The Party Really is Free | Parables 14

David Harvey:  Hi there. I'm David Harvey. I'm here with John Andrews and this. Is the two texts podcast.  In this podcast, we're two friends in two different countries here every two weeks talking about two different texts from the Bible.  This however is our launch series. So we're bringing you a daily episode of the two of us talking about the parables of Jesus. 

[00:00:31] This is episode 14. And it's called. The party really is free.  

[00:00:44] David: All right, John. So yesterday we were diving into this banquet parable in all of this sort of stuff around, around that parable that was genuinely fascinating to engage with. But what we didn't mention yesterday was that in Matthew chapter 22, the parable appears again. But again, we get this sequence, which we've talked about already in this season on parables, that there are times where a parable will appear in a couple of places, but then some of the times it appears and it's substantially different than it appears elsewhere.

[00:01:19]And our sort of take on that is that Jesus, like many, a preacher is reutilizing stories in different contexts, but not just grabbing them out of his bag and saying, well, let me read this one again. But the, the parable is being edited and adjusted. To suit a slightly different context. So we're going to jump.

[00:01:36] into Matthew's version then of this wedding banquet, and it's become a wedding banquet in Matthew.

[00:01:42] Hasn't it? It is developed a little bit. So why don't you read the texts for us and then we'll dive in to see what Matthew does a little bit differently from Luke. 

[00:01:51] John: Okay. I would love to. So it's Matthew 22 and we're starting at verse one. Jesus spoke to them again in parable thing, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

[00:02:13] And he sent some more servants and said, tell those who have been invaded, that I've prepared my dinner. My oxen and fatten cattle have been butchered and everything is ready come to the wedding banquet, but they paid no attention and went off one to his field. Another to his business, the rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.

[00:02:37] The king was enriched. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Let me say it to his servants. The wedding banquet is ready, but those are invaded did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet. Anyone you fade. So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people.

[00:03:00] They could find the bod as well as the good and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guest, he noticed that there was a man they're not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes friend? The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendance, tie him, handed food and throw him outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for many are invited, but few are chosen.

[00:03:37] David: I feel like with a parable like that, especially having just having, having just explored Luke's version yesterday almost. And I mean this with a sense of reverence, but it's bizarre fact, there's some really bizarre moments in that parable where the, the, the little pieces that Jesus has added to the Lukin version or the changes rather than happened from the Lukin version.

[00:04:04] Just add this, this sort of surreal sense to that parable. Do you feel that as well?

[00:04:11] John: I do. I think even when you read it, one of the practices, I have David in my everyday devotional reading of the Bible, a little tip for our listeners is that I love reading the Bible at load. And I do that for two reasons. Number one, I've read the Bible that many times and please forgive me if that sounds pretentious.

[00:04:29] It's not meant to be, but genuinely 54 years of age. So I've read the Bible a lot, some of the passages, I think I know what they say. So, so my brain good does that thing where it fills in gaps that may or may not be there. But secondly, it is amazing when you read boatload. And of course the early church and Jewish audiences would have been used to the Torah and the tax, the Tanakh read out load.

[00:04:56] That's how most of them would have 

[00:04:57] David: this is the, the law and the whole old tests or what we call the old Testament. Right. 

[00:05:02] John: Yeah. Yeah. And, and it's amazing when you hear something red, you hear the rhythms, or you hear the sort of gear changes, or you hear the awkward moments in a way that you maybe wouldn't hear them or feel them if you're sort of reading internally. And I think it's different if you're studying the text line by line on, especially if you have the advantage of the original language, I think that can alert you to things, but even in our English translation, reading that overload it's sounds like there's a number of really awkward gear changes.

[00:05:38] It's a, it's a sort of a parable filled with generosity and grace. But there's also a lot of like judgment going on there and threats and killing and sort of, weeping and gnashing of teeth taped stuff going on. So we are, we are introduced to this in a number of Jesus' parables, where there is paradoxical ideas of grace and judgment, almost sitting beside each other.

[00:06:07] And it's like, Jesus, a bit like a bit like the analogy we've used before a bit like the farmer scattering, his seed, Jesus just puts it out there. It just throws it out there and we've got to work that out. We've got to sort of go whoa and, and sort of try and understand what he's trying to say to us about the kingdom of God.

[00:06:25]David: I, I think it's  Eugene Peterson that talks about how the parables are, are doing what you're describing there. On purpose. if you've been reading the Bible for long time or somebody who's in church for a long time, they use the word.

[00:06:39] bizarre might sound a Reverend.

[00:06:41] And, but, but I mean that, there's a bizarreness to it that I think discombobulates the listener as it's, it's a little water he's going on with this story. What is, What is happening?

[00:06:54] here? And like, I I've done this a few times, but I relate it to, to films. And, and there's been a few films in recent years where you're, you're watching it.

[00:07:04] I was talking with some friends the other day there and they were watching Christopher Nolan's latest film tenant. And they said, they've got about 25 minutes in. They had to pause the movie briefly to go and grab a drink. And one of the family turned to the other, another member of the family to, did you have any idea what's going on to which the whole family had been seed?

[00:07:24] No. 

[00:07:26] John: Well, my, , my wife and I went to watch that in the cinema . And at the end of watching the movie, she turned to me and said, what was that about? That's right. What? Okay. I, you need like multiple PhDs in quantum physics or something to begin to understand that movie, but yeah, you're absolutely right.

[00:07:43] It does leave you a little bit. And of course, when you meet a sort of a one moment, you, you either walk away from that and you go, oh, I didn't like that at all. Or you go watch that again. Okay. That's, that's our let's, let's start a social media group on, did anyone else understand that or not? And so I think, and I think the parables as we've discussed, do exactly that they either cause you to go what, and walk away or you go, what was that?

