Matthew the apostle wrote how, “Jesus answered and spoke unto” the chief priests and elders in Jerusalem “again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come” and in chapter twenty-two and verse four of his book Jesus said the king, “sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner” where we read:
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
The verse reads, “Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner:” Matthew began with the word, “again” which means “anew, further and moreover”, “he sent forth” or “the king dismissed and sent out” “other servants” which means “more bondmen and men of servile condition”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “tell them” which means “speak and say to” “which are bidden” or “those who are invited and saluted to appear”, “Behold” which means “lo and see” “I have prepared” or “the king himself has made ready and provided for” “my dinner” which means “the king's feast and festival”. Matthew shared how Jesus said the king “sent” more of his “bondmen” to extend invitations to the “wedding feast”, and this time he emphasized that he prepared his “feast”.
The verse continues, “my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.” Matthew added the words, “my oxen” which means “the king's bulls or oxen” “and my fatlings” or “and the king's grain fatted cattle” “are killed” which means “are sacrificed”, “and all things” which means “and each, every, the whole and and everything necessary for a feast” “are ready” or “are prepared”: “come unto the marriage” which means “come hither and now to the wedding of his son”. Matthew wrote how the king made another appeal and invited others to his son's “wedding feast” because he had already “killed” the cattle and prepared all the other necessary things for a “wedding”.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus expressed the passion of this “king” as he made a second appeal for guests to come to the “wedding feast” for his son. God over and over again invites people to have a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus, and He has prepared everything for the “wedding day” of His Son. The church is Jesus' “bride”, and all who receive Jesus Christ as their personal “Savior and Lord” become a part of the church. May all who read these words hear the Lord's invitation to “come to the wedding feast” because “all things are ready” and His desire is to receive them as guest for His “feast”.
Next time Matthew shares how the servants, “made light of it, and went their ways”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
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Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
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