SEPTEMBER 12 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18)

 SEPTEMBER 12  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?”  (Matthew 22:18)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, the Only Begotten Son, was Obedient to the Father’s Will, endured a Cruel Sacrificial death, and though He was Innocent, Jesus took upon Himself the pain that must be paid for each and every sin in the world — a pain that cannot be described in terms that can fully expresses the agony that Jesus, the Very Son of God Suffered on our behalf, for You Lord Jesus are Innocent yet You became Guilty for our sakes, and there is nothing we can do but to raise Praises of Gratitude to say Thank You for becoming sin for us! Lord, this world consumes us daily and even on the best of days we truly fall short of Your Glory and on the worst of days it seems like we have somehow blinded ourselves and let the lusts of the world call us away from Your Path of Light into the darkness of disobedience. Forgive me Lord and turn my heart from the world back to Your Word.          AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus used this Question “Why do you test Me…?” not as a Question per se but to let the legalists plotting against Him know that He knew that they were “testing” Him! The first group to try “testing” Jesus was the Pharisees who sent their disciples along with the Herodians which should have raised suspicions and eyebrows in Jerusalem because the Pharisees and the Herodians were political foes but had joined forces on this occasion to attack Jesus? Historians list the Pharisees as a Jewish sect that believed the way to God was through keeping the law as written in the entire Old Testament and “According to Josephus, the Pharisees were the group most influential with the people, [the Pharisees] were noted for their accurate and therefore authoritative interpretations of Jewish law, and had their own traditions and way of life to which they were faithful. They had a simple standard of living and cultivated harmonious relations with others.”  The Herodians differed politically from the Pharisees in that the Herodians wanted to restore a Herod to the throne in Judea and the Pharisees wanted to restore the kingdom of David.  Jesus posed such a great threat to both sects and political parties that they put aside their political differences and were plotting together how to kill Jesus to protect their traditions and centuries old way of life in which they held “offices of power” over the multitudes. Thousands of years earlier there was a multitude of Israelites that were slaves in Egypt and God sent Moses to free them for Egypt’s power and authority and now Israel is crying for “deliverance” from the power of the Roman Empire and God sends His Only Begotten Son to deliver them from their bondage to sin and to free them from the “political powers” that now enslaved the multitudes with their interpretations of God’s Law. The first attack coming from this hybrid group did not catch Jesus off guard because He had earlier Taught His disciples, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” (Mark 8:15) This quote from Jesus taken in this context of Him Teaching in the temple of God in Jerusalem at the Passover feast (which celebrated their “exodus” from Egypt) makes the warning of “leaven” even more critical in understanding that Jesus had come to set the multitudes free  that they might for themselves go in and inherit God’s “Promised Land”.  The joining of these political foes against Jesus demonstrates the desperation of  “power mongers” to retain their “powers” at all costs, in this case they were willing to do what Jesus had just Taught in His Three Parables on “Power and Authority” that “Then last of all [a certain king] sent his son to them, saying, ‘they will respect my son’ — but — when they saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’” (Matthew 22:37-38) 

This attack against Jesus by political foes uniting forces to maintain their respective “offices of power” is a reflection of our modern society as we have seen that all politics and political parties are on the “attack” against God and His Authority, our political parties who are “political foes” are united in their attempt to undermine God and His Law and it is all done that they might retain their political office — Does the term “Political Correctness” ring a bell?!?!? It is also interesting to note that the “attack” from the Pharisees (the lawyers) and the Herodians (doctrines of men) centered around asking Jesus “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17) which is obviously about “money and power” and physical things of the world — so that is why Jesus turned their “test” into a “Spiritual Lesson” as He had them look at the image of Caesar and Jesus Taught Spiritual Law #1:  “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. (Matthew 22:21) This Spiritual Law #1 enforced  two other Truths of God (1) “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” (1 Timothy 6:10) and (2) “Thou shalt not make …any graven image…Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them…for I the LORD your God [AM] a jealous God…” (Deuteronomy 5:8-9) Whenever we find ourselves questioning the “authority of God” we should revisit the Lessons of Jesus and these “Spiritual Laws” given to answer the “legalists” and the “doctrines of men" which are simply man’s interpretation of God's Law enforced by earthly authority on the populace — can any law be truly “legal” if it is not approved by the Divine Law Giver???

