The Invitation

Story of “fine dinning” at the work party

So how many bird lovers do we have here this morning? We like living out where there are a lot of different birds and we have a lot of windows so that we can watch them year long. We really get excited when we see a bird that we don’t recognize. We think we have a pretty firm grasp on the common birds like robins, house wrens, hummingbirds, swarrows and such but sometimes we see one that we don’t recognize, or maybe they are an adolescent or female version of one that we would recongnize so we have to look it up. We will try and either take a picture of draw the bird and then we can look it up in our bird book to see what kind of bird it is. This is fun for us. Sometimes I like to sit out on the patio in the morning with my reading and cup of coffee and just listen to the birds. They can get loud. It’s amazing. Growing up in the city I was used to city noises getting loud, but out in the country where you don’t have those city noises you can be overwhelmed by the bird calls. We really do enjoy it, though, and since we enjoy it so much we have set out various bird houses and bird feeders in order to invite the birds into our yard. We often get to enjoy them when they fly in for dinner.

Well last week we woke up one morning to find some bird feeders on the ground. As we went out to investigate we also found the contents of some of our bird houses pulled out and tossed about on the ground. We noticed that there was a branch from a sumac tree next to the rack where we have most of our bird houses that was broken from pretty high up in the tree and had landed right next to the bird feeders and we started to realize what had happened the night before. Some critter had climbed up the sumac tree to reach down and get the food that we had left for the birds and the branch broke, but the critter still managed to get to the bird feeders.

Story of “trapping” my brother into damaging the George Washington statue

We had put out bird food, because we wanted to Invite more birds into our yard, but we ended up inviting someone else as well. Someone we never intended to invite, especially because they were destroying the bird houses and bird feeders that we had put up.

the sunflower seeds out to Invite the birds into the yard, and we eneded up inviting someone else as well. Someone we never intended to invite, especially because they were destroying the bird houses and bird feeders that we had put up.

So we decided that we should also invite this critter into our yard. In fact, we were very intentional to invite him into a very small section of our yard. It turns out that it was much smaller than they were happy with.

There is sometimes not a lot of difference between and “Invitation” and a “Trap” is there. It really just depends on what it is that you are being invited into. Are you being invited into an experience where you will be fed and cared for like we do for our birds, or are you being invited into an experience where you are fed only because they want to get rid of you?

The reason I bring up these two kinds of “Invitations” is because in our text today Jesus was invited to a dinner at the home of one of the religious leaders, but it turned out to be more of a trap than an invitation. And what I found interesting was that after Jesus masterfully shuts down their Trap, he teaches them about the most important Invitation that has ever been offered. The invitation to become part of the Kingdom of God.

If this is your first time with us this morning then maybe you have never heard of the Invitation that God has offered every one of us, but if you have been with us before then you have. Just about every Sunday I end our service with that invitation and I intend on doing it again today. If you have never responded to that Invitation, then maybe that is because you don’t understand how it is an Invitation to be fed, cared for and protected. Maybe you somehow believe that the Invitation to become a follower of Jesus is actually a “Trap”. If that is you today, or someone you love, then I encourage you to listen to both the response and the instructions of Jesus in our text today.

Turn with me to , Ill pray and we will learn from Jesus together.

English Standard Version Chapter 14

14 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.

English Standard Version Chapter 14

14 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees,

What is it that you cannot resist? If someone wanted to trap you what would they use bait?

We woke up a couple of mornings this past week to our bird feeders all knocked around, our bird houses with their nests all pulled out and our container of rabbit food completely gone. We figured some critter was up all night having a good time. So I set out to trap to catch them. I figured the best thing to bait this trap with would be something that we knew that he already liked. The next morning we had an empty container of rabbit pellets, and a trap full of an angry raccoon.

If someone wanted to trap us what would they use? We woke up a couple of mornings this past week to our bird feeders all knocked around, our bird houses with their nests all pulled out and our container of rabbit food completely gone. We figured some critter was up all night having a good time. So I set out to trap to catch them. I figured the best thing to use to trap this critter with was something that we had already seen it run off with. So after a night with a

We woke up a couple of mornings this past week to our bird feeders all knocked around, our bird houses with their nests all pulled out and our container of rabbit food completely gone. We figured some critter was up all night having a good time. So I set out to trap to catch them. I figured the best thing to bait this trap with would be something that we knew that he already liked. The next morning we had an empty container of rabbit pellets, and a trap full of an angry raccoon.

