The abandonment of the chosen people of Isreal

Matthew 22:1-14 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, (2) The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, (3) And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. (4) Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. (5) But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:…”

A sad picture because it showed that the called ones, the chosen ones are the very ones who would choose to follow their own desires and ignore the Word of the Creator. Those who had been given all the talents that they needed to grasp His Word would be the very ones to ignore this Word. There is nothing more tragic in its manifestations. Of what use then was all the preparations, all the talents and gifts bestowed on these people if they were not going to use them.

In spite of the very many attempts by God to help us by sending teachers we never changed, but as usual persecuted these teachers. In this case those who were invited were the called people of Israel who rejected, persecuted the prophets and servants of the Lord. In the end their cities was ravaged and destroyed as a consequence and the Word of God was given to other peoples (the people in the highway in this parable).

Again the fate to befall those who dared to act in this way was revealed. It is inconceivable to expect that God, after the murder of His Son would not mete out justice to those who were responsible. He will mete out the most severe justice against these people who dared not only to ignore His Word but went so far as to allow themselves to be used as tools for the execution of the Son of God.

As indicated by this parable, these people will be destroyed and others who hitherto had been deemed unworthy will be given the Kingdom. The emphasis of Jesus on this very event through the telling of many parables about it shows the importance of this. There is to be no loving forgiveness for the wicked. They will receive exactly what they have sown. The fact that Jesus used different words to essentially paint the same picture showed His attempt to impress this on His disciples.

Many called ones were given the opportunity to work but few when the time came made themselves available for duty. Many had in the meantime forgotten their duties or got involved in so many earthly material pursuits that they could not rouse the inner spiritual strength necessary for the fulfillment of their promised duties. The few that are chosen are the few who have preserved themselves and were able to hear the call when it came. They were the ones who presented themselves for duty.

The phrase “many are called few are chosen” does not mean that God arbitrarily chooses but that the choosing here is done by human beings themselves through their ability to hear the call of the Lord and answer it. After all they gave the promise that they would fulfill their duties when the time comes. It was therefore their duty to listen for this call. Those who answered for their duties are therefore the ones who through the inflexible Laws of God had chosen themselves as ready for duty. Nothing more. No injustice is possible here. Human beings receive exactly what they put into Creation in relation to the efforts that they are willing to put into their own development. It is therefore wrong to think that God would arbitrarily choose some human beings and ignore others even if these were ready to serve Him and had been previously called by Him.