SEPTEMBER 11 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18)

 SEPTEMBER 11  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?”  (Matthew 22:18)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, each day as I awake to start another day, my mind turns to thoughts of this daily prayer to You and my soul is touched that You and the Father have made Yourself available to us 24/7/365-Forever! You Lord have never changed and we know You are the same Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow and that is a comforting thought, especially when I think that Your Character is based solely on WHO YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO BE and not on what this world of sinners chooses to do — Lord, we lie, we cheat, we steal, we are sexually immoral to a fault, our society is now killing our unborn children and we claim we have the “right” to decide by a majority vote the moral standard by which we desire to live in moral decay — and all along we reject the only solution to our growing problem — Your Forgiveness! Yet, You Lord continue to LOVE us and extend Your Invitation of Forgiveness and Salvation because that is WHO GOD CHOOSES TO BE! Lord Jesus, I know I fall short of Your Glory even on my best days and I fully understand that all my good deeds done by this defiled body are but as filthy rags so LORD JESUS, may I decrease and let You increase in my daily life and may I grow daily in Christ until the day that Your Righteousness will shine in my life instead of my wretched soul casting a dark shadow that surrounds a sin-filled life!   AMEN

SEPTEMBER 11  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has been greeted as the Son of David by the multitudes but the religious leaders were skeptical that this was the Messiah and therefore they started confronting Jesus trying to “expose” Him as an imposter but each “test”, Jesus used these “exams of His Character” to prove that He was the Chosen One and then used the circumstance to reveal another Truth of God. If we look at this next section <Matthew 22:15-40> we see that the religious rulers, scribes, and elders that were holding onto their “traditions” and the “doctrines of men” were blinded to the Truth that Jesus was God’s Son. Even though their “physical” eyes beheld Jesus doing “wonderful things” their “spiritual” eyes were blinded by their desires to maintain their lofty titles and important offices, hence they “plotted” against Jesus — but “how” they intended to catch Him was like trying to put out a fire with gasoline! So far the religious rulers have included the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees. Each of these “power and authority” groups had sent representatives which were “lawyers” and they were trying to use “the law”  to expose “The Law Giver” and instead of putting out the “fire” with their “legalist gasoline” they were actually fanning the flames! Jesus in this section not only proves He is the “Law Giver” and has come to “fulfill the Law and the Prophets”, Jesus also uses these attacks to introduce “THREE Spiritual Laws” as He answers each attack from these set out to prove Him a fake? The THREE Spiritual Laws are: Spiritual Law #1 — “Render unto God the things that are God’s things.”  (Matthew 22:21); Spiritual  Law #2 — “The Great I AM is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:32); and Spiritual  Law #3 — “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and also you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-40) Jesus introduces the THREE Spiritual Laws with a question directed at the religious rulers that had “plotted” against  Him: “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18) The Holy Scriptures then documents how Jesus answered the questions of the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees and their “legalist” attacks and used each situation to Teach the THREE Spiritual Laws. This is a good time for all of us to reflect on all the times that we as individuals and as a society have tried to “legislate morality”  according to our own selfish desires and blinded ourselves to the Truth of God that He is the Law Giver and not “one jot, or one tittle” of God’s Law will pass away until all the Law is fulfilled — IN GOD’S WAY and IN GOD’S TIMING — and when we realize that LAW is really the thing that belongs to God, then we will begin to uphold Spiritual Law #1 and “Render unto God the things that are God’s” and we will find ourselves healed of our “spiritual blindness” !!!

SEPTEMBER 10 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18)

