What does Jesus say was the reaction of the king in the parable to those who refused his invitation and shamefully treated his servants who were calling them?  See Mat 22:7.  What is the great danger of inciting a king, and especially the Lord God who is King, to anger?  Cf. Est 7:7-10, Pro 16:14, 19:12, 20:2, Dan 3:19-22, Mat 18:34, Luk 12:4-5, Rev 14:19-20, 16:1.  What does the parable call those against whom he was enraged?  See Mat 22:7.  Were those who took counsel to destroy Jesus (see Luk 19:47) any less guilty of murder than Barabbas even though they supposed they were exercising their governmental authority?  Cf. Act 3:14, 7:52.  Are those who shamefully mistreat or speak evil of the King’s servants any less guilty of murder and its consequences than those who would literally put them to death?  See Mat 5:21-22.  What does the parable say the king did to those murderers, and why is it significant?  Cf. Gal 6:7, Rev 16:4-7.  Although the religious leaders succeeded in putting Jesus to death, does that mean that they were able to destroy Him as they had sought to do?  What does this help us understand about what it means Biblically to destroy someone?  Does it mean simply to deprive them of their physical life, or rather to make their life an utter ruin that cannot be undone?  So when the parable says the king “destroyed those murderers”, which we understand to be in reference to the religious leaders who had sought to destroy Jesus, are we to understand this to mean that their physical lives simply came to an end, or that their lives were made an utter ruin that could not be undone?  By an utter ruin that could not be undone, are we to understand that they were simply annihilated and ceased to exist altogether, or that they were irrevocably given over to the just consequences of their life choices which can only result in endless misery?  See Mat 25:46, Mar 9:47-48, Luk 16:23-24, Rev 14:9-11.  What warning on the one hand should this understanding give those who would oppose God’s messengers, and what encouragement on the other hand to those whom He sends to call sinners to repentance and to eat at His table in regard to the persecution they are sure to face (2Ti 3:12)?  See Mat 10:28 and its context.

What city is referred to in the parable that the king had set on fire?  Did that prophetic allusion come true?  Who does the parable say that the king sent to destroy those murderers and set their city on fire?  What armies do we know from history destroyed the Jewish leaders and burned Jerusalem?  So what does this parable teach us about to whom the Roman armies ultimately belonged?  Were there any red crosses painted on their shields in 70 a.d. as there came to be in the time of Constantine?  I.e., were the Romans in any sense the righteous people of God doing what He had commanded them through holy prophets such as when God commanded the nation of Israel through Moses and Joshua to enter into the land of promise and destroy the Amorites living there?  Cf. Luk 4:5-6, Eph 2:2, 6:12, 1Jo 5:19.  Although the kingdoms of this world are under the authority of the prince of the power of this age and as such reflect his nature and character that are in complete opposition to the holiness of God, can they in fact ever escape at the same time actually serving God and accomplishing His purposes?  Cf. Deut 28:49-52, Isa 10:5-12,15, 13:1-5, 44:28-45:1, Jer 51:20-25, Hab 1:1-11.  Is it only through the armies of men that God is able to accomplish His purposes?  See Joe 1:1-7, 2:1-11,25; cf. 2Ki 19:35, Mat 26:53.  What do these things help us to understand about the sovereignty of God to accomplish His will even while allowing men the freedom to pursue their own will that is so often contrary to His?  As men pursue their own will contrary to God’s and are faced with the inevitable epiphany of judgment that must eventually overtake them for supposing they know better than their Creator (O! if we only had faith to believe that God’s ways are best and His commands are not burdensome, 1Jo 5:3!) what does Scripture remind us about the nature and character of God to receive the penitent until the very last instant even though that judgment has already commenced?  See Joe 2:12-14, Eze 18:23,30-32, Luk 23:40-43.  And yet, what does Scripture also remind us about the great danger of men hardening their hearts against the truth so much that they become lost in their own lie and will not repent even though they are being consumed by God’s judgment so that there is no hope for a remedy?  See Rev 9:20-21, 16:9-11, Luk 23:39, 2Ch 36:15-16; cf. Heb 3:7-8,15, 4:7, Num 14:22-23, Jer 7:16-20, 14:7-12.  Has the nation of America now reached that point?