Father, I pray that our time today will be glorifying and honoring to you, Father. I pray that words that are not correct that come out of my mouth, Lord, will be washed away and will be cleaned and forgotten. and that the truth of your scriptures, Father, will be pulled and mended to our hearts, Father. Lord, we thank you, we love you, we praise you. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so Matthew 22 is where we'll be at. There's a lot. We've stated this before, and there's a lot to cover in these chapters. And I really don't know which way this will go, because there's There's a lot of meat to the chapter, a lot of different ideas. The first portion is dealing with the parable of the wedding feast and people being called to the wedding, which really kind of fits in with last week's chapter and ties into the parables that Judas is telling there. And then, again, it moves on into the Pharisees, some of the disciples kind of challenge Jesus again, Pharisees and the Herodians. And then the third portion kind of moves into, again, the Sadducees who then challenge Jesus as they often do, and bringing the preposterous question of, you know, the seven brothers and marrying the same woman after they all die. And then finally, it rolls into the Great Commandment, and what we're supposed to do as believers, and then establishing Jesus' authority as the Son of David in the end there. But, again, this conversation could go a long time, or we could push right through it, but let's get started in Matthew 23, 22 rather, 1 through 14. Kyle, can we read up? And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they were not willing to come. Again he sent out other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm and the other to his business. and the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious, and he sent out his army, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he sent his servants to the wedding and readied, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore, go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. So when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, Friends, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. So the king said to the servants, Find him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." Right. So, again, if we establish that This is a kingly ceremony, this is a kingly wedding. This isn't just a friendly wedding to a wedding of some. This is the king establishing this. And with parables, I think we can often kind of run into danger of forcing different meanings in the allegory and that sort of thing. But clearly, this is Christ talking about the wedding of himself to his church, establishing where where it's moving away from the Pharisees. And again, as you saw last week in chapter 21, you see him, again, challenging the Pharisees, challenging these religious rulers who are coming to him and questioning who he is, questioning his authority, and questioning the role of what will ultimately be the Church. Looking at the invitation in verses 1 through 6, what are some things that jump out about the invitation the subject of the king ultimately. For St. Gareth's reason, the king is providing the benefits right out of the gate. Absolutely. It was a marriage for his son. Yeah. They were invited, they were not compelled. I'm sure all of you, like me, were up at 4 o'clock last weekend watching the Royal Wedding, right? Did you catch that? So, I was up at 4 o'clock to watch the Royal Wedding. But it's appropriate, right? I mean, we see this as a big, massive event that's being put on by the royal court of England. And it's a deal, right? I mean, people are coming in from all over the world, really. Leaders of countries, leaders of entertainment, I guess. I don't know. But it's a big deal. And even then, it's still, like I said, no one's compelled to come. They had the room to reject. I'm sure some people are like, I can't make it. I've got something else, and I've got to go meet with North Korea at that time. Sorry. But in this situation, it's kind of, and we see further on that there still was a requirement of the escape of Shilla. I mean, we see that in the reaction of the king to those ignore the invitation, right? So, this invitation goes out, and in reading through it, how these ceremonies kind of took place, kind of reading through it with some different historical understandings of what would happen. Because again, there's no phone, there's no internet, there's nothing, you know, you can't pick up the phone and say, hey, Brian, it's time to come. It's, look, got out of the feast, you're invited. Then they go out, It's time, time to come, right? And again, this is the king who has established his rule over these subjects. And he's saying, you are beholden to my dictates. I've established this wedding. You've said you were going to come. I'm sending out the invitation. It's time to come. And what's their first response? What do they say? No. Right. And they're like, as? Not willing. I mean, time to come. Right. Often. So, again, this is their king who has offered up this invitation and they mock him. Again, moving this, not necessarily from the time that we're in today, but in ancient times, is that something that is commonly done? Actually, no, let's bring this to modern day times. It's that time in Bangkok, and that was one of the first things that I was told was, do not make jokes about the king. It is 100% serious. You will go to jail if you make a public joke about the king in Thailand. And that's where a lot of their money is spent, is policing statements about the king, and making sure that people are respecting the office of the king. So even today, it's still kind of a thing, right? It's still a big deal to show proper respect. And these people, they did not. But what did the king do? He didn't leave it at that. He sent more messengers out to go and let you know that this is the time for the wedding. The feast is now. You've been invited. It's time to come. But what do they do? Mocked it. Treated them worse. Yup. Treated them worse. How did they treat them worse? Because they killed them. Right. So it's gone beyond the mockery. It's gone to murder. Right? So what... If King has ordered this, they've defied him once, they've defied him twice, to