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Q6. Excuses


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  • 4 months later...
On 4/22/2023 at 1:02 AM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

The excuse makers represent Pharisees and Jewish. The potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God's will as we know it, will lead to the judgements of God. 

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In the biblical text, the excuse-makers are those who find reasons for not attending the party/banquet. What's amazing is the unanimity -- it seems that no one who was originally invited showed up. 

To whom does this refer?

  • To those in our own time who felt God's calling or nudging yet avoided it rather than obey
  • To the hypocritical pharisees in Jesus' time who didn't want to be seen with Him
  • To anyone in Jesus' time who rejected His call
  • To anyone in Jesus' or our own time who was ashamed of the gospel and refused to publicly acknowledge God.

The rejection resulted in the feast-giver extending his invitation to everyone, a universal invitation. It also caused God to compel people into accepting HIm, which is theologically troubling to me. This was combined with rejecting those who had made excuses not to come.

Both good and bad were invited -- sinners and saints, the uncouth and the polished, the status-seekers and the underdogs.

Those who didn't attend the feast were consigned to hell. There was no mercy. No second chance. Many were invited but few were chosen ... chosen, in this case, probably means obedient or humble.

Thus, if we don't obey God's will, one potential consequence is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Since none of us consistently carry out His will, this should be jarring. We could be excluded from future banquets. It's important to confess, then, and change our ways. 

 

 

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Pharisees and Jewish religious establishment represents the excuse makers. 

 

The potential results is opening up the door to things that we would not like. It can cause delays and harm in our own life but it can also effect someone else's life negatively who are involved. So it's very important we fulfill God's plan for our life overall and also the daily walk. 

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Execuse makers are those invited but despised it. Those who don't fulfill what is expected of them. Those who are not committed to the blessing of God in Jesus until the end time. They are the like of us who at times find excuses for not on the right time and place.

The Bible says the one who perseveres till the end will be saved.

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On 4/21/2023 at 9:02 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

His people Israel, the Pharisees and Jewish religious establishment.

 Our excuses are an insult to God. It is his mercy that we are not consumed!  We need to spend more time with the Savior  and hear from Him.  This will enable us to have the power to do His will by the Holy Spirit.

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24)

Who do the excuse-makers represent?

The excuse-makers were God's chosen nation... more precisely the religious leaders of His time.  But... I always try to view scripture first as the audience it was written to and then I ask God's Holy Spirit how it applies to me... What is Jesus saying to me?  Do I neglect His call because I'm too busy with my job? My family? My possessions?  Do I say, "Someday, when I have more time..."?  Do I take His invitation for granted and de-prioritize His Will placing it beneath my own will?  Do I forget who I am... or was... before I met my Jesus... a beggar... blind and crippled... a vagabond not even worthy of entering the King's gate, much less His Banquet... and now, because He sought me out and called me, I am His Child... and I need to keep careful and diligent watch for any complacency where there should be excitement and exuberance in carrying out His Will... 

What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

"If you love Me, you will obey My commands".  If I am not carrying out God's will... I do not love Him, according to His own assessment and Word.  I cannot love my Father and continually find reasons to not follow His Will.  Salvation is not a free pass into the Kingdom of God as we wait at the train station for the ride in.  Good works are a result of knowing Jesus... we are the vessels through which He continues His ministry here on this earth.  If we are consistently not following His Will and not producing His Fruit and not seeing a continual transformation in our lives... then I would think we need to question whether we ever met Him in the first place.

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In the scripture it's representing the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders. Those who are claiming to be holy but yet rejecting the Lord, the truth. 

If excuse ourselves from carrying out God's will, we begin drifting away from the presence of God. We begin to allow pride and self to get in the way, and separate us from the Lord. 

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Who do the excuse-makers represent?

The rich and socially elite who reject at the last minute the host's invitation are the Pharisees and Jewish religious establishment who reject John the Baptist and Jesus, who begin to plot against Jesus and eventually render the ultimate insult of having Jesus executed as a common criminal.