 SEPTEMBER 10  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?”  (Matthew 22:18)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, it is still a mystery to this sinner why such Divine Perfection would be Sacrificed for my wretched soul — why would the Almighty Creator God that is completely Self-Existent even bother to expend so much effort to insure that creatures that He does not need can be Redeemed from our self-made iniquities against such a Gracious God??? Lord Jesus, that You would Suffer and Die to Purchase my Pardon is indeed unfathomable but Lord I Praise You for Your Mercy and Your Grace, for I know I have done nothing and can do nothing to earn such Divine Favor except to accept the Gift of God which is Salvation through Belief in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, I do not need to know why any more, for Your Grace is Sufficient and I pray that my Faith grows each day as I learn to die-to-self daily and let Your Holy Spirit dwell in this new vessel of Divine Regeneration — for now I am learning to pray “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want…” Thank You Jesus for life, guide me throughout my day that I can worship You and the Father in Spirit and in Truth!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus fulfilled prophecy when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, then upon entering the city Jesus demonstrated that He was the Messiah as He went immediately to the temple and put His Father’s House in order which is what any Obedient Son and Heir would do for His Father’s Kingdom. It is interesting to note that the actions of Jesus were never questioned but that once Jesus demonstrated His “Authority-from-God” that all those that had previously been in “self-appointed authority” who now were being exposed for their sins were trying to defend themselves and their man-made doctrines which they had been imposing on God’s chosen nation, Israel. Jesus cleansed the temple which they had defiled (see Jeremiah 7:11-15) and then He entered the temple and began giving sight to the blind and the lame could walk again for everyone was “healed” that “came to Him in the temple” (Matthew 21:14). Again, if Jesus was an actual criminal and was guilty of any punishable crimes against the temple then surely the temple guards that were there on the premises would have arrested Him yet Jesus “drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple” and then immediately Jesus sat down and began performing miracles of healing that could only be accomplished through the Power and Authority of All Mighty God Himself, hence there were no arrests for even “the chief priests and scribes [in the temple] saw the wonderful things that [Jesus] did” after cleansing the temple (den of thieves who were robbing God) and returning its function back to God’s Intended Purpose which was to be “A House of Prayer”. None of the works that Jesus was doing could be questioned so all the religious rulers probably got together and “plotted” how they might make Jesus look bad in front of the multitude and regain their positions of “self-appointed authority” where they had high offices and lofty titles which Jesus was stripping away with every Lesson He Taught this final week before culminating His earthly ministry at the Passover with His Sacrificial Death on the Cross as the Lamb of God! We should also note that the common thing among all the “authorities” was that they all used the same argument to try and trap Jesus as they each asked in their own ways “Is it lawful?” which in reality is the reason why Jesus was on earth in the first place, because man had ignored the “commands of God [The Law]” because of their “manmade traditions” [doctrines of men] and here they were facing God in the flesh who was performing works that could only be performed by God! These “self appointed leaders” who were not being able to cast aspersions on the    Works of God through His Only Begotten Son Jesus tried to attack the Creator of the Law with those things that are “lawful”??? We should look closely at our own “arguments” against God, especially when our arguments are based on things that are clearly “things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21b) !  Jesus made it clear early on in His Ministry why He was here on earth when He gave the Sermon on the Mount and then declared, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18) Jesus then expressed clearly why the “self-proclaimed authorities” were in trouble as He continued on His fulfilling of the LAW of GOD as He said, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20) And yet, here in the temple of God where Jesus has just cleaned out all who bought and sold in the temple, what makes these scribes and Pharisees think that Jesus will not also clean up the “spiritual garbage” as well??? — maybe we should remove the plank in our eye so that we can see the Truth of God that Jesus came to Teach to all people and for every generation??? Review your life and see how it lines up with God’s Truth and not your “traditions” because there are both “Blessings” and “Curses” being taught in God’s Truth, and He Teaches everyone, it is our responsibility to “Listen and Learn”!!!   

SEPTEMBER 09 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18)

