An Invitation to a Feast
Luke • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsThose who boast about their blessedness are very often the ones who will never come to the feast. But the master's house will be filled - the wounded and broken find a seat at the table, while the "acceptable ones" are cast away.
Notes
Transcript
Scripture reading
Scripture reading
1 O Lord, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made a city a ruin,
A fortified city a ruin,
A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will glorify You;
The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor,
A strength to the needy in his distress,
A refuge from the storm,
A shade from the heat;
For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens,
As heat in a dry place;
As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
6 And in this mountain
The Lord of hosts will make for all people
A feast of choice pieces,
A feast of wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
10 For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest,
And Moab shall be trampled down under Him,
As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst
As a swimmer reaches out to swim,
And He will bring down their pride
Together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The fortress of the high fort of your walls
He will bring down, lay low,
And bring to the ground, down to the dust.
Prayer
Prayer
Our Father in Heaven,
We have waited for you and you will save us.
We have waited for you and you will deliver us.
Do not take your spirit from us. Keep our eyes focused on the kingdom of Christ; keep our affections where he is at your right hand, so that our lamps do not grow dim as we wait for you.
For we often get discouraged. Afraid, impatient…doubting. Are our cries heard? Are our prayers heard?
And so we wait for you, for where else will we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Hold us in your hands so that the winds and the waves of this life do not overwhelm us, for we cannot stand a moment without your strength.
Father, thank you that you have provided for us for yet another week. You have filled our mouths with every good thing and have given us beauty and love. Continue to provide for us. Give to us times of refreshment as we journey through this valley of tears.
Grant that we might hallow and magnify your name. In all of our words and works, help us to reflect your truth and beauty, your wisdom and righteousness, so that not we but your holy name be magnified.
And may our light shine to all around us. Give us opportunities to be a beacon of hope to our neighbors. Conform us to the image of your dear son.
He didn’t quarrel or cry out; he didn’t shout in the streets; he didn’t bruise the wounded or stamp out the tiny fires of hope in the hearts of your image bearers.
Give us that spirit – for we are too often fearful or desperate and either shut ourselves off or shout to make ourselves heard. Instead, teach us to be like Jesus and rest in you.
Bless those who struggle with infirmity – give Hugo successful treatment. Continue to give Bud strength for another day. Provide for Roger all that he needs. Give Judy’s sister a successful treatment this week and relieve her pain.
Give our leaders wisdom and justice, insight and integrity. Preserve us from anarchy and rebellious men.
And bless you congregation wherever it meets. Give boldness in the proclamation of the gospel and protect them from the rebellious in their own congregations. Soften the hard heard we pray.
Deliver us from wolves in the pulpits who prey upon the weak, the oppressed, the poor. Tear them down and rescue your lambs from their teeth.
And raise up faithful shepherds who look like Jesus – poor in spirit, meek, lowly, contented. Deliver us from the rage of the overmuch righteous, for the wrath of men will never produce the righteousness of God.
And give us contentment, peace, and rest, as you have promised.
Bless the reading and preaching of your word this morning. Guide my lips and circumcise our hearts – remove that which is filthy and stubborn, that we might hear and live,
And together:
14 Let the words of my mouth,
And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Text
Text
15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. 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.’ 21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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.’ 22 And 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. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”
Sermon
Sermon
You sometimes see a game going around online. Something like “Name four people you would most like to have dinner with.”
Depending on your circles, you will get a variety of answers.
Calvin, Luther, Beethoven, Tolstoy, Plato…you get the picture.
Then someone will invariably say, “Jesus. I would have so much to ask him about.”
But suppose you could ask him anything today - I already know what his answer would be.
“Everything that you need to know right now is in the Bible.”
Be that as it may, I understand the sentiment and I also long for the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is promised to us.
But I don’t think we fully understand how awkward it would have been to dine with Jesus.
First, he confronts the powerful Pharisee class. Then he corrects all of the guests and comments on the seating. Then he comments on the host’s guest list.
All of this would have been extremely socially awkward. I expect by now there would be a tense silence over the table.
You can just imagine the guests - clearing their throats and saying, “Well now it’s just awkward.”
One brave man seeks to end the awkward silence by saying what he believes everyone can agree on.
“Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Like: Well, we will just agree to disagree. Or, Everything happens for a reason.
Or, God has this all under control
This statement is designed to break the awkwardness, get everyone to relax and say, “mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. Amen.”
Then they could move on.
The problem with his statement is this: He assumes that HE is one of those who will eat bread in the kingdom of God, and the others (like the ones outside) will NOT be joining them.
So Jesus tells a parable.
The invitation
The invitation
It was the custom, when a king or ruler held a feast, for him to send out the invitations early. One was expected to RSVP, and the RSVP was binding. Animals had to be killed and food prepared and if people just didn’t show, there was nothing to do with the waste.
