Series A – Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost – Sunday, October 15, 2023 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough
| Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough: |
| Time Stamp | Transcript |
| 0:22 | The holy Gospel |
| 0:29 | According to St Matthew the 22nd chapter |
| 0:38 | GL again Jesus spoke to them in Parables saying the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a King who gave a wedding |
| 0:44 | wedding Feast for his son and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding Feast but they would not |
| 0:52 | come again he sent others saying tell those who are invited see I have |
| 0:57 | prepared my dinner my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready come to the wedding |
| 1:04 | Feast but they paid no attention and went off one to his farm and another to his business while the rest seized his |
| 1:11 | servants treated them shamefully and killed them the King was angry and he sent troops and destroyed those |
| 1:16 | murderers and burned their City then he said to his servants the wedding Feast is ready but those invited were not |
| 1:22 | worthy go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding Feast as many as you find and those servants went out |
| 1:28 | into the roads and gathered all whom they found both good and bad so the wedding Feast was filled with guests but |
| 1:35 | when the king came in to look at the guests he saw there a man who had no wedding garments and he said to him |
| 1:42 | friend how did you get in here without a wedding garment and he was speechless |
| 1:47 | and the King said to the attendants bind him hand and foot cast him into the outer darkness in that place there will |
| 1:52 | be weeping and nashing of teeth for many are called but few are chosen this is |
| 1:57 | the gospel of the Lord in the name of Jesus Amen the kindness and the severity |
| 2:04 | of God are on full display in Our Gospel text today and you’ll note that when we consider the cross reference to this |
| 2:11 | text Romans chap 11 that is exactly what the Apostle Paul points out both the |
| 2:16 | kindness and the severity of God so as we work our way through this Parable |
| 2:22 | we’ll consider the implications as it relates to other portions of scripture and I would like to say that the three |
| 2:28 | rules for sound biblical to Jesus are context context and context we’re going to apply a little bit more of the |
| 2:34 | context as we look at the problem that is present as a result of the Pharisees so again Jesus spoke to them in Parables |
| 2:42 | saying the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a King who gave a wedding Feast for his son and sent his servants |
| 2:48 | to call those who were invited to the wedding Feast but they would not come |
| 2:54 | these are the a-listers right and you’ll note when a king invites you to a |
| 2:59 | wedding Feast it doesn’t make a lick of sense to like turn the king’s invitation |
| 3:06 | down it’s more of a summons if you think about it I mean not that I have ever |
| 3:11 | been invited to a royal wedding nor is there any danger of such a thing happening but in the future some some |
| 3:17 | bizarre thing happen and I get invited to a royal wedding gu what I’m doing I’m going to a royal wedding which means I’m |
| 3:25 | probably going to have to find some new clothes to put on you know cuz I happen to like wear wearing the uniform because |
| 3:30 | it makes it so I don’t have to think about what I’m going to wear it’s kind of nice but when you’re invited to a royal wedding what do you do what do you |
| 3:37 | wear well you’ll note that in the ancient world when you were invited to a wedding you were provided with wedding |
| 3:43 | clothes it was it came along with the invitation if you would you didn’t have to think this out you were provided |
| 3:50 | those clothes but I’m getting ahead of myself in the sermon so here the a-listers they’re not coming and here’s |
| 3:58 | the problem the a-listers are genetic Israelites they are the a-listers the |
| 4:05 | ones who are the pro who received the prophets the one who received the Oracles of God they are the ones who |
| 4:12 | received the Torah from God given to Moses on Mount Si they were the ones who |
| 4:17 | were marched out of slavery and into Freedom by God and they from their race |
| 4:24 | actually comes the Messiah so what is going on here here and that is is that |
| 4:31 | you’ll note that over and again in the Old Testament genetic Israel serves as a |
| 4:37 | warning for us they experience if you would God’s blessings as well as God’s |