[00:08:16] And you lean in, you, you dig in, there's gotta be something here that you're interested. And I think that leans in again to Jesus' language of the one who has got ears, let them hear it's that, it's that sort of understanding of what's going on there in the hearts of his listeners is as much as in the words that he's speaking.

[00:08:36]David:  I love that.

[00:08:37] It is a sense of that invitation isn't there. Okay. So wrestle with this, , watch this parable again, get, get a little group together and discuss it because I think about the listener in Jesus he's context. So we're in an agrarian society, a farming based society, most living is hand to mouth.

[00:08:58] The vast majority of people are existing with w and we've covered this a little bit already with the parable of the vineyard workers. The vast majority of people are, are in a battle to survive on a daily basis. And, and then you get invited. And, and not just invited, like this is a banquet. It's not like, Hey, I'm having a party of put out some cheese puffs and, and some Schouler we can all sort of gather around and watch the soccer.

[00:09:30]The, the Jesus really puts some detail into this part of the story, tell them.

[00:09:35] the dinner is ready. The oxen and the fattened castle have been butchered and everything is ready come to the wedding banquet. And, and we talked about this during the. Story of the lost son, one fattened, cough feeds a lot of people and the message they get is multiple.

[00:09:56] Multiple of these are ready to go. This is like, Jesus.

[00:10:00] I think he's trying to paint a picture of, you've been invited to the Oscars party. You've been invited to, the super bowl, the champions league final, this isn't, this is the hottest ticket in town. And you've just replied with, I got to go to work. 

[00:10:18] John: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And, and I think what really helps us see the enormity of that invade is the sort of contextual. Trajectory of the parable and where we're going. And I think this is one of the things that helps us to see maybe the difference between how Jesus uses it in the Luke version and how he's using a similar story with different nuances in the Matthew version.

[00:10:45] And I think as we've been trying to encourage our listeners to think about never just jump into the passage, see if there's a contextual flow, see if there's something before it that maybe leans into it, or if there's something after. And I think this parable, what happens before not only leans into the parable, but leans into your very idea of this super sumptuous banquet.

[00:11:10] So, so if we go back into 21, we've got Jesus entering Jerusalem in this incredible triumphal. Way, predicted and prophesied by Zachariah the prophet. This is all going on. And then, but of course, then Jesus has some hormones in the template where he's, he's turning over the tables, he's whipping people out.

[00:11:31] And he courts in that moment of apparent madness. He quotes Isaiah and Jeremiah. And in that he says coordinator at my hosts will be called a house of prayer and in quoting Jeremiah, but you're making it into a den of robbers. So that's Isaiah 56 for our listeners on Jeremiah seven. Now a little tip, I'm sure.

[00:11:54] I'm sure you would help us with this. David, a little tip that I always say to people is when you hear it, Jesus or Paul or Peter woot, the Tanakh quote, the old Testament, never just take the quote as it's dropped in the new Testament. But always go back to the original context of that quote because sometimes, sometimes many times, even something powerful is nuanced in the context of the original quote that makes the actual quote even more colossal and impactive.

[00:12:33] And I think in the Isaiah and Jeremiah quote, you've got that. I mean that the Isaiah one is really striking. I mean, Isaiah, the passage begins in 56, verse one for this is what the Lord says to the Unix who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and haul faster. My covenant, I will give within my temple and its walls, a Memorial and a name better than sons and daughters.

[00:13:00] Now that is striking because Unix weren't unload in the temple. Okay. So, so they were barred from going in to, to the place of worship because they were Unix. And yet here's God saying to the Unix that keep my sadness, I'm going to give you something within the temple. He goes on to say, I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.

[00:13:24] And then he says this David and foreigners who banged themselves to the Lord, to minister, to him, to love the name of the Lord and be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath with a desecrate in it, and whole faster. My covenant, these, I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my hosts of prayer.

[00:13:45] And then it goes on to talk about for my hosts will be called, look at that a host of prayer for all nations. So actually, when Jesus then does this thing in the temple back in 21, he's he's annoyed because the court of the Gentiles has become a trading post when actually God intended it to be a place where Unix who kept the Sabbath, some foreigners who honored God and love God could come and pray.

[00:14:15] Now I think if our listeners can start there with this parable, so here, you've got Jesus quoting Isaiah and quoting Jeremiah that clearly links into the inclusion. One of the margins on the inclusion of the Gentiles. Okay. The foreigners as part of God's purpose, if you start there and then follow the bread crumbs through 21, by the time you get to 22, the parable of this banquet.

[00:14:47] On the sumptuous invade and then the catastrophic refusal of the invade really has some wit to it because of the sort of trajectory we followed out of chapter 21. Does that make sense to you? Do you have it

[00:15:02] David: well, it is, it's quite, it's quite brilliant,

[00:15:05] John  I would almost say it like this. And again, I want to watch my words so that I don't sound like I'm saying something I'm not, but yeah. Well, one of the difficult things about scripture, particularly new Testament is I do think there's a sense and I don't say

[00:15:20] this to put people off reading it, but I do think there's a sense in the new Testament that the writers assume that, you know, the old Testament a lot better than we do.

[00:15:32] And I mean, all of us do, I don't mean, whoever's listening, but I mean, I don't pick up. on all of those references. I know You don't pick up on all those references. So what you've given us. there is a Here's maybe how you try and get some,

[00:15:44] of those references that you, you have to go back and look at the text and see what's going on.

[00:15:48] So, so we have

[00:15:50] a part of the narrative of Matthew's gospel that is bringing Jesus in to this moment  of real tension as he's approaching the cross, the parables take a slightly darker turn at this point

[00:16:03] in the story and. and then We've got this backdrop of the prophetic literature, which is, you know what, she's talking about, Unix having a place when so much of the narrative has been, if that's you, you are excluded and out, and then you have this parable, which is now saying, oh, well wait a minute.

