THE LORD INVITES EVERY ONE TO EAT AT HIS TABLE 10-14-06
Our text is found in Lk.14:16-24 but in order to see what’s taking place lets read verses 1-6 first.
LUKE 14: 1-6 1And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
Dropsy was excessive water in the tissues and from what I understand brought on by heart disease, and this is the only mention of it in the New Testament.
This Sabbath situation was a trap set up by Jesus’ enemies. No man with this terrible dropsy disease would be invited to supper at the house of a chief Pharisee, let alone sitting right in front of Jesus. Verse 1 also indicates that they watched him.~~**vs.1-2
There surely was much pressure on this crowd of hypocrites. Just think of tenseness at this dinner? It started with the Lord Jesus healing the man with dropsy—in the face of their disapproval. Then He looked the guests straight in the eyes and corrected their manners. Then He corrected the host. Believe me, Nobody was saying a word.
This trap was laid to ensnare the Lord. This poor man with the dropsy was deliberately planted to motivate Jesus to break the Sabbath by healing him. Notice what Jesus did before healing the poor man. Jesus asked them a question first, and they were afraid to answer Him.
3And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
5And answered them, saying, “ Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?”
6And they could not answer him again to these things.
Now lets read verses 16-24
16Then said he unto him,[the host] A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18And 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.
19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove [test] them: I pray thee have me excused.
20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.**
21So 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.
22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
23And 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.
24For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
TheSE HYPOCRITES couldn’t care less about the growth of God’s kingdom or embracing anyone different from themselves. Jesus speaks to this attitude through a parable of a great supper. This parable not only addresses the attitude of the guest but presents three truths that can be applied us today.
God’s Gracious Invitation - verses 16-17 16Then said he unto him,[the host] A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
We point out that the invitation was sent out to inform “many” people of the upcoming supper.
B. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
C. Many hear by TV, radio, preaching, witnessing believers, or by reading.
D. The initial invitation is accepted by all. Notice that the servant was sent “to them that were bidden”
E. The initial invitation called only for an acknowledgement, whereas the second invitation calls forommitmentandaction.
F. Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
II. Man’s Callous Rejection - verses 18-20 18And 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.
19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove [test] them: I pray thee have me excused.
20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.**
A. Israel is the prime example. John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” They looked for the Messiah but when He came they rejected Him.
C. Excuses are the cradle ... that Satan rocks men off to sleep in. - D. L. Moody*
D. Anyone can find an excuse if they really want to find one. The excuse may even seem plausible on the surface.
B. An example of the kind of excuse that seem good to people really are not excuses at all.
Mark 7:6 “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
III. God’s Command - verses 21-23 21So 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.
22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23And 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.
A. Notice Go Out –
1. To the streets and the lanes of the city
a. “We must evangelize our community. For if, we do not do it then who will? And if we do not do it here, where will it be done? And if not now, when?”
b. Go to those with needs
c. Evangelism is witness. It is one beggar telling another beggar where to get food. The Christian don’t offer out of his own personal possessions. He has no possessions . He is simply a guest at his Master’s table
2. Go out unto the highways and hedges
a. Go to the strays, the outcasts and what might be looked on as out cast.
b. Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
3. The church is under orders. Not to go tell about Jesus is disobedience.
3. Matt. 28: 19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
1. God wants His house to be full.
2. 2 Peter 3:9 God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
3. The Lord Jesus is not pleased with:- an empty banquet table (Luke 14:15-23) or
fishing without catching men (Luke 5:4-11)
4. The love of God is great; it requires a multitude of guests and is not pleased with empty seats.
5. The Lord Jesus seemed to be concerned with numbers.
4. The fish in the miraculous catch were counted. The leftovers after the feeding of the five thousand were counted.
5. Converts at Pentecost were counted. And in the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd would never have known that one of his flock of one hundred was lost, unless he had counted them!
C. Compel
1. Compel means to persuased by much trying.
2. If we can convince people that we are sincere and what were telling them is real they’ll come.
6. 3. Our church’s ought to be Compelling
b. Ezra 7:27 “Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:”
4. Our Worship ought to be Compelling
a. we want to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
5. Our Fellowship ought to be Compelling
a. John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
b. Galatians 5:14-15 “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. [15] But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”
c. People join churches when they realize that what their hearing is truth , and that this group of people are genuine and truly are Christians, people have a desire to learn more and more, when their fed with the word, they grow and desire to keep on growing in the things of God.
The doctrine may be biblical, the singing inspirational, the sermon uplifting, but when a visitor finds nobody who cares whether he’s here or not, he is not likely to come back.”
7. Our Witnessing ought to be Compelling
c. If we want our neighbor to know what Christ will do for him, lets let the neighbor see what Christ has done for us.
8. d. When we’re sincere about Jesus sinners will listen to the gospel. Let’s reach out to a world in need with the Word it needs. . Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
