Jesus was saying come, all is ready

JESUS WAS SAYING COME, ALL IS READY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 14:17 17At the time of the banquet he sent his
servantto tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for
everything is now ready.'
All Things Are Ready, Come
BY SPURGEON
“Come, for all things are now ready.”
Luke 14:17
THIS invitation was first of all made to the Jews, but it seems to me to have a
peculiar appropriateness to ourselves. It is later in the day than when first the
Lord was here and, therefore, the supper time is evidently closerathand. The
shadows lengthen, the sun of the present dispensationis nearing its setting–by
nearly 1,900 years has its day been shortened since first the Lord sent forth
His servants at supper time. The fullness of time for the marriage supper of
the Lamb must speedily arrive and, therefore, it behooves us to be more than
ever earnestin delivering the messageto the invited guests. And if all things
could be saidto be ready, even in our Savior’s day, we may sayit with still
greateremphasis now, for when He delivered this parable, the Holy Spirit was
not yet given.
But Pentecosthas now passedand the Spirit of God abides with us to
accompanythe Word, to fill it with power and to bless our souls as we feed
upon His Truth. Very emphatically, then, at this time all things are now ready
and the supper awaits the guests!I pray you do not begin to make excuses, but
be prepared to follow us when we bid you come, to go with us when we seek to
bring you in, or at leastto yield to our entreaties when, with all the sacred

violence of love, we would compelyou to come in. We will not grudge the use
of all the three increasing modes of persuasionso long as you are but led to
“Come, for all things are now ready.” There are two things clearlyin the text
and these have a close relationto one another. A plain invitation–“Come,"and
then a forcible argument–"forall things are ready.” The argument is fetched
from the Divine preparations, gatheredfrom among the dainty provisions of
the royal feast. “Myoxen and My fatlings are killed, come to the supper.” The
readiness of everything on God’s part is the argument why men should come
and partake of His Grace–andthat is the point upon which we will dwell at
this time–the readiness ofthe feastof mercy is the reasonwhy men should
come to it at once.
1. We will begin our meditation by laying down the first statementwhich
shall make our first division of discourse, namely that IT IS GOD’S
HABIT TO HAVE ALL THINGS READY, whether for His guests or
His creatures. You never discoverHim to be behind in anything. When
the guests come, there is not a scramble to get the table arranged and
the food prepared, but the Lord has greatforethought and every little
point of detail is well arranged. “All things are ready.” It was so in
creation.
He did not create a single blade of grass upon the face of the earth until the
soil and the atmosphere had been prepared for it and until the kindly sun had
learned to look down upon the earth. Imagine vegetationwithout a sun, or
without the alternation of day and night! But the air was full of light, the
firmament upheld the clouds and the dry land had appeared from out of the
sea–andthen all things were ready for herbs and plants and trees. Nordid
God prepare one single creature that has life, nor fowl that flies in the midst
of Heaven, nor fish that swim the seas, norbeastthat moves on the dry land
until He had prepared its habitat and made ready its appointed food.
There were no cattle before there were meadows for their grazing. There were
no birds till there were trees for their nests, no, nor even a creeping insect till
its portion of meat had been provided. No creature had to wait in a hungry
mood while its food was growing–allthings were ready–ready, first, for
vegetation, and then afterwards for animal life. As for Adam, when God came
to make Him as His last and noblest work of creation, all things were ready.
The gardenwas laid out upon the banks of flowing streams and planted with
all kinds of trees. The fruits were ripe for his diet and the flowers in bloom for
his delight.
He did not come to an unfurnished house, but he entered into a home which
his Fatherhad made pleasantand “All things are ready,” the Lord seems to

say, “Spring up, O herbs yielding seed.” And then, “All things are ready,
come forth you roes and hinds of the field!” And then, “All things are ready,
stand forth, O man, made in My own image!” In later times we may gather
illustrations of the same Truth of God from the ways of Godwith men. The
Ark was first of all built and the various creatures were gatheredinto it, with
all their necessaryfoodfor that strange voyage which they were about to take.
And then the Lord saidto Noah, “Come you and all your house into the Ark.”
“All things are ready, come,” was His voice to the choseneight as they entered
into the Ark. There was no need to tarry any longer. Every preparation was
made and, therefore, God shut them in. Everything is done with punctuality
and exactnessby the only wise God. The same day that a thing is needed, it is
prepared.
Take anotherevent in Providence, such as the going down of Israelinto
Egypt. God had determined that Jacoband his seedshould sojourn, awhile, in
the land of Ham, but how wiselyHe prepared the whole matter. He sent a
man before them, even Joseph, and Josephwas there upon the throne of
Egypt clothed with power to nourish them through the famine. He had been
there years before, all in goodtime to store the wheatwhile the sevenyears of
plenty lasted, that they might be well fed during the sevenyears of famine.
Goshen, also, was atthe disposal of Joseph, so that the flocks and herds of
Israelmight dwell in that fat land. Not into Egypt shall God’s Israel go till all
things are ready! And when all things are ready they will come out againwith
a high hand and an outstretched arm! So it was when the tribes migrated into
Canaanitself. God took them not to the promised land until all things were
ready. They were made to wait for the exacttime, for the Lord said, “The
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” Not till the inhabitants of the land had
passedthe bounds of mercy and were condemned to die, were the Israelites
brought upon the scene to be, at once, their executioners and successors!
And when the tribes came to the river Jordan, God had prepared everything
for them, for He had sent the hornet before them to drive out the people and a
pestilence, also, forthe spies said, “It is a land that eats up the inhabitants
thereof.” The Lord God had gone before them to fight their battles before
they came and to prepare a place for them, so that when they entered they
dwelt in houses which they had not built and they gatheredthe fruit of olives
which they had not planted. They came to a land that flowedwith milk and
honey, a land in a fine cultivated condition and not a wilderness which must
be reclaimed with hard labor. Israelcame to a country which was as the
garden of the Lord, whose fruit might at once be enjoyed, for they ate of the
old corn of the land almost as soonas they passedthe Jordan. So you see, “All

things are ready,” is a proclamation which the Lord has often, in spirit, made
to those whom He choosesto bless.
Now the factthat in the greatGospelsupper all things are ready teaches us,
first, that God’s thoughts go before men’s comings. “Come, for all things are
ready.” Not, “If you come, all things will be ready,” but, “they are ready and,
therefore, come.” Grace is first, and man at his bestfollows its footsteps. Long
before we ever thought of God, He thought of us! Yes, before we had a being
and time, itself, began, in the bosom of the Eternal there were thoughts of love
towards those for whom the table of His mercy is now spread!
He had planned and arrangedeverything in His august mind from of old. He
had, indeed, foreknownand predestinated all the provisions and all the guests
of His supper! All things were settledin His eternal Covenantand purpose
before the earth was!Never think, oh Sinner, that you canoutstrip the love of
God! It is at the end of the race before you are at the beginning! God has
completed before you have begun. His thoughts are before ours and so are His
acts, for He does not say, “All things are planned and arranged,” but, “All
things are ready.” Jesus, the greatSacrifice, is slain! The Fountain for our
cleansing is filled with blood! The Holy Spirit has been given. The Word by
which we are to be instructed is in our hands and the light which will
illuminate that sacredpage is promised us through the Holy Spirit.
Things promised ought to encourage us to come to Christ, but things already
given ought to be irresistible attractions. All things are already completedby
the sacredTrinity before we come to cry for mercy. This should make us very
hopeful and eagerin our approaches to the Lord. Come, Sinner! Come at
once!This ought to encourage you, since all that God has to do in your
salvationis done before you have a thought of Him or turn one foot towards
His abode. All things are ready. Come!
This, also, proves how welcome those are who come. If you are invited to see a
friend and when you reachthe place, you find the door lockedand, after
knocking many times no one answers, forthere is no one at home, you reckon
that there is some mistake, or that the invitation was not a sincere one. Even if
your host should come to the door and let you in, but should evidently be
embarrassed, for there is no meal provided and he has made no arrangements
for your rest, you soondetectit and like a wise man you quickly move off
somewhere else, forif you had been welcome, things would have been
prepared for you. But oh, poor Soul, if you come to God, all things are ready
for your entertainment–

“Spreadfor you the festive board,
With His richestdainties stored.”
The couchof rest and quietness is prepared for you. All things are ready! How
freely does Jehovahwelcome you, how genuine is the invitation, how sincere
the desire that you should come to feast with Him!
So much upon our first remark. It is the habit of the Lord to have all things
ready for His guests.
II. Our secondstatementis that THIS READINESS SHOULD BE AN
ARGUMENT THAT HIS SAINTS SHOULD COME continually to Him and
find Grace to help in every time of need. O children of God, I will lift the
parable awayfrom the immediate use which the Savior made of it to employ it
for your good. You know, Beloved, that wheneverthe Lord Jesus Christ
invites His people to come to Him and to taste of His bounty, all things are
ready.
It was a beautiful scene by the sea of Tiberias when the Lord spoke to those
who had been toiling on the lake at fishing and said to them, “Come and
dine.” They were willing enough to dine, but they were busy dragging to the
shore those great fishes. Remember, when they did land, they found the
invitation to be no vain one, for it is written, “Theysaw a fire of coals there
and fish laid thereon, and bread.” How the coals came there and the fish, and
the bread, the Evangelistdoes not tell us, but our Lord would not have asked
them to dinner if He had not been able to give them a warm reception. There
were the fire of coals and the fish and bread laid on them.
Whenever, therefore, your Lord and Master, by His blessedSpirit, calls you
to come near to Him, you may be quite sure that all things are ready for your
immediate enjoyment. You need never pause or hesitate, but approachHim
without delay. I want to caution you againstreplying, “But, Lord, I do not feel
ready.” That is most true, but that is not an argument which you should use to
excuse yourself in holding back. It is His readiness that is the main thing, not
yours, and as all things are ready, come whether you feel ready or not!
I have heard of some Christians who have said, “I do not feel in a proper
frame of mind to pray.” My Brothers and Sisters, pray till you do! Some have
said, “I do not think I shall go up to the house of God today. I feel so unhappy,
so castdown.” When should you go so much as then, in order that you may
find comfort? “Still,” says one, “you would not have me sing a hymn when of
heavy heart, would you?” Yes, I would, I would, indeed! I would have you
sing yourself up from the depths of the sea when all God’s billows have gone
over you. David full often did so. When he begana Psalm in the deeps, he

gradually rose and rose, and rose till he was in a perfect rapture of delight
before the Psalmwas over! All things are ready with your Lord, therefore
come whether you happen to be ready or not!
Note the times when this Truth of God ought to have powerwith you. All
things are ready, therefore come to the storehouse ofDivine promises. Are
you in spiritual poverty? Come and take what God has provided for you, for
all things are yours and all the blessings of the everlasting hills belong to all
the people of God. Are you needing strength? There is a promise, “As your
days so shall your strength be.” It is ready, come and take it! Are you needing
consolation? Do you not know that all things are ready for your comfort, that
two immutable things, wherein it is impossible for God to lie, are already set
before you? Come and take your solace!Yes, remember that all that God has
promised belongs to all those who believe the promise and that you may,
therefore, come at all times, howeverdeep your need. And if you have but
faith you shall find the specialsupply for the specialneed. All things are
ready, therefore come with holy confidence and take what is ripe enough to
gather, ripe for you. Come next to the MercySeatin prayer, all things are
ready there. The MercySeatis sprinkled with the preciousbloodof Christ.
The veil, also, is torn in two, and from betweenthe cherubim Jehovah’s Glory
now shines forth with mildest radiance. Let us, therefore, come with boldness
unto the Throne of the heavenly Grace, because everything there is ready for
the pleading suppliant. You have no need to bring anything with you. You
have no need of making preparations other than the Holy Spirit waits to give
you in the form of groans which cannotbe uttered! Come, child of God,
notwithstanding your carelessnessandindifference, or whatever it may be you
have to complain of, for though you are unready, the Throne of Grace is
ready and, therefore, draw near to it and find the Grace you need.
If at this time we feel strong promptings towards communion with Christ,
what a blessing it is that Christ is always ready to commune with His people.
“Behold,” He says, “Istand at the door and knock.” We think that we stand at
the door and knock, but it is scarcelyso. The greaterTruth, with regardto
His people, is that Jesus asksforfellowship with us and tells us that if we open
the door–andthat is all He bids His people do–He will enter in and sup with
them and they with Him. Suppose there is no supper, He will provide it–He
has all things ready. The Mastersays, “Where is the guestchamber?” He does
not say, “Where is the feast?” IfYour heart will be the guest chamber, He will
provide the supper and you shall sup with Him and He with you.
At whose door did Christ knock according to the Scriptures? It was at the
door of the LaodiceanChurch, at the door of the very Church concerning

which He had said, “Becauseyouare neither coldnor hot, I will spew you out
of My mouth.” Therefore you poor LaodiceanBelievers thatare here this
morning, if you have any promptings towards Christ, arise, for all things are
ready and before you are aware, your soul shall be as the chariots of
Amminadab! He is ready to receive us to His heart of hearts! How sweetlythis
ought to constrainus to fly into the arms of Jesus. Ithink the same thought
ought to cross ourminds with regardto every daily duty. We wake up in the
morning, but we do not know exactly what lies before us, for God’s
Providence has constantlynew revelations.
But I like to think, in the morning, that all things are ready for my pathway
through the day. That if I will go out to serve God in my ministry, He has
prepared some ear into which I am to drop a gracious wordand some heart in
the furrows of which I shall effectually sow some blessedseed!Behold, all
Providence with its mighty wheels is co-working withthe servant of the living
God! Only go forward in zeal and confidence, my Brother, and you shall find
that every step of your way is ready for you! Your Masterhas trod the road
and marked out for you the houses of refreshment where you are to tarry till
you shall come to the CelestialCity, itself, and the hallowed spots where you
shall bring glory to His blessedname! Fora useful life all things are ready for
us.
Yes, and if beyond the daily service of life we should feel a prompting to
aspire to a higher degree of holiness–ifwe want to grow in Grace and reach
the fullness of the stature of a man in Christ Jesus–allthings are ready for us!
No Christian can have a sacredambition after holiness which the Lord is not
prepared to fulfill. You that wish to be like Your Master, you that desire to
make a self-sacrifice thatwill show the powerof His Grace in you–the Holy
Spirit waits to help you–allthings shall work for you, for all things are ready!
Come, therefore, without fear.
One of these days it may be that you and I shall either be grownvery old, or
else disease willlay hold upon us and we shall lie upon the sick bed watching
and waiting for our Master’s coming. Then there shall suddenly appear a
messengerfrom Him who will bring us this word, “All things are ready, come
unto the supper,” and closing our eyes on earth we shall open them in Heaven
and see whatHe has done who so sweetlysaid, “I go to prepare a place for
you, and if I go to prepare a place for you I will come againand receive you
unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
Oh, it will be a joyous moment when we shall hear the summons, “All things
are ready, quit your house of clay, your farm, your merchandise and even her
who lies in your bosom, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and you must

be there! Therefore, rise up, My love, My fair one and come away. The winter
is over and past, the time of the singing of birds is come for you, all things are
ready, come!”
I feel tempted to linger here, but I must tear myself awayfrom this point to
pass on to the next.
III. THE PERFECTREADINESSOF THE FEAST OF DIVINE MERCYIS
EVIDENTLY INTENDEDTO BE A STRONG ARGUMENT WITH
SINNERS WHY THEY SHOULD COME AT ONCE. To the sinner, then, do
I address myself. Soul, do you desire eternal life? Is there within your spirit a
hungering and a thirsting after such things as may satisfy Your spirit and
make you live forever? Then hearkenwhile the Master’s servantgives you the
invitation. “Come, for all things are ready”–all, not some–but all! There is
nothing that you can need betweenhere and Heaven but what is provided in
Jesus Christ–in His Personand in His work.
All things are ready–life for your death, forgiveness foryour sin, cleansing for
your filth, clothing for your nakedness, joyfor your sorrow, strengthfor your
weakness–yes, more than all that you can ever need is stored up in the
boundless Nature and work of Christ. You must not say, “I cannotcome
because I have not this, or have not that.” Are you to prepare the feast? Are
you to provide anything? Are you the purveyor of even so much as the salt or
the water? You know not your true condition or you would not dream of such
a thing! The greatMasterof the house, Himself, has provided the whole of the
feast–youhave nothing to do with the provision but to partake of it! If you
lack, come and take what you lack!
The greateryour need, the greaterreasonwhy you should come where all
things that your needs canpossibly lack will at once be supplied! If you are so
needy that you have nothing goodat all about you, all things are ready. What
would you provide when God has provided all things? Superfluity of
naughtiness would it be if you were to think of adding to His, “allthings.” It
would be but a presumptuous competing with the provisions of the great
King–and this He will not tolerate. All that you need–Ican but repeatthe
words–betweenthe gates ofHell, where you now lie, and the gates ofHeaven,
to which Grace will bring you if you believe–allis provided and prepared in
Jesus Christ the Savior!
And all things are ready, dwell on that. The oxen and the fatlings were killed.
What is more, they were prepared to be eaten, they were ready to be feasted
on, they smokedon the board. It is something when the king gives orders for
the slaughterof so many bullocks for the feast, but the feastis not ready. And

when, beneath the poleax, the victims fall and they are stripped and hung up
ready for the fire, there is something done, but they are not ready. It is when
the meat is servedhot and steaming upon the table and all that is needed is
brought forth and laid in proper order for the banquet–it is then that all
things are ready!
And this is the case now. At this very moment you will find the feastto be in
the bestpossible condition. It was never better and never can be better than it
is now. All things are ready, just in the exactcondition that you need them to
be, just in such condition as shall be best for your soul’s comfort and
enjoyment. All things are ready! Nothing needs to be further mellowedor
sweetened. Everything is at the best that eternallove can make it. But notice
the word, “now.” “All things are now ready”–justnow–atthis moment! At
feasts, you know, the goodhousewife is often troubled if the guests come late.
She would be sorry if they came half-an-hour too soon, but half-an-hour too
late spoils everything! And in what a state of fret and worry is she if, when all
things are now ready, her friends still delay.
Leave food on the fire, awhile, and it does not seemto be, “now ready,” but
something more than ready and even spoiled. So does the greatMasterof the
house lay stress upon this, “allthings are now ready,” therefore come at once.
He does not say that if you will tarry for another sevenyears, all things will,
then, be ready–Godgrant that long before that space of time, you may have
got beyond the needs of persuasionby having become a tasterof the feast–but
He says that all things are ready now, just now. Just now that your heart is so
heavy and your mind is so careless. Justnow that your spirit is so wandering–
all things are ready now!
They are all ready just now though you have never thought of these things
before and dropped in this morning to see this large assemblywith no motive
whateveras to your own salvation, yet all things are ready now. Though your
sins are as the stars of Heaven and your soul trembles under an awful
foreboding of coming judgment, yet, “all things are now ready.” After all your
rejections of Christ. After the many invitations that have been thrown away
upon you, come to the supper! And if they are ready now, the argument is
come, now, while still all things are ready. While the Spirit lingers and still
strives with men. While mercy’s gates still stand wide open that, “whoever
will, may come.” While life and health and reasonstill are spared to you and
the ministering voice that bids you come can still be heard, come now, come at
once–allthings are ready–come!Delay is as unreasonable as it is wicked, now
that all things are ready.

