Don’t Miss the Banquet
Luke 14:12-27
12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ’Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 "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.’
19 "Another said, ’I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 "Still another said, ’I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 "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.’
22 "’Sir,’ the servant said, ’what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 "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.
24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’"
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple.
27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
The custom of eating out is one that is growing rapidly in popularity. In our hurry-up, go-go, society, the fast food business is booming. And so the custom if eating out is reaching new large scale proportions today. Folks want to eat quickly and cheaply and not have to worry about cleaning up afterward.
It wasn’t too long ago when most food was eaten at home. In fact, the food was both produced, prepared, and eaten at home. But nowadays our children eath their lunch at school. Many business people travel all week and are not at home to eat. Wives work out of the home and don’t feel like preparing a meal at the end of the day.
For some people, eating out is a kind of diversion and recreation. It used to be said that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” O, how that’s changed! Now its said, “The way to keep your wife happy is to take her out to eat.” Some clever restauranteur should come up with a slogan like this: EAT OUT TONIGHT–THE WIFE YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN!
This custom of eating out goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. I’m sure that one of the first things Eve said to Adam was, “Honey, I’d like to eat out. I’m tired of the fruit from these old trees. I’ve heard of a new tree where the food is really delicious. Can we go tonight?” And you know the rest of the story. They went to Applebees!
Most people like to eat out–especially if its free! I’ve never turned down a free meal that I can recall. I’ve got my priorities straight. Suppose you received this kind of invitation from a very rich person:
A gigantic buffet dinner has been prepared for you.
Present yourself with an appetite.
There will be ham and turkey, chicken and shrimp,
prime rib, and T-bone steak.
Beans and corn, potatoes and gravy
Shrimp salad, ham salad, and fruit salad.
For desert: pie, cake, and home-made ice cream
If we don’t have what you want, we’ll get it
The dinner is free and you can come every night.
In fact, you can come as often as you like
and it won’t cost you a cent!
Now some of you may think that’s a bit rediculous, but let me remind you that there are billionaires in this country who could feed all the people in Jackson county for a long time if they chose to.
But here’s the amazing thing. A great feast has been prepared for us. A fest to which every person is invited to come and sit down to the table. The invitation says you can eat for the rest of your life and throughout eternity. It reads: “This is an expensive meal, but it is free of charge.”
Do you know who said that? Of course you do! God said that and the feast He has prepared is salvation through Jesus Christ. He knew we would have physical hunger, but He also knew that there would be a hunger that would deeper.
So God took the initiative and provided His best. He didn’t give one of His angels–not even an archangel. He didn’t give one of many sons. He gave His one and only Son–to come and live and die for us.
So great banquet has been prepared. It was planned from before the foundation of the world. It was prepared on the cross. And it was made effective by the resurrection. And the invitation is out! Praise God! And its for everyone.
According to social custom in Palestine during the time of Christ, when you were invited to a big dinner you were told the day. Later, a messenger would come announcing the exact hour. The messenger came with the announcement...
EVERYTHING IS NOW READY–COME!
In our scripture passage, which is a parable, that’s exactly what took place. Did they respond in joy? Did they say, “Praise God, I can’t wait to go!” No, they did not. Instead, they all began to make excuses.
❏ “I can’t come—just bought a new lot.”
❏ “Can’t come—just bought a new truck (oxen)”
❏ “Can’t come–just got married.”
The first man is the kind who says, “Business first.”
The second one says, “I have something new.”
The third fellow put his home and family before God
Someone said, “An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.”
Let me illustrate this with a skit
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Did you hear about the farmer who asked his neighbor if he could borrow a rope? The neighbor said, “Sorry, I’m using the rope to tie up my milk.” “Milk?” said the farmer. “You can’t tie up milk with a rope.” The neighbor replied, “I know, but when a man doesn’t want to do something, one reason is as good as another.”
What would have happened if Noah had made excuses? I can just hear it now.
And the Lord said to Noah, “Where is the ark which I commanded you to build?” And Noah answered, “Lord, I have had 3 carpenters off ill. The gopherwood supplier has let me down–even though it has been on order for 12 months. What cna I do, Lord?” And the Lord said to Noah, “I want that ark finished by the time 7 days and nights are passed.” And Noah said, “It will be done.” And it was not so. And the Lord said to Noah, “What seems to be the trouble this time?” And Noah answered, “My subcontractor has gone bankrupt. The pitch which you commanded me to put on the outside and inside of the ark has not yet arrived. The plumber has gone on strike. My son, Shem is no longer with me. He and his brothers Ham and Japheth have formed a rock group and are off on tour. Lord, I am undone.” And the Lord grew angry and said, “And what about the animals, the male and female of every sort that I ordered to come to you to keep their seed alive upon the face of the earth?” And Noah said, “They have been delivered to the wrong address but should arrive on Friday.” And the Lord said, “How about the unicorns and the fowls of the air by sevens?” And Noah wrung his hands and wept saying, “Lord, unicorns are a discontinued line. You can’t get them for love or money. And fowls of the air are sold only in half dozens. Lord, Lord, you know how it is.” And the Lord in His wisdom said, “Noah, my son, I do know. Why else do you think I have caused a flood to descend upon the earth.”
By the way, did you notice the response of the people in this parable? No one said, “I don’t want fo come to your dinner.” No one said, “I don’t care for your invitation.” What really was being said was, “There are some other things I would rather do.” This is really the nature of sin–to put self before God.
I have yet to meet anyone who has bluntly said, “I mean to live away from God. I would like to live and die and when I die, I want to go to hell.” I’ve never met anyone like that. But I do meet people all the time who make one excuse after another for staying away from God and His house.
If I were to list the CAUSES behind these excuses, I would say they are four in number:
1. They didn’t know their own deep needs
2. They didn’t know what they were missing.
3. They didn’t understand Who it was that was inviting them
4. They really expected to get a second chance.
Only the newlywed said, “I can’t come.” The others said, “Please have me excused.” That really means, “I’m not coming now, but I might come if you invite me again.” But they never got that second chance.
There are 4 categories of folks when it coes to God’s gracious invitation.
1. Those who have been invited over and over again and have still not accepted the invitation. They are the lost.
2. Those who have come to the banquet, but they’re just nibbling–not really feasting as God meant them to. As a result they are weak, immature, half-hearted, defeated.
3. Those who have been to the banquet but left before the meal was finished. They walked out on the host. They represent the backslidders.
4. Those who have come and continue to feast repeatedly. They can’t get enough of feeding on Christ. These are the committed–the Spirit-filled.
Which group would you fall under?
Look again at verse 21. The Host got mad! We don’t often think about the anger of God because there is so much emphasis on the love of God as well there should be. But we must remember that there are occasions when God does get angry. After all, He had planned the supper and paid the price. The guests were insulting Him, for in the Middle Eastern countries, to turn down an invitation without a good reason was a serious thing. It even led to war in certain instances.
Many of you here today have said “yes” to this invitation and you have begun a fellowship with God that will not end. If you have not accepted His invitation, I urge you to do so today.
Whatever you do, don’t miss the banquet!
