Oh no!
No, Zachary no! Don’t throw those rocks.
I hate to see kids throw rocks, probably more that most because when I was 6 I was hit by a rock thrown by a young boy and it severed an artery between my eyes. I am glad they were able to keep me from bleeding out as they got me off the roof of the school building (where I had no business being in the 1st place) and rushed me to a hospital 35 miles away.
But, to automatically assume Zack was going to throw those rocks without asking what he was doing is WRONG!
You can surmise and speculate all you want, but unless you know more of the details, you don’t know Zack’s intent. It might look from this angle that he is going to throw the rocks, but in fact, he was building a rock tower. To know the why and the what, you need to look at the whole picture, and maybe ask a question or two.
Individual verses in the Bible, can be like this snap-shot of my grandson. By that I mean, that standing alone, they may seem to mean one thing. But you must look at their setting to know what they are talking about.
Last week in a group discussion of Matthew 22 we came upon this problem. In Matthew 22:1-14 a man made a wedding feast for his son and told the invited guests that the food was ready. But the guests didn’t come. The man sent out his servants to ask any they could find to come to the wedding feast. The invitation was indiscriminate, including all.
(Now I’ve heard it commonly reported that in that day and culture, the host of a wedding feast provided a special garment to each guest to be worn at the feast).
As it happened, the father, mingling among the guests who came, saw one of the guests didn’t have the wedding garment on. So, he commanded his servants to make the man leave the wedding feast.
The next line says: “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).
All of the group understood this was a parable depicting being saved and going to the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). But one gal looked at vs 14, and said it meant that GOD chose who would be saved.
But let’s look at the entire picture. Many were called. Those originally invited, and those later invited. But being chosen to be at the wedding feast was conditional. People were allowed, or chosen to be in his house as his guest, IF they put on the wedding garment he offered them. Without the wedding garment, they had no right to be there.
I am teaching Revelation and in that book we find that people wash their garments and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:9,13-14). To me that says the wedding garment offered the guests is accepting JESUS’s saving work on the cross on their behalf. Without being clothed with the righteousness of JESUS that is placed on us when we believe that JESUS is the Son of GOD came to earth via a virgin birth, was crucified to pay for the sins of the world, was resurrection and is coming again (Romans 3:20-22), they have no right to come to the wedding feast of the Lamb, therefore, will be kicked out.
Each person chooses to believe in or refuse JESUS (John 3:16,18).
Have you put on the wedding garment by calling out to JESUS to save you? (Romans 10:13). Just going to church is not enough.
Are you clothed in a white garment of righteousness that was washed in the blood of the Lamb (JESUS)? Only that gives you the right to go to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Look unto JESUS, the Author and Perfecter of faith.
Hugs,
Sharon
wakemyear 