| 4:43 | Wrath for their sin and so we learn from other portions of scripture that in dealing with the Israelites that many of |
| 4:51 | them were quite stiff necked that’s a good way to describe people right I get that way when my wife asked me to do |
| 4:57 | chores around the house I become stiff NE right I don’t want to no no I don’t |
| 5:03 | really behave quite like that but you get the idea and as a result of it they continued throughout the Old Testament |
| 5:10 | to fall into rank idolatry and God over |
| 5:16 | and over and over again would punish them for their sin they would cry out to |
| 5:22 | God to deliver them he would send them a savior and then the whole pattern would |
| 5:28 | repeat and you will note that what has happened between the intertestamental period is something that is actually |
| 5:35 | just like this in the intertestamental period you had the rise of the Pharisees |
| 5:41 | when you read the Bible from Genesis to Malachi you will never hear anything about Pharisees they didn’t exist in the |
| 5:46 | Old Testament these were a group of people who are Heretics they are kind of |
| 5:52 | like Mormons if you would uh they have a veneer of of biblical belief but they’ve |
| 5:59 | added added to the scriptures you know where the Mormons have added to the scriptures The Book of Mormon Doctrine |
| 6:04 | and Covenants the pearl of great price all of them nonsensical not from God the |
| 6:10 | the Pharisees did exactly the same thing and they added to the scriptures what |
| 6:15 | they claimed was the oral Torah that when Moses ascended on Mount Si God |
| 6:21 | didn’t give him one Torah he gave him two one written and one oral and guess who conveniently turned out to be the |
| 6:28 | keepers of the oral to Raw they were but |
| 6:33 | Christ in Mark 7 repudiates their tradition of the elders their oral to |
| 6:38 | Raw in fact you’re going to note here something important and that is is that not only did Jesus not keep any of the |
| 6:45 | commands of the oral tah he forbade his disciples from obeying it as well and |
| 6:51 | you’ll note when you look at Christian history at no point in Christian history unless you’re looking at the Heretics |
| 6:57 | like the judaizers do Christians ever pay attention to the Torah I mean that’s |
| 7:02 | the oral Torah the tradition of the elders there is no mishna in Christianity there are no talmuds and at |
| 7:10 | no point are they ever quoted or talked about discussed or anything like that |
| 7:16 | biblical Christianity from its Inception completely ignored every bit of the talmud and the oral traditions and |
| 7:22 | instead focused only on the written word of God and when people add to God’s word |
| 7:30 | they become idolators they rather than believing in |
| 7:36 | The God Who is revealed in scripture they start to make modifications they |
| 7:42 | begin to add to God things that they would prefer that he be like and you’re going to note many a denomination has |
| 7:49 | done this over the last two Millennia Rome has done it Eastern Orthodoxy has |
| 7:55 | done it the ELCA has done it they’re not keen to have a god that is with with |
| 8:00 | male pronouns and so they confess the sparkle Creed and weird things like this these are all additions to the scripture |
| 8:08 | and when you add to the scripture and you believe the Commandments of men rather than the Commandments of God you |
| 8:14 | end up leaving the Commandments of God and making void God’s word that’s an important aspect of what we’re looking |
| 8:21 | at here so note that in this Parable there is a direct warning against doing |
| 8:27 | such things because Christ in this section of scripture has a particular |
| 8:33 | group of people in mind and that is the Pharisees and he is going to accuse them |
| 8:40 | of murdering the prophets this isn’t the only place that he does so but other places in the scripture confirm this |
| 8:46 | basic theme so the king sends people to the wedding Feast they wouldn’t come so |
| 8:53 | he sent other servants saying tell those who are invited I have prepared my |
| 8:59 | dinner my oxen my fat calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready and |
| 9:06 | I always think back to one of my friends in the ministry uh George borgart okay |
| 9:11 | he’s no longer a pastor but back in the day he he had a wonderful way of finding |
| 9:17 | Christ in Parables like this and he said I Found Jesus in this Parable really |
| 9:22 | George where is he he’s the slaughtered calf it’s like that’s not a bad way of looking at it you know CU you’ll note |
