"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." (Matthew 22:10)
Today is the beginning of Passover. One Bible calls this section of Matthew's Gospel, "The Final Journey." The Cross was now looming before Jesus. From the Bethlehem stable to this moment, the "journey" has been to the Cross. It "started," in reality, from "eternity past." Jesus' sojourn as, "the carpenter's son," to His "announcement" by John the Baptist, was full of many events, e.g., encountering the crowds along the way, those who plotted to kill Jesus at various times and locations. The "Passion" of Jesus, however, was a predetermined place and time which The Blessed Trinity had set for the events of the coming week. There was nothing nor no one who could affect "the Christ Event." The, "dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born." Nice try, Dragon. It still rings through the ages, "Christus Victor!"
The glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ declares, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, Jesus Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." What glorious Gospel!, and the invitation in our text still goes to every person on Planet Earth, "to as many as receive[] Him." Throughout the ages, Jesus has been calling man to Himself, from His first call to Adam, "Where are you?" to this very moment the, "Marriage Supper of the Lamb," or as it is described in another passage, "the Supper of the Great God," is open to, "both bad and good." Praise the Living Triune God that it is, "both bad and good," otherwise I would be left out.
Verse 12 says that Father asks one of the invited, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless." Don't be, "speechless...in that Day." The, "wedding garment," is Jesus Himself. Be clothed in Jesus and the door, the seat, and the festivities, well, someday we may hear something like, "Let the festivities begin!"
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for my friend and me that we will have remained in You, "to the end." Amen.
Today is the beginning of Passover. One Bible calls this section of Matthew's Gospel, "The Final Journey." The Cross was now looming before Jesus. From the Bethlehem stable to this moment, the "journey" has been to the Cross. It "started," in reality, from "eternity past." Jesus' sojourn as, "the carpenter's son," to His "announcement" by John the Baptist, was full of many events, e.g., encountering the crowds along the way, those who plotted to kill Jesus at various times and locations. The "Passion" of Jesus, however, was a predetermined place and time which The Blessed Trinity had set for the events of the coming week. There was nothing nor no one who could affect "the Christ Event." The, "dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born." Nice try, Dragon. It still rings through the ages, "Christus Victor!"
The glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ declares, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, Jesus Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." What glorious Gospel!, and the invitation in our text still goes to every person on Planet Earth, "to as many as receive[] Him." Throughout the ages, Jesus has been calling man to Himself, from His first call to Adam, "Where are you?" to this very moment the, "Marriage Supper of the Lamb," or as it is described in another passage, "the Supper of the Great God," is open to, "both bad and good." Praise the Living Triune God that it is, "both bad and good," otherwise I would be left out.
Verse 12 says that Father asks one of the invited, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless." Don't be, "speechless...in that Day." The, "wedding garment," is Jesus Himself. Be clothed in Jesus and the door, the seat, and the festivities, well, someday we may hear something like, "Let the festivities begin!"
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for my friend and me that we will have remained in You, "to the end." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
