The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and his adversary. Gospel of John, Chapter 9
- Chapter 195 -
The parable of the king and his wedding feast.
The Kingdom of Heaven or God's Kingdom is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. He sent out his helpers and servants to invite many important guests for the royal wedding feast. But those who were invited said to themselves: 'Why should we go to a royal wedding feast? We feel better at home and then we owe no one any gratitude.' And for this reason no one of those who were invited wanted to come to the royal wedding feast.
2
When the king received the message that the guests who were invited first did not want to come, he sent out again other helpers, telling them beforehand: 'Tell the guests: Look, I have prepared my wedding feast. My oxen and fat cattle are slaughtered and everything is ready. Come therefore, all of you to the wedding feast.'
3
The helpers departed and told it faithfully to the guests they had to invite. But again the invited ignored the invitation and were despising it. One went to his land, the other started another work, and again others seized the helpers, scorned them, and even killed some of them.
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When the king heard that, in his justified wrath he sent immediately his armies out and had all these murderers slain, burned their city and had it leveled with the ground.
5
After that, the king spoke again to his helpers: 'It is true that the wedding feast is well prepared but the invited guests were not worthy of it. Therefore, go now to all common streets and alleys, and whomever you will meet, invite them to the wedding.
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The helpers went and brought all those they could find, the bad as well as the good. And look, the tables were completely occupied.
7
Now when the tables were occupied in this manner, the king came into the large dining-hall to see the guests. There he saw someone who was not dressed well at all for a wedding, while the others, when they were invited, went quickly home to make them in the shortest time look as nice as possible for the wedding.
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Then the king asked the helpers: 'Why did this man there not dress himself nicely for the wedding, to refresh my eyes and not to give any offence to the many other guests?'
9
And the helpers said: 'O mighty king, he is one of those who was invited first and who did not want to come. Now when we went to invite people for the third time, we also met him in the street, invited him once more and advised him to dress himself also nicely for the wedding. But he said: 'Ah why? I am not going to make all possible effort because of the wedding. I will go to it as I am.' And as we have met him in the street, he also went together with the other guests to the wedding, and we did not stop him since we have no right to do this.'
10
When the king heard this from the helpers, he went to the one who did not have a wedding garment and he said to him: 'How could you come here without putting on a wedding garment? Look, the tables are now fully occupied with poor people, of whom a part is bad and only a small part is good, but all of them have dressed themselves so nicely that my eyes can find true pleasure in them. You have been invited already the first time and you did not want to listen to the invitation, and now on the third general invitation you have decided to come in, but without dressing yourself nicely for the wedding, while you still are wealthy enough to possess a wedding garment. Why then did you put me to shame?'
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After these questions, the man became very irritated with the king. He also did not even want to apologize and ask the king for forgiveness but he kept silent and gave no answer at all, although the king at first addressed him as a friend.
12
This evil stubbornness irritated the king so much, that he said to his servants: 'Since this man is so hardened, and rewards my great affability and friendliness only with evil, anger and contempt, you must bind his hands and feet (loving will and wisdom) and throw him out (into matter) into extreme darkness (mere worldly reason)! There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (worldly quarrellings over justice, truth and life).'
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However, with this I am telling you that by His awakened helpers God has also invited and called many of you for the true Kingdom of God, but only few are chosen, because the first time they did not want to listen to the invitation at all. After that, they resisted against it - just like it is the case now - and when for the third time all the gentiles were invited for the wedding, arrayed themselves and came to the wedding, there was only one of those who were invited first in a dress that was not fit for the wedding feast, and this one is the image of your rigidity of spirit which will throw you into the deepest darkness and distress of the world. And therefore, among those who are called since the beginning, there will be only few who will be chosen, and so the true Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and be given to the gentiles. But you, you will search in your deepest worldly darkness, quarrel and fight, and will not find the Kingdom of God anymore which you have lost and has left you until the end of the world.
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The true and living Kingdom of God however, does not come in outward appearance and also does not consist of that, but it is to be found in the inner part of man, because when man does not have it in himself, it also does not exist eternally and also nowhere else in the whole of infinity.
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And therein consists the Kingdom of God within man: that he keeps the commandments of God, and from now on believes in Him who has been sent to you in Me.
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In truth, I say to you: He who believes in Me and acts according to My word, has eternal life in him and with that also the Kingdom of God. For I Myself am the Truth, the Light, the Way and eternal Life.
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He who hears this from My mouth or from the mouth of those whom I am already now sending out - and in the future will be sending out even more - as My real and true witnesses, and then does not believe that this is so and cannot ever be otherwise, will not enter the Kingdom of God, but will remain in the night of his own worldly judgment. I have now said this to you. Blessed is the one who will take it to heart."