| 9:30 | that uh somebody had to be sacrificed something had to be sacrificed in for this party to take place so I would say |
| 9:36 | that Christ is the son as well but you’ll note that Christ lays down his life so that we can participate and |
| 9:43 | enjoy this feast in fact today we’re going to be feasting on our slaughtered |
| 9:49 | king of kings and Lord of lords but see he says I prepared my dinner my ox and my fat calves have been slaughtered |
| 9:55 | everything is ready and you’ll note God intends his desire is that everybody be |
| 10:02 | saved including those who don’t want to have anything to do with him including those who are rank idolators God acting |
| 10:10 | in good faith invites them with the absolute expectation that they would |
| 10:16 | come and they are welcome to come but they paid no attention and they went off |
| 10:22 | one to his farm another to his business another to his stock portfolio and his |
| 10:28 | day in and you know you get the idea right and while the rest seized his servants Trea them |
| 10:37 | shamefully and killed them that is not even a veiled reference that is a Flatout straight out reference |
| 10:45 | to the fact that God sent Prophet after Prophet after Prophet to apostate Israel |
| 10:51 | and apostate Judah calling them to repent of their idolatry and they would |
| 10:56 | not repent and God now now is sending other servants sending Jesus himself |
| 11:03 | Christ will send his Apostles as well as the prophets of the early New Testament era and they will be shamefully treated |
| 11:10 | as well Christ is making it very clear here that the Pharisees are every bit as |
| 11:16 | murderous false teachers as the false prophets of old and the idolators of old |
| 11:23 | who killed the prophets so the King was angry he sent his troops and destroyed |
| 11:29 | those murderers and burned their City that’s a prophecy of what’s going to |
| 11:34 | happen in 70 AD we’re just about 40 years on from that when Christ says these words and |
| 11:42 | that’s exactly what he does again note the kindness and the severity of God and |
| 11:49 | here is it behooves us to consider one of the um one of the cross references |
| 11:55 | here in Romans 11 the Apostle Paul Paul lamenting the fact that those who are |
| 12:03 | he’s related to genetically those who are descended from Abraham that many of |
| 12:08 | them have rejected Christ he says this I asked then has God rejected his people |
| 12:14 | well by no means I myself am an Israelite and you’ll note that Paul is |
| 12:20 | invited as well but he was invited while he was Saul of Tarsus and a murderer and |
| 12:25 | one who was rounding up Christians and persecuting them so God hasn’t rejected his people he |
| 12:31 | still continues to invite them to this day and so Paul says I myself and an Israelite I’m a descendant of Abraham a |
| 12:38 | member of The Tribe of Benjamin God has not rejected his people whom he fornew |
| 12:43 | instead fact they’re still invited do you not know what the scripture says of |
| 12:48 | Elijah how he appeals to God against Israel Lord they’ve killed your prophets |
| 12:54 | they’ve demolished your altars I alone am left they seek my my life but what is |
| 13:01 | God’s reply to him I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to B all so too at the present time |
| 13:09 | there is a Remnant chosen by grace and all the way to our day there are still a |
| 13:16 | remnant of people who are genetic descendants of Abraham who by God’s grace and mercy are brought to penitent |
| 13:22 | faith in Christ they are a Remnant they are a small minority of those who are |
| 13:28 | genetically descended from Abraham but still they are chosen by grace and they we have those remnants still to this day |
| 13:35 | so if it is by Grace it’s no longer on the basis of Works otherwise Grace would not be Grace so what then Israel failed |
| 13:41 | to obtain what it was seeking the elect though they obtained it the rest were |
| 13:46 | hardened as it is written God gave them a spirit of stuper eyes that would not see ears that would not hear down to |
| 13:53 | this very day again note the kindness and the severity of God that when God calls you to repent repentance the call |
| 13:59 | is legit the promises of forgiveness and Reconciliation are |
| 14:05 | legit but the thing is you harden your heart against the gospel and you do not |
| 14:12 | heed God’s call to repentance then at some point just like |
| 14:18 | Pharaoh God goes all Burger King on you and gives it to you your way that’s what |