That would be a pretty telling sign of what was important in your life wouldn’t it? When we think of someone baiting a trap for us we might be thinking about temptations toward something negative, but these religious leaders knew that a bait like that would never work for Jesus. So they put before Jesus this man with “dropsy”. They knew that Jesus could not resist the opportunity to free someone from their suffering.

That would be a pretty telling sign of what was important in your life wouldn’t it? When we think of someone baiting a trap for us we might be thinking about temptations toward something negative, but these religious leaders knew that a bait like that would never work for Jesus. They knew that Jesus could not resist the opportunity to help someone who was suffering. Can you believe the depravity displayed here by these so called “religous leaders”? They never would have Invited this man with the disease of “dropsy” into this home, except that they wanted to use him as bait to catch Jesus healing again on the Sabbath. “Dropsy” as it is translated here in the ESV is known today as Edema and causes swelling typically in the arms and legs.

Can you believe the depravity displayed here by these so called “religous leaders”? They never would have Invited this man with the disease of “dropsy” into this home, except that they wanted to use him as bait to catch Jesus healing again on the Sabbath. “Dropsy” today is known today as Edema and causes swelling typically in the arms and legs.

Jesus could not resist the opportunity to help someone who was suffering.

Notice that it says that “Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees” What was he responding to? They hadn’t said anything that we know of…at least not with their voices, but certainly with their actions. They were watching him closely to see what he would do with the bait that they had laid in their trap.

Luke 14:1–4 ESV

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.

Man with “Dropsy” - inflamation of the arms and legs. He was invited only as bait to trap Jesus into healing again on the Sabbath.

Luke 14:3–4 ESV

And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.

Luke 14:3 ESV

And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

Do you see the genius of Jesus here. They had invited Jesus in to trap him in this very question, but Jesus was not falling for it. So he gives them the opportunity to step in their own trap. Before I do anything here, I’ll give you the chance to answer the question first...

They had invited Jesus in to trap him in this very question, but Jesus was not falling for it. So he gives them the opportunity to step in their own trap. I’ll give you the chance to answer the question first...

This was not the plan.

He stole their thunder,

took the wind out of their sails,

deflated their balloon

They had their opportunity to answer

However you want to say it, they were shut down. So Jesus just did what he does, and he rescued this man from the disease that was oppressing him and sent him on his way. “You don’t want to be here, buddy” “You were not invited out of love, grace or respect”. Sadly they were just using you for bait, go on your way. Then Jesus turns back to the religious leaders:

So Jesus just did what he does, and he rescued this man from the disease that was oppressing him and sent him on his way. “You don’t want to be here, buddy” “You were not invited out of love, grace or respect”. Sadly they were just using you for bait, go on your way. Then Jesus turns back to the religious leaders:

He gave them their c

Luke 14:5–6 ESV

And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.

English Standard Version Chapter 14

3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.

It begs the question, b

I don’t know why they expected anything to be different this time. Remember that we are getting close to Jerusalem now, so at this point the Gospel records offer at least 5 other times when Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath and so “violated” their tradition. They seemed to have set the trap, but Jesus jammed it all up by coming right after them with the question that he had answered over and over again.

I don’t know why they expected anything to be different this time. Remember that we are getting close to Jerusalem now, so at this point the Gospel records offer at least 5 other times when Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath and so “violated” their tradition. They had decided in their minds that offering someone healing on the Sabbath day was somehow an act of work and therefore violated God’s Law, and yet they would and probably had rescued someone or something that was important to them on a Sabbath. They thought they had set the trap for Jesus, but He jammed it all up by coming right after them by pointing out their own hypocrisy in this matter.

They seemed to have set the trap, but Jesus jammed it all up by coming right after them with the question that he had answered over and over again.

But now he was already at the Dinner Party, and these religous leaders were in a way “trapped” with him. Jesus uses the opportunity to reveal their twisted hearts and invite them to respond to Invitations to much better things.

English Standard Version Chapter 14

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.”

