(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Okay, take your Bibles once again, please, and turn to Matthew 22. And Matthew 22 is a continuation. You know, we didn't really leave off much in there in chapter 21. Jesus Christ continues to talk with the chief priests to those that are against him in the temple. Okay? So in order for us to understand the beginning of Matthew 22, we also have to remember what Jesus Christ was teaching. Was teaching in Matthew 21. Okay? Now, last week if you were here, you would hear me preach about, you know, Old Testament Israel. You know, have those that were rejecting Christ. You know, those that took on the religion of Judaism, were Christ's rejecters. Well, Christ said the King of God will be taken away from that nation and given to a holy nation. That it be given to another nation that would bring forth the fruits. Well, we continue the same topic here. You got to keep that in mind and remember that Christ here is speaking to unsaved Christ's rejecters. Okay? Now, let's start off by looking at verse number 14. Matthew 22 verse 14. The Bible says, for many are called, but few are chosen. The title for the sermon tonight is, few are chosen. Okay? Now, if you're saved today, if you can say, hey, I'm a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, we'll get to this later, but you are the few. Okay? There are few that are chosen. There are few that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And we'll look at this as we get to verse number 14 through this chapter. But look at verse number 1 then. Matthew 22 verse 1. And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables. Okay? So again, we're continuing the same people who we're speaking to in Matthew 21. And then it says, and just in case you're wondering who the them is, just look at the previous chapter. Matthew 21. And look at verse number 43 again. Matthew 21 verse 43. Remember? Therefore say, I add to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. So who the them that he's speaking to? Those who the kingdom of God has been taken away from them. Okay? Again, just a reminder, speaking to those that reject him. Alright, speaking to Christ rejecting Jews. Now, if you guys can just quickly look at... Take your finger and turn to chapter 13 please. Matthew 13. Keep your finger in chapter 22. But turn to Matthew 13 because it says he's going to speak a parable unto them. Okay? Now go to Matthew 13 verse 10. We already covered Matthew 13, but just as a reminder. Matthew 13 verse 10. Because why does Christ speak to certain people in parables? What was the reason behind that? Why is he now speaking to these, to these chief priests, these Pharisees in parables? Well, Matthew 13 verse 10 gives us the answer. It says, and the disciples came and asked and said unto him, why speak us there unto them in parables? Now you might wonder, well, maybe God wants to get these people saved. Maybe God wants to shine the light of the gospel to them. But what does it say in verse 11? He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Okay? So as Christ comes and talks them in a parable, Christ is not trying to make it clear to these Pharisees. You know, it's not going to show them the truth of the word of God here. You know, it's not going to show them just how foolish they are for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay? Of course, as believers, we can look at these parables and we can make sense of those parables in light of everything else the Bible teaches us. But when it comes to a non-believing person, when it comes to a Christ projector, the parables just go over their heads and they cannot understand the mysteries of God. They cannot understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. So go to Matthew 22 again. Matthew chapter 22, because now you know why Christ is speaking to any parables. He doesn't want them to know the mysteries of the kingdom. Okay? Matthew chapter 22 verse 2. Matthew chapter 22 verse 2. This is the parable. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage from his son and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding and they would not come. Okay? So the story starts, the parable starts with a king, he's preparing for a wedding marriage, a marriage for his son, and there are those that have been invited, those that have been bidden. He says, hey, tell them it's time for the wedding, tell them to come. But in the parable, they would not come. Okay? They would not come. This is a reference to who? The guy he's talking to. Okay? God is preparing the kingdom of heaven. Hey, these Jews, they're being told, hey, you know, you gotta come into the kingdom, but they would not come. Okay? They would not come. And we'll understand later on why they wouldn't come. Look at verse number 4. Again, he sent forth other servants saying, tell them which are bidden, behold I have prepared my dinner, my oxen, my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come unto the marriage. Okay? Now, the servants in this parable, you'll soon see, are the Old Testament prophets. Okay? And if we want to take an application for us today, it's us, as soldiers. As people that go forth, preaching the gospel, telling people to come and enter the kingdom of God. Hey, we're also God's servants that have called people to partake of this wedding ceremony. Everything's ready, right? The oxen, the fatlings are killed, the food's ready, the dinner's ready, all things are ready. All you need to do is just come in to the marriage. Okay? But verse number 5. But they made right of it and went their ways, one unto his farm, another unto his merchandise. How many times are you knocking the doors? Right? Knocking the doors. Saying, hey, you know, it's either heaven or hell. You know, you can either rest in Jesus Christ for all eternity, be guaranteed of heaven, or if you reject Christ, you're destined to hell. How many people at the door make the light of it? I don't know. I'll deal with it when I get there. If I'm dead, I'll probably be six feet under. You know, things