April 19, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Weddings and Wedding Clothes

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Weddings and Wedding Clothes

Matthew 22:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

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 So 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, the bad as well as the good, 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 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ 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.”

How did Jesus speak to them (verse 1)?

What is the kingdom of heaven like (verse 2)?

Who did the king send his servants to (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did the king send more servants (verse 4)?

How did the people respond to the servants (verses 5 & 6)?

Why did the king send his army to destroy the murderers and burn their city (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did those who the king had invited “not deserve to come” (verse 8)?

Who did the king instruct his servants to bring in (verse 9)?

Did the servants only bring in the good people that they found (verse 10)?

What did the king see when he came in to see the guests (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the “wedding clothes” (verses 11 and 12)?

What is the punishment for the man who was not wearing wedding clothes (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “for many are invited, but few are chosen” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 22:1-14 show us about the Great Commission?

Zechariah 3:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

³ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. ⁴ The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”

Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

⁵ Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.”

Where was Joshua, the high priest, standing (verse 1)?

Why was Satan standing at his right side (verse 1)?

What did the Lord say to Satan (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did the Lord describe Joshua as a “burning stick snatched from the fire” (verse 2)?

How was Joshua dressed (verse 3)?

What did the angel say to Joshua after telling others to “take off his filthy clothes” (verse 4)?

What did Zechariah say (verse 5)?

Who stood by while they put a clean turban on Joshua’s head and clothed him (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how does the Lord not letting Satan accuse Joshua whom He snatched from the burning fire, removed sin from and clothed in clean clothing in Zechariah 3:1-5 similar to the king in Jesus parable bringing in “the bad as well as the good” and then requiring that everyone at the wedding feast be in the proper attire in Matthew 22:1-14?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Zechariah show us about the Great Commission?

Ephesians 4:20-24 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

What is Paul talking to the Ephesians about (verse 20)?

Who did the Ephesians hear about and were taught about (verse 21)?

Why is the old self to be put off (verse 22)?

Where are we to be made new (verse 23)?

Who is the new self created to be like (verse 24)?

In your opinion, how does the statement of Paul in Ephesians 4:20-24 about putting off the old self and putting on the new self a continuation of the statement in Zechariah 3:1-5 about Joshua’s sin being taken away and the clothing of Joshua in fine garments?

In your opinion, how does knowing that the new self in Ephesians 4:20-24 is “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” help understand why the king in Matthew 22:1-14 had the guest that was not in wedding clothes tied up and thrown outside “into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Ephesians show us about the Great Commission?

Revelation 19:6-9 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.
⁸ Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

How does John describe what a great multitude sounds like (verse 6)?

Why does the great multitude say “hallelujah” (verse 6)?

Why should we “rejoice and be glad and give him glory” for (verse 7)?

What does the fine linen that was given to the bride to wear stand for (verse 8)?

Who is blessed (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does in mean that Paul in Ephesians 4:20-24 says that we are to put on “the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” and that John says in Revelation 19:6-9 that the bride of the Lamb is given fine linen, which stands for “the righteous acts of God’s holy people”?

In your opinion, how is it a completion of the “snatching” of Joshua like a burning stick from a fire and refusing to let Satan accuse him in Zechariah 3:1-5 a wonderful example of the ways “our Lord God Almighty reigns” as claimed by John in Revelation 19:6-9?

In your opinion, do you think that Jesus was anticipating the wedding feast of Revelation 19:6-9 when he described the king in Matthew 22:1-1-14 gathering in “the bad as well as the good” and being dressed in the proper wedding clothes?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 22:15 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)