the point of death for some. What is this? I mean, this is an Rebellion is treason. Yeah, absolutely. It's treason. It's rebellion. This is them telling the king, we are throwing off your rule. We are not under your authority any longer. We are going to do what we want, and we are going to violently let you know that. And that's what these people are doing, telling the king you are no longer our king, ultimately, because his word means nothing to them. And the message that he sent through our representatives of the king at this point, he's established them in faith. I'm sending these people as my voice, and yet they are killing them, murdering them, ignoring what they're saying, and open or die, is what this is, too. It's just an ungratefulness, because he invited them to something really nice. Yeah, yeah. I mean, this is a feat. This isn't, you know, we're coming here to work. We're not coming to make bricks and build this. This is a party that you've been invited to, and yet, This is how they shoot the message of the king. This is how they shoot the king. Can I just interject something? Yeah, absolutely. You know, in that very beginning part, we just went back to, the ESV says they paid no attention. And then on the hills, they went off on this farm and had to do this business. Yep. It's just like it's today. It is so today. So the king invites you to a cosmic feast, essentially. Yep. No, no, no. I'm gonna go swim in my pool. Right. As though whatever. Yep. So, again, we see this kind of blatant disregard and then, again, it moves on into rebellion. And what is the response of the king at that point? What does he do? Exercises justice. Right, right. He sees this rebellion and he judges it, right? He judges their rebellion. He judges their rejection of this open invitation to this feast, to this party that he's bringing them to. And yet, he's saying, you don't want to go under my rule, but I am your king, I am the ruler, and I am going to exact judgment over your rejection. And again, clearly, as he's talking to the Pharisees, he is letting them know that this is what he's done with Israel. He has offered the invitation. He has given them that prime right as his people. And he's invited them to the feast, and yet, He sent his messengers, he sent his prophets, he sent his son, even. And yet they still rejected the message, they still killed the message, they still did not have that desire to attend this feast that has not been opened up to us as the Church. Moving to verses 9 and 10, who gets the invite at that point? The Gentiles. So just go there for the main roads and invite to the wedding feasts as many as you find. And I think in some versions it's got highways. I think Mike has brought up the song of... Oh brother, we're arsed out. We've got to clear those arrows, yeah. In the highways and byways, I'll be working for my lawyer, right? And that's who he's sending out, his government. Yeah, these are foreigners. These are people, essentially, outside the kingdom. Crowds going past the god that really have little to do with the kingdom. So he judged his own servants, the people who were in the kingdom, and destroyed them. And now he's going out to those who are outside the kingdom. Yeah, that's a good point. And looking up the highway, so again, it kind of gives the picture of maybe, well, maybe the first were the rich ones that he invited, and now he's going to the poor of the kingdom. But it's really kind of an idea of go out to the borderlands, go out to these roads that are exiting the kingdom, and bring the people there that you find. Bring those, again, who are the foreigners, who are the outsiders, bring them into the kingdom. And again, this is a clear establishment of where the kingdom is moving and where Jesus is looking at taking the church's name. It's not going to be limited just to Israel moving away from you because you rejected, because you killed, because you decided to throw me off as their king. And now it's going to go out to Jeddah. It's going to come out to us. It's going to come out to the world and go beyond the borders of Israel at that point. And we see them brought in. And how are they described? How are those farmers described? The bad and the good. What do you think the understanding is on there, the bad and the good? This is the part I was waiting for. I'm not answering, I'm waiting for you. Now he's going to help. So the bad and the good, and we've seen that there's none, none of us have inerrant good. I think it's more clearly kind of a regardless of social status, regardless of status in the world. We're not looking at, you know, well, let's make sure we stay out of that neighborhood there. Let's go to this one and kind of call them from there because we don't want this. Spread the message wide. Spread the message to everyone. And whoever accepts this invitation is welcome to speak. It's not a matter of Well, we can go there because they've got money. They can help support the church. That's probably the target there. You want to kind of move our evangelism. It's effort, regardless of class, regardless of social status, regardless of whether we as broken humans view them as worthy for what we receive. Yeah, I kind of look at this description a little bit like the wheat and the tares, where It's not for people within the church, even the judged people in the church, other than to say that we all who confess Christ, trust in Christ, and follow up to Christ, we have a duty to one another to help us stay on that road and path. But others that come in, they don't believe, they don't believe. Everyone's invited. We're not supposed to judge. the good and the bad. What's interesting, though, is that the king does. And this is almost like a view of the final judgment, that they're all brought in. Not only to the wedding feast, it seems like there's a couple of parallel things going on, but the final judgment, the king comes through. and assesses. So it's sort of like the last day where he's determining who's in and who's out. Absolutely. The bad and good are together. They're not supposed to judge other than to help people keep that foot on the path and hold them to God's Word. And that's it. And help them. Right. But we're all in together. So the invariable price judges us. Absolutely. And with