Word of Salvation – Vol.48 No.29 – August 2003

 

Come to the Banquet

Sermon by Rev A Quak

on Luke 14:15-24

 

Scripture Readings:  Luke 13:22-30; Luke 14:15-23

Suggested Hymns:  BoW 51; 416; 451; Rej 512

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One thing you can guarantee when you have Jesus over to your place for dinner is that the table conversation will always be very interesting. Which is exactly what is happening in our text. But the teachings of Jesus aren’t recorded just because they are ‘interesting’. The teachings of Jesus are recorded because they tell us something important about the sort of God we have. That’s what parables are. They are stories often based on real life and have a hidden message about who God is, what God is doing and how we respond. I’ll say that again: parables are stories with a hidden message about who God is, what God is doing and how we respond.

You see, when we first look at a parable, any parable, we can quickly find many questions to ask about it. Why didn’t any of the original guests come to the banquet? Aren’t they being a bit rude? I know the master of the house is angry at the rejection of the original guests, but why would he bother inviting all these poor, cripple, lame and blind strangers into his house?

After many questions like this we can easily turn the parable into a “Days of our Lives” report about a man who had a very interesting banquet. But that is not the point, is it? The point is to show us something about who God is and what God has done for us.

So, as we look at this parable, what are we being told about God? Well, we are being shown that God is like the host who was preparing a great banquet and who invited many guests. God wants to have some sort of celebration with His people. That celebration will be like a banquet. And God’s banquet has taken much preparation to put into place. And celebration, joy, laughing, excitement, praise and happiness will be found at this banquet.

And invitations have been issued to come to God’s banquet. It’s a special thing to get an invitation to such a banquet as this. And even though the Pharisees were often at odds with Jesus, they had to agree with Jesus about the feast with God. One of those dining with Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God” (vs 15). To be blessed is to be happy, thankful, and full of praise. To be blessed is about having peace even in the midst of chaos. Jesus knew it. The people who were eating with Jesus also knew it. It’s a blessed thing to have a close relationship with God. And this parable makes it clear that God wants us to be with Him and God is looking forward to that time.

That’s an important truth we learn about who God is. God wants us to be with Him and God is looking forward to that time. So often, when people think about God, they start with a negative picture. Often people start by picturing God as a God who quickly punishes people when they do wrong. They have a picture of a stern God sitting behind the bench with a gavel in His hand always at the ready to pronounce people guilty. Others see God as One who is always making demands, like a slave driver who continually pushes the slaves even though they are exhausted and when they falter He has the whip ready to “encourage” them along. Still others picture God as one who is constantly angry. Like a renegade Santa Claus who is making a list and checking it twice but He never finds anyone who’s nice.

They’re the pictures some people have of God. But that is not the picture of God that we are given in this parable. In fact quite the opposite is true. God wants us to be with Him. God has gone to great lengths to bring us into His home. There may be times when God does punish. BUT let us get a straight picture of God. God’s desire to have us with Him is of higher priority then His desire to punish us. A verse in the Scriptures tells us that “The Lord … is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). In other words, God would love to see you at the banquet. He loves to bring you through the doors of His home.

And that is what we see God doing in this parable. It’s as if He has opened His home and put the welcome mat near the front door. But how are people responding to God’s invitation? To see what is happening here you need to understand a bit about the culture of the day.

We need to realise that the servant who was sent out to say, “Come, for everything is now ready”, is actually approaching the guests for the second or third time. The first time would have been to give the invitation. And maybe some guests confirmed they were coming. The second time would have been to seek a confirmation – “Will you be there?” This occasion is now the third time: “You said you were coming, well now it’s all ready”.

These guest have been personally invited and they have made a commitment to come along, knowing it’s going to be a great banquet with lots of good food, plenty of entertainment, heaps of wine, many people. Basically the servant was saying, “Go and get your dinner jacket and come and join in”.

Most of us have been involved in enough weddings to know that invitations go out and then an RSVP is sent back. Well in this case, all the RSVPs have come back, the seating arrangement has been arranged, but no one is turning up.

How would you feel if that was your wedding? Hurt?! Perhaps even snubbed and rejected? Well that’s what it was like for the host in our parable. His guests have shown him the height of rudeness. But do you know what would hurt the most? It was the pathetic excuses that have been offered to the servant.

“I have just bought a field and must go and see it” (vs 18). Let me ask you, how many people do you know who see a business advertised in the paper and then just ring up and buy it? I don’t know any. It’s ridiculous to even suggest, isn’t it? You would go and inspect the business first to see if it was profitable. Surely this man has not paid good money for a field he has never seen. How will he know if it can be turned into a profitable business? What if it is covered in rocks? It would be useless. What if it was on the side of a hill? It can’t be turned into a farm then. The truth is plain to see. Obviously this man is just offering a weak excuse.

Then we get to the next excuse, “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out” (vs 19). If I said to you that I just brought a second hand car out of the paper and I’m going over to see what it looks like, what would you say? Some would say, “there’s a sucker born every minute”. Few people buy second hand cars without at least taking it for a test drive first. Well, if we take this man at face value, that is exactly what he has done. He’s just brought ten oxen, obviously for ploughing purposes, and he doesn’t even know how strong they are. What if they are lame, or old, or diseased? The truth is plain, this man is just offering a weak excuse.

Then we get to the last man – I would say the best excuse is saved for last. “I just got married so I can’t come” (vs 20). In our society today mates ring up mates and invite each other out. “Hey Stew, we’re going out for a few beers, you wanna come?”. “No I can’t, the little woman says I’m not allowed to leave the house”. Now what’s going to be the next comment? In some cases it would definitely be, “Boy, who wears the pants at your house mate?” Now let’s go back to our Jewish friend. “Come, for everything is now ready.” “I just got married so I can’t come, you know how women can be some time!” Really!? This happens in a Jewish household where a man can divorce his wife just because she burns his toast at breakfast? The truth is obvious. He can’t come to the banquet because he doesn’t want to. Obviously this man is just offering a weak excuse.

