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.’” (Luke 14:15–24 ESV)
Blessed indeed will be the eating of bread in God’s kingdom! I am confident you are looking forward to it as have Christians for many years. I recall see a painting depicting the feast at the resurrection. Christians were laying around, full. You might recall a Thanksgiving feast were people are laying around having had their fill of stuffing, turkey and whatever other goods had been prepared. This painting depicted Christians satisfied and glad at the feast and victory of the Lord.
This painting sticks in my mind as a depiction of what God has planned for His people. It is interesting how Jesus, though, takes this comment about being blessed to eat bread in God’s kingdom and tells a parable about that feast and banquet. This feast and banquet begins with an invitation to many but when they don’t come, He extends it to others.
You see, what is interesting is that the man seems to speak about the future—about that feast to which we are all looking forward—but Jesus responds by speaking about a feast that seems to be present now. He doesn’t start in the future like the man who made the comment “will eat.” No, he begins in the past. He “once gave” (“was preparing” (Greek)) a feast and he “invited many” and he “sent his servant.”
Jesus is inviting this man and us to consider how this feast is being offered right now—that this feast is a present reality. It is going on right now. Many have been invited—many invitations have already gone out. We might especially think of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the descendents of Israel but we cannot stop there for this invitation extends to the present. Many have been invited. Many invitations have been extended—think of all the Christians and the many people in the world who have heard God’s Word and been invited to the feast.
Many received this invitation. Many accepted this invitation. Many rejoiced at this invitation. Then, the call went out when the banquet was being offered, “Come, for everything is now ready.” Here, the invitation is put forward as the present reality. This is now. God has completed the banquet. What He was preparing is now being set before His people. Here is the feast. Enjoy!
We must pause here and think about this very present reality ourselves. God has invited us and set before us His Table—His feast. He had been preparing it—the preparation stretched back thousands of years to that first time that He announced it in the Garden of Eden. He prepared a feast of life and salvation to undo the meal of death and destruction of which Adam and Eve had partaken. So many things pointed forward to this feast—many were invited.
But now, as Jesus is present before them, they are being invited. The feast is present, now. It is time to eat. But look at all those guests who were invited who turn away—who are, too busy. There are many things in this world that occupy them. They are worried and anxious and preoccupied with many of the other good gifts of God.
Just look at all the excuses. None of them ring out as if God is being rejected for something sinful. They stand out because they are good things and good gifts—they are just placed as more important than God. One cites the need to take care of some property, “a field.” Another cites animals he has acquired, “oxen.” Both must go examine that which they bought. I presume to make sure everything is in good order—that their purchase is secure and good. The last cites how he has married and needs to attend to his wife. All of these are good gifts. All of their actions would be considered good ones but the master is angry.
The anger of this master only makes sense if we consider who the master is, the cost of this feast, and the fact that the invitation went out already such that all recipients were aware of the feast ahead of time. This is not surprise. This is not your friend calling you at 5 pm on Friday night inviting you over to watch the game and eat with him; or a spontaneous invitation to a girls’ night out. This came in advance. There has been time to prepare and yet all these people are indicating that they have made other plans or that these other things are far more important to them than this feast. Clearly, they are scorning the Master and His feast!
The Master then sends His servant to find others to come to the feast. As we think of Jesus’ day, we will see how Jesus was calling His fellow Jews to open their eyes and recognize God’s invitation to them. The Lord is inviting them. He is calling them! They time is now! If they reject Him, He will invite other. We might first think of the Pharisees rejecting Him, especially since they seem to be those present at this feast at the rules of the Pharisee’s house (Luke 14:1, 7). He will call those lame, crippled, poor, and blind (Luke 14:21)—you know, those sinners! And after that, He will send for those in the highways, hedges and so forth (Luke 14:23)-you know, those Gentiles!
As we unpack this parable, though, we are providing insight for ourselves, today. We are provided a warning. We have been invited to this feast. It is presently happening, Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. It is going on now and do people come? Or do they may excuses? Do we come or do we make excuses?
I’m not talking about those who are sick or unable to physically come. We don’t hear such as an excuse. (If anything, Jesus suggests that we should be bringing the crippled, lame, etc. ourselves!) What we hear as excuses is people who have things to which they think are more important or better to attend. Their property, their wealth, their future productivity, their family—these things are more important than the Lord God and the feast of salvation that He has prepared for them.
Perhaps you have heard these excuses, maybe even spoken them yourselves—excuses for missing worship, for missing eating the Lord’s Supper—excusing for missing hearing God’s Word and feasting at His Table:
I have to work and can’t be at church.
It is true that some people must work on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights. We cannot get around it but that doesn’t mean that these people should neglect the Lord’s Supper or that they can hold up this as an excuse before God for not hearing His life-giving, life-sustaining Word! What job can provide you life like Jesus’ Word? Many Christians have faced this dilemma and have found workarounds. Some have worked it out with their employers to let them come in later on Sundays or leave early for Wednesday worship; others have worked out a compromise—one Sunday off and the next Sunday on. Others have arranged to come receive the Lord’s Supper and hear the Word on another day. Some have even sought a new job. In other words, rather than giving up the God’s Word and His feast, they have sought a way to be at the feast. They have said, being with Jesus, is more important than economic security.