 SEPTEMBER 09  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?”  (Matthew 22:18)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, praise the Name of Jesus, the Light of the world, the Way, and the Truth, the Worthy Lamb! All Glory and Honor is Yours and Yours alone! Lord, You came to earth and become flesh and took on the sin of the world, so that man could have fellowship with our Holy Righteous Father in heaven. Out of Obedience to the Father’s Will You endured a Pain greater than any man could imagine, and now all we have to do to live life eternal with the Father is to Believe in the Son whom the Father sent. Lord Jesus, I believe, and now I look forward to the day when my Faith will be made Sight, for this world is not my home! Forgive me of the many, many thoughts that take my attention off You and praising Your Holy Name — guide each step, each day.   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus responded to the questioning of (1) His “Authority” and (2) from whom did He “receive” His “Authority” by Teaching several parables and now Jesus is going to silence all the other objections presented by the religious leaders including the Herodians, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees as each attempted to assert their self-proclaimed authority. The first assault came as the Pharisees “sent to [Jesus] their disciples and 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 regard the performance of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:15-17)  Jesus revealed Himself as the All-Knowing God because He knew the intent of their hearts as we read: “But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, ‘Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18) It must have been a big “wake-up” call for the Herodians and the Pharisees to have to stand facing God and have Him call you a “hypocrite”! Jesus then said, “Show Me the tax money.” and “they brought Him a denarius”. (Matthew 22:19) Jesus looked at the coin and then asked, “Whose image and inscription is this?” (Matthew 22:20) The Herodians and Pharisees answered that it was “Cesar’s” and then Jesus spoke the line everyone knows, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) The Holy Scriptures records that the Herodians and Pharisees who had initially tried to entangle Him with their question on taxes that “When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.” (Matthew 22:22) If we look at this exchange, the Herodians and Pharisees started the confrontation by calling Jesus “Teacher” and then they said they knew that Jesus was “true” and that Jesus Taught “the way of God in truth” and then they said they knew that Jesus “[Jesus] did not regard the person of men” and yet they tried to test Him even though they knew they were actually testing God!?!?!? — we are that arrogant today as we pass laws that are an abomination to God that take God out of our government and our schools, we know that God is Truth yet we continually test Him with our arrogance --- I have to ask “Do you really think you can trick God and use your most brilliant intellects to make God look bad?”  We really ought to use our common sense here and render unto God all things that are His!

SEPTEMBER 08 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18)

 SEPTEMBER 08  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?”  (Matthew 22:18)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, King of kings, Lord of lords, my Savior, Redeemer and Friend, You are the Worthy Lamb, You are the Son in whom the God Most High is well pleased. You and You alone will be praised by every tongue for by the Name of Jesus all souls will be judged and each soul will then spend eternity praising Your Holy Name, the Matchless Name of Jesus <<< Authors Note: All souls are Eternal - All souls will praise the Name of JESUS — If you confess Jesus on earth you will spend your eternity in Heaven praising His Holy Name — However, if you reject JESUS on earth you will spend your eternity in HELL praising His Holy Name — that my friends will be TRUE HELL, KNOW YOU REJECTED JESUS BOUGHT YOU ETERNITY IN HELL — just sayin’>>>! For every one that does not call on You for Salvation will be condemned to Hell because they did not believe, but they still will confess You as Lord. O Lord, Your Ways are so marvelous and Thy Works are to be praised forever. Holy Spirit, breathe on me this day, let my old ways fade into yesterday’s past and my new nature walk proudly through today proclaiming the Matchless Name of Jesus and may all my tomorrows be directed by Your Mercy and Grace and may my only claim be as Paul proclaimed — “…to LIVE is CHRIST”!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has been in Jerusalem for less than a week and all he has received from the religious authorities has been contention. The major confrontation during His Triumphal Entry came as the multitudes cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9) and immediately the religious leaders began their confrontation with Jesus as “some of the Pharisees called to [Jesus] from the crowd, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ But [Jesus] answered and said to them, ‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.’” (Luke 19:39-40). Once into the city, Jesus went immediately to the temple in Jerusalem “and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple” and when confronted by the religious leaders Jesus responded, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:12-13) Once the temple had been cleansed, “the blind and the lame came to [Jesus] in the temple, and He healed them. But the chief priests and scribes…were indignant…” and confronted Jesus as He was Teaching and Healing in the temple. Jesus responded to their indignation towards Him by quoting passages from the Psalms that clearly pointed out that Jesus was fulfilling prophecy. Jesus then, “left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.” (Matthew 21:15-17) The next day as Jesus returned to Jerusalem and was going to enter the city through the Eastern Gate, He cursed a fig tree and “…immediately the fig tree withered away…” and when His own disciples marveled and asked Jesus “how did the fig tree wither away so soon?” that Jesus began Teaching them “…if you have faith and do not doubt…whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:18-22) As soon as Jesus entered the temple, “the chief priests and the elders confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) The works of God that Jesus was doing in the temple never came into question but rather their question was by what “authority” was Jesus doing these “wonderful things”(?) that was causing all the confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders! This questioning of His “authority” and wanting to know “who gave” [Jesus] this “authority” is what began a series of some of the most important “Teachings” of Jesus in these last days of His Life before the Cross, before the Only Begotten Son of God surrendering Himself willingly to be the Ultimate Sacrifice, before fulfilling all the Messianic prophecies of Holy Scripture during the Passover! Jesus began these Lessons on “Authority” by asking His own Question: “The baptism of John — where was it from? From heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25)  and once Jesus had turned the discussion to making a “choice”, and that “choice” being whether we will choose to follow the “commands of God (heaven)” or the “traditions and doctrines of men” that had been established by the religious leaders (doctrines of men), Jesus Taught a series of parables to reveal the Truth of God that God IS the Supreme Power and Authority of all creation! Jesus Taught in succession (1) a parable of a father that asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard, one said “yes” but did not go and the second son initially said “no” but later “regretted” disobeying his father and went and worked in the vineyard as the father had requested. Jesus asked the religious rulers and elders, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” (Matthew 21:28-31) (2) Jesus next Taught a second parable of a landowner that planted a vineyard and “leased” it to the vinedressers who later decided to “seize” the “inheritance" and killed the son of the landowner. Jesus then asked what should happen to the vinedressers when the landowner finds out what they had done to his son? The religious rulers condemned themselves as they answered, “…the [landowner] will destroy those wicked men miserably…” and Jesus then let them know that their “authority” was going to be taken from them and given to others when He told them that the landowner would “…lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their season.”  (Matthew 21:33-40) (3) Jesus continued His Lesson on “True Authority”  to the religious leaders as He Taught the parable of the marriage feast, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son.” (Matthew 22:1)  Jesus, after Teaching those 3 parables continues His Teaching on the “Authority of God” (and NOT the “doctrines of men”) for when “…the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk…” (Matthew 22:15) Jesus confronts them with yet another accusing Question, JQ #28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18) So now Jesus has called out the religious leaders who choose to question His Authority given to Him by God and called them “hypocrites” ——— maybe we as a nation (that is “no longer just a nation of Christians” as observed and stated by a former President of the United States of America) should stop and reflect on why our society and the world is questioning the “Authority of the God of Jacob” and pushing the “doctrines of men” !?!?!?!?! 