Someone once defined an excuse as, “A skin of a reason stuffed with a lie”. It’s like a sausage with a thin external skin that holds all the meat together, but as soon as the sausage is pierced, the meat goes everywhere, revealing it is just a whole lot of bits an pieces all thrown together. A skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. The definition fits well here, doesn’t it?

Verse 18 tells us that all alike began to make excuses. The fact of the matter is, they don’t want to be at the banquet. They have snubbed the host, as if kicking sand in his face. And with their pathetic excuses they soothe their embarrassed consciences.

But let’s remember what this is all about. It’s a parable. Parables are stories with a hidden message about who God is, what God is doing and how we respond. When it comes to God working in our lives, I wonder if any of us are like these guests? Are we coming up with excuses to cover our lack of response to God? Are we trying to avoid the relationship that God wants to have with us? The excuses are many.

I’m not interested in God because the church is full of hypocrites. God’s not interested in me, I’ve been bad for too long. God is not interested in me, all He wants is my money. God is only for the weak who need a crutch to get through life. I knew a Christian once – if all Christians are like that, I want nothing to do with them. The way things have happened in my life shows me God doesn’t care. God is not logical, I’ll believe when it all makes sense. When I think about the hurt the church has made me go through, then I don’t need God. Everyone says I’m useless, God probably thinks the same.

They’re the excuses. Do any of them sound vaguely familiar? Think about some of the reasons you may have offered not to be part of God’s family. Are your own excuses any different from those offered in this passage? Just skins of reasons stuffed with lies.

It may be true that people in the church look like hypocrites, or that the church has caused hurt, or that Christians have been a cause of disappointment. It may well be that you have guilt and shame, that you don’t think you’re good enough. That your life has been full of misery and you can’t see a caring God. You may well feel that God is not logical and the things He does just don’t make sense.

But this parable shows that, despite the excuses, an amazing truth still stands. The truth is that God wants us in His family. People make excuses, but no excuse we have is an acceptable reason for rejecting God – despite the questions we have; despite the lack of confidence we have in ourselves; despite our hurts, struggles and lack of peace; despite how bad we think we are; despite how unnecessary we think God is. Despite all this, God’s first desire is for us to be with Him. He wants a family around Him.

How can we be so sure? Well look at the way the host responds when he finds out no one is coming. He is angry. And given the way he has been treated, he certainly has the right to be angry. But he doesn’t give up. The table must be filled. And so we get this beautiful picture of God’s desire for us in action, “Go out quickly into the streets and the alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (vs 21).

Notice that none of these people could reciprocate the invitation. None were important. They didn’t have fields, and oxen, and families. In fact, these people had nothing because they were beggars. None of these people really had anything to give. But they were invited. What a moment that must have been for them. Just put yourself in their shoes.

You’re laying down, fast asleep, in a back alleyway with your head resting on a small bag that contains all your earthly possessions. You feel this gentle tap on the shoulder, and a voice says, “My master would like you to come to a great banquet”.

“Who me? I am nothing but a cripple, I’m an outcast.”

“It doesn’t matter, he wants you there.”

“Why would he want me there? I haven’t washed for three weeks and I am dressed in rags.”

“It doesn’t matter, he wants you there.”

“I have nothing to offer in return, I could never repay his generosity.”

“It doesn’t matter, he wants you there.”

Let me tell you with confidence that this parable is a picture of God interacting with us. We are the blind, lame and the cripple. And to us God says, “Come, come and know me as a friend. Come and know that you have a special place in my heart”.

“But God, I can’t. I’m a beggar, I have nothing to give to repay the favour”.

“Lord, I have hurts, I have made big mistakes in the past and I feel like a cripple”.

“Lord, I have struggles, I lack confidence, I don’t fit in, and I feel lame”.

“Lord, I have treated you badly, I have forgotten you, and I feel poor”.

You can come with your excuse … any excuse. It doesn’t matter, He wants you anyway.

As you look at this parable, you can be sure the people in the streets and alleys, the people who were poor and blind, the crippled and lame, all could think of excuses not to come as well. But, beyond the excuses, they saw a host who was willing to accept them and accommodate them and give them a banquet, no matter what. They knew they were accepted by grace.

That’s what this parable teaches us about God. God wants us to know that no excuse will legitimately pardon us from God’s banquet. That is why God sent His Son, the One who is called Jesus Christ. God wants you to see that every reason we could think of for rejecting Him has been covered by Jesus.

You don’t think you are good enough –

Jesus makes you holy by taking your sin.

You don’t have the confidence –

Jesus took your punishment to give you strength.

You have lost all hope of acceptance –

Jesus conquered your sin to give you hope.

You can’t get out of the tower of self-sufficiency –

Jesus sacrificed Himself for you and He can break down any wall of hardness.

Jesus is the one in this parable who is going around tapping the poor, crippled, blind and lame on the shoulder, “My master would like you to come to the banquet”. And it’s going to be a great banquet, a feast with God Himself. Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. Blessed because you are part of God’s family.

Will you be at that great banquet and be blessed? Or will you just keep on offering lame excuses?

Now is always the best time for you to see the extent of God’s love. A love which wants to see that table full. A love which goes to great lengths to gather the crippled, lame, poor and blind. A love which sent Jesus to the cross so that you would be at the banquet. A love which shows you it is time to stop with the excuses and know that nothing would please God more than to see you in His family.

Amen.