Luke 14:7-24 - Come to the Table

Introduction

Tables are one of the most important pieces of furniture someone can have.

At the table, we can do some of the best work we can do

Author’s write some of the most beautiful literature

At the table, leaders make some of the biggest decisions that lead others into the future.

At the table, we eat dinner and share in some of the best conversations of the day

We don’t table well today.

A feast was a lavish ceremonial meal, usually to celebrate a person or event.

Spare no expense

Nothing cost too much and they celebrated everything!

Covenants, weddings, harvest, shearing sheep, coming of age, arrival of guests, weaning of a child, coronations.

Jesus attended many of these magnificent parties!

We find Jesus at one of these dinners in our passage where He teaches us Two Warnings and Three Characteristics of God’s table.

The Dinner Party

The stage was chosen carefully

The house of a senior official of the synagogue

The Pharisees had the home-field advantage to trap Jesus.

The scheduled was chosen carefully

The Sabbath

Jesus had reportedly violated Sabbath on three separate occasions up to this point

The setup was chosen carefully

A man with a terminal illness just happened to be there.

Dropsy is a medical terms for the excessive gathering of watery fluid in any tissue of the body.

"Fluid on the heart”

Symptom of heart, kidney, liver disease

This guys torso was swollen due to the retention of bodily fluid, which indicated organ failure.

Jesus does a really good job of making dinner parties awkward.

Instead of letting them trap Him, He turns the tables. Pun intended

Is it lawful? (v. 3)

Jesus locked them into a no-win situation.

If they answer yes, then they can’t complain if He heals someone.

If they answer no, then they look bad in front of the man suffering.

They remained silent. (v. 4)

Jesus knows the nuances of the Jewish law.

He knows that if the well being of an animal is compromised, the Pharisees would spring to action.

What about this poor guy?

Jesus exposes the religious hypocrisy of these religious leaders.

Totally outs their rigid code of moralism, that cared for reputation but not human dignity.

This party is becoming an absolute disaster.

No one is saying a word.

You’ve got the guy slurping his soup in the corner.

Things are so stinking awkward now.

Jesus noticed the seating arrangements

Where they sat reveals how important they feel.

Jesus is teaching us an example profitable for our own tables when we are in the company of friends.

They’re seeking glory from man rather than from God.

“Y’all sat as close to the head of the table as you could.”

Watch Where You Sit

Jesus addresses the guests.

If you go to a wedding, you don’t sit in the Bride’s chair (v. 8-9)

That’s how you lose your seat and end up at the kid’s table.

Even in the common actions of our lives, Jesus’s eye is always on us.

He marks what we do, not only at our worship gatherings, but even around our own dinner tables.

He sees the reflection of our hearts!

The people at this dinner party are seeking the more distinguished seats because they think they’re worthy of it.

Humility is

They forgot Proverbs 25:6-7 “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”

Luke 14:10-11

Seeking honor finds humiliation

Seeking humility finds honor.

Jesus doesn’t teach us to take the lower seat so that we can expect to be upgraded

Jesus doesn’t do fake humility

Jesus hates when pride pretends to be humble.

We take the lower seat because we deserve the lower seat.

Watch Who You Invite

Jesus now is addressing the host (vv. 12-14)

Inviting only people who will pay you back is an endless and joyless cycle of getting/giving with the expectation always growing.

There’s an intense self-focus here that leads to emptiness.

The payout for a generous host is intense (v. 14)

You’ll be repaid at the Resurrection

Their blessing will shine forever in the Kingdom, because a generous host is an image of the gospel!

Jesus just gave the host tips for a better party, because this party is terrible.

A guest tries to restart the party (v. 15)

His excitement sounds sincere, but it’s really an effort to transition out of awkwardness.

He notices this has not gone as planned. He knows Jesus is onto them!

“Amen! Well said! Pass the gravy…?”

Jesus responds with another parable that teach us three things about the Kingdom.

God’s table is massive (v. 16)

God’s table is free (v. 17)

God’s table is by way of personal invitation (vv. 21-23)

God’s Table is Massive

Jesus begins a parable of a very rich man who plans this elaborate party

Huge guest list, large menu

Steak, fresh lobster, mashed potatoes, pie, all the fixings.

This was not a party you wanted to miss.

Jesus uses this as a symbol of Heaven’s feasts

It’s more than satisfying an empty belly

This is satisfying joy!

This party was lavish! Aimed at having a great time!

You’re going to laugh until your face hurts

Dance until you sweat

There’s going to be left overs.

God’s banquet hall is unfathomably huge.

The number of seats that go around the Lord’s table is too great to be numbered.

He doesn’t hold out!

Those who aren’t there, elect not to be there.

Jesus gives us three lame excuses (vv. 18-20)

You shouldn’t buy property sight-unseen (v. 18)

That property will also be there tomorrow.