Notice that all things were ready for those who were bid. They did not come,
but they were not mockedwhen they were bid to come. The factof all things
being ready proved that the invitation was a sincere one, although it was a
rejectedone. There are some who will not have us give an invitation to any
but to those whom we believe are sure to come, no, in a measure have come.
That is to say, they make a minister to be a mere superfluity. Why need he
come and invite those who have already begun to come?
But we believe it to be our duty and our privilege to invite the whole mass of
mankind! And even those who will not come–ifwe knew they would not come
we should not, therefore, exempt them from the bidding–for the servant was
sent to bid them to the wedding who, nevertheless, “allwith one consentbegan
to make excuse.” Theywere invited and earnestlyinvited, and all things were
ready, though they came not. O my dear Hearers, if you do not come to Christ
you will perish! But you will never be able to say you were not invited and
that there was nothing ready for you! No, there stands the feastall spread and
you are sincerely and honestly bid to come. God grant that you may come and
come at once!
IV. Now I am going to pass on to my fourth and last point, which may God
bless to the comfort of some seeking soul. THIS TEXT DISPOSES OF A
GREAT DEAL OF TALK ABOUT THE SINNER’S READINESS OR
UNREADINESS, because, if the reasonwhy a sinner is to come is because all
things are ready, then it is idle for him to say, “But I am not ready.” It is clear
that all the readiness required on man’s part is a willingness to come and
receive the blessing which God had provided. There is nothing else necessary.
If men are willing to come, they may come. They will come when the Lord has
been pleasedto touch their wills so that man has a desire towards Christ.
Where the heart really hungers and thirsts after righteousness, thatis all the
readiness which is needed.
All the fitness He requires is that first you feelyour need of Him, (and that He
gives you), and that secondly, in feeling your need of Him, you are willing to
come to Him. Willingness to come is everything! A readiness to believe in
Jesus, a willingness to cast the soul on Him, a preparedness to acceptHim just
as He is, because youfeel that He is just the Saviorthat you need–thatis all.
There was no other readiness. There couldhave been none in the case ofthose
who were poor and blind, and crippled and maimed, yet came to the feast.
The text does not say, “You are ready, therefore come.” That is a legalway of
putting the Gospel. No, the Gospelsays, “All things are ready, the Gospelis
ready, therefore you are to come.” As for your readiness, allthe readiness that

is possibly needed is a readiness which the Spirit gives us, namely, willingness
to come to Jesus.
Now notice that the unreadiness of those who were bid arose out of their
possessionsand out of their abilities. One would not come because he had
bought a piece of land. What a greatheap Satan casts up betweenthe souland
the Savior!What with worldly possessions andgooddeeds, he builds an
earthwork of huge dimensions betweenthe sinner and his Lord. Some
gentlemen have too many acres to ever come to Christ! They think too much
of the world to think much of Him. Many have too many fields of goodworks
in which there are growing crops in which they pride themselves and these
cause them to feelthat they are persons of greatimportance. Many a man
cannot come to Christ for all things because he has so much already!
Others of them could not come because they had so much to do and could do
it well–one had bought five yoke of oxen. He was going to test them. A strong
man, quite able for plowing, did not come because he had so much ability.
Thousands are kept away from Grace by what they have and by what they
can do. Emptiness is more preparatory to a feastthan fullness. How often does
it happen that poverty and even inability help to leadthe soul to Christ?
When a man thinks himself to be rich he will not come to the Savior. When a
man dreams that he is able to repent and believe at any time and to do
everything for himself that is needed, he is not likely to come and by a simple
faith repose in Christ. It is not what you have not, but what you have that
keeps many of you from Christ! Sinful selfis a devil, but righteous self is
sevendevils! The man who feels himself guilty may, for a while, be kept away
by his guilt. But the man who is selfrighteous will never come!Until the Lord
has takenhis pride awayfrom him, he will still refuse the feastof Free Grace.
The possessionof abilities and honors and riches keepmen from coming to the
Redeemer.
But on the other hand, personalcondition does not constitute an unfitness for
coming to Christ, for the sad condition of those who became guests did not
debar them from the supper. Some were poor and doubtless wretchedand
ragged–theyhad not a penny to bless themselves with, as we say. Their
garments were tattered, perhaps worse. Theywere filthy. They were not fit to
be near respectable people–theywould certainly be no credit to my Lord’s
table–but those who went to bring them in did not searchtheir pockets, nor
look at their coats–theyfetchedthem in. They were poor, but the messengers
were told to bring in the poor and, therefore, brought them. Their poverty did
not prevent their being ready and oh, poor Soul, if you are literally poor, or

spiritually poor, neither sort of poverty can constitute an unfitness for Divine
mercy!–
“The poorer the wretch the more welcome here.”
If you are brought to your lastpenny, yes, if that is spent. And if you have
pawned all and are left in debt over your head and think that there is nothing
for you but to be laid by the heels in prison forever, nevertheless you may
come, poverty and all! Another class ofthem were maimed and so were not
very comely in appearance–anarm had been lopped off, or an eye had been
gougedout. One had losta nose and another a leg. They were in all stages and
shapes of dismemberment. Sometimes we turn our heads awayand feel that
we would rather give anything than look upon beggars who show their
wounds and describe how they were maimed. But it did not matter how badly
they were disfigured–they were brought in and not one of them was repulsed
because ofthe ugly cuts he had received!
So, poor Soul, howeverSatanmay have torn and lopped you, and into
whatevercondition he may have brought you, so that you feel ashamedto live,
nevertheless this is no unfitness for coming! Just as you are, you may come to
His table of Grace. Moraldisfigurements are soonrectified when Jesus takes
the characterin hand. Come to Him, howeversadly you are injured by sin.
There were others who were halt, that is to say, they had lost a leg, or it was of
no use to them, and they could not come exceptthey had a crutch and crawled
or hopped upon it. But nevertheless that was no reasonwhy they were not
welcome.
Ah, if you find it difficult to believe, it is no reasonwhy you should not come
and receive the grand absolution which Jesus Christis ready to bestow upon
you! Lame with doubts and distrust? Neverthelesscome to the supper and
say, “Lord, I believe; help You my unbelief.” Others were blind people and
when they were told to come they could not see the way, but in that case the
messengerwas nottold to tell them to come–he was commandedto bring
them–and a blind man cancome if he is brought. All that was needed was
willingness to be led by the hand in the right direction. Now, you that cannot
fully understand the Gospelas you desire to do. You that are puzzled and
muddled, give your hand to Jesus and be willing to be led–be willing to believe
what you cannotcomprehend and to graspin confidence that which you are
not able yet to measure with your understanding. The blind, however ignorant
or uninstructed they are, shall not be kept awaybecause ofthat.
Then there were the men in the highways. I suppose they were beggars.And
the men in the hedges. I suppose they were hiding and were probably thieves.

But nevertheless they were told to come and though they were highwaymen
and hedge-birds, even that did not prevent their coming and finding welcome!
Though outcasts, offcasts, spiritual gypsies–people that nobody caredfor, yet,
whateverthey might be, that was not the question–they were to come because
all things were ready! They could come in rags, come in filth, come maimed,
come coveredwith sores, come in all sorts of filthiness and abomination, yet
because allthings are ready they were to be brought or to be compelled to
come in.
Now, lastly, I think it was the very thing which, in any one of these people,
lookedlike unfitness, was a help to them. It is a greattruth that what we
regard as unfitness is often our truest fitness. I want you to notice these poor,
blind and lame people. Some of those who were invited would not come
because they had bought some land, or five yoke of oxen. But when the
messengerwentup to the poor man in rags and said, “Come to the supper,” it
is quite clearhe would not sayhe had bought a field, or oxen, for he could not
do it. He had not a penny to do the thing with, so that he was cleandelivered
from that temptation.
And when a man is invited to come to Christ and he says, “I do not need Him,
I have a righteousness ofmy own,” he will stay away. But when the Lord
Jesus came along to me, I never was tempted in that way, because Ihad no
righteousness ofmy own and could not have made any if I had tried! I know
some here who could not patch up a garment of righteousness if they were to
put all their rags together–andthis is a greathelp to their receiving the Lord
Jesus. Whata blessing it is to have such a sense ofsoul poverty that you will
never stay awayfrom Christ because ofwhat you possess!
Then, next, some could not come because theyhad married a wife. Now, I
think it is very likely that these people who were maimed and cut about were
so injured that they had no wife and perhaps could not getanybody to have
them. Well then, they had not that temptation to stayaway. They were too
maimed to attract the eye of anybody who was looking for beauty and,
therefore, they were not tempted that way. But they found at the ever-blessed
supper of the Lamb an everlasting wedlock which was infinitely better! Thus
do souls lose earthly joys and comforts and, by the loss, they gain supremely–
they are thus made willing to close in with Christ and find a higher comfort
and a higher joy! That maiming which lookedlike unfitness turned out to be
fitness!
One excuse made was, “Ihave bought five yoke of oxen and I go to test them.”
The lame could not do that. When the messengertouchedthe lame man on the
shoulder and said, “Come,” he could not say, “I am going out tonight to plow

with my new teams.” He had never been over the clods ever since he had lost
his leg, poor soul, so that he could not make such an excuse. The blind man
could not say, “I have bought a piece of land and I must go see it.” He was free
from all the lusts of the eyes and so far was all the more ready to be led to the
supper! When a soul feels its own sinfulness, wretchedness and lostestate, it
thinks itself unfit to come to Christ–but this is an assistanceto it–since it
prevents its looking to anything else but Christ! It kills its excuses and makes
it free to acceptsalvationby Grace.
But what about the men that were in the highway? Well, it seems to me that
they were already on the road and at leastout of their houses, if they had any.
If they were out there begging, they were the more ready to acceptan
invitation to a meal of goodfood, for it was that they were singing for. A man
who is out of the house of his own self-righteousness, though he is a great
sinner, is in a more favorable position and more likely to come to Christ than
he who prides himself in his supposed self-righteousness.
As for those who were under the hedges, well, they had no house of their own
and so they were all the more likely to come and fill God’s House. Men do not
take to hedges to sleepunder them as long as they have, even, a hovel where
they may rest their head. But oh, poor soul, when you are driven to such
distress that you would gladly hide under any hedge-whenyou have nothing
left but a fearful looking for of judgment! When you think yourself to be an
outlaw and an outcastbefore God, left to wander like Cain, a waif and stray,
lost to all good, you, I say, are the very man to come to Christ! Come out of
your hedges, then!
I am looking for you. Though you hide yourselves away, yet God’s own Spirit
will discoveryou and bring you, I trust, this very morning, to feed on Divine
Love! Trust Jesus Christ, that is all, just as you are, with all your unfitness
and unreadiness!Take whatGod has made ready for you, the precious blood
to cleanse you, a robe of righteousnessto cover you, eternal joy to be your
portion! Receive the Grace of God in Christ Jesus!Oh receive it now! God
grant you may for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES

Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Moderation;Disinterestedness;Patience
Luke 14:12-14
W. Clarkson
We find in these words of our Lord -
I. THE CORRECTIONOF A COMMON FAULT. Jesus Christ did not,
indeed, intend to condemn outright all family or socialgatherings ofa festive
character. He had already sanctionedthese by his own presence. The
idiomatic language, "do not, but," signifies, not a positive interdiction of the
one thing, but the superiority of the other. Yet may we not find here a
correctionof social, festive extravagance;the expenditure of an undue
measure of our resources onmutual indulgences? It is a very easyand a very
common thing for hospitality to pass into extravagance, andeven into selfish
indulgence. Those who invite neighbours to their house in the full expectation
of being invited in return may seemto themselves to be open-handed and
generous, whenthey are only pursuing a systemof well-understoodmutual
ministry to the lowertastes and gratifications. And it is a fact that both then
and now, both there and here, men are under a greattemptation to expend
upon mere enjoyment of this kind a degree of time and of income which
seriouslycripples and enfeebles them. Thus that is given to display and
indulgence which might be reservedfor benevolence andfor piety; thus life is
lowered, and its whole service is reduced; thus we fail to reach the stature to
which we might attain, and to render to our Masterand his cause the service
we might bring. In the matter of indulgence, direct or (as here) indirect, while
we should keepawayfrom asceticism, it is of still greaterconsequencethat we
do not approacha faulty and incapacitating selfishness.
II. AN INVITATION TO A NOBLE HABIT. "Callthe poor... and thou shalt
be blessed;for they cannotrecompense thee." An actof disinterestedkindness
carries its blessing with it.
1. It is an intrinsically excellent thing. "To do goodand to communicate" is
honourable and admirable; and to do this with no thought of return from

those who are benefited, is an act of peculiar and exceptionalworth. It takes
very high rank in the scale ofspiritual nobleness.
2. It allies us with the highest and the best in all the universe; with the noblest
men and womenthat ever lived in any land or age;with the angels ofGod
(Hebrews 1:14); with our Divine Exemplar (Mark 10:45); with the eternal
Father himself (Matthew 5:45).
3. It leaves a benign and elevating influence on our own spirit. Every man is
something the better, is so much the worthier and more Christ-like, for every
humblest deed of disinterestedbenevolence.
III. THE PROMISE OF A PURE REWARD. If the idea of recompense is
admitted, everything turns upon the characterofthe reward, so far as the
virtue of the action is concerned. To do something for an immediate and
sensible reward is unmeritorious; to act in the hope of some pure and distant
recompense is an estimable because a spiritual procedure. Our life is, then,
basedupon faith, upon hope, and especiallyupon patience. To do goodand to
be content to wait for our recompense until "the resurrection of the just,"
when we shall reap the approval of the Divine Masterand the gratitude of
those whom we have served below, - this is conduct which our Lord approves;
it bears the best mark it can bear - that of his Divine benediction. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
A certain man made a greatsupper.
Luke 14:16-24
Parable of the greatsupper

Anon.
I. THE ELABORATE PREPARATION.Indicating the treasures of Divine
wisdom, forethought, power, love, expended upon the work of redemption.
II. MEN'S PREFERENCEOF OTHER THINGS — not things sinful in
themselves, but worldly pursuits, occupation, s, pleasures — to the rich
provision of the Divine bounty, and their consequentslighting of the Divine
invitation.
III. LOVE SLIGHTED TURNS TO INDIGNATION.
IV. GOD'S PURPOSESARE NOT FRUSTRATED BYTHE
DISOBEDIENCEAND UNTHANKFULNESS OF MAN. The house is filled.
If one guestrefuses to come, another is brought in to occupy his place. Drop
your crown, and another man will lift it and place it on his brow.
(Anon.)
The gospelfeast
A. P. Foster.
I. THE CHARACTERISTICSOF THE GOSPEL.
1. Its readiness. Nothing for man to do but come. The feasthas been preparing
from the foundation of the world.
2. The gospel's abundance. Grace enoughin God's heart to include all the
world.
3. The condescensionofthe gospel. No favouritism. Absolutely free. The vilest
soul is goodenough to be saved.
4. The gospel's urgency. Not force, but moral earnestness.
5. The gospel's triumph. Christ's blood is not shed for nought.
II. THE RECEPTIONOF THE GOSPEL.
1. The gospelfinds no favourable reception from —(1) The gospel-hardened.
Every invitation rejecteddoes but set more firmly in oppositiona will already
opposedto Christ. The heart grows stubborn and indifferent.(2) The
proud.(3) The preoccupied. When Mark Antony began his famous speech
with the words, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears," he well
knew that he might as well toss his words to the idle winds that swept over the
dead body of his friend, as address an audience who paid him no attention. In
the preaching of the gospel, the very factthat people are interested in it,
talking about it, working for it, heralding it far and wide, is a guarantee of its

effectiveness.We must make men think about their souls. So long as their
oxen, or their stores, ortheir wills, or their ships are in their minds, Christ
cannot getin.(4) The self-satisfied. Here is the trouble with many a man of
amiability and worth. He has a pleasanthome, friends he delights in, social
ties, all possible comforts. He needs to see that this is Dotenough. He ought to
hunger and thirst after righteousness,and at the gospelfeasthe might be
filled.
2. The gospelis tolerably certain to find receptionamong —
(1)The needy.
(2)The neglected.
(A. P. Foster.)
The gospel supper
Expository Outlines.
I. THAT GOD HAS MADE AMPLE PROVISION IN THE GOSPELFOR
ALL OUR SPIRITUAL EXIGENCIES. Thatprovision is here setforth under
the similitude of a greatsupper. That the gospelsupper may be thus
designatedwill appear if we think of —
1. Its Author. It has been provided by God himself.
2. The expense at which it was procured. Almost incredible sums have been
expended in the getting up of sumptuous entertainments. But what were they
when compared with the expense incurred here? To provide this banquet, the
Son of God became incarnate, lived a life of reproach, of poverty, of
persecution, and died the accurseddeathof the cross.
3. The greatness and variety of the blessings which are set before us. And
what tongue of man or angelcan describe them in their ineffable importance?
They include all the treasures ofgrace here, and all the inconceivable
treasures of glory hereafter.
II. THAT INVITATIONS OF THE MOST ENCOURAGING KIND ARE
GIVEN US TO COME AND PARTAKE OF WHAT GOD HAS
GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED.
1. The characters to whom they were addressed. First, to the Jews only. Then
to all men.
2. The manner in which the invitations should be applied. Moralcompulsion.

