Feast or Famine
Text: Luke 14:15-24
Introduction: There is a difference between a reason and an excuse. There are times when we may have a legitimate reason for what we do or don’t do, but excuses never stand up under scrutiny. As someone has said, "An excuse is actually the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie." It is not uncommon that people will offer the most ridiculous excuses for their behaviors: Statistics show that most flat tires occur Monday mornings and Friday afternoons. But are they real flat tires or unverified reports of flat tires? All I know is Monday morning is when we don’t want to go into work, and Friday afternoon is when we don’t want to go back. Officer Dave Hoffman of the Naperville Police Department offers this story of an inventive excuse for poor driving. "One night many years ago I was on patrol and observed a vehicle blow through a red light at a major intersection. There had been plenty of time to stop, yet the vehicle had not even slowed down. I stopped the car and asked the young female driver why she had done that. The girl told me she had just had her brakes repaired, it had been very expensive, and she DIDN’T WANT TO WEAR THEM DOWN! Usually I give people a pass if I haven’t heard their excuse before, but in this case she got the ticket."
Background: In our text today, we’ll see what Jesus thinks of excuses. He was in the middle of a Sabbath dinner at the home of a prominent Pharisee. One of those seated at the table with Christ blurted out, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” This sort of blessing was not uncommon (See Luke 11:27, 28). Scholars differ in their understanding of the blessing, however. Some say that the man said what he did out of admiration for Christ. He saw practiced a hospitality that was truly reflective of loving nature of God. Others, however, see it differently. They argue, and I agree, that the speaker betrayed a superficial idea of the kingdom of God. It was a privilege that only people just like himself (righteous and law abiding) could secure. In an effort to clarify the misguided man’s thinking, Jesus told the parable of the Great Banquet. In it He exposed the ignorance of the Pharisee when it came to his assumptions about the Kingdom of God. It is only by God’s grace and not by man’s achievement that we can fellowship with Christ in the kingdom of God. The word "grace" means favor. To understand the word and its meaning let’s look for a moment at what the Bible has to say about it.
• Grace is not payment for services rendered (See Romans 4:4). It is a free gift, unearned and unmerited.
• Grace is offered to us through Jesus Christ (See John 1:17).
• Grace is the basis for our salvation (See Ephesians 2:8, 9).
As you can see it’s pretty important that we understand Jesus’ teaching on grace. So let’s look more closely at what He has to say about this important subject in the parable of the Great Banquet.
I. God’s grace can be received (See Luke 14:15-17, 21-23). As Jesus gathered at the table of a ruler among the Pharisees with other socially elite Pharisees and scribes, He tells the story of a great banquet hosted by a great man. The guests would be his peers and associates. Though it is not stated in the parable, the assumption is that they are invited and agree to come. The first invitation was serious and acceptance of it is a firm commitment. When the host knew how many guests were coming, he would have enough meat prepared to satisfy their appetites. Once the preparations began, the affair could not be stopped for the meat had to eaten the same day or it would spoil. The guests who accepted the invitation were duty bound to attend. Then, at the hour of the banquet a servant is sent out with the traditional message: "Come, all is now ready." This is the invitation that is extended to those other "great men" who would have considered themselves equal to the host, and it fits within the appropriate norms of the Jewish society. What doesn’t fit is the second and third series of invitations mentioned in vs. 21-23. In these acts of grace, he stands ready and willing to include anyone among his table guests. No one is too sinful or too wretched to be excluded from the table (See Luke 14:12-14). Grace is available to all! Illustration: Jonah knew something about the grace of God and it was precisely this attribute that kept him from going with a warning from God for the Ninevites (See Jonah 1:1-4, 4:1-3).
