Kingdom Talk

Jesus also told them other parables. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come! “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them. “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.” [Matthew 22.1-14]

Jesus used this story to illustrate the Kingdom of Heaven. We would do well to pay attention!

First, the Kingdom is compared to a wedding feast. What does that mean? For starters, it means there is a celebration. But, in addition to that, there is a commitment being consummated. So important is this commitment that the celebration is in order.

Next, the wedding feast is indicative of abundance in every way. The one thing that will not stand out at this time is lack of any kind. In fact the guests enjoy all they want of all that it available.

Thirdly, even with the abundance of blessings to be poured out upon the invitees, they instead saw more importance in their own circumstances. Of course these circumstances were all legitimate, however, in Kingdom-consideration (remember the commitment being celebrated), that is irrelevant!

Then, because the original guest list refused to come, the celebration was opened to all (not just invitees). Thank God those of us who are not Jews can enjoy the benefit of this! And the message and age of Grace is here! Which brings up a very sober final topic...

Remember the commitment being celebrated? It is a very holy thing. Yes, there is quite the party and abundance of blessings to spare, but there is a reality of holiness. Just showing up the to the party is not enough. One must be dressed for the occasion. By that, it is clear that being dressed for the occasion means there was forethought about what was going on (remember the commitment?). There is much more to it than just enjoying all he abundance of the feast and party.

The Kingdom is worthy of all our attention - even ignoring our own 'important' circumstances.

Father, help us to pay attention to Your Kingdom - to seek first Your Kingdom. Help us to enjoy all the benefits, but understand there is a commitment...