Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

(On 03.19.18, an EF-3 tornado struck Jacksonville, Nance’s Creek, and Rabbittown.

No fatalities, but massive damage, especially at JSU. JSU was on spring break.)

This was week has been a difficult week for our community.

It is doubtless that every, single person in this room was either affected or is close to someone who was affected by the tornadoes that hit our county.

But you know, as hard as it is and has been and will continue to be in the days ahead, I also believe that this storm is an opportunity for us.

On Tuesday, I spoke with multiple people who stood on ruins, which used to be their property.

And as they stood on the rubble that used to be their homes, they used odd words to describe themselves.

They didn’t talk about anger or bitterness or want an explanation for why it happened.

I’m sure they’ve got questions, and I’m sure they’ve had hard moments.

But, all of the people that I talked to used the words: “I’m blessed.”

“We’re miracles.”

“God is good.”

Times like these have a way of putting our lives into perspective, don’t they?

They have a way of cutting through all of the ordinary noise so that we’re able to see what really matters.

They awaken us to how fragile we are and how presumptuous we typically are that everything is just going to be the way we want it to be.

So, I believe that this storm, this hardship, this time of difficulty is an opportunity for our community.

It’s an opportunity because God is determined to bring glory to his Son, and He’s going to bring glory to his Son by bringing people like us into his Kingdom and offering them as a gift to his Son.

And so, if our lives are in proper perspective, and we can see truly how small we are, and we can see truly how wonderful and gracious God is; then, we can offer him our lives, and be awakened to far more than a few moments of thankfulness.

God can use this season of hardship to wake up his church and to give hope to those who were indifferent to him before.

God’s Word

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The Third Parable

Context: This morning, we come to the final of three parables that Jesus has been telling in response to the Temple leaders.

It’s Tuesday of Passion Week, and we ended last week with the chief priests and Pharisees seeking a way to arrest him.

They hate him, and they want him gone.

They don’t just want him locked away.

They want him dead.

So, Jesus has been answering a question through these three parables that we find in verse 23: “Who gave you this authority?”

“Who do you think that you are?” He’s been pointing out how hardhearted and blind the Temple leaders have been.

They’ve memorized the word of God, but they haven’t understood it.

They’ve heard from the Prophets of God, but they’ve not listened to them and have been hostile to them.

Now, they are face-to-face with the very Son of God himself, and they reject him still.

So, Jesus has already asked them: “What do you think is going to happen to you?”

The Generous King

“sent his servants to call those who where invited to the wedding feast” In this parable, Jesus moves away from the vineyard to the scene of a king with a soon to be married son.

And so, Jesus tells us that this king is going to throw a great wedding feast for his son.

At this feast, he will put on full display his love for his son and his generosity to others.

He will spare no expense.

No price is too high for the honor of his son.

So, the best animals are prepared.

The best guests are invited.

We’re not talking sandwich platters and chicken fingers here.

We’re talking Classic on Noble.

I mean, we’re talking the best you’ve got to offer, and it’s all laid out there.

The Gracious King

“but the would not come” What’s interesting is that in this day it was very similar to ours in a lot of ways.

You would receive an invitation, confirm that you would attend, and a meal would be made just for you.

This has obviously happened in this case.

So, the king has been gracious enough to invite many of the first in the Kingdom to come and celebrate with him the marriage of his son.

Just being in the company of the king would raise your social status.

But, it says that even though they had apparently already said they would go that when the help arrived to them to tell them that the meal was prepared that not a single one of them actually wanted to go, and nobody went to the feast.

Now, we live in an era in which people will protest seeing the president because they disagree with him on something they deem to be important, and that’s the beauty of America, but this wasn’t America, and you didn’t do that here.

You see, as generous and gracious as the invitation was to come and dine with the king was, it was still nothing less than a command.

And, the crowd that Jesus was teaching that day would have been stunned by the people so defiantly refusing to go to the king’s banquet.

This was just bad manners.

This was treason!

This was an insult to the dignity of the king!

You could be imprisoned or executed for this!

“Again he sent other servants” Now, we’d expect the king to be done with these who have treated him with such contempt and disrespect, but he instead sends more servants to a second time to try to get them to come and join him for the wedding supper that he has prepared for his son.

This time, he even has them go into detail about all of his generosity and all of his kindness.

He’s like, “Make their mouths water when you go.

You probably didn’t tell them right!

Tell them about all of the chicken.

Tell them how juicy it is.

Tell them that it’s only filet mignon around here.

There’s nothing vegan about this table.

Tell them about the brisket that’s been smoked and the cheesecake that’s cooked to perfection.

Tell them that this ain’t Cracker Barrel we’re talking about here!

This is the table of the king!

Go back, and get my guests!”

So, in his sovereignty this king could have chosen justly and rightly to end the lives of those who have shown contempt for him, but he instead has chosen to be gracious and patient and pleading with them.

Can you imagine a king pleading for guests like this? It’s unthinkable.

The Guests’ Rejection

“But they paid no attention” Everybody listening to Jesus would have been expecting the wedding guests to come to their senses.

They would’ve been listening to Jesus telling this story, and they would’ve been expecting them to snap out of whatever delusion they’re living in and realize how generous and gracious their king is being with them.

But, the exact opposite happens.

And, I want you to think about how shocking this story is.

This king has been kind to them.

This king has been good to them.

This king has been generous toward them.

This king has been patient with them.

He’s even coming to them a second time to invite them to his table.

They’re response?

“I’ve got to go and organize my sock drawer.”

Well, tonight is family night, and I’m the reigning champion at charades.

Gotta defend my crown!”

Most of them just blow him off!

And then, some of them aren’t even content with just blowing off the servants.

They beat the servants and murder the servants who had came on behalf of the king to offer them kindness!

“the king was angry” The king will have no more of it.

In what is likely a prophetic allusion to Jersualem, the king no longer says ‘my city.’

He calls it ‘their city.’

And, he sends his army to burn the city to the ground.

Forty years after these words, Jerusalem would indeed be burned to the ground by a siege of the Roman army that killed over one million Jews.

No longer could this generous and gracious king tolerate such rebellion and defiance in the face of his kindness.

A Gracious God Rejected By a Rebellious People

Do you see the picture here?

God is the King who invited his people to eat from his own table.

He rained bread from heaven.