son referred to, see
Cor 11:12; Eph. 5:24-32; 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 mar
rage our Lord speaks of three differ
emit invitations. The first one was re-
ceiyed with Indifference, but indiffer-
ence 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-
tions of Gods love.
Wonderful indeed is the forbearance
of God The sin of rejecting the cross,
Gods offer of grace, is UNNECESSARILY
greater than that incurred by those
Jews who rejected the Man of Cali
1ee.''
Question of Worthiness-
II. The Kings Invitation Accepted,
wv. $40. Those invited had judged
| themselves mot worthy" Now go to
the parting of the ways where people
congregate and gather them in Our
worthiness is in that we accept, and if
we reject we are mot worthy" This
command to go outside was prophecy
of the time when the Gentiles should
likewise be ''partakers of grace"
Those who finally accepted the
kings invitation were both good and
bad w. 100, but the act of acceptance
was not an assurance of position as
we can see from the last part of the
parable. rs sad to think of the many
servants of the king who have neg,
! 1ected his command thus to go forth
and recruit the banquet feast. Final
| ~ ". 1O) we read that the wedding
was filed" Heaven will not be an
empty place, Rev. 1914.
Ill. The Unprepared Guest, w. 1f-14
| Every guest was scrutinized by the
| king. 1t was strange sight to sec
| one who had neglected to avail him
self of the garment freely provided in
which to appear on such an occasion
| This robe is symbolical of the robe OF
| righteousness with which God will
| clothe all who accept his invitation
/, lisa. 61:10; Rev. 1877, s; Eph- 4:24;
Rom 1874. For this man to present
| himself clothed in his own garment
was to insult the king, SO our OWL
righteousness is as filthy rags" in his
sight, Isa 64:6; Phil 3:9 R. v When
questioned about this act of insolence
| the guest was "speechless-" So like
| wise will all unbelievers stand one
| day before the great king
The Teaching of this parable EN-
| phasizes our privileges in the king
dom of God. A full realization of that
Kingdom means JOY, gladness and per
feet satisfaction On previous occa
sion Jesus gave up the parable of the
/ Great Supper which SO much resem
| b1es this Both of these parallels have
/ to do with the attitude of men to the
/ Gospel invitation There is the further
| emphasis upon the nature of the an
swer of men to this invitation The
| first Is that of men who are blind te
the glory and beauty Of that which Is
offered to them, though their refusal
was not final. Men. still blind, treat
this invitation contemporary and
| turn to their own interests, seeking
| satisfaction, while others shamefu1lJ
treat the kings messengers This
!, treatment is followed by swift judg
ment- Once more the invitation and
| and mixed company are gathered
some with worthy and some with un
worthy motives
The Masters final words w. Ia EN-
phasize service and responsibility
1 The call was an open. general univer
sal one Those chosen were not onl,
those who came but those who accept
| ed the conditions laid down. The In
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