| 14:24 | happens so God gave them a spirit of stuper eyes that would not see ears that would not hear down to this very day as |
| 14:30 | David says let their table become a snare and a trap a stumbling block and a retribution for them let their eyes be |
| 14:36 | darkened so that they cannot see and bend their backs forever so I asked them Paul says did they stumble in order that |
| 14:44 | they might fall by no means again the invitation is still there for them |
| 14:50 | rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles so as to make |
| 14:57 | Israel jealous now if their trespass means riches for the world and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles |
| 15:04 | how much more will their full inclusion mean and you’ll note the Apostle Paul picking up on this theological theme |
| 15:10 | from Christ makes very clear that Israel’s rejection of the Messiah |
| 15:16 | results in US Gentiles being able to be grafted into Israel for us to be |
| 15:21 | included in the promises of Israel so he says I’m speaking to you Gentiles in as much then as I am an apostle to the |
| 15:27 | Gentiles and I magnify my Ministry in order that somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them |
| 15:35 | for if the rejection means the reconciliation of the world what will their acceptance mean but life from the |
| 15:41 | dead if the dough offered as first fruits is Holy so is the whole lump and if the root is Holy so are the branches |
| 15:48 | but if some of the branches were broken off and you you Gentiles although a wild Olive shoot you were grafted in among |
| 15:54 | the others and now share in the nourishing root of the Olive Tree do not be arrogant toward the branches if you |
| 16:01 | are remember it is not you who supports the root but the root that supports you |
| 16:06 | and here we see in the Apostle Paul’s letter in Romans 11 a warning to all who |
| 16:12 | would be arrogant against those genetic descendants of Abraham who have fallen |
| 16:17 | and have been broken out of Israel and he says do not be arrogant towards them |
| 16:24 | God is able to graft them back in and you arrogant ones be careful in other |
| 16:29 | words anti-Semitism it’s off the table anti-Semitism is the ultimate example of |
| 16:37 | arrogance towards those branches who have been broken off and it is legitimately condemned by God the Holy |
| 16:43 | Spirit through the Apostle Paul here it is not you who supports the root you |
| 16:48 | Gentiles who’ve been grafted into Israel do you not understand that you’ve been grafted in therefore you should not be |
| 16:55 | arrogant towards those branches that were broken off then then they will say well branches were broken off so that I |
| 17:01 | might be grafted in that’s true they were broken off because of their unbelief but you you stand fast through |
| 17:07 | faith so do not become proud you fear for if God did not spare the natural |
| 17:14 | branches neither will he spare you so note then the kindness and the severity |
| 17:20 | of God severity toward those who have fallen but kindness to you and listen to |
| 17:26 | what he says provided you continue in his kindness otherwise you too will be |
| 17:32 | cut off wow so what’s our attitude towards those |
| 17:40 | genetic descendants of Abraham who have been broken off our attitude should be |
| 17:46 | the same as like anybody else in any other religion whether it be Mormonism or Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism or jism |
| 17:54 | or Daoism whatever the ism is we call them to repent repentance call them to |
| 18:00 | recognize their idolatry to abandon their false beliefs and their idols and |
| 18:07 | instead be forgiven because Christ has bled and died for their sins and so we |
| 18:13 | pray for those who are enemies of the Gospel noting that they are still beloved by God and that we as Christians |
| 18:20 | are called to continue in God’s kindness when we as Christians sit there and say |
| 18:26 | well God’s punishing them and so we’re going to treat them terribly and we’re going to tell everybody that those Jews |
| 18:32 | then those semites they’re trying to take over the world and you take their name and slander them with all kinds of |
| 18:40 | false charges note that God says you too could be cut off for doing such a thing |
| 18:48 | in in fact I cannot think of a more clearer passage in Scripture that is actually written against anti-Semitism |
| 18:55 | then Romans 11 even and even they if they do not continue in |
| 19:01 | their unbelief scripture says they will be grafted in for God has the power to |