What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God's will as we know it?

The result of excusing ourselves from Carrying out God's will is that we will not be partakers and will not enjoy the eternal plan God has for his children.  We will be separated from His light and be in darkness.

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The excuse- makers represent those of us who reject the gospel message because we are distracted by the world.For example, two invitees to banquet refused, because business matters were more important than attending  i.e looking over land bought and testing newly acquired oxen etc. Another,  refused because of his recent marriage. These excuses all seem plausible, in my opinion, but since the King who represented God,  was calling men and women to Himself, the excuses are not merely lame, but an outright rejection of God Himself.

The parable clearly illustrates the dangers of worldly attractions and not prioritising HaShem and importance of being obedient to His will and being sensitive to His Call. Sadly but justly, the result of rejecting HaShem is eternal damnation.

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The excuse-makers represent individuals who, when invited to participate in God's kingdom or carry out His will, offer various excuses or reasons for not responding positively to the invitation.

The result is settling for less than the Best God has for us , settling for shiny mirages the enemy dangles in front of us as opposed to the Real Deal, the Abundant Life Jesus gives.

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God's will as we know it?

The religious leaders of Israel along with the unrepentant people of Israel.

The good works ,(Ephesians 2:10) God had planned for you and I will be given to another believer. We will miss out on the blessing of being in God’s will and on the abundant life that He has for us in Christ. John 10:10

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent?

The ones who made excuses to not attend the banquet represented the Jewish hearers who listened to Jesus speak in the synagogue and around the Lake of Galilee and in the fields. Mostly the hearers were Pharisees (who hoped to 'trip him up' or prove Jesus wasn't sent by God) but we know others listened to Jesus eagerly,  such as Matthew the Tax collector, and those such as the fishermen whom Jesus found by the Lake. 

 

What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

The excuses given by the main 3 were to do with everyday life- e.g. buying a field, attending to oxen and getting married. All these are acceptable things to do but when the  3 men concerned were invited they lied about the answer - since a wedding date is foreknown, a field is seen in advance-not after its bought, and the oxen would be examined well before they were bought, so the deeper truth Jesus is exposing is that each man could have responded to His call to come and dine with Him and hear his teaching (and join His kingdom and learn how to be a disciple) but they invented an  excuse as they were not really ready in their heart to receive the word of God/The Messiah or to put the Kingdom of God first. In reality, they were not ready to make a commitment to Jesus or to leave the things of this world that took first place in their heart...The results of avoiding a commitment to Jesus would mean the men (Jewish leaders) lost their chance to follow Jesus and the way of the cross and so forfeited a place in heaven. Since someone else (the poor, the blind and lame) were given the chance to attend the banquet instead, it is suggested that their place at the table was taken by another. (The gentiles who were underserving) This suggests the Jews  probably would not get another chance to receive Jesus. (I am not 100% sure of this fact though). For those of us who are gentiles   some so us don't respond to Jesus on our first hearing and some read the word of God years later and find out its true and then turn to Him...(which I did in my early 20's). Another interpretation is possible: The Jewish leaders and Pharisees who rejected Jesus entirely and accused him of being an imposter would be the ones who have lost their only chance to enter the kingdom of God and be saved, and instead the gentiles were offered a place (the poor, lame and blind who were not originally entitled to receive an offer but God allowed  this to happen and grafted/added them into the Jewish branches. They lost the chance to be saved   since the Jews on the whole rejected Jesus was the Son of God mostly due to pride or unbelief.

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

Lost people.  Ezek. 3: God will hold us accountable at the judgment seat of Christ and we lose blessing in the here and now.  Excuses place a huge question mark on our lives of whether we really know Christ or not.  Ananias and Sapphira may be good examples of not carrying out God's will.  Excuse making is a dangerous way to live and totally not worth it.