3. The motives by which they should be enforced.(1)That the provisions are
all duly prepared. "Come;for all things are now ready." The Saviour has
been made flesh; He has finished the work which was given Him to do; the
sacrifice He offeredhas been accepted;the Spirit has been poured out from on
high; the ministry of the gospelis instituted; the sacredcanonis complete.(2)
The amplitude of the preparations. "And the servant said, Lord, it is done as
thou hast commanded, and yet there is room." Although so many have been
gatheredin, the seats are not all occupied.
III. THAT THE DIVINE PROVISIONS, OF WHICH WE ARE SO FREELY
INVITED TO PARTAKE ARE BY MANY SLIGHTED AND DESPISED.
The excuses offeredare —
1. Various.
2. Frivolous.
3. Evasive.
IV. THAT THOSE WHO DESPISE THE PROVISION OF THE GOSPEL
CANNOT DO SO WITHOUT INCURRING THE GREATESTGUILT, AND
WITHOUT EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO THE MOST AWFUL
DANGER.
(Expository Outlines.)
The marriage feast
H. W. Beecher.
We know that, in every department of life, happiness, health, honour, and
prosperity, involve two essentialelements, one of which is a provision for these
things in nature and society, and the other of which is an appropriation of that
provision by those to whom it is offered. And this last is as indispensable as
the first. That which makes the offer and the provision of any validity or
usefulness is the circumstance that there is some one to acceptit. Let us look,
for one moment, at this. Godhas made greatprovision of the elements of
nature. Light — oh, how abundant! how beautiful! how sweet!— and all that
will acceptthis boon of God shall have the benefit of it. The blind cannot. The
wilfully blind cannot; for although there is light enough for thrice ten
thousand times as greata population as that which inhabits the globe, if a man
endungeons himself purposely, and shuts out the light from the room where
he dwells, the abundance of the provision and the offer make no difference
with him. He loses it and all its blessings. There is heat enough, and there are
sounds enough, for the comfort and for the solace ofthe human soul; and yet,

unless men acceptthese things, the mere factthat they have been offered to
all, and that they are abundant, will do them no good. We know that in
respectto those greatqualities of nature the abundance of provision does not
enforce acceptance. The greatprime necessitiesoflife, such as food, raiment,
shelter — God has put the elements of these things within our control, and
there is provision for all the wants of men, and for the growing needs of
society:but if men refuse to work;if they refuse to practice frugality; if they
will not put forth skill, the God of nature and the God of grace lets them pine,
and lets them starve, as much as if there had been no pro. vision. The earth
does not revealits secrets exceptto those that searchfor them; and the rains,
and the sun, and the soil, do nothing, except to the seedthat is hid in the
crevices ofthe ground. The summer is barren to the sluggard. There is
provision enough for all the wants of men, if they acceptthem on the
conditions on which they are proffered; but if they do not acceptthem on
these conditions the abundance does not insure to their benefit. When men
violate the laws of their being, howeverinnocently or ignorantly, they are
made to suffer the penalties of those violated laws, and sickness andpain come
in. And when a man is sick, though all remedies are provided, and though the
most skilful physicians are calledto their bedside, these will do no goodif he
will not acceptthe remedies that skill has found out, and that kindness is
proffering. These facts are familiar to us. They go to illustrate and confirm the
generalstatementthat something more is required than a provision and a
proffer. Thus far I have spokenof the physical laws of nature. It may be said
that this is not in the moral realm, and that the analogyis not a fair one.
Therefore, I proceedto show that in the moral realm the constitution of things
is even more marked than in the physical realm. We know that a man's
happiness or misery in this life depends upon the manner in which he
exercises his faculties. Thatis to say, it is not a matter of indifference which
way a man uses the powers of his mind, any more than which way a man
turns the keywhen he winds his watch. Turning it one way ruins it, and
turning it the other way expedites it. It makes a difference which side of the
blade of a knife you use if you would cut wood. It makes a difference which
way you work a machine. One way of working it agreeswith its nature, and
the other way of working it disagrees withits nature. And so it is with a man's
mind. It was meant to act in conformity with certain definite principles and
results. If it conforms to these there is happiness, and if it does not there is
misery. We also see in human society— which is as divinely-ordained as is
human life itself; for a man's organs are no more fitted to be put togetherto
make the individual man than individual men are fitted to co-operate together
in society— we see in human societythis same law evolved with terrible

certainty at large. If men seek happiness, honour, love, there is abundant
provision for them in society. All things are ready. They are accessible by
right conduct. If men neglectthe provision for happiness, and honour, and
love, they will miss these ends, and that, too, although God is goodand kind,
although there is a providence that is supervising human society — a
Providence that will not suffer a sparrow to fall to the ground unnoticed — a
Providence that knows that we are in need of raiment, and shelter, and food,
and nourishing care. If men do not acceptvoluntarily the provision of these
things which is made in society, there is no providence that will rescue them
from the wretchednessthat will ensue from disobedience. The administration
of God is full of goodness;but goodness in the Divine administration is
employed according to law. All philanthropy, all humanity, and all sympathy
and succour, carrieddown to grog-shops andto the Five Points, will not
assuageone pang, and will not rescue one wretch, unless he is willing to return
and co-operate,and bring himself under the influence of remedial law. Now,
at this point we reachagainthe Word of God, and are prepared to receive its
declarations, with all corroborations and presumptive analogies in its favour.
The feastof the gospelis spread. The King, in His greatbounty, sends His
servants forth to say to all, "Come to the marriage supper." To lay aside the
figure, God makes the proffer of forgiveness, ofamnesty for the past, and of
unbounded joy and happiness for the future. If you acceptthe provision,
which is ample enough for every human being on the globe, you are blessed;
but if you neglectit, or refuse it, that provision, if multiplied a myriad times,
would be of no more avail to you than light to the blind, sound to the deaf, or
food to the dead. It is a provision that is invalid if you fail to acceptit. If you
take it you live; if you reject it you die. Although, then, the doctrine of the
Fatherhoodof God is one of the most blesseddoctrines of the Bible, and one of
the most animating to our hope, we must not pervert it, and suppose that,
because Godadministers as a universal Father, therefore, all sorts of men,
under all sorts of circumstances, are perfectlysafe. I would not take awayone
single whit of the beauty, or attractiveness,orencouragementof the thought
that God loves, and that everything that love cando will be done to make men
happy here, safe in death, and glorious hereafter;but I warn you not to
suppose that everything canbe done merely because Godloves. There are
limitations even in an infinite God.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The greatsupper
H. McNeile, D. D.

I. "A certain man made a greatsupper" — the movement originatedwith
himself, in his own mind — HIS OWN FREE BOUNTY— his own generosity
— his unsolicited willingness to make others partakers of his rich enjoyments.
The man here supposedrepresents Almighty God Himself; and the action
here ascribedto Him represents the preparation of Christianity — that rich
and saving feastfor a perishing world. It originated (if an eternalpurpose can
properly be saidto have had a beginning) in His own mind, His own free love,
His own unsolicitedwillingness to make fallen men partakers of His own
happiness, "that they might be filled with the fatness of His house — that they
might drink of the river of His pleasures" (Psalm36:8). See, then, the nature
of the preparation. It is the mode adopted by Divine wisdom to render it a
right thing — a righteous thing — for a sovereignLawgiverand upright
Judge to deal with convicted rebels as a pardoning father and a sympathizing
friend; it is, in the language of St. Paul, that "God may be just, while He
justifies the ungodly" (Romans 3:19-26;Romans 5:6-8). Behold, also, the
extent of the preparation. It knows no earthly bounds, it extends to heaven; its
value is not to be measuredby earth, but is to be found in the harmonized
perfections of God.
II. Now look at the INVITATION TO IT. He saidto his servant, at the supper
time, Go and "sayto them who were bidden, Come; for all things are ready."
This represents the commissionto preach the gospel. St. Paul was determined
to know nothing else, and preachnothing else. He accountedit the most
distinguishing and the most exalted of the favours bestowedupon him, that he
should declare among the Gentiles the "unsearchable riches of Christ" — in
other words, the preparation of the GreatSupper. And he exhorted — i.e., he
pressedthe invitation upon men — earnestly, that they might "not receive the
grace ofGod in vain"; and urgently, because the time was short: "Now," he
said, "is the appointed time, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:1,
2).
III. And now having so spokenof the preparation and the invitation, our next
theme is a painful one — THE RECEPTIONTHAT THIS INVITATION
MET WITH. The force of this portion of the parable lies in this — that the
objects which, in their effects, became destructive, were in themselves lawful
and right. The contrastis not betweensin and duty, but betweenduty and
duty — betweenduty number two and duty that ought always to be number
one. The contrastis not betweenthe house of gambling and the house of God
— it is not betweenintemperance and uncleanness onthe one side, and prayer
and praise on the other; no, it is not that phase of human guilt that is
exhibited; the contrastis rather betweenthe countinghouse and the church,

the shop and the house of God, domestic enjoyments and secretprayer. The
contrastis betweenthe attractions which the lawful occupations ofthis world
possessforthe natural heart of man, and the secretrepugnance felt by that
heart to the enjoyments of God.
IV. But the parable does not end there; the servants came in and repeatedthis
answer, and the masterwas not satisfied;then he told the servants "to go out
into the streets and lanes of the city, and to bring in the poor and the maimed,
and the halt and the blind." There is an intimation in this part of the parable
that a powerwould accompanythe invitation such as would not be refused —
such as would secure a company — such as would not leave the seats around
the Master's table unoccupied, but, on the contrary, that his house should be
filled. Now, think of this secretpower. Here, again, we refer to the persons
and resourcesofthe Godhead. Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He
shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever." He
shall present the preparation for the supper, and He shall urge the invitation,
so as to supersede all pre-engagements,and put an end to all excuses. He has
powerto secure a gracious result without the slightestinterference with the
free operationof the moral machine that He has made. Nothing else can
secure this; there is to be no force, and yet the result is to be secured;no
actionconstrained, and yet the charactertotally altered. "Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power" (Psalm110.). The will rules the man; and who
rules the will? There is revelation of a secretpower, which, touching the will,
secures allthat follows in the man's life with perfect freedom. Look at a large
and complicatedmachine under the control of a little fly-wheel; that locked,
the machine is stationary; that liberated, the machine goes on. See, the
machine is stationary, and ignorant violence is made use of to make it go on,
but in vain — blows are aimed at it to make it go on, in the wrong place, all in
vain — it may be broken, but it cannotby violence be made to work — sledge-
hammers are raisedon it in vain; but see, a little child, properly instructed,
with a little finger frees the fly-wheel, and the whole machine goes forwardin
its work; every arm, and every lever, and every wheelperforms its appointed
actionduly and freely. It was that touch that did it — that touch is promised,
of God, to us — in hope of it we preach, without it we preachin vain; all is
sounding brass and tinkling cymbal without this.
(H. McNeile, D. D.)
A greatfeast
J. Sutcliffe.

I. With regardto THE NATURE OF THE FEAST. "A certain man made a
greatsupper and bade many." What, then, is this feastwhich our Lord has
provided, and of which He has sent His servants to invite men to come and
partake? First, as bread satisfies hunger, and is necessaryto sustain life, so
Jesus Christ is that true bread which cometh down from heaven — the bread
of the soul — the bread that alone can satisfyand sustain the spiritual and
eternal life of man. His flesh is given as meat, and His blood as drink; and this
is the feast. I cannot enlarge upon the particulars of this feast, but observe
that a feastis not merely bread, it is fulness of bread; it is a rich provision —
there is variety of provision. This the gospelgloriouslyattests;here is
everything that man canwant; here is not only pardon for the guilty,
reconciliationfor him that is at enmity with God, but all the rich provision of
grace, allthe fulness and comfort of the Spirit of God; all the plenitude of His
promises is here; there is nothing that the soul can eator desire, in any state
or condition in which it is seen, but is to be found here; in the gospelfeast
there is all that is wholesome,suitedto its tastes, its appetites, its desires, its
lofty capacities,and capable of fully and eternally satisfying them. Here, then,
the children of God see their privilege. The Saviour is an omniscient Saviour
and an omnipresent Saviour — a Saviour presentwith the Church, knowing
every case, everyheart, and every want; and He has in Himself fulness to
satisfy every longing desire or wish.
II. We are to considerTHE CONDITION OF THOSE WHO WERE FIRST
BIDDEN TO THIS FEAST, AND FOR WHOM IT WAS SPECIALLY
PREPARED.I say speciallyprovided; for you will recollectthat these persons
were the children of the promise — the heirs of the covenant. "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospelamong all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
So St. Paul says, "the gospelis the powerof God unto salvationto every one
that believeth; to the Jew first." The three principal grounds on which men
slight the gospelare here referred to — they are common, not to the Jews
only, but common to the Gentiles. The first ground is wealth. The first said, "I
have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it." The
disposition of mind by which a man is induced to seek the increase ofwealth is
opposedto the gospelThis disposition is so fatalto many that it operates, as in
the ease ofthe parable, utterly to exclude them from tasting the supper. It
does not so fill and choke up the appetite — it does not so corrode the taste as
to prevent their enjoying, as to prevent their fully partaking of this blessing,
but it eats them off altogether — they cannot taste of this supper. Is it not so
with your hearts, while you are coveting the world? Can you enjoy Christ?
You cannot!

2. The seconddisposition of mind which excludes men from tasting the supper
of the gospelgrace,is that which involves them in the vortex of this world's
cares. This is figured in the parable by the yoke of oxen — "I have bought five
yoke of oxen, and must needs go and prove them."
3. Another said, "I have married a wife";and therefore he was in a greater
strait than the other two — he said positively, "I cannotcome!" This parable
is against those moral people — those honest people — those people whose
lives are so irreproachable and blameless in everything exceptthe matter of
their salvation. It applies to those that are comparativelyenlightened, to those
that would be shockedatgross immorality, to those who would not exhibit in
their lives, on any account, those vices which they condemn in others; but sin
sits enthroned in their heart, in the shape of a secretand subtle covetousness,
in a characterthat absorbs them in their pleasures, and steals and weans their
affections from God. And this is, perhaps, the most awful case ofall. Go and
preach the gospelto those who have no ground of justification; and if you can
get them to listen to the gospel, they will fall down at your feetand confess
their sin. Examine, trace in your hearts the working of this worldliness,
considerthe objections that hold you back from Christ, and you will find that
they resolve themselves into the excuses ofthose who were first bidden to this
feast. It is the land and the oxen, it is the pleasure of this world, all which
perish in their using, and will leave you hungry and naked, and poor and
wretchedat the bar of God! I come now to speak of —
III. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WHO REALLY DID ENTER IN AND
PARTAKE OF THIS SUPPER. You will observe that those who were thus
bidden the secondtime were describedby this character, which marked the
destitution of man: "Bring in hither the poor and the maimed, and the halt
and the blind"; for this was the spiritual condition of the Gentile world. It
marks their destitution — they are poor, they are without God and without
hope in the world. In the heathen countries they were without Christian
ordinances, without Christian Sabbaths, without Christian instruction. The
verse also relates to those who might justly make excuse upon any ground
than that of the gospelinvitation; who might by self-abasementand humility
of spirit say, "How can it be? How canit be that the Prince, the King, and
Lord of this supper should send for me? You must be deceiving, you must be
making game of me — you must intend some derision; the invitation cannot
be for me." "Go," says the King, "and compelthem to come in; go and tell
them how large the offer is."
(J. Sutcliffe.)

The feastonly for those who can appreciate it
Bishop Temple.
Now why is it difficult to us to representto ourselves this unwillingness?
Becausewe always think of the greatsupper simply as so much unmeasured
happiness, so much unmixed delight. It will be happiness, it will be delight,
but only to those who can appreciate it; not to the base, not to the selfish, not
to the false, not to the weak, notto the impure. It will be the highest happiness
of which human nature is capable;but it can only be tastedby those who are
of kindred nature to Him who gives it. Those who would not come when they
were invited would not have found it a happiness if they had come. Now this,
the very principle of the parable, is just as applicable to our daily life as it is to
any such criticalmoment as the parable supposes. We are invited to a
spiritual feast;to a feastof that happiness which is gotfrom perfect self.
mastery, from peace with our consciences, fromhaving no cloud betweenus
and those whom we love, from having no cloud betweenus and God. We know
perfectly well that this is a very realhappiness. We have had foretastes ofit
now and then, quite enough to show what it is like. But this duty, which thus
seems everto pursue us and give us no rest, it is so exacting, it is so dull, it is
so unrewarded, what wonder that we turn away? No, indeed it is not. There
are those who find it so;those, namely, who refuse the invitation, and go to
this and to that; and then — not in repentance, but in sullen acquiescence;not
because their hearts are touched, but because they fear consequences,and
because they are disgusted with the pleasure which they have preferred to
duty — come back, like Balaam, to obey in deed but not in spirit. Such men
learn what is meant by the words "None of those men who were bidden shall
taste of My supper." To them the supper is no supper at all. To them that
obey in an unloving, discontented, sulky mood there is indeed no happiness in
obedience. Theyobey, and find no peace in obedience. Theydeny themselves
for the sake ofothers, and instead of loving those whom they thus benefit all
the more, they love them all the less. They conquer the outburst of temper,
and substitute an inward brooding of ill-will. They resisttemptation, and feel
a kind of resentment againstProvidence for having put this hard task upon
them. They come, but they do not taste the supper, for they refusedit. But it is
a real pleasure, a pleasure above all other pleasures, to those who come
heartily and gladly, who make the needful sacrifice with a ready spirit and
with a resolute cheerfulness, forcing awayfrom their minds all gloomy
suggestionsand all discontentedfeelings, recognizing in the trifle which calls
them as sure a summons from the Great King as if it had been the royal
messengerDeath;seeing in eachinvitation to Christian effort a call, not to

pain, but to joy; not to a task, but to a supper; not to a loss, but to a service in
the King's court.
(Bishop Temple.)
The gospelfeast
D. C. Hughes, M. A.
I. A TYPE OF THE GOSPELOF CHRIST.
1. Of the nature of the gospel. A supper. It is God's provision to satisfythe
soul's hunger.
2. Of the abundance of God's provision in the gospel. A greatsupper.
(1)Every want of the soul can be satisfiedby the gospel.
(2)Satisfiedfor ever.
3. Of the freeness ofthe gospel.
(1)In the grace whichprovided it.
(2)In the generousnesswhich invites to it.
II. A TYPE OF THE TREATMENT THE GOSPELRECEIVES.
1. The term usedto express this treatment is very noticeable. Excuse. Not
positive refusal, yet not acceptance.
2. The excuses mentioned are noticeable.(1)Thoughoften rendered, how
untenable. Feastoccurring probably in evening, would not have interfered
with land speculatoror enterprising farmer; and the young husband could
have takenhis bride with him.(2) Though differing in their phases, how
similar in spirit. Setting personalgratificationabove the claims of God.
III. A TYPE OF THE EFFECT OF THIS TREATMENTON THE DIVINE
MIND.
1. The Divine resentment is here stated.
2. Freshorders are given.
3. New decree declared.Lessons:
1. The provision God has made for us in Christ — how satisfying and
abundant.
2. Excuses forprocrastination — how common — how dangerous.
3. When God says, "None ofthose who were bidden shaft taste," etc., sealsthe
doom of such.

