Continuing the parable from last week, we looked at the prepared feast, the ‘expected’ guest list, we look now at the King’s reaction to their repeated—and murderous—rejection of His invitation. Matthew 22:7 records that “The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.”

As I reflected on this verse (without using a commentary), I noted several observations. One, the king reacts with emotion. God (whom the king fairly obviously represents) is personal, not some mechanical force or unfeeling power. The king also reacts swiftly; he is not, like us many times, left in a quandary about what to do, nor is he bothered by how others might think he should react. His reaction is swift and powerful, leaving no doubt that ultimately, the penalty for rejecting the King’s invitation is destruction.

Reflecting on the stubbornly consistent behavior of the original invitees, I was reminded of a reality we can never evade: The consequences of our actions always impact others. Those invitees’ entire city was destroyed, not just their own homes and businesses.

Always our failures, disobedience, sins are destructive to others around us, to those who love us, just as our obedience blesses them, not just ourselves. The ancient Jews had a powerful sense of the ‘corporateness’ of sin. Most of us Christians do not.

But the king still intends his son to have a wedding feast, still intends for guests to attend it, so he is not finished when the ‘refusers’ are destroyed. He tells his servants, “Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.” (9)

Now, I do not pretend to have predestination versus free will all figured out, but some things seem rather clear to me from this account: 1) There were those who were to be invited first to this event...and they were Jewish. 2) When their religious leaders refused to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah/Son of God, God did not just get mad and say “If the ones I wanted to come didn’t, I just won’t have the party”; nor did He say “If the ones I wanted to come refused, I just won’t invite anybody.”

No, from first to last, the God of the Bible is portrayed as a seeking God...and the disappointing, infuriating refusal of the Jewish leaders to acknowledge and honor His Son simply sent Him seeking from a wider circle. So now ‘Anybody’ and ‘Somebody’ and ‘Nobody’ were eligible to come...and they did: “And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (vs 10)

This broader invitation represents God’s casting a wide net, indeed, for the record specifically includes “the bad.” This wide-open invitation really bothers some ‘saints,’ but it is utterly consistent with Jesus’ behavior on many occasions. Yet I think it important—crucially important—to note that while His invitation is “Come as you are,’ there is nothing in His words (nor in anyone else’s I can think of in Scripture) to indicate that His attitude was ever (or is now) “It’s also OK to stay as you are” if your walk, ways, habits, lifestyle, etc. are sinful.

The blurring of this distinction between the inclusiveness of His initial invitation to an ‘approacher’ and the relative exclusiveness of what He will tolerate in a ‘follower’ is one of my biggest concerns about the so-call ‘Emergent Church.’ One can never safely ‘emerge’ beyond the parameters God sets for those who bear/bare His Son’s name. You simply don’t ‘mess’ with the King! We’ll see that clearly next....

Have a good week!