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The excuse-makers represent all of us who do not want to do the will of God. When we are called to repent from sinning, we harden our hearts and do not want to open and allow Christ to be in the centre of our hearts. We may have been saved by the Grace of God but still do not want to go to the field as the harvest is plenty to call others to Christ.

Potential results are when people die without accepting Christ as their personal Saviour because we do not want to reach out. We make excuses when we are supposed to evangelize and bring people to know God and have a relationship with Him. We easily give up when telling people about Christ whereas God was patient with us and did not give up on us. We come up with lame excuses when we are supposed to go out there and tell the people about the Resurrected Christ.

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Q6. The excuse maker were all the people invited to both banquets and either just didn’t show up or made lame excuses. The excuse makers in these two parables were the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders who would not acknowledge Jesus but saw him as a threat. 
When we disobey God we are sinning against Him and unless we take action we will continue. Continuing in sin will lead to God’s wrath and punishment. 

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24)

Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God's will as we know it?

Each of these excuse-makers had already agreed to attend this banquet. On the second invitation they insulted the host by refusing to attend and all gave very feeble excuses for not attending. This parable was a special message to the Pharisees, the Scribes, and most of Israel, who rejected outright our Lord Jesus and His invitation. They were the seed of Abraham; they had Moses and the Law; therefore, they had no need of the pardoning grace of God that Jesus had come to bring. They were so sure of their own self-righteousness. However, this invitation applies to lost sinners today as well. God calls them. All things have been prepared – Jesus has finished the work of redemption when He died for sinners on the cross, and arose from the dead. The love of the world, the love of the flesh, the love of self, keeps them resisting or delaying their response to the invitation. All sorts of weak and feeble excuses are also used. What is tragic is the fact that many have had the privilege of having heard the Gospel over and over, but have not accepted. At the time they don’t realise that this invitation is the most important event in their life. This is an invitation to spend eternity with Jesus. Now is the time to accept as a second invitation might never come!

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

 

1. Pharisees and Jewish religious establishment    the nation of Israel, who as a whole refused to repent and believe the Gospel.
 
2. Lame excuses, rejecting God, completely disobeying God.
 
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Q6. The excuse makers represent people who refuse the invitation  to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and make excuses as to why they cannot

The potential  results of excusing ourselves to do the will of God is that we will not tap in  His fullness in our lives  where God is in full control of who we are and what we do

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24)

Who do the excuse-makers represent?

What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God's will as we know it?

The excuse makers represent the ones that were originally invited.  In this instance it is the elite class of the Jewish establishment, viz., the Pharisees and the Sadducees and other in the religious leadership who rejected first John the Baptists call and then Jesus Himself.  Finally they topped it all off with the ultimate insult of having Jesus executed as a common criminal.  

The results could be loosing out on the Gift He is offering us, Eternal Life.

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On 4/22/2023 at 2:02 AM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

The excuse makers are those who don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah. These are the Jewish leaders and the rich who think they don't need God, because they have everything materialistic. 

If we are not in the will of God our faith dwindles and we make many excuses why we can't read our Bibles, fellowship with Believers and become more like the world. 

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

The excuse makers represent all who refuse the message of the Gospel. By excusing ourselves from carrying out God's Will, in addition from disappointing our Beloved Lord, we give place to evil.

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Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

The excuse-makers represent the religious Jewish leaders and Pharisees. The horrible result of excusing ourselves from God's will is death, spiritual death. A separation from GOD and JESUS forever and not experience the love and joy in the banquet that God prepared for us. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

A6.

Excuse makers are those who are more interested in the worldly affairs around them and have no time for matters of the kingdom of God.

The main potential result of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will or orders is the risk of missing his plans such as salvation.

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On 4/21/2023 at 9:02 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q6. (Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:15-24) Who do the excuse-makers represent? What are the potential results of excusing ourselves from carrying out God’s will as we know it?

The ones who reject Jesus.

Being separated from God

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