Matthew 22

Jesus tackles some big issues in the week between His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his Via Dolorosa - the way of grief - His path to the cross. This is His detractors' last shot at Him and He addresses issues close to their heart - regarding who is saved, how to relate to the rulers of this world, the nature of heaven, the essence of the Law, and the existence of a present and future eternity (without which salvation would be meaningless).

Two of these issues jumped out at me as I was pondering on this passage. First, Jesus describes a process for salvation that is very foreign to the thinking of the Jews in His audience and equally foreign to our modern understanding of "religion". He describes salvation as a banquet - a marriage feast - an amazingly great celebration. I got to be part of planning one of these in the fall (really my wife Cindy and daughter Clare did that, but I had a small part :-) ). I can't imagine the feeling of a father who threw a party for his daughter and new son-in-law and the guests didn't or wouldn't come. Here he had prepared every good thing he could imagine (and afford) to be a blessing to those who would attend and people rejected his invitation. The text says, "they would not come." Well, this was no ordinary father - this was the King. So, rejection of his invitation carried more consequences than for you or I. Further, the people who rejected him also did more than just decline; they killed the messengers who had brought the invitation. This rejection (figuratively, Israel, but also any who reject him) brought swift judgment from the king; it was a rejection of not only him, but his son and daughter and he responded accordingly. Fortunately, his love for his son led him to widen the invitation - to "as many as you find" on the highways and street. Just as this father desires revelers for his party, our Father desires worshippers before His throne - and at the Marriage Feast of His Son. We should accept His invitation to the feast and honor Him as King. Those who rejected (and were rejected) did not understand the invitation, nor honor the King for who He was. The invitation is for everyone, but rejected by most, understood by few. Yet we are called to be His servants, calling His guests to His feast (John 15:16).

My Prayer

Lord, may I recognize the total grace and majesty that is embodied in your invitation to me and may I come quickly, joyfully, willingly, ready to honor You and ready to bring others.

The other teaching that touched me was about eternity in heaven. The questioners came from a tradition that denied the resurrection, so their question was disingenuous from the outset. They didn't believe the premise of their own question and had constructed a ridiculous question whose answer they didn't even care about. Instead, they cared about scoring points for their point of view. (How often do we do this in our interactions with those we love, those we are called to love, and even with our Father?) But Jesus uses the opportunity to teach about the "power of God" which they denied - the same power He was soon to rely completely on, on His path to, and through the Cross (I Peter 2:21-24,Heb 12:1-2). God is indeed powerful to save and demonstrated that by raising Jesus from the dead, and giving Him glory, "so that your faith and hope are in God." (I Peter 1:21). While those questioners (and the world today) would deny the transcendence of God and the importance of this life to determining our future with our Creator, the truth is that there is an eternity future to which we are all destined. It is not like this existence, but we will be like those single-minded and powerful angels, who exist to do the bidding of the King. We are destined to great things now (John 14:12) and even greater things in the Kingdom to come.
But - that is all dependent on whether we accept the invitation of the gracious King to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb and His Bride (us! Rev 19:6-8) and come clothed not in our own righteousness, but in the Righteousness of Christ.

 TOM ALBERS | Elder Chairman

Tom committed his life to Christ as a junior in high school in 1975. After moving to Austin in 1995, Tom and Cindy attended Hill Country Bible Church in Cedar Park before becoming part of the HCBC Pflugerville and Hutto Bible church plants. Tom serves as a Small Group Leader and in Youth ministry and in other ministry oversight roles. Tom and Cindy were married in 1986 and are parents to Will, Emily, Clare, Hannah and Nathan and grandparents to Owen.