I Began to Teach in the Temple

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

January 20, 2020

I Began to Teach in the Temple

Page 235-237

Matthew 21:23 - 22:14;

Mark 11: 27 - 12:12;

Luke 20:1-19

The Pharisees hoped Jesus would say something that they could use against him; they were not really looking for truth. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy, both in refusing to answer their question directly, and in the parable of the vineyard. In Isaiah Chapter 5, Israel is presented as a vineyard planted by God. Instead of producing good fruit, the vineyard produces only wild grapes. Everybody present knew Jesus’ parable was about the rebellious nature of Israel and the judgment of God against Israel’s sins.

Most of the parables of Jesus are straight forward, and it is not difficult to identify the subjects of the metaphors Jesus used. However the parable of the wedding feast is much more of an allegory in which each character or event is representative of something else. Correctly identifying the cast is essential in interpreting this parable. Here is my understanding of the cast:

The King represents God; the son represents Jesus; the marriage feast is the great feast of the Lamb and God at the end of time, envisioned in Rev. 19:9; the slaves are the prophets of God; those who were invited are Israel; the violence is the rejection of the prophets by Israel; the city destroyed is the fall of Jerusalem; the gathering of all people, good and bad, are those brought into the church through the evangelistic mission of the church; the wedding hall is the church; and the wedding garments represent the Life in Christ.

Many people in our culture are troubled by the man without wedding clothes who was thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:11-13). If Israel was judged by God for her failure to fulfill God’s purpose, so also will there be judgment for those who receive the invitation of new life in Christ, but are not willing to surrender their lives to God. (See Gal. 3:27, Eph. 4:24, and Col. 3:10-12)

As followers of Jesus, we have received an anointing from God to fulfill our destiny as His children. We are the ones in our generation who God has appointed to be a light to the nations. We are surrounded everyday by scores of opportunities to speak truth into the issues of our times. The economic issues, the political issues, issues of poverty and homelessness, issues of discrimination and bigotry; these permeate out culture. Today and everyday God is asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people?” (Isaiah 6:8).

Who will speak for God? We are surrounded by naysayers who cultivate fear and mistrust. Who will share the Christian perspective on the issues of our times? God is looking for all of his children to speak His word to their neighbors, their children, their grandchildren, and their representatives in government.

My Takeaway: Isaiah responded, “Here I am. Send me.” This is how I will respond.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.