Matthew 22:1-14 ~ the King was angry

Art from "Jesus of Nazareth" in the book, The Greatest Adventure Stories of the Bible

Matthew 22:1-14

1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants [bondservants] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 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. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 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.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 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.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Anger, Judgment and Consequences are not buzz words guaranteed to attract people. But if you are in a crowd of people in a line, or at a party, and someone emphatically begins to tell a story loudly of something making them angry; People are going to be riveted. Why Aren't We like that about the LORD?

Why wouldn't the Creator of the Universe be allowed to feel anger? And really... why would we, or even should we, say to the Father...... no, not that emotion.

I got good use out of my tonsils today. And yes, the reading was already picked out before I knew the subject was anger. We took my youngest (living) child to Baylor University, today, to start as a Freshmen. We had a confusing situation, with only partial information being available. I felt my child's safety was in question over unclear information given at the last minute. I made my husband angry, my son probably fearful and his girlfriend unhappy. All these emotions were being pushed into a drinking straw and anger ensued.

So, we know when God is angry, He has the situation correctly figured out. No matter how it appears to us. I don't know how your universe project is doing, but my universe couldn't be created because, lately, I am having trouble creating DNA, water/ice/steam from the same molecule, and my gravity creator seems to be on the fritz.

Jesus, telling us to be salt - not meek and mild food, was known to display anger. When Jesus and God are angry it is called Righteous Anger.

So, because God has these emotions what does He tell us about Our Anger (which is rarely Righteous):

Ephesians 4:26,27
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

God must feel people often are angry because they feel something is taken from them (their ipod, their phone, their peace, their friends, their girlfriend, their position):

Ephesisans 4:28-32
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

God feels we will come face to face with the thief. Who is to say if it is in this life or the next? He is concerned what we will say. And it shouldn't be a pat, little rehearsed bit. Something real. Something kind. Something forgiving.

Jesus spoke about us teaching the Kingdom of God in these situations:

Matthew 23:13
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in."

Pretty serious.

Matthew 23:8-12
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

So... here I am writing about forgiveness in the midst of anger... looks like I could be out mending a fence or two. We will need all the help we can get in forgiveness from the Lord.

Father God, we will need all of Your help to do as we should. We live for Your mercy. You've given us Matthew 10:19. God will give you the right words at the right time. Help us to please you, when the time comes. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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