like that. And if that chair is cracking, you better be careful. You might need to change it. You might need to change it for that one there. But yeah, people make light of the gospel, don't they? They make light of the gospel, and the same story that's going on here. And verse number 6, what happens? And the remnant took his servants, and he treated them spitefully, and slew them. Okay? So those that have been invited to the wedding, they take the servants, and they kill the servants. Okay, so there's your story. Christ is saying, hey, those that are rejecting Christ, those that aren't coming into the wedding ceremony, or to the marriage, they are the same ones that killed the servants. Okay? Now, keep your finger there. Turn to Matthew 23. So just one chapter over. Matthew 23 verse 37. We've already looked at this passage before, but just as a reminder, Matthew 23 verse 37. What does Jesus Christ say to Jerusalem? He says here, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them, which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Okay? So we're reminded here of Israel, especially the leaders of Israel, taking the prophets, and stoning them, killing them. Hey, these are the same people in the parable. The servants are going out there, they're the prophets, and those that have been invited to the wedding, that's Israel. They're the Christ rejecting Jews. Okay? Back to Matthew 22 verse 7. Matthew 22 verse 7. But when the king heard thereof, so when the king finds out his servants are being killed, right? What's he going to do? He was robbed, and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city. Hey, what happened in 70 AD? Jerusalem destroyed. The temple of God destroyed. And he said prophecy of Christ, that the city would be burnt up. And then verse from the race. Then said he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they which were bid were not worthy. Go therefore into the highways, and as many as ye should find, bid to the marriage. So hey, who were the first that were invited? The Jews. They would not come. So what's the message from the king now? Just go to the highways. Just go everywhere you need to go, and invite people to the wedding. Okay? What would that represent? That would represent the nations. That would represent the Gentile nations. The gospel would go out, and we would be invited to the wedding. Okay? We would be invited, and the Jews, well, they would be destroyed. The city would be burnt up. Okay? And I know, look, I don't want to apologize for other people's mistakes. Okay? But there are too many churches, too many pastors, that preach about God's blessings upon Israel. You know, what we see here in the word of God is God's anger, God's wrath, God's curse upon Israel. God's curse upon Jerusalem. Okay? That they would not be allowed into the wedding. That their cities would be burnt up, and the gospel would go out to the nations. Alright? I don't know why people teach contrary to this. I don't know why. Okay? I don't know why people worship a race of people. You know? You know, I don't know why people look at the Israelites. They're like, look, I had a Jewish man, just on Sunday, I needed a locksmith, he came and helped me out. You know? Fine. You know, he's a normal human being. Alright? But there are Baptists, there are Christians that would, oh, a Jew? Are you serious? Did you bless him? Because if you bless him, God will bless you. You know? Look, the gospel, the kingdom would be taken away from them. Okay? Take heed of the teachings of Christ. Put the Bible, put the teachings of Christ first before your favorite pastors. Okay? And even me, when I come and preach something on the word of God, go back and check in the Bible. Is it true? Is this what Christ is teaching? Is this what he's saying? You know? Or have I got it wrong? Hey, the Bible is the authority. The Bible is the authority. You know what? We learned this last week, we learned this in Matthew chapter 1. Jesus is teaching us once again this in Matthew chapter 2. He wants us to remember this, okay? Now, look at verse number 10. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all as many as they found. Both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guests. Hey, here's the thing. You can go to the wedding whether you're bad or good. Alright? It doesn't matter how bad you are. It doesn't matter how good you are. Being invited to the wedding is not based on your performance. It's not based on your righteousness. Okay? You just come to the wedding. The king said, come, I'll be there. Doesn't matter how bad you are. Alright? You can see bad people, good people, a mix of all these people come into the wedding, okay? They didn't have to clean up their lives. They didn't have to become good people. No, the salvation is by grace through faith and not of works. Amen. Okay? It's not of works. This is what's being pictured here once again. Verse number 11. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. And he said unto him, friend, how cameest thou and hither not having a wedding garment, and he was speechless? You see, everyone that's invited to the wedding, everyone that's invited must come to the wedding in a wedding garment. Okay? You must come to the wedding with the right garment on. Okay? And the lesson here, guys, is that everyone that wants to come into the kingdom of heaven must have the kingdom's garment on them. You must have the right garment on you. Okay? Now, does anyone know what that garment is? Faith? Faith? Yeah? Well, take your Bibles, and please turn to Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61. Remember, this is a wedding, and we need the right garment. Okay? We need the right garment. So, not a bad one, Faith. But Isaiah 61 verse 10. Isaiah 61 verse 10. Isaiah 61. Let me just turn there so you can see this. Isaiah 61 verse 10. The Bible reads, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God, for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom deck of himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorned herself