“Are you looking for just the right excuse for a certain situation? Ask your pastor he has heard them all.” Although more of joke than advice there is some truth to it. Pastors do hear a lot of excuses. But I think it would be more correct to say that only God has truly heard all the excuses ever given. And sadly the majority of the ones He has heard are related to His free gift of forgiveness and salvation. In our foolish pride, sinful lust, and spiritual stupidity, we humans have sent a constant flow of excuses to the LORD. Through these excuses we are often rejecting his love and turning our noses up at His desire to have a close relationship with us.
In the parable upon which we will focus in our sermon we hear some samples of excuses that three guests made for not attending a banquet. Jesus used some powerful images to bring home an urgent warning. May His words touch our hearts as He says to each of us:
“DON’T EXCUSE YOURSELF FROM GOD’S BANQUET”
I. Realize what you will miss if you excuse yourself
II. Recognize the foolishness of excusing yourself
III. Remember the eternal consequences of excusing yourself
How do we interpret parables? We have been taught that they are “earthly stories with heavenly meanings.” That is true but how do we find the point of a parable and apply it to our lives. First, we must remember that generally parables express only one or two central truths. In other words we have to be careful that we don’t get lost in the details of the story and miss the main message. Secondly, to find out the central point in a parable it helps to look at the context in which Jesus spoke it. Was he answering a question? Was he responding to something that someone said or did?
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to us that Jesus told this parable of the great banquet at dinner party to which he was invited. Luke 14 tells us that Jesus had been invited to eat at a prominent Pharisee’s house. Before the meal he healed a man who had dropsy. He did this in front of his host and the other guests. Then he taught a lesson on humility by pointing out the way people picked seats of honor at the dinner table. Finally, just before telling the parable of the great banquet Jesus told his Pharisee host to be generous to those less fortunate by inviting them to luncheons and dinners.
Perhaps to break the awkwardness of the situation someone at the table with Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Seizing the moment Jesus took up that thought and told the parable of the great banquet. Indeed those who will feast in the kingdom of God will be blessed. But eating at God’s banquet in eternity begins by eating at his banquet during one’s earthly life.
I.
Jesus said, “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’” Since his listeners were at a dinner party they would have been familiar with the customs of that day connected to banquets. The person giving the banquet would send out an initial invitation to his guests. Then when the day arrived and everything was ready he would send out his servant or servants with the final call to come to the banquet.
Remembering that the parables “reveal and conceal” we have to stop and look closely at the scene Jesus described. It was no ordinary banquet that the man had prepared. It was a “great banquet.” And he didn’t just invite a few family members and some friends. No, he invited “many guests.” In just a few sentences Jesus retold the whole the history of God’s interaction with the Jews. The man in the parable is obviously the LORD. His great banquet was his plan to save his people from the bondage of sin. Once the curse of sin was cured God then wanted to have fellowship with his people and enjoy their company. He wanted their lives to be an ongoing banquet with their God. And he had now sent his “servant” Jesus to tell them that everything was ready.
Before we look at the excuses the guests made for not attending we need to read the menu for God’s great banquet. No longer shrouded in images and prophecies we have been given a clear picture of what God has prepared for us. Of course the main entrée at God’s banquet is His Son Jesus. Those who eat Him who is called the Bread of Life will be satisfied forever. Through him our sins are removed. He then fills our longing to be right in God’s sight through his perfect life. When we eat Jesus by faith we are given the perfection and holiness we need to be loved by God and to love him. At God’s great banquet we are also given unlimited refills of living water to drink. That beautiful beverage restores and invigorates us as the Holy Spirit directs our lives of service to God. Course after course of spiritual food is set before us at God’s supper of salvation. On top of all that he promises us a rich and creamy dessert. It won’t make us fat. It has no calories and yet it lasts forever. It’s the perfect joy of an eternal home in heaven.
And does this great banquet cost us anything? That is the best part. It is absolutely free. God prepared it. God has invited us to it. In Isaiah 55:1-2 the Lord said to us, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” Revelation 22:17 tells us, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Oh friends, God’s great banquet is free, it last’s forever, and you and I are invited.
Before we make the foolish mistake of excusing ourselves from God’s great banquet we must realize what we will miss if we do so. Right now he offers us the food that our soul craves. When we excuse ourselves from God’s banquet in this life we can expect nothing put misery and slavery to sin. But even more tragic is the fact that if we miss God’s meal now we will also miss his great banquet in heaven.
II.
But perhaps we can’t imagine why anyone would excuse himself or herself from God’s great banquet. And certainly we wouldn’t do such a thing would we? As bizarre as it sounds many do exactly that. Jesus continued the parable by turning from the person giving the banquet to those who were invited. “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’” A number of things jump out at us regarding the excuses given by the guests. First of all they are some of the lamest excuses ever made. Surely nobody would have been so foolish as to buy a field without seeing it. And certainly a successful farmer who could afford to buy five yoke of oxen wouldn’t have bought them without trying them out first. And why would someone who just got married not want to have the master of the banquet meet his bride and enjoy a great meal. Secondly we are struck by the foolishness of those who made the excuses. If these guests were going to do what they said who would rather go to work than enjoy a good party? And who in their right mind would deliberately skip the banquet the man had prepared? Free food. Good food. Good company and time with friends.