When we think of wedding feasts, or wedding receptions today we can understand some of this can’t we? For some weddings there is an elaborate seating chart where you have to look for your name. We find the bride and groom with the wedding party at what we call the “Head Table” up front and then there is some level of honor placed in the seats that are closest to that table. Usually the Parents and grandparents and closest family and friends are up front and then everyone else fills in around.

We can somewhat relate to this

Rachel and I didn’t really have this issue at our wedding, because the ceremony was immediate family only. If you don’t know this about Rachel, being up front is not her favorite thing, so since it was our wedding we were going to do it our way. Well, my boss at the time was a kindly older lady and a long time friend of the family and when I told her our plans for the ceremony, she looked at me with all seriousness and said, “Well, I am family right?”. Yes, it was awkward, much like the scene that Jesus is describing here.

Story of Manners Camp in Elementary School

How awkward, and even humiliating it would be to have established yourself in a seat of honor up front, only to be escorted by the host to the last place available after everyone else has already taken their seats. And Jesus’ teaching here is to start with humility, and let the host Invite you to a better seat if that is indeed the place for you.

But what is the deal here, why has Jesus gone from teaching so passionately and urgently on the Kingdom of God to giving what appears to be etiquette advice for Wedding Feasts? Doesn’t that seem a little out of place? is he trying to help people manipulate themselves to the front by starting at the back?

The truth is that Jesus has not stopped talking about the Kingdom of God. He was standing there watching these religious leaders who were demonstrating their own selfishness, and vying for position at the dinner table and they could not even see how disgraceful it was. Men who were working to position themselves in the place of honor, never realizing that the very things that they were doing to try and secure their place of honor, is what was disqualifying them for being honorable men.

Do you see how this rings of the Kingdom of God? When we think that we can somehow work our way to an honorable position before God, then we have already lost the essence of the Kingdom of God. Entrance into the Kingdom of God begins with the humble attitude that knows that we do not deserve the honor of being there.

Romans 3:22–24 ESV

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

The right understanding of your place at the table is humility, and then we trust the host to move us wherever He would would desire us to be. We have to begin in a position of humility to receive the gift of the Kingdom of God - we cannot secure it by our own actions.

We have to begin in a position of humility to receive the gift of the Kingdom of God - we cannot secure it by our own actions.

This reference to a Wedding Feast, was not given to help these men at their next social engagement. Jesus was alluding to what is called in : “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb”. We cannot work our way to that table with Jesus. It is only given as a gift when we come to God with the “nothing” that we have to offer and He gives us the “everything” that we need.

This is a vivid contrast to the Kingdom of God. These men were working to secure themselves as the hono their own Kingdom. It was all about them. The continue to feel entitled to his positions.

Luke 14:11 ESV

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 3:22–25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

English Standard Version Chapter 14

11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

“Humility is a by-product of belief in the gospel of Christ. In the gospel, we have a confidence not based in our performance but in the love of God in Christ. () This frees us from having to always be looking at ourselves. Our sin was so great, nothing less than the death of Jesus could save us. He had to die for us. But his love for us was so great, Jesus was glad to die for us” - Tim Keller

Luke 14:6–11 ESV

And they could not reply to these things. Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “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, 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. 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. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

English Standard Version Chapter 14

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.”

It appears that Jesus is not afraid to offend anyone at this party, because after he has addressed the behavior of the guests he goes after the behavior of the host.

Luke 14:12–14 ESV

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.”

Jesus was looking around at a Sabbath dinner full of “well-to-do” prominent men and he realized what this meal was really all about. It was not a gift of love and grace from the host, but a social transaction where the host is expecting to receive back from the guests as much or more than he had invested.

To be clear, Jesus is not condemning the idea of inviting our friends, relatives or neighbors over for dinner. You don’t have to dis-invite someone from your lunch plans today. What Jesus is condemning the idea of “only” inviting those people into our lives. You don’t have to change your lunch plans today…but you could add to them. True hospitality is opening up your home, your life, your time to someone else just because God is pleased when we do. If we have some other agenda, then it is not hospitality it is usury.

