Will you come to the Banquet?

(87) Teaching in Parables

In Jesus’ last week, in Jerusalem, when the world is about to change, Jesus had a lot to teach his people. When might you have felt a great pressure to teach, and teach now, about God’s kingdom? What makes us feel that urgency?

Read Matthew 21:28-32 Jesus is responding to the leaders’ refusal to acknowledge where John’s authority came from.

1.       Who do you imagine the sons representing—the leaders, the sinners, the Jews, the Gentiles…?

2.       When might you have said “no” and done “yes”—in terms of faith, or just in everyday life?

3.       When might you have said “yes” and done “no”?

4.       What about the disciples. When did they say one thing and then change?

5.       Read Matthew 21:31b-32 What should have made the leaders believe John? Or in Jesus? And what should make people believe now? What’s our part in this?

Now Jesus tells the crowd (a very celebratory crowd) about the great celebration to come. Read Matthew 22:1-14 Do you remember Jesus telling a similar story earlier (Luke 14:15-24)?

1.       Jewish scriptures frequently referred to the Jewish nation as God’s bride. How is Passover like a wedding feast?

2.       How were the crowds listening to Jesus like guests at a feast? (And who might have felt like uninvited guests?)

3.       Are there people today who might feel like uninvited guests at a feast?

4.       Read verse 5,6. What excuses keep people (then or today) from the feast?

5.       Read verse 7. Then comes destruction. Does this remind you of Revelation? (Read Revelation 19:6-9, 17-21) Might it prefigure the destruction of Jerusalem?

6.       Would you rather wait for God’s timing, or rush people into making decisions for or against Him?

7.       Read verse 9,10. More people are invited—unexpected guests perhaps? What kind of a guest (or servant) do you identify most easily with?

8.       Read verse 11. Wedding garments were important. Not being properly dressed didn’t just dishonor the host, it dishonored the village, the interests of people in the village… everything. If only one man doesn’t have the right clothes, where did the other street people get their robes? Where do we get our “robes”?

9.       Read verse 12,13. Why is it important to show respect for God’s priorities?

10.   Read verse 14. Are we called? Are we chosen? Do we choose to follow Jesus or are we chosen—predestined…? Or both?

If we are servants, are we called to invite others to God’s feast?

1.       Why might we say no?

2.       How might someone “do” no?

3.       How do we make sure we’re saying and doing “yes”?

If we are guests, are we early or late invitees?

1.       How should we dress ourselves?

2.       How should we respect our host?

3.       How should we respect other guests?

4.       How should we celebrate?   And if we’re both?