SEPTEMBER 07 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

 SEPTEMBER 07  THE JESUS QUESTIONS    JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, You are the same yesterday and will remain unchanged even unto all eternity  — You are the “Everlasting God”, our Redeemer, the Living Waters, the Good Shepherd — You are the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. Lord whatever I find myself in need of, You are there making provision for me to deal with my ever-changing world. In the midst of the Valley of Sickness, You provide healing and I find myself on the mountain top, when I lose my way, You are the Light and You guide my steps back to knowing that Your Grace and Mercy abound in whatever circumstance befalls me — Lord I have no desire to exist outside of Your Kingdom so I pray that my daily sins will be forgiven me, that all my strength be from You and that Your Love will be what others see in me as I yield to the filling of Your Holy Spirit.   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, with His 3rd Parable regarding what Heaven is like, has illuminated some of the mysteries about the kingdom of heaven in a way that gives us Spiritual Insights which can only come from God Himself. Jesus placed this parable at this point in His Masterful Lesson on the Authority of God to sum up the Truth of God that there was a perfectly good reason for the Israelites to call Him “GOD ALMIGHTY” and in reverent awe of Him, the Israelites would not even speak His Holy Name out loud. The 3rd Parable is placed at the end of 3 parables Jesus used to Teach that the God of Israel is the “Only Authority”! Jesus also includes critical points on both the problem and the cure to the world’s major sin which began with the “Fall of man” and will continue until the final solution when every soul will stand before God the Creator and be judged according to our actions. This “downfall” sin is that every soul has to decide for themselves if they are going to be their own god or are they going to let God be God. The sad part of history is that God has never done anything to cause even a shred of doubt about His Abilities while at the same time man has never been able to accomplish anything on his own that even closely resembles the work of God. Why anyone would want to take on the responsibilities of God who has proven Himself as a Just and Holy God is a big mystery to me? God has been so successful by Himself that it is also a mystery why He even “bothers” with us creatures at all? The 3rd Parable, in summation, points out the core basics of the kingdom:

3rd Parable Core Basics of the Kingdom (Matthew 22:1-14):

>God is the “King” of heaven.

>God has a “Son” and “arranged a marriage” for the Son.

>God chose a “bride” for His Son.

>God’s Plan included a list of “the invited” to attend the wedding.

