Invitation to God's Table

Intro: To this point in my life, the only banquets (fancy meals) I’ve been invited to are ones where you are either asked to pay for them yourself, or the meal is free but the purpose of bringing you there is to ask for your contribution to their cause. (My intent is not to knock such practice, but to point out a contrast… which you’ll see momentarily.) There are other banquets, ones to which I have never been invited (and you’ll know why when I finish this sentence), in which the guests are only those who are being honored for some great achievement (and their plus one can attend, and others who hobnob with the famous or have previously achieved some great feat). Most of us here, to the best of my knowledge, are not those people.

The great supper of the eternal kingdom in the presence of God is contrasted to these examples in several ways: Nobody will be there on merit (neither by payment nor accomplishment), nobody gets in by proximity to a somebody, and nobody is there by particular pedigree (parentage or heritage). Instead, all who attend are guests of honor based on the achievement of Jesus alone and his open invitation.

That is precisely the picture achieved in our text today in Luke 14, where Jesus gives a parable about a great banquet (meant to be an image of future feasting and fellowship, of acceptance and blessing, in the presence of God in heaven). However, what is to be sharply noted by Jesus’ audience, who are themselves representative of Jewish religious somebodies, is that the original invitees to this banquet make lame excuses (on the day of the event) as to why they cannot come. But while their rejection means that they will be absent from the eternal feast, it does not stop the banquet. Instead, Jesus is inviting all who will respond rightly to his coming, even or especially the outcasts of Jewish society and the outsiders (Gentiles, like all or most of us).

As we read and study Jesus’ parable of the great banquet, let’s put our minds to work to understand the truth God has for us, and put our hearts in subjection to that truth so that He may use it to bless us.

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.’ ”

Just before this, Jesus has been taking pains, yet again, to confront the wrong hearts of the Pharisees. The very ones who invited him to this meal, apparently to trap him in something that he might say or do (“watching him closely”), are those who are spiritually blind in their hypocritical religiosity. So Jesus confronts their lack of humility before God and their false hearts even in their so-called hospitality or generosity. The last statement from Jesus’ previous lesson on that point was, that if their generosity were pure and not for repayment, they would in fact be truly blessed by God at “the resurrection of the righteous.”

At the mention of the eschatological resurrection, the final and ultimate resurrection of all whom God has justified, some well-meaning or (more probably) self-exalting attendee at the meal speaks up to pronounce that those who will feast in the eternal kingdom are truly blessed.

True Statement, Wrong Assumption

At face value, that is an absolutely accurate statement, but we see from Jesus’ response that this speaker makes a false assumption. He’s not wrong about the incredible blessing for all who will be at the ultimate table fellowship (again, a metaphor for being welcome in God’s presence in the future glorious kingdom). But, and the reason Jesus issues the subsequent parable, is that this speaker must be wrong in his presumption of who will be at that great feast. Clearly he presumes that he and those with him, because they are religiously pious in their Judaism, will be present at that eternal table. Jesus pokes holes that false assumption.

Just because I religiously follow Team USA at the Olympics doesn’t mean that I get a gold medal when they earn a gold medal. We won the gold! Well technically, they won, and I’m just a fan.

Jesus proves to us that we cannot merely be fans. It not enough to be a fan of God and of religion, so long as that religion suits my purposes. It is not enough to presume association with good people, even with the people of God. It’s not enough to know that there is a great banquet coming after this life and just assume that I will be there.

So how can one be sure that they will have a seat at the eternal banquet in God’s holy presence? Well, the parable shows, when the final invitation goes out, one must respond.

Come, the Banquet Is Now Ready

You see, what would have happened is that these would-be guests would have already been invited at a much earlier date, and they would have either responded with an official yes or at least not with a rejection.

Luke 14:16 ESV

But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.

Luke 14:17 ESV

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.’

They are therefore being invited again on the day of the event. Today is the day! Now is the time. Come!

We are used to RSVPing for an event, knowing the exact date and time, and we must then show up. Well, this situation is different in that they have been forewarned, already invited, but with the lack of such a concentrated system of calendars and times, there would come a final invitation when the preparations had all been made. That is what is now taking place.

I believe we are meant to understand this as a picture of the Jews having received the messianic prophecies well in advance, and now the arrival of the Messiah is announced. Leon Morris explains, “God’s invitation had gone out to the people through the prophets. Now in Jesus the second invitation was given.” -Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 252.

Jesus is the final invitation.

Those who were first invited, rather than preparing immediately to come, begin to make…

Illegitimate Excuses

Excuses are an attempt to make legitimate arguments based on other priorities, but they then betray a lack of giving this prior offer highest priority. That’s what we see from the examples in the parable.

Excuse #1 - ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ (v. 18)

The buyer might be legally obligated to go complete the purchase, or the deal might in fact be contingent on a later inspection. -Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 14:18. However, with so much advance notice of the wedding feast, this would a weak excuse and a major insult to a host who had prepared it at such great expense to himself.

Excuse #2 - ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.’ (19)

It seems extremely unlikely that he would buy oxen without knowing their worthiness. And, it’s certain that someone who can afford five pairs of oxen has others working for him who do the actual labor. Surely they could vouch for their effectiveness, or surely he could test them another day. … Another poor excuse.