I have too many chores and obligations—too much to do!
If this was a valid excuse, who would ever be at church? Take for example farmers and ranchers. There is always a need to care for their animals or attend to their crops and lands. What farmer would come to church if his chores and obligations always determined where he would be? This excuse forgets that neither you nor I are God. If we miss our chores and obligations for a time, the world will not go to hell anymore than it already is! God commanded a rest in His Word and at His table. That means laying down our chores and obligations for a time—just like you do when you eat your other meals, or when you go to sleep!
I am relaxing and need a rest. I’m busy catching up on my sleep!
In college, some people joked about how they were attending “St. Mattress.” Or how the day was supposed to be a day or rest so why would God be upset with them for actually resting? Usually, though, this pointed to one of two problems: either overworking yourself (see the above excuse) or to over-entertaining yourself. So, you were up late watching a movie, playing video games, drinking, having a night out with friends, etc., and now you do not have time for God’s Word? Such shows what we think as most important. When push came to shove, God’s Word got the boot and fun or self-enjoyment stayed. That is a sad affair.
I can’t. My parents/wife/husband/friends/neighbors would be upset.
Clearly, God’s approval and His gifts can come at a price—it might cost you family, friends, and reputation, but the reward is so much greater. With the Lord, you have a seat at His forever feast, a place in His forever home. Would you really give that up because it causes someone some displeasure? Would you really turn away the Almighty God because one of His creatures doesn’t like you having God’s great favor and gifts or has their own problem with God? Can these other people deliver and provide for you better than the Lord God, your Creator?
I have things I need to work out in my life first.
What is more important to work out than your relationship with God—your Creator?
When we encounter such excuses, either from others or in ourselves, we should think about how any excuse could be answered with Jesus’ saying, “‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’” (Matthew 6:33 ESV). You see, excuses are really about trading one thing for another. Some of these excuses trade God’s kingdom for worldly righteousness; others trade it for earthly security or earthly pleasures; still others trade it for earthly peace. But none of these are going to save or deliver you. None of these excuses will hold up in God’s court of law. No excuse is actually worth the cost.
I suppose if you end up in hell, you will be glad you got to enjoy so many things in the world before you got stuck in that prison apart from God’s continued grace and mercy but is that worth the cost? Especially, considering that many of these enjoyments and pleasures can be had without sacrificing God’s Word—that is, you can often have these gifts and God’s kingdom. That is what Jesus is saying “Seek first…and all these things will be added to you.” In other words, prioritize what is truly most and important and the Lord, who gives good gifts, will also give you more and other gifts—the lesser gifts of this world.
But if you prioritize the things of this world, expect to lose the greater gifts—expect to have your invitation revoked—and eventually to lose even the lesser gifts that you considered so important!
Before I conclude this article, I want to revisit one more aspect of this parable of Jesus for He is also giving me (and the rest of the church) direction regarding inviting people to hear God’s Word. We certainly have an obligation to invite those who are baptized and lapsed or inactive church members. We are not to give up on them yet—there will come a time when they can no longer receive God’s invitation. For now, they stand invited and they can still repent and come to the feast for there is still room.
But notice how their lacking of attendance has created an opening. There are many more seats at the feast and the Lord wants His house full. So, what does He instruct His servant to do. Fetch the poor, lame, crippled, and blind. Then, beyond that, the servant it to “‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled’” (Luke 14:24 ESV).
Notice how the weak, the beggarly, those who can’t do much or who don’t have much are to be brought into the church. In other words, bring in those whose resources are few. Bring in those whose needs exceed your own, exceed what the church can do about their needs. And then, go beyond them to compel those even further out to come in—to assure them of God’s grace, that there is a place for them, that they belong in here. This includes those who are far away, who haven’t heard, who don’t know the Lord or their need, who have doubts or think they don’t belong. We are called to reach out to those who are off the normal path but whom God has called and invited now to come and to feast!
This is no easy task. For this means inviting people who are outside of our normal range—who are not in our normal paths. After trying to reach the people around us, after trying to invite those who are directly around us and those with whom we daily or weekly cross paths, we are called to seek out those who are outside our normal scope—the neighbor the next house over, whom we have never met or the stranger we will meet if we just go outside our normal sphere. We can reach people by laying invitations in those free libraries or leaving one in a bathroom or at a table where we eat or posted on a wall somewhere or dropped on a car windshield or handed out to that random person you just walked by and said, “Here! This is for you!”
Certainly, it is better if you can get in a personal conversation and build a relationship and witness in that way but do not be afraid to also leave calling cards for God around that people might see and might seek the truth. Don’t be afraid to get in those one time conversations, planting seeds or watering ones that were planted before. Who knows if they will hear or not?
Clearly, those who God expected to hear, did not—that’s why His servant went to seek the unlikely and the even less likely! We also should be less judicious when we make the invitation of the Lord. He is calling and inviting many. Only some will say yes. Only some will receive. This calls for us to reach out all the more to varied individuals. God’s Word will work on hearts and minds, even unexpectedly.
Lord God, You have called and invited many but not all have heeded Your call. Guard us against ignoring Your call and gifts and lead us to invite others and to reach out beyond those to whom we normally speak. May they hear and believe and come to know You and may those who haven’t responded repent and likewise turn to You in faith, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.