Matt 22:11 A Wedding Garment 4/6/2008 ßà
#1. The Marriage Feast of the Lamb (Matt 22:2, Rev 21:2, Eph 1:3-5, Rev 19:7-9)
#2. Go Ye Therefore into the Highways (Matt 22:8-9, Matt 8:12, John 14:6, Luke 14:21)
#3. No Wedding Garment? (Matt 22:11, Rev 19:8, Isa 61:10-11, Rom 8:28, Amos 8:11, John 6:65-66)
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel According to Matthew, Matt 22:1 (2X). Today we will look at another parable that is addressed to the leaders of the Jews. This is the third parable that is addressed to them. In fact, all three parables should be taken as one response of the Lord Jesus to the leaders of the Jews, who came asking Him: who gave Him the authority to cast out the money changers from the temple. The first parable was the parable of the two sons, in Matt 21:28-32. The second parable was the parable of the wicked husbandmen, in Matt 21:33-46. Today we will be reading the third parable to the leaders of the Jews, in Matt 22:1-14. The first parable of the two sons dealt with a time span of John the Baptist to the end of the ministry of the Lord Jesus; a time span of about 6 years. The second parable of the wicked husbandmen dealt with a time span from the exodus out of Egypt to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ; a time span of about 1500 years. The third parable, which we will read today, deals with a time span from the beginning of creation all the way to the time when we will be celebrating the great wedding feast of the Lamb in the NH&NE. All three parables are condemning the leaders of the Jews for their unbelief, for their false doctrines, for their rejection of their Messiah, for their murders of the prophets and of Christ, and for the pride in their own works whereby they seek to become righteous before God. The title of the sermon for today is, “A Wedding Garment” (2X). This parable is found only in the Gospel of Matthew. There is another parable of a great supper written in Luke 14, but that is not related to this one in Matt 22, for it is addressing a totally different audience; it is not addressing the leaders of the Jews, and the objective of that parable is different. Let us read here in Matt 22:1-14,
Mt 22:1 ¶ And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
Mt 22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Mt 22:3-5 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
Mt 22:6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
Mt 22:7-10 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
Mt 22:11-13 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mt 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Who is the Lord Jesus speaking to? Verse 1 clearly says, “Jesus answered”, and “He spake unto them again in parables”. Jesus addressed the leaders of the Jews who in their anger sought to kill Him, because the last verse of the previous chapter says, “They sought to lay hands on Him”. They had understood the second parable very well. And they understood the third parable also very well, for in Matt 22:15 we read, “Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk”. Why is it that the church of today does not understand these parables? They keep speaking of a future millennium whereby the Jews are again going to be God’s favorite people. Does this not reflect that blindness has come upon the majority of the church of today? Does this not reflect that the majority of the church today has gone apostate, as was prophesied in Rev 17 and Rev 18? Does this not reflect that we are living in the end times? But the majority of the church today is in denial about the end times, for they fear to admit that the disasters of the Prophecy of Revelation are upon us. History repeats itself. Like there was a blindness over the greater part of OT Israel, so there has come a blindness over the greater part of the NT church. Let us now consider the great impact of the present teachings of Christ.
