Matthew 22:1-14

Click Here to read Matthew 21:33-46.

• What one word or idea stood out to you and why?
• What do you think Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom of God/Heaven?
• What if you went around to your friends with two free tickets to Disneyland? What would they say?
• What if they gave some of these replies…
  • I’m busy.
  • I need to get back to work.
  • There is no Disneyland.
  • The tickets are fake.
  • Maybe later.
  • It will be too big of a hassle.
  • You’re trying to fool me.
  • Yes! Are you kidding me? Yes! Yes! Yes! 
• Who do you know that has not accepted Jesus yet?
• Why don’t you think they have accepted Jesus yet?
• How can you help them accept that Jesus is real and offers them something better than even Disneyland?

Sadly, there are a lot of people who will not be going to heaven for a bunch of silly reasons. There is a story in the Bible where God’s people, the Israelites, were complaining a lot to God. I mean a lot. God saved them from slavery and very hard labor but they just kept complaining. So God sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites. However, God let a guy named Moses make a special bronze sculpture of a snake and he put it on the end of a staff. God said if anyone is bit by a snake they only need to look at the bronze snake sculpture and they will be healed. They will not die. 

How silly would you need to be to not look at the bronze sculpture? All they needed to do is look at it and they were healed. Can you imagine someone saying “I don’t believe it will heal me, so I won’t look.” “I’m too busy to look.” “Maybe I won’t die from the bite.” All of those excuses would seem silly. Yet, people make just as many silly excuses not to look to Jesus to be saved. All they need to do is look to Him and believe He will heal them of their sin. All they need to do is accept the wedding invitation and they get to party forever!