The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1914-08-28
INTERNATIONAL
SUNNS01OOL
LESSON
By r. o. SELLERS, Director of Evening
Department. The Moody Bible Institute.
Chicago)
LESSON FOR AUGUST %
THE WEDDING FEAST.

LESSON TEXT--Matt. 22l-14
GOLDEN TEXT-"O Jerusalem. Jeru-
/ salem, that killeth the prophets, and ston-
est them that are sent unto her how often
would l have gathered thy children to-
gether, even as hen gathereth her own
brood under wings, and ye would not"
Luke 1894 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).
In this lesson the figure Of the king
dom is changed from a vineyard to a
feast.
Relation to His People.
!. Tho 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
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 a mar
rage 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.
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."
Question Of Worthiness,
II. Tho 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 II
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 anC
bad ". 10), 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 many
servants Of the king who have neg
lected his command thus to go fortf
and recruit the banquet feast. Final
ly ". 10) we read that the wedding
was filed" Heaven will not be al
empty place, Rev. 1914.
III. The Unprepared Guest, w. lila
Every guest was scrutiniZed by the
king. 1t was a strange sight to SEE
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 will
clothe all who accept his invitation
lisa. 61:10; Rev 1877, s; Eph. 4:24i
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, lisa. 64:6; Phil. S:9 r. V. Wher
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
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 CONTEMPORARY and
turn to their own interests, seeking
satisfaction, while others shamefully
treat the kings messengers. This
treatment is followed by swift judg.
ment Once more the invitation and
and a mixed company are gathered,
some with worthy and some with I'M
worthy motives.
The Masters final words ". 14) EN-
phasize service and responsibility.
The call was an open, general univer-
sal one. Those chosen we're not only
those who came but those who accept