July 15, 2001

In Matt. 22:1-14, Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited. ‘See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 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. 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.’ For many are called but few are chosen."

The major part of this parable needs little explanation if we remember that the confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish leadership of His day was rapidly drawing to a climax. The chief priests and elders had repeatedly complained that Jesus associated with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus told the parable of the wicked vinedressers, indicating that as the religious leaders among the Jews were rejecting Him, the kingdom would be opened for others. The parable of the two sons in Matt. 21:28-32 had indicated basically the same thing. The scribes and Pharisees, the religious elite, had followed the example of the chief priests and elders in rejecting and opposing Jesus. Tax collectors, harlots, and other of society’s rejects, had, in many cases, been persuaded to repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and everlasting life. Now, in the latest two of His parables, Jesus indicates that not only the vilest of the sinners from among His fellow Jews, but even Gentile sinners will be invited into His kingdom. In 22:7, He foretells the destruction of Jerusalem, which was fulfilled in 70 A.D.

The most difficult part of the parable concerns the man without the wedding garment. Perhaps Jesus is simply informing us that some will respond to His invitation and seek to gain its benefits without accepting the responsibility that comes with accepting His invitation. We must, not only come into Christ, but we must also put on Christ in the way we live day by day. Paul wrote, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:26-27).

The term "Lord’s day" occurs in Rev. 1:10, and the term "Lord’s supper" occurs in 1 Cor. 11:20. The same Greek word is translated "Lord’s" in both passages, and yet it is an adjective instead of a noun in the possessive case. Liddell and Scott define the word thus: "Of, belonging to, concerning a lord or master; esp. belonging to the Lord (Christ)." There is a day, as also there is a supper, that specially concerns, or is devoted to, Christ. In a general sense all suppers belong to Him, but there is one supper that specially concerns Him...

The day that concerns the Lord Jesus Christ above all other days of the week is the first day of the week; the seventh day concerns the finish of creation. Just as there is one supper that specially concerns the Lord, so there is one day that specially concerns Him; and it is fitting that both come together. Both are devoted to Him, and both commemorate great events in the redemption of man. And the first day of the week is peculiarly the Lord’s day, for in it He arose from the dead, and thus demonstrated Himself to be our Lord.

Closely connected with the Lord’s day is the Lord’s supper. From the very beginning of the church, Christians have believed that Jesus instituted the feast, known as the Lord’s supper, the night in which He was betrayed. They have believed that Jesus said, "Do this in my memory’" and they have believed that in so doing they will proclaim His death till He comes again. Of one thing we are certain; the Lord’s supper had a beginning -- there was a first time in which it was observed. Will some infidel undertake to give us a rational explanation as to how this institution began?...

Another thing about this supper proves its divine origin. When men build monuments they build them of the most durable materials available. But this supper -- this imperishable monument -- was built of materials that perish with the using; it is destroyed weekly, and yet is never destroyed. No human mind would have conceived such an idea.

--R.L. Whiteside, via Reflections (as adapted by Tant Williams for The Lord’s Day Reminder, South Houston, Texas)

"God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power" (1 Cor. 6:14). "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure" (Heb. 11:19).

The resurrection of Christ is the very heart of a Christian's faith. The New Testament, if anything, is even more resurrection-oriented than it is cross-centered. It is the resurrection which interprets the cross.

By His resurrection from the dead, Jesus was declared to be the Son of God. Because He was raised we know Him to be what He claimed, and, therefore, worthy of our trust and our worship.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).

Confucius' tomb	occupied
Buddha's tomb	occupied
Mohammed's tomb	occupied
Joseph Smith's tomb	occupied
Judge J. F. Rutherford	occupied
Ellen G. White's tomb	occupied
Alexander Campbell's tomb	occupied
Charles T. Russell's tomb	occupied
Mary Baker Eddy's tomb	occupied
Pope John's tomb	occupied
John Wesley's tomb	occupied
John Calvin's tomb	occupied
Henry VIII's tomb	occupied
John the baptist's tomb	occupied
Jesus Christ's tomb	EMPTY

Why follow a loser? Accept God and His resurrected Son. If you are spiritually dead, He will make you alive again.

Three young men in Oklahoma were enjoying the upcoming Fourth of July holiday and wanted to apparently test fire some fireworks. Their only real problem was that their launch pad and seating arrangements were atop a several hundred thousand gallon fuel distillation storage tank.

They were launched several hundred feet into the air and were found dead 250 yards from their respective seats.

In a west Texas town, employees in a medium-sized warehouse noticed the smell of gas. Sensibly, management evacuated the building, extinguishing all potential sources of ignition -- lights, power, etc.

After the building had been evacuated, two technicians from the gas company were dispatched. Upon entering the building, they found they had difficulty navigating in the dark. To their frustration, none of the lights worked.

Witnesses later described the vision of one of the technicians reaching into his pocket and retrieving an object that resembled a lighter. Upon operation of the lighter-like object, the gas in the warehouse exploded, sending pieces of it up to three miles away.

Nothing was found of the technicians, but the lighter was virtually untouched by the explosion. The technician that was suspected of causing the explosion had never been thought of as "bright" by his peers.

Years ago, Jim Croce, in his song, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", used to sing about things that you don't dare do (pull the mask off the Lone Ranger or tug on Superman's cape, for example). He might have done well to add, "You don't flick your Bic inside a building with a gas leak"! In an explosive situation, the last thing you want to do is provide the spark.

We've all been around those kinds of situations (not literally, but figuratively) -- where someone was angry and it wouldn't take much to create an explosion. We have two choices in that setting, described by Solomon in this way:

"A gentle answer will calm a person's anger, but an unkind answer will cause more anger." (Prov. 15:1, NCV).

How I admire those people I know (and my wife is one of them) who have a calming effect on those around them (including me), gently stifling the flames of anger before they burst in flames.

In This Issue