He prepares a table before me

We have been looking the past several weeks at the seven scenes that come from Psalm 23. These are the seven statements that King David uses in Psalm 23 to describe the activity of the LORD as the shepherd of his people. Today we are up to scene six which comes from Psalm 23:5 — He prepares a table before me (in the presence of my enemies).

This time we are going to use this image from Psalm 23 to jump forward into the New Testament and look at a parable of Jesus which also centers around a table that has been prepared. I am going to use the version of this parable that shows up in Luke 14. Here’s a bit of background. The parable of the great banquet in Luke 14 is actually the conclusion of several teachings and events coming together into this one moment going all the way back to Luke 11. These teachings and events are loosely tied together by the way Luke arranges them in his gospel within a theme that pushes back on the Jewish peoples’ expectations as the chosen people of God. These chapters in Luke use the words of Jesus to lay our a corrective for the people’s misunderstood assumption that they are counted as ‘in’ simply because of who they are.

Luke 14:12–24 NIV

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” 15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”

the Great Banquet

banquet required RSVP | rude, disrespectful to back out after accepting invitation

There are a few details in this story that might be helpful to know. A banquet of this magnitude in the day of Jesus had a rather specific social custom. Invitations would be extended to the guests long before the actual day of the banquet. And there was a customary system of accepting the invitation long in advance as well. It was very similar to what our culture would know as an RSVP reply to an invitation for a wedding reception. This allows the host to know who is coming and plan the banquet accordingly.

excuses come from Dt 20

And so Jesus tells this story about a man hosting a banquet in which all the invitations are set. And then—one by one—the invited guests back out at the last minute. This is a surprise twist in the story the way Jesus’ original audience would have heard it. It would have been considered extremely rude and disgraceful to back out attending a banquet after the original RSVP was already set. The excuses themselves are not the point. In fact, Jews who knew their Old Testament scripture would have recognized these excuses. The Law of Moses laid out in Deuteronomy 20 a list of valid reasons for an Israelite man to be excused from military service when the army was summoned. That list included things like ‘I just bought property and need to inspect it’ or ‘I just got married.’ The reasons for the excuses are not the shocking part of the parable; that these excuses come as a last-minute way to back out of an invitation to a feast is the insulting and disrespectful part of the story.

host expands guest list by seeking marginalized outcasts of society

What happens from there is an expansion of guest list by the insistence of the host. The servants go out and begin bringing in guests that would have been unlikely to ever merit an invitation to such a feast in Jewish culture. Jesus tells the story in a way which lumps poor, crippled, blind, and lame all into the same category. These are people who would have been marginalized as outcasts in Jewish society. These are people who were shunned and shamed as those who did not belong. And instead, the host of the party makes a direct point to invite them in—not just allow them in, or permit them to attend—but he sends out his servants to go get them.

invitation to those outside of town would not even know the host | servants compel them to come

The story goes on that there is still room for more. Now the host sends his servants outside of the village to those who lived beyond the town limits. These are people who wold have lived in the countryside. Jewish towns were not very large. It seems likely that everybody would at least know who the wealthy elite in that town would be. But once you get outside of town to the outlying settlements, those people would not even have known who this banquet host is. And now the language of the host is more forceful. He tells his servants to compel those on the outside to come in, even though he likely does not even know who they are and they do not know who he is.

Jesus tells the story in a way which focuses our attention not just on the preparation of the banquet table, but on the response of those who have been invited

focus on response of those who have been invited

We started with a phrase from Psalm 23 — He prepares a table before me. In this parable from Luke we see a much larger expansion of that banquet image. Jesus tells the story in a way which focuses our attention not just on the preparation of the banquet table, but on the response of those who have been invited.

original meaning points to nation of Israel rejecting the invitation of God’s grace coming through Jesus

To be clear, the original audience to which Jesus directs this parable is the religious elite of the Jewish people. There is an immediate and obvious connection Jesus is making there. At face value, Jesus is saying that the nation of Israel is like the guests who have all backed out of their invitation to the banquet. And now, Jesus is saying, all the marginalized outcasts among the Israelites who are coming to Jesus are taking the place in front of the religious elites. But it does not stop there. Most biblical scholars agree that the way Jesus pushes the story to include those who are outside of the village is a nod towards the gospel invitation spreading to the gentile world outside of Israel.

the Good Shepherd

focus on reaching outside the expected flock

radical reimagining of exactly who is included in the flock

Let’s bring it back to Psalm 23 for a moment. We have been considering over the past weeks all of the ways in which the LORD reveals himself as the shepherd of his people. The striking twist Jesus puts upon this shepherd image is a radical reimagining of exactly who is included in the flock. This parable of the banquet is not the only place in the gospels we see such a thing. Insider what Jesus has to say about the flock of his chosen people in John 10.