#1. The Marriage Feast of the Lamb (Matt 22:2, Rev 21:2, Eph 1:3-5, Rev 19:7-9)
Mt 22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Who does this certain King represent? And who does His Son
represent? Put a sticker here in Matt 22 for we shall return there many
times, and please turn in your Bibles to the Revelation of Jesus Christ,
Rev 21:2 (2X). From the development in the rest of this parable in
Matthew 22 we understand that this certain King is God the Father, and His Son
is the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, this sentence reflects our understanding of
why God created this universe and the world and all that is therein in the
first place. Before the foundation of the world the Father chose a Bride for
His Son. The Father did that with the Son’s approval of course, for the Lord
Jesus said, “I and the Father are One”; but the Bride had no say in this
matter. We can see that this is the ultimate goal that God had in mind when He
created mankind, because we can read in Rev 21:2, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”. Here
is the Bride, consisting of all the elect who were chosen by the Father,
coming out of heaven where the Father is, and presented as a Bride for her
Husband, the Lamb of God. Everything throughout the history of mankind was
designed with this ultimate goal in mind. Please turn in your Bibles to
the Epistle to the Ephesians, Eph 1:3 (2X). Throughout the history of
many thousands of years, in almost all the civilizations of man, we can see
that mankind has imitated this concept of arranged marriages. The father
chooses a bride for his son. The bride has no say in the matter, just like in
the heavenly marriage, the Bride of Christ has no say in the matter. As you
well know, this is clearly stated in Eph 1:3-5, where God says,
Eph 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
The Father chose us to be in Christ before the foundation of the world. How long before God created the world did the Father choose us? God says in Jer 31:3 that He chose us from everlasting past. This is the reason why Christ came to suffer for us on a cross so that all our sins were paid in full, because the Father chose us to be holy and without blame before Him. And He did not do that because we would turn to Christ in our lifetime, for we were yet sinners when Christ died for us. We were still rebels in His sight. No, the Father adopted us as His children “According to the good pleasure of His will”. And the reason He adopted us as His children was through our purchase out of our enslavement to Satan by Jesus Christ on the cross. This is what election is. It is “According to the good pleasure of His will”. Please turn again to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Rev 19:7 (2X). Once we have been purchased by Christ, and Christ has made us ready to be His Bride, we look forward to that great wedding feast that will last for an eternity in the NH&NE. When all our enemies and the enemies of Christ have been removed into a place called Hell, the stage is ready for the great wedding feast. We read in Rev 19:7-9,
Re 19:7-8 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Here in verse 8 we read about the wedding garment that we shall discuss later in the parable of the marriage feast in Matt 22. The wedding garment is symbolizing the righteousness of the saints. And then we read in verse 9, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb”. Who are those that are called? Those who have been chosen to be in Christ from before the foundation of the world, are also the ones for whom Christ paid the penalty of all their sins, and they are also the ones who will be regenerated in their lifetime to be converted from sinners into saints, and they are the ones who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb of God. Let us now return to the parable of Matt 22:5 (2X), for we need to keep in mind whom the Lord Jesus is addressing here. Who were those that were initially called to the wedding? The nation of Israel was called, but only a remnant out of the nation of Israel obeyed the call, and became saved. The majority of the children of Israel remained unsaved. The majority of the Jews lived for the here and now, and did not want to consider that there is Hell to pay. To the majority of the Jews the true Gospel of salvation is an offense to their ego and to their pride.
Mt 22:5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
What are we seeing here? The call to the wedding is the call to salvation, for only those who have been saved are invited to the wedding. The servants whom the King sent to those that were invited were the prophets and teachers whom God sent to OT Israel. They urged the nation of Israel to repent of their sins and serve the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. But the nation of Israel did not think about repenting, for they did not see much sin in themselves. And to give additional time and money to the service of the Lord was also too much to ask. They already gave their tithe to support the Levites. They were already serving the Lord by obeying the ceremonial law. That should be enough. Were they not children of Abraham, and was that not enough to get them into heaven? And so they believed and were condemned for what they believed. For God does not want to be worshipped any way we like. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 9:32 (2X). There are not many ways to heaven. Only one way leads to heaven. God is a Spirit, and He wants to be worshipped in spirit and in truth. And we need to search the Bible for the meaning of these words. In hindsight we now understand that they needed to put their trust in the coming Messiah, who would take care of their sins, and not trust in their works of obeying the ceremonial law. God stated this in Rom 9:32-33, where He says,
Ro 9:32-33 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
They stumbled at that stumblingstone which is Christ, or Messiah, for only through Christ crucified can we see that salvation is only by grace, and not by any works that we do, or by any decision that we make. But let us now apply this to the NT church. Perhaps you remember the Parable of the Sower, where the third soil wherein the seed of the Word of God was sown represented those who did not consider salvation all that seriously. They too made light of it. The Lord says of them in Matt 13:22,
Matt 13:22, He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful”.
