Luke 14:12-24
THE BLESSEDNESS OF SHARING IN THE GREAT BANQUET
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.” (Luke 14:12-14)
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.’ (Luke 14:15-17)
Notice that here we are dealing with a “great banquet” and with the blessedness of the one who will share in it. Blessed is the one who will be part of the kingdom of God, the one who will share in “the resurrection of the righteous” (v.14). The idea of a future feast in the kingdom of God is definitely biblical. In Revelation we read about a similar celebration, which is called “the wedding supper of the Lamb.”
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.” 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:1-9)
The day of the wedding supper of the Lamb is drawing near. And what an honor it is, what blessedness, to be invited to it. If you were invited to dinner with the president or with some important state official, whether there were many people there or few, you would truly feel flattered, and greatly, greatly honored. To the church in Pergamum in Revelation, Jesus says (Revelation 2:17):
17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. (Revelation 2:17)
Notice that what is spoken of here is not only a new name, but also a white stone. This is a very telling expression, because in those days, when they had no printing presses and there were no printed invitations, those who organized important balls or banquets also prepared specially fashioned white stones, which served as an admission pass for the invited guests. So in speaking of this white stone, John is in fact speaking of the blessedness of those who hold a pass to the feast of the Messiah, to the wedding supper of the Lamb.
To be with our Lord in eternity — this is truly an incredible blessedness. You and I have been invited, we have been called by God to this astonishing, heavenly celebration. Dr. George Wood tells of a painting commissioned by Billy Graham many, many years ago. It depicted a beautifully laid table with a large and lavish candelabrum. On it was arranged the finest china dinnerware. This table stretched to the horizon and vanished into infinity. Beneath the painting was a small caption that read: “Come, for everything is now ready.” Thinking about this painting, I picture myself, and all of us — how we sit there and rejoice in the Lord. The great banquet at which we will drink of the fruit of the vine together with our Lord will be so immense and at the same time so personal, intimate, and heartfelt. Although there will be countless multitudes of the saints there, no one will feel as though they are lost in the crowd. “Come, for everything is now ready.” What a wonderful day it will be when we hear these words!
THE SECOND INVITATION
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.’ (Luke 14:15-17)
How did invitations work in those days? Back then people had no electronic clocks and alarms. So how did they know when the meal was ready? Every important banquet in those days had invitations that were carried out in two stages. During the first stage, which took place several days or even a week before the luncheon or dinner, the servants went and personally invited the guests. This first invitation was meant to give the invited guests time to prepare for the event. Then, on the very day of the banquet, when the cooks were finished with the food — since preparing a banquet required a good deal of time — at the appointed hour the servant-messengers of the one who was hosting the banquet came again to the invited guests and said to them: “Come, everything is now ready.” So in v.16 of our text the first invitation is spoken of, and in v.17 the second invitation.
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.’ (Luke 14:16-17)
Notice that the first invitation has already passed and it had been accepted. Everyone had ample time to arrange their affairs, to prepare, and to come. But when the second invitation arrives, the invited guests begin to reject it with baseless and groundless excuses.
THE GROUNDLESS EXCUSES
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.’ (Luke 14:18)
The first excuse is so flimsy that it hardly qualifies as an excuse at all. It assumes that the man bought a field without ever having seen it. I do not know a single person who would buy land or any kind of property without first seeing it. Whenever property is bought, there is a procedure called an “inspection” — you have to examine the property and approve it before you buy it. So the notion that this man bought a field before seeing it is plainly absurd. But even if we suppose that this did happen, what would keep the inspection of the field from waiting one more day? Jesus uses this excuse as an illustration of the fact that our excuses for not responding to God’s call are groundless and can hardly withstand any scrutiny.
The next excuse is similar to the first:
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ (Luke 14:19)
Again, who would be so foolish as to pay money for a used car without even taking it around the block or driving it to a garage where a qualified mechanic could look it over? Yet here is the man, justifying his unwillingness to go to the banquet with this foolish excuse.
The next excuse is no less foolish.