(D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
On receiving the grace of the gospel
John Crump.
The eating of bread mentioned in previous verse imports the enjoyment of
eternal goods, both for necessityand delight, in heaven. But our Lord here
takes that man off, and us in him, from a generaladmiration of their
happiness in heaven, to a particular application of the means conducing to
that happiness, even the receiving the grace of the gospel. They that would eat
bread, or enjoy fellowshipwith God in heaven, must first eatbread, or
partake of the gospel-provisionhere on earth.
I. THE WAY TO ENJOYTHE ETERNAL, GOOD THINGS IN THE
KINGDOM OF GLORY IS TO CLOSE WITH THE SPIRITUAL GOOD
THINGS IN THE KINGDOM OF GRACE.
1. "Eating bread" implies most intimate and immediate union with God.
2. It denotes the abundant supply of all wants.
3. The full and familiar enjoyment of goodcompany.
4. Complete satisfactionin the fruition of all contents and delights.
II. WHAT ARE THOSE SPIRITUAL GOOD THINGS WHICH WE ARE
TO CLOSE WITH IN THE KINGDOM OF GRACE?
1. Spiritual privileges provided for us in the grace of the gospel(Isaiah55:1;
Zechariah 13:1). Reconciliation, adoption, remission, sanctification, vocation,
salvation. This gospelprovision is the plank after the shipwreck, or the ark in
the midst of the deluge. No other wayof escaping destructionor obtaining
salvation.
2. Spiritual ordinances for the conveying of spiritual privileges, and ensuring
them. Preaching. Sacraments.
3. Spiritual graces forthe improvement of spiritual ordinances (Galatians
5:22). These are the clusters of grapes to make us in love with the Holy Land,
notwithstanding oppositions. This fruit grows nowhere but in Christ's garden.
The Vine which bears it is Himself.
4. Spiritual duties for the expressionof spiritual graces. Praying;hearing;
exhorting one another, etc.
III. HOW ARE WE TO CLOSE WITH THESE SPIRITUAL GOOD
THINGS

1. We are to receive them by faith, embracing the grace of the gospel(John
1:12).
2. We are to walk as we have receivedChrist (Colossians 2:6);leading a holy
life by virtue drawn from Him through our union with Him; giving the world
a proof in our holy life of the virtue in Christ's death for rectifying our
crookednature.
IV. WHY WE MUST CLOSE WITH SPIRITUAL GOOD THINGS, IF WE
WOULD ENJOYETERNAL. Because the one is part of the other. Saints in
heaven and saints upon earth make up but one family. Grace is the beginning
of glory; some compare it to the goldenchain in Homer, the top of which was
fastenedto the chair of Jupiter. Grace will reachglory, and it must precede
glory.
Use 1. This informs us —(1) That it is goodfor man now to draw near to God
(Psalm 73:28). It tends to his everlasting happiness.(2)See their vanity who
draw back from God, or bid God depart from them when He comes near
them in the means of grace vouchsafedto them (Psalm 73:27;Job 21:14). Sin
divides betweenGod and the soul.
Use 2. Yet this doth not make, but many may partake of gospelmercies in the
kingdom of grace, and yet never come to glory. Those who have slighted their
privileges and advantages will receive the greatercondemnation.
Use 3. Would you come into the kingdom of glory?(1)Come into the kingdom
of grace.(2)Live as under the laws of this kingdom of grace.
(a)Perform allegiance to God, yielding yourself to Him.
(b)Expect protection from God, and draw nigh to Him (James 4:8).
(c)Pray that the territories of the kingdom of grace may be enlarged more and
more upon the face of the earth.
(d)Prepare for the translation of the kingdom of grace into the kingdom of
glory (1 Corinthians 15:24, 28).
(John Crump.)
Refusing the Divine call
Nicolas de Dijon.
The electionof the just, and the reprobation of the wicked, are inscrutable
mysteries. Yet, as much as is necessaryfor us to know, Jesus reveals to us in
this parable, without satisfying vain curiosity.

I. ON THE CALL EXTENDED TO MEN.
1. Nature of this call.
(1)It is Divine.
(2)It is holy.
(3)It is a free call.
(4)it is a universal call.
2. Manner of this call.
(1)God calls men outwardly: by teaching and preaching, in order to take away
the darkness ofunderstanding causedby original sin.
(2)God calls me. inwardly: by the inspiration of Divine grace.
II. ON THE DECLINING OF THE INVITATION.
1. Cooperationwith the Divine call is necessary.
2. Man often refuses to co-operate withthe Divine call:
(1)Becausehe is attachedto earthly things.
(2)Becausehe is enslavedby the vice of pride.
(3)Becausehe is the slave of his own flesh.As the Jews lostall taste for the
manna, because they longed for the flesh-pots of Egypt, so all taste for the
sweetness ofspiritual joys is lostby carnallust.
III. ON REPROBATION. Mostawful is the judgment of being excluded from
Divine charity and communion; but, at the same time, it is most just.
1. The wrath of the king againstthose who were invited, but who refused to
come, was just. With God, wrath is not the eruption of passion, but the zealof
justice, directed againsthim who, by not accepting His loving invitation, has
insulted His infinite majesty.
2. The sentence pronounced by the king was just.(1) God does whateveris
necessaryfor our salvation.(2)But man, the sinner, is not willing to be saved
(Matthew 23:37). Man must do what he is able to do, and pray for what he is
not able.
3. His sentence of reprobation is most just.(1) He gives them up to the desires
of their heart, as He suffered those who were invited to go after their business
(Romans 1:23, etc.).(2)God invites others insteadof those who were first
invited, that His house may be filled, and that the latter may be for ever cut
off from the hope of recovering their place. Thus David was electedinsteadof

Saul; Matthias instead of Judas.(3)He condemns irrevocably those who
decline the invitation (Proverbs 1:24-26).
(Nicolas de Dijon.)
The greatsupper
J. Burns, D. D.
I. THE INVITATION.
1. The time of the invitation. Evening. At the introduction of the gospel
dispensation.
2. The nature of the invitation — "Come."
(1)Free.
(2)Generous.
(3)Direct.
3. The persons by whom the invitations were sent — "His servants." Apostles,
disciples, etc.
II. REJECTION OF THE INVITATION.
1. The unanimity of their refusals.
2. The various reasons which they assigned.
(1)The inspectionof new-bought property.
(2)Engrossing business.
(3)Domestic duties.
III. FURTHER INVITATIONS ISSUED.
1. How extended the commission.
2. How benevolentthe arrangement.
3. How urgent the appeal.
(1)That in the gospel, abundant provision is made for the spiritual wants of
mankind.
(2)That the invitations of Divine mercy include all ranks and conditions of
men.
(3)That these invitations are free and full, and urgently and sincerely
presentedby the Lord Jesus Christ.
(4)That only self-excluders will be refused a place at the feastof salvation.

(5)That it is the duty and interest of all, immediately and gratefully to obey
the invitation and sit down at the gracious banquet.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The greatfeast, and its Maker
John Crump.
I. THE MAKER OF THE FEAST. Christ God-Man, or God in Christ, is a
bountiful Benefactorto man. God in Christ is here calleda Man —
1. By way of resemblance;those properties of any worth appearing in man, or
spokenof man, being more eminently in God: as
(1)Sovereignty;
(2)pity;
(3)rationality.
2. By Ray of reality.(1) In respectof Christ, by whom this gospel-provisionis,
wherein God shows Himself such a Benefactor. Christhas
(a)the blood of a man;
(b)the bowels of a man;
(c)the familiarity of a man.(2) In respectof man for whom this gospel-
provision is, wherein God shows Himself such a Benefactor. The grace ofthe
gospelis called"the kindness and love of God our Saviourtoward man." And
that —
(a)by way of distinction from other creatures in general;
(b)by way of opposition unto fallen angels in particular.(3) In respectof the
ministers of the gospel, through whose hands this gospel-provisionis
distributed. Uses.
1. Observe the condescensionofGod.
2. The advancement of man.
II. THE FEAST. Supper — chief meal of the day: intimating the abundance of
the provision made for the recoveryof lostman.
1. What is this gospel-provisionfor the goodof souls? It is the only way of
man's salvation since the Fall, begun in grace, and swallowedup or perfected
in glory.
2. How does the provision appearto be so plentiful?(1) Look at the Makerof
the feast. God, rich in mercy, greatin love.(2) The materials. Christ Himself.

The sincere milk of the word. The promises. Work of grace in soul. Sum up all
this: here is solidity, plenty, variety; here is for necessityand delight, for
health and mirth. 'Tis a greatsupper.(3) The vessels. Ordinances:"golden
vials full of odours."(4)The guests. Suchas are clothed with the righteousness
of Christ. Kings and priests unto God.(5) The attendants. Ministers instructed
by God.
III. THE PERSONSBIDDEN.
1. Adam was invited, and with Him the whole race of mankind.
2. Noahwas invited, and with him the old world.
3. Abraham was invited, and with him the whole nation of the Jews.
4. Moseswas invited, and with him the Jews had a fresh invitation under that
pedagogyof his which was to bring them to Christ.Uses:
1. Information. This shows us God's desire for man's happiness. He not only
propounds a way for man to be happy, but invites man to acceptof it. How
inexcusable, then, is man if he refuse.
2. Caution.(1)Though men are thus generallyinvited, yet other fallen
creatures have not so much as an invitation; so that there is somewhatof
distinguishing mercy in the very invitation (Hebrews 2:16).(2)Though men
are thus generallyinvited, yet they are very hardly persuadedreally to close
with the invitation.(3) Though men are thus generallyinvited, yet they will not
be continually invited.(4) Though men are thus generallyinvited, yet they will
be as generallyrejected, if they continue slighting God's invitation.
3. Be exhorted to hearkento this calland invitation of God. To move you to
accept:considerseriously —
(1)God communes with us in a way of familiarity (Isaiah1:18).
(2)God commands us in a way of authority (1 John 3:23).
(3)God beseechesus in a way of entreaty (2 Corinthians 5:20).
(4)Upon refusal, God threatens us in a way of severity (Proverbs 1:24,
32).Theywho will not fecalupon these gospeldainties, "shall eatof the fruit of
their own way." They that sow the wind of iniquity shall reap the whirlwind
of misery.
(John Crump.)
The gospelfeast
J. W. Reeve, M. A.

I. WITH RESPECTTO THE INVITATION. Although the dispensations of
God to Jew and Gentile may be different, the declarationof the gospelis the
same. It is especiallyworth noting how perfectly free from all impossible
conditions, on the part of man, is the gospelinvitation.
II. Now look at THE WAY IN WHICH THIS INVITATION WAS
RECEIVED. "Theyall with one consentbegan to make excuse." Theywanted
to do something else instead. And in this reply we see a lesson, how, when the
passions ofman are setagainst the truth, how additionally hard and
presumptuously bold they make the heart. The spirit which actuatedthese
excuses was worldliness — preferring something to God. And this is strictly
true of every one who has not really closedwith the gospelinvitation now.
III. Observe again, that THE PERSONSETERNALLY EXCLUDED FROM
THE GOSPEL-FEASTARE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BIDDEN TO IT;
the invitation is, therefore, real: God means what He says. It was in all good
faith that the invitation was given, and it is in all seriousnessthat God speaks
when the invitation has been refused. I warn you againstmaking excuses to-
day, lest when you would acceptthe Lord's gracious invitation, you cannot;
lest you become too blind to read, too lame to go to the house of God, and too
deaf to hear — altogethertoo infirm to get any good. Now, I repeatto you,
you know these things are true; you understand these things; you are
perfectly well aware that what I say is the expositionof the parable, and you
are perfectly aware that as long as you neglectGod's invitation, you are
wrong. You cannot say, "Lord, forgive me, for I know not what I do." You do
know;your conscience speaksto you now: do not harden it by neglect.
1. I would, in conclusion, say, take these four considerations home with you:
Consider, first, to-night, dear brethren, before you lay your heads upon your
pillows, the greatness ofthe Host that invites you. ConsiderHis love, His
power, if you apply to Him, to overcome every hindrance, His grace to give
you all needful strength, His mercy, which will embrace you in His arms, and
take you to His heart.
2. The excellence ofthe feast. He sets before you salvation, pardon, peace,
eternal life. Are not these things worth having? Are they not necessaryto the
welfare of your soul? Where canyou get them, but in the way you are called
to acceptnow?
3. The blessedness ofpartaking of this gospel-feast.
4. The misery of refusing — of never tasting the gospel-supper— never,
never! — never knowing pardon of sin — never knowing peace ofconscience.
(J. W. Reeve, M. A.)

The greatsupper
W. M. Taylor, D. D.
I. THE FEAST. This is the gospelwhich God has provided for mankind and
sinners. Great preparations had to be made before it was available for men.
The law which we had broken had to be satisfied;the penalty which we had
incurred had to be endured; the obedience in which we had failed had to be
rendered. None of these things, however, could be done by man for himself.
Christ therefore took human nature, etc.
1. A feastin respect of the excellenceofthe provision which it sets before us.
Pardon of sin, favour with God, peace of conscience, renewalofthe heart,
access to the throne of grace, the comforts of the Holy Spirit, the exceeding
greatand precious promises of the Scriptures, and a well-grounded hope of
eternal life.
2. A feastin respect, of abundance, for the supply is inexhaustible.
3. A feastin respectof fellowship. The blessings of the gospelare for social,
and not simply for private, life; and what circle of earthly friends can be put
into comparisonwith that into which we enter when we seatourselves atthe
gospeltable? Communion, not only with best and wisestof earth, but with
redeemedbefore throne; yea, fellowship with Father, and His Son Jesus
Christ.
4. A feastin respectof joy. The Giver of it and the guests at it rejoice together.
II. THE INVITED GUESTS. The invitation to this feastis given to every one
in whose hearing the gospelis proclaimed. A great privilege, also a greatperil.
God's invitation is not to be trifled with or despised. In the court language of
GreatBritain, when a subject receives aninvitation to the royal table, it is
said that her Majesty"commands" his presence there. So the invitations of
the King of kings to His gospelbanquet are commands, the ignoring of which
constitutes the most aggravatedform of disobedience.
III. THE RECEPTIONGIVEN BY THOSE FIRST INVITED, TO THE
CALL, WHICH HAD BEEN ADDRESSEDTO THEM. Animated by one
spirit, moved by one impulse, under the influence of the same disposition, they
all began to make excuse. Eachof them consideredsome worldly thing as of
more importance to him than the enjoyment of the feast;and that is just
saying, in another way, that they all treated the invitation as a matter of no
moment. Their excuses were allpretexts. If the heart is seton anything else, it
cannot be given up to Christ; and every excuse that is offered for withholding

it, whether the excuse itself be true or not, does not give the realreasonfor
His rejection. That must be sought in the fact that the heart is seton
something else which it is not willing to part with, even for Him. It is the old
story. "One thing thou lackest:" but that one thing is everything, for it is the
love of the heart.
IV. THOSE WHO PERSISTENTLYDECLINE TO COME TO THE FEAST
SHALL BE FOR EVER EXCLUDED FROM ITS ENJOYMENT.
V. NOTWITHSTANDING THE REJECTION OF THIS INVITATION BY
MULTITUDES, GOD'S HOUSE SHALL BE FILLED AT LAST.
(W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
The love of this world is a hindrance to salvation
F. G. Lisco.
I. REASONS WHY THE LOVE OF THIS WORLD IS A HINDRANCE TO
SALVATION.
1. On accountof its powerover the heart.(1)It is not attentive to the greatness
of Divine grace.(2)It disregards the means of this grace, through which the
sinner must be brought to the fellowshipof it.(3) It hardens the heart against
the repeatedinvitations of God.(4)It does despite to the free grace of God,
which has at once provided everything necessaryfor our salvation, and invites
us to partake of it without any personal desert.
2. On accountof its nature.(1) It is directed to what is earthly, perishable.
(a)To goods and pleasures.
(b)To honour, influence, and consideration.
(c)To ties and connections.(2)It prefers that to what is heavenly and
eternal.(3)It lays claim, in doing so, to a right frame of mind (vers. 18, 19),
considering itself to have a proper excuse, and thus manifests its ingratitude,
levity, and obstinacy.
II. PROOF THAT THE LOVE OF THE WORLD IS SUCH A HINDRANCE.
1. From the consequencesresulting to the despisers.(1)Theydraw upon
themselves the anger of God.(2)They forfeit the offered salvation.
2. From the subsequentprocedure of God, who still manifests His mercy and
grace;(1)In that He continues to invite men to the blessings of salvation;(2)
and even the most wretched of men;(3) and all, without exception, in the most
pressing manner.

