Highways and Hedges

Introduction

We are back in our series, Kingdom Stories. The Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, is the realm of God’s rule and reign, defining what is good and right and beautiful, and bringing forth safety, security, prosperity, and joy into the lives of its citizens. This kingdom is not future, it is not far, it is not abstract or hazy; Jesus says clearly it is here and now and tangibly real.

But it is different. It is unexpected. It breaks the rules that we humans have established to attribute value and honor, influence and importance. The Kingdom is in this world, but it is not of this world—it is not born of this world, defined by this world, subservient to this world. It is an otherworldly kingdom, and to proclaim its realities and its requirements can easily confound and frustrate.

And so, when the King of this Kingdom arrives, he does not speak straight. He speaks in stories and similes. He illustrates. He paints word pictures. The Kingdom comes to life as we come to know the King himself in these stories. So I invite you, as we read the parables of Jesus, to see and know the goodness of this kingdom, and to know that you can live as a citizen of this kingdom right now.

With that being said, welcome to the most awkward dinner party ever.

Have you ever gone to a party or a friends house and you think its going to be this perfectly normal, pleasant time, and then it turns out the whole thing was a set up and its actually an intervention or your friend is caught up in a pyramid scheme or something?

This is worse. Jesus is invited to the house of a leading religious leader for Sabbath Dinner. Usually this dinner is a space for rest, for community, and for worship. But tonight Jesus sits among rivals and critics, ready to pounce on Jesus for anything. So what does Jesus do? He offends everyone. He heals a man on the Sabbath. He shuts them down in a theological argument. He criticizes them for scrambling for the seats of honor, and he questions the guest list. At this point, things are getting pretty awkward. And then, just like that friend who hates awkward silences, this guy in the room blurts out:

Luke 14:15 (CSB)

“Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

This man, full of wine by this point, implies to the whole group that the people at this dinner party—wealthy patrons, religious influencers, egotistical, self-righteous, self-important leaders—they were the chosen ones. If anyone was going to be feasting in the Kingdom of God, they were.

At this point, Jesus has had it. So he tells a story about a different sort of dinner party. A Kingdom of God type of dinner party.

PRAY

Let’s Get this Party Started (v. 16-17)

Luke 14:16–17 CSB

Then he told him, “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’

In a traditional Middle Eastern village, the host of a banquet invites a group of his friends. On the basis of the number of people who accept the invitation, he decides how much and what kind of meat he will serve. On the day of the banquet animals or fowl are butchered and the banquet prepared. When everything is ready the master will send his servant around the village with the classical phrase, “Please come, everything is ready.” The language of the parable is still used today.

This banquet is a picture of God’s kingdom. Your life with God is never depicted as a joyless, humdrum, downtrodden experience. It is a depicted, like this grand dinner party, as full of abundance, joy, and community. It is God’s presence and his provision that make this so.

And God has been planning this party forever. The tables is prepared, the room set up, and everything has been made ready.

When Jesus enters the scene in the gospel of Luke, this is Jesus’ declaration: the purpose for his coming is to declare that the kingdom of God is at hand, the party is now ready, let’s get going! This is the year of YWHW’s favor, and the promised celebration has arrived. You’ve been waiting for this, you’ve been anticipating this joyful state of rest and fulfillment. Come! Enjoy! Be Satisfied!

I have been asked often about the Kingdom of God, even by people who have been in the church for a long time. They know about “heaven” or some version of it they’ve seen in renaissance art. But what exactly is the kingdom of God? I think so often this question is asked because we have a different picture of Christianity. It’s a somber affair. It’s a dwelling upon our own sin. It’s critical of anyone who doesn’t measure up to the standard of pious adherence to a set of societal Christian norms we have established to determine importance, a seat at the table. And in our scrambling, we miss this kingdom of God.

But this, church, is it. Jesus declares that the kingdom is a joyful celebration of the King of Kings breaking through into our world of pride, brokenness, and self-service. It is otherworldly kindness, hospitality, and grace that break the rules of reciprocity. It is not something you earn, it is something you are invited to. The Almighty God, creator of the universe, knows you and loves you and calls out to you by name, that you may join with him wherever you are, in whatever state you are, to come and eat and laugh and be satisfied.

