Kingdom Invitation
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Stop and think for a moment about the last time you threw a party. What was its purpose? Was it a birthday party and so you were celebrating someone’s turning another year older? Was it a Christmas party and you just wanted to get together with some friends/family, hang out, exchange gifts, and catch up? Maybe it was a company party; you didn’t plan it or throw it, but you attended specifically because you were expected to or because you wanted to do some networking.
Parties can be great. They can be a lot of fun. And when we throw them, we don’t necessarily think of them as ministries. But what if we did? Would that change how we planned them? Would it change who we invite?
This morning, Jesus who is still at this dinner that we’ve been looking at for two weeks now, shifts the focus of the people from the party itself (or even for the best position at the table) to the motive behind the party in the first place. And then from there compares the party to the kingdom. And what happens is that Jesus in just a few minutes of time has given the Pharisees and their guests an upside down understanding of heaven and of God’s kingdom: The kingdom of God is not about prestige but love for God and neighbor. And Jesus supports this upside-down view in six ways. Firstly, he gives an invitation rubric which then elicits a response from one of the invited. This leads to Jesus’s parable about a banquet and the invitation being ready to send. Fourthly, we find those being invited reneging on their acceptance, leading to a refocusing on who is invited and a revocation for the original invitees.
The Invitation Rubric
The Invited’s Response
The Invitation’s Readiness
The Invited’s Reneging
The Invitation Refocus
The Invitation Revoked
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.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
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!”
But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
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.’
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.’
And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
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.’
And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
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.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
The Invitation Rubric
The Invitation Rubric
The first way that Jesus (and Luke by extension) support the idea of the Kingdom of God being about loving God and neighbor is by Jesus giving an invitation rubric. Now, if you don’t know what a rubric is, it is basically the instructions that one is expected to follow. In school, students are often graded on a rubric. Did they follow the instructions? And Jesus gives this rubric for party invitations.
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.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Remember that Jesus just told a parable about those seeking to be first, and told them instead they are to sit at the lowest of places and wait to be seated by the host. It gives an indication of what kind of dinner party this was. It wasn’t just a get together of friends having a few laughs. This was a time people could network and be seen. If you want to hang out with the big wigs, invite the big wigs to the house and spend a lavish amount on them. You’re noticed, they’re happy, and if all goes well, you’re in. You’ll now be invited to those kinds of dinner parties yourself.
Jesus said, that’s not the kingdom. From God’s perspective it is not how you treat those over you or those beside you, but those who cannot repay you. That’s the rubric he says to follow. The directions are to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Those who live on edge of society, those who are on the outs with most people. Those who are marginalized to the background, the ignored, the hurting.
These are who God desires us to invest our time, attention, and money in. This is what God rewards in heaven. Keep in mind this is not the reward of heaven in that we win our place by good works. This is a reward that God gives to us as those who are already citizens of heaven by Christ’s work on the cross and resurrection. But let us not discount this promise of Jesus here and regulate it to hyperbole or figurative language. Jesus is giving us incentive to live in this kingdom mindset. There’s a reward if we do! And always keep in mind that God is much more lavish with his gifts than we could ever be.
The Invited’s Response
The Invited’s Response
And this actually leads to someone who was at the party responding to Jesus’s statement. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. And the response comes:
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!”
There’s a blessing coming from God, he will repay! “yes!” comes the response. “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.” In other words, blessed are those who have fellowship with God! That’s what eating together implied. So true!
That word “blessed” means a deep inner joy and excitement. It’s not just a happiness, but a deeper than that. It’s a happiness based on the Father’s promises and so goes deeper than the fleeting pleasures of this world.
So absolutely this man was correct. Yet this is the ironic part of this section. The man is so self-unaware that though he was right, he was speaking about something that at this moment in history, seems likely something he would not experience himself. If this man was one of those clamoring for position, then he didn’t see this party as a ministry to the marginalized but an opportunity for self-promotion, to gain prestige. It wasn’t a place to express love for neighbor, but a place for him to express love for self.
Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God! He was right about that, but his expectation as to who that would be was wrong. So Jesus told a parable. Who will it be that eats bread in the kingdom of God? Who is that that God brings in? This man was wrong in his kingdom thinking and it showed by his living. What about ours?
The Invitation’s Readiness
The Invitation’s Readiness
Jesus told a parable to turn his understanding of the kingdom upside down. The kingdom of God would be made up of those who were his neighbors, those he was supposed to love and invite, but did not. And in this parable, he speaks about an invitation that is ready to be given. Now technically, this is a second invitation.
