The Parable of the Great Supper

 

The Parable of the Great Supper

Erie City Mission 

12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

 

16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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 here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to 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 to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’” Luke 14:12-24

 

The rich man invited his friends to a great banquet. His friends had all kinds of excuses.

 

1.       I bought a piece of land, I want to go see it. Why not wait until after the banquet? The land will still be there.

2.       I married a wife. I can’t come. Bring her along. Doesn’t she like to eat? Come and dine, she will still be there.

3.       I bought some oxen, I want to try them out. You love your oxen more than your friend who invited you?

 

These excuses are all very insulting to the man who has spent so much time and money preparing a great feast for his friends. All said the same thing to the rich man who invited them: I don’t need you or your stupid banquet. I am self-sufficient. I don’t need anybody else. I have everything I need. The point of the parable is that the banquet symbolizes the Kingdom of God. Read vs 14 again. This is talking about the resurrection. It is talking about Heaven. The rich man who invited them is none other than God. These insulting words are answers to God who invites us to eternal life in Heaven.   

 

Jesus is talking to the Pharisees. They saw those poor, sick, blind, lame as unclean. Not worthy of worship in the temple. Not worthy of the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught the very opposite. It is the poor, the blind, the lame, who he invites to the great banquet of eternal life. What about you? If you were invited to a great feast, would you accept the invitation and come with great joy? Or would you be too busy, too occupied with the cares of this world to bother to come?

 

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

 

Notice he did not list the tenth commandment. “You shall not covet”. Modern day: “Don’t be greedy”

 

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”  22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  

Matthew 19:16-26

 

It goes against the way we think, that it is hard for a rich man to go to Heaven. But just like the rich friends who made stupid excuses for not going to the banquet; Even today many rich people feel they have no need for God. Someone once said, “It is not how much money you have, but how much your money has you.” Even poor people can be consumed with trying to get rich so that all their problems can be solved. People who take out big payday loans at very high-interest rates. People who spend money on lottery tickets instead of food. People who see money as the only way they can get their next high. People who work two jobs to pay for a nice house which they can’t enjoy because they are never home.

 

Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and money.

 

6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  

I Timothy 6:6-10

 

Are you a contented person? Are food and clothing enough for you to be happy? Or do you need more? God invites you to the great banquet of Heaven. It is free. The invitation has gone out to everybody. It went first to the rich and many of them rejected it. Then it went out to the poor, the lame, the blind. In modern days I would add those who have various kinds of addictions, various mental illnesses, single mothers trying to raise a family, those who are now or once were in prison, the prostitutes, those who are in gangs, and on and on. The invitation is to everyone. The master of the banquet says to go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. Will you accept the invitation today?

 

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk. Without money and without price.

Why do you spend money on what is not bread, And your wages on what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 

Isaiah 55:1-2

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16  Pray.