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THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S dians, playing the part'of disciples, com bined in purpose, sought by flatter? to entrap Him, but He had' foiled their every effort. After the Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, these enemies left Him, and the discourse in our lesson was g vem to His disciples and aimed to acquaint them with the wicked pur pose of His foes. This parable should not be con founded with the Parable of the Great Supper recorded in Luke 14:16-24. There the feast was made by a rich man and all kinds of excuses were made. Here it is the king who makes the feast and invites the guests, and the servants who hid them, are mis treated. Contrast this supper, also, with the supper of the great God in Rev. 19:17. God is here represented as the King, making a marriage for His Son. The Kingdom of Heaven is pictured. The kingdom includes all who love and serve Jesus Christ, the King’s Son. It is a progressive kingdom and has its consummation and culmination in the millennial reign of our Lord. It is a royal feast, prepared by the King of kings for His own Son; a wedding feast (Isa. 62:5); a heavenly wedding feast,-—Christ and His beloved. He loved to think of it and speak of it (Matt. 9:15). “And Jesus said, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is w ith them ? but the day w ill come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them , and then shall they- fast.” Paul loved to speak of believers as espoused to Christ, as to a husband (2 Cor. 11:2). “For I am jealous over you w ith godly jeal ousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (Eph. 5:25-33.) John calls it the marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7,8). “L et us be glad and rejoice and give honor unto him ; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and whole; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
In the parable of.the vineyard, service is the theme. Here it is the nuptial feast suggesting the joy of intimacy and fellowship, in the closest bonds. The Christian life has a dual aspect. One aspect is represented in the toil and. sacrifice of service, with -its dif ficulties, its heavy tasks. Paul de scribes this in 1 Cor. 15:10, and tells us what accompanied his service and labor for the Lord (1 Cor. 4:11, 12). “Even unto this present hour we both hun ger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place. And labour, working with our own hands. Be ing reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suf fer it.” . And the apostle John tells us of the marvels .of our fellowship: (1 John 3:1-3.) There is that glad anticipation of the joy that awaits us when the marriage is consummated and we shall he td the praise of His glory through endless ages. The formal invitation was given by the prophets. The call was given in grace. (Isa. 2:3) and is beautifully set forth in Jer. 31:34. "And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, say ing, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Then" John the Baptist and the sev enty disciples went forth (Matt. 8:1, 2; 10:6, 7) and on the day of Pentecost the invitation was reiterated by Peter (Acts 2:38, 39). “Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the rem ission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the H oly Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (3) THE FRUITLESS SUMMONS and the FRUITFUL SUMMONS, vs. 6- 10 . In what forceful language does our Lord portray the attitude of the Jews toward Himself! What a revelation of the human heart! (Jer. 17:9.) “The heart is deceitful above all (things and desperately'wicked; who can know it? ”
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