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ (Luke 14:20)
Notice the character of the excuses — the first and second excuses are tied to people’s possessions and to their business and work. The third is tied to family. But neither our possessions, nor our work, nor our family can be an unexpected factor that would excuse our failure to respond to the second invitation, after we have accepted the first.
This parable makes us ask ourselves how we respond to the legitimate spiritual responsibilities to which God calls us. What are the excuses we give for not fulfilling our spiritual duties, and are they acceptable?
- I’m too busy, I have no time…
- I’ll do it later… — procrastination
- I don’t have the gift needed to carry out this ministry.
Praise God for the enormous interest in discovering and exercising the spiritual gifts that we have in our day. But sometimes people decline a particular service to the Lord under the pretext that it is not their gift. Yet the Lord wants all of us to take responsibility for all the ministries that are needed for the normal functioning of the church. Perhaps at that particular moment there is no one in the body who could take on a given ministry with the giftedness we would wish for. But if God calls us, He will equip us with the abilities we need.
- Let someone else do it…
Notice, too, that the invited guests’ rejection of the second invitation angered the host. He took the guests’ lack of seriousness as a personal disregard and insult. Rejecting God’s invitation and God’s grace under any pretext whatsoever angers God. Is it not the same with us? If we invite someone to a birthday party or to dinner, and they turn us down at the very start, it will hurt, but if they accept our invitation and we make preparations, and then they do not come, then we will be not only hurt, but angry.
So think it through carefully! If you have accepted God’s first invitation, then you have no right to reject the second on any occasion whatsoever!
Jesus calls us to set aside every excuse in our life that is not fitting and well-founded. Sometimes we are asked to do certain things in the body of Christ and we have a legitimate reason why we cannot do them — such as a higher obligation to our family or a pressing commitment. When we have spoken about our priorities, we have always placed God first, our family second, and our ministry third, because many workers in the kingdom of God have lost their families by not setting aside time to serve their own families first. So we are not saying that it is never wise to hold back from getting overly involved in some elements of God’s work. But the Lord calls us to look seriously at the opportunities of life that we shut out. It is quite possible that we have believed things about ourselves that are not true — such as that we are not qualified, that we are not able, that we are too busy, that there are too many other things to do, that there are other people who ought to be doing the ministry in the church. Sometimes perhaps you look around the church and say to yourself, “Everything is fine — there is a person for the songs, there is worship, there is a person for the cleaning, there is a deacon, there is someone to prepare the Lord’s Supper… There is no need for me. I can just sit in my chair and enjoy the services.” But I want to assure you that things are not at all like that. There is so much opportunity to get involved in ministry.
THE FILLING OF THE EMPTY PLACES
In this parable Jesus is speaking about his contemporaries. The invited guests who refuse to respond to the second invitation are in fact the religious leaders and the Pharisees — those who refuse to respond to Christ’s call to repentance and discipleship. And their excuses are utterly baseless and groundless. With this parable He hints to them that very soon the invitation to the kingdom of God will go out beyond Jerusalem, beyond even Israel. It will be heard in the streets and avenues and highways of the world. And everyone who is ready to accept this second, immediate invitation — may come. As often happens, these are the ones who have been left without any other hope. For the gospel is truly good and joyful news for the brokenhearted. But the problem of the religious leaders and the Pharisees is that they not only reject Christ’s invitation, but they are also irritated that others accept it. In John 7:30-32, 43-49 we read:
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. (John 7:30-32)
43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. 45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. 47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law — there is a curse on them.” (John 7:43-49)
The mob may not have known the law, but it understood and sensed grace.
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.’ (Luke 14:21)
The poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame are those who are aware of their condition and understand that they cannot manage on their own. The invitation to the kingdom of God will be accepted only by those who feel their need. Among them the gospel meets an overwhelming response. Their only problem is that for them this invitation is too good to be true. They simply cannot believe that what is happening to them is real. That is why the master tells his servants to “bring them in here” and to “compel them to come in.” This does not mean using force upon them, but insistent hospitality — insisting that the invitation is legitimate and true, and that the master truly is inviting them to the feast: “Come, for everything is now ready!”