that, you know, I think a lot of times when we read these parables and we see that Jesus is clearly, in that day, attacking the Pharisees and saying, look, I mean, this is what's happening to you as the religious ruler of the day. This is what's happening to you as this religious facade that you've put up. But again, it means these words are written to us as well, right? I mean, I think what you're saying is keeping one another on the path, and making sure that we are accountable to one another, and making sure that we are truly following what Jesus is dictating, what the Lord is dictating, because I think it's very easy for us as modern-day believers to kind of look at this and go, you know, he's talking to the Pharisees, and clearly, we're all accepted, right? But I think we can fall into that same trap where, you know, well, I miss my Bible every day, I'm in church every week, I expect that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but I think further down we'll get to the point where the person doesn't put on the correct wedding garments. I think we have to recognize that that is a danger that we could easily slip into. People can find themselves in a spot where, I'm invited to the wedding here, but he's going to look at us and say, I mean, you're called, but you were chosen and you're not wearing the right clothes. take that as a warning as well to us today and not just to the Pharisees and say, you know, this is only the Pharisees. I accept it because I think we have the danger of becoming modern-day Pharisees in the sense that we are relying on our knowledge, relying on our place in the Church, and not necessarily relying on a new Christ. It's a very difficult line to walk, so to speak. We're supposed to have assurance, too. And we do. We have the hope, if it's in Christ. It's just that we can't take on that parasitical garb, or we're going to be found out. And we've got to pray against it. We've got to call it down, see it in ourselves, confess it. But in the end, are standing before the Lord, not to say that we're all in it for ourselves, but we have to give an account. We have to take heed to see if we stand, lest we fall. That's what the Bible says. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief, keep building me up in the faith, keep building up the faith that I have. Because, again, it's a prime savior. It's that tension of being assured in what we believe and being assured in our faith. But again, I'm sure the Pharisees were assured in their faith as well, in a lot of that. So they thought they were doing the right thing on some level, I'm sure. They thought, look, I'm hitting all these gates, I'm doing all these things, and I'm worthy. But obviously they weren't. And again, I think we have that assurance in trust in Christ, trust in faith in Christ, and faith in the fact that we are relying on his righteousness, but there still needs to be that tension. There still needs to be that striving and reaching after, not being satisfied, I would say. I think people who have faith are truly going to have that tension of seeking to grow more, and seeking to strive after Christ, and seeking to being made more like Christ, or being sanctified, right? That's what sanctification is. That's what sanctification is. It's being made more like Christ every day. And I think once we get to a point where I'm comfortable in my Christianhood, I've made it, I'm, you know, again, I'm in church, read my Bible, and I'm doing all the things I need to be doing, but there's not that desire for growth, not that desire for being sanctified and making something good better. Right? So a lot of that's really just a lack of proper humility. Yeah. Yeah, really. It's kind of an insidious pride which creeps into the floor. Like you said very well, you know, I've kind of made it, I've arrived, I'm good to go. And anybody who's truly honest with themselves recognizes you're never good to go in any department, any discipline of your life. You're never good to go. There's always room for more Christ. It seems so. It's good to have that hope though. Because, you know, even if we're at that point where we feel like we don't want to grow, or you're struggling with some sort of thing that, you know, I'm not feeling kind of stuff, the Lord is able to provide. That's my whole point. It's about Christ. The hope is in Christ. So you go to the well of supply, not to yourself. You know what I mean? Because, yeah, I mean, the evil forces of this world are going to drag you down. It's going to make you look at other people. It's going to make you judge yourself as not worthy. It's just going to make you just unbelieve. But the Lord is able to break through all of that. And that's where, you know, He gives us the flesh. He gives us the clothes to wear to be in His Kingdom. Yep, yep. And like I said, there will be times where you will be discouraged, you will, you know, you will be kind of in that, indulge in the lull of growth, but like Ryan's saying, you're still we can go back and rely on Christ, and He can pull us out of that. And I think that's, again, that's kind of that key, that perseverance of the saint that we need to find and maintain. We do push through. We do strive. We do, again, rely on Christ, rely on the Lord to pull us to those times where maybe I don't feel like reading my Bible, but we don't stay there. We don't wallow there. We seek God to pull us out. Verses 11 through 14. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there was a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. And again, we see this picture of having the right garment on. Again, kind of extrapolating whether this is how it actually went down. I did research on ancient weddings as well. I couldn't find a lot that wasn't necessarily tied to interpreting this parable. But the idea that, again, these serpents went out and they brought all these people from the borderlands and brought all these people out who weren't part of the kingdom, then it's likely that they didn't have the correct garments on their own. So this is, again, the king providing these garments to these people who were coming to this feast and saying, You're invited, here you go, here's your robe, here's whatever you're supposed to put on, here's your jacket, put it on, door's that way. And yet, this guy goes in without his robes. Again, thinking that he's invited, thinking that he's part of this feast, thinking that he's been called to this wedding and he's got a place in here. And yet, he doesn't come properly attired. Typically, when I read the story, I think of Peyton. This guy's got to be filthy, right? This guy's got to be dirty. He's got a cloud of dirt. His clothes are a mess. But the more I thought about it, I was going, that's probably not the case. He's probably dressed nicely. He's probably got his best, you know what I mean? I'm like, let's put these clothes on. Let's go. I look good. But you get to the door, and Peyton's like, no. There's no place for you here. Again, it's this act of rebellion. He's provided, he says, to come in, you need to put this on. And yet, this guy says, nope, I'm good. I've got the clothes I need to have on. I've got what I need to be part of this. And we see that the king rejects it. He, again, quick and decisive in his judgment that's brought down. Again, this is clearly Christ speaking of eternal death. This is Christ speaking of what happens to those who ultimately aren't part of this feast, aren't part of the kingdom. And we see that again, someone who as part of the invocation, who has shown up, who thinks he's in the church, if you will, thinks he's part of the group, and yet Christ is telling him, you're not, even though you think you belong here, you don't, because you're not accepting what I'm offering you, you're not putting on what I've given you, you're not accepting the right, you're not putting on the righteousness that I've offered, that I'm giving you, to cover what you tried to enter in with, so. Anything else that comes out with that investigation? I was just going to say on the other foot is that the guest did not know that he was not the one. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. It was only the king that read the whole thing. Right. So again, he's walking into that with this group, and she's been welcomed in. He's probably looking around with everybody else, having conversations, like they're saying. Nobody else is calling out for her until the king shows up. Right. Yeah, it's interesting. Isn't there a hymn that says, just as I am? This always comes to me when I think about it. But, you know, the point is that it's the attitude. We come to Christ just as we are. Of course, we don't wait until we're perfected or completely, perfectly repentant. Because we don't know all that God's going to make us. So really, the attitude of the one in Christ is really the desire to be more like Christ, to become clothed in Christ, whatever that really means, that you should be ready for that. Obviously, this guy didn't care, you know? It wasn't his death, you know? He probably deserved free food, or I don't know. But, you know, it's really an attitude of the heart. We can't stay who we are. We have to be on the road of sanctification, change and salvation. We have to humble ourselves to the will and word of God. We just can't stay what we were. Now, sometimes that change is slow for some people. We can't judge others and they're wrong and whatnot. But we have to, each one of us, stand before God and grow and change. And be willing to do that. Because if we're not, we're not really willing to forget and see that. Right, right. It kind of goes into the idea of, you know, are we believing and then again being sanctified or just kind of resting on that fact that it was the fire source, right? It's like, I'm good, I'm covered, I said my prayer, I'm in the church, I got it. But again, we see that true sign of of faith, as James said, there's still going to be words applied to that as an expression of our belief, as an expression of our faith. So it kind of goes into that, that there's going to be evidence of regeneration, right? And I'm talking to my kids, but it's kind of not always the case, right? We talked about the people on the cross. There was not a lot of time for evidence of regeneration. Proclaimed, he believed, proclaimed, and died. But there's still evidence to the fact that he proclaimed openly, and he acknowledged his need for a savior. But not always going to see the fruits borne out in those who quit on that time. But ultimately, we're going to see those fruits bear out as believers. We're going to see that evidence of sanctification, that evidence of growth in our lives. One of the things that jumped out to me was the use of friend. So, the king approaches him and says, friend, you know, why don't you have the right clothes on? And going through and kind of looking at how Matthew used that word, like every time he used that word friend in the gospel, it was used in a negative story, ultimately. Again, it's the rejection of John the Baptist and ultimately Jesus as he follows on saying, John was here and he wanted nothing to do with him at that point. And then in 20 that we saw a couple chapters ago, it's the laborer complaining of the wages. He comes in and says, we agree to this amount, why are you complaining about what I'm giving in? This is what we agreed upon. And then in 2650, at the point of betrayal, he says, friends, why are you here? We always see Matthew using this term. I'm not sure what that means ultimately, just kind of a thought that I was curious that it's used four different times and four in negative situations. Can I take a stab at that? Yeah. I haven't formally studied it, but just on the surface, Again, the usage of friend shows the Lord's common grace and his kindness, even to the lost. And there's like a crack in the door almost, you know, there that, hey, if you could repent, indeed I would receive you. I'm not this capricious, constant killjoy who wants to crush you. with my awesome personality. Right. You know, there's a handiclimber of access to what's really good instead of what could be his friends. Yeah. Yeah, that absolutely makes sense. Uh, 1522. Was there anything else I needed to add on the wedding? Verse 15, the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a denarius, and Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar's. Then he said to them, therefore run unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. When they heard it, they marveled, and they left him, and went away. So