In this culture, there would have already been a first invitation sent out. The guests would have gotten an invitation some time sooner to let them know of the banquet, feast, dinner, or whatever. It was more like a save the date and rsvp in one. Thus, these invited guests would have had time to put the event in their calendars and would have reserved their place for the party. But now comes the second invite.
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.’
This day was coming. Everyone who was invited knew it. They had agreed to it. They had set aside the date for it. And the time had now arrived. This caught no one off guard in one sense. And yet, as we’ve already read and are about to look at, the readiness of this invitation definitely showed that those invited were not ready themselves.
Beloved, this very well may be our position at this moment. We know that Jesus is going to return. We’ve been told through the Word—both the written and the spoken. The very Word of God in human flesh told us so. And something Paul wrote once ought to keep us ready:
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
That moment we first believed is like that first invitation sent out. The date is drawing closer and closer which means we ought to be more and more prepared. More and more ready. But are we? Or are we caught up in distractions instead? Brothers and sisters, are we ready or will the invitation catch us unprepared?
The Invited’s Reneging
The Invited’s Reneging
That takes us to the next way Jesus supported his kingdom understanding, by showing that when push comes to shove, the invited would renege on their acceptance of the invitation. They loved their own personal ambitions more than the host of the dinner party.
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.’
And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
Keep in mind that this is the second invitation. The save-the-date invitation had already gone out. These people had already stated that they were going to the party. But now that the time has come, it turns out that these people are reneging on the host. And they come up with some pretty ridiculous reasons.
In today’s world, these reasons would be something like, “I just bought a house; I haven’t seen it yet and need to go inspect it.” Really? You made one of the most expensive decisions without having looked at the property?
I just bought a new car. I'm heading out now for a test drive. Again: you didn’t take it for a test drive before you bought it?
These excuses are the equivalent of the “I have to shampoo my hair” excuse that girls give when they don’t want to go on a date with a guy. But even if they were true, they were saying that these inspections and test drives couldn’t wait a few hours?
The last one, if we keep in mind the time period, the guy is saying his wife won’t let him go to the party. That would have been laughable. In fact, everyone of these would have been laughable. You can see the first one starting with the dinner guests chuckling. Then they hear the second excuse and it gets a bit louder. By the time they hear the third excuse, they’re roaring with laughter. These are the dumbest excuses.
It was clear that those who were making the excuses had no desire to join in the festivities. They’d rather be doing anything else, but attend that party. As one commentator wrote,
With his superb narrative art, Jesus uses these three excuses to show that just as a host may be snubbed, so God’s gracious invitation may be flouted.
Specifically speaking, Jesus was pointing to the Pharisees at that party, but in general to the Jewish people. For hundreds of years, God had sent his prophets to remind the people of God’s invitation. And for hundreds of years, the people knew the final invitation was coming. Now came the time to join in the banquet, and the people, led by the Pharisees, Sadducees, lawyers and priests would reject the invitation. And it didn’t really matter why because when we don’t want to do something, any excuse will do.
I find this still happens in churches. It’s not surprising anymore to hear of someone deconstructing their faith or deconverting or no longer identifying as a Christian. It’s saddening but no longer surprising. And those who do bear the majority of the responsibility for this. Many times the reason for their leaving the church or the faith are flimsy excuses. But to a smaller degree, I do think that the local church has to bear some of the responsibility. Much of the church has done a disservice when addressing the issues that modern people are dealing with. We either pretend that those issues don’t exist or give some pat answers that don’t actually address the real issues. Whether its evolution, lgbtq+, various philosophies and religions, ethics, or the like. Each of these can be addressed with and through the Scriptures and more than just a surface level.
That doesn’t mean that if we would dive deeper that the church would cease to have any deconversions. After all, if we don’t want something, any excuse will do. But many of those leaving are doing so because issues have been ignored or marginalized looking as if we don’t have answers, but guess who is ready and willing to give answers? Everyone else in this world.
So we see those invited reneging on their commitment then and now.
The Invitation Refocus
The Invitation Refocus
And this leads us to the fifth way Jesus supported this kingdom understanding. It seems right for the host to be upset, even angry, at the excuses given for missing his banquet. And so he refocuses the invitation.
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.’