[00:16:27] Maybe you're not out. I think so that's what I'm hearing you saying. And, and I, I Think that's. What's profound about that. And maybe this helps to mess with people's preconceived notions of the old Testament is Let me reword what I think you're saying or something that could be said from what you're saying

[00:16:45] here, which is that now we see the message of Jesus.

[00:16:49] Isn't actually out of sync with the message of the Hebrew Bible, the old Testament, that to not whatever term we use to reference that. And sometimes if you've grown up within certain strands of Christianity, it's almost like there was take one and it went very badly and didn't work

[00:17:05] That's the old Testament.

[00:17:06] And then God completely revises the plan and comes up. with Jesus in the new Testament. Whereas I think

[00:17:12] what the new Testament writers are trying to say is, well, this has always been the plan 

[00:17:17]John: Always always. And I think Jesus himself picks that up. You and I love Luke 24, the walk that changed everything. And Jesus walks and the two with the two on the road to a mass, and my doc, Dr. Luke just sums up magnificent and beginning with Moses and the prophets.

[00:17:35] He explained everything about himself from the scriptures now, I mean, that's a serious sermon. And my only regret is Dr. Luke doesn't dump that sermon somewhere and like the food notes or an appendage, and you're gone, oh my goodness. So, so what Jesus is doing, and he does it again later in 24, when he has the whole group of disciples together, he says, and their minds were open so that they could understand the scriptures.

[00:18:02] And he taught them from Moses, the prophets and the writings, which of course is, is sort of longer harm for, to it's this Torah never even caffeine, sort of the three bits of the Hebrew Bible within that. 

[00:18:14] David: profits And writings. 

[00:18:16] John: And writings. Exactly. And, and Jesus is sort of saying to his young disciples, I'm an, all of those here.

[00:18:22] I am. Let me show you. And I think that informs the church's message then going forward because the only Bible first century Christians hard, most of them in Jewish audience with a Gentile trajectory is the Hebrew Bible. And, Phillip leads the Ethiopian UNIC to Jesus. The first recorded African convert by speaking to him from the prophet, Isaiah, what we call 53 and explained Jesus to him from that passage.

[00:18:52] Well, where did Philip, where did Phillip get that? What, well, Phillip got that from probably a message that's passed on by the disciples, which Jesus give in that 40 day download when he's explaining himself. So to me, it's a real tragedy when, when Christians. On hitch themselves from the old Testament.

[00:19:10] I understand why they want to do that. But if you do that, I think a lot of Jesus gets lost on a lot of the brilliant, cool genius things that Jesus does and says gets lost in translation because here he is. And in the temple quoting Isaiah and Jeremiah, and he's not just dropping a quote. He is essentially saying you have closed the door to the Gentiles.

[00:19:35] You have closed the door to the margins. And God is about to open that door to those Gentiles and to that margins. And then if you follow the bread crumbs in chapter 21, you've got the authority question which follows immediately because they then questioned Jesus. Like what, who give you the answer authority to speak like this?

[00:19:55] Where did you learn this stuff from then? Jesus launches into the parable of the two songs, the son who said yes to his father, but didn't do it. And the son who said no, but did it on the climax of that is, is incredible. In terms of Jesus says tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

[00:20:17] Wow. And then as if that isn't enough, he drops the hammer on this parable, the parable of the tenants from verses 33 to 46. And the climax of that in 43 is therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you. And given to people who produce fruit. So for our listeners, if you just drop in the Matthew 22, and you try to understand Matthew 22 from Matthew 22, you're going to miss our whole stack of stuff that is already being, building up to the climax of Matthew 22.

[00:20:57] Jesus has a boat. The tellers are a parable about a banquet, which makes no total sense. The Greer spit and the judgment bit makes real sense. If we understand what he said when he was ranting in the temple. If we understand the parable of the two sons, if we understand the parable of the talents, the parable then of the wedding banquet is a natural.

[00:21:24] Climactic moment. That's not random. It is brilliantly designed by Jesus as he's teaching. Ironically, of course, he's teaching his parable in the temple itself. So there's a brilliance. There's a genius start night. If we unhitch ourselves from all those shadows of the old Testament, none of that, none of that is relevant.

[00:21:47] And if we ignore that, then all of that genius gets disappeared. It gets lost. And we end up watering down some of the brilliance of Jesus in the context of this day.

[00:21:58]David: so, so let's frame that then in, , in a little bit different language then for, for a brief moment, think about the parable note with the context that you've just painted out for us of, , of what's going on in the lead up to this parable, Jesus begins with a parable and I'm going to reword it like this.

[00:22:15] Here's a parable about some people who were invited to the party of the century and they choose not to go. So, so there's this sense of what Jesus and I think it's really important that we hear this what Jesus isn't saying. And I've heard this I've heard this in, in alluded to in sermons. I've heard it in Bible studies.

[00:22:38] What, but, but here is categorically what Jesus is not saying that. I'm talking to you, all you in the temple, You are no longer invited. We're bringing this to the others.

[00:22:49] Now. That is not what Jesus says. I've heard it so many times, John. Well, and God's given up on all the Jewish people, and now he's moving over to this new thing that he's doing.

[00:22:59] But actually even in this parable, the, all these people are still invited to the wedding banquet. So, so the, the individuals are choosing to extract themselves, but at no point, are they uninvited? They're there. They're welcome.

[00:23:14] to come. So, so all that's happened is that the invitation has grown. The invitation has gotten away from its previous exclusivity.

[00:23:23]And I think that has important theological things for us in terms of how we, the church think about what God's doing. But it's really important to me, that peace that Jesus has beginning with is here's a party that people are invited to and chose not to come. 