| 19:06 | graft them in again for if they if you were cut off if you were cut from what is by nature a wild Olive Tree and |
| 19:13 | grafted contrary to Nature into a cultivated Olive Tree how much more will these the natural branches be grafted in |
| 19:19 | to their own Olive Tree lest you be wise in your own sight I do not want you to |
| 19:25 | be unaware of this mystery Brothers a part hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has |
| 19:32 | come in and in this way all Israel will be saved it is written the deliverer will come from Zion he will banish all |
| 19:39 | ungodliness from Jacob and this will be my Covenant with them when I take away their sins so as regards to the gospel |
| 19:46 | they are enemies for your sake again enemies for your sake if it weren’t for their Rebellion I it’s questionable as |
| 19:53 | to whether or not the gospel would be preached throughout the world that’s kind of the point they are enemies for |
| 19:58 | your sake but as for regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers for the gifts and the |
| 20:05 | calling of God are irrevocable the investation is still for |
| 20:10 | them right for just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now you have |
| 20:17 | received Mercy because of their Disobedience so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy |
| 20:24 | shown to you they may now receive Mercy for God has consigned all to |
| 20:30 | Disobedience that they may have that he might have mercy on all oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom of the |
| 20:35 | knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable are his |
| 20:41 | ways indeed the kindness and the severity of God are on full display in Our Gospel text and you can see now how |
| 20:48 | Romans 11 connects perfectly with this Parable that Christ has spoken so now |
| 20:55 | that the a-listers at least a generation of them have rejected Christ and God has |
| 21:02 | burned their city and killed those murderers God now has to figure out what |
| 21:07 | to do he’s got all this food prepared kind of like my house on a Sunday could it would be a tragedy if like my wife |
| 21:14 | cooked all this food and like nobody showed up on Sunday night woo that would be horrible but it’s even worse than |
| 21:20 | that because consider who’s putting on this Feast the king himself so he said |
| 21:26 | to his servants the wedding Feast is ready those invited were not worthy so go |
| 21:31 | therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding Feast as many as you find |
| 21:37 | and those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found |
| 21:43 | both good and bad so the wedding hall was filled with guests I love this |
| 21:48 | picture here because you’ll note that by noting that everybody that was found whether good or bad that means the |
| 21:55 | invitation goes out to everybody to the whole World well what about Bob the town |
| 22:00 | drunk he’s invited well what about the hookers and the brothel they’re invited what about the |
| 22:08 | attorneys that’s a tough one um accountants |
| 22:13 | oh right ex Navy guys oh yeah |
| 22:20 | right Farmers you get what I’m saying here |
| 22:27 | everybody trucker included all everybody is invited and so the wedding Feast was |
| 22:34 | filled with guests the kindness of God is beyond |
| 22:40 | belief I mean they always say if it sounds too good to be true it it it it is it’s too good to be true but when it |
| 22:47 | comes to the gospel it sounds too good to be true but it is true though your sins be as Scarlet Christ will wash away |
| 22:55 | all of your sins and here a cross reference is super helpful last week we |
| 23:02 | talked about in our epistle text Philippians uh chapter three where Paul talks about how he’s clothed not in a |
| 23:09 | righteousness of his own that comes from the law but instead he’s clothed with the righteousness of God given as a gift |
| 23:16 | but have you considered the picture that is given to us in Ephesians chapter 5 it |
| 23:22 | is legitimately glorious and fits perfectly with the theme of this text |
| 23:28 | now this is the portion of scripture that a lot of people like to avoid nowadays because of all the wars related |
| 23:34 | to to u to gender but listen to this passage of scripture |
| 23:41 | husbands love your wives as Christ has loved the church and gave himself up for |
| 23:50 | her you see it fits perfectly with this Parable if you think about it because the son here who this Feast is being |
| 23:57 | held held for he is none other than Jesus Christ who gave up his life for |
| 24:04 | his bride we the church so that he might |