The Parable of the Great Banquet

Jesus was looking around at a Sabbath dinner full of “well-to-do” prominent men and he realized what this meal had become. It was not a gift of love and grace from the host, but a social transaction where the host would receive back from the guests as much or more than they invested. To be clear, Jesus is not condemning the idea of inviting our friends, relatives or neighbors over for dinner. You don’t have to dis-invite someone from your lunch plans today. What Jesus is condemning the idea of “only” inviting those people who we believe will in some way “pay us back” for our kindness. You don’t have to change your lunch plans today…but you could. True hospitality is opening up your home, your life, your time to someone else just because God is pleased when we do.

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.” Jesus was looking around at a Sabbath dinner full of “well-to-do” prominent men and he realized what this meal had become. It was not a gift of love and grace from the host, but a social transaction where the host would receive back from the guests as much or more than they invested. To be clear, Jesus is not condemning the idea of inviting our friends, relatives or neighbors over for dinner. You don’t have to dis-invite someone from your lunch plans today. What Jesus is condemning the idea of “only” inviting those people who we believe will in some way “pay us back” for our kindness. You don’t have to change your lunch plans today…but you could. True hospitality is opening up your home, your life, your time to someone else just because God is pleased when we do.

It is easy for our 21st century minds to identify the prejudice that is desplayed here. We are outraged at the idea that of rejecting someone just because they are crippled, lame or the blind. We have to remember though, that it never would have occured to the host, or anyone present that day, to invite someone like this. It just wasn’t done, and everyone knew that. It would never have even entered their mind, except that Jesus placed the idea right in front of them.

So we have to take that same idea and apply it to ourselves this morning. What does our “Hospitality” look like? I would guess that physical impairments would not disqualify someone from our hospitality, but there are probably other things.

Where physical impairments would not disqualify someone from our hospitality, there are probably other things.

When was the last time that you did something for someone else that was entirely selfless?

Do you know what I mean by that? I mean when you did something for someone that fell outside of any personal responsibility that you had towards that person. It would be hard to include family members in this, because you have a familial responsibility toward them so that helping them, even though it is a good thing to do, it also makes us a good son-in-law, or a good grandson or a good husband or wife - if we take that variable out then it makes it kind of hard to think of a time when we did something that we were not in some way repaid. That is why Jesus uses the illustration of the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind - in his day they were not respected. Most people thought there must have been some terrible sin that they had done to make them this way - so no one really thought you were a good person if you helped them. This was backward thinking that Jesus was proposing.

Why help someone who couldn’t help you? Because that is exactly what God did for you.

Remember what Jesus said back in

Luke 6:32–36 ESV

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Purpose of the Sabbath meal?

Know again that Jesus is not after etiquette lessons here for party hosts. He is pointing to something so much bigger. If we approach His Invitation to the Kingdom of God as this host was looking at the Invitations to his dinner then we will miss out entirely. Entrance to the Kingdom of God is not granted as repayment for something that we have done. We cannot pre-pay our way in. This attitude says that God now “owes” us something.

The only reason that any of us will see the Kingdom of God is because it is part of God’s nature to be Hospitable in this way. He invites us in, not because he owes us anything, but because it brings him great pleasure. That is very reason that we should be hospitable like this. Not because we get repayed, but because God is pleased by it.

And that brings us to our final point, in truth it is probably more an over arching point that is present throughout this passage.

Q: What have we done lately purely for the benefit for someone else?

Luke 14:15 ESV

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!”

This man knew that Jesus was not just talking about future dinner parties. There was more being spoken about here and it appears that he wanted to offer his perspective. See back in verse 14 Jesus says that you will blessed if you do good to those who cannot repay you. This person’s response is that it is those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God that are blessed. Those that are part of “in” crowd will be truly blessed.

Jesus doesn’t argue with the man, instead he shares a parable that in some ways agrees with him, but in others does not.

Luke 14:16–21 ESV

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.’

English Standard Version Chapter 14

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.’ ”

A couple things to explain here so that we can connect more fully with this story. Remember a parable is a new idea that is thrown alongside a common experience to bring greater clarity and understanding. So there are things that are a bit different today in the way we are invited to a banquet compared to the way they were back in Jesus’ day.

