The Invitation to the Banquet
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro
Luke 14:12-24
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
Parables
Jesus often taught using parables - not really a common word we use today.
Parable - “A story or saying that illustrates a truth using comparison, hyperbole, or simile. Can be a model, analogy, or example.”
Often used in argumentation in Greek rhetoric
“Over one third of Jesus’ instruction was done via parables”
The great thing about Parables is that they are hard to understand, and the tough thing about parables is that they are hard to understand....
Jesus often used parables because he wanted to somewhat cloak what he was saying.
It is evident that his words and teachings riled up the Religious Leaders enough - could not be TOO blatant.
LUKE 8:9-10 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
Many different generations have disagreed about how to interpret Jesus’ parables.
Early Church - Allegorical (assign meaning to EVERY character and theme).
Reformers - Only to be understood literally to the audience it was spoken to at the time.
Contemporary - Where the Gospel writers place it in their narrative carries more weight.
Individual - some argue there is no one ‘right way’ to interpret a parable.
I think it’s best to consider a parable in ALL of these ways.
C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien illustration
Context of the passage
This is a part of a long section of Luke that is describing Jesus, his teachings & his ministry.
Chapter 14 begins with what is called a “Controversy Miracle” where Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath. (Obviously & intentionally upsetting the Religious Leaders)
This whole discourse centers around the fact that Jesus is eating in the home of a Pharisee.
Jesus a tells a parable about humility -
Luke 14:7-11 7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus is in the mood to ruffle some feathers & he continues with our passage...
Body
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Dinner or Banquet
Different from our normal “dinner with friends” - Special Occasions (Like a Wedding).
Where you sat was very important - proved status.
It was important to be important & no one wanted to be shamed.
So “Who do you invite?”
Jesus speaking hyperbolically
Hallmark of parables - not literally ONLY invite the marginalized.
Importance of generosity
Jewish society - “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
The ECONOMY of the Kingdom of God is much different - ‘The way UP is DOWN.’
Humility parable
Here - do something for someone that can’t pay you back. - WOULD HAVE BEEN RADICAL!
This is also the community that is created by the Church - show no partiality
The man who attempts to break the ice...
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
(How awkward would this have been?)
Second Parable
16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
Banquet/Wedding Feasts in Scripture (Matthews Parable calls it a ‘Wedding Feast’)
Weddings were a really big deal- celebration
Week long events… (meals, dancing, religious rituals)
Bowl(s) of stew in the middle - sit around it.
Most Honored guests closest to the bowl...
You would not get a ‘last minute invite’ to such a celebration.
Most likely these guests were invited long before AND had probably already ACCEPTED the invitation…
Again, Jesus is likely being hyperbolic with these excuses to show how silly they are.
Vs. 18 - “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused”
No one would have bought a field without having first investigating it THOROUGHLY - like buying land or a house...
Either this man is VERY foolish (unlikely)
Or he thinks his time is better spent NOT attending this banquet.
Vs. 19 - “I have bought five yoke of Oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.”
Again, no on is buying oxen without first investigating - like buying a car…
Ex. - My dad buying a car when I was 16...
The same could be said of this man...
Vs. 20 - “I have married a wife, and there I cannot come.”
This is in some ways the WORST excuse, or in some ways the BEST excuse.
If he had accepted the invitation not anticipating he would be married before the banquet - he is maybe the worst planner ever...
There was in fact a Scriptural basis for this excuse...
Deuteronomy 24:5 ““When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.”
But that is a regulation aimed at freeing him from military service, not at isolating him from social contacts. This excuse is as transparent as the others. Marriage certainly involves new obligations, but it does not cancel out other obligations, especially things of which due notice has been given.
Everyone claims, “I have better things to do with time than attend YOUR banquet.”
It then would be safe to say the Master’s anger was Righteous...
Instead of going back to the original guests,
The master does something drastic...
It would have been unheard of to invite the marginalized (poor, crippled, blind, & lame) to your banquet.
Notice the parallel to the earlier parable...
Then he does an even more shocking thing & invites those outside the city…
Interpretation
It’s not made clear if anyone in the audience is beginning to understand what is meant by this parable… hopefully you are beginning to put this together.
Jesus is equating the Jewish religious leaders with the guests who dismissed their invitation.
Throughout the OT, the people of God are being prepared for the coming Messiah...
Now that he is here - they have better things to do
Or, maybe better said, they have preoccupied themselves with things they think are more important...