[00:23:40] John: That's brilliant.  I loved your phrase, David. The invitation has grown. I love that. And I think that is the essence at the heart of the parable and the trajectory of Jesus' temple experience at the law. And remember, this is the last week of his life. So he is heading to the cross at an amazing rate of knots.

[00:24:06] It's all going on. There's lots of agendas going on around him. And you're absolutely right. And I think it's so important to hear that, that he is not on innovating anybody. They're all still invaded, but they've got to choose to come. And, and I think without jumping too quickly to the end, I think that's the essence of that, of that final statement that it many are invited, few are chosen or the way I would like to read that few accept the invitation it's it's again, we, we go to.

[00:24:43] Please like election on words like chosen. And I, I don't think that's what Jesus is referencing here. People clearly got into that banquet who were not on the list. So that flies in the face of some sort of preordained idea in this context, it's simply as you've said so beautifully, the invitation grew and it grew because those originally invited, some of them at least said, nah, we're not bothered.

[00:25:12] And so the master, and this is a nuance back to yesterday, isn't it? David, the master is so desperate to make sure every seat at the banquet is filled because he's got all this food and he doesn't want to go to the west. And he wants everybody to enjoy his son's wedding. That he goes right. Get everybody barred and good.

[00:25:32] Anybody can grab and drag them in here. If you have to, I want this place rocking before we start to enjoy the banquet and I love that beautiful.

[00:25:42]David: now it is a parable. Okay. So there's also a danger of over reading, some of the language that we have, because th th th it gets very dark.

[00:25:52] The king, the king goes out and, so, so if You look at the language. As it develops, they don't want to come. They they've got better things to do.

[00:26:01] And, and so he sends the servants, like, the, the, the messengers, like don't kill the messenger.

[00:26:09] the messengers get killed, they get mistreated and killed. All they did was so like, If we read this, literally what you end up with

[00:26:17] is look at what God does to the people that say no, but, but that's, I think at the minute that we don't have enough data in that parable to do that, this is we're in the house of the bizarre at the moment. So there's forms of storytelling out there where you just push it into the ridiculousness to make a point. So

[00:26:37] Hey, do you want to come to a party? No. And I'm going to kill you for asking this, what kind of nuts world does this happen in? When we say don't kill, like you've probably used the phrase, Hey, don't kill the messenger.

[00:26:48] I've used the phrase before. you

[00:26:49] have to bring some news to people. People aren't going to like it every time I've ever. used the phrase don't kill the messenger. It has never been preceded with. Would you like to come to a really great party, please don't kill the messenger, but here the messenger gets killed for delivering the most outrageously good news that you can, that you could get.

[00:27:08] There is a FA We're all starving. There's not enough food for all of us. And there's there's oxygen. in calf being prepared at the road. You are invited, you have a place you just need to turn up. and the response is to, is to kill this person that would say this. So then as if that's not. Bizarre enough, the king then decides and he goes out and he sends out an army.

[00:27:32] He gets an army and they just don't kill the people that have killed the servant. They burned the whole city to the ground, right? So, I mean, this has just spiraled out of control. Now, bearing in mind, Jesus has already taught, even eye for an eye is a little rough, right? Go back to the sermon on the Mount in Matthew.

[00:27:51] That's not how God works. So there's a huge clue. If you've read Matthew from start to finish, which you know, in, in ancient times, that's how you would have,

[00:27:59] approached the book. You would have begun. If you read it from start to finish, you do have in your brain, what does not actually how God works. We know this is not how God works.

[00:28:06] Not only does it not how he works. He's told us it's not how we should work. So I think you have to have that little flag waving Or light on your dashboard saying, this is bizarre. This is intentionally bizarre to make a point because the point seems to be at some level, John, like. This is the most ridiculous scenario ever.

[00:28:26] Do you want to come to a party or have your

[00:28:29] city burn down? Like Everyone can make that

[00:28:34] choice.

[00:28:35] There's nobody, nobody goes, oh, that's a tough one. I'm not sure how to answer this. Do you want to come to the best party you've ever heard of, or do you want to face judgment? And, , And by judgment that you've inflicted on yourself.

[00:28:50] And, and I think.

[00:28:51] that Jesus is purposefully. If I can push to a little bit of interpretation of the parable early, he's purposefully saying like, this is the ridiculous nature of the choice of the kingdom of God. It's, it's not, it's not choose to do this or choose to do that. It's actually accept the grace that's been given to you, or just live in chaos and destruction.

[00:29:14] I don't know if you want to push back on that or if you change that, but I think that's the intentional bizarreness of the parable doing the brilliance of what parables do is actually making it quite easy. Like you teach this in children's church and everybody gets, well, why didn't they just go to the party?

[00:29:29] And that's the point? Why didn't you just go to the party? You're already invited. 

[00:29:34]John: Yeah, totally. And it's almost the extremes within the parable that feel a bit ridiculous and bizarre on paradoxical, but that's the point they, they are given in that way to arrest our attention and to show potentially the magnificence of the offer and the ridiculousness of refusing the offer.

[00:29:58] Why would you do that? And again, you've got this sort of sitting in the contract. Remember we are in the temple, the very physical representation of the presence of yarn way on earth. And Jesus is in the one place where the invitation should be seen to be extended to all people. And the one place where it should be celebrated dynamically, that we have accepted that.

[00:30:28] And again, I think the context in which Jesus drops that parable, the irony of that would not be lost in, in for his audience. He he's literally, the, the holiest of Holies dominates his background as he stands probably in the court of the Gentiles and teaches this parable. So, so it is, I think, of course what we tend to do, we tend to lean into the literalism of the parable when it suits us or, or when we, we don't really know what else to do with it.

