Authority and Acceptance Day 3

The 8 Day Week

Authority and Acceptance

Jesus is the King of Kings

and you and I are invited to a royal wedding.

So what do you wear?

Don’t wait to order you garment!

Jesus starts the day with His authority being questioned.

The Priest & Elders question could have been phrased,

“Who do you think you are?”

The right to cleanse the temple,

the right to teach the people,

the right to heal the sick,

the right to do miracles?

Maybe we should ask ourselves

if we give Jesus the right to do these things

in our lives and church.

In fact, are we encouraging Him to do these things

and are we expecting Him to use His authority?

After Jesus’ authority is challenged,

He tells a couple of parables.

The first parable deals with the rejection of His authority

and the authority of those God has sent.

If Jesus’ authority and right was questioned,

you can expect the authority and rights God

has given to you to be challenged.

The second parable has many parts to it

as Jesus relates truth to us

through an illustration of a wedding banquet.

I found myself focusing on those good and bad

that were invited off the street to come to the banquet.

I have to ask the question,

Where did the street people get the wedding clothes? 

The reason I ask this question is because there was a man who was not wearing wedding cloths and he was cast out.

What are the appropriate garments to wear

and when do you get them?

Sunday, Sandy and I were wondering how to dress

to celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Christ

and for a miracle which we are looking forward to.

So what do you wear?

Maybe, it’s the Garment of Salvation;

the Robe of Righteous

which can only be obtained from God.

Isaiah 61:10 NIV

“I delight greatly in the LORD;

my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Or the Garment of Praise

so that there will be a celebration at the banquet.

Isaiah 61:3 NIV

“and provide for those who grieve in Zion —

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.”

Are you ready to celebrate

and submit to the authority of Christ?

Remember to wear the right cloths!

Scripture Reading

Matthew 21:23-22:14 NIV

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching,

the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him.

"By what authority are you doing these things?"

they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"

24 Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question.

If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

25 John's baptism — where did it come from?

Was it from heaven, or from men?"

They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,'

he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'

26 But if we say, 'From men'-we are afraid of the people,

for they all hold that John was a prophet."

27 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."

Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 

28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons.

He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

29 "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing.

He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"

"The first," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth,

the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,

and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did.

And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard.

He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.

Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.

34 When the harvest time approached,

he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time,

and the tenants treated them the same way.

37 Last of all, he sent his son to them.

'They will respect my son,' he said.

38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other,

'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'

39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 

41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied,

"and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,

who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

"'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;

the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you

and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,

but he on whom it falls will be crushed." 

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables,

they knew he was talking about them.

46 They looked for a way to arrest him,

but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Matthew 22 NIV

22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:

2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4 "Then he sent some more servants and said,

'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner:

My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready.

Come to the wedding banquet.'

5 "But they paid no attention and went off — one to his field, another to his business.

6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.

7 The king was enraged.

He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 "Then he said to his servants,

'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.

9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'

10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 "But when the king came in to see the guests,

he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.

12'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?'

The man was speechless.

13 "Then the king told the attendants,

'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness,

where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen." 

Also see Matthew 22:41-46 and 26:6-13