>God made “all” the necessary preparations for this special wedding.

>God’s preparations were for both the spiritual and physical needs of “the invited”.

>God’s “Invitation” was rejected because “they were not willing to come”.

>God demonstrated great patience by sending out His servants “again”.

>God’s extended “Invitation” was rejected again, made light of, and murdered the king’s servants.

>God judged the wrongdoers and administered the penalty.

>God demonstrated His Divine Patience by sending out more servants to extend His Invitation to everyone.

>God’s Invitation is extended to everyone but everyone must come to the king’s wedding on the king’s terms.

>God showed He will not be “mocked” because those that come on their own terms will be judged and penalized just like the murders. 

>God never forces Himself on anyone but if we choose His Grace it must be on His Terms!!

>God Invites everyone to the wedding but few make the wise choice to accept the king’s terms.

We will end the 3rd Parable with: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him the world might be saved. He who believes is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already for he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light…” (John 3:17-19a)

SEPTEMBER 06 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

 SEPTEMBER 06  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, the Only Begotten of the Father, sent by the Love of the Father, and in Obedience to the Will of the Father, You gave up Your Deity to become Flesh to dwell among us and to suffer and die for our sins so that man would have a just and reasonable Sacrifice that would serve as an Atonement for our iniquities. For it is only by Belief in the Son that our sins are Forgiven and we are Free from the penalty of death that our sins deserve. Lord Jesus, You did all this for us sinners, and all You have asked in return is that we “Love One Another”!!!  All Praise, Glory, and Honor to Jesus, who died to set us Free!!! Lord, my prayer today is that the Holy Spirit will move among Your Church and we will live completely as Living Sacrifices so that the world will be consumed and AMAZED with the Love and Grace of the Living God!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus concludes this all important 3rd Parable on the Power and Authority of God as Jesus Teaches that God “again” extends His Invitation of Mercy, Grace, Salvation, and Bountiful Provisions for all who will accept His Graciousness, but Jesus also Teaches that God is Supreme and as such, we must Honor and Respect both the Father and the Son and “accept” the invitation to “come” on the terms that will be proportional to the Gracious Invitation sent out by the King of kings, Lord of lords, and the Almighty Creator God!!! The main problem with the world is that we want to be our own god therefore we are “not willing to come [on God’s terms]” and we “make light” of God’s Invitation. The disease of man wanting to be his own god has become so widespread that we turn a blind eye to the Truth of God that He and ONLY HE is the Final Judge and that each person will stand before God and face the consequence of our actions! These consequences have already been made well known to man, therefore our choices will result in either our condemnation or our commendation according to God’s already published terms (consequences to our actions) in His Holy Bible and not to the terms that the majority of men have “modified” in their quest to be their own god — these self-promoting modifications are now declared by those men who would be society’s god to be the law of the land as according to the “doctrines of men”, men who have usurped the Authority of God — and the sad part is that we as a society accept man’s judgement and ignore God’s Final Judgement!!! We miss the Truth that only God is the Judge and our own actions will be the only evidence presented at our trial! Jesus Teaches this in the 3rd Parable as the servants go out into the highways and byways and fill the wedding hall with guests but some came on the king’s terms and wore a wedding garment that honored the king and his son but others made “light” of the wedding and came to take advantage of the king ——— they that try to take advantage of “Grace” are the ones that feel that they are their own “king” and the rules of God simply don’t apply to them!?!? However, we read how Jesus Teaches the consistency of God and His Unchanging Character as “…the king came in to see the guests [and] he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So [the certain king] said  to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’” (Matthew 22:11-12)  Jesus wraps it all up as He warns us: “not to fear those that can kill the body” but that we should respect “Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)  Jesus finished by describing the Final Judgement: the “certain king” told his servants to “bind [the man without a wedding garment] hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 22:13) The Final Lesson Jesus Taught on God’s Power and Authority was “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) Friend, our “choice” is to determine why only a few will be “chosen” — I’ll give you a clue — all who honor God and His Son and accept God’s Gift of Grace are still sitting at the wedding table in their wedding garments and feasting on the Bountiful Provisions of God while those who made “light” of Him who gave the “Invitation” are in “darkness” ——— is that the sound of “weeping and gnashing teeth” I hear coming out of the place that has no “Light” ?!?!?!?!