[00:30:59] But again, if we're following the breadcrumbs of Jesus, what he's trained to do in Jerusalem at that moment, he's trying to shock UN or in a sense he's trying to so get. Under the skin of his audience, both the margins, as well as the core religious community that he's using provocative and extreme language to make the point about Greece.

[00:31:27] And of course, without question to nuance the idea of judgment, and I think that's an important idea.

[00:31:32]David: And so then look at the King's response to his servants then. And I think there's two little pieces that I, I think I almost need to read together because otherwise we can get to the, to the wrong conclusion as well. So the wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. They weren't worthy of a place.

[00:31:49]So hold that thought for a minute, because you're naturally going to,  start to interpret that before you finish the parable. Oh, I know what that means because we've grown up in church contexts where we're constantly told faultily in my opinion, that you don't deserve this, and, and now we're going to make a point about that in a second, because somebody might go, well, well, surely that's the point that we don't deserve the grace. You've even said that in this, in this podcast. Well, yes, but just hold that thought for a second. So then he says, right, so go out in the street corners, invite everyone And they found all the people, they could the bad, as well as the good. Okay, so now you've, now Jesus has just  yanked up the handbrake while you were doing a hundred down the highway and put your car into a spin. Because , most of us, when we hear they did not deserve to come, we now know what we think that means.

[00:32:39] And then the second level plan B of the invitation, the bad, as well as the good or invitee. And I'd love to know, fortunately, nobody needs to put up their hands and admit to it on a podcast. Right? How many people assumed, oh, they didn't deserve to come. Because they were bad. But now you've got into a problem because the King's just going to got an intentionally dragged in bad people.

[00:33:01] Right? So now everybody sat at this party. And again, you realize that what Jesus has done is why did they not deserve to come? Actually it's simply because they rejected the invitation, the whole idea that you do, something that ranks you with God isn't is being systematically removed by Jesus. And instead it's just, well, how did you make the choice?

[00:33:24] Did you come to the party or either decide to have your city burn down? It's it's, it's quite stark really? Isn't it 

[00:33:31] John: it totally is. 

[00:33:32]David: the only problem in the kingdom of God is, is, is non-acceptance. The only problem is choosing to run away from it. 

[00:33:39] John: It's for sure, for sure. Dave said brilliant observation. And I think it sort of leans into what we discussed yesterday when we reflected on the repeat use of the idea of cold or invaded. And we see this again in the context of this parable verse three, verse four, verse eight, verse nine, verse 14. We've got this.

[00:34:04] Now our, our modern translations try to give us slightly different alternatives to how to interpret that one word Kaleo in order to sort of make it a little bit more interesting, but you're getting a beautiful repeat idea called invaded invaded called invaded, called you're invaded. You're called I think the repeat of that idea leans into that's why they don't deserve it.

[00:34:31] Okay. It's not, it's not because they're bar because the bar, the bar has just been invaded in. But it's because they have refused the persistent call and again, for our, for our readers. And I, I love this idea about the Lord. Sometimes people read the Bible and we get very naturally attracted to judgment.

[00:34:58] We get attracted to the barred bets, to the bits where fires fallen from heaven and burning people up. But of course what we don't see, or we don't see so easily, we don't see so easily is the relentless, loving kindness and grace of the Lord. Over and over and over again, th the, the north of Israel falls to the, the Assyrians, but, but it takes, hundreds of years for that fall to happen from the moment the kingdom's divided to the moment they're taken away, it's 200 years passes between, the fall of the north and the fall of the sun for 150 years passes.

[00:35:38] Well, what's happening in those 200 years, what's happening in the 150. The Lord is going, listen to the call, listen to the call, turn away from your, come to me. Reason with me, lean into me, and of course, tragically for, for that old Testament narrative, you have the people that sort of didn't. Really listen well and receive that well.

[00:36:00] And as a result ended up in some cases, quite literally literally seen their cities destroyed and burned, but, but it wasn't because God by, well, I just want to drop a hammer and some people, I just, I just feel like zapping a bunch of people today. He, he works relentlessly aggressively, graceful, relentlessly loving, loving kindness.

[00:36:23]I love what the Lord said to Moses referring to himself, the Lord, the Lord, God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger. The idea that literally there, David Long nosed, I love that, having a nose like mine, that's really, really cool. But the idea that God is long nosed his, his, his suffering is his anger is long suffering.

[00:36:46] It takes a long time for him to come to a hot nose. That's the idea really?  

[00:36:52]David: The idea of long nose, I don't know. I'm curious because you you've written a book called face-to-face. the idea of being long nosiness is when you square up to somebody in a fight and go nose to nose with them. If you have a long nose, you're further away from them, therefore you have more time to cool down. 

[00:37:12] John: Yeah. Well, 

[00:37:13] David: And I love that 

[00:37:14] image. 

[00:37:15] John: It's the nuance that w in, in the Hebrew picture of this, when your nose gets hot, you're angry. So if you've got a long nose, it's taking longer for your nose to get hot, 

[00:37:28] David: it's brilliant. Isn't it?

[00:37:29] John: it's not real in 

[00:37:30] David: because we've all got an image in our head, right? In the heart of that person. We know that? you can tell they're getting angry because everything starts going red 

[00:37:37] heating up. 

[00:37:38] John: it, did you get this, this declaration he's compassionate, he's gracious. He's long suffering. He takes a long time to get to anger and he is then beautiful idea. He is relentless in his has said his loving kindness and his emit, his fifth fullness or his truth. Now I think that's, that's the God of Tanakh.

[00:38:09] That's the God that Jesus is representing. And that's the God of these parables. He's desperately trying to avoid the hot nose situation. And he's desperately, desperately trying to call people away from themselves and towards him. And I think if you are prepared to read, not just the parable in the context of that last week of Jesus' life, but if you're prepared to read the parable, understanding the very nature of God even revealed in tonight, then it totally makes sense.