He heard the message of the Gospel, and he heard of the awful penalty that the Lord Jesus had to pay on the cross, but the cares of this world were greater than his love for the Lord. And so, the cares of this world take up all his time, and his love for Christ is shoved into the background. But the Bible says that, if we want to be saved, our love for Christ must be our first priority. Let us review that in 1John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him”. Let us also review what the Lord Jesus said in Matt 10:37, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (2X). Did you hear what the Lord Jesus is saying here? If we agree to this statement with our lips, but if we do not follow this up with our actions, then we are hypocrites. Let me give one example If we skip going to church, or going to Bible study, because one of our children or one of our family members wants to attend a ball game in that time slot, or one of our family members wants to eat a delicious brunch in that time slot, or any other urgent occasion you might come up with, then we are hypocrites. For then we have some worldly event take the place of Jesus Christ. Likewise, if we do not support our church with all our might, and soul and substance, then we too are hypocrites. Please turn again to the Gospel of Matthew, Matt 22:5 (2X). Would you like to see a demonstration of the words, “They made light of it”? Try to tell your family or your good friends that Christ is coming back, “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”, and see what response you get. You will see that they make light of it. And so, it is true that this parable addresses the leaders of the Jews, and that the Jews have made light of it, but let us also remember that we are often guilty of the same, and we also must repent of our hypocritical actions. What was the bottom line here for the unbelieving Jews? The Lord destroyed them and burned up their city. Jerusalem went up in flames in 70 AD. What is the bottom line for today’s hypocrites? If we do not repent the Lord will also destroy us. And this does not mean annihilation, but dying we shall die forever in Hell. Let us now go on in this very interesting parable, where the Lord is addressing these leaders.
#2. Go Ye Therefore into the Highways (Matt 22:8-9, Matt 8:12, John 14:6, Luke 14:21)
Mt 22:8-9 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
The wedding is always ready, for if our body dies our soul enters into the Lord’s presence and we are ready for the next step, the resurrection of our body and our entrance into the great wedding feast. And when the Lord says, “they which were bidden were not worthy”, it reminds us of what the Lord Jesus said of the nation of the Jews in Matt 8:12, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. They shall be rejected, because they have rejected Me. There is no future millennium whereby the nation of the Jews will again be a special people before God, for if that were the case the Lord Jesus would be a liar when He said, “they which were bidden were not worthy”. And then we read in Matt 22:9, “Go ye therefore into the highways”. Why did the Lord choose these words? You see, the highways refer to the many salvation plans that are out there in the world. People who are on those highways, all leading to Hell, need to be brought on the single highway that represents the Lord Jesus Christ, for Christ said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”. Christ crucified is the only way to heaven. There is no other way. It is interesting that the Greek text says literally in Matt 22:9, “Go ye therefore into the exits of the highways”. In other words, many people are in different churches and denominations, having different plans of salvation. We are not commanded to enter those churches and create uproar within those churches. But we are commanded to search out those who are on the verge of exiting those churches, because the Holy Spirit has made them uncomfortable in those false gospels. And we are commanded to preach the true Gospel to all who are willing to hear, for the Holy Spirit has made them willing to hear. “As many as ye shall find, invite to the marriage”. Please turn to the Gospel According to Luke, Luke 14:21 (2X). Although this is a different parable, the words the Lord uses here to describe the people who are called, is very touching. The Lord gave us three parables about the nature of salvation,
and again how the nation of the Jews made excuses for not believing the Gospel. We read in Luk 14:21,
Lu 14:21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
Bring into my house “the poor, and the maimed, and the lame, and the blind”. All these are symbols for those who are still unsaved, but are going to be saved. “The poor” refers to those who are poor in spirit, because they realize that they have nothing to offer to God. All their works are tainted with sin, and thus all their works are unfit to offer to God, even unfit as a token payment for their sins. They are the beggars who are begging God for mercy. And thus all they can do is put their hope and their trust in the grace and mercy of God. “The maimed” is literally in the Greek text those who are “disabled in their limbs”, or “severely crippled”. For example, it refers to those who cannot stand or walk because their legs are totally withered, which means shriveled and incapacitated. They cannot crawl to a telephone booth and call for help. They cannot make a decision for Christ and be healed of their spiritual handicap. They realize that they are totally at the mercy and grace of God for supplying their daily needs through others who are willing to help them. “The halt” is literally in the Greek text “the lame”, and it refers to those who realize that spiritually they cannot do anything that pleases God. They are spiritually lame in hands and feet and mouth. And thus all they can do is put their hope and their trust in the grace and mercy of God to save them. “The blind” refers to those who realize that they are spiritually blind. They cannot understand the Bible and they cannot understand the Gospel of salvation, unless God the Holy Spirit gives them understanding by opening their spiritual eyes and ears to hear the Good News, the Gospel of salvation. When we came into the world, we were spiritually poor, and crippled, and lame, and blind, for the prince of the power of the air, Satan, had us totally under his control. Please turn again to the Gospel of Matthew, Matt 22:10 (2X). And then we read in verse 10,
Mt 22:10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
Why did the Lord introduce these words, “both bad and good”? These words serve to remind us of two things. #1, It is to remind us that everyone of mankind is in need of salvation, for we all were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. This is how we came into the world. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 3:10 (2X). After a lengthy introduction in chapters 1 and 2 God showed to all mankind that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty before God and that they are all under the condemnation of sin. This is how we start out, but not everyone remains under the condemnation of sin.