with her jewels. Okay, so what's the garment that we need to enter the wedding with? The garment of salvation. And it said there, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Okay? Hey, whether you're righteous or not, whether you're good or bad, you're invited. Okay? But you've got to have the righteousness of Christ. Okay? You're not going to bring your own righteousness to the wedding. You're not going to bring your own righteousness to the kingdom of God. Okay? You must have the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, and you must have the garment of salvation. There's no other way to enter that wedding. There's no other way to enter the kingdom. And this guy, this example here in the parable, he did not have the right garment on. He was trying to enter into the wedding by some other way, by some other salvation, by some other garment. Maybe his own garment instead of the garment that God would provide. Okay? Go back to Matthew 22 verse 13, please. Matthew 22 verse 13. Now what happened to this guy? Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So this guy that came in with the wrong garment, he's been bound hand and foot and is thrown into outer darkness. Now what is outer darkness? That's the lake of fire. Okay? Outer darkness is the lake of fire. Now, I'm going to tell you now, this is the Christ rejecting Jews. The Christ rejecting Jews do not have the right garment on. Okay? You should already know that by the context of what we're reading. Okay? But just to prove it once again, keep your finger there. Turns back to Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8. It's always good to have, you know, two or three witnesses, right? Before you teach something. Especially when you're teaching something controversial. You know, you're always best to have those extra scriptures to show you this, okay? Matthew 8 verse 10. Matthew 8 verse 10. So obviously this is much earlier in his ministry. It says here, when Jesus heard it, he marveled. This is, sorry, I should give you the context. This is after the centurion. Remember the centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant and Christ was surprised at his faith. This is when he marveled at the centurion's faith. The centurion obviously being a Roman centurion who wasn't a Jewish man. And he says this in verse number 10. When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said unto them that follow, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. So this great faith, this great man is from not an Israelite. Is not seen anywhere in Israel with as much faith as this Roman centurion, okay? So we're looking at the difference between the Israelites and the Gentiles here. Verse number 11. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west. Okay, this is not Israel. From the east of Israel, from the west of Israel, from other nations, from other places. Many will come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Look at this. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Exactly what we read in Matthew 22. They'll be cast into outer darkness. Who are the Jews of the kingdom? Who are the ones that were right near the heirs of the kingdom? The Israelites, the Jews, okay? But because they rejected Christ, they will be cast out into outer darkness. And you guys, you know, as Gentiles from the east and the west, from all corners of the earth, they have the right government on. They're going to be sitting with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. You know, what a great promise God gives us. Back to Matthew 22 please. Matthew 22 verse 14. And this is verse 14 is where a lot of people get confused, right? But, you know, now that you understand the context, keep up with the context of the parable. Okay? Matthew chapter 22 verse 14. For many are called, but few are chosen. Okay? But many are called, for many are called, but few are chosen. So what's the context of that? Remember the service went out everywhere. Okay? They went to the Jews. They went to the nations. They go out everywhere, you know, calling people to the marriage ceremony. Okay? So, many are called. Yeah? We should go out and preach the gospel to every creature, but then few are chosen. Few are the chosen, those that have the right garments. And those that have the garment of salvation. Those that were clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness. Those are the ones that are chosen. Okay? And for all of you that believe on Christ today, you are called. Someone gave you the gospel, somehow, somewhere. You heard the gospel. You were called to the kingdom, and you were chosen. You were chosen because you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay? Because you took on that garment of salvation. And so that's the context there. Now, this is important because we saw that this does not include the Christ rejecting Jews. Okay? This is important because notice that you are called the chosen. Okay? You are called the chosen here. Now, another way of saying chosen in the Bible, there's a few ways, but another way is the elect. Okay? The elect. Have you heard of that claim before? You know, the election or the elect. Okay? It's the same idea. If you elect somebody, you choose that person. You choose that person. These words are used interchangeably. Now, why is this important? Why am I talking to you this about now? It's because one of the beautiful things about going chapter by chapter in the Bible, you start to see how the Lord builds up things. You know, we get to a point. We're going to get to Matthew 24, and that's going to be probably the most controversial And we get to Matthew 24 because there are those that will say, well, Matthew 24 is not for us. They'll say Matthew 24 are for the Christ rejecting Jews. Right? And now if you guys can just go to Matthew 24, let me just show you this. Matthew 24 verse 22. Matthew 24 verse 22. And this is about the time of tribulation. I don't want to go too much into all that. We'll get into the tribulation in a few weeks when we get there. But look at