[00:38:42] He's desperate not to have a hot news. He would rather not be angry. He would rather be gracious in kind,

[00:38:51]David: so that then leads us into the kind of third part of, of, of the parable where it twists again, honest isn't it. And holding all of your thoughts in, in, in play there, because this is how you interpret parables. You got to think about the big picture of what we know about God, but then you get act three, act one is, Hey, you're coming to the party.

[00:39:15] No, we don't want to burn cities. Act two. No is the bad and the good are now or no, invited to a party just scraped off the streets. Act three is the king comes in to the party. I noticed there's somebody there who's not properly dressed for it. And, and he says, how did you get in here with a wedding clothes friend?

[00:39:39] I just, I mean, beautiful language, right? We need to unpack all of this. And the man was speechless. So the king told the attendance time, hand, and foot throw him outside into the darkness where there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth like, whoa. And that's the end of the parable. And it took a dark turn.

[00:39:55] Once again, it was they talk in literature about comedies and tragedies and tragedy start bad and bad and have a funny bit in the middle and comedies are the other way round. This seems to be a tragedy, doesn't it it's act. One is bad. Act three is bad. And it's all very hopeful in, in act two. And we kind of expect a nice story about God throwing a party open to everyone.

[00:40:18] Cause we read Luke first and we think I know how this goes and therefore we could walk away and I'm going to use a word. Then I want to come back to later and we assume that God's just being. Relentlessly inclusive here. And then Jesus turns it and  know there's judgment and standards and weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[00:40:39] And like, whoa, this got uncomfortable quickly. And I feel like we need to a more grown up approach to attacks like this, but I've spent a lot of years in church, as we've said before. And this part of the parable can be taught in such a way to really grow some anxiety amongst people, because you might, you might say to yourself, okay, I'm not in group one.

[00:41:06] I feel like I'm somebody that God's scraped up afterwards, but am I, am I this guy, am I am I, What am I?

[00:41:14] doing wrong  there's gonna make God through me. And. And that's how I almost grew up hearing this parable and then you're left perplexed.

[00:41:24] Jesus hasn't helped me here because he's, , he's raised the jeopardy of the parable. He's raised the jeopardy of the situation, but I'm unclear as to what creates that jeopardy 

[00:41:34]John: It almost creates a, a complete insecurity. Well, hold on a minute. Like I was just going to my business and your boys grabbed me and dragged me in here. And now you're like, not only are you throwing me out, but there's a bit of edge ticket and throw an idea. I'm getting tied up hand of food and, 

[00:41:51] David: I'm worse off than where it was when I 

[00:41:53] John: Absolutely. Why you just leave me or a meal so that I, and again, for our listeners, I think that's really helpful when something jars like that, when something is, you read it totally jars in the flow of either the parable or the passage, or like we've been discussing the sort of big picture understanding of the nature of God and his grace, then there's got to be another explanation to what looks like going off because suddenly the master has, has gone from scooping up the Barden to good and introducing them to the most wonderful native their lives in terms of food and blessing and any he's turned super nasty.

[00:42:42] And, and that would be one of those awkward moments. You're sitting there as one of the scooped up guests and suddenly the blooper Sage is getting dragged out, kicking and screaming. You're going, whoa, hold it the main next like what, what just happened? Is it, was it the color of his eyes? What is it?

[00:42:57] Was it as after she had, what was it that got him dragged out of there? So it does create a moment that we should go, Hey, what just happened there? And it's leaning into that. I think that helps, I think reinforce the powerful force.

[00:43:15] David: So I think at this point, we, we worked through a couple of a couple of things that are really obvious in the parable, but quite headend at some level when I say this. Yeah, of course. That's the case. So act one, two and three there's three groups for one of a better term. There's act one. There's the group that don't come act two, there's the group composed of bad and good that don't get a choice.

[00:43:38] They just get dragged in and act three. There's a man without wedding clothes, but there's one constant in it. All of them are invited. All of them are well, they all have. A ticket for one of an anachronistic term, they, they all have a ticket. And I think this is how you have to build your theological map, that, that some of us will have grown up in a context or been introduced to Christianity or rejected Christianity on the basis that following Jesus seems to be about most people being excluded.

[00:44:15]But what we get actually in a parable, like this is the opposite inclusion before exclusion. So, so, I think I heard it said once that nobody's kicked out who wasn't invited. So, so everybody that You encounter in this whole story could be there and that's, the guests, the bad and the good and the guy with the bad clothes.

[00:44:35] And I just think that is the place where we begin with this story. Now contextually, I think it's fair, John, to argue that there's obviously something going on in this parable, the modern reader is, is missing, right? Because if not, God is God is a Horan in this, right. And, and Jesus never leaves. God is of Horton.

[00:45:01] He chooses some strange. Characters to represent God from time to time, in his parables, but God is never the bad guy. And so if you were to read this almost as I was growing up, taught it that well, and this guy didn't put on his wedding goods. Well, he was dragged in off the street, he's ridiculous to assume that he would be wandering around the street, dressed for a wedding that he wasn't invited to, here, the Kings, having a wedding, one's going to hang out outside in my tuxedo and hope that I accidentally make it onto the red carpet.

[00:45:35] and pass that bouncer at the door.

[00:45:38] Like that's, that's clearly not the case. So I think it's fair to assume here. The in context, the listeners would accept that if the king is going to drag people in off the street and bear in mind, his generosity seems to be pretty lavish. He's probably providing clothes for people to wear as well. And contextually, it's not uncommon.

[00:45:57] If you were traveling for a long journey from far away, you might not bring your clothes with you. You would be provided them a banquet of this sort of lavishness. This would be part and parcel of it. So, so you actually potentially have an, an implicit rejection in here, but you've been dragged off the street.

