Trinity Luke 14:16-24
[16] Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
[17] And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
[18] And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
[19] And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
[20] And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
[21] So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
[22] And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
[23] And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
[24] For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
One Sabbath, a ruler of the Pharisees, people who weren’t especially fond of Jesus, invited Him to a great feast so that they could watch Him, and Jesus accepted. However, Jesus did not waste time in small talk, but at once spoke of spiritual things. He spoke of one of the basic principles of Christian life, namely, humility. “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 14:11. Since He was a guest at a feast, Jesus used the imagery of a feast to illustrate what He wanted to say. As He was teaching, one Pharisee, in particular, was so impressed that he cried out, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” Luke 14:15. This man, we don’t know his name, could think of nothing he would like better than to eat at Jesus’ table in heaven. In reply, Jesus, by means of a parable, invited Him to eat His spiritual food here on earth, a dinner prepared just for His chosen people.
It is interesting to note that Jesus did not address everyone at the table, but spoke directly to this man. Of course, Jesus spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, but his real concern was the faltering faith of a single individual. In the parable, Jesus encouraged this man to cling to Him in spite of the rejection of his own people. He said, “Come, for all things are now ready.” What a gracious invitation! That man did not have to wait to eat with Jesus in heaven. He was sitting face to face with the promised Messiah, the holy Son of God, come to redeem mankind. Going on with the picture of a feast, Jesus further explained how the Pharisees, some of them very likely around this very table, rejected Him with the feeblest excuses. He explained how He then called the lowliest of the Jewish people to the feast, and ultimately extended the invitation to the whole world, with the solemn warning that those, who rejected His invitation in this life, would never eat at His table in heaven.
This morning Jesus also invites you and me to this wonderful spiritual feast, “Come, for all things are now ready.” This great feast is prepared first for the Jews, and then for us. What is amazing is that Jesus should want us, unworthy sinners, to eat with Him. Why would almighty God want to send an invitation to people who are deathly sick with the disease of sin? “And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins,” Ephesians 2:1, writes the Apostle. So what do we have to do to be invited to this heavenly feast? The answer is, “Nothing.” God does it all.
In fact, we are so proud and rebellious that He has to compel us to come in, as the text says. What could be more compelling than the gracious invitation with our name written on it, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:28, 29. Are you concerned about your sins? Jesus says, “Come and find rest.” Are you “heavy laden” with the problems of your personal life, or with fears and worries about how to survive in a failing economy, or about the future of our proud nation in a hostile world? Then bring these concerns with you to the banquet and leave them there! Might we be worried whether we are well-enough dressed to feast with almighty God? If the chosen Jews of the street were good enough, “the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind,” then there is room for us to come just as we are, “Naked, come to Thee for dress; helpless, look to Thee for grace.” The prophet Isaiah says it eloquently when he writes, “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Isaiah 55:1, 2
We, of course, know full well that the prophet Isaiah is not speaking of an earthly banquet, but of a spiritual banquet to which we are not only invited, but at which we are very special guests. As guests at this divine banquet with Jesus, look at what we receive! The food on the table is not earthly food that may or may not agree with our stomachs, but heavenly food that agrees with the heart of every sinner, water that “springs up into everlasting life,” John 4:14, and bread “which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” John 6:33.
When the Savior invites us in this text: Come, for all things are now ready, can we afford to turn Him down? God’s chosen people did. The text tells us “They all with one consent began to make excuses.” These were not reasons but excuses. Very plainly, they didn’t want to come because they weren’t interested in the bread from heaven or the living water of His word. They were too proud to repent and felt no need for forgiveness. Listen to their excuses. One said he had bought a piece of ground and had to inspect it. A feeble excuse indeed! Can you imagine buying a lot without first looking at it? Another said he had bought some oxen and had to try them out, an excuse just as silly. The third did not even excuse himself, but blamed his absence on the fact that had just got married.
If you really don’t want to do something, you can always find an excuse! Think of the world of people that hour after hour and day after day turns down the invitation of the Savior, “Come, for all things are now ready” with their feeble excuses, if they offer an excuse at all. The Jews of this parable didn’t really want to come, as Jesus pointedly said to them in another place, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life!” John 5:40. They were willing to trade in everlasting joy in heaven so they could have their earthly toys and pleasures.
When those who were first invited, refused His invitation, the Lord of the feast turned to the “lowly” in Israel, the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind. Finally, he turned to the highways and byways, to you and me, to the Gentiles, who were aliens and strangers to promised Savior, and He “compelled [us] to come in” with His remarkable message of love and forgiveness.
What could be more compelling to undeserving sinners than an invitation signed by the heavenly Father and delivered personally by His Holy Spirit? The very thought of being guests at His banquet hall, the anticipation of spiritual food so satisfying that we will never hunger again, can only fill our hearts with joy. No earthly banquet, no matter how elaborate, at a funeral or a wedding or whatever, can make us truly happy, for earthly food can never relieve us of the burden of our sins or give us all the blessings that Jesus Christ won for us by His death on the cross. The nourishment of the word of God, that precious food from heaven, leads us not only to love our host in heaven, but also to love each other, to share our joys and sorrows as we walk the narrow path to heaven. If our souls are comfortably fed with the word of peace, we can go to bed at night and sleep as the Psalmist remarks,”I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for Thou Lord, makest me to dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8.
There is always grave danger, however, that we take God’s feast of divine blessings for granted or even neglect it altogether. We need the spiritual food of the Word of God even more than temporal food, as our Lord reminds us, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” Matthew 4:4. The devil is always there to hold before our eyes the inviting fruit of our own lusts and desires as he did to Eve long ago. Each time we put the Word of God second in our lives, each time to tempter gets us to say, “I pray Thee, have me excused,” excuses come easier and easier until we neglect the Word of God altogether. God forbid that Jesus should ever have to say to us as He did to the Jews, “ For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.”
May the blessed words of this text lead us to repent of our weaknesses and excuses, and to find in the Lord’s Supper, that special feast that Christ has prepared for us here on earth, the joy of forgiveness, and the renewed desire to feast on His word day after day until He eats with us in His heavenly kingdom.