Although Jesus does not comment on this parable, we can undoubtedly connect it with Luke 13:28-30. Those who reject the invitation are the legalists and the Pharisees and the Jews, and those who accept it are the Gentiles:
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luke 13:28-30)
In Acts 28:16-28 we read of the last sermon of the Apostle Paul before his countrymen, the Jews, recorded in that book.
23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. (Acts 28:23-24)
25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” 27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” (Acts 28:25-28)
THERE IS STILL ROOM
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. (Luke 14:22-23)
Notice that the master did not want his house to be only half full. He did not want anything of what had been prepared to be left over. That is why he sent out his servants again. God wants heaven to be full. God wants our church to be full! That is why he sends us out again. The invitation must keep being given until God’s house is filled to the last place. In John 14:2-3 Jesus said to his disciples:
2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2-3)
In Revelation 21:15-16 John gives us the measurements of the heavenly Jerusalem.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. (Revelation 21:15-16)
If we take one stadium to be 185 meters, then one side of the city would be 2,220 km. This city would be a square the size of a continent. But it is not flat, it is not a square, but a cube — a skyscraper built in stories. It is 2,220 km high! These are proportions that not even the greatest visionary would dare to imagine. For comparison, the highest peak on earth is a mere 8 km high, while the heavenly Jerusalem is 2,200 km. Even if these figures are symbolic, this is a whole planet! So there is room! And we must keep extending the invitation to the great banquet until “the house is filled.”
THE WARNING TO THOSE WHO MAKE EXCUSES
24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ” (Luke 14:24)
Jesus ends his parable with a weighty oath, that not one of those who have rejected the invitation to the great banquet — even if they later repent and decide to come — will get a taste of God’s banquet. This is a serious warning about the seriousness of the consequences of rejecting God’s invitation: “A time is coming, a terrible time, when it will be too late to accept the invitation. Therefore, accept it now, because you do not know when it will be too late and this will be impossible.”
Interesting is the remark that the famous evangelist Billy Sunday used to make about those people who said: “I will not become a Christian until the last minute of my life. When it comes, just before I die, I know that God is merciful and He will give me one more chance to give my life to Him.” In 1920, commenting on this careless attitude, Billy Sunday said:
“I do not much like these deathbed confessions. A confession made on a deathbed is like burning a candle down to the end and then blowing the smoke from it into the face of Jesus. A confession made on a deathbed is like drinking the cup of life and then offering the leftover dregs to Jesus. I think this is one of the most humiliating, miserable, mean, and unmanly things you can do. To keep your life in your own control until the last moment and then to try to crawl into the kingdom of God, relying on the long-suffering and mercy of Jesus Christ.
I am not saying that none of these deathbed surrenders to Christ is genuine. But there is only one such case recorded in the Bible, and it was the first time the dying thief had the opportunity to hear about Christ — and he accepted Him in that very hour. So your case is not analogous to his. You have a wagonload of sermons dumped into you.
It is incredibly hard for a person to accept Jesus at the last minute. If you have lived without conviction, your friends should not become too angry when, during your funeral sermon, the preacher does not place you in the front row of heaven with a harp in your hands and a crown on your head.
A doctor who had sixty years of experience was asked how many of the ungodly people he had treated showed any signs of concern on their deathbeds. He said that of the three hundred people for whom he kept specific notes, only three showed what could be called concern for their souls.
Usually you die the way you lived. Still, if you have a desire to be a Christian, that is proof that the devil has not yet seized you completely. That is the comfort. Now, the warning. If you have this desire, thank God for it and give yourself over to Him. You may never have another opportunity again.”
I would confirm Billy Sunday’s experience. I have found that people who have served the Lord are ready for the Lord on their deathbeds. And if they are not — they do not want to talk about it and, generally speaking, they are not open, though — praise God — there are also exceptions.
The invitation has been extended, and the answer we give right now in our life will determine our destiny.