Excuses, Excuses (v. 18-20)

Luke 14:18–20 CSB

“But without exception they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’ “And another said, ‘I just got married, and therefore I’m unable to come.’

Notice those first words: without exception (literally, as one voice). The host has prepared a massive dinner party. It’s says in verse 16 that he invited many people throughout the village. The guest list was set, the invitations were accepted, animals were slaughtered, the whole house is set for the joyous affair. And then, when the dinner is finally ready, every single guest without exception bails. They make excuses as to why, when this dinner to honor their presence is prepared, they won’t be joining. One by one, with every lame and insulting excuse, they reject the gracious invitation.

I bought a field, and I have to inspect it, so obviously I must be excused.

I bought five pairs of oxen, and I have to see if they will work properly, so clearly I must be excused.

I’m busy with my new wife, so I’m not coming. Don’t expect me to show up.

Realize, church, that these “excuses” are not plausible reasons for canceling in this Middle Eastern era, and it would have been unbelievable offensive to hear. One says he just bought a field and now has to inspect it. Really? You bought a field without checking it out? It can’t wait the evening? Another says, I just bought five pairs of oxen, and now needs to see if they will run in the same direction. You didn’t check that before buying ten oxen? Still another essentially says, it’s the honeymoon period man, I’m busy. That sort of short, undignified response would have been incredibly rude and disrespectful.

Very quickly, the master understands that the goal here, as every single one of his guests reject his invitation, was to humiliate him and prevent the banquet from taking place. You cannot have a dinner party without honored guests! Blessed are those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God!

Put yourself in the host’s position. Pretty shocking right? To have this joyous, grace filled occasion for hospitality and love, and no one shows. The time is not right, the setting is not good, the guests far more mundane things to do than return the favor of honor.

You would never do this, right? Right?

Think about the context of this story. Jesus, the son of God, the Servant King, dines with those who know the messianic prophesies better than anyone, do not pursue the kingdom of God. They are disinterested in anything but their own honor. So when a man with a terrible skin condition tarnishes their presence, they are more offended by Jesus healing him than astounded by the compassion he shows. When given the chance to show respect to other guests, they position themselves at the seats of honor.

The kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus is asking you to seek this kingdom first, for it to take pride of place in your life, above your work, above your relationships, above your personal personal pursuits. To consider the great honor it is to draw near to God in his presence and be overcome by his love, his grace, his abundant favor.

And yet, it is all too easy to become obsessed with our own mundane human projects. I would never, out loud, say that I reject God’s invitation to enjoy his love and favor. And yet I find myself wracked with business and distractions. I vacillate between self-doubt and self-importance, despair and pride. God’s abundant life is right before me! I need only accept his gracious call! And yet I waffle. I hang back. I choose other priorities, and I fill the air with lame, half-baked excuses. I fabricate reasons, I appeal to human nature and societal norms. And instead of experience his rest, his provision, his community, I experience stress, frustration, and exhaustion. I miss out on the kingdom of God. And when I truly take stock of the reasons I give, how short-sighted they are, how temporary, how unfulfilling, I wonder how I could have deluded myself into believing that I am the source of honor, and not God.

Is that you? What are the excuses you make that keep you from accepting this beautiful invitation? What are you prioritizing over the eternal Kingdom?

Head to the Highways and Hedges (v. 21-23)

Luke 14:21–23 CSB

“So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’ “ ‘Master,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’ “Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

The master is angry. But he doesn’t respond with violence. He responds by shifting his invitation, by expanding his offer of love and grace. He turns his anger into extreme hospitality. The poor and disabled that are a blight upon the city become the honored guests, and they happily, without hesitation and without exception, fill the house. And there is still room. So he gathers in still more, vagabonds and aliens, outsiders and outcasts, those who were literally banned from the village, to come and enjoy his feast. They didn’t even know there was a party being planned, and yet, when the gracious offer is extended, they cannot believe their fortune. The party goes on as planned; the guest list is completely turned upside down, but it doesn’t make any difference to the host. His joy is to celebrate with all who accept his call.

