Will all disciple 'candidates' be selected?


At "Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a king
who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been
invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

'Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared
my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready.
Come to the wedding banquet.'

'But they paid no attention and went off - one to his field, another to his business. The rest
seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged.
He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

'Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did
not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone
you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people
they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

'But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing
wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?'
The man was speechless.

'Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot and throw him outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.'

'For many are invited, but few are chosen.' " - Matthew 22: 1 - 14

This parable from Jesus concerning the nature of the kingdom of heaven, on the surface, appears brutal.
 And, in its own right, it is. It was not Jesus' intention to glibly describe the kingdom of heaven to those who
 were being instructed. He had to penetrate centuries of misunderstanding created in the minds of the
 Jewish people by the priests and scribes. What is taking place here is Jesus' transitioning the
Jewish concept of the kingdom of heaven over to the new idea of the
Kingdom of God.

 The king is God; his son the bridegroom is Jesus, and the servants who were sent to invite wedding guests were the
 Prophets of the Old Testament. Records tell that when many prophets went forth with God's invitation,
 they were either ostracized or killed. In Jesus' earthly time, the main prophet was John the Baptist, who ended
 up being killed by King Herod. When the Jews rejected the Baptist's invitation to attend Jesus' wedding banquet -
the wedding being Jesus unifying with his coming church on earth - the invitation to attend was then thrown
 open to non-Jews: Greeks, Samaritans, Romans, and other nationalities.

 Yet, when one of the guests appeared at the banquet, the ultimate social sin was committed:
By not dressing for the occasion, the lack of respect for the King's office, and his son, was demonstrated.

 Where this parable sends home its stinging message is contained in the King's final words:
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."

 Who is to be chosen? Does this warning apply to all who hear the Word of God and confess that Jesus
 is their Lord and Savior? Or, is there a hidden message here that's being directed solely at Jesus' disciples?
 I believe it to be the latter.

 A process of transformation was taking place within the twelve men Jesus had personally selected
 to be his disciples. It must be remembered that Jesus did not at first select hundreds of disciples, nor
 thousands, but only a select group of men that numbered twelve. The 'Twelve' represented the rebirth of the
twelve tribes of Israel. To be candid about matters, the twelve had to be taught
- and come to know - who was Lord and Master. As Scripture tells us, many times
 members of the twelve objected to Christ's instructions, his prophesies, his orders, and often failed
 to grasp the meaning of their Master's teachings and the reason for his mission on earth.
 This process of teaching, comprehension, and germination of faith in believing the truth of what Jesus was
 proclaiming was a disciplining - hence, the word 'disciple'. The Greek word for disciple is mathatas  (mathatas).
The discipline instilled within the twelve resulted in absolute faith in Jesus within each of the disciples,
save one, Judas, the one who made the 'Or' decision.
The disciples had to be taught respect for God the Father, and respect for God the Son.
 They had to learn the meaning of service to their fellow human being, and they had to be motivated
 to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the world, and to do so without mortal fear.
 Mainly, the disciples had to be brought to that point where they fully believed in and trusted the Gospel of Jesus.
Only with that confidence embedded within their spirit and soul could the Twelve go forth.
 This disciplining process took about three and one-half years, and even then, it was not until the disciples were
baptized with the Holy Spirit fifty days after Jesus' resurrection did they fully comprehend his message.

 Understand that a true disciple of Christ is a Spirit-driven person, and as such recognizes authority
 from the Master. The Great Commission that Jesus gave to the twelve apostles, and to all who follow
 them in the role of disciple, was to go into the world and preach the Gospel of Christ's Salvation.
 Until that mission is fully carried out, Christ's disciples will be gainfully employed.

 Therefore, the question to be asked of every Christian is, are you up to it to become a
 disciple of Christ's? Are you willing to make the personal sacrifice - a sacrifice where you accept the Christ,
 and at the same time kill off your self-centeredness, your greed and lusting, and humble yourself
 before the Throne of God to take up your own personal cross and follow Jesus' orders?
 Are you willing, in the name of Christ, to compel yourself into the service of your fellow human?
 No one said Christian discipleship was going to be easy.

 For those who are curious as to the difference between a disciple and an apostle, it is this:
 Apostles started out as disciples (followers-students) of Christ. They were hand-picked by Jesus and
 were in the company of the physical Christ. Even Paul, the last apostle, came into the presence of
 Jesus. Disciples, however, are believers in and followers of, Jesus and have been brought to that status
 either by hearing or reading Jesus' words, have unshakable faith that the Word is the Truth,
  and, as the original disciple-apostles, are ready to carry out Christ's orders to promulgate his Gospel.

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 ©Copyright 2009 Donald Neal McKay - The MISSION DISCIPLESHIP