Tuesday 6 Feb 2018

February 6: Matthew 22:1-14

Key Verse: Matthew 22:8
Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.’

Devotion:
It is a beautiful analogy Christ presented here to the Pharisees comparing the kingdom of heaven with a royal feast made by a king. The king has gone out of his way to present a feast which is worthy of the occasion and he wants his chosen people to be there, yet when he invites them, none of them want to come. Why? Because they are too busy with their own lives! Just like that, Christ sent out the invitation to a people who have rejected Him as well. But Christ has gone all out to present something far better than the best feast available!

What He has presented is a something more plentiful than the number of requested guests. His feat is laid out with enough to spare for anyone who is willing to come. But when we come to that feast, we have to make sure we are coming for the right reason and to present ourselves in the right manner. I doubt that you would be able to attend a wedding party if you were dressed as a hobo... but there always seems to be one who is willing to push the dress code as far as they can; just so they get their own way!

Christ is the one who has control over who does get to go to heaven and He alone is the one who will ensure that only people who have accepted Him as Saviour will pass through the gates. There is no way He will leave out any believer, no matter how bad their past has been. He will make sure they are presented faultless before God because He knows that He has already paid the price and has taken on our sins... before we even knew Him!

The reason why people will not get to heaven is not because they cannot physically get there. Not because they don’t know enough about it. Not because of stuff they have done in the past. Not because they don’t have enough money or haven’t paid enough… The reason will simply be because they have made a choice to reject the wedding feast of their lifetimes just to try and get that bit more out of their short lives...

Points to Ponder:
Would you accept an invitation to a royal wedding?

Have you accepted your invitation from Christ yet?