“For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14 NKJV
RELATIONSHIP:
Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen
BIBLE READING:
Dear Heavenly Father – Please give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who you are, who Jesus is, and who the Holy Spirit is. Open the eyes of our understanding, please, so we may know the hope of our calling and the vast sovereignty and power of the grace of the cross. Please do not let us miss out on what you want and need from us today. Lord, I pray that your word prepares us and not scares us! We forbid the works and influences of fear over your word and our sound mind. And please keep us and bless us and shine your face upon us and pour out grace over us and give us peace! Thank you! – In Jesus name we pray, Amen
Today’s reading is the Book of Matthew chapter 22 (embedded below for your convenience in the NKJV).
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
22 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them [a]spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, [b]take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not [c]regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus [d]perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”
So they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Render[e] therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?
23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are [f]mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels [g]of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
Footnotes
- aMatthew 22:6 insolently
- bMatthew 22:13 NU omits take him away, and
- cMatthew 22:16 Lit. look at the face of
- dMatthew 22:18 knew
- eMatthew 22:21 Pay
- fMatthew 22:29 deceived
- gMatthew 22:30 NU omits of God
MEMORY VERSE CHALLENGE:
Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
STUDY/DEVOTIONAL:
I am still not feeling back to myself, not even a little bit. But I am trying to get back to a routine and back to this blog (as well as my business). I feel amazed and blessed that God had helped me scheduled so far out – God knew. But even with so much scheduled, our daily studies have suffered. The warrior in me is ready to take it back! There is seed to be sewn, lives to be saved and transformed, and disciples to be made. Here in my home town, there are lost who no one else reached out to them when I wasn’t able. I am not a good steward if an attack on me can bring so much down. These things stood unfaltering for 2 years – I must do better to get safeguards in place and protect that which I am stewarded with. Please pray with me for clear direction.
Meanwhile – let’s see what we can get out of today’s reading before my mind stops.
We start today with “The Parable of the Wedding Feast”. Every single time I am taken back by this one. Let’s see if we can following it. God prepares a wedding feast for the Jews. The Jews refuse to come and even killed the servants of the Lord. So God has his servants go out and invite the gentiles. The wedding feast fills up. We follow the parable easily right up until:
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 22:11-13
Wait, what?! If this man stopped to go get dressed, He might have missed it – how did others have time? Were the others just randomly already ready for a wedding? Was disrespect intentional? I mean, I think we need some answers here – how do we avoid being called in but then cast out into hell.
Jesus’s conclusion has been quoted more times than this parable! So, obviously the conclusion is taken out of context. Can we put it back together?
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14
The Pharisees change the subject and try to catch Jesus up with a questions: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar? Jesus shows them Caesars face on the money and reminds us to give to God the things that are Gods and the same to Caesar. Not because Caesar was in any way equal to God nor as a commandment. Remember Jesus is NOT teaching at this point, He is just maneuvering around traps designed to end Him. I won’t sit through another well-meaning preacher turning this into a tax a civil liberties lesson.
The Sadducees then take their swing at Jesus: asking what about heaven and wives. And Jesus is like, guys, you aren’t even asking the right question – marriage isn’t a thing in death, besides Don’t we all agree God is the God of the living?!
The Scribes step up next with: Which Is the First Commandment of All? And Jesus answers easily – it is a lesson taught to all Hebrew boys. Then Jesus adds a slight change to the wording and hangs ALL of the Law and Prophets onto a summary of the rest of the ten commandments – love.
Jesus is on a roll and there is no one left to bring these trick questions – So Jesus drops one on himself as well! It is a type of “which came first the chicken or the egg?” type of scenario.
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?
Mic drop. What a fun banter. No one asked Jesus anymore questions.
***
Thank you for reading in 2022 – a Year of Wisdom and Salvation
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!
If Not For Grace 