Luke 14:15-21
15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
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.
How many of you have gotten an invitation to something in the mail?
Maybe a birthday party, graduation, or a special dinner to celebrate someone else and their accomplishments.
Maybe someone invited you to church today.
Maybe many of you yourself have given an invitation to someone else.
Every one of us here today has been given the greatest invitation that could ever be received!
We have all received an invitation to spend eternity with Jesus Christ in the place he has prepared called Heaven.
Look at someone and tell them YOU’RE INVITED.
In the passage of scripture, Jesus was in the middle of a Sabbath dinner that had grown more and more tense.
The tension had grown from the moment Jesus entered the room.
The tension escalated when he healed a man suffering from a physical ailment, then silenced his critics by exposing their tendency toward judgmentalism, pride and selfishness.
By now, the tension must have been almost unbearable.
Then, someone in the room blurted out (v.15), “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
He tells the man who posed the question and all who were listening, “If you do not accept the invitation being given to you right now, you may find the door to kingdom shut in your face.”
Now Jesus has given us this parable to help us recognize the invitation we have been given.
We need to realize we have been given an eternal invitation to Heaven and recognize who has invited us!
1. GOD IS THE ONE EXTENDING THE INVITATION (vv.16-17)
“. . . A certain man gave a great supper, invited many (17), and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, "Come, for all things are now ready.’
The “certain man” in this story represents God.
Interestingly, this man representing God is preparing a great banquet or party.
God is often presented as a stern and demanding dictator, and following God means a joyless existence.
If you look at many believers, you would think that the Christian life was a fast, a funeral, or a famine.
The God I serve is not a dictator or a God who wants to strike you dead!
He is a God who wants to give us love, joy, and peace!
He is a God full of grace and mercy!
He is a God who gives everyone a chance to be saved!
In Isaiah 55, God invites anyone thirsty or hungry to eat and drink freely!
It is his desire for everyone to come to his table to eat and drink until they are full!
It is his desire for anyone tired of the things of this life to come and give him your burdens and rest!
The God I serve has given every individual an invitation to be his child, and there are benefits to becoming his child.
The greatest of which is eternal life.
His invitation is to a Heavenly home with Gold streets filled with mansions, gates of pearl, and walls made of jasper.
In Heaven, there is no more death, pain, sickness, and a life that never ends where we will be with Jesus forever!
I don’t know about you, I am thankful he gave me the invitation and I am glad I accepted the invitation!
The sad thing is, many people have refused the invitation. There may be some of you sitting here today who have refused the invitation to eternal life.
2. GOD’S INVITATION CAN BE REFUSED (Vv. 18-20)
Since the invitation is “come” (v.17), it is suggestive of a person's responsibility to act on God’s gracious invitation.
You might expect that everyone would enthusiastically respond to the invitation.
But that is not the case.
Three of those who had previously accepted opted out of coming to the banquet.
Each of these individuals considers that he has a good excuse.
These people do not reject the invitation because they were involved in bad activities.
These people thought they had other, more important things to do.
Most people today who reject God’s gracious invitation do not do so because they are involved in some gross immorality.
They are just too involved in everyday life and too busy to think seriously about spiritual things.
The excuses are given beginning in verse eighteen, “But they all with one accord began to make excuses.
(18) 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.”
The text says, “they with one accord began to make excuses.”
That is, “They were one in the excuse they made,” which means that all three excuses were of the same spirit and essence.
All three excuses were pretexts.
With a little effort, each person could have made arrangements that would have enabled him to attend if he so desired.
Many in our world today are invited to God’s feast but respond in much the same way as those described by
Jesus over two thousand years ago.
We are preoccupied with our own self-interests that we neglect to answer God’s eternal invitation.
It is one thing not to go to a birthday party or some other celebration, but it is another when you neglect the simple salvation plan God has given us.
Don’t give God any excuses; accept his invitation to eternal life!
Don’t refuse his invitation because you may not get another invitation.
The lord of the house was angered by their excuses and sent his servant to get everyone to attend his feast!
3. GOD IS ANGERED WITH OUR EXCUSES (vv. 21-24)
These men were invited to a party, a celebration, and a feast but neglected to accept the invitation.
No doubt, each of those who declined thought only to delay the response and anticipated that there would be ample time for them to enjoy the benefits of the banquet at a later time.
These three guests expected to get another invitation in the future, but the invitation never came.
The Bible says the servant came and reported the excuses these men gave to his master. Then the master of the house became angry.
Instead of sending another invitation, he sent his servants to invite other guests.
He did not plead with the guests who had insulted him; he found others to take their place.
In the last part of verse twenty-one, the host tells his servants, "… 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.”
Don’t be someone who rejects God’s invitation, be someone who accepts God’s invitation!
I want to submit to everyone today you are on God’s guest list; you’re Invited!
No matter what you may have done, where you have done it, or how many times you may have failed, answer the invitation, and he will let you sit down at his table and rest in his arms!
Conclusion
The sad part of this story is the servant went out into the town and invited more people to come, and even though he invited more, there was still room:
(22) 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.”
Interestingly, the first invitation in verse 17 was “come,” when these refused, Jesus sent his servants out with the admonition in verse 21 to “bring in” the poor and the blind and the halt.
Not just the rejected lower classes of Israel were invited, for when there is still room In verse 23, the servants are told to “go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in.”
The master went from Inviting to bringing (or making way for them to get there) to compelling (begging, persuading, doing anything you can to get them to the feast).
The God we serve will go to the extreme to give you eternal life.
Even to the place of coming to this world in the form of flesh and laying down his life for you!
Jesus’ closing words in verse twenty-four, “For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper," most certainly must have settled a dark cloud of gloom over the guests.
We must not let anything stand in the way of responding to the invitation of Jesus.
Don’t assume you will be given another opportunity.
There are plenty of excuses to give for not responding to the gospel, but the bottom line is that they are excuses.
You’re Invited, don’t reject the invitation.
You say, how do I accept the invitation? It’s really simple:
Acknowledge you have sinned.
Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins.
Then Acts 2:38 says, 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
1. Repent of your sins, meaning ask God to forgive you and turn away from your sins.
2. Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, meaning to be immersed in water in the name of Jesus Christ
3. Why? So you receive the gift of God’s spirit and eternal life!
I want to give you that invitation today.
Take the opportunity to ask God to forgive you of your sin; ask him to come into your life and change you forever.