verse number 22. Jesus says, and except those days should be shortened. There should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. Okay, so the days of tribulation will be shortened for the elect's sake. Okay, who are the elects? Well, if we read our Bibles, we got to Matthew 22, we should know by now. It's not the Christ rejecting Jews, but it's those that have belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. We should, that should be a natural reading of the Bible. Okay, now you might say, well, Matthew, you know, with the two said chosen, Matthew 24 says elect, maybe they are two different groups. Well, I'm glad you thought that because now take your Bible and turn to Mark 13, please. Mark 13 verse 20, Mark 13 verse 20. Now Mark 13 is just a parallel passage with Matthew 24. Okay, but look how Jesus speaks in Matthew, sorry, Mark 13 verse 20. The Bible reads, and except that the Lord has shortened those days, so it's the same teaching, right? No flesh should be saved, but for the elect's sake, use the elect, who he has chosen, he has shortened the days. Okay, so Mark 13 gives us the definition of the elect, it's those that has chosen. Who were the chosen? Those that have the garments of separation. Okay, I'm not teaching that God chose you to get saved or not to get saved. I'm saying you're chosen to partake of the wind because you have the right garments on. Okay, now there is a teaching called Calvinism. I've got to say that for some other day. Okay, we're going to say that for some other day. You know, I do not believe God chooses you to be saved, you're not saved, but you're chosen once you are saved, you're chosen to live after Christ. You're predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ because you are saved. God expects much from you. Okay, but I won't go into all that right now. I just want to show you how, you know, God uses the words chosen and elect interchangeably. Alright, so that way when we get to Matthew 24, you're now, you know, yep, that's about us. You know, you're not thinking, but hold on, you know, is this about some other group? No, you know, the Christ rejecting Jews were not chosen. They were not chosen in the parable that we saw in Matthew 22. Now, I want you to turn to one more passage because this will really nail it in. Go to Romans 11, please. Romans 11, verse 5. And again, there's no doubt that Romans are Gentiles, Italian people from Rome, right? Romans, how many Italians have we got here? One, a couple. Alright, this is ready to, you got, no, it's not ready, it's ready to all of us. Alright, just for you, just for you, Romans. Romans 11, verse 5. Romans 11, verse 5. The Bible says, even so then at this present time, this is after Christ was ready to be resurrected, already the New Testament is in play, okay, New Testament times. At the present time, also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Election, elect, okay? Same thing, election of grace. So it's saved by grace, and it says in verse number 6, And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace, and if it be of works, then it is of no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. So if you think even just a little amount of work is going to get you saved, it's no more grace. Okay, you do have to save yourself by works, and no one's going to ever do that, okay? You've got to keep grace without works. You've got to keep it like that. If you think it's just a bit of works, it's no more of grace. Now, that's not so much what I want to focus on, but verse number 7, What then, okay, what's the teaching here? Israel, this is Christ rejecting Israel, Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for. You see, Israel, Christ rejecting Israel, they were seeking the King of Heaven. They did what it inherit. Remember the parable that we saw last week? They killed the son that wanted to take the inheritance upon himself. They want the kingdom, and they want to be children of the kingdom, but since they have not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election have obtained it, and the rest were blinded, okay? So what's the election? Well, it's not Israel, okay? Because it says that Israel has not obtained it, but the election have obtained it, okay? So one group has not obtained it, Christ rejecting Israel have not obtained it, but the election have obtained it. Who's part of the election? The elect. Who's the elect? The chosen. Who's the chosen? Those that have received the garments of salvation, okay? So this is important, this is important because in the Bible when you read about the elect, the chosen, it's a reference to Christ believing, safety, believers, okay? I mean, the Bible is consistent over and over and over again, okay? Now, go back to Matthew 22, verse 15. Matthew 22, verse 15. I had some curious thoughts, maybe I gave you the wrong reference, I was terrified afterwards, so I did something wrong. I said something wrong. But Matthew 22, verse 15. Matthew 22, verse 15, all right? So you are the chosen, and we're few. There's very few people that have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, but verse 15. Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle Him in His talk, and they sent out unto Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying... So the Pharisees, instead of themselves coming to face Christ, they sent their disciples, okay? They're too afraid to confront Christ themselves. They sent people that are following after them, and saying, We know that they are true, and do you believe they say they mean this? Do you think they're saying this with a true heart? No, they don't believe in Christ. But they say we know that they are true, and teach us the way of God and truth. Neither carest thou for any man, for thou regardest not the person of men. So they're saying, look, you're not going to respect no persons. You'll speak the truth. You don't care who you offend, you know, you're going to speak the truth. We know this. Now, that is true about Christ, that is true. But obviously, these guys did not believe that, okay? But they're saying that because they're trying to find Christ in their fault. And then verse number 17, what's the question? Tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? Okay, so is it lawful to basically pay your taxes? You know, as Israelites, as people that are so-called the children of God, is it right for us to pay our taxes? What do you think? I mean, what are your thoughts? Do you think it's right for them to pay our taxes? This isn't a simple question. It's not just, should we pay our taxes? Okay, so that's not the question. Look how they said it, verse number 17, is it lawful? Okay, is it lawful? Now, let me just take you to Matthew 12, please. Keep your finger there once again. Turn to Matthew 12, Matthew 12. So I want to show you, what does this mean, is it lawful? Okay, Matthew 12, verse 2. Look at this. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the seventh day. So you see how the seventh day has something to do with what is lawful or not lawful? Verse number 4, how he entered into the house of God and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priest. I'm not going into the detail here. I just want to show you. I'm not going into the detail here. I just want to show you how often they talk about things that are lawful or not lawful, okay? So this lawful has something to do with the temple of God here. Look at verse number 10, got that down to verse number 12, verse 10. Matthew 12, verse 10. And behold, there was a man which had his hand withered, and they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the seventh day that they might accuse him? So is it lawful to heal again on the seventh day? There's something about law and healing on the seventh day, you know? And verse number 12, how much then is a man better than a sheep, wherefore it is lawful to do well on the seventh day? Okay? Then go back to Matthew chapter 22 now. I just want to show you that, a few references there. So when they're asking the question, Is it lawful, not to say, Is it okay? They're saying, they're talking about the laws of Moses. They're talking about the laws of Moses, right? They're saying, According to the law of Moses, should we give money to Caesar? Should we give our tribute money to Caesar? It's not just, Is it okay? Hey, what did Moses have to say about it in the rule? That's what they're asking, okay? Now you can understand why this is a much more complicated, tricky question, okay? Because, do you think Moses ever wrote that the Israelites should give their money to a foreign nation? That they should give their money to a overpowering, conquering nation that has come over them? Of course not. When Moses wrote the law, his expectation is that the law of God would be their God. His expectation is that Israel would be blessed by God, that they would be in Israel, that they would be the powerhouse in Israel, that they would have their enemies under subjection. He's not writing the law of God about having a conquering nation over Israel, okay? So you can see the question, In our according to the law of Moses, should we pay our taxes? Well, no, because Moses doesn't write about it, okay? But here's the thing, if Jesus says no, what's going to happen? He's going to get arrested by those Roman soldiers and whatever, you know? It won't play out, his crucifixion, his death, his trials will not be played out the way God intended it to be played out. So you can see why it's a tricky question, okay? Because if he answered correctly, or clearly I should say, then he'd be in trouble with the government. Now this should show you that Christ also does acknowledge foreign government, okay? He does acknowledge foreign government. There are some Christians that feel we should have no government. There are some Christians that feel that really it's between me and God, there should be no other institution over me. Be not God or their government, even the ungodly governments, you know? And God will often use the ungodly nations as a chastisement against the people of Israel, you know, to bring them under subjection, to bring them in bondage, and God will use the governments of that time, okay? So let's see how Christ responds to this. Let's go back to Matthew 22, verse 18. So it's not an innocent question from that point, okay? And then when you get to verse 18, you see this, But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt me, ye hypocrites? That's why Christ responds that way, okay? You're a hypocrite, why are you asking me these questions? But then, of course, Christ as God was smart, verse 19, He goes, Show me the tribute money, and they brought unto him a penny. And he said unto them, Whose is the image and subscription? So who's on that point? So all the altcoins, who's on it? It's Queen Elizabeth, right? The second, right? Third light, you could use altcoins, for example, alright? You know, whose is this image and subscription? They said unto him, Seize us. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. So smart. So smart. Because Moses did not write about Caesar's money in the law of Moses, alright? So, Jesus, Lord Jesus, if Caesar wants his shiny medal, if Caesar wants the money with his face on it, give it to Caesar. But everything else, give it to God. You know, God wants everything else from you. You give to God the greater portion, you give God to the things that he's asking for you, and if Caesar wants that shiny medal, then give it to him as well. You know, so he does, he's very smart, of course, Jesus Christ, you know, the Lord God, but he knows how to get out of these tricky situations. And verse number 22. So, my point is, it's fine for us to pay our taxes. And I believe we should pay our taxes. Whether they're fair or not, you know, that's another question. But, you know, give them the medal. When it's got Queen Elizabeth's face on it, she can have it, if she wants it, okay? Okay, but give everything else to God, alright? Verse number 22. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way. The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection and arson. So this group, this new religious group comes up to me now, challenging him, and it says these guys, they're in verse 23, they say there is no resurrection, okay? So they don't believe in the afterlife. They don't believe that you're going to get a resurrected body, you know, anything like that. Which actually makes you realise when they ask this question, how foolish they are. Because they don't believe in the resurrection. But then they ask a question about the resurrection, you know? Do you think they want a true answer from Jesus? They don't believe. Whatever Jesus answers, they're not going to believe. They don't believe in the resurrection. And, you know, we should be careful. You know, I get a lot of phone calls by weirdos. I get weird phone calls asking me weird questions. And I need to make judgement. I'm not the best at this. You know, I try to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. But I'm starting to realise, when it's really weird, this person's probably trying to find me in a false. Trying to find me, and I say something wrong, or take something that I said, and I misapply it to something else, you know, find fault in me. And they're not looking for an answer. These sadists are not looking for an answer. But of course, because they're in the temple with people, you know, Christ responds, because there's other people there, they can learn from his teachings. And verse number 24, what do they ask him? Saying, Master, Moses said, if a man die having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. So that's true. The Old Testament law, if you took a wife, and you died before she could fall pregnant, then the law was that she would be given to his brother, so his brother could raise seed for that woman. Okay? So that's true. That's what Moses wrote. And then verse 25, now there were with us seven brethren, and the first when we had married a wife, deceased, and having no issue, left his wife unto his brother. So, this is being played out. Likewise, the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. So just totally ridiculous. And it's one thing for a brother to, one to die, and then the wife's given to that brother. Maybe that second brother could die, and then it's given to the third brother. But then, like, seven of them. It happens seven times, right? Her seven brothers die, die, die, die. Stupid questions, ridiculous questions. You know? And then it says here, verse number 27, and last of all, the woman died also. They all died, right? Verse 28. Therefore, in the resurrection, did they believe the resurrection? No. Do they have an answer? No. They're just trying to, they're trying to mock him. They're trying to mock, you know, the teachings of Christ. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven, for they all had her. Okay? So, what's the answer? Verse number 29, Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye doer. You're wrong. You're stupid. You're making an error. He says, right? Not in the scriptures. Again, these are religious leaders. This is the religious sect. They know the word of God pretty well. Well, they should know it. They're meant to be teaching from it. Because you don't even know the scriptures. Know the power of God. Why? Because the resurrection is the power of God. If they deny the resurrection, they deny the power of God. Verse number 30. For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. So, just a lesson for you guys. I know, you know, when you fall in love and you get married, you might say, you know, I'll be your partner for all eternity. I'll love you. You know, or something like that. But you know what? Once you die, you're no longer married. Okay? Once your partner passes away, you know, the power of the marriage is no longer in place. You know, you're now free. You know, it's death until death do us part. Okay? So, marriage is something for this life. If you're married, let me just say now, enjoy it. Okay? Because in the afterlife, in the resurrection, you're not going to be given into marriage. Okay? So, there's no marriage in heaven. The other thing we learned here is that the angels in heaven are also not given into marriage. Okay? That's not so important right now, but it is important for some other doctrines because there are some weird doctrines out there that say that angels can marry women and create giants. I won't go into all that right now. I really thought of that fact in Queensland no longer. Okay? But the angels here are not given into marriage. Okay? Verse number 31. Verse 31. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read which was spoken unto you by God, saying... Now, these words that were spoken to you by God, God was speaking to Moses through the burning bush. This is when he said these things to Moses. He goes, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Okay? So when God said these words to Moses, of course Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had passed away long ago. You know, hundreds of years ago they had passed away before these words were said to Moses. And God said, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. When God spoke with his men, he spoke as though they were there. Okay? Because they were alive. Yes, they had passed away, but hey, they were still living because they were believers, because they had faith in the God of Israel. And keep your finger there and turn to John chapter 8, please. John chapter 8, verse 56. John chapter 8, verse 56. John chapter 8, verse 56. This is another time that Jesus Christ is speaking to the Jews, and he says to the Jews in verse 56, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Okay, so Abraham from thousands of years ago, he sees the day of Christ and is rejoicing. He's glad. Abraham's alive. He's alive right there during the day of Christ. Okay? Now go forward a few chapters. John chapter 11, please. John chapter 11, verse 25. And this is a beautiful promise. If you've got the wedding garment, if you've got the garment of salvation, in John chapter 