| 24:09 | sanctify her and listen to the way it it says having cleansed her by the washing |
| 24:15 | of water with the word so that he might present the church to himself in |
| 24:22 | splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing so that she might be holy and |
| 24:30 | without blemish you’ll note that Christ loves his bride so much he loves you that he |
| 24:37 | laid down his life he suffered bled and died for his bride and her sins although |
| 24:45 | he committed none in fact if you kind of think about it it’s kind of this is where Adam failed deeply because his |
| 24:53 | wife committed sin first what was called for was for Adam to lay |
| 25:00 | down his wife life for his beloved bride but where Adam fails the second Adam |
| 25:07 | succeeds and he lays down his life for his bride and he’s the one who cleanses |
| 25:14 | her washes her takes away the St stench and the filth of her sin and makes her |
| 25:21 | clean and then dresses her in splendor in glory without spot and wrinkle it’s |
| 25:29 | in this context then that it makes sense why the king would be rather |
| 25:35 | upset that somebody would get into the wedding Feast without the clothes that |
| 25:41 | were provided because the sun provided the clothes his own |
| 25:46 | righteousness how can somebody come to the wedding Feast not clothed in the |
| 25:52 | righteousness of Christ not having their sins washed away and I would note that |
| 25:58 | there are many people who are kind of like cultural Christians beware of cultural lutherans uh you know that’s a |
| 26:06 | thing and it’s not a good thing that somehow well you know my parents were lutherans my grandparents were lutherans |
| 26:14 | that makes me a Lutheran does it now really is that how this works that just |
| 26:20 | because they serve Lea at certain times of the year that that makes it Lutheran |
| 26:25 | that makes you Lutheran no that’s not how this works instead every one of us |
| 26:33 | must must believe in trust in Christ must embrace our baptismal Faith given |
| 26:39 | to us by Christ in the waters of baptism must daily put to death our sins and |
| 26:46 | call on God to forgive us must not despise his word but you’ll note that some people they’re not really |
| 26:52 | interested in hearing the Bible they’re not really interested in receiving the sacraments they come to to church |
| 26:58 | because it’s a great place to network because they’re trying to build a business or they come to church because |
| 27:04 | the church is a great Community Center a place where we can get together and we can talk about the Harvest and the |
| 27:11 | weather and things like this right maybe from time to time we can invite people over for a concert or something right |
| 27:19 | but have no faith at all well as they say around here |
| 27:26 | OFA that’s not what Christianity is you want the benefits of being a part of the |
| 27:33 | church without believing in Christ without having your sins washed |
| 27:38 | away without any of the things that actually make us Christians this next |
| 27:45 | part is a warning to those who think of the church in such a way so the came King came in to look at the guests and |
| 27:52 | he saw that there was a man who had no wedding garment and he said to him buddy |
| 27:58 | how’d you get in here without a wedding garment that’s really how the Greek better Works buddy because the king is |
| 28:03 | not exactly thrilled okay and the man was speechless he had |
| 28:09 | like nothing to say because it’s clear here he did |
| 28:14 | something sneaky he didn’t come in the front door he came in the back door |
| 28:19 | wanting to be able to eat the ordures enjoy the wine and by the way it’s absolutely true here did you look at the |
| 28:26 | menu for the wedding Feast of the Lamb oh boy uh um tea tolers |
| 28:35 | beware because win’s mentioned not once but twice okay it says this on this |
| 28:41 | mountain the Lord of hosts will make for All Peoples a rich Fe a feast of rich food of well-aged wine a rich food full |
| 28:48 | of marrow of aged wine well-refined that’s right and you’re going to note here alcohol isn’t the sin sin is when |
| 28:56 | you take this good gift that God has given and you abuse it and you use it to hit a state of inebriation so that you |
| 29:03 | are no longer in control of your senses scripture strictly forbids that and calls it sin but Jesus himself was not a |
| 29:09 | tea Toler he was somebody who drank wine and as a result of it the Pharisees slandered him and said oh he’s a |
| 29:15 | drunkard no he was not and you’ll note that wine is on the menu but the most |
