Ultimately, we’ve come to a point when we have lived at the limit of a good enough life in a broken society.
We feel like I have reached the edge of the “minimum” life. People are searching for something more in every possible idea, belief, self-help book, television show, and celebrity spokespersons but we know only God can take us to the next stage in our lives.
Jesus Triumphal Entry – Matthew 21
When Jesus entered the city on Sunday, Palm Sunday, he was greeted by cheering crowds proclaiming Him king much to the dismay of the religious leaders, Pontius Pilot, and the 10th Roman Legion, who had taken up residence in the Antonia Fortress to control the enormous crowds that swelled the city during Passover. A time where the normal population of Jerusalem grew from 100,000 to over a million people in a matter of days. Jewish unrest was rampant during the time of Jesus with numerous radical rebellions and uprising occurring all throughout Palestine. The northern territory of Galilee, Jesus’s home, was a fountain of radical thought and revolutionary movements during this time, around 32 A.D. Jesus entering the city, on Passover, with a million frustrated Jews, and the crowds loudly proclaiming him King was more than volatile
The Jewish leaders would have been shocked and outraged at Jesus’s behavior at the temple, chasing out the money changers and the Romans were on high alert because of the events surrounding Jesus in the city.
The Delegation Confronts Jesus – Matthew 21 and 22
The Parable of the Wedding Feast – Matthew 22:1-14
“And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The warning in these two parables is if we do not continue to cultivate Christians in the correct way based on biblical truths, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from us and given to someone else. This is regardless of how big our church may be, how many members we have, how famous we are on tv, how many books we sell, or speaking engagements we book.
We are all equal in the eyes of God and the Holy Spirit and we can just as easily grieve the Holy Spirit in ways potentially detrimental to our relationship with Christ, which we will go into more detail in later discussions.
Just because we stand and say, “I believe” during a church service doesn’t insure we will inherit the Kingdom of God. It is so much more in the relationship, the way we live out our lives for Christ and being present in the Holy Spirit than it is just to say a couple words and join a bible study.
Why is this important as we come to the next stage in life in partnership with the Holy Spirit? We