(F. G. Lisco.)
The gospelfeast
James Foote, M. A.
Though this parable resembles, in some respects, that of the marriage feastin
the twenty-secondchapterof Matthew, it is a distinct and independent
parable.
1. What those gospelblessings are to which we are here invited under the
comparisonof a feast. We are invited, then, to partake of the blessing of
knowledge, saving knowledge, the knowledge ofGod, the knowledge ofthe
truth.
2. Let us observe what is implied in coming to this feast. It supposes, then, a
desire and endeavour to obtain these blessings, andan actualacceptanceof
them just as they are offered.
3. God employs His servants to invite persons of all descriptions to this feast.
4. We are reminded by this parable that multitudes rejectthe gospelinvitation
with vain excuses.
5. Once more, this parable teaches that, howevermany may have hitherto
refused the invitation, ministers are bound to persevere in most earnest
endeavours to bring in sinners. The office of ministers, in this respect, is
weighty and responsible.
(James Foote, M. A.)
God's banquet
J. A. Seiss, D. D.
From the earliestages it has been common to speak ofGod's merciful
provisions for fallen men under the imagery of a fast. Thus Isaiah sung: "In
this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a fewestoffat
things, a feastof wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the
lees well refined." And so familiar was this conceptionto the ancientJews,
that many of them were led to indulge the grossestnotions about feasting and
banqueting in the kingdom of the Messiah. Manyof the Rabbins took it
literally, and talked and wrote largely about the blessedbread and plenteous
wine, and delicious fruits, and the varieties of fish, flesh, and fowl, to be
enjoyed when once the Messiahshouldcome. It was to this coarse eating and

drinking that the man referred whose exclamation — "Blessedis he that shall
eat bread in the kingdom of God" — calledforth this significant parable. But,
although the Jews much perverted the idea, it still was a proper and
expressive figurative representationof gospelblessings. The SaviourHimself
takes up the idea, approves and appropriates it, and proceeds to speak of the
provisions of grace as a δειπνον — a supper — a feast— a banquet. Very
significant also is this imagery.
1. A feastis not a thing of necessity, but of gratuity. If a man makes an
entertainment to which he invites his friends and neighbours, he does it out of
favour and goodfeeling towards them. It is because he takes an interest in
their happiness, and is pleasedto minister to their enjoyment. And precisely
of this nature is the blessedgospel.
2. Again: a banquet is furnished at the costof him who makes it. And so the
gospelcomes to men free of expense to the guests. All that it embraces is
proposedwithout money and without price.
3. A banquet also implies the spreading of a table, plentifully supplied with all
inviting, wholesome,and pleasantviands. It is an occasionwhenthe very best
things, and in the greatestprofusion, are set before the guests. True, "the
kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink"; but it is to our inner life what the
most precious viands, are to the body. The soul has appetites, and needs meat
and drink as well as the physical man. It must be fed, nourished, and
refreshedwith its appropriate spiritual aliment, or the man must starve and
die, notwithstanding the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And
this life-giving spiritual food is what God has provided for us in the gospel.
4. A banquet is also a socialthing. It involves the coming togetherof
multitudes to exchange civilities, to form and strengthen fellowships, and to
enjoy communion with eachother, as well as with the maker of the feast. The
gospelembraces a holy fellowshipof believers with believers, and of eachwith
God. It embraces a coming togetherof men in common brotherhood and
communion with eachother and with the Master, as full of sweetness,cheer,
and blessednessas the viands of which they are invited to partake.
Christianity is a socialreligion.
(J. A. Seiss, D. D.)
Come; for all things are now ready.
The gospelinvitation
J. Burns, D. D.

I. THE FEAST.
1. The author of this feast.
2. The provisions.
(1)Abundant.
(2)Various.
(3)Statable.
3. The characteristics ofthe feast.
(1)It is a sacrificialfeast.
(2)It is a greatand universal feast.
(3)It is a gratuitous feast.
(4)It is a heavenly feast,
II. THE INVITATIONS — "Come." Now this implies distance. All men far
from God, etc. Prodigal
1. To what must they come? To the Word of God. To the preachedgospel
(Romans 10:15).
2. How must they come? By repentance. Humbly, believingly, unreservedly,
immediately.
3. To whom may this invitation be addressed? To the young, middle-aged, and
to the old. To the moralist, profligate, and backslider. To the rich and poor,
the learnedand illiterate.
III. THE MOTIVE URGED — "Forall things are now ready."
1. The Father is ready. To embrace the repenting prodigal.
2. The Son is ready. To speak forgivenessand peace.
3. The Spirit is ready. To regenerate and save.
4. Ministers are ready. "And now then as ambassadors," etc.
5. The ordinances are ready. And you are freely welcome.
6. The Church is ready. To own you as her sons, etc.
7. Angels are ready. To bear the tidings of your repentance to glory.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The gospelinvitation
David Swing.

The invitation to come is in harmony with the kingdom of heaven, and in
harmony with the characterofman. An invitation implies a happiness. When
a calamity or a sorrow is before us, we are not invited to it — we are drawn
hither by an irresistible power. But when earth has a joyful event, or one that
promises happiness, invitations are issued, because it is not conceivable that
man would need to be driven towardhappiness. Thus the invitation
harmonizes with the kingdom of Christ, for it is a happiness. Whether you
contemplate that kingdom as reaching through eternity with its blessedness,
or as filling earth with its virtue and faith and hope, it is the highest happiness
of which we can conceive. It is, indeed, a feastof love, of knowledge,ofvirtue;
and hence is a blessedness worthyof the word "Come." The word is also in
harmony with the characterofman, for, being a free agent, he is not to be
forcedtowards blessedness,but only invited.
I. Now this word "COME" CONTAINS NO DEEP MYSTERY. It is not a
tantalizing request to do what we cannotdo. It is not irony, as though one
should sayto a blind man, "See this rose!" or a deaf mind, "Oh! please hear
this music." The Bible is the lastbook in the world to be accusedoftrifling
with the soul, for it is the soul it loves, and for it it prays and weeps. It is not to
be inferred from this that the heart cancorrectitself and forgive itself and
sanctify itself; but what is to be inferred is that the will is not a mockery, not a
dead monarch, but is a king upon a throne, and can command the soul to go
many a path that leads to God. You can all start upon a heavenly road, for
there is not a movement of the heart towardGod that is not a part of this
large "Come." Where the human ends and the Divine begins no one can tell,
any more than in nature one can tell where the rain and earth and sunshine
ceaseto work in the verdure, and where they are supplanted by the presence
of God. There is no tree that stands in the woods by its own act. God is there.
So no Christian stands up strong in his own sole effort. God's grace is
somewhere. Butyet, for all this, greatis the powerand responsibility of the
soul. Nothing in religion canbe true that renders void the law of personal
effort.
II. But we pass by this "coming," and go to the secondthought — "ALL
THINGS ARE READY." I shall not restrict myself here to the exactimport of
the text, but shall acceptofthe words in all their breadth and application.
1. Religionis ready for you. Having passedthrough myriad shapes — Pagan,
Mosaic, Grecian, Roman— religion seems to have found in the gospelof
Christ a final readiness forhuman use. Reasonmay learn to deny all religion,
science may hear and then teachatheism, but when the thought turns to a
positive religion, there is at last one ready, the religion of our Lord; it is ready

for you and me. But when we have declaredit ready as a philosophical system,
we have only told half the truth, for to this it adds the readiness ofan ever-
living Father and Saviour standing by eachof you as a mother, and waiting to
welcome you.
2. Let us proceednow to our secondhead: You are ready for this religion. I do
not mean that you feel ready, for there are doubts and sins that stand between
the souland religion. The obstacle is not in the world without, but within. But
I have said you are ready. In what sense?In this: that your life has come to its
responsible, intelligent years. The lineaments of God — knowledge, wisdom,
reason, love, hope, life — have all unfolded, and here we are all to-day,
moving in all the spiritual qualities of Deity, and yet are willingly in the vale of
sin. The ignorance of youth has passedaway:we are children no more. Vice
has revealedher wretchedness, andvirtue her utility and beauty, and with
intellects so discerning, and with an experience so complete, and then clothed
with the attributes of God, we are all marching to the grave, a solemn gateway
betweenactionand judgment, betweentime and eternity. These facts make
me declare we are ready for that sentiment called religion, that makes man
one with God. I confess that we all are ready for the gospelofChrist — ready
for its virtue, its mediation, its sunny hopes.
3. Societyis ready for you to acceptthe gift. I hope that old day has wholly
gone when men were afraid to profess Christianity lestan outside world might
ridicule the "new life." Little of this fear is any longer per. ceptible. I imagine
that the growth of individual liberty — the growth of the consciousnessofit,
rather — has silencedboth the ridicule and the sensibility to it. It is only
ignorance and narrowness that ever ridicule the professionof religion. But we
pass from this consciousreadiness to that of need and fact. Societyis toiling
to-day under the awful calamities of vice, slavery, dishonour, and crime, and
is sorrowfully ready for millions of wickedones to read and imitate the life of
Jesus Christ. When societywas ruled by brute force, as in the days of Caesar
or Peterthe Great, it mattered little what might be in the hearts of the
populace, for, if it was crime, there was a policeman for eachcitizen; and if it
was sorrow in the heart of womanor child or slave, nobody cared. But in our
day, when the vice of the heart breaks out, and there is more reliance upon
educationthan upon the knout or chains, and when the upper classeshave
reachedan education that makes indifference to sorrow impossible, in such an
age societybegs the Christian religion to come to its help. In the old empire of
Cyrus there were, all along the highways, criminals with hands or feetcut off,
or heads of offenders raised up, to keepthe populace in constantfear. What
that age demanded in its heart was not a gospel, but an ever-presentpolice. It

did not know of anything better. But our land, basedupon the nobleness and
equality of man, and springing up out of brotherly love, and every day
strengthening this sentiment by education, silently begs that its millions, high
and low, shall come unto Jesus Christ.
(David Swing.)
The banquet
Dr. Talmage.
1. The Lord Jesus ChristHimself is ready. No banqueter ever waited for his
guests so patiently as Christ has waited for us.
2. Again, the Holy Spirit is ready. That Spirit is willing to come to-night at our
call and lead you to eternal life; or ready to come with the same power with
which He unhorsed Saul on the Damascus turnpike, and broke down Lydia in
her fine store, and lifted the three thousand from midnight into midnoon at
the Pentecost. With that powerthe Spirit of God this night beats at the gate of
your soul. Have you not noticed what homely and insignificant
instrumentality the Spirit of God employs for man's conversion? There was a
man on a Hudson river-boat to whom a tract was offered. With indignation he
tore it up and threw it overboard. But one fragment lodgedon his coat-sleeve;
and he saw on it the word "eternity"; and he found no peace until he was
prepared for that greatfuture. Do you know what passage it was that caused
Martin Luther to see the truth? "The just shall live by faith." Do you know
there is one — lust one — passagethat brought from a life of dissolution?
"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfil
the lusts thereof." It was just one passagethatconverted Hedley Vicars, the
greatsoldier, to Christ: "The blood of Jesus Christ cleansethfrom all sin." Do
you know that the Holy Spirit used one passage ofScripture to save Jonathan
Edwards? "Now, unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise
God, our Saviour, be glory."
3. The Church is ready.
4. The angels of God are ready.
5. Your kindred in glory are all ready for your coming. Some of these spirits
in glory toiled for your redemption. When they came to die, their chief grief
was that you were not a Christian. They said: "Meet me in heaven"; but over
their pillow hung the awful possibility that perhaps you might not meet them.
(Dr. Talmage.)

God's anxiety for man's salvation
I. GOD IS VERY URGENT WITH MEN TO ACCEPT OF GOSPEL-
PROVISION FOR THE GOOD OF THEIR SOULS. He speaks once and
again(Jeremiah 7:25). This truth will thus appear:
1. By the severalacts ofGod put forth in gospel-provisionfor man's
salvation.(1)He has prepared the provision without any desertor desire of
ours (Titus 3:4, 5).(2)The means of grace are vouchsafedto many that do not
improve them (Matthew 11:16, 17, 21).(3)Godpropounds a way, and offers
help to do us good, before we inquire after it (Isaiah 65:1).(4) God forbears
His wrath when we do not presently close with His mercy. He stays, though
man lingers.(5)God reproves where we are defective, and happy are the
wounds of such a friend. He who first reproves is unwilling to punish.(6) God
stops our way when we are running headlong to our own misery (Hosea 2:6).
Many times He keeps us short that He may keepus humble.(7) God makes us
considerour ways, and recollectour thoughts, whither our course tends
(Haggai1:5).(8) Notwithstanding our obstinacy, God persuades us by a sweet
and holy violence. He not only stops our way, but changes our wills.
2. By the manner of God's speaking to sinners in the Scriptures.(1)By way of
interrogation— "Why will ye die?" (Ezekiel18:31).(2)By way of lamentation
(Luke 19:41, 42).(3)By way of protestationwith the strongestasseveration
(Ezekiel33:11).Uses.
1. This informs us that the destruction of man is a thing displeasing to God.
2. But though God be thus urgent about the salvationof man, yet He is quick
and peremptory in the destruction of many. Although He seemto come slowly
to punish man, yet His hand will fall heavily upon those who abuse His
patience.
3. Answer God's urgency with you to acceptof gospel-provision.(1)Be urgent
with your own hearts to turn to the Lord by faith; and then be as urgent to
bless His name for turning them.(2) Urge your hearts to turn from all sin by
true repentance.
II. THE SERVANTS SENT OUT.
1. All the prophets.
2. Pre-eminently, Christ Himself.
3. The servants of Christ.

III. THE TIME OF SENDING THE SERVANTS. Supper-time; the fulness of
time, the very nick of time for man's redemption. Now is the acceptedtime;
improve it.
IV. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE MESSAGE IS TO BE DELIVERED.
By word of mouth. Uses.
1. Information.(1) The gift of utterance is very requisite for a minister
(Ephesians 6:19).(2)The calling of the ministry is very useful (Titus 1:2, 3).
2. Ministers should not only preach with their tongues, but likewise with their
hearts feelingly, and with their lives.
3. Let us be thankful to God that the Word of faith is so nigh us in the
preaching of the Word (Romans 10:6, 7, 8). Manna falls at our very doors;we
have but to step out and take it up.
V. THE WORD OF INVITATION — "Come."
1. Whither God would have us come.(1)To ourselves (Luke 15:17).(2)To His
people (Hebrews 12:22).(3)To Him.
(a)The Fatherwould have us come (Jeremiah 4:1).
(b)The Sonwould have us come (Matthew 11:28).
(c)The Spirit would have us come (Revelation22:17). He comes to us, that we
may come to Him to get victory over our sin.
2. By what means we should come.(1)By the use of all means of grace (Psalm
95:6).(2) By the exercise ofthe truth of grace, andespeciallythe acting of faith
(Hebrews 11:6).(3) By pressing forward towards the perfection of grace
(Philippians 3:12).
3. In what manner we should come.(1)Humbly (Luke 15:19).(2)Speedily
(Luke 19:6).(3) Joyfully, as we come to a feast.
VI. THE READINESS OF ALL THINGS.
1. The mind of God, concerning the salvationof all His elect, is ready (2
Timothy 2:19).
2. The work of Christ for the recovery of lostman is ready (Hebrews 10:12).
The incarnation, passion, resurrection, and ascensionofChrist, are all over.
3. The remission of sin upon the score and accountof Christ is ready
(Nehemiah 9:17; 2 Corinthians 5:19).
4. The glorious inheritance in heavenis now ready (Hebrews 2:16).Uses.