If you and I were invited to a huge banquet, like for a wedding let’s say, there are many different ways to communicate the details of the event. Even today when digital communication is so prevalent, we most likely would still get a paper invitation in the mail. Sometimes, for those who are really good at planning ahead, you will first receive a “Save the date card” with just the date of the event so that you can put it on your calendar and protect that day against other scheduling event. Then weeks later you would get the full fledged invitation with all the other details, like the time of the ceremony, the time of reception, where they are registered and a response card to tell them whether or not you want the beef or the chicken. That is a lot of informataion and a lot of communication. Why do we go through all this? Because it is a very special event and we want to make sure that we have done everything we can to make sure that our loves ones can attend.

They had servants, but no mail

In Jesus’ day when there was a special event like this there was no mail system to send out invitations. If you wanted to invite people to a great feast or party you would send a servant as a courier to personally deliver your invitation. I could almost not overstate how much of an honor it would be to have been invited to something like this. It was such an honor that the servant would receive the RSVP right on the spot. “Yes, we would be honored to attend” and the courier then carried the responses back to the master and he would begin planning accordingly.

But there were two steps to an invitation in Jesus’ day because they did not have clocks or... refrigerators. That might seem disconnected, but it is not. Let me explain.

Luke 14:15–24 ESV

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.’ ”

They did not have a mail system and they did not have clocks or... refrigerators. That might seem disconnected, but it is not. Let me explain.

Luke 14:16–24 ESV

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.’ ”

Well back in Jesus’ day when there was a special event like this there was no mail system to send out invitations. If you wanted to invite people to a big feast or party you would send a servant as a courier to personally deliver your invitation. We could almost not overstate how much of an honor it was to be invited to something like this, so typically the servant would receive the RSVP right on the spot. Basically, the future guest would commit to dropping everything else, because this kind of event was such a great honor.

Why do we go through all this? Because it is a very special event and we want to spend it with our loved ones.

Well they also did not have clocks or... refrigerators. Why would that matter? Well let me explain.

At our house, outside of using our grill, I really do not do much of the meal preparation in our home. Of the few times when I have for some reason prepared the food, the part that I find the most difficult is the timing. Especially when dealing with hot food, what do you cook first, second and third so that everything hits the table at the same time ready to eat. I think it is because I compartmentalize so much that I figure you just cook this item start to finish and the next....but you have to have 3 pots going at once and my mind just can’t handle all that coordination. Something is going to get burnt...

Take my frustration in making a meal for just the four of us and multiply it by what would be needed to make a great feast. You would have to time everything just right so the hot food is still hot and none of the other food has spoiled. This is where the lack of refrigerators come in. You could not prepare parts of the meal in advance and then just throw in the fridge. This made the timing of feasts very difficult, and remember they didn’t even have clocks.

You had to time everything just perfect, including the arrival of the guests. So when everything was just about ready you would send out the servant, just in time to let them know that that everything is ready so come right now.

This made the timing of feasts very difficult. You had to time everything just perfect, including the arrival of the guests. So when everything was just about ready you would send out the servant, just in time to let them know that that everything is ready so come right now.

Remember they already know that this is coming

They were honored to be Invited to such a wonderful event

They have RSVP-ed, they have accepted the Invitation, so the Host has prepared a place for them

But when the time came to join the host in this celebration…they all came up with excuses.

Excuse #1 I have bought some land and have to check it out

Remember they had already said they wanted to come to the meal. They had RSVPed and so the host had been working hard to make sure that their was food enough for them and it was ready. The

There were also no clocks

.

Excuse #2 I have bought some cattle and have to try them out

Excuse #3 I have taken a wife and I have to…be with my wife

What commonalities do you notice about these particular excuses? I notice two things:

They do not seem to be time sensitive issues - even if the feast lasted an entire week, you could still check on your land a week later, you could still try out your new teams of oxen a week later and hopefully you would still have your wife a week later. So excuses are not about, “Something urgent came up” but just something, really anything came up.

None of these things are intrinsically evil - they are all three fine things to be doing - If we were going to be setting them up as catagories, I would say that the three excuses were centered around home, work and family. Those are things that we value don’t we. These are things that God has given us as blessings. It is not evil things that seem to be keeping these guests from the feasts.

So if it really is not bad timing and it is also not bad things then where are all these excuses coming from?

In fact I would say that all three of these are good things to be doing. If were going to be setting them up as catagories, I would say that the three excuses were centered around home, work and family. Those are things that we can quickly see value can’t we. These are things that God has given us as blessings. They are not evil things.