we continue with the Pharisees plotting, trying to catch Jesus in a trap, ultimately, trying to catch him saying the wrong thing. But it hasn't worked yet. They're still trying. This time they send their disciples, they send their students ultimately. So we're looking at probably young men, whether they're teens, twenties, I don't know. They're not established Pharisees yet. They're in training, they're learning from the Pharisees. They're picking up this knowledge that they're teaching. And they send them maybe just because they're unrecognizable, go to them as a teacher, go to them as you guys looking for new understanding, whatever it may be. They come and they approach Jesus. And then on top of that, they are coordinating with the Herodians who, again, not a lot of clarity as to specifically who they were, but clearly some association with Herod and some affinity to what Herod was standing for at that point. And they're challenging Jesus in the political arena, is what it comes down to. It's kind of that open debate, right? We are an oppressed kingdom. We are an oppressed people. We are under the rule of Rome. We don't want to be here. We're not glad that we're here. But right now, it's asking for choices that might end the region, right? So they are being forced under subjugation to Rome. likely two forms of money being used, one specifically to Israel, and then obviously paying tribute and commerce to Rome. So, do we have to pay taxes to Jesus? So, you have to, on the one hand, if he says, yes, you have to pay taxes, then everyone who is Pro-Israel, pro-nationalism for Israel is going to say, he's clearly not going to receive it from Rome. This guy is not going to follow. But then if he says, no, don't pay taxes to Israel, then clearly, Rome is going to step in and say, why are you leading in this direction? Why are you trying to, again, cause a divide, which has happened in the past multiple times at this point. That has been successfully put down by Rome. They're trying to put Jesus into this corner, into this trap, and trying to get Him to say something that is going to cause one side or the other to blow up on Him. And what does Jesus say? Or what does He think, really? He understands. He calls Him hypocrites, right? Because He knows that we're coming to test Him. He knows this is not a sincere inquiry. He knows they're not seeking to grow in wisdom or knowledge. It is simply out here to trap Jesus and catch Him saying the wrong thing. So he grabs the coin, he holds it up, and there's a picture of Caesar on there, right? So it's a matter of you as nationalistic Jewish people, Israelis, we don't want this, right? We don't want anything to do with Rome, so why would you want it? Why would you want to keep this? Throw it back at Rome, but also satisfy Rome in the sense that we're giving what we're asking for. So he finds that middle ground to answer the question, or at least not parry the question, and throw it back on them and say, look, I recognize this trap. I recognize the fact that you are seeking to question my words, seeking to make me say something that is going to move away from my truth right here. Looking at this, it's It's almost as if he's just kind of walking away from the argument. He's saying this is, again, this is this kind of not preposterous question at this point, but kind of an idea of this isn't why I'm here. I'm not here to debate this manner of earthly battle. This is clearly something that's between Israel and Rome, but I'm above this. I'm here for more than this. I'm here for something greater than taxes, something greater than the physical freedom of the nation of Israel. Right? He's teaching the reality of two kingdoms. So, so, so, so, and he's, you know, in other places, my kingdom is not of this world. And so, you're right on track in what you're saying. They're trying to trick him. and he sees it as God damn, but he's being very clear, you are horrendous civil authority savages, do them, but you better be paying attention to what I'm telling you about spirituality, or you're going to be in big trouble. Bigger trouble than a Roman authority. Absolutely. And I think this is an easy place for us to find ourselves today. was a terrible place in a lot of different ways, that was supporting a lot of debauchery, sin, was conquering land, just taking them over. And yet he's saying, pay your taxes. We're here for something greater. We look, and kings are established, kingdoms are established by God, right? I think I had that written down somewhere. Yeah. There's no government. I think it's Timothy or Titus. Where'd I put that? Jesus calls everyone to pray for... It's Romans 13, maybe. Is Titus brave? No. I mean, is he subject to rulers and authorities? Yeah, all of them are. But again, it's that idea that God has established kingdoms and rulers, and again, he's placed them there for order and you know, the general good of society. And a lot of times we don't necessarily see the good of a lot of the ideas that have been placed out there in Ireland this past weekend. It is, it is. Yeah, you know, that's all you can say, but that's tragic, right? That's it, that we as a world openly have lost that the value on life in so many different ways, in so many different ways. I think it's things a little bit more when you see it in this realm, when you see it in the killing of the unborn. But again, we look at the shootings we have, we look at the murders in the United Cities, and just the blatant disregard that we as humans as a people have lost the lack of regard for one another and those who've been created in God's image. It's not surprising, and again, this is something I've talked to my kids about, it's almost from generation one, right? We were killing each other and we lost that understanding of being created in God's image. you know, the more people are born, the more sinners we have, and the more sin we're going to have, right? And it grows exponentially in the fact that that disregard for life, that disregard for following after God kind of expands. But, on the other side of that too, as well, it comes down to You know, there are more believers, there are more of us to go out and spread His Word, and there's more of us to be challenged to go to the outer kingdoms, right, to go to the highways and