[00:46:18] You've been offered a shower and, or end a bath and some new clothes to wear. And you've said, no, he said, I don't want that. I'm going to sit at this party dressed the way I want. And so there's, there's potentially a kind of, deeper moment in the parable going on here of, of. Real nuance that I think will help us.

[00:46:42] And I almost would, would explain it like this, John, that the table has a culture, right? So, so there's, there's an inclusion that says we're not going to exclude people, but everybody's welcome. But everything is given to you to sit at this table in the right culture, but you have to accept it. Right. And so what we can do with Jesus, and I think this is a challenge that when don't always navigate well, as Christians is around this whole language of inclusion and exclusion, and then let me throw a third word on the table, which is the word transformation.

[00:47:20] And the temptation. When we talk about everybody welcome, is that we fail to talk about transformation. If that, if that follows John, that, that, that every the king wants everyone at this table, but he also is asking you. To get dressed in a particular way, but I think it's fair to say, but he gives you everything to be dressed in this particular way.

[00:47:42] So it's not that you didn't have to go out and fight it, earn it. It's all there for you. You just need to take it up, but you do have to take it up. So there's a sort of deep, let me just put this in a more theological way. There's a deep mystery to God's forgiveness that says his forgiveness is for everybody, but saying that God will forgive everybody and everything.

[00:48:05] Isn't the same thing as saying it doesn't matter. Then what you do 

[00:48:11] John: and I think that helps to understand that lovely little cultural nuance that close would have been. Provided. Now once you get that little piece of cultural insight, I think the whole thing transforms and it becomes much less awkward. Certainly doesn't feel the spacious and nasty and malicious, but actually you get a sense of almost a deeper insight, almost an individualistic insight to the corporate rejection of the masters invitation before.

[00:48:50] So, so before you've got this mosque group, this group of people who've been invaded and called, and though we get individual excuses, you're, you're sort of getting a generic corporate feel to that refusal, which actually end the trajectory of Matthew 2122 really does make sense. It's the Lord is leaning into a and appeal to a community.

[00:49:13] Really not just individuals. But then of course you do get this highly personal feeling climax to the, to the parable, which is very, very uncomfortable where someone who has initially said yes to the invitation, no refuses, the very forgive them upon fabric of Greece, refuses to embrace the ultimate generosity of the the master of the king by then taking these beautiful rooms and sitting in the rooms.

[00:49:49] It probably, they could never afford probably may even feel a slightly uncomfortable end, but nonetheless, if you want to sit at the table, you have to receive. As it were the, the fabric of Greece under refusal of that means that actually the ironically, the person is disqualifying themselves from the full experience of Greece.

[00:50:21] So that, so remember the haven't got to the banquet yet. They haven't got to eat yet. They haven't got to enjoy themselves yet. This is this th the feeling you're getting is that the, the, the, the masters looking round, and actually there was a whole full experience to be enjoyed, but, but this refusal to accept the fabric of Greece as it were excludes this person from enjoying the rich generosity of the father.

[00:50:47] So it's not that the father, or it's not that the master or the king has withdrawn his generosity, it's that the person has refused. That generosity and I think that's 

[00:51:01] David: theme is the same throughout the whole parable, isn't it? That nobody's getting excluded. People are, are excluding themselves by a refusal to change. Right. So, no, I'm not coming away from my work right now. So I'm not coming to the party. No, I'm not putting those clothes on. And so you can't force your way into the party without accepting the transformation.

[00:51:24] You can't force your way into the party without accepting grace, which sounds like, let me reword It within Jesus, his metaphor, you can't force your way into the party. You just have to accept the free ticket, who would try and sneak into a party on their own terms when the actual terms were turned up for free.

[00:51:46] And that, and again, it's in this world of the bizarre that Jesus is. trying to, and like how ridiculous this looks. Why would you, why would you do this? Who doesn't want to, get dressed up and go to a fancy party. But I think in this, so this brings us back to this word inclusion, and I think it's worth.

[00:52:04] Exploring just a little bit as we sort of round out this parable that we get this sense. Sometimes that the, the one thing we should always be is inclusive and inclusive is the, is the golden standard almost at nowadays. But, but in order to be the type of people who are open to everybody, encountering the grace of God, I actually think inclusion causes some problems for us if we're not careful because in truth, we don't really believe in inclusion.

[00:52:39]Nobody actually believes that God wants everyone to stay the same. Right. So when we talk about inclusion, everybody has a list of people or categories of people that we go. Yeah. But they would need to change, like killers, abusers.  some categories that we would all draw a line in gold, no inclusion can't they would have to be transformed.

[00:53:04] And I think that's the point that, that when we live in a culture that sort of says, no, everybody has the right to be included exactly as they are. It almost blinds us to, I think, a core knowledge that all of us knew we could all do with changing a little bit. We could all do with some of us could do with changing a lot, but, but  I think it's a myth, this idea of inclusion because everybody that I encountered that thinks about inclusion.

[00:53:34] Doesn't mean everybody. So what becomes the, the really radical statement about this is.

[00:53:43] Jesus does mean everybody. 

[00:53:46]John:  I, I think that's the undeniable conclusion in the parable. I don't think you can read it any other way. And again, if you're, if we're not just individualizing this, but understanding there's, there's big issues at the heart of this, Jesus is grappling with an understanding of covenant and grace, both to his own people onto that being extended to the wider world, that's the sort of nuance we're getting all the way through his temple experience.

[00:54:16] Then that really does help us that he's throwing the arms open and saying actually everyone is invaded, but for one reason or another, not everyone will be. Chosen within this. And I think understanding how he concludes that parable helps us with an awkward word, like chosen in the context. Cause, cause he can truly be inclusive if there's people chosen.