Those who expected the invitation, who knew the party was coming, reject the call when it comes. Those who did not expect the invitation, who didn’t even know there was a party, cannot believe the good grace they have been shown.

Here’s the kicker: 700 years before Jesus tells this story, the prophet Isaiah had a dream about a great banquet that would be held at the end of history, where YHWH would gather his people and serve the food of kings. It would be held on the holy mountain of the Lord and the guests would include peoples from all the Gentile nations. Death would be at an end, tears wiped away, and it would be a glorious day of salvation.

The people, sitting at the same table where Jesus is telling this story, knew about this dream. But over time, the details had changed.

See, teachers of the law never like the whole beggars and lame and Gentile thing. At one point, in a text called The Messianic Rule, they rewrote the dinner plans:

And then the Messiah of Israel shall come and the chiefs of the clans of Israel shall sit before him, each in the order of his dignity, according to his place in their camps and marches. No one can attend the banquet who is smitten in his flesh, or paralyzed in his feet or hands, or lame, or blind or deaf or dumb or smitten in his flesh with a visible blemish.

Human nature, societal group think, leads us to believe that only the worthy will receive the call. And so we spend our days building up the resume, accumulating right beliefs, taking on tasks, gathering more goods, so that we can consider ourselves worthy when the call comes. And then we miss the call, because we become the source of our own honor.

Friends, you are not worthy to receive the call. The one who is worthy makes the call. No amount of work or money or accomplishment can change that. The Kingdom of God is not a welcome sight for those who like to earn their place in it.

In Jesus’ day, it was an honor to be invited to a party like this. But the expectation was that this honor would later be reciprocated in kind, that you would be able to offer the same gracious love and generosity in return. I honor you, and then you honor me—that was the deal.

So when Jesus tells the story of a host that draws in the poor and lame and outcast, the very people their society has deemed unworthy, he upends every notion of the kingdom of God. These partygoers have nothing to offer in return. There will be no reciprocal parties. They cannot respond in kind. This is simply an act of extraordinary hospitality—a love of the stranger—that results in a party to end all parties. The honor is something they cannot ever repay. And it pleases the master to give it.

This story ought to catch us all. You are not here because you deserve it. No one is. You are here because God has welcomed you in. You are here because he loves you and wants you to experience his abundant life. We need to shift our perception of the kingdom of God.

How might this look in our everyday life? How could we, as God’s servants, extend this offer to those the world does not expect? What if our lives reflected this?, What if our church community served as expression here and now of the kingdom banquet and the resurrection of the righteous. Because whenever kindness, hospitality, and grace break the rules of reciprocity and flow freely, we are on hand for the kingdom of mercy that is at hand.

How will You RSVP? (v. 24)

Luke 14:24 CSB

For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy my banquet.’ ”

At the end of the day, God wants his house to be filled. Because God is a generous God. He is a loving God. He is a faithful God. His party will come, whether you take part or not, regardless of your excuses, your lame attempts to reorient the source of honor. As much as this story is an act of grace and beauty as it extends his invitation to the ends of the earth, it is also reveals the tragic end of those who are so preoccupied with the stuff of this world that they miss the great celebration of the world to come.

Jesus’s words are serious: If you reject my invitation, the bread of life will not be yours.

Church, do not assume you are the beggar. You might be the awkward guy who assumes that by coming to church, wearing the right clothes, and doing churchy things, you are qualified, you are honorable, you are worthy. But church, it is the presence of the master that brings the honor. It is in accepting his gracious gift that we find our rest.

Are you ready to respond to God’s invitation of Grace? And are you ready to extend God’s invitation of grace to those who need to hear it, regardless of their station? The time is hand, everything is ready. The triangle has been clanged. It’s Dinner time!

DNA Questions

DISCOVER: What are some societal norms that tend to define the community around us? How does Jesus parable shake that up?

NURTURE: What makes it hard for us to accept God’s invitation into a deeper relationship, as shown in Luke 14:15-24? Are there distractions or excuses in your life that keep you from fully embracing what God is offering?

ACT: As a church, how can we actively invite others to experience God's grace and love, without letting our own distractions get in the way? What immediate steps can we take to reach out to those who may be missing out on this invitation, both in our community and beyond?

PRAY