In Matthew 22, we read of the continuing adventures of Jesus, Whom the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Herodians all tried to trap and trick with their questions.
He answered questions about the morals of paying taxes by saying, "Whose image is on the coin?" And then, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar, and to God what is God's."
He answered a question about whose wife a 7-time married woman would be at the resurrection, to which He said, "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven."
He answered a question about the "Greatest Commandment" by saying, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...and the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
He also posed a question to the Pharisees about His own identity: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." He replied back, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool?' If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"
That is so awesome how He displayed His wisdom as a man filled with the Spirit. This again is perhaps an example of how we can be filled with the Spirit and know what to say when we need to say it. Jesus stayed in "tune with" His Father by spending time in prayer and not only talking to God, but listening to Him as well. We could do the same.
The chapter starts with a harrowing tale about a wedding feast, which we've often heard, where the guests decline and excuse themselves, so the king has everyone on the "highways and biways" invited in. The scary part is the guests who excused themselves were destroyed, and one guest who didn't put on a wedding garment was stopped and asked why he didn't put one on. He was speechless and then cast into out darkness. Jesus culminated the story with the statement, "For many are called, but few are chosen."
One thing I guess that underscores is that God makes the rules; and we don't play games with God. We should obey Him, revering Him for Who He is.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at September 30, 2005 09:44 AM