11, verse 25, Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were yet dead, yet shall he live. And whoso that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth now this. What beautiful words. And if you're a believer of Christ, you will never die. I mean, you might, this whole flesh will die. That's fine. God's going to give you a new body anyway in the future. This whole flesh will die, but you will never die. If you will be with God forever, you will be there. You know, God can say, I'm the God of Kevin. I'm the God of Tim. You know, I'm the God of Luke. I'm the God of the name of self. Because you're alive, living even though you had passed away. There's a beautiful promise we have from God. You know, if we have loved ones, we have family, we have friends that know Christ, that are believers of Christ, that are saved. If they've gone on before us, hey, we're going to see them again. They're still alive. They're still alive. All right? So, that's what Jesus Christ is saying. Hey, they're still there. All right? These guys, and by the way, that passage, Jesus said, I am the resurrection. And remember, the Sadducees were denying the resurrection. So these were definitely not believers of Christ. Now, please go back to Matthew 22, verse 33. Matthew 22, verse 33. Matthew 22, verse 33. And when the most should heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. I can't believe it. The way Christ preached, right? Now, I want you to notice, what were they astonished at? Were they astonished at, you know, Christ telling jokes? Were they astonished at his, you know, marvelous stories? You know, marvelous illustrations? Were they astonished at his, at his, you know, great speech? You know, his power of the tongue? Is that what they were astonished at? Well, it says here, they were astonished at his doctrine. Okay? Now, let me encourage you guys, Weber gets behind this footprint, or this kitchen, whatever you want to call it, but gets behind the footprint, teaching the Word of God, okay? When you have the people and you're teaching the Word of God, what is it that you need to teach them? You've got to teach them doctrine, okay? You've got to teach them doctrine. Churches today have done away with doctrine, okay? They've done away with doctrine. They bring the entertainment. They make a music festival, right? They bring up the girls with the short skirts to entertain the men. They turn on the lights. You know, they have the rock band. That's what they've done. And they have the fancy stories. You know, they have the fancy illustrations. They have the fancy preachers, you know. And, of course, you know, non-believers are going to be astonished at that kind of stuff. They want to come to those things, but I want you to tell me, look, as a preacher, just open the Word of God and teach doctrine, okay? That's what Jesus Christ did. That's what you should do if you ever have the opportunity to preach in this church. All right, verse number 34. Verse number 34. And when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, I mean, he may have shut up, but he just totally silenced them. They were gathered together. And one of them was a lawyer asking a question, Tethny. So, again, just trying to find fault. The son's a lawyer. This guy is someone that knows the law very well. He's a judge in the nation of Israel. He's asking, he's saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Verse number 37, Jesus said, and this is great, this is great. This is for all of us. I know we still talk to non-believers, but this is great teaching for us. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. You know, can you tell me, honestly, can you tell, yep, you know, Pastor Kev, you know, I love God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind. You know, you know, my mind, I'm just constantly there, just wanting to know the Lord, constantly just wanting to read my Bible, to know more of the Lord, or is your mind mostly on the world's entertainment? You know, is it mostly on Hollywood movies? Is it mostly on, you know, the songs of this world, and, you know, the politics of this world, and all this junk that really is going to get burnt up anyway, these things that have no eternal value. What's your mind on? You know, you're loving the Lord with your mind, with your heart, with your soul. Jesus calls this the great commandment, it's the greatest one you keep, okay? And then verse number 38, sorry, that was verse 38, verse 39, And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. And look at this, he says in verse 140, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Man, this is a big book, alright? Read the Old Testament, look at all the commandments you see in the Old Testament, there's a lot of commandments in the New Testament, it's a big book, alright? But Jesus Christ is able to summarize these two commandments. Love the God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbour as thyself, okay? If you're able to do this perfectly, you're able to keep all the laws of God perfectly, you're not going to break any of them. I mean, that's a good challenge. Start there, start by trying to keep those two commandments, okay? Instead of warrant every little detail of the law, you keep those two fine, you're going to be able to do it, okay? Now, one of the things that might come up is, you know, I don't love myself very much, in fact, I hate myself. Am I then to, how am I supposed to love my neighbour then? Well, love doesn't say hate your neighbour as you hate yourself. Whatever love you have for yourself, I mean, you got up, right? You brushed your teeth, you know? You had breakfast, you fed that body, I mean, there's something that you love about yourself, you may not realise, but the fact that you look after yourself, you feed yourself, you have a shower, hey, it shows that you love yourself, you do love your body, and that's fine, that's good. God has given you your body, God gave the body to the temple of the Holy Ghost, okay? That's where the Holy Ghost wants to reside. Your body, God wants