| 29:22 | important bit from this Isaiah prophecy is the last part of this text it’s so |
| 29:28 | amazing I keep saying it every time I preach on this but I I have to make the point again because it’s still this |
| 29:35 | thing that’s coming in the future and it’s for all of us and first of all I don’t know how the seating arrangements |
| 29:41 | work in the in the wedding Feast of the Lamb you know will Kong’s vinger have its own table will the onliners be next |
| 29:48 | to the you know the the imperson attenders and what about althia I’m kind of hoping that all the tables will kind |
| 29:55 | of be together but then I’m assuming that that’s how this is all going to work right but there’s this point in the |
| 30:01 | feast there we are at the wedding Feast of the Lamb the Judgment has taken place |
| 30:07 | the dragon has been cast into the Lake of Fire along with all the attorneys sorry uh |
| 30:12 | and I just keep having to point that out the the dragons in the Lake of Fire we |
| 30:19 | now are at the wedding feast and there there’s this moment this amazing moment we might have seen Christ |
| 30:27 | on that day and we might have seen him busy about the task of swinging his |
| 30:33 | sword of putting to death his enemies and things like this we might have seen him on his horse but this is a different |
| 30:41 | thing altogether we might have seen him on the throne we’ve all had our face-to-face conversation with him but |
| 30:47 | that’s kind of a terrifying experience if you think about it but we Christians have nothing to fear on the day of judgment but there we are all in the |
| 30:55 | wedding feast all of us enjoying the food our company together and all of a |
| 31:01 | sudden Jesus walks into the |
| 31:10 | hall and in stunned not silence because there’s a |
| 31:15 | roar there’s a murmur there’s a hush and there’s words Behold This Is |
| 31:22 | Our God beautiful picture we have waited waited for him so that he might save |
| 31:30 | us that’s our Jesus this is Yahweh we’ve waited for him let us be glad and |
| 31:37 | rejoice in his salvation it’s a beautiful picture absolutely |
| 31:46 | stunning but all that being said we know that this is a gift given |
| 31:52 | to us by God and you’ll know nobody’s really going to be in the wedding feast |
| 31:57 | Beast that doesn’t have the covering of the righteousness of Christ and so as we |
| 32:03 | consider this last fellow I mean it’s a warning to those who attend church but don’t believe for sure but you’ll note |
| 32:10 | that it also notes something else here because there will be nobody like this nobody can sneak into the wedding Feast |
| 32:16 | of the Lamb no there will not be anybody who jumps the fence you know who finds a way around security and all that kind of |
| 32:22 | stuff who then shows up you know wearing khaki cargo shorts and Birkenstock sandals and a Ron John Surf J shop |
| 32:31 | t-shirt okay no one’s coming to the wedding Feast dressed like this which means that really what this is pointing |
| 32:38 | at is the fact that we will be clothed that although none of us are |
| 32:45 | worthy to be there at all that Christ is the one who provides us with everything |
| 32:52 | the Forgiveness of our sins won by him on the cross reconciliation with God |
| 32:58 | again one by his bloody death on the cross he provides us with the very |
| 33:05 | righteousness necessary for salvation by clothing us with his own righteousness all as a gift because of his great love |
| 33:12 | for his bride and so we note then that we who |
| 33:18 | trust in Christ we have no fear of God the Father saying to us bind him or her |
| 33:27 | hand and foot and cast them into outer Darkness instead we know that that’s |
| 33:32 | exactly what we have been saved from and so let us rejoice in this great |
| 33:40 | salvation that God has given us but let me add into the mix |
| 33:45 | here kind of a final thought not supposed to end off on law but I wanted |
| 33:51 | to get this context in here in chapter 23 of Matthew which you’ll know |
| 33:57 | numerically follows chapter 22 context context context right I can count to 23 |
| 34:03 | by the way not much past that Jesus calls down woses on the |
| 34:11 | Pharisees who are rank idolators so Jesus said to the crowds |
| 34:17 | the scribes and the Pharisees they sit on Moses’s seat so do and observe whatever they tell you but not the works |
| 34:23 | that they do for they preach but they do not practice and that’s the thing with the self righteous they can talk a good |
| 34:28 | game but they never practice what they preach they tie up heavy burdens hard to |