Excuse #3 - ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’ (20)

While being in one’s first year of marriage could prevent a man from having to go out to war, it surely didn’t prevent him from social interactions. Even though his new wife may not have also been in the original invitation (and in their culture it wasn’t abnormal for a man to be invited but not their spouse), this was still a weak excuse because of prior notice.

Here’s what is truly heartbreaking about these excuses:

Clearly they do not grasp who is offering what!

(Misperceiving, misunderstanding)

*Illust?

In making excuses, we see clearly that the original invitees do not see that the kingdom is now here in Jesus. The final invitation has gone out. How must one respond? What must take place is to accept Jesus as the Messiah. He announces the Kingdom’s arrival, because in him is inaugurated the coming spiritual reign of the kingdom of God in the hearts of men and women. Jesus has been demonstrating the Kingdom arrival plainly in both his teaching and by miraculous signs. But because he doesn’t meet their expectations, rather than listen to him, the religious leaders continue to reject and plot against him.

Now there is shift in the story due to the rejection of the first invitees. What we see is not that their rejection halts the celebration, rather…

The Banquet Will Go On

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.

The host is rightly angered at the rejection of those who have known so long (***) about the banquet but now refuse to come. But his house will be filled with guests, so he first invites the outcasts of Jewish society.

I cannot help but see the mission of the church. That is the second of two major applications for us today from Jesus’ parable...

Kingdom Invitation: Respond rightly now to receive the great blessing then.

All who jockey for position based on their own perceived merit will be refused a seat at the table, will be refused even a taste of the banquet feast.

But they who humbly respond to an invitation based not on being deserving but on the generosity of the host, these alone will enjoy the great eternal banquet in God’s presence.

Even somebodies in this life must view themselves as nobodies in terms of merit with God. The only way in into God’s presence is to humbly accept Jesus as the only means to God. His invitation, and his invitation only, is the one that counts. Responding to Jesus’ invitation will result in the transformation necessary now to prepare you for the great banquet then.

Now secondly, since God’s Messiah has now come, it is the task of his servants to invite all who will come.

Kingdom Invitation: The task of Jesus’ disciples is to invite others.

This shift in the parable is certainly meant to be a warning to those who are self-righteous and self-absorbed, too good for the invitation through Jesus. But it also shows how Jesus will commission his followers to spread the invitation to all, and especially to those who wouldn’t fine themselves “deserving” in any way.

In the text we see how the focus shifts to the outcasts and the outsiders.

Invite Others: The Outcasts and Outsiders

The extension of the invitation to Jewish social outcasts (*** the poor, crippled, blind, and lame… from the city streets and alleys) and to outsiders from the original covenant with Israel (*** highways and country roads) should cause us to consider at least these three things about the invitation we are sharing with others.

1. God’s invitation through Jesus is an open invitation.

It is not our job to decide who’s good enough to be invited. That’s not how it works. No one is good enough. Anyone who thinks they’re good will think they’re too good for the invitation through Jesus. That means the one who comes will be the one who realizes his need, the one who sees that she has not done anything to deserve this invitation.

2. God’s invitation through Jesus is a free invitation.

Here’s what people must understand, besides humbly admitting their unworthiness: Access to fellowship with God is free to you because Jesus paid the entrance fee. It’s all grace.

3. God’s invitation through Jesus is a sufficient invitation.

“Come, everything is now ready.” There is abundant provision for restoration to God through Jesus. All that we need for life and godliness.

The conclusion of the parable ends with a stark warning: none of the original invitees will taste my banquet, says the host.

In other words, if you don’t accept that Jesus is God’s final invitation, then you have not entered the kingdom and will not feast in eternal fellowship with God.

No Other Offer: Only Jesus

What if you were the first on the list of invitees to the most important banquet ever, and you refused because you decided that you had other priorities? You decided that the offer wasn’t worth your attendance?

Luke 14:24 ESV

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

The originally invited group will be conspicuously absent from the great feast. Those who rejected the invitation will get nothing. It is not because Jesus excluded them, but rather that they have excluded themselves.

[Concluding Summary?]

Communion (the Lord’s Table):

What an interesting perspective this text gives us for taking the Lord’s Table together this morning!

Of course, this meal that we share is not to be confused with future feasting in the eternal kingdom. This meal of the bread and the cup is commemorative, a representative reminder, of what Christ accomplished at the cross by his death and resurrection for those who are his through faith.

To that purpose, it is a solemn celebration of the gospel of Jesus Christ saving us and sustaining us. Only the sacrifice of Christ can take away our sin, and only the righteousness of Christ can grant us right relationship to God. Only the grace of Christ to us and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in us holds us firmly in this faith until the end.

And it is this until the end… “until he comes” which makes the connection to the eternal banquet in the presence of God. If we are indeed sincere believers only in the person and work of Jesus to save us, then by that acceptance we have already secured a place setting in that future banquet. We are already in on the kingdom promise even as now we work in the power of Christ toward kingdom progress.

So while we are already in but not yet feasting in that eternal banquet, we celebrate the Lord’s Table regularly to keep the eyes of our hearts (the eyes of our minds) focused on the mission of being the servants who proclaim to others of Christ’s atoning death and resurrection power, inviting them to join us in being forgiven of sin and restored to God.

Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup in remembrance of our Lord, let it give you comfort and rest in knowing that you securely belong to him, and let it strengthen your hands and feet to walk in holiness and to spread the good news of the kingdom.

PRAY & Distribute the Elements

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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