the byways and seek those out through Christ's calling and call and invite, right? As believers, we We know it's not our responsibility to provide the garments. All we're told to do is go out and let them know that, hey, there's a feast this way. And whether they choose to come or not, that's not for us. 23 through 33, we get into the seven brothers, and the one wife. It's the Sadducees speaking, and they don't believe in the resurrection, they don't believe in a lot of the supernatural, basically. They hold on to some teachings coming out of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, but a lot of it after that they kind of toss off and disregard. And specifically mentioned the resurrection right here. So they're coming from this as a necessity to begin with. They're offering Jesus this question, saying, isn't this absurd, the fact that we believe in the resurrection? What happens if? And they throw out the, again, I equate this to the, can God make a rock that he can't lift type question. It's missing the point of why Christ is here and what Christ's character truly is, what he's seeking to do. And again, we as believers know that God's not going to do anything outside of his character. And we're seeing this establishment of them trying to approach Jesus as offering up the absurd and trying to challenge what he's teaching. But again, missing the complete focus, missing the complete point of why he's teaching this. Basically, he comes out and he says, there is no marriage in heaven. And again, as somebody who loves his wife and loves his marriage, that's often difficult for me to embrace because I feel like I've got this wonderful thing down here with caring. But it's that focus on the temporal, that focus on earthly things that these Sadducees are looking at, and Jesus is telling them it's not about this earthly kingdom, it's what we're going to have in heaven, what we're going to have in this feast that I just spoke about, that we're going to have is so much greater than anything we can have here. And again, it's Brian Barber and Brethren, we are accountable to one another as believers, we are accountable to one another as husband and wife, and we are, I think it's our responsibility to to make sure that, not make sure, but to encourage and spur on towards sanctification. Karen and I challenge each other. We challenge each other as believers, as fellow church members, and we maintain accountability to one another because we are doing what we can as a family to be part of the sanctification process and the fact that we are preparing each other for heaven. That's what we're doing down here. We are preparing one another for our lives. We are here for 90 years, 100 years, 122 years, 125 is probably the oldest person who's lived in the last two centuries and yet that's That's a snap. That's a blink, right? In comparison to our eternity. It seems like a long time for a lot of us right here. I remember sitting where you are right now as a 12-year-old kid in my church thinking, man, 37. That's a long way away. But here I am with a 12-year-old son who was just a baby yesterday to me, but time just rolls, right? And those who are older than me are looking at me like, 37, man, you're still a kid, right? So it's all relative in our understanding of time here on Earth, but ultimately in the course of eternity, it's all a snap for every single one of us. We are going to have an infinite amount of time to spend with Christ. to spend in heaven, to spend in the Lord, to spend in... We look at, we think of the best days of our marriage, the best days of our relationships built around us, and in comparison to what every single moment, every single... I can't even continue, how long seconds, how time works, I don't know, I just can't. Every point that we have with Christ is going to be infinitely that much better than the best day we've had. with us, with the wife, with friends, with church members here celebrating and glorifying and awkwardly sending up worship to Christ. But it's going to be perfected. It's going to be Again, I lost words in describing it. I don't know, because I haven't experienced it. But that's what we hope for. That's what we strive for. That was the point that I clearly decided, as soon as we leave the resurrection, we're missing it. Because that was all they had, was that they were thinking, well, I've got my, we'll give them 80 years. In fact, then, it's probably died a little earlier. I'm giving them 80 years to say, 80 years I have here on earth is as good as I can make. It's as good as it's going to get. They are missing that point of the eternal, of the heavenly, of what is truly going to be perfected in the presence of Christ. So I read an article in the New York Times as well, he's a columnist for them, he's a conservative writer, Catholic, but basically he's kind of breaking down kind of where Westerners spend their time and the lack of satisfaction that we get out of that. And a lot of that is because we're just so focused on, in his ultimate point, we're so focused on to hear Not necessarily here or there, I'm just kind of saying, being in the moment is one of his points, but that's either here or there. He's kind of focusing our time on things that ultimately are important, right? So I guess one of the surveys was, I think most of them were done with women, but the fact that they're spending a lot of their leisure time on things that didn't necessarily make them happy, things that didn't necessarily bring them joy in their life, but yet they chose to spent a majority of the time watching TV shows, surfing on the internet, reading a book that they didn't really care about. And again, whenever I teach, whether it's to the kids that are teaching up here or anywhere else, I get this burden of how much effort I'm putting into this right now, and how much more benefit I'm getting out of spending this much time in the Word, as opposed to other times when I don't think it's teaching. I know I'm going to get something on Sunday, and it's good. I'll spend my time in the Word, but I don't. I spend so much time doing other things, so much time focused on the temple, so much time focused on the things that aren't going to ultimately last or matter. And we have to go to work on Sunday. We have to support. or