1. Forinformation. Man has nothing to do toward his ownhappiness, but to
receive what God has prepared, and to walk as he has receivedit. The
receiving is by faith.
2. Forcaution. Though all things be said to be "now ready," we must not
think, as if all were hut now ready: we must know that Christ is the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation13:8), so that Christ's
blood in its virtue, and God's acceptationwas offorce for man's salvationlong
before He came personally into the world. Then, again: though all things are
said to be "now ready," yet there is much to be done before all the electcome
to heaven; many enemies of Christ must be pulled down, etc.
3. Be exhorted to answerthis readiness of God.
(1)Be ready to receive this grace of the gospel.
(2)Be ready to express this grace of the gospel.
(a)In acts of piety towards Him.
(b)In acts of charity towards men.
(John Crump.)
The invitation
W. H. Aitken.
Now we come to our Lord's description of what a really religious life is. He
gives it to us under the figure of a feast. Let us try and get some lessons from
this; for when our Lord employs a figure, we may be sure He has a meaning in
it. What are the thoughts connectedwith the figure? In the first place, A
FEAST IS DESIGNED FOR THE SATISFACTION OF OUR NATURAL
APPETITES,is it not? We go to a feast, not that we may be hungry, but that
we may be fed. WhereverChrist goes, the first thing He proposes to do, my
dear friends, is to satisfythe wants of our souls. He knows better than we what
those wants are, and how incapable we are of satisfying them; and you know it
too, if you will but reflect. Is there not in your daily occupations, and
pleasures, and cares a certain secretsenseofsomething wanting? When you
succeedin life, do not you feel strangelydisappointed with the results of
success?How little pleasedyou are with that which you thought might be
expectedto give the most exquisite pleasure!Oh, my young friends, how
strange it is that we all fall into the fallacy, or, at any rate, so many of us do, of
supposing that we can make up in quantity for that which is radically
deficient in quality. You understand what I mean. Here is a boat-loadof

shipwreckedmariners, tossing about on the wide waste of waters. We will
suppose that one of them, burning with thirst, dips his fingers into the briny
ocean, and just puts two drops of the water on his tongue; does that satisfy
him? Not a whit; on the contrary, it increaseshis thirst. Suppose the man
thinks, "What I want is increasedquantity; two drops will satisfyno man's
thirst; if I can only get enoughI shall surely be satisfied." And suppose he
were to lean his head over the gunwale of the boat, and take a deep draught of
the brine, would that satisfyhim any more than the two drops? Some time ago
a friend of mine was coming home from Australia in a ship that took fire.
Those on board were saved in two boats one a large and the other a small one.
On board the smallerboat was this gentle. man and his wife, and into it had
been cast, in the conclusionand hurry of the moment, severalcases containing
solid gold to the value of many thousand pounds in each. In the large boat
there was a considerable quantity of provisions, but in the smaller boat there
was a very slendersupply of provisions, but a large amount of gold. The men
pulled away from the burning ship; there was a stiff breeze rising, and they
knew that in all probability they should not see eachotherin the morning
dawn; so just before they separatedfor the night, they began to overhaul their
provisions. The men on board the smaller boat found that they had only a
meagre supply. My friend remarked that he should never forgetthe moment
when three or four stalwartsailors lifted up a huge case ofgold, held it before
the eyes of the men in the other boat, and shoutedacross the water, "Ten
thousand pounds for one cask of bacon!" A big price, was it not? The men
would not look at it! That one cask of bacon was worth all the gold in the
world to them. Why? Becausethe meat was congruous to their natural
appetite, and the gold was not; they could feed themselves with the one, but
not with the other. Now, young man, the world is whispering in your ear:
What you want is, not to change your mode of satisfying your appetite, but to
have a little more. You are not very rich, you cannot indulge yourself in going
to the theatre every night? perhaps you can only go once a fortnight or once a
month; make a little money; geton in life; setup in business for yourself, and
then you will be able to go every night in the week if you like.
2. Then again, a feastis not only an occasionforsatisfying our wants;IT IS
ALSO USUALLY AN OCCASION FOR MERRIMENT, HILARITY,
ENJOYMENT, IS IT NOT? We do not go to a feastto wearvery long faces, to
look very mournful and miserable. It is true, men sometimes do look very
grave at feasts, because theyare so unlike what feasts oughtto be; there is so
much form and ceremony, and so little socialenjoyment in them. Everything
is real that God gives. Blessedare they who are permitted to sit down at the

board which has been spread by the hands of Jesus. Butyou say, "Do you
really believe it? Is it true? Do you mean that it is all a lie that the devil has
been telling us — that if you become a realChristian, you will grow so
gloomy, and look so sad, and that life will lose all its charm? Is that really
false? Surely it never can be." Why do so many people saythis? I will tell you.
Look yonder. There is a man who is a Christian — at any rate, he calls
himself so;and, dear me, what a miserable sort of being he is! Yes, with
shame and sorrow I admit it; there we discoverthe foundation of the devil's
lie. The truth is, there are so many of us who name the name of Christ, but do
not give ourselves wholly up to God. There are many people who call
themselves Christians, but who give occasionto the enemies of Godto
blaspheme. There is many a Christian, for instance, who does not walk by
faith, but by unbelief. Look at a man like Paul; there you find one who has
committed himself to God's will. At first sight the man of the world might say,
"Well, he gets a rough life of it. I should not like to lead such a life, tossing
about to and fro over the wide world like a waif and stray in human society,
with nobody to say a kind word to him, sometimes shipwrecked, sometimes
exposedto perils of robbers, sometimes thrust outside the city. Dearme, I
should not like to lead such a life!" Would you not? Look a little closer, my
dear man. Look at the man's face;listen to some of the openings of his heart.
Amid all his outward trials, difficulties, and persecutions, he says he is always
rejoicing. Are you always rejoicing? Where is the worldly man in London who
is always rejoicing? Ah, who are so happy as real Christians? Young man,
when you form your idea of a Christian, take care that you gethold of the
genuine article. Suppose I were to say, "Have you ever seena rose?" "Well,
no," you might reply; "I have heard a gooddeal about the rose, but I have
never seenone." And suppose I were to say, "I will show you one; come along
with me," and then were to take you down to one of the purlieus of London, to
some miserable, sodden-looking, uncultivated little garden, and show you a
poor, half-dead, struggling plant, just trying to put out a few little crimson
leaves, whichwere already being mercilesslynipped and shrivelled up by the
chemicalcompounds which make up the air of this city of London. The thing
is already decaying;there is no fragrance about it, no beauty, no perfectionor
symmetry of form. Suppose I say, "There is a rose I did you ever see sucha
beautiful thing in your life?" And suppose there was a friend from the
country beside us; would he not say, "Don'tcall that a rose. The man will turn
back, saying, 'I have seena rose;but I wouldn't go a couple of yards to see
another.' Take him clownto my garden in the country, and show him the
standard rose-bush outside my door; he will remember that if he has never
seenone before. Come with me, my lad, and I will show you what a rose is

like." Now, when you form an idea about a Christian, don't get hold of some
poor, blighted Christian, shrivelled up by the eastwind of worldliness;don't
get hold of a Christian who tries to serve two masters — God and the world
too; don't gethold of a Christian who leads a life of chronic unbelief, a sort of
asthmatic Christian, who cannot get his breath at all. No, no; gethold of a
Christian in good, sound health, who can honestly say, "To me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain." Then compare his life with your own; and if you do
not come to the conclusionthat that man is, all round, a hundredfold happier
than you are, or ever can hope to be, so long as you remain a child of the
world, then I will saythat my gospelis no longerworth preaching, and the
Word of God no longerworth trusting. But you will be constrainedto make
the admission.
3. Again, what is a feast? It is a time for feeding the body, a time for enjoying
ourselves;IT IS ALSO A TIME FOR PLEASANT SOCIAL
INTERCOURSE. Ifind that a greatmany people are keptback from Christ,
especiallyyoung men, because they think they would have so much to give up
in the way of friends. Not very long ago a gentleman said to me, "One of the
things that struck me most after my conversionwas the effecton my relations
with other people. I always passedfor an affectionate husband, and loving
father; but really, really, as I lookedat my wife and my children, it seemedas
if I loved them with an entirely new affection, as though I had never really
loved them before. I loved them with such a new and mighty love, that it just
seemedas if I had become their father or husband over again. But that was
not all. When I came into contactwith other Christians, I found out that I got
to know more of, and to be really more attachedto, men whom I had only
known ten days or a fortnight — real Christians — than I was to men whom I
had been meeting day after day in business, or sociallife, and coming
constantly in contactwith, long, long years before. I seemedto know more of a
man in a week than I had been able to know of a man of the world in a
twelvemonth before. So wonderful was the change in my own personal
feelings towards others, that I felt that the number of my brothers was
indefinitely multiplied." My friends, it will be so. Believe me, where the grace
of God gets into the human heart it makes us brothers.
(W. H. Aitken.)
Offered mercy
J. A. Alexander, D. D.

Let us, then, considerthe readiness of all things as a reasonfor coming to
Christ now. And as the simplest way of doing this, let us considerwhat it is
that hinders us from coming. No external force;you act freely in refusing to
come. What inward cause, then — why do you not come? Alas!I need not ask;
for in the way of every sinner who knows what it is to think, there always rises
up one barrier which effectually stops his course till Godremoves it; it is guilt
— the paralyzing and benumbing sense of guilt. The very same thing that
creates the necessityof coming, seems to render it impossible. God is a holy
God, a just God, and a Sovereign. But, perhaps, your way is not yet open;
your obstacles are not. yet all removed. Whateveryou may think of the
benevolence ofGod, you cannotlose sight of His justice. HoweverHis
compassionmight consent, His holiness, His truth, His righteousness, stillstop
the way. But now, perhaps, you feelanother hindrance, one of which you took
but little note before. Though God be ready to forgive you for the sake of
Christ's atoning sacrifice, youfind a hindrance in yourself, in your heart, in
your very dispositions and affections. Expiation, pardon, renovation, the grace
of the Father, the merit of the Son, the influence of the Spirit, the Church on
earth, and the Church in heaven, safetyin life, peace in death, and glory
through eternity, a goodhope here, and an ineffable reality hereafter — all
things, all things are now ready. Will you come? If not, you must turn back,
you must retrace your steps, and take another view of this momentous
invitation. Higher we cannot rise in the conceptionor the presentationof
inducements. If you must have others, they must be sought in a lower region.
The feastis a figure for salvationor deliverance from ruin. To refuse it,
therefore, is to choose destruction. This must be takeninto view, if we would
estimate the motives here presented. Such is the brevity of life, and such the
transitory nature of the offer of salvation, that even the youngest who decides
this question, may be said to decide it in the prospectof death', and on the
confines of eternity.
(J. A. Alexander, D. D.)
Gospelinvitations should be personal
Dr. Talmage.
Do you know why more men do not come to Christ? It is because men are not
invited that they do not come. You get a generalinvitation from your friend:
"Come around some time to my house and dine with me." You do not go. But
he says, "Come around to-day at four o'clock andbring your family, and we'll
dine together." And you say:"I don't know that I have any engagement;I will

come." "Iexpect you at four o'clock."And you go. The world feels it is a
generalinvitation to come around some time and sit at the gospelfeast, and
men do not come because they are not speciallyinvited. It is because youdo
not take hold of them and say, "My brother, come to Christ; come now! come
now!" How was it that in the days of Daniel Baker, and Truman Osborn, and
Nettleton, so many thousands came to Jesus?Becausethose men did nothing
else but invite them to come. They spent their lifetime uttering invitations, and
they did not mince matters either. Where did Bunyan's pilgrim start from?
Did he start from some easy, quiet, cosyplace? No;if you have read John
Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress"youwill know where he started from, and that
was from the City of Destruction, where every sinner starts from. Do you
know what Livingstone, the Scotchminister, was preaching about in Scotland
when three hundred souls under one sermon came to Christ? He was
preaching about the human heart as unclean, and bard, and stony, Do you
know what George Whitefield was preaching about in his first sermon, when
fifteen souls saw the salvationof God? It was this: "Ye must be born again."
Do you know what is the last subject he ever preachedupon? "Flee from the
wrath to come." Oh! that the Lord God would come into our pulpits and
prayer-meetings, and Christian circles, and bring us from our fine rhetoric,
and profound metaphysics, and our eleganthair-splitting, to the old-fashioned
well of gospelinvitation.
(Dr. Talmage.)
Attendance on Holy Communion
W. Cadman, M. A.
I. In the first place, then, WHAT IS NOT PRESUMPTIONWITH
REFERENCETO THE MATTER BEFOREUS? The invitation — "Come,
for all things are now ready," may be applied to that Holy Communion to
which all who flee to Jesus are invited.
1. And I would observe, in the first place, that it is not presumption to be
obedient to the Lord's command. Knowledge ought to induce obedience. The
victim is slain, the sacrifice is offered; Jesus has "died, the Just for the unjust,
that He might bring us to God." He who has done all this as our Surety
enjoins this ordinance upon us, and tells us to "do it in remembrance of
Him?" Gratitude should induce obedience. "All things are ready."
2. But, secondly, it is not presumption to acceptthe invitation of our heavenly
King. If we are invited there is no presumption, and there can be no
presumption in accepting the invitation.

3. And so, I observe, thirdly, that it is not presumption to come to the Holy
Communion, as all other worthy communicants do come. How do those who
are worthy come? that is, those whom God esteems to be worthy? Do they
come because they are holy? that is, because they are perfectly free from sin?
because they have no temptations around them, to which sometimes they feel
inclined to give way? No; it is that, feeling their weakness, theyflee to God for
grace in this holy sacramentof His own appointment.
II. But now, let us look at the other side of the question, and examine WHAT
IS PRESUMPTIONIN THIS MATTER OF WHICH WE ARE SPEAKING.
1. I answer, then, to this inquiry, that it is presumption for any one to profess
practically to be wiserthan God. This is what those do, who neglectHoly
Communion.
2. But further, it is presumption, I will allow, to attend this holy ordinance in
thoughtlessnessand willing ignorance.
3. Then, thirdly, it is presumption to attend this holy ordinance while living in
wilful and acknowledgedsin.
4. Lastly, it would be presumption to come to the Lord's table in an
unforgiving spirit.
(W. Cadman, M. A.)
All things are ready; come
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. IT IS GOD'S HABIT TO HAVE ALL THINGS READY, whether for His
guests or His creatures. You never find Him behindhand in anything. He has
greatforethought.
1. God's thoughts go before men's comings. Grace is first, and man at his best
follows its footsteps.
2. This also proves how welcome are those who come.
II. THIS READINESS SHOULD BE AN ARGUMENT THAT HIS SAINTS
SHOULD COME continually to Him and find grace to help in every time of
need.
1. All things are ready; there. fore come to the storehouse ofDivine promise.
2. Come to the mercy-seatin prayer; all things are ready there.
3. Christ is always ready to commune with His people.

4. Fora useful life in the path of daily duty, all things are ready.
5. Fora higher degree of holiness all things are ready.
III. THE PERFECTREADINESSOF THE FEAST OF DIVINE MERCYIS
EVIDENTLY INTENDEDTO BE A STRONG ARGUMENT WITH
SINNERS WHY THEY SHOULD COME AT ONCE.
1. All things are ready.
2. All things are ready.
3. All things are now ready. Therefore, come now.
IV. THIS TEXT DISPOSESOF A GREAT DEAL OF TALE ABOUT THE
SINNER'S READINESS OR UNREADINESS. He only needs to be willing.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Form of Easterninvitations
Biblical Things not Generally Known.
When a person of respectable rank in societyproposes to celebrate a feastin
his house, he forthwith circulates his invitations to the friends he wishes to be
of the party, either by card or by a verbal message, carriedby a servant of the
house, or a person hired for the purpose, and superbly decked, according to
the rank of his employer. The following is a specimenof the form of
invitation: "Sucha person [naming him] sends best compliments to such
another person [naming him also], and begs to inform him that as to-morrow
there is a little gaiety to take place in his house, and he wishes his friends, by
their presence, to grace and ornament with their feetthe house of this poor
individual, and thereby make it a garden of roses, he must positively come and
honour the humble dwelling with his company." Having after this fashion
gone to all the houses, and returned with assurance from the invited friends of
their intention to come next day, a messengeris againdespatchedfor them at
the appointed time, to inform them that all the preparations for the banquet
are completed. This secondinvitation is included by our Lord, and is very
characteristic ofEasternmanners. When Sir John Malcolmwas invited to
dine with the eldest sonof the Shah, the invitation was given two days before,
and one of the prince's attendants was despatchedat the hour appointed for
the banquet to tell him that all things were ready. And Morier also informs us,
that having been engagedto dine with a PersianKhan, he did not go till his
entertainer had sentto the English ambassadorand his train to say that
supper waited. After the same manner, the invitations to the great supper

describedin the parables, seemto have been issued a considerable time before
celebration;and as the after invitation was sent, according to Eastern
etiquette, to the guests invited, they must be understood as having accepted
the engagement, so that the apologies theyseverallymade were inadmissible,
and could be regarded in no other light than as an affront put upon the
generous entertainer, and an ungrateful return for all the splendid
preparation he had made for their reception.
(Biblical Things not Generally Known.)
Chinese invitation
Amongst the ancient Chinese an invitation to an entertainment is not
supposedto be given with sincerity until it has been renewed three or four
times in writing. A card is sent on the evening before the entertainment;
another on the morning of the appointed day; and a third when everything is
prepared. The invitation to this greatsupper is supposed to have been given
when the certainman had resolvedupon making it; but it is again repeatedat
supper-time, when all things are ready. Now, as it does not appear that the
renewalof it arose from the refusal of the persons invited, of which no hint is
yet given, it is clearthat it was customarythus to send repeatedmessages. The
practice is very ancient among the Chinese, and no doubt it prevailed amongst
the Jews;it certainly gives a significance to the words not otherwise perceived.
They all with one consentbeganto make excuse.
The reasons why men are not Christians
A. Barnes, D. D.
I. Our first point relates to THE CAUSES OR REASONS WHY MEN ARE
NOT CHRISTIANS, OR IN OTHER WORDS, WHY THEY WISH TO BE
EXCUSED FROM BEING CHRISTIANS — which is the form in which it is
presentedin the text. There is something remarkable in the aspectwhich the
subject assumes onthe first view of it. Menask to be excused, as if it were a
matter of favour. It is natural to ask, From what? From a rich banquet, says
the parable from which my text is taken. From the hope of heaven through
Jesus Christ. From loving God and keeping His commandments. From that
which is fitted to make a man more useful, respected, and beloved in life,
remembered with deeper affectionwhen he is dead, honoured for ever in
heaven. In searching for the causes orreasons why men wish to be excused
from becoming Christians, I may be allowedto suggestthat they are often

under a strong temptation to concealthose whichare real, and to suggest
others which will better answertheir immediate purpose. My idea is, that the
real cause is not always avowed, and that men are strongly tempted to suggest
others. The actualreasonmay be such as, on many accounts, a man would
have strong reluctance to have known. The grand reasonwhy men are not
Christians, as I understand it, is the opposition of the heart to religion; that
mysterious opposition that can be traced back through all hearts, and all
generations, up to the greatapostasy — the fall of Adam.
1. A feeling that you do not need salvationin the way proposedin the gospel;
that you do not need to be born again, or pardoned through the merits of the
Redeemer. The feeling is, that your heart is by nature rather inclined to virtue
than to vice, to goodthan to evil; that the errors of your life have been
comparatively few, your virtues many.
2. You suppose that in your case there is no danger of being lost — or not such
danger as to make it a subjectof serious alarm. The idea is this, that if the
duties of this life be dischargedwith faithfulness, there can be no serious
ground of apprehension in regardto the world to come.
3. A secretscepticismaboutthe truth of Christianity. The mind is not settled.
The belief is not firm that it is a revelationfrom heaven.
4. A fourth class are deterred by a feeling that the Divine government is
unreasonable and severe. In one of His parables the Saviour has taught us
expresslythat this operatedin preventing a man from doing his duty, and
being prepared for His coming (Matthew 24:24, 25).
5. A fifth class are deterredfrom being Christians by hostility to some
member or members of the Church.
6. A sixth reasonwhich prevents men from becoming Christians is worldliness
— the desire of this world's goods, orpleasures, or honours.
II. Our next point is, TO INQUIRE WHETHER THESE REASONS FOR
NOT BEING A CHRISTIAN ARE SATISFACTORY. Satisfactoryto whom?
you may ask. I answer, To conscience andto God. Are they such as are
sufficient reasons for not loving God?
1. You dare not yourselves urge them as the real cause why you do not attend
to religion, and embrace the offers of mercy. They are so little satisfactoryto
your own minds, that when we come to you and urge you to become
Christians, we are met with other reasons than these. You resortto some
difficulty about the doctrine of ability, and the decrees ofGod, some
metaphysicalsubtlety that you know may embarrass us, but which you think

