Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A Morning Cup of Tea: Matthew Chapter 22

Good morning! I am enjoying some cooler weather this morning. There is a slight promise of autumn in the air. Although it will soon get a lot warmer, I'm enjoying this while it lasts.
  Today we are in chapter 22. Jesus is still speaking with the Pharisees. He began to tell them the parable of the Wedding. A man set up a wedding for his son. Everything was ready for his guests. He sent his servants out to bring back those who were invited. But the people he invited ignored the servants and would not come. So he sent out other servants and told him to tell the people that his fatlings were killed for this occasion. That's saying his best was laid out for them. The people mistreated the man's servants and killed them. The man again sent out servants. This time he told them to go out to the highways and invite all they saw.   When his new guests arrived, he saw one who did not have wedding attire on. That man had no answer for why he was there not properly dressed so he was thrown into outer darkness.
  We are the ones that have been called to the wedding feast. It is up to us whether we accept or or not. But if we come to the feast (become a Christian) we should be properly dressed. This means there are things God asks of us.  Salvation is free but we must follow God's plan if we accept.
  The Pharisees left and talked together to decide just how to trap Jesus. They sent some of their own followers to Jesus and the followers asked Jesus, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? Jesus saw their wickedness and asked them, why do you tempt me, hypocrites?  Show me the money. They showed him a penny, with Caesar's likeness on it. Jesus told them, give to Caesar what is his and give to God what belongs to God.
  Next came the Sadducees wanting to trip him up. The Sadducees, as explained to me by a dear friend who is a preacher of the gospel, are sad, you see, because they didn't believe in the resurrection. They presented Jesus with a question. Moses had said if a man died without giving his wife children, the man's brother was to marry her and give her children in the first man's name. Suppose a man dies in that instance. His wife has no children so the first of his brothers marries her. He also dies, leaving her childless. On it goes until she has eventually married all seven of the brothers and they have all died. Once she dies too, in heaven whose wife is she?
   29. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
   30. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 
31.  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying;
 32. I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
  The  multitude marveled at Jesus doctrine, and the Sadducees were quieted by this, but one of the Pharisees, a lawyer, had one more question for him.Which is the greatest commandment?
37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind.
38. This is the first and great commandment.
39. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40. On these two commandments hang all the law the prophets.
While the Pharisees were still there he asked them, Who do you think Christ is? Whose son is he?  They answered, the son of David. He asked them, why then does David call him Lord? He gave a scripture, then said, if David calls him Lord, how is he his son?
 No one was able to answer him, and no one dared ask him anymore questions.     

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