Ro 3:10-12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
This states unambiguously that no one of the human race is born righteous. No one can come before God in their own sinless state, not even little babies. Even little babies shall be judged for their sins. God says that no one understands God’s salvation plan, and no one seeks for God. All in the human race have turned away from the true God and have turned to idols. They have together become unprofitable to God. There is none that doeth good in the eyes of God, no not one. And obviously we understand that this is the situation for everyone of mankind in our unregenerate state. And thus, when we see that some of us grew up to be kind and tenderhearted, whereas others among us grew up to be mean and criminal, we must apply these verses to both groups of people, both bad and good. We all are in need of salvation, both bad and good. And that brings us to the second purpose of these words: #2, Both the bad and the good are equally abhorrent to the Lord. From God’s perspective there is not a great deal of difference between man and worms. God says in Isa 41:14, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel”. And so, the difference between good and bad unregenerate people is really very small, because if we are not saved we are spiritually dead in His eyes. God says in Rom 8:8, “So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God”. When we see in our days that millionaires and billionaires are giving large sums of their money and time to charity, let us pray also for their salvation; for if they are not saved then all these charitable deeds are not done for the glory of Christ, and then in the eyes of God they are worth nothing. Please turn again to the Gospel of Matthew, Matt 22:11 (2X). We can see that all these doctrines wrapped up in this parable of the marriage feast were offensive to the leaders of the Jews. But most off all, the last part of this parable was an offense to them. We read here in Matt 22:11 about:
#3. No Wedding Garment? (Matt 22:11, Rev 19:8, Isa 61:10-11, Rom 8:28, Amos 8:11, John 6:65-66)
Mt 22:11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Now, this means that all the other guests had wedding garments. Where did they get these wedding garments from? They were picked off the street and ushered into the Kings palace. They had no time to buy wedding garments. And so, we must conclude that they were given wedding garments the moment they were picked off the street. They were given wedding garments because they were called into this wedding feast. And since angels do not make mistakes they would not miss even one. How then did it come to pass that this man did not have a wedding garment? There is only one possible explanation: He came in uninvited. He thought that he was entitled to attend this great wedding feast, but he was not invited. He came of his own accord. But what is the big deal about this wedding garment?