just provide for families, that's something that we're supposed to do, and then those around us. But there are tasks that are necessary, even though we may not necessarily think they're heavenly priorities, but we still probably use a lot of our time doing things that aren't bringing us joy in any regard. We're just kind of spinning our wheels or running on a treadmill, going nowhere with them and not getting any enjoyment out of a mundane task and doing things just because it's in front of us, right? Whereas, if we begin to think more eternally, begin to think more heavenly, begin to think more to value the time we have here, again, in that preparation for heaven, then I think I think we would find our priorities shifted quite a bit. And again, it's not to say that there are things that aren't necessarily growing in wisdom and knowledge of the word aren't bad in and of themselves. I watch basketball. I enjoy basketball. It's fun. There's some style games going on right now. And I don't think those things are bad in and of themselves. It just becomes, what is my focus? Where am I prioritizing my time? How much time am I? Am I applying to that sanctifying process and truly seeking things of Heaven? And then finally in 34 through 40, we look at the Great Condemnation. But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the pharisees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said to them, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment, and the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." So again, we have this lawyer who's who's coming to Christ and he's asking him, what's the one thing? If he had one opportunity to tell me to do one thing, what would that be? And ultimately he says, love God and love others, right? This is the great commandment and the second is like it. Again, the idea of you shall love your neighbor as yourself, and this clearly ties back to the same question he was asking, and he gave the parable of the Good Samaritan, right? It's who is my neighbor, right? Who must I love to meet the requirement? But it goes beyond that who must I love in the sense that we are called to, again, go to the highways, go to the byways, Again, it's not established for us to say who's going to be accepted, who's going to be allowed in, but we are told to go in to call on everyone. I think that's probably the greatest testament of our love to others, is sharing the faith that we have, and sharing the offering that Christ has given to us as believers, and the faith that he's given to us, and following through with that commandment of, again, going into all the world and teaching and preaching, right? And looking at the neighbors and, again, looking at the story of the Good Samaritan and the guys on the side of the road and seeing the priest, seeing Levi come through and reading more about that, kind of the idea of The priest from Levite probably followed the law in the sense that that guy could be dead and I'm not going to defile myself and touch any dead body. I'm a priest. I need to stay clean so I can do my job, so I can serve the church, so I can serve those around me. But they clearly missed the point and go around the guy who physically, at that moment, needs service. Kind of the same idea with the Levite, who again, wasn't a priest but very involved in worship at the temple, very involved in in the operations of the Temple, in the operations of worship. And yes, we see them clearly show disregard for somebody who is clearly in need. And then you have the Samaritan who, again, is considered vital to the Israelis and Jewish people of Israel. Basically, they'd almost rather be trampled underfoot than to do anything with them. Again, we see this person who clearly served the Samaritans not by neighboring. You know what they did when the Assyrians attacked. You know what they did when they tried to build their own temple. And yet Christ says, this person who you would not consider a neighbor is the only person who is truly being neighborly to this man who needs the side of the road. And again, as believers and as those who should seek after these first, these great two commandments of loving God and loving others, which encompasses everything, right? I mean, it's following God's, God's edicts, following God's commands, and then again, in the fact that we are called to share God's word, called to share the gospel, called to share with others, you know, those things are definitely wrapped up in in loving God and loving others. Right. Yeah, notice it doesn't say love self. Yeah. I mean the supreme fulfillment, you know the world doesn't get this today, but really the supreme fulfillment and when I struggle the most myself is not loving self, loving God first, then loving others. Yeah. It's always there in the background. It's always, you know, a guy who might be nipping at my heels, so to speak. But yeah, we struggle. And Jesus tells us to deny self, pick up your cross, these things. You really want to know self-worth. True self-worth. And the reason why we have such a crisis today is self-worth, self-identity. People are so self-focused. Facebook is attesting to yourself. And that's what the big alter in China is on Facebook, not discouraging it or anything. There's good and there's bad. But its main focus is to hype on self. So we've got to be careful with those kind of opinions as well. Because again, we are definitely called to opt for. We obviously are taking in the righteousness of God. We are taking in the preaching and teaching of the word. We are here at church to be built up as believers, but it's what we do with that building up. Again, in equating to the Pharisees, they were in the temple, they were studying, they building themselves up in knowledge, at least in knowledge, but it was that focus on the self, like Ryan was saying, became that focus of, I'm doing this to solely find my own place in this world, in this religious scope, as opposed to drawing others towards Christ, getting that focus on, look at me, you know, again, like the guy that's in the way. I've arrived, I've made it, I've got my garments on, I'm doing the right things, I'm hitting the right gates, but they're losing the focus on loving God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and, you know, loving your