[00:54:46] But the chosen this here isn't to do with I've picked him and not picked her. The choice in this is he has responded to the invitation and she has not. 

[00:55:00] David: Yes. 

[00:55:01] John: And it, it helps us with what is a difficult, a difficult word. How high can the Lord be? The Lord of inclusive Greece when hold on, there is a, an idea though that says, well, actually a bunch of people have been sort of preselected for life and others have been preselected for death.

[00:55:19] That doesn't seem that that's circled doesn't square for me. So this parable helps a little bit that actually. The God of heaven says you're all welcome, but not, everyone's going to say yes to the invitation

[00:55:35] David: Yes, I. So I have been quite influenced in my thinking by theologian, Miroslav, Volf this. And he, he has this brilliant way of phrasing it, that he says, what we see in Jesus is not a ministry of inclusion, right? He says, Jesus is not a profit of inclusion, but rather he says, what you see in Jesus is that he has a ministry against exclusion. And, and you may think, well, is that not the same thing is against exclusion, not the same as inclusion and involve full says this. He says, let me just read a quote from him. And he says, Jesus was no prophet of inclusion for whom the chief virtue was acceptance and the Cardinal vice in tolerance.

[00:56:17] Right. Instead. Jesus was a bringer of grace who not only scandalously included anyone in the fellowship of open commonality, but he also made the intolerant demand of repentance and the condescending offer of forgiveness.

[00:56:37] John: Beautiful,

[00:56:37] David: And I, I found that so shaping for this against exclusion, nobody needs to be excluded.

[00:56:44] Right. But the problem is Jesus. Isn't some kind of well, exactly what Wolf just said. He isn't just going to say, well, that means that just coming, come in and be exactly it's come in as you are, but Hey, you may be repented. You may need to change a little bit. And. And the great thing is I'm going to forgive you, but that is condescending because when I say I forgive you, it's implying you're doing something wrong. that. needs forgiveness. Now, if we imagine the killers in the abusers, That's not a difficult message for us, but it becomes a difficult message when you realize that's true of all of us, that, that everybody in this parable is invited. So there is no exclusion, but there is a need. There's a, repentance, if that's to change, there is a need to change into these clothes, a low, but they're a great thing.

[00:57:33] Isn't it? All of the changes given to you, the transformation is offered to you. It's not, it's not hard 

[00:57:40] John: Yeah, 

[00:57:41] David: course.

[00:57:42] the fascinating thing then John, is, is that. The very next verse after the parable that kind of begins the next story, the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him. In his words, you realize when you start going around proclaiming against exclusion, then people get mad about that.

[00:58:06] That is not what you know, what people want to hear. 

[00:58:10] John: Absolutely. Especially people who love to be exclusive, which of course, the Pharisees in their worst incarnation were. So, as much as we've talked about good man, within that system who sought after God and defended the truth of Torah, the worst expression of that was a lead TISM superiority, judgmentalism, and exclusion, and Jesus is on mystical plate and on ashamedly and relentlessly rattling that cage.

[00:58:45] And he's a, and he's ultimately saying to that group of people who are representative of a wider community, he's saying, if you do not listen carefully to the invitation, it's been extended to you, you are in danger of completely and totally missing this party. And I don't want you to miss it, but if you are intent in saying only certain people can sit at this table, then you will miss it.

[00:59:13] And they, as he said at another  parable, just previously said the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get to the table before you do. And that was a shocking, shocking idea.

[00:59:23]David: And that's the, , the beauty of all this, in one sense, you might say, Jesus, is it appropriate to talk about eternity with the metaphor of a party? It feels a bit glib, but if you accept grace, if you actually come to grace, just go, goodness, I need help. It's the easiest party in the world to get to.

[00:59:43] It only becomes a difficult party. Many invited, but few are chosen. Why are few chosen? Because for some reason, unbeknownst to all of us, including ourselves, we get invited to a party with free clothes and free food. And we decide, no, I'm going to try and not accept that and fight this on my own terms and do this my own way.

[01:00:05] And, and, and that's why I love this idea of Jesus being against exclusion. There's no good reason. There's no good reason that not everybody is at this party. And if you read the, if you read the parable and the guy says I can't come to the party because I've got work, if you think that's a good reason, then they're not part of the variables missed you a little bit.

[01:00:28] The, the ridiculousness of it is Jesus is making a point. Isn't he? Why, why, why would you want to fight something that is just given to you? Like this? 

[01:00:41] John: Yep. And as Paul beautifully put it, it is by grace that we have been saved. It's not. Anything of ourselves, but it is ultimately an gloriously and magnificently a gift from God so that none of us can go, Hey, look, look at, look at my clothes. Look at me, look what I did to get in I'm on the list.

[01:01:03]Actually this list includes a, B, C, D. Absolutely. There's. There's no categories in this list. There's only to the good on the barter here and we're here because of the generosity and the grace and the magnificence of the master. And once we accept that, I think it helps us with our own sense of superiority and our own sense of religious  prayed.

[01:01:29] If we're honest, that can creep into us. And we realize my goodness, the only reason I get to eat this grip food and get to wear these great clothes. Is because he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love truth.

[01:01:48]David Harvey: Okay. So that's it for this episode. Thanks for much for listening. And we do hope that you enjoyed it. If you want to get in touch with either of us about something we said, you can reach out to us podcast@twotexts.com. Or by liking and following the two texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

[01:02:11] You can also follow us on YouTube. If you did enjoy this episode, we would love it. If you left a review or a comment where you're listening from, and if you really enjoyed this episode, why not share it with a friend? Don't forget that you can listen to all of our podcasts www.twotexts.com or wherever you get your podcasts. 

[01:02:33] But that is it for this episode. We're back tomorrow with another part of our parable season. But until then, Goodbye.  

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