II. God’s grace can be rejected (See Luke 14:18-20). Let’s talk for a moment about "Buts". We all have them, they are usually pretty big, though some may be bigger than most. Some are so big that others try to hide behind them. Some of us use them more than others; however they always end up getting in the way. You know what I’m talking about...the big ’buts’ of life..."But, I can’t; But, I’m too old; But, I’m too young; But, I need more time; But, I don’t have any money; But, I’m in the wrong position; But, I’ve been through so much; But, I don’t have anything to offer." Excuses, every one of them, for why we are not able to follow after the will of Christ. Here’s a definition of EXCUSE - that which is to make (an offense or crime) seem less serious or some thing used to justify a fault. In this parable the invited guests, who have agreed to come, have a series of excuses for the servant when he informs them that the banquet is ready to begin.
A. "But, I have to go somewhere." Specifically, the invited guest announced that he had purchased a plot of ground and now needed to go and see it. Anyone who might have heard this story would have recognized that this excuse was nothing short of a bold-faced lie. No one bought a plot of ground in the 1st century without knowing every square foot of it like the palm of his hand. The springs, wells, stone walls, trees and paths were carefully included in the contract! This is nothing less than an intentionally insulting reason for avoiding the banquet to which he has been invited.
B. "But, I have to do something." The second invited guest said, "I have bought five yoke of oxen and I’m on my way to try them out." Before a prospective buyer would ever purchase a yoke of oxen, he would watch the animals work and even drive them back and forth across a field to test their strength and evenness of pull. All of this would take place before a price was even negotiated.
C. "But, I have to see someone." The third invited guest offered the excuse, "I just got married, so I can’t come." In this case, he is not asking to be with his wife because he married her that day, for no one would schedule a great banquet on the day of a wedding. No village could host two grand occasions on the same day. The guests would not know which one to choose. In effect, then, the man was saying that he had no intention of leaving his wife even for a few hours to attend a banquet hosted by a great person.
Illus: People have long been giving excuses as to why they cannot follow Christ when He calls them, and have missed out on many wonderful blessings as a result . I’m reminded of Gary Kildall, who in 1973 wrote the first popular operating system for personal computers named CP/M. In 1980 IBM invited Kildall to develop the operating system for IBM PCs. Kildall, however, snubbed IBM officials at a crucial meeting and instead offered the excuse that he was busy, when in fact, he was going to fly his new airplane. The frustrated IBM executives turned instead to Bill Gates, founder of a small software company called Microsoft, and his operating system named MS-DOS. Today Bill Gates is worth billions. Gary Kildall, on the other hand, died in relative obscurity. In a similar way people who offer excuses to God when He calls are left to wonder what might have been (See Romans 1:20).
III. God’s grace can be rescinded (See Luke 14:24). Perhaps one of the scariest verses in the New Testament is found in verse 24. "I tell you not one of these men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet." Those who rejected the host’s invitation have been completely rejected by him. Instead of receiving His grace, they have incurred his wrath. That’s the word that is used to describe his anger in 14:21. It means to "provoke to anger." May I read to you some verses regarding the appropriate and lasting wrath of God. I will let them speak for themselves this morning:
A. Romans 2:5 - But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
B. Ephesians 5:6-7 - Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.
D. Colossians 3:5-6 - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
D. Revelation 6:15-17 - Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
E. Romans 5:9 - Since we have now been justified by (Christ’s) blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Conclusion: Matthew Henry warns us that, "They that will not have Christ when they may, shall not have them when they would. Even those that were bidden, when they slight the invitation, shall be forbidden when the door is shut." There is only one way to escape the righteous and holy wrath of God...to turn from our rebellious, self-centered way of life and through faith in Christ to enter into His kingdom and take a seat at His table (See Isaiah 25:6-8). Illus: The story is told about a frontier town in the late 1800s where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The boy who was saved grew up to become a notorious outlaw. Upon his capture, the man stood before a judge to be sentenced for murder. The outlaw recognized the judge as the young man who had saved his life years before. He pled for mercy on the basis of that experience, but the words from the bench silenced his plea. "Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge and I must sentence you to be hanged." One day Jesus will say to rebellious sinners, "During that long day of grace, I was the Savior, and I would have forgiven you. But today I am your Judge. Depart from me you who are cursed into everlasting fire."