So if it not bad timing and not bad things then what is the problem?

“When good things keep you from enjoying the best things, then they become bad things” - Warren Wiersbe

The problem was not the land, oxen or the wife - it was that the guests placed a higher value on them they did on being with the Master of the Great Feast.

We live in a culture where schedule changes are a normal part of life. Things come up. Plans change. So we might not see the great offense in this - but make no mistake these excuses were offensive. This was a slap in the face to the host, to have at one point accepted the invitation and then later to say that you can’t come because you have something else that you would just rather be doing. It was a recognizable insult.

It would be like a guy asking a girl out on a date and she says, “I can’t, I gotta wash my hair” Everyone knows what that means, it means the girl doesn’t want to be with that guy. That is what is happening here, and that is why the Master of the house gets angry.

It would be like a guy asking a girl out on a date and she says, “I can’t, I gotta wash my hair” Everyone knows what that means. It is not a schedule conflict, it means the girl doesn’t want to be with that guy. That is what is happening here, and that is why the Master of the house gets angry.

The problem was not the land, oxen or the wife - it was that the guests valued them more than they valued the host who had invited them to the banquet. This was a slap in the face of the host, to say that you can’t come because you have to do something that you can do any other time is an insult. Today it would be like refusing a date because “You have to wash your hair”. Everyone knows what that means, it means that you don’t value the one asking enough to ever want to go with them.

So what is the Master to do now? The time has come for the Great Feast and he doesn’t have any guest coming. We only hear the details of three of their excuses, but it said that “all alike began to make excuses” He is not going to just throw the opportunity to have the great feast away, so sends out His servant a third time...

Luke 14:21–23 ESV

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.

Luke 14:21–24 ESV

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.’ ”

Remember that this parable was told in response to the person at the banquet who said, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” It was not a story just about banquet invitations but about the ultimate Invitation. The Invitation to enter into the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ answer to the man’s outburst is, “Yes, it is true that those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God are blessed, but it might not be the people that you think!” It not be the people that you expect would be there.

Luke 14:21 ESV

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.’

Luke 14:22–24 ESV

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.’ ”

That sounds familiar doesn’t it…wait they are going to be Invited to the great banquet?

The servant goes out and does this and then returns to the Master.

Luke 14:22–24 ESV

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.’ ”

I want you to go out to ends of the earth and invite every person that you find!

Remember that this parable was told in response to the person at the banquet who said, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” It was not a story just about banquet invitations but about the ultimate Invitation. The Invitation to enter into the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ answer to the man’s outburst is, “Yes, it is true that those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God are blessed, but it might not be the people that you think!”

Remember that this parable was told in response to the person at the banquet who said, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” It was not a story just about banquet invitations but about the ultimate Invitation. The Invitation to the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ answer to the man’s outburst is, “Yes, it is true that those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God are blessed, but it might not be the people that you think!”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Jesus anwer is that it is true that those who eat bread in the Kingdom of God are blessed, but it might not be the people that you think!

This is a repeated theme that we have bumping into over the past several weeks. The Jewish Leaders thought that they were automatically part of the Kingdom of God because their ancestors had recieved the Invitation long ago. They had RSVPed for them. And that is true, as the chosen people of God they were offered a place at the table. But that Invitation came with the expectation that one day the servant, the anointed one, the Messiah comes and announces to them that everything was ready.

He would say, That the Kingdom of God has come

And here this Messiah, Jesus is among them declaring this very thing and they are still worried about who is sitting in the seat of honor at the dinner table. They are still opperating as if nothing has changed. They are so caught up in the things of this world that they have missed the announcement that the “fullness of time” had come. Jesus ends the parable with this sad declaration:

so focused on securing their so-called success here on earth that they have missed the announcement that the Kingdom of God has come. They have so many excuses that are focused on gaining things here on earth so Jesus ends the parable with the declaration that says that they will not enter into Kingdom of God.

24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”

Luke 14:24 ESV

For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”

But the good news is that the banquet will not go to waste! Just like the servant in the banquet parable, Jesus has now gone out into the world to call in everyone. Salvation through the Messiah is no longer just for the Jews, but for Gentiles like us to. God wants his Kingdom to be full! Some of the first ones invited refused to come, so He sends out for everyone else. Come. You are all invited. Will you come?

