Middletown transcript., 1914-08-22
LESSON FOR AUGUST %
THE WEDDING FEAST.

+ GOLDEN TEXT-"O Jerusalem Jeru-
salem, that killeth the prophets, and ston-
est them that are sent unto her how often
would I have gathered thy children to-
gether, even as q hen gathereth her own
brood under wings, and ye would not ="
Luke 1884 R. v.
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
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. 21:46),
though restrained for fear Of the peo'
pie.
In this lesson the figure Of the king.
dom is changed from 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.
l. The Kings Invitation Rejected,
w. IL. The change Of figure just re-
ferred to suggests not alone an occa-
sion of festal joy duke 1919, but
nIso NIrio4f. collation. 20 hls roopIo
which is that of husband to his wife
(1e 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
riage. This had been done by the
prophets of old and later by John the
Baptizer. Under this figure of mar
riage our Lord speaks Of three differ
ent invitations. The first one was re-
ceived 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. 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, our day Of grace.
Wonderful indeed is the forbearance
Of God. The sin of rejecting the cross,
Gods offer Of grace, is immeasurably
greater than that incurred by those
Jews who rejected the Man of Cali
lee." Verse five suggests who these
men were so Indifferent, viz, business
It is our business to work most GER
tainly, but this is the work Of God
that ye 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; 7:5459, and
even today Gods servants are SO
treated. Verse seven is proprecy Of
the final overthrow Of the nation
which came in the destruction Of Jeru-
salem and the cause thereof, viz, the
cruciixion of Jesus, see 19:4244;
21:2O-22, also Daniel 1926; Micah S:12.
Question Of Worthlness.
II. The Kings Invitation Accepted,
w. $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 a 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 ". 10), but the act Of acceptance
was not an assurance Of position as
we can see from tho 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 go forth
and recruit the banquet feast. Final
ly ". 1O) we read that "the wedding
was filed" Heaven will not be an
erpty place, Rev. 7:9-14.
nj. The Unprepared Guest, w. lila
Every guest was scrutinized by the
king. It was a 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 is symbolical of the robe OF
with which God will
clothe all who accept his invitation,
lisa. 61:10; Rev. 1877, 8; Eph. 4:24;
Rom. 1874 For this man to present
himself clothed in his own garment
was to insult the king, so our own
is as filthy rags" in his
sight, lisa. 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 hing.
The Teaching of this parable en-
phasizes our privileges in the king.
dom of God. A full realization Of that
kingdom meeAs Soy, gladness and per.
feet satisfaction. On a previous occa-
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 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 to
the glory and beauty OF that which is
offered to them, though their refusal
was not final. Men, still blind, treat
this invitation contemptuously and