So the king sends out his invitations, and his friends accept - perhaps saying, “Blessed is he who eats bread at THAT table”
And then when the time for the feast comes, he sends more messengers and says, “Everything is done. The table is set. Come to the party!”
And they all begin to make excuses.
I just bought some land and need to go check it out.
I just bought five teams of oxen, and I need to test them.
I just married a wife - and am going to be busy...
This is a recurring theme with Jesus.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
Philip Ryken writes on this passage:
“This parable was really about God’s plan of salvation and the coming of Christ. As we have seen, the banquet was an ancient symbol of salvation. God wants to have fellowship with his people and to satisfy them with good things.”
I have spoken before about the great feast as a symbol of eternal life.
The Jews in the Old Testament were promised a great feast. Those who sat at the supper right then were ones who were waiting for that feast.
“Blessed are those who eat bread...”
But when it comes down to it, what they really loved was power, reputation, plots of land and teams of oxen, happy families...
But what happens when that gets threatened?
In the next section Jesus talks about the reality of following him. Satan is relentless and faith will be tested. There is no way to avoid suffering, trials and hard questions, for the servant is not greater than the master.
Will you hold to Christ alone when your family rejects you?
Will you hold to Christ alone when Satan takes your health?
Will you hold to Christ alone if your business fails?
Jesus tells us in the next section to count the cost - we will talk more when we get there.
But he is looking around this table and he is seeing men that will eventually need to make a choice - the invitation will say, “Now. It’s ready.” It is absolutely free. Even the garments are provided.
But receiving that invitation will cost them everything.
22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
So all of that talk about how blessed one is eating bread in the kingdom is all just talk. When it comes down to it, what they really love is the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of life.
And when God doesn’t come through on what they REALLY desire, they want nothing more to do with him.
Job was slandered in heaven. “Does he serve you because he loves you? Or because you give him things”?
The outcasts of Israel
The outcasts of Israel
To understand the next section, we need to understand something in the law. Let’s talk about disabilities. The disabled make many people uncomfortable, as if they aren’t really as human as everyone else - or that they are somehow outside of God’s favor...
And this seems to be consistent with the law. The word of God says,
17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
We cannot just dismiss this as “Old Testament”, for it is all the word of God. So what does it mean?
The Pharisees taught that all disability was a result of personal sin. That was what led to the question about the man born blind. Since (as the Pharisees reasoned) blindness was judgment on personal sin, who sinned that a man was born blind?
Their teaching was bad exegesis of this passage in Leviticus. Obviously a disabled person is not as holy or righteous as a fit and healthy person, and this passage backs me up.
But wait - not only did Jesus heal on the Sabbath, he healed a man with dropsy! How can Jesus, if he is really a prophet, give his grace to the obviously undeserving like a physically disabled person??
Jesus’ healing ministry was an attack on their system, and a clue as to the real meaning of Leviticus 21.
First, the priest pointed to Christ, the lamb of God without blemish or spot. The symbolism had to be there, to point to the perfect, flawless savior.
And second - IF anyone with any disability would not eat in God’s presence AND if everyone who comes to Jesus will be welcomed - it must follow:
Jesus will take away all of our brokenness, all of our disabilities, our pain, our limping and blindness, and scabs and scars and broken bones and every single defect that has come upon us because of the fallenness of the world in which we live.
Jesus answered his disciples when they asked about the man born blind - “Neither he nor his parents sinned, but that the glory of God might be revealed”.
Leviticus 21 is a promise of hope, of restoration! Not only are all of our sins taken away, all of our shame, and inadequacies and anxieties and body issues and everything else that is broken about our nature will all be taken away. “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”
And this new reality struck at the heart of the man who boasted, “Blessed is the one who eats bread in the kingdom of God.”
Because the handsome, fit, rich and healthy were at the table.
The unwashed masses, the blind, the lame, the limping, the wounded - were all outside looking in.
See how Jesus turns the tables on the statement?
You who are all sitting her boasting about your invitation will all reject the feast as soon as it is ready. You don’t think you need it because you are doing just fine. You have land and oxen and wives and children and everyone is clean and sober and knows how to play happy families. And you ignore and bury your sin and shame, your anxieties and fears, your lust and your greed - and carry on as if alienation from God is perfectly normal and desirable.
You will take the bread of life in chains to the Roman governor and shout “Crucify him!” and you will persecute from city to city everyone who seeks to eat at the feast.
And so the master of the feast expands the invitation - bring in the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind...
You can picture it. He is looking at those outside of the feast - those who were not invited. The outcasts of Israel, just as it was prophesied.
6 “In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will assemble the lame,
I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;
7 I will make the lame a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;
So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
Another way of speaking of this great feast.