of on no other occasion. Who will dare to urge as a reasonfor not becoming a
Christian the fact that he is sensual, or proud, or worldly-minded, or
ambitious, or covetous, orself-righteous, orthat he regards God as a tyrant?
2. These excuseswill not stand when a man is convictedfor sin. All, when the
hour comes in which God designs to bring them into His kingdom, confess
that they had no goodreasons fornot being His friends, and for their having
so long refused to yield to the claims of God.
3. The same thing occurs on the bed of death. The mind then is often
overwhelmed, and under the conviction that the excuses fornot being a
Christian were insufficient, the sinner in horror dies. But I will not dwell on
that. I pass to one other consideration.
4. It is this. These excuses willnot be admitted at the bar of God.
(A. Barnes, D. D.)
Making excuses
N. W. Taylor, D. D.
I. ALL EXCUSES FOR DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD ARE VAIN.
1. One is, God makes us sinners, either by creating sin as a substantial
property of the soul, or by the laws of propagation, just as the other
properties of the mind, or as the members of the body are propagated. But
can this be so? No. Sin is man's work. Sin is moral action— the act or exercise
of the heart. God creates the man a free moral agent;and the man makes
himself a sinner. "O, Israel, thou hast destroyedthyself."
2. Again, it is a sort of standing excuse with some sinners, when urged to
perform their duty, to reply, We cannot. But what is the nature of the
inability? Their own consciousness,and the Word of God, alike testify that it
is the simple inability of disinclination.
3. Others say there are so many hypocrites in the world, that we have our
doubts whether, after all, religion be a reality. But why should there be
hypocrites, if religion itself is not a reality? If there were no true bank-notes,
no bank, would there be counterfeits? Do you excuse one debtor from the
payment of his debts, because others have paid you in base coin? There is one
principle which exhibits them in all their vanity. Godhas not revealedHis law
and precepts for men to alter. He knew all the reasons whichwould or could
exist to impair the obligations of each, to extenuate the guilt of transgression;

and as a righteous Sovereign, if one such reasoncould exist, would have made
the exception. But He has not made it.
II. ALL EXCUSES FOR DISOBEDIENCETO THE WILL OF GOD ARE
CRIMINAL. To make an excuse for what we have done is impenitence, and
for not doing what we ought to do, is determined disobedience.
III. THIS PRACTICE IS MOST RUINOUS. The real nature of disobedience
to God cannot be altered by any delusive covering we can give it. To that
heart which "is deceitful above all things," self-delusion is an easytask. Noris
there any form in which it canprove more certainly fatal than by leading us to
make habitual excuses. And who shall hope to conquer his sins who refuses to
see them; who shall turn from and escapethe dangeron which he shuts his
eyes? The sinner must take the shame and guilt of sin to himself, and clear his
Maker, or nothing can be done for him. Concluding remarks:
1. How infatuating is the power of sin.
2. How opposite is the spirit of excuses to the spirit which the gospel
inculcates. The one is the spirit of treacheryand impenitence — the ether, of
frank, open confession, andof devout contrition. The one a spirit of
determined perseverance in sin, the other a spirit of prompt, cheerful
obedience. The one prays, "Have me excused";the other, "Searchme, O
God!"
3. Let all self-excusersreflecthow they must appear at the judgment of the
greatday. Should they be permitted to offer these excuses atthe bar of God,
how will they look? You plead your inability to love God. Pleadit, then, at the
judgment-seat of Christ. Go there and expose your ingratitude and enmity, by
telling the Judge on the throne, the Saviour that died for you — that you
could not help trampling His blood underfoot, by not believing the record of
His Son. Pleadthe incessantoccupationofyour time — exhibit then its results
— shew your bags of gold, your houses, your farms, your shops, and tell Him
these so occupied you, that you had no time for the concerns ofyour soul.
Bring forward these and other apologies. Willthey dazzle the eye of
Omniscience — will they beguile the Judge of the quick and the dead? You
know it will not.
(N. W. Taylor, D. D.)
Sinful excuses
B. Beddome, M. A.

1. Some men will saythey have no need to come to Christ. This arises from
insensibility, and ignorance oftheir lost condition.
2. Others imagine they are already come to Christ; and the act being
performed, they have no need to repeatit. Their hope is too firmly fixed to be
shaken, and their confidence too deeply rooted to be overthrown. Is there not
daily need of Christ? Have there been no departures? and do they not callfor
a return? Is faith to be exercisedbut once? Why, then, are we told, that "the
just shall live by his faith"?
3. Pre-engagementis another excuse which sinners make for not coming to
Christ.
4. Some say they have tried, but cannotcome to Christ.
5. Others, who are deeply bowed down in spirit, do not so much plead their
inability, as their unfitness and unworthiness. They do not saythey cannot
come, but dare not come. There are some preparations and dispositions
necessary, and they are destitute of them. Willingness is the only worthiness
that Christ looks for: so that we are to come to Him not with qualifications,
but for them.
6. Some stumble at the austerities of religion, and the dangers to which it will
expose them. They ownthat it is glorious in its end, but complain that there is
something very discouraging in the way.
7. It is the fearof some, that if they do come to Christ, they shall either be
rejected, or dishonour Him.
8. Many who do not come to Christ now, purpose to do so hereafter. What is
hard to-day will be harder to-morrow; and it is only the present hour, the
present moment, that we cancall our own.
(B. Beddome, M. A.)
A bad excuse is worse than none
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. Let us try to ACCOUNT FOR THE FACT, THE SAD FACT, THAT MEN
ARE SO READY TO MAKE EXCUSES RATHER THAN TO RECEIVE
THE WORD OF GOD. We accountfor it in the first place by the fact that
they had no heart at all to acceptthe feast. Had they spokenthe truth plainly,
they would have said, "We do not wish to come, nor do we intend to do so." If
the realsecretof it was that they hated Him and despised His provisions, is it
not melancholy that they were not honest enoughto give Him a "nay" at

once? It may be that you make this excuse to satisfy custom. It is not the
custom of this presentage to fly immediately in the face of Christ. There are
not many men of your acquaintance or mine who ostensiblyoppose religion. It
may be you make these excuses becauseyou have had convictions which so
haunt you at times that you dare not oppose Christ to His face. Satanis
always ready to help men with excuses. This is a trade of which there is no
end. It certainly commencedvery early, for after our first parents had sinned,
one of the first occupations upon which they entered was to make themselves
aprons of fig-leaves to hide their nakedness. If you will fire the gun, Satanwill
always keepyou supplied with ammunition.
II. We come to RECOUNT THESE EXCUSES. Manywill not come to the
greatsupper — will not be Christians on the same ground as those in the
parable — they are too busy. They have a large family, and it takes all their
time to earn bread and cheese forthose little mouths. They have a very large
business. Or else, if they have no business, yet they have so many. pleasures,
and these require so much time — their butterfly visits during the morning
take up so many hours. Another class say, "We are too bad to be saved. The
gospelcries, 'Believe in Jesus Christ and live,' but it cannot mean me; I have
been too gross anoffender." Then comes another excuse, "Sir, I would trust
Christ with my soul this morning, but I do not feel in a fit state to trust Christ.
I have not that sense of sin which I think to be a fit preparation for coming to
Christ." I think I hear one say, "It is too soonfor me to come:let me have a
little look at the world first. I am scarce fifteenor sixteen." Others will row in
the opposite direction, pleading, "Alas! it is too late." The devil first puts the
clock back and tells you it is too soon, and when this does not serve his turn,
he puts it on and says, "The hour is passed, the day of grace is over; mercy's
gate is bolted, you can never enter it." It is never too late for a man to believe
in Jesus while he is out of his grave. Here comes another, "O sir, I would trust
Christ with my soul, but it seems too goodto be true, that God should save me
on the spot, this morning." My dear friend, dost thou measure God's corn
with thy bushel? Because the thing seems an amazing thing to thee, should it
therefore be amazing unto Him? "Well," says one, "I cannot trust Christ, I
cannot believe Him." It means, "I will not." A man once sent his servantto a
certain town to fetch some goods;and he came back without them. "Well, sir,
why did you not go there?" "Well, when I got to a certain place, I came to a
river, sir, a very deep river: I cannot swim, and I had no boat; so I could not
get over." A goodexcuse, was it not? It lookedso, but it happened to be a very
bad one, for the master said, "Is there not a ferry there?" "Yes, sir." "Did
you ask the man to take you over?" "No, sir." Surely the excuse was a mere

fiction! So there are many things with regardto our salvationwhich we
cannot do. Granted, but then there is a ferry there! There is the Holy Spirit,
who is able to do all things, and you remember the text, "If ye then, being evil,
know how to give goodgifts unto your children, how much more shall your
Father which is in heaven give goodthings to them that ask Him?" It is true
you cannotmake yourself a new heart, but did you ask for a new heart with
sincerity and truth? Did you seek Christ? If you say, "Yes, I did sincerelyseek
Christ, and Christ would not save me," why then you are excused;but there
never was a soul who could in truth say that.
III. HOW FOOLISHTHUS TO MAKE EXCUSES. Forfirst remember with
whom it is you are dealing. You are not making excuses before a man who
may be duped by them, but you make these excuses before the heart-searching
God. Remember, again, what it is you are trifling with. It is your own soul, the
soul which can never die. You are trifling with a heavenwhich you will never
see if you keepon with these excuses. Remember, again, that these excuses will
look very different soon. How will you make excuses whenyou come to die, as
die you must?
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The recusancyof the guests
I. GOSPEL-PROVISION, AS IT IS GENERALLY OFFERED, SO IT IS
GENERALLY REFUSED.
I. Refusedby most of the
(1)Rulers (John 7:48; 1 Corinthians 2:8);
(2)Learned men (Acts 17:18);
(3)Common people.
2. In what respects this refusalis general.
(1)In respectof the doctrine of the gospel, which men generallylook upon as
strange and incredible, and so will not believe, but rather scoffat it.
(2)In respectof gospeldiscipline, which seems hard, and so men will not
submit to it.
(3)In respectof gospelprofessors. Mengenerallydespise them, and care not
for their company (John 7:49).
3. Why this refusal is so general. The three grand enemies of man's salvation
are opposedto the gospel.

(1)The world, or the powers of the earth without us.
(2)The flesh, or the power of corrupted nature within us.
(3)The devil, or the power of hell beneath us.Uses.
1. Information. Christ's flock is a little flock (Luke 12:32). Multitude is no
true note of a Church.
2. Caution.
(1)Though men generallyrefuse true happiness, yet men generallydesire some
kind of happiness (Psalm4:6). Their natural desire is a stock to graft the plant
of grace upon.
(2)Though men generallyrefuse the gospel, yet there may be more receive it
than we are aware of (Romans 11:3).
(3)Though men generallyrefuse the gospel, yet many do receive it (Hebrews
2:10):
(4)Though the Jews generallyrefusedthe gospel, yet they shall generally
receive it (Romans 11:26).
3. Exhortation. Do not follow a multitude to do evil.
II. UNANIMITY OF CONSPIRACYIN REFUSAL.
1. The refusers of the gospelagree in that, though they may differ in many
respects, suchas nation, religion, affection, etc.
2. How they agree. This will appear —
(1)In the designthey drive at, which is to oppose the power of godliness.
(2)In the principle they actfrom: natural light, carnal reason, whichis not
only dim-sighted about, but prejudiced against, spiritual things.
(3)In the rule they walk by, which is their own will, their lust their law
(Ephesians 2:2, 3).
(4)In the waywhich they take to carry on their oppositionto the gospel.
(a)They lay their heads togetheras one in a way of consultation.
(b)They join their hearts togetherin a wayof approbation, taking pleasure in
the sins of one another (Romans 1:32).
(c)They strike their hands togetheras one, in a wayof confederation(Psalm
83:5).
III. READINESS TO REFUSE.

IV. THE PLAUSIBILITY OR HYPOCRISY OF THE EXCUSES. Menwill
have none of Christ, and yet would put it off fairly if they could (Psalm 36:2).
1. What are the excuses orpleas which sinners make?
(1)They plead multiplicity of worldly business.
(2)The frequency and urgency of outward temptations.
(3)They plead the societyand fellowship of others in their way.
(4)The weaknessoftheir nature.
(5)The smallness ofthe sin.
(6)Their goodintentions.
(7)The unnecessarinessofsuch strictness in religion.
(8)The impossibility of fulfilling God's law.
(9)The inequality of God's ways.
2. Why do stoners make excuse?
(1)It is the nature of fallen man to do so (Genesis 3:12, 13).
(2)Sin is so ugly that sinners will not have it appearin its proper colours;
therefore foul sins must have fair names to make them go down the better.If
sin were to appearin its cursed nature and wretchedeffects, it would so
frighten men that they would take no pleasure in committing it. Uses.
1. This informs us of the madness of wickedness.
2. Though sinners excuse their sin, yet their sin will accuse them.
3. Do not deceive yourselves by vain excuses or false reasonings (James1:22).
(John Crump.)
A common sin
H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.
The making of idle excuses is the oldest, as it is the commonestof sins. It
beganwith Adam in Paradise, and ever since that time men have, more or
less, continued with one consentto make excuse. First, let us look at some
excuses whichpeople make for putting off repentance. Now listento the story
of one who repented late, but in time. During the London Mission, a lady, one
of the Church workers in a certain parish, noticed a young girl lingering one
night by a church door, where the mission service was about to commence.
She invited the girl to enter, but she excusedherselfon the plea that she had

no Bible. The lady offered her own, and accompaniedthe girl into church,
where she was evidently much affected. On leaving the church, the lady
beggedher companion to acceptthe Bible, in which her ownname was
written, and the girl passedout of her sight. Next morning the lady visited a
hospital, where she was accustomedto read to the patients, and a nurse
informed her that they had a Bible bearing her name which had been brought
in on the previous night. The young girl, after leaving the mission service, had
been run over, and takenmortally injured to the hospital, carrying the Bible
with her. She died the same night, and her dying words were these:"Thank
God it was not before last night." Another common excuse for delaying
repentance is this, "I am no worse than others." I was speaking lately to a
mother about the sin of her daughter, and she excusedher on the plea that she
was no worse than others in a higher position, and instanced a lady who had
sinned in the same way. But, my brethren, surely sin is none the less a sin
because it is committed in the company of others. Again, people excuse
themselves by saying, "It is so hard to repent." But it is still harder to die in
our sins, and receive the wages ofsin, which is death. It is hard to give up bad
habits, but it is harder still to be ruined by them. Now let us look at another
class ofexcuses whichpeople make for staying away from church. One of
these excusers says, "Church-going will save no one." That is quite true. You
may come to church in a wrong state of mind, or from an unworthy motive,
and no goodwill come out of it. Attendance at church is a means of grace, not
grace itself. If rightly used it is a means of placing us in the wayof salvation,
and of keeping us there. If you getinto a railway carriage atthe station, the
mere act of doing so will not take you to London, but if you do not first getin,
the train cannotcarry you there. Another self-excusersays, "Churchgoing is a
mere form and show;pure religion is not outside, but inside one." It is
perfectly true that pure religion is inside, and not outside. But surely we must
show outside what we feel inside. Suppose that your landlord were to reduce
your rent 20 per cent. because of the bad times, and were to give your children
,, handsome presentas well, you would, I think, go up to his house to thank
him, and you would not considerit a mere show. You would not leave him to
imagine the gratitude inside you. Well, one of the chief reasons why we come
to church is to thank God for His goodness, andto openly declare "the
wonders that He doeth for the children of men." Another meets us with the
old, old plea, "I was not very well on Sunday." It is a curious fact that more
people are unwell on Sunday than on any other day of the week. Theyare
quite able to attend to business on Saturday, and are quite fresh and ready for
work on Monday, but they are poorly on Sunday. I am afraid the disease is
one of the will rather than the body. I will only speak ofone more excuse, as

common as it is foolish. "I don't go to church myself," says a man, "but my
wife goes."So much the better for the wife, so much the worse for the
husband. You cannotdo your duty by deputy, and you cannot save your soul
by deputy. Every one of us must answerfor himself. There is an old legendof
a man who never attended church, but whose wife went regularly. Both died,
and when they came to the gates ofParadise the woman passedin. But when
the husband presentedhimself, the keeperof the gate said, "Your wife
worshipped God for both of you, now she has gone into Paradise for both of
you, you cannot enter here." My friends, you who have been trying to excuse
yourselves from doing what is right, think on these things.
(H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.)
Excuses
DeanVaughan.
There is scarcelya sin which we can commit, for which, to ourselves if not to
others, we cannotfind some excuse. If we have told a direct falsehood, we say
to ourselves that we were surprised into it: we were askeda question on the
sudden; and in the hurry, takenoff our guard, we answeredit one way when
we should have answeredit another: it was the fault of the master who asked
such a question; why could he not have let it alone? Forother acts of sin there
is the excuse oftemptation: we should not have done it but for bad example,
or the suggestionor solicitationof another; it was scarcelyour act;
circumstances causedit; and so Providence itself is sometimes made to share
the blame with us. So much for sins of commission;eachhas its appropriate
excuse. And even more is this so with our omissions. We scarcelyeverneglect
a private duty without making to ourselves some excuse forit. We omit or
post. pone our morning prayer; which of us does not excuse this for the time,
and then find that the excuse extends itself indefinitely to other times? The
Bible is left unread one day; we have an excuse for it; the next day it is still
less thought of, still more easily let alone. But excuses made for these single
acts of neglectare only examples of those with which we palliate a life of
neglect. Do not matte excuse for forgetting God. Think of it as a sin, a daily,
hourly sin. Think of it too as a toss, a daffy, hourly diminution or deprivation
of happiness. Think that, if you continue thus, you are undone; that it is only
by turning to God that you can escape.This, which sounds little, is a great
thing. Put awayexcuses. Attempt none to yourselves;attempt none to God. No
man will make an excuse to himself for not being happy; then do not you.
Excuses will never ceasetill earth ceases. Thenthey will. Before the judgment-