neighbor because One, I think they were missing a lot of the love of God piece in the fact that they were solely drawing attention to themselves. Most of them, I'm sure, were drawing attention to themselves and not doing it in the sense that, I'm doing this for the education of the glory of God, I'm doing it for the education and glorification of myself. And then, you know, apparently the Good Samaritan and other times when you see the Pharisees kind of ignoring those in need, they were clearly not pouring out the love of God to others. And even seeing how Christ operated in his time here on earth, he was out pouring himself out to, one, the least of these as sinners, but again, who did they record that he spent his time with? The sinners you look at, the publicans you look at, the lame, the sick, the leopards, he was out there and he stopped some of them out, he embraced them when they came, and he didn't turn any of them away, he didn't, it shouldn't make him turn any of them away, he turned plenty of people away in a sense that, you know, we call out various incumbent statutes, he called out a lot of people, but he He was a man with dirty hands for sure, right? He didn't sit up in his castle and not reach down and not affect the lives of those who needed it around him. Finally, as we close out, in 38 of 44, which, again, is crucial in all of this, we have And while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? And they said to him, The son of David. And he said to them, How is it then that David in his spirit calls himself Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, while I put your enemies under your feet? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son? And no one was able to answer him a word. Not from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. He lays out his authority right there and says, this is why I can say the things I'm not saying, because I am the Lord of David. I am the God that he prayed to. I am, yes, of his line. I have his blood flowing through my veins, but David's not going to call a fourth generation, third generation grandson, Lord in this sense, unless he's recognizing the fact that this is my God, this is my creator, this is someone who I am pouring myself, laying myself down at his feet, because he's my Lord. And again, you know, elders were respected in that culture, they were looked upon, and certainly, you know, in the order of things, that's not how it would have played, except for the fact that David recognizes that. This is not just a blood heir. He is something much greater, something much higher than simply that. He's the Messiah. He's God. And Jesus establishes that, clearly shows him that, and says, this is the authority by which I can say these things. This is the authority by which I can teach these things. This is who I am, and this is why you ought to listen. And they, you know, by Matthew's saying, dare to ask them another question. I think they had some level of understanding of that and recognize that there's nothing we can say, there's nothing that we can do to try and catch him stumbling because he is of God. And again, they clearly went on to try and thwart that later on, but they recognize something at this point. Anything else to offer? So as we look at, as we go through and all the way through Matthew and establishing Christ as this king, as this ruler of all and seeing that, again, we see that this is authority established here. We know who our king is. We know that we have been invited to this feast. We know that we've been called to this feast. And it comes down to To which clothes are we wearing? Are we like the Pharisees in the sense that we're saying we're going to do one thing and not following through on the invitation? We'll be there, but no, not today. I've got something better to do. I've got something beyond just accepting the righteousness of Christ to be placed in the kingdom, to become part of this family. As we go through the rest of our lives here on earth, let's keep that in mind and heart that as we persevere, as we are being sanctified, we don't find ourselves in the position of the Pharisees. The fact that, you know, I'm showing up to church, I'm reading my Bible, I'm doing all of these things, but not truly putting on the garments of righteousness. Not truly putting on what Christ has offered and what Christ has given us as we try and enter the feast. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day, Lord. We thank you that you are God, Father, that you are in control, that you are sovereign over all things, Father. We thank you that you chose to send your Son, Lord, to live a perfect life, Father, and to satisfy the requirements of your judgment, God, and to give us those clothes of righteousness, Father, to give us that wedding garment, Father, that we can enter in, Father, and enjoy the feasts you've prepared for us, God. Lord, I pray that as we go about our days, Father, here on earth, that we are truly seeking after you, Father, and that we are seeking to be sanctified, being made more holy, Father, more like your Son each day, God. Just help us not to be satisfied, Father, with our place here as your chosen, Father, and as believers, God. Just help us to always be seeking out more, God. Help us to be seeking out to be made more like you, Father, every day, God. More like your Son, Lord. I pray that you continue to work in our hearts, Father. Work in our lives, God. Just grow us. Not only maintain us as a church, Father, but just build us up, Father, as your people, Father. Build us up as your children, God. And again, Father, just continue to make us more holy, Father, in our fight against our old selves, Father. Our fight against our old old ways, Father, our sinful ways, Father, our sinful hearts, God. Continue to make us into moldable hearts, Father, molded hearts of flesh, Father, that aren't hardened, Father, that aren't against what you have, God. Pray, Lord, that we will continually seek after you, Father, continually seek after what you offer, God, that we will persevere, God, and that we will be able to one day, Lord, enter into that feast, Father, to celebrate and glorify You, Father, for eternity, God. Lord, we thank You for Your Word. Lord, we thank You for this time, Father. In Jesus' name, Amen.