Call in the outsiders. I have my garments which I will put on them. I will take all of their sickness and bear all of their griefs.
I will heal their brokenness and their deeply ingrained sins and traumas.
I will take away the curse and the fear of death. I will wash their filthiness away and put crowns on their heads
I will anoint them with the richest oils and richest perfumes and lavish them with my love. In fact, I will adopt them as my sons and my daughters!
I will eat with them and they will live!
But even then, the feast is not full.
So he sends his messengers outside of the city - to the highways and hedges - with a message that no one would believe. These are the gentiles, strangers to the covenant, not the people of God. You could possibly stomach a disabled person sitting at the table as long as he was a Jew. But what about a Gentile? Never.
But the invitation is sent out.
The king that you have never heard of in a nation that you have never heard of is throwing a grand feast and he wants YOU there! He wants to give you all of his riches and plant you into his household.
No way. Not me. It has to be a joke.
“Compel them to come in”
Augustine erred here and taught that sometimes force was necessary to bring people into the church. This led to the horrible abuses of the Middle Ages, up to the inquisition of Spain.
But this is certainly not Jesus’ meaning.
The compelling is the love of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit!
Compel them! The sweet influences of the Holy Spirit calling his people to the feast throughout the whole world.
The leaders of the Jews sitting around the table would not come. They loved their place and their nation - their greetings in the synagogues and their reputations and their invitations - so they were the ones shouting “Crucify him” when that which they loved was threatened.
So the call went to everyone else.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
Of course, this brings up questions concerning election and the free offer of the gospel.
election and invitation
election and invitation
On the one hand, it is true that no one can accept the invitation unless the Father draws him. “Compel them to come in”
But the free offer goes to all. It is sincere. It is real. Jesus truly said, “Whoever comes to me, I will never cast them out.” Never. The invitation to the feast is truly for all.
Jew and Gentile, lame, halt and blind, rich and poor, male and female.
There is plenty of room at the feast. In fact, the blood of Christ is enough to cover the sins of the whole human race!
Election - like all the decrees of God - are only known by looking back. It belongs to the secret things of God. When we have come to Christ and have rested in the gospel, we know by looking back that it is because we were known of God from before the foundation of the world.
But looking forward into time, we only have the revealed will of God.
Come - for the feast is spread. What is keeping you away?
Don’t blame God’s election for not coming. The reason you aren’t at the feast is all you. You wouldn’t come, because you loved the land and the oxen and happy families and the pleasures of life more than fellowship with God.
Why didn’t the newly married guy just bring his wife and come? He was just looking for an excuse. The woman you gave me, she wouldn’t let me.
Come. Both of you. Come with your families. Come yourself if they won’t come.
Come, even if it means you miss out on a great sale.
Come, even if it means that you lose your reputation and your standing.
But those who sat around the table - the elite - rejected him over and over. Eventually the invitation is withdrawn and they are left in outer darkness. The invitation is urgent. Come now while there is still time.
How do you come?
By faith. The feast is coming, and is also breaking through this age. In the proclamation of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments Jesus is rejoicing and dining with his people, even though the kingdom has not fully come.
We see it by faith. We see it in shadow, like an engaged woman waiting for her spouse. And we press towards the mark.
And when our disabilities hurt, and our eyes grow dim and our reputations are in shatters...
When our anxieties overwhelm us and our depression threatens to crush us...
We press on…saying, “I will not let go until you bless me.”
Diligently attend church. Don’t neglect prayer. Preach the gospel to yourself.
And wait
Wait...
Wait...
2 Timothy 4:8 “8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Have we loved his appearing? Do we long to see him face to face, even when the whole world is raging? Do we trust him enough to believe his words when he tells us that he will never cast us out?
Do we know that the day will come when we will also say,
9 And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
Then lets move forward with boldness. Lift up our heads and come to the feast, waiting for us.
Because we know that the seats at the table aren’t earned, but given freely. We know that all of our failures and sins and struggles won’t keep us away, because he promises to cleanse us completely. We know that nothing unclean will be there, so we will be clean and beautiful and joyful and whole - abundant life, at the table of the Lord.
It is that faith that brings us to the table. If we loose sight of Jesus and his perfect holiness and righteousness, we will get discouraged. “I’m not enough. I can’t do enough. I am not enough.”
And we try to overcome those doubts by trying to make ourselves important or fit or clean or even happy and we get sidetracked. We take our eye off of Christ, and start to sink. Take his hand again.
Come to the feast. There is only one qualification - the invitation purchased by Jesus’ own blood, given to everyone.
The man on the cross invites you to come. So come.
Even when boredom or apathy strikes - it won’t be forever. Even when life gets busy - hold on to the promises.
When disaster strikes, come. When you are afraid, come. When you are sad or lonely, come.
And don’t let go, for he won’t let go of you.