But the good news is that the Master of the House is still going to have his banquet. Those who were first invited might have missed it, but the Invitation has gone out to all of us. This is great news for those of us who are not Jewish. That at the perfect time, God sent his Son to announce to us all that we can come and enjoy the banquet.

Galatians 3:28–29 ESV

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

But the good news is that the Master of the House is still going to have his banquet. Those who were first invited might have missed it, but the Invitation has gone out to all of us. This is great news for those of us who are not Jewish. That at the perfect time, God sent his Son to announce to us all that we can come and enjoy the banquet.

And that is the Invitation of the Gospel as it stands for you and me today. Open to everyone, not just the religious elites. In fact, that is probably what we should learn from this text today. That it is often harder for those that everyone “expects” to be in the Kingdom of God to ever Humble themselves enough to receive it. They are full of excuses. They don’t want to let go of the good things that this life offers them, in order to get what is so much better.

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

And that is the Invitation of the Gospel. Open to everyone...

Speaking of raccoons…(rough transition.) Anyway, I remember reading a book back in middle school that talked about how to trap a raccoon when you didn’t have a trap. You would put a shiny piece of metal or tin in the small hole of hallowed out log. Then you would nail a few nails into the log pointing down at the shiny object. Well raccoons are very curious animals, and they cannot resist finding out what that shiney thing is. So they will reach into the log to grab it. As their little paws ball up around the object, they quickly find that they cannot get their hand out. The nails don’t move. They got their hand in their just fine, but they can’t get their hand out if they keep making a fist.

The crazy part is, they won’t let go. You can come right on up to them and they will hiss and holler at you like they did when i had them in a cage - but they won’t let go of that shiny thing in order to gain their freedom.

This is the same thing as we see here in Jesus’ parable. They valued the things of God more than they valued God. It is God who has given us land, animals and marriage, they are gifts from Him. Good gifts. So how could we miss how good it would be to dwell in the Kingdom of God. God’s Invitation is not a trap, to get rid of us, it is an invitation to be protected, fed and cared for in the Kingdom of God. We experience some of that now, as it grows and develops in the hearts of everyone who has submitted themselves to Jesus as Lord, but someday if will be fully realized for all of eternity.

And that is the Invitation of the Gospel. Open to everyone...

It is not the Invitation of a Trap. A way to get rid of someone, but a welcoming in. An Invitation to be protected, fed and cared for in the Kingdom of God. It has begun now and it lives in the hearts of every believer, but someday if will be fully realized for all of eternity.

Could that be you? Is your commitment to the Gospel just an intellectual understanding that it would be better to go to heaven than it would be to be in hell? That is just information, not anything that causes transformation.

“When Good things keep you from enjoying the best things then they become bad things” What is your number one priortiy in your life?

While we

Maybe you are here this morning and you are saying, yeah but you don’t understand Dan, things at home, work or the family are falling apart. The finances just are not there. The trust just isn’t there. The demands are too high and the time is too short. That Kingdom of God thing sounds great, but I am barely hanging on here, fighting for our basic needs every day.

Understand that there is nothing that you are going through that God doesn’t see, even better than you do. There is no need that you have that He is not aware of, or is unwilling to meet. You know what Jesus’ answer is to when we say that we just can’t get all of these things done that have to be done...

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

The Kingdom of God is more than just a destination, it is something that works through us to make us everything that we need to be. Don’t be trapped into living for the “shiney”. The only way to find true success is to humbly come before God, receive his invitation to the Kingdom of God and then watch as it works in and through you to accomplish all good things in your life. Answer the invitation. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Seek first His Righteousness. He will take care of everything else.

The Invitation

Intro: Invitation or a trap?

Tension

Transitional Statement

Transitional Statement

Their Invitation was to trap Jesus -

Jesus’ Invitation to True Humility -

Jesus’ Invitation to True Humility -

An Invitation to Humility -

Jesus’ Invitation to True Hospitality -

Jesus’ Invitation to True Humility -

Jesus’ Invitation to True Humility -

Jesus’ Invitation to True Hospitality -

Jesus’ Invitation to the Kingdom of God -

Gospel Application

Landing