to use your body, you know, if you destroy your body, God's not going to use you in the same way that he would if you, you know, if you maintain a strong and healthy life, God will be able to use you in a great way, you know? We all love ourselves to some extent, you know, whether you want to admit it or not, you do. Okay, and God says, look, just love your neighbour as yourself, okay? And verse number 41, verse number 41, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, now he's asking them a question. They've had plenty of questions to ask him, now it's my turn to ask you a question. And then verse 41, verse 42, saying, what think ye of Christ? Now, of course, we know that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus Christ, we know that, right? When he's saying, what think ye of Christ, he's not asking them, what do you think of me? Because they don't believe in him, they don't believe he's a Messiah, they don't believe he's a Christ, okay? But of course, they do believe in Christ. Now, even the Jews today, Judaism, they do believe in a Messiah, they do believe there is a Christ still coming, okay? But if you know about the Christ that they believe in, it's not the Son of God, it's not God manifesting the flesh, they believe in a Christ that's just going to be a great powerful leader, a great warrior, which probably resembles the beast, the Antichrist, more like more than anything else, okay? But that's the Christ they're looking for, alright? Because Jesus asks, what do you think of the Messiah? What do you think of the Christ? And he says, whose son is he? Whose son is he? They said unto him, the Son of David. Now, that's correct, Jesus Christ, and the Christ is the Son of David. But then in verse 43, he's saying unto them, how then doth David in spirit, calling the Lord, saying, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit down on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then called him Lord, how is he his son? And Jesus is not saying he's not the Son of David, he definitely was, the scripture confirms for us that he is the Son of David, but he's more than the Son of David. And Jesus said, hey, whose son is he? We know of course he's the Son of God, okay? But keep your finger there once again and turn to Psalm 110, please. Psalm 110, because this is where Christ is quoting the scripture from. Psalm 110, just look at this, you may not have picked this up, okay? Verse number 1, the Lord said unto, well, if your Bible says, your proper Bible probably says the Son of David, okay? And they were correct in saying they were correct in saying that this is speaking of the Son of David, okay? But then what does David, King David say about his son? He says here, the Lord said unto my Lord, till the Lord Jehovah, Lord God Almighty, said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool, okay? So Jesus then asked the question, if David then called him Lord, how is he his son? You see, David is calling his son in the flesh which would become Jesus Christ, he calls him his Lord, okay? Because of course, Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, you know, Jesus Christ is God, he is the Son of God, come into this world, and King David knew this, as he wrote down the psalm, he knew that the son that would come from his loins would be his Lord, would be his Savior, okay? And so what is Christ saying in here? He's telling them I'm God. He's telling them I'm the Son of God. I'm God manifest in the flesh. He's telling them something that has gone over their heads. You know, they think Christ is just a man, the Messiah, the Messiah is just going to be a man, you know, just a powerful warrior. Jesus says hey, not just a powerful warrior, but God himself. God himself, your Lord is here, you know? And this is probably, because Jesus doesn't really go into it, but of course, they've got their vibes, they've got their answers in the scriptures. And when you look at Psalm 110, drop down to verse number 5, what does this rule do that we spoke about here in verse number 5? It says, the Lord at thy right hand, so remember Christ will be at the right hand of the Lord. So the son, the Lord at the right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen. He shall fill the places with the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads of the many countries. You know, he's still Christ's coming humility right on the throne. Hey, I want to accept Christ in that sleep right now as the Lamb of God. I don't want to face him, rejecting him, when he comes and this guy that wounds the heads of his enemies, that fills the places with their bodies, God's going to come back one day, Christ's going to come back one day in his wrath. In his wrath. How do you want to face Christ? I want to take the Lamb of God who's taken away the sin of the world. You know, I don't want to be coming in and taking on the wrath of God or myself. That's why you've got to have the right garment. You've got to have salvation today. And of course, if you look at verse number 1 again just quickly, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit down at my right hand until I make thine enemies like a footstool. So one day, all the enemies of Christ will be under him. You know, under his dominion, under his feet as a Lord. You had victory over his enemies. So of course, Jesus Christ experienced Psalm 110 to prove a couple of things. That his God, is the God of danger. If they don't accept him, if they reject him, he's going to come back and pour out his wrath on the non-believers. And that's how at the beginning we saw that they were cast into out of darkness, you know, hand and foot. So back to Matthew 22, just the last verse. Matthew 22 verse 46. Matthew 22 verse 46. And no man was able to answer him a word. Neither does any man from that day for ask him any more questions. They were done. They tried their best to trap him and you know, Christ put the fear of God into them. Hey, you know, except me, I'm going to destroy you basically from Psalm 110. All right, let's leave it there and pray.