Invitation To The Great Banquet Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

CrossWay Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 15 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!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 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.’ 18 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.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 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.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 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. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ” (Luke 14:12–24)

In an agricultural world to receive an invitation to a great banquet or feast was of the highest honor. And the most important people were always expected to be invited to the most prominent of events. At these feasts you would find the who's who of society. Going was not only a feast but also a time of honor, fancy music, and fellowship that went along with the great festivities.

For various reasons, including weddings and other kinds of celebrations, we go to great lengths to ensure that these feasts are held to the extreme. So, to receive an invitation for a great feast and to make an excuse not to come simply would not happen. And for a rich man to fill a banquet table with the lowest of society was absolutely absurd. Yet this is the parable that Jesus teaches to prove an important point.

The context of this parable centers around Jesus himself at a feast. This is a lunch that a very prominent pharisee provided. They had invited Jesus to attempt to trap him by healing a man on the Sabbath who had a case of dropsy. Well, as it goes, Jesus heals the man and confronts their hypocrisy. If they had an ox fall into a ditch on the Sabbath, they would have pulled the ox out, I don't, to avoid the loss of money.

This leads to a lecture from Jesus about humility. It is the humble, not the self-righteous, that will inherit the Kingdom of God. As they are reclining around, verse 15 says, “When one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, bless it is everyone who will eat in the Kingdom of God!”

The resurrection of the righteous was the central focus of the Jewish religious system that departed from faith in God. At the heart of this is the self-achievement to be resurrected and glory at the end of the day. The elite righteous under the Jewish system of that day was a legalistic religious tradition to achieve eternal resurrection.

In reality, this is where every false religious system functions. Why do people strive for religion? Why do priests and nuns engage in all kinds of depriving behaviors? It is escapism. Under their religious structures, they use works to justify themselves for eternity. It is the same with Mormons, who strive to be highly moral. They are looking towards their resurrection through moral living. Likewise, Islam follows the five pillars. Likewise, with Hinduism and karma. All religion demands devotion based on works for eternal reward.

Faith in God and Christianity is none of that. It is all about the gift of grace through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ, righteousness is turned on its head because it's not good works that lead to righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ within us that brings about good works.