HG113-114 Luke 13:22-14:24
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1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your 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 one 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 compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
This week to have a look at a passage of Scripture that has a sense of urgency in it. This parable was given whilst at a feast that he and his disciples had been invited to and had come.
This follows are very crucial passage, which we have not read out loud today but is in this week’s readings, a passage in the previous chapter about making every effort to go through the narrow door for what is at stake is whether we are going to heaven or hell at the end of our lives. As John says:
27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Not only is the door narrow through which to pass it is a door that will soon close once and for all. And once it is closed there is no entry, repentance will come too late. All this follows the question “are there few who will be saved?”. And unfortunately the answer is yes. But salvation is available to all who would receive it. It is within everyone’s grasp.
The opportunity for this parable was given after another one about humbling oneself to be exalted and at which a man declared in verse 15: “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Indeed this is absolutely true – blessed are the ones who shall eat – but, unfortunately, many have been invited – in this case it is directed to the self-righteous Pharisees and Jews – but it is true of everyone who was invited but found ways to get around it by giving excuses of non-attendance.
So what were these excuses? I have bought land and must see it; I have bought oxen and must try them out; I have got married and must attend to her.
These people are those who should have known better – they have already heard the invitation, made out that were going to come but when the time arrived other things got in the way and appeared more important. They were like those in another parable:
22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Surely this is a warning for us. The first thing we need to make sure is that we ourselves are in the Kingdom of God and that when the time comes we actually think that going to the feast is more important than our lives and the things that we enjoy.
But I suppose we should not be surprised that despite these particular people knowing of the invitation it was despised of being little value despite the greatness of the person inviting them but unbeknown to them they did not know it was going to be their undoing – in fact their excuses were accepted as red and were not invited again – they had bought land or house or oxen or smart phone and have to try it out or got married or or or excuse excuse excuse and want to enjoy life, they had their possessions and affections, they loved the world more than they loved God;
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
but when they realise that the time for accepting the invitation has gone and the door to the feast is closed because it is full…He will go so far to say as
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
But what did He expect instead:
26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
When the servant came and told the Master that they had all given excuses he was very angry. God is love, how can this be? But His love is not diminished because He is angry. He’s made the way available but if refused they have rejected the only way to save haven. Scripture attests that God who is the same yesterday, today and forever gets angry:
17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?
11 God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
This puts the whole human race at a predicament. The invitation was given but it was refused by those who should have known better. Now the invitation is to be made to others – to those who are the rejected of this world; the ones who are the despised; the ones who are not worth anything in the world’s eyes. There was to be discrimination – those who had been invited were not going to be able to change their minds – hear the urgency in verse 21:
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 here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’
Here, now, we come to the crux of the passage for us. God wants His house filled – in His righteous anger and in His righteous love – for He desires that all men are saved and has paid the ultimate price in sending His son. But He is not content with just bringing in as many as would come but He says to compel them to come in so that there is a full house.
I have said before that we are here to know Christ and make Him known. For those who are without Christ there is only the expectation of pain and suffering worse than anything that this life can throw at them. As in the days of Noah the time is short and no one knows when the door is going to close – for it closed unexpectedly in Noah’s time upon the world who had been told in advance. Now we are in the times when the opportune time is going to pass and times are coming when we will find it hard to share our faith for the persecution that will come. It is still day but the night is coming but the urgency of such a time seems lost on us.
It is time to get up and go; we are the servant in this parable , for there are people outside who are waiting for the invite to come to the feast. They could not have afforded such a feast they certainly cannot return the favour; these are people who are without hope in the world and such are all those who are without Christ.
“Go out quickly” the master is saying. This was not a hard task but one that still had to be done and notice it was the servant who said that the house was not full. The more you get out there inviting people the more you will want to get the order to go again. There is a real sense of urgency in the command. Yes, the Master is angry with those who refused the invitation but he still wants the place to be full of people and eating at the feast. The Church may be small but if the whole Church came together the gathering would be innumerable.
But the order is going out again. The Church maybe innumerable but there is still space . This is no longer a simple invitation; what is it? it is a compelling; to compel people to come in; there’s little time left till the start of the feast; there is still space but these are diminishing; there’s still space for the people of Manselton and Swansea. Compel them to come in. This is such a strong word – in the ESV they translate this as “make them come in” – but this word is fiercer than that – it is to force them to come in. I don’t think that this means use physical force or Islamic militant style conversions – convert or die! But it is to press the invitation strongly, exert pressure because there really is no choice. The alternative which is to refuse the invitation is not one to even consider. Convert or die may indeed be the way not in some physical sense by using a sword or gun but with verbally urging people and with fervent prayer for there is only one of two places everyone will end up; go where you are invited or go to where you were not to but in the end you will be forced to go somewhere.
When British India was split into two nations – known as the partition: India and Pakistan, in 1947. Pakistan was to be the new Islamic State – and India the secular one albeit mainly Hindu. As soon as the nations were formed, whether you liked it or not, people were forced mainly according to their religion over the border from one Country to another losing everything they originally had in the process – 14 million people moved in the biggest migration there has ever been seen.
In the end, the real end, there will be mass migration on a world-wide scale covering all peoples who have ever lived and are living – each one to the left hand of God and to eternal judgment or to the other, which is why we are seeking to make Jesus known, on the right hand of God and to eternal life.
What then for us? The urgency of the command to go out is evident. We do not know how much more patience the Lord has concerning when the time has come to completion.
We are commanded to go and fill the banquet up with people and we have to hurry up.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
We don’t have time for the frivolity of life living for ourselves and for our sin:
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
After all is said and done the results are up to God. We are simply to bring people in and if they come, well, if they don’t, it is a shame but it is no surprise either for even to the disciples Jesus said that this could happen:
5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
It seems whole Cities could refuse the invitation – maybe Manselton and Swansea will refuse but that is not our problem. Our mission is to bring people in and telling them the good news of Jesus. Somehow we responded to the Gospel all those years ago and people are still responding today:
People can only respond if we tell them – it is nobody else’s job but ours. We are the servant – the invitation; the bringing in; the compelling – is our work. To not take no for an answer.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
This is absolutely true however we know that this is the Lord’s will for us. It is up to us to obey and the Lord will build His Church.
In the meantime I want you all to pray, to think about ways of bringing people in, looking up particular tracts that might be good here, to think about Easter and ways we can make the Gospel known to the people of this area, for us all to have a part to play in going to the streets of Manselton.
But first, we have to want to attend the feast ourselves. Are other things more important? Our homes, our cars, our family? Then, we will want to invite others to join us where only He can satisfy and more. To join the One who gave everything for us to be able to be at the feast through his life, death and resurrection.
Benediction
Benediction
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Hughes, R. K. (1998). Luke: that you may know the truth. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.