Let us begin with the verse we read earlier. Rev 19:8, “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints”. All the saints together are the Bride of Christ. They all receive a wedding garment, fine linen, clean and white. And then we read about the symbolism of this wedding garment: “It is the righteousness of saints”. Please turn in your Bibles to the Prophecy of Isaiah, Isa 61:10 (2X). In this chapter the Lord gives us an outline of the Gospel. He begins this chapter with a statement of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then He moves on to speak of the followers of Christ serving the Gentiles. When the Lord Jesus preached this sermon in Nazareth He was almost thrown off a cliff. That is how much they hated the Gentiles. In verse 8 we read the surprising statement, “For I the Lord love judgment”. How should we understand this? It is not that God loves judgment to cast people into Hell. NO! This is the judgment of Christ. Then we read in
Isa 61:10-11 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
“He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness”. You see, here is the wedding garment, clean and white, representing the righteousness of saints. The robe of Christ’s righteousness is our garment of salvation, and this spiritual garment, this spiritual robe of Christ’s righteousness, is given to us at the moment of our regeneration. When the Holy Spirit revived our dead soul He made it a soul totally free of all sin, for Christ has paid the penalty for all our sins past, present, and future sins. And then we read in Isa 61:11, “So the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations”. Righteousness and praise shall flourish in all the nations of the world, for the Lord shall save a remnant out of every nation. Please return now to the parable of Matt 22:11 (2X). The 50 million dollar question is: Who does this man without a wedding garment represent? The context wherein we find this parable dictates that this man represents the nation of Israel, who believes that they are entitled to come into the presence of God for being children of Abraham. But God says that they were not invited by Him. They invited themselves. They want to come in the garment of their own righteousness, but not in the robe of Christ’s righteousness. But let us now take this a step further, and apply it to our own time. Those who say that they have invited the Lord Jesus in their heart, who say that they have made a decision for Jesus, who say that they have come forward to the altar and spoke the sinner’s prayer, who trust in their water baptism, or in anything else that they have done, have in fact invited themselves to come into the presence of God. They have no wedding garment. They are not saved, for they have invited themselves. They are not our brothers in Christ, for they worship another christ, but he is not the christ of the Bible. And that is the awesome truth
Now, you have heard the word righteousness a great deal today. What is righteousness? Let me insert this for the benefit of our children, but you have to wake up and take notes. Let me explain the words righteousness and imputation. Righteousness is a property of God. Mankind does not have this property, except for Adam and Eve for a brief period of time before they sinned. To be righteous means to be so right before God that we are as holy and righteous and perfect as God Himself. Now the word “imputation”. To impute means to charge to someone’s account; which is an accounting term, a legal transaction. And so, how else can mankind become righteous before God, except by imputation? When God imputes righteousness to us, God accounts us righteous before Him, and this takes place at the moment of the regeneration of our soul, when we become born from above. When we were conceived in our mother’s womb Adam's original sin was imputed to us. That makes everyone unrighteous before God, and thus everyone is in need of salvation. But let me now add something that most theologians these days do not want to consider, and that is: man consists of a body and a soul. Our sins are committed by the body, but they are imputed to our soul. If we are of God’s elect our sins were imputed to Christ’s soul, His human soul. Christ paid for the sins of all His elect 2000 years ago on the cross. All our sins were still future sins at that time. But when Christ paid for our sins He purchased the right to impute His righteousness to us when we become born from above in our lifetime. At that moment in time, when we become “born again”, Christ's righteousness is imputed to our soul, so completely that our soul is ready to come into God's holy heaven at the moment our body dies. But we still live in our sinful body, which does not behave righteously at all. However, when Christ saved us, at the moment of us being “born again”, He saved us body and soul, so that our body does not go to Hell and our soul goes to heaven. Therefore God covers our body with the robe of His righteousness (Isa 61:10). No, we are not sinless now, but God no longer imputes our sins to our account. "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin", because we have died to the Law, and sin is a transgression of the Law. And so, since we have died to the Law there is no more law that we transgress, "For where no law is there is no transgression". Therefore, here is the corollary: Whatever we do, if we are saved, it serves the purposes of God, so that all our actions, good and evil, are used by God to work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). This is the enormous benefit we receive if we are of God’s elect. Now, is this doctrine of election popular these days? Absolutely not! And why not? Is it because this doctrine is not in the Bible? No! This doctrine is in the Bible. But People are not reading the Bible these days. There is a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but it is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord (Amos 8:11). These are the conditions of today, just before the final Judgment Day, and these were the conditions at the time Jesus walked on earth, just before the first Judgment Day at the cross. For example, four times did the Lord Jesus state in John 6 that “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him”. And even though He said it four times, the people in His days did not like it. We read in John 6:65-
Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
The Pharisees did not like it. Should we imitate those Pharisees, or should we stay far away from the teachings of the Pharisees? The choice to us is clear.
AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.