The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.and the rest grabbed his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.and the rest laid hold on his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them.
3 sermons cite this verse
… They said they lay hold of his servants, mistreated them and killed them. I've never been invited to a wedding and then killed the messenger. But the thing I have done is very just, it's subtly in Jesus' parable. Here's the king. wedding feast for his son. He's invited many, many people. Again, some have this overreaction, but it says others ignored the invitation. One went to his farm, other to his business. Our ability to ignore things we'd rather not deal with is remarkable. And I think our blind spot, maybe the number one blind spot that we can be facing is our ability to ignore God. Like the reality say, I like doing what I'm currently doing and I do not want to be bothered at this moment. I don't want to be bothered. You know, years ago, I came across this article about the population crisis in Asia, specifically the population crisis in Japan, that the projection was by 2060, Japan's population would fall by a third, which is the point in the article pointed out, which is the same percentage as the Black Death in the 14th century. …
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus. Why don't you have a seat? So growing up, my brother was legendary. My brother still is legendary. I have a legendary older brother. But when I was growing up, my brother was legendary for his ability to have this thing. It's a superpower called selective hearing. Familiar with this? So I have no idea how this would happen. But they'd say, hey, Mike, go get your brother. It's time for supper. I'd be like, Mark, come down for supper. Like calling up to his bedroom or going downstairs. Here we are going downstairs. Like, Mark, dinner's ready. Nothing. so I go walk down the stairs, and I can look around the corner. I can see him sitting in front of the TV, or actually, I would often see him standing in front of the TV. I'm not sure why. That's how we watch TV in high school, but I'm like, I can see him. I'm like, Mark, Mark, Mark, so I get closer. …
Thanks be to God. See, there are some Sundays when you say that robustly, and there are some Sundays you're like, ah. This past Wednesday, needing some divine inspiration, I picked up the phone in my office, hit speed dial button number one. A tired sounding voice answered, yes. Um, God? Yes. Scott Black Johnston here, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York City. I know. We've got caller ID here. Listen, I hate to bother you, God, but I've been working on this parable, the wedding banquet, Matthew 22. And to tell you the truth, I'm having a bit of trouble with it. I was wondering if you could help me out. Sure. Let's do lunch. You do lunch? Of course. Tell you what, meet me tomorrow on the Upper West Side, Jacob's Pickles, 12 noon. I've been wanting to try their cheese grits. Grits? Absolutely. Grace on a plate, my friend. Grace on a plate. I heard a low chuckle, and the line went dead. So on Thursday, I took the Crosstown bus to the west side. …