John 10:14–16 NIV

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

The parable of the banquet, then, directs itself to us in the church yet today with a few practical applications we ought to consider.

Two Lessons:

(1) this is a parable directed towards those who automatically assume they are on guest list

1. God does not base the guest list (flock) on the appearance of religion, but on the response of faith

First, this is a parable directed towards those who automatically assume they are on guest list. Jesus is telling this story while sitting in the company of people who have been born and raised in a system of religious observance. These are people who have always lived within the rules and habits and traditions of their religion. I suppose there are many of us in the church today who also fit into this exact same mold. We are in a place where many of us were born and raised in homes with Christian families. We have picked up all the habits and traditions of living a Christian life from the time we were young.

invitation is not for a select few who happen to come from the right upbringing

Not that there is anything wrong with a Christian upbringing in a Christian family. Don’t misunderstand me; this is a good thing. But the point Jesus is making is that our invitation the great banquet of God is not given because we have somehow lived perfect little Christian lives by following all the right habits and rules and traditions. The invitation is not for a select few who happen to come from the right upbringing.

hearing the call of the gospel is not the same as responding to the call of the gospel having the right Bible answers in your head is not the same as having Jesus in your heart

And so the point Jesus makes in the story is not so much the receiving of the invitation. Rather, Jesus seems to be pushing further to the response. This is a reminder for us today that hearing the call of the gospel is not the same as responding to the call of the gospel. Learning about Jesus is not the same as responding in faith to Jesus. Having the right Bible answers in your head is not the same as having Jesus in your heart.

not appearance of religion, but response of faith

If you have heard this invitation before, but have never responded in faith, there is no reason to wait. Accept the invitation given by God—through his grace—to join his eternal banquet; and then come to God in faith. Let your life echo a response to the call of the gospel by embracing a faith which comes to Jesus.

(2) lesson about who else is sitting at the table with us

2. God opens his guest list (flock) to people we would not expect to be included

The second application we see in this parable is a lesson about who else is sitting at the table with us. Jesus lands this parable with a banquet hall filled with the absolute last people any religious person would have ever expected to be included. The members of Israel’s religious society would never imagine that the poor, crippled, blind, and lame would have a place at the feast of God. In the Jewish culture of that time, marginalized people did not belong. The religious society thought that those who suffered had been rejected by God, and so the leaders of the Jewish religion ought to reject them too.

we have our own categories of outcasts and misfits | based upon lifestyle choices, value systems, cultural norms, racial and ethnic backgrounds

Our world is not all that different. We have our own categories of outcasts and misfits. It seems much more the case in today’s world that we would not only identify outcasts based upon physical infirmities or socioeconomic status. We also have categories of outcasts in our world today based upon lifestyle choices, value systems, cultural norms, racial and ethnic backgrounds.

our response in faith to Jesus to join his great banquet is a response which also eagerly welcomes other people

This parable is a reminder for us today to see beyond the walls of our church to people on the outside in our community. The gospel of Jesus has extended an invitation that seems especially targeted to the people we might assume to be the least worthy of it. But that is exactly how grace works. Our response in faith to Jesus to join his great banquet is a response which also eagerly welcomes other people—specifically, the people we might be most inclined to exclude. By the grace of God, the only requirement for responding to the invitation of Jesus is faith.

are there people out there whom Jesus is calling in faith, but I push them away because they are not like me?

It is a good reminder for us today to take a look around in our community outside and ask, are there people out there whom Jesus is calling in faith, but I push them away because they are not like me? Part of my response to Jesus in faith is welcoming others who come to Jesus in faith.

The LORD is my shepherd. He prepares a table before me. May we be people who receive the banquet invitation with joy and respond in faith by coming to Jesus. And may we be people who joyfully extend the gospel call of Jesus to the least and most unlikely people in our community whom God is beckoning to join his banquet feast.