In the Jewish culture the new guests that were invited were not permitted to be a part of regular society (poor, crippled, blind, & lame)
B/C they would have been unable to participate in the rituals of religious life (washings, paying for sacrifices, attending the Temple, etc.)
The people ‘Outside of the city’ likely refers to non-Jews (Samaritans/Gentiles).
In a Religious Leader’s home, Jesus is declaring that Kingdom of God has passed over the Religious Leaders (b/c they did not receive it) and has come to the marginalized and the Gentiles.
But he doesn’t stop there...
Vs. 24 - “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet’”
The Finality of God’s judgement
God’s table WILL be FILLED
Notice: It seems as if it is possible to receive the invitation & yet miss the banquet...
Not talking about the ‘effectual call’ - but can be aware of the gospel & never receive it…
Application
3 Ways to Apply this Passage (Parable) To Our Lives...
Generosity is key in the Kingdom of God
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
Because God, in Christ Jesus, has been generous to us, we are COMPELLED to be generous toward others - even those that cannot repay us.
In turn we should be generous with time, talents, & treasures… (Remember…)
The ECONOMY of the Kingdom of God is much different - ‘The way UP is DOWN.’
Our society functions much the same way as the Jewish society did - “You scratch my back - I’ll scratch yours.”
Humility Parable - do something for someone that can’t pay you back. - THIS IS STILL RADICAL!
This is also the community that is created by the Church - show no partiality
James 2:1 “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.”
James 2:8-9 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
Illustration - Speaking of Community
If you ask a friend “how can I help” - You are forcing them to make another decision...
Don’t ask -> Just Do It!
Mow the lawn, bring dinner, keep their kids, rake their yard, pull the weeds, etc.
2. Don’t neglect the invitation (Can we miss the Kingdom?)
The guests didn’t just - decline - they were pre-occupied with ‘lesser’ things...
The cares of this world.
He had bought a field and needed to “inspect it”
He was more worried about his portfolio
“important things can become ULTIMATE things.”
The deceitfulness of riches
Somewhat related...
He had to inspect the oxen he had purchased.
We tend to believe that ‘riches’ bring safety
Our society also tells us, if you have money - spend it on yourself (we love “luxury” items).
The pleasures of this life
Marriage is NOT a bad thing
Being pre-occupied with your spouse, family, hobbies, sports, food, etc - so that you miss the Kingdom of God is a BAD THING...
Marriage, family, pleasures are not an END to themselves - but to the extent that they reflect the Kingdom of God...
3. Who will occupy the Kingdom of God?
The marginalized and the outcasts
Israel?
We will (Gentiles) - The Church
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder (Perspective)
Our MISSION is to ‘compel’ people to come.
ἀνάγκασον “compel, to force, to press [them] to enter, to come in
“The servant was not to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“The servant is not said to have fulfilled to ‘comission’ to those outside.”
I think it is right for us to understand our role as a ‘servant’ of the Master of the House - and to seek to complete the ‘commission’
Conclusion
Gospel presentation
The invitation has been extended - Have you responded and received it?
Maybe you’be been invited, but haven’t responded yet...
Maybe this is the first time you are hearing it...
Wedding Feast/ Banquet
It’s not by accident that Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as a Wedding Feast/Banquet...
In the 1st Century, you didn’t take a week long vacation over the summer
Even for the Religious Leaders, Lawyers & elite class life was not so simple.
A wedding feast was the closest thing to a ‘vacation’ from their constant work & toil.
A week of Feasting, Dancing, Religious Observation & CELEBRATING.
In some ways, this was one of the best things that could happen - an invitation to a wedding feast...
Heaven - Conceptions of heaven (Ex. my younger self)
The way Scripture describes heaven…
Revelation 19:6-9 “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.””
The Jewish people, the Religious Leaders, the people of God had an invitation - they were invited over and over again - yet they missed the Kingdom...
God created a new people for himself - The Church - Don’t miss the invitation -> Come...
PRAY
Father, thank you for your Grace. It is by your Grace that we are saved, through Faith. Not by our own works so that no one may boast.
We look forward to the day, when you call your children home to CELEBRATE the consummation of the Kingdom & the Holiness of you, God, over and above all things!
But until that day, may we be faithful servants. May we extend the Generosity we have received through your Son Jesus Christ, to others.
May we be faithful in ‘compelling’ others to come to the table, and to experience the Goodness of our Great God.
AMEN