| 34:35 | Bear they lay them on people’s shoulders but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger they do all |
| 34:42 | their deeds in order to be seen by others they make their flacket teries Broad and their fringes long and they |
| 34:49 | love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being |
| 34:56 | called Rabbi by others if you were to think about it if the Pharisees were kind of up and running today and were |
| 35:02 | keen on social media they would be they they would be doing these get ready with me videos where while I put on all of my |
| 35:09 | Rabbi clothes and do all this kind of stuff and then head out into the marketplace oh Rabbi it’s so good to see |
| 35:15 | you thank you thank you thank you you know and who are they all about |
| 35:21 | themselves that’s who the self-righteous are about |
| 35:28 | themselves woe to you scribes and Pharisees Jesus says you Hypocrites you shut the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s |
| 35:34 | faces you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in and woe to you scribes and Pharisees you |
| 35:41 | Hypocrites you travel across sea and land to make a single proelite and when he becomes a proelite you make him twice |
| 35:47 | as much a child of hell as yourselves did Jesus just say the Pharisees were children of hell yes he did and he said |
| 35:54 | their disciples were twice as much children of hell as the Pharisees were oh what are you supposed to do with that |
| 35:59 | down with the patriarchy no get a helmet life’s tough people say things that are |
| 36:05 | offensive Jesus just did get over it you’re not entitled to not be offended |
| 36:10 | in fact if you’re offended you should consider the fact that you’re the offense not Christ woe to you blind |
| 36:17 | guides who say if anyone swears by the temple it’s nothing but if anyone swears |
| 36:22 | by the gold of the temple he’s Bound by his oath and here Jesus is taking on the oral tah he’s taken on the talmud and |
| 36:30 | portions of it and just showing how absolutely silly it is and he’s mocking |
| 36:37 | it you blind fools which is greater the gold or the temple that has made the |
| 36:42 | gold sacred and you say if anyone swears by the altar that’s nothing but if anyone swears by the gift that’s on the |
| 36:47 | altar he’s Bound by his oath you blind men for which is greater the gift or the |
| 36:55 | altar that makes the gift sacred so whoever swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it whoever swears |
| 37:02 | by the temple swears by it and him who dwells in it whoever swears by Heaven swears by The Throne of God and by him |
| 37:08 | who sits upon it woe to you scribes and Pharisees you Hypocrites for you tithe |
| 37:13 | mint and Dill and cumin you’ve neglected the weightier matters of the law Justice |
| 37:19 | and mercy and faithfulness these you ought to have done without neglecting the others you blind guides draining out |
| 37:27 | a gat and swallowing a camel I can go on but I think you get |
| 37:34 | the point again check your self-righteousness at the |
| 37:40 | door and note that inside of each and every one of us our old Adam is a |
| 37:47 | Pharisee of Pharisees this is why human beings are |
| 37:52 | bent towards self-righteousness we think that the law La was given so that we can climb up |
| 37:58 | into heaven and by our righteousness say move over Jesus another one has arrived |
| 38:04 | that’s pulled it off too that’s not it at all and so we recognize that the |
| 38:10 | self-righteous they were they didn’t even make it to the Feast at all God put |
| 38:16 | an end to them before the feast even began and that’s the fate of all who |
| 38:21 | trust in their Works in their righteousness so let us repent of little |
| 38:27 | Pharisee inside of each of us and let us recognize that the law was not given for us to find a way into heaven the law was |
| 38:34 | given to show us our sin so that we could see our great need for our savior and then see his glorious loving work |
| 38:41 | for us on the cross in order to save us and we’ll note then this and that is |
| 38:48 | is that everybody in every religion apart from true |
| 38:53 | Christianity is guilty of this idolatry and we’ve all committed this idolatry |
| 38:58 | ourselves and so we repent and we continue to trust in Christ knowing that |
| 39:04 | he has made us worthy he has cleansed us he has clothed us and for this we are |
| 39:09 | truly grateful in the name of Jesus |
| 39:17 | Amen |
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