Matthew 22,1-14 5023
20. Trinitatis 67
Wendelin of Trier, Abbot and hermit ✠ 617
22. Oktober 2023
1. ℣ Yahweh, our God, is righteous in all His works which He doeth:
℟ For we obeyed not His Voice (Daniel 9,14b).
O Yahweh, Thou dost provide for Thy creation; we trust in Your Providence so tht You satisfy our needs. Amen. (Psalm 145,15-16 Gradual).
2. »And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: „The reign of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not attend. Again he sent other servants, saying: „Tell those who are invited: ‘See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready. Go to the wedding feast.’“ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants: ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king went in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him: ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants: ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For all are called, but few are the chosen.“«
3. The Prophet Isaiah heard these words from Yahweh: »Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am He; I am the First, and I am the Last. Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: „Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of Yahweh, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.“« (Isaiah 48,12; 49,7; cf. Patrologiae Cursus Volume 70,518).
4. Israel was called, yet many chose not to receive Jesus their Messiah. Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Feast describes this lament. Not only did they reject the call but they mistreated and killed those sent to proclaim the advent of their Messiah. The Patriarchs and Prophets longed for and looked forward to the arrival of the Messiah but a majority of the Jews do not receive Him.
5. In response, Yahweh punished the generation of Jesus’ day by destroying Jerusalem, the temple and those who had Jesus crucified. Then Jesus says: many in Israel were not worthy and were not righteous. The Prophet Isaiah rejoices for »Yahweh clothed me with the garments of salvation and with the robes of righteousness« (Isaiah 61,10). It is Messiah who clothes one in salvation and righteousness. Receiving Him and believing in Him is to be righteous; this righteousness is for all people: »so Adona Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all nations« (Isaiah 61,11). To these Gentiles, the invitation was then sent to believe in the Christ; they were called and they were chosen to be righteous.
6. The Jewish Messiah is the Gentile Christ; all have been called to receive Him, but few are the chosen who believe in Him. Yet the call is still sent out, as the Apostle Paul exhorts: »Clothe yourself in the Lord Jesus Christ« (Romans 13,14)., and he reminds us: »For as all of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ« (Galatians 3,27). Jesus is our righteousness and He is our Clothing of righteousness. Again Paul: »the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe« (Romans 3,22).
7. Has Yahweh rejected Israel? Paul delves into this question in Romans 11. He makes several points. 1. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew; there is a remnant, chosen by grace (Romans 11,2.5). 2. Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking; t, the remnant, obtained it but the rest were hardened (Romans 11,7). 3. Paul says Israel is like a tree; those who reject the Messiah are broken off and Gentiles who believe in Jesus are grafted in. Israel, then, is not an ethnic entity comprised solely of those who trace ancestry back to Abraham, but Israel is those Jews and Gentiles who believe Jesus is the Messiah and the Christ (Romans 11,17-21). 4. Unbelieving Jews who later believe in Jesus can and will be grafted back into Israel; the same would also be said of unbelieving Gentiles: if they later believe in Jesus then they can and will be grafted into Israel.
8. Jesus used an image similar to a tree when He taught: »I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me then he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. You did not choose Me, but I chose you« (John 15,5-6.9.16).
9. The time will come when just as many Gentiles believe in Jesus, so to will many Jews. The Apostle Paul looked forward to this day, quoting the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, »And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Redeemer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob [Isaiah 59,20]; and this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins [Jeremiah 31,33-34]« (Romans 11,26-27). May the God of Abraham look upon His everlasting covenant with Judah and Israel and cause the Jews to return unto Him and His Son, the Messiah Jesus (sbh 223). Μαράνα θά (1. Corinthians 16,22)!
10. Those who walk before their God
Are blessed in holiness
Following His Word
They live in righteousness
Seeking God most heartily
They keep His precepts true,
And daily have His mercy.
(Wohl denen, die da wandeln elkg 632,1 2021 Cornelius Becker 1602 nach Psalm 119).
This is most certainly true.
11. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
12. Let us pray. O Lord, to Thy merciful providence we commend the wants of all mankind; cause the light of Thy glorious Gospel to shine throughout the world; bless Thy whole Church, heal the divisions of her and grant to her, the blessings of truth, unity and peace; bless our country, defend our President and all others in authority; give faith and diligence to the clergy; hear the cry of the poor and needy; bless the members, absent and present, of this household; be gracious to all our relatives and friends; and grant, O Lord, that we may all at length find rest and peace with Thy saints in Thine eternal kingdom. Amen. (20. Trinitatis, 2. Vespers Collect. The Daily Office.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.
Cyril of Alexandria. Commentary on Isaiah. Patrologiae Cursus Volume 70. Copyright © 1857 Parisiis.
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