When we connect the parable to the spiritual point Jesus was making the excuses the guests made take on even greater significance. We see a very “subtle” rejection of the invitation. These guests politely say “no thanks” to the invitation to the banquet. They have things in their lives that they believe are more important than attending the man’s party.
Fellow invitees to the great banquet of salvation I pray that we are slapped in the face by the excuses of the guests in the parable. I think that it is safe to say that the spiritual danger for us isn’t rudely rejecting God’s invitation. No, the greater danger for us is carelessness and apathy toward God’s invitation. It is more likely for us that will let other priorities in life cause us to excuse ourselves from God’s great banquet.
At first glance our many excuses may seem legitimate and even righteous. “I have to skip church so I can work and provide for my family!” What could be more God-pleasing than taking care of your family’s needs? But perhaps we have let our wants become needs and so we have to work all the time to pay for newer cars, bigger homes, satellite TV, and faster Internet access. “We just don’t have time for family devotions!” Again that sounds like a fair excuse for not eating the Bread of Life from the Word of Life on a daily basis. But what could be a more important use of our time than the study of God’s Word. “If I stay for Bible class and Sunday school over half the day will be lost. I have a lot of stuff to do.” Sure there may be times when we have things to do. And the last thing we want to do is make the study of God’s Word an obligation or a rule. But is a football game, or a movie, a Sunday afternoon nap, really a higher priority than eating more of God’s spiritual food? “Sunday is my only day to sleep in and I need Sunday to get ready for another busy week at work.” Sounds like another good excuse. But in the end it too holds no water.
In all our excuses the problem lies with our priorities. First things must be kept first. As Jesus said to Martha, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” That one thing was the plate of God’s Word that serves us the meal of salvation. The only thing important in life is fellowshipping with God through His Word. Jesus spoke about priorities in life in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” When we make God’s Word the first priority in our life our material needs will fall into place.
Not only is it foolish for us to excuse ourselves from God’s great banquet because of what we miss it is also foolish because of how worthless anything else is. The things of the world that pull us away from the LORD won’t satisfy us. They never last and they never deliver what they promise. Listen to what God says in 1 John 2:15-16, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world -- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does -- comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 Corinthians 7:31 we are reminded that “this world in its present form is passing away.” Warning us about letting material things keep us from God’s banquet the Apostle Paul declares that we will “fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” And he went on to say, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10)
Excusing yourself from God’s great banquet of salvation is utter foolishness. No person, place, or thing is worth missing it. All the wealth of the world and all the pleasures of our flesh amount to nothing in comparison to eating what God serves for the soul. His banquet feeds our hunger and thirst for righteousness. His food and drink make us spiritually alive now and will give us life forever in heaven.
III.
Realizing what we would miss if we excused ourselves from God’s banquet is certainly reason enough not to do it. And recognizing the foolishness of such an action in light of the sad substitutes we find apart from God’s banquet is obviously also a good reason not to do it. But finally the most compelling reason not to excuse ourselves from God’s great banquet is the eternal consequences of our actions. Jesus ended the parable with the words of the man who was giving the banquet, “I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”
Because God’s people had hardened their hearts to his invitation they would be excluded from the banquet in time and in eternity. Never would they taste of it. Forever would they be barred from it!
Since the man giving the great banquet wanted his house filled with guests he sent out an open invitation to everyone. Jesus went on to say, “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.’”
Now we have arrived at the main point of the parable. It is warning for us not to excuse ourselves from God’s banquet. There is still room there—room for us. If we excuse ourselves we will find ourselves in “outer darkness” separated from God forever. If we make excuses now we will stand without excuse before Jesus on the Last Day.
Recall the polite excuses of the guests in the parable. They all thought they had better things to do than to go to the man’s banquet. But wasn’t it good that they at least were nice about declining the invitation? I believe there is some application here for our lives. We can fool ourselves into thinking that as long as we are polite to God and nice about saying “no thanks” to his invitation things will be fine between him and us. But in the end we aren’t going to be given a second chance once the doors to God’s banquet room are shut. The excuses we make now for not eating God’s spiritual food will have eternal consequences. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Today is the day to eat with Jesus by putting our faith in him. Now is the time to eat at God’s banquet so we can eat at it forever.
As part of my preparation for this sermon I did a search on the Internet by just entering the word “excuses.” One of the websites that came up was called “Excuselist.com.” Hundreds and hundreds of excuses were listed in various categories. I clicked on the section labeled “church.” It brought up dozens of excuses people give for not going to church. Yes, I have heard many of them. Some are funny some are sad.
In the parable of the great banquet Jesus warned us about making excuses for not attending God’s great banquet. May we take them to heart and not excuse ourselves from it. Jesus’ words encourage us to realize what we will miss if we excuse ourselves. He also wants us to recognize the foolishness of excusing ourselves. And finally he would have us remember the eternal consequences of excusing ourselves. With that in mind let’s eat now at the great banquet so that we can eat at it forever. Amen.
