The king was heartbroken. How could they not come when he had already prepared everything for a grand celebration? There was much food for the reception - what would be done with it? Perhaps, believing that the first set of servants might not have been persuasive enough, he sent yet another set of servants; but, this time, the specially invited guests treated them badly and even murdered them. Word got back to the king, who was furious. He realized that those invited guests were unworthy of his invitation. In retaliation, he then sent his armies who destroyed all those murderers.

The King came in before the actual wedding to see if all was ready for the ceremony to begin. That’s when he saw the man unfittingly dressed. This is a royal wedding and all under the King’s control must be in order. What’s with this wedding garment – why was it so important?

Many, whom others thought would not make it, will be saved. They would have sincerely prayed the Publican’s prayer, believed like the Centurion, and reached out to Jesus like the thief on the cross. They touched the hem of His garment and were made whole. They accepted the wedding garment of Jesus’ righteousness so their sins were all covered. Yes, though stained by the blight of sin, they made sure that a corresponding credit of pardon was written beside their deeds. They humbled themselves and allowed Jesus to work His transforming power in their lives.

Like the process of physical immunization, in the spiritual realm, we needed an immunogen. God in His wisdom knew that the only way we would survive is to have this needed vaccination. He sent Jesus to be our immunogen. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. Praise the Lord! The immunization process is complete. But God did even more.

As I reflected on this story and the setting, I found myself thinking about supper time in Heaven. I seemed to be thinking about Heaven more and more these days and my constant prayer is to be ready to go. I am not afraid to die. I just want to be ready to meet my Savior in peace. And so, I gladly answer His call to come home. Supper time with Jesus in Heaven is almost here. It’s suspended in space between two verses in Revelation. But any day now, supper will be served.

It’s one thing to have a death threat hanging over your head by the government or anyone else. But a death threat from within the body of believers is frightening. Such was Lazarus’ experience. He was the next best choice since he was responsible for many Jews believing in Jesus. In Jamaican Creole we say: “If yu kian catch quako yu catch im shut”, meaning if you are unable to get to the person you need, you will take the next best. Since Jesus was proving to be so ‘slippery’ to their grasp, they would take Lazarus instead and make him a public example of what will happen to all who believe in Jesus. Imagine that, the leaders of the Church, who are appointed to be the intercessors between God and man on Earth, planning to murder?

Jesus had worked among them for three years, and still many hearts did not believe. Raising Lazarus from the dead wasn’t the only time Jesus raised someone from the dead. He had raised the widow’s son, didn’t He? Yet, it’s not recorded that the Jews sought proof of this miracle. Jesus’ work was littered with many evidences of whom He said He was; but still, many did not believe. Would seeing Lazarus awaken their belief in Jesus? Well, it did for some.

Most importantly, we should commit our ways to God and allow Him to lead and direct our lives. For all encounters, pleasant and unpleasant ones, let’s ask ourselves the question: What would Jesus do? How would He handle the matter? We can be assured that we will receive an immediate answer. Listen for the response because His promise is certain:

There isn't a child of God who does not face challenges, impossible situation from time to time. For some, it is a daily experience - sometimes a continuous challenge. We've prayed, put our faith into action, prayed some more but still nothing happened. We've asked, seek, knock: but still nothing is happening - or so it seems. Like this father, we know Jesus can help, but we sometimes wondered, would He?

Like many others, King Saul’s story could have ended differently. Their legacy of obedience could have lived on down through generations. Instead, they made themselves into clowns. Do not make the same mistake King Saul, and others, have made. Do not be a clown. The wisest man found out late (better to be late than never) that it is better to fear God and give Him glory because everything would be revealed in the judgment. All cases are being decided now. What will the judgment reveal about your life and mine?