seatof Christ no excuses willbe heard; none will be attempted. Then, in the
words of Scripture, "everymouth will be stopped."
(DeanVaughan.)
Excuses
E. J. Haynes.
If I invite you to my house:"My friend, on Tuesdayevening I shall be at
home, amid my pictures you admire, with music which you love, gathering a
circle of gentlemen whom you like: will you make one of us?" Then, if you do
not care a straw for my friendship, had as lief as not I rate you a boor, you
would probably return me no answer, or tear up my messagein the face of the
messenger, orsay, "Go tell him I won't come — and that's all." But if you
return me an excuse, you acknowledgeourfriendship and yourself a
gentleman. Perhaps the above is a small class;at any rate it is not a class to be
reachedby kind appeals. Such persons do, indeed, become converted, but it is
through some fear, by the lash, by some shock. Youare, however, not of that
class;you render an excuse. Observe, then; taking up my former homely
illustration, which, lestI offend, we will transpose. You invite me to your
pictures, music, board, entertaining. I read, thinking: "This man would do me
a favour, would make me happy; he is my father's friend and mine; has seen
me in trouble, coming to me: now sees me prospered, and would rejoice with
me, going to him; but my feet are slippered, I am sitting at my ease, by my
own grate, with Motleyor Dickens. Iprefer home." Is this an excuse
sufficient, and would our friendship outlive such a truth-telling? No;I might
lie: "I am sick, excuse me, have an imperative engagement."These society
lies! — and these are goodreasons, ifreal reasons. Youcannot see my heart to
detectthe truth or falsehood. Neighbours, hearme, for eternity's sake, receive
it. Christ's word is: "Come, for all things are now ready." Your excuse must
be a sufficient excuse;and it must be an honest excuse, forHe can see clean
through camel's hair and silk, through Melton and broadcloth, to the secret
reasonwritten on the heart. "My business is such that I pray Thee, O Christ,
have me excused." Well, let us suppose you are, in this, sincere. Is yours an
immoral business? No. Do you transactit in a dishonest or otherwise immoral
way? No. What, then, do you mean? I mean this: Times are hard, trade must
be watched. "I am well enough off now:" and this time it is a woman who
speaks. Whyshould she worry herself? She has a goodhusband; to be sure he
is not a Christian, but where is a nobler man? What lacks she yet? Nothing.
Goodlady, may I ask, dare you put that in a prayer: "O Lord, because I lack

nothing, I pray Thee excuse"?Dare you sayin goodEnglish, "Lord, my heart
is full. That husband! If I was widowed, childless, roofless,desolate, then I —
"? You ask me if I mean to hint that you love these too much? A thousand
times then, no; but that you love the Giver too little, yes. "I pray Thee have
me excused, becauseI am goodenoughnow; I need no conversion." Well,
neighbour, that means something or nothing. Tyndall calls me to his
marvellous evenings of experiment with light. It is from the point very far
from me to profess a knowledge ofgrammar, addition, subtraction, as
thorough as my neighbour. Canthe greatphilosopher teachme ought — no
matter how much I know of algebra? Christ professesto have come not to
recallthe righteous but sinners. They that be whole need not a physician, but
the sick. And I humbly urge upon you, the purest moral man of this good
audience, that this call is sent for your ears. He invites you to His heart-feast.
If now you cantruthfully say: "Christ, I am goodenough; my soul is as
beautiful as Your soul; my thoughts, are as lofty as Your thoughts; the walls
of my spirit are hung with pictures as rare as Your own, and the feastof my
heart at its own board leaves nothing to be desired," then your excuse means
something. You ought to be excused. Indeed, you are not invited. No, ninety
and nine of a hundred do not mean what they say when declaring that they
are goodenough, needing no conversion. It is too bare conceit. "Icould not
hold out; have me excused." Friend, be honest; such is not your real reason.
You are not the man to undertake and fail; or to refuse to undertake what you
really desire. The truth is, you do not desire to follow Christ. "I do not believe
in the Book."Be honest. You have tried to disbelieve ever since you backslid,
five years ago;yet you do believe in the Bible. The truth is, your proud heart
will not say "Forgive."
(E. J. Haynes.)
Invitation and excuse
T. T. Lynch.
Excuses are specifiedby our Lord, and these all relate to necessaryand even
laudable things. These excuses maybe takenas in division or in succession;
that is to say, one man may be supposed to make one excuse, and another man
another, or you may suppose the same man making all these excuses one after
another. ForTruth does not make to a man one goodoffer, and then no more;
but if we are invited by Truth, we are invited againand again. Perhaps it will
be most useful to ourselves to think of these excuses as made in succession.
Thus, we are under an engagementto give our attention to things just and

true; we are under it by virtue of our training, by virtue of our own voluntary
effort directed to good; we are under an engagementto attend at the banquet
of Truth. Well, now the hour arrives; Truth wants us, and the messenger
comes. We are very sorry, but that "piece ofland"; — still we consider
ourselves under the engagement;we shall be more fortunate next time; for,
after all, it is we that have to regretour failure. Another time, then, arrives;
we are very sorry, but that "piece of land" has engagedus so much, that we
have found it necessaryto obtain several"yoke ofoxen" to bring it into
proper condition; we are very sorry; still we considerourselves under the
same engagement, and we hope to be more fortunate the next time. Then the
messengercomesa third time: our services are indeed wanted now; our
presence cannotbe dispensed with; and now we say, "This is unfortunate.
Our land is in excellentcondition; indeed we have had so much to look after,
that we have felt it necessaryto take a wife, in order that our domestic affairs
may be superintended. We have met with an amiable person, possessing an
agreeable fortune, and we have concluded a domestic and commercial
arrangement." And now, perhaps, Truth leaves us, and "lets us alone." But
three times may represent any number of times, and Truth often comes more
than three times. Let, then, Truth be supposedto come a fourth time. Well,
now we are all very much engaged;the whole house is in a flutter of delight;
there is a feastto celebrate the birth of our firstborn! So, then, Truth comes a
fifth time, just when one of the children is sick of fever; and we look at Truth
quite reproachfully, and say, "You would not expectme to come now, would
you?" And once again Truth comes, for the last time; and now the house is in
confusion, and there are signs of distress, and Truth is informed that we were
not content, though we were prospering exceedinglywell; but that, hearing of
some gold-diggings, we had gone out, and whilst we were in the golden pit,. a
greatpiece of quartz rock had fallen and crushed our chestright in, and there
was a nuggetfound in the very middle of our heart, and so an end of us I That
is a plain picture of what happens again and again. There are all sorts of
nuggets — they need not be made of literal gold — there are all sorts of
nuggets upon which a man sets his heart; and often the very attainment of the
nugget, when he gets it right into the centre of that heart, is his utter
destruction. Fornow the world will never get any more benefit of him; and
Truth has visited him for the last time.
(T. T. Lynch.)
Business hindering religion
Thain Davidson, D. D.

I said one day to a respectable tradesman, "When are you going to begin to
think of eternity and come to the house of God?" His reply I shall never
forget. "I know, sir, that I ought to come;but it's no use;my mind is so full of
business, I canthink of nothing else."
(Thain Davidson, D. D.)
Human depravity at the bottom of all excuses
D. Fraser, D. D.
I was at a conference held about the state of the people in Liverpool. It was a
large conference, withthe Mayor in the chair. They were conferring about
why it was that so many of the working people particularly would not go to
church or chapel, but would lie about on Sundays and seemto have nothing
but an animal life. One man after another made a speechabout it. You never
heard such a number of reasons given:too hard work on Saturdays — which
seemedto me to be a strange thing; or they had no place near them which
suited them; or the preachers did not preach well enough; or the sermons
were too long; or they did not like pews;or they did not getthe best seats
when they went to church; or pew-rents were required. You never heard such
a number of reasons — the people that did not go to church were not to
blame, it was always the people about the church, or in the church, who were
to blame, till at last an old man gotup (I think from his speechhe was a
Scotchman, and said, "Mr. Mayor, there is one reasonthat strikes me that I
have not heard a word about yet" — they had spokenfor an hour and a half
— "I think it is the reasonofthe whole thing." We were all struck dumb to
hear what this was. "WhatI have to say is that the most of it comes from
human depravity."
(D. Fraser, D. D.)
Distinguish betweenreasons and excuses
J. Vaughan, M. A.
An "excuse"is an entirely different thing from "a reason." "Areason" comes
into the mind before a conclusion;"an excuse" follows after. The conclusion
rests upon the "reason."Its only wish is to appear to rest upon the "excuse."
"A reason" is a reality; an "excuse"is, generally, an invention: or, at the best,
an "excuse" is the secondor inferior "reason."It is not the primary, actuating
motive. The "reason" Adam ate the fruit was that he liked it; the "excuse"
was, "She gave it me." The "reason" whythe man "hid his talent," was, that

he was indifferent and lazy — "a wickedand slothful servant";the "excuse"
was, "I knew thee — thou art an austere man." The "reason" the Jews killed
Christ, was, because theywere jealous of Him; and hated Him for His holiness
and His reproofs; the "excuse" was thatHe spoke againstCaesar, and uttered
blasphemy. The "reason" whyall the men who were "bidden to the great
supper" refused to come, was that they did not care for it; or preferred
something else;the "excuses"were the same — of duty, and prior or more
important engagements. If you knew God — and what those "things" are
"which He has prepared for them that love Him," all "excuses" wouldbe
flung to the winds. It would not be, "Have me excused!" but, "I come!... I
come!" "Me first — me now — me for ever! Lord, bid me — Lord, let me —
Lord, make me come!"
(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Excuses
J. A. Seiss, D. D.
God's supper is ready, and the call to it is pressedwith urgency, but people
make excuses, anddo not come. People have no mind for salvation. The many
have too much to do, too many pressing cares, too many honourable
engagements pre-occupying their attention, and so cannot comply with the
calls of God. Such useful citizens, such respectable men of business, such
thinkers for the comfort of their fellow-citizens, and for the welfare of the
State, are, forsooth, not to be expectedto give their time and thoughts to piety
and to God! Of course, they are to be excused!But, alas for thee, deluded
man, if with thy lands, or thy oxen, or thy "materialinterests," or even with
thy learnedinvestigations, though they should be in divinity itself, thou hopest
to compensate for thy neglectof the calls and invitations of thy Maker!But
others are so happy in the objects of their earthly affection, so blessedwith
things of their own, that they see no reasonto disturb or burden themselves
with attention to these sacredmatters. Why, the world was made to be
enjoyed! God would not have createdfor us all these pleasantthings if it were
not excusable in us to make the bestof them while we can! Why should we
incommode our pleasanthomes and joyous circles with religion's rigid rules?
Surely the goodFather in heaven does not wish to make us unhappy. He will
not be offended with what harms no one, and yet is so delightful to us! He will
excuse us! "Alas, they have married themselves to earthly loves, and lusts, and
vanities; and so they "cannotcome." Effeminate pleasures, though mingled

with pains, and transient as the honeymoon, are their apologyfor letting go
their chance to secure the eternal blessednessofheaven.
(J. A. Seiss, D. D.)
The excuses
W. Hay Aitken, M. A.
"I pray thee, have me excused." I do not think you can offer a worse prayer
than that. Of all the prayers that everleft human lips, and of all the desires
that ever formed themselves within human hearts, I think this is the most
fatal. Must I not go as far as to say that such a reception of the offer of God's
mercy constitutes the grand crowning sin of man? One might have expected
there would have been quite a demand for invitations, that everybody would
have been besieging the house and asking the chamberlain, or the secretary,
or the greatperson, whoeverhe might be, "Canyou give us an invitation to
the feast?" Whenone of our princes is married, only a certainnumber of
invitations are issued; and only a certainnumber of people can be present on
the occasion. Supposing the tickets for such a ceremonycould be sold, I
wonder what they would fetch. I should not be surprised if some gentlemen in
London would be ready to pay down a hundred or five hundred pounds, just
for the privilege of being present and being able to say, "I saw Prince So-and-
so married." But the honour cannot be bought for money; you must occupy a
high socialpositionbefore you can get such an invitation. Whoeverheard of a
man in such circumstances making an excuse? Now aboutthese excuses. I
want you to observe, my friends, how these men receivedthe message. In
Matthew's Gospelwe read of some who "entreatedthe servants spitefully, and
slew them." And there has been always a class of that kind — I mean to say,
that there is always a certainnumber of persons bitterly hostile to religion.
They hate it. If they could, they would kindle the fires of Smithfield again.
There was another class ofpersons to whom the invitation came;and who are
they? The man whom he now addressesis a most polite and civil person, a
perfect gentleman. Oh, dear me, no! Say a rough word! Neverthought of such
a thing. "My goodsir, now I hope you will understand that the very lastthing
I wish is, to convey to the mind of that admirable person who sent you on your
errand anything like a feeling of contempt for the kind invitation which he has
been goodenough to offer me. On the contrary, I have the greatestpossible
respectfor him. I should be very sorry indeed if anything I saidhurt his
feelings in the leastdegree;but the realplain truth of it is, that you know, sir,
I am in a very awkwardposition. I should be very gladto go to the feast;I

have no doubt it is an excellent feast. It is a greathonour to be askedto go to
such a place;at the same time, it so happens very unfortunately that I have
got something else on hand. I have just bought an estate overthere; I am just
going to start to see it. That is the way it was done — civilly, respectfully, I
may almostsay, reverently: but it was done all the same. And that is just the
way it is done by many still. When I ask the question, How is the Lord Jesus
Christ rejectedin our England in the nineteenth century? I find my answer,
not merely in the open blasphemy, not merely in the atheism and unbelief. I
find the terrible answercoming back to me, "He is rejectedby the people who
go to church, who hear the message ofsalvationsounded in their ears from
Sunday to Sunday, who have had great privileges, and who will tell you they
have greatrespectfor religion." They subscribe to the Church Missionary
Society, or to any other societythey think will do good. Now observe the
excuses that these men made did not refer to things evil in themselves. Then,
observe, once again— and this seems to me to be a very interesting and
instructive point — it was not, after all, the pressure of necessary
engagements thatkept these people back from the feast. Thatis a very
remarkable thing. The man does not say, "I am just on the point of
transacting a bargain for a piece of land; but the deeds are waiting to be
signed; and I cannot sign the deeds before I see the piece of land." It is not a
ease ofnecessityof that kind. Observe the lesson. It is not the necessary
occupations oflife that keepmen back from Christ. What is it? What did the
man want to go and see his land for? In order that he might gloatover his
acquisition. He might look round and round and say, "Dearme I it is a nice
snug place after all — as sweeta little house as ever I saw — nicely situated;
the land, too, is the best in the country side. I have made a very goodbargain;
I think I shall make myself very comfortable here." The man's mind is given
over to the thing, and he has no time to acceptthe invitation to the feast. So it
is with many a man still. It is true to life, as God's Word always is. There is no
harm in domestic happiness;but how many a man there is that allows the
pleasures of his home to take the place that belongs to God; that puts those
home comforts before his soul as a kind of substitute for the presence and
powerof God in his heart? Whenever a man does that, he turns the pure and
holy relationships of life into the devil's own snare, and the things which were
for his peace become to him an occasionoffalling. So they made their
decision;and that decisionwas — "I pray thee have me excused." WhatI said
at the start of my sermon, I say again;it is the worstprayer ever offered, and,
like many a bad prayer, my friends, it was a prayer that was answered. And I
am persuadedthat whenever men offer such a prayer, they will get an answer.
"Yes, not one of them shall taste of My supper." So they were excused;and

by-and-by the table was spread, and the guests were gatheredtogether:and
the minstrels tuned their harps, and the song commenced, and the feast, and
the joy, and the pleasure;and the King came in to see the guests. Yes, and all
the while these men were excused. Thatman over there is walking round and
round his land, until at last I think I canhear him saying to himself, "Well,
after all, there isn't much to be got out of a field." Ah, he is beginning to tire
of it already! And the other man feels it, too. After all, you cannotmake a
heaven out of five yoke of oxen. And my eye follows the man that had married
his wife — where is he now? Look!he and his wife are bending over the
corpse of their firstborn child; and the hot, scalding tears are falling. He has
found it out now; after all, domestic happiness is a very different thing from
heaven. My brothers, are there any of you that are saying in your hearts, "I
pray Thee have me excused"? Well, letme ask you, what are you asking the
Lord to excuse you from? "O Lord, I pray Thee have me excusedfrom being
happy. I want to go on in my misery; let me alone. O Lord! I have got a load
of unforgiven sin in my heart; I don't want to part with it just yet. 'I pray
Thee have me excused.'" Myyoung friend there went to the meeting, last
night, at Exeter Hall, and casthis burden on his Saviour. I met him in the
street;I scarcelyknew him. "Have you heard the news, old fellow? I am a new
man." He was evidently very happy; I never saw a man so happy. Lord, I
pray Thee have me excusedfrom such happiness.
(W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
Remedy excuses
J. Wells.
I have often wondered at the cleverness with which people make excuses for
neglecting heavenly things. A poor woman was explaining to me why her
husband did not attend church. "You see, poorworking folks nowadays are so
holden down and weariedout, that they are glad to rest a day in the house
when Sabbath comes." An unopened letter was lying on the table, which she
askedme to read, believing that it was from her sick mother. It was a notice to
her husband that the football team, of which he was captain, was to meet on
Saturday at 3 p.m., and that, like a goodfellow, he must be forward in good
time. And that was the man for whom my pity was asked, as being so worn
out with