Matthew 22 - Surviving these Evil Days

Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. Matthew 22:19-22.  

Because the Pharisees could not kill Jesus in their own timing, they sought to discredit Him by entangling Him in His words. Anyone who has taught the Word for any length of time has come across modern-day Pharisees who desire to entangle us in our speech in order to discredit us as teachers, but more importantly, to discredit the truth of the Gospel.

The Pharisees came to Jesus with flattering words, a Roman coin in hand, and a question for which they believed there was no good answer; they showed Jesus the coin which bore Caesar's image and superscription and asked whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. (We saw earlier how they had come to the disciples earlier and asked for their temple tribute, which Jesus paid). Their desire now was to have Him speak insurrection against Rome, thereby giving them a reason to call Him a traitor and lawbreaker. Jesus, knowing their wicked motives, called them hypocrites, and instead asked them a question - "Who's image and superscription is on this coin?" Well, of course, they answered "Caesar's." Then came the answer - "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and what is God's to God."

This answer astonished them - they could not accuse Him of any wrongdoing with this reply. But what was He really saying to them? He was telling them that this kingdom of God was a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly kingdom where He, the Messiah, would come as a vanquisher, set on putting the Roman Empire down and restoring the earthly kingdom that Solomon once had. No, this was a spiritual kingdom that would coexist with the evil, earthly kingdoms of the world. All men would have the opportunity to exercise their free will, believe in Messiah, be born again and enter into this glorious spiritual kingdom.

We see that this has been true for the past 2000 years. As the kingdom advances, nations are influenced by the Gospel, and in turn, physical manifestation of spiritual truth is manifested on the earth! The problem is that so much false doctrine has crept into the church over the years, mixing the truth of God's wonderful grace with law, legalism, works, and heretical teaching called dispensational or end-times theology. None of that is supported by the Word!

Matthew 22 - The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

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: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 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. Matthew 22:4-9.

Jesus continues His confrontation of the Pharisees' unbelief with the parable of the marriage supper of the lamb, which is described in chapter 19 of the Book of Revelation.

In this parable, a king makes a marriage for his son and sends his servants to invite those who were bidden (Israel) to come, but they would not. The king sent other servants to the remnant (the last days generation of Israel during the time of Jesus), but they rejected the invitation and killed the servants. The king was very angry and poured out his wrath on the remnant, sending his armies to destroy their city. We  know from history that this is exactly what God did in 70 AD. The Roman armies came and destroyed the city and literally dismantled the temple. That wicked generation who rejected their Messiah was destroyed and the kingdom was given over to those who would believe - mainly the Gentiles of the world.

What a tragedy! And yet, in the parable, a man improperly dressed tries to sneak into the marriage supper, obviously thinking that his lineal heritage and/or good deeds will get him a place at the table. But Jesus explained that the proper wedding garments are crucial; anyone found without the correct attire will be thrown outside, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. God calls this the second death, which is a horrible spiritual demise that continues forever in the lake of fire.

God was offering something so wonderful and beautiful for His people, but they wanted nothing to do with it. As Paul explains in Romans 9-11, they sought a righteousness of their own, based on works and not faith.

All of us who have been born again IN HIM are clothed with the robe of God's righteousness, and we have a place at the table of this marriage supper! Dig into this Bible and find out all you have inherited IN CHRIST as His bride, the wife of the lamb!