Introduction: How do you understand the word, “love?” In the
West many people have lost all understanding of the words
“love” and “hate.” When you were dating, did you wonder
whether you were in love? After being married for over fifty
years, I know I love my wife! The title of our lesson, “God
Loves Freely,” describes the love of God. Seeing God’s love
in the Old Testament is sometimes difficult. This week we
look at both a New Testament and Old Testament discussion of
God’s love. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and see,
in different contexts, how God loves us!
I. The Invitation
A. Read Matthew 22:2-4. Do you think this king loved
his son?
1. Did he love those who he invited to the
wedding feast? (Since this is the king, he
would have little reason to invite people who
would make the king seem more important. He
must have invited people he wanted to invite.
Or had business reasons to invite.)
B. Read Matthew 22:5-6. Did those invited to the
wedding feast love the king? (They either loved
their work more, or they hated the king because
they killed the king’s messengers.)
1. Did the king misunderstand the people he
invited?
C. Read Matthew 22:7. Does the king now love those who
spurned his invitation? (The king not only killed
them, he destroyed their city. That does not seem
to be love.)
D. Read Matthew 22:8-10. Does the king love the second
group that is now being invited to the wedding
feast? (No. He does not even know them. These are
blind invitations.)
1. Why would the king invite people he does not
even know, much less not love? (The king wants
a celebration, and he is willing to accept
those who are willing to accept his
invitation.)
E. Read Matthew 22:11. Let’s look at this in two
parts. First, we are told that the king came to
“look” at the guests, not eat with them. What do
you think that means? (The king was looking out for
the welfare of his guests. Are they enjoying the
wedding feast?)
1. Second, the king notices a man without a
wedding garment. Did this fellow fail to wear
his tuxedo? (The garments must have been
provided by the king because the guests were
gathered “from the roads.” They had no idea
when they started the day they were going to a
royal wedding.)
a. If the king supplied the wedding garment,
what does that tell you about this man?
(He either thought his clothes were good
enough, or he didn’t care about the
wedding.)
F. Read Matthew 22:12. Why is this man speechless? (He
must think that his clothes are good enough. He
certainly would not have failed to notice that
everyone else was wearing a supplied wedding
garment.)
G. Read Matthew 22:13. Is this man killed? (The text
does not say, but he is bound and thrown into a
dark, terrible place.)
H. Jesus’ story is an explanation for the future
destruction of Jerusalem. But it is more. Let’s see
if we can understand the point about “the kingdom
of heaven” (Matthew 22:2). Is there any similarity
between the Matthew 22:5 invitees who “paid no
attention,” and the man without a wedding garment?
(If the fellow cast into outer darkness was paying
attention, he thought he had no need to wear the
garment. The invitees who failed to show thought
they had no need to go.)
1. So what is similar about them? (They place a
low priority on pleasing the king.)
2. Is this about behavior? (Matthew 22:10 reports
that the typical behavior norms, good and bad,
were not a criteria for being invited to the
wedding.)
3. What are the qualifications for being a proper
wedding guest, meaning a proper member of the
kingdom of heaven? (First, responding
positively to the invitation. Second, putting
on the wedding garment provided by the king.)
I. What do we learn about God’s love from this story?
Let’s see if we can sort this out.
1. Does the king love everyone? Does he love
“freely?” (If receiving an invitation reflects
some level of love, then the answer is,
“Yes.”)
2. What does a person do to break the love
connection with the king? What makes them
“unworthy” (Matthew 22:8) of his love?
(Ignoring him. Those outside the kingdom
either ignored (or actively fought) the
invitation or ignored the wedding garment.)
II. The Wilderness
A. Read Exodus 33:1-3. God tells Moses that it is time
for Him to fulfill His promise to Abraham. Moses
will lead God’s people from Egypt to Canaan. Who
will not be making the trip? (God will not be
making the trip.)
1. Why not? (The people have an attitude of
rebellion against God, and God might kill
them.)
B. Read Exodus 32:10-12. Moses wants to know why God
is not going with them. What is the basis for God
saying that the people are rebels and He might kill
them? (Read Exodus 32:8. The people made a golden
calf and said this thing they made brought them out
of Egyptian slavery!)
C. Read Exodus 33:15. What is Moses’ reaction to God’s
statement that He will skip this trip for the
safety of the people? (Moses says that if God is
not going, they should not make the trip.)
D. Read Exodus 33:16-17. What reasons does Moses give
for God coming along on the trip?
1. Do they cause God to decide to come? (Yes.)
E. Read Exodus 33:18-19. What is God’s standard for
showing mercy and grace? (He decides who will
receive mercy and grace.)
1. I read a comment on this story that said it
exemplifies, “God Himself loves each person,
and He does so freely.” Is that how you
interpret this? God warns, “If I go with you I
might kill you.” God says “I will show mercy
and grace to whoever I decide.” That is loving
freely?
F. Let’s read a verse we skipped: Exodus 33:14. What
provides humans with rest? (God’s presence.)
1. If you feel at peace, is that a feeling of
being loved?
2. Just to show we don’t have short-term memory
loss, didn’t God just say (Exodus 33:3) if I
go with you I might kill you? Is that a
presence that gives rest?
3. What is the key that unlocks this mystery? (If
you rest in God, if you rely on God, and do
not rebel against Him, you have peace.)
G. Read Matthew 11:29-30. Do rebels wear yokes very
well? (No. God’s yoke lifts the burdens of life
from us. But this requires us to accept Him and not
rebel against Him.)
1. Do you think the conversation in Exodus 33
that we have been discussing is consistent
with the story we studied in Matthew 22? (In
both cases the people who accepted God’s
invitation and complied with His program were
the object of His love. They did not have to
work or earn His love, they simply had to
choose His way.)
III. The Cross
A. Read John 10:7. Consistent with our discussion in
the prior two sections, how is Jesus “the door” to
salvation and peace? (A door is a great
illustration because a person decides to open and
pass through a door to enter a new space.)
B. Read John 10:14-18. What has Jesus done to give us
access to eternal life? (He died on our behalf to
give us access to eternal life with Him.)
C. We started out with God showing lethal force
against those who rebelled against Him and we ended
with God dying to save those who allied with Him.
How is this consistent? How can both of these be
true? (Jesus showed the danger of sin. How we would
be if Satan were in charge. Jesus freely saves and
loves those who choose Him and His program.)
D. Friend, are you a rebel? Why not repent right now
and accept God’s freely offered salvation? God’s
yoke is easy and His burden is light.
IV. Next week: Covenantal Love.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