The master sends the servant back out. Only this time, he is going to those who were not originally invited. Rather than going to the individual who had already been invited, the master sends him out to invite anyone indiscriminately. Go into the streets, the main roads and the lanes the side roads. And notice who he then invites: the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Does that list sound familiar? It’s the very same list—the same rubric—that Jesus gave earlier.
This was a kingdom mindset. God had gone to the Jewish people. He selected them and told them of his coming. He sent invitation after invitation. And when they finally reneged on their commitment, he goes to streets and pulls those who are the outcast, the marginalized, the hurting, the poor. Later the servant is told to go to the highway and the hedges—the places where the vagabonds and lowlifes would be. Technically, these stand in for Gentiles. Those who were not God’s people become God’s people. But the language Jesus chose to use in the parable mimics the rubric that Jesus gave for party invitations. The host desires for a full house. God desires a full kingdom.
Do we see that Jesus, in giving the rubric of who ought to be invited to earthly parties, is actually telling us that when we invite such as these, we are imitating the Father and beloved children. The kingdom of God is made up of such as these. And as dual citizens of both heaven and earth, we have the opportunity to minister to these. We have the opportunity to display heaven on earth. This is kingdom living!
We live in a society that tends to be much more compassionate toward the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. We don’t tend to see these as those whom God is punishing, as those in first century Palestine did. But it’s more than that. Remember with whom Jesus is dining. It’s the pharisees. While the list of people Jesus gave would in some way be seen to be on the outs with the people, they were definitely seen as the wrong crowd to the religious elites. Most people were in some way poor. In a day that didn’t have modern medicine and was largely agrarian, it would not be unusual to find disabled people who had been hurt while farming or smithing or tanning or milling. But they were marginalized especially by the religious elites. To invite them would be scandalous!
Who do we marginalize? I mean as Christians, who do we cast off as not worthy of our time, our money, our glances? Atheists? Agnostics? Gays and lesbians? Transgendered? Maybe its just our neighbors…like literally our neighbors. Those who live next door or across the street. By reaching out to those whom we find outside our bubble, we display the kingdom of God, which is scandalous. I love what Rosaria Butterfield said in her book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key.
“And here is the edge: Christians are called to live in the world but not live like the world. Christians are called to dine with sinners but not sin with sinners. But either way, when Christians throw their lot in with Jesus, we lose the rights to protect our own reputation.”
She wrote,
“Our post-Christian neighbors need to hear and see and taste and feel authentic Christianity, hospitality spreading from every Christian home that includes neighbors in prayer, food, friendship, childcare, dog walking, and all the daily matters upon which friendships are built.”
Beloved, we must refocus our invitations so that they imitate the invitation our Father sends out.
The Invitation Revoked
The Invitation Revoked
Which takes us to our the last way Jesus shows his kingdom understanding. The invitation to those originally invited was revoked.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
Be careful here. This is a parable and we need to understand that Jesus is not saying that everyone who has been invited once and rejects is never entering the banquet. The parable was about specifically those three men. But the warning is clear. It’s the same as God gave Israel and the same as the writer of Hebrews gave to his readers:
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
We are not guaranteed another chance to hear and accept the gospel invitation. We don’t have time to fool around. There’s no time to hem and haw.
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
Stop vacillating. Receive the invitation before it is revoked.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we finish up Luke 14:12-24, we’ve learned quite a bit. I know that it is Christmas tomorrow and there are plans already made, but let me encourage you to look to the new year and make this a year to party like you’ve never partied before. To use your home as a place for party ministries, inviting those people who are probably not normally at your parties. And honestly, it doesn’t even have to be parties. Coffee is fine. Invite the people with the tattoos and piercings. Invite the lgbt person from work. Invite the marginalized.
This year we’ve sung the song “O Come All You Unfaithful” quite a few times. Those aren’t just words, you know. They’re kingdom realities.
O come, all you unfaithful
Come, weak and unstable
Come, know you are not alone
O come, barren and waiting ones
Weary of praying, come
See what your God has done
O come, bitter and broken
Come with fears unspoken
Come, taste of His perfect love
O come, guilty and hiding ones
There is no need to run
See what your God has done
So come, though you have nothing
Come, He is the offering
Come, see what your God has done
See what God has done. What God did, did not stop on the cross. It didn’t stop at the resurrection. It continues on to today and how he has changed you and me by the power of the cross, the Spirit, and his Word. So if we send out the invitation to “come” as we have sung time and again, is it too much to ask that the invitation be not just to Jesus, not just to church, but to ourselves? It’s then that people really get to see heaven on earth.