Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Matthew 22:11 ¶ "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 22:11 ¶ "But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, |
Subject: Why was the man speechless? |
Bible Note: I think it is fair to make a connection between this and the parable of the soils to a certain extent. I think a better connection would be to the wheat and the tares which Jesus refers to in Matthew 13:24-30. There are false brethren in our churches, and those who are in the visible church who think that they are bound for Heaven because they dwell among God's people, just like the man at the wedding feast. Jesus constantly points out that it is not the company one keeps which makes him one of them, but rather the work of God in his heart. Jesus points this out to the Pharisees in John 8 when he tells the Pharisees that they are not children of Abraham, but rather children of the devil. Of course, they were descended from Abraham, so what is Christ pointing out here? That one's birth does not make one an heir to the promise God gave to Abraham. John the Baptist tells the Pharisees the same thing in Matthew 3 when he tells the Pharisees and Sadducees that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from the very stones around them. I think the clearest summation of the truths found in these parables is in this passage. Read it and examine yourselves to see if you are truly possessing faith in Christ's work alone for your salvation and not in your own goodness or "good works": '"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'"' --Matthew 7:21-23 Make sure that God has transformed you into a tree that is producing good fruit by His Spirit. It is true that we will know people by their fruits (works), but it is the tree itself which needs to be changed. And that is the work of God. --Joe! |