Even less courteous than the first (v. 19)

He’d rather do chores during the time of the party.

This one’s my favorite (v. 20)

He doesn’t even give a reason.

Wide eyed: “I got married.” *shoulder shrug*

So many people will come up with an excuse not to come to Jesus.

Poor decisions

Idolatry

Harmful relationships

Addictions

Can’t live the life

Everyone absent from the table did not want to be at the table.

God’s Table is Free

Biblical hospitality does not happen in a commercial restaurant

You can’t pay for it.

There’s no transaction.

It happens in the intimacy of a home.

“That my house be filled” (v. 23)

Biblical hospitality is God inviting us into His home!

No one brings a bottle of wine as a housewarming gift

He’s got everything covered!

You owe nothing!

You come in dirty, worn out, pitfiful, broken, and needy.

You’re just the person He wants at the table!

He clothes us with His clean, warm robe

He puts rings on our fingers

When we sit at His table, He serves us!

Christ body broken for us

Christ blood shed for us!

He has provided everything!

2 Samuel 9 - David and Mephibosheth

King David loved Saul’s son, Jonathan like a brother.

After Saul and Jonathan died, David invited Jonathan’s son to live with him.

Mephibosheth was crippled

No help as a warrior

Cannot do chores

Worthless.

2 Samuel 9:6–10 ESV

6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” 9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. 10 And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

Mephibosheth had nothing to offer King David, yet he was a guest at David’s table all the days of His life.

God’s table is free. Our’s should be too.

Hospitality in the Bible

The Law guides jews to treat neighbors and strangers living among the tribes of Isreal as guests.

Reminding them that they were once foreigners in Egypt

Leviticus 19:33-34; Exodus 22:21 “21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

(philoxenos). adj. hospitable. Descriptive of practical kindness paid especially to strangers, often in the sharing of food and drink, lodging, and provision.

Lexham Theological Wordbook φιλόξενος

illustration of the notion of hospitality: φίλος (philos, “friend”) + χένος (chenos, “stranger”)—namely, a stranger treated as a friend.

Hospitality in the Church/Means for Evangelism

General exhortation to believers

1 Peter 4:9 “9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

Romans 12:13 “13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Hebrews 13:2 “2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Specific expectations of elders/pastors

1 Timothy 3:2 “2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,”

Titus 1:7-8 “7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.”

Hilary and I are house-shopping

We want a house to fit a lot of people

We want a space for weary sinners like ourselves to feel welcomed as Jesus has welcomed us.

God sovereignly calls us to the people we live, work, and play near to impact their lives with the gospel.

Christians are to be hospitable people!

We come with a motive. We want people to come to know, love, and follow Jesus.

God’s table is by way of personal invitation.

When the Lord gets angry, He gets even more generous!

I would’ve canceled when denied the first time.

Nobody’s coming.

God doesn’t just turn on the “Open sign”

He sends servants out!

He sends out His Son!

“Go get them!”

Compel: Anankazo

“Force, press, don’t take “no”

Imperative

Alex modeled this well last week

“How do we bring more people in?”

Go out, compel them to come in!

The Father makes His invitation very personal

He doesn’t send out salvation invitations generally

This isn’t junk-mail

He’s not posting a flyer to the event for people who might stumble in.

Facebook invitations.

We know what it’s like to get the invite, and not click on it because you’re worried that they’ll know you’ve seen it somehow and still haven’t responded.

I’ve heard people do that.

What if the person doubles down and calls you on the phone because you haven’t responded.

It gets harder to say no.

“Let me talk to my wife.”

I’ve heard people do that too.

Then, what if the person goes all in, shows up at your house with a written invitation

“You’re coming, right?”

That’s what God is like.

God is very intentional with who He calls to salvation.

He has hand-written every invitation with the blood of Jesus.

He wrote our names and addresses on the invitation Himself.

You don’t sign yourself up

He delivers them in person where we are.

He comes Himself to give us the invitation.

Who can refuse an invitation like that?

Conclusion

The most urgent invitation to receive

Have you received the Invitation to God’s table?

I’ve inviting you, as a messenger, to come to the table.

Believe in Jesus today.

Believe that He died for your sins.

Believe that He was raised to life for your eternal life.

Believe that He alone rules and reigns over all things as Lord and King.

Eat and drink the fullness of His grace!

The most urgent invitation to give

If you have received God invitation, you’re not responsible to give this invitation.

“That my house may be filled” (v. 23)

So here we are, living this cosy, boring little life.

Then comes God to send us on this amazing adventure with hands full of invitations.

What are you going to say?

Verses 18-20 outed us. All our excuses are lame.

Let’s together:

Open our doors and our homes to friendships that desire to see people come to know Jesus