What the Kingdom of Heaven Isn’t Like

Every once in a while we come across terrible stories in Scripture. Matthew 22:1-14 is one such story. Jesus tells a story about a wedding banquet that went awry and of a King who has hardened his heart with violence and expulsion. All too often, we hear traumatic stories of humans causing tremendous violence. In this episode Pastor John visits this hard to stomach passage from Matthew’s Gospel and does so against the recent terrorist attack by Hamas and the unfolding response by Israel, the consequences yet to be known, will affect us for decades to come. Referenced in this episode is the outstanding article by Debie Thomas “The God Who Isn’t” on this text from Matthew’s Gospel. Other references include: Jurgen Moltmann “Who is God for You?” and Ezra Klein’s podcast “Israel is Giving Hamas What it Wants.” .  Music by Nate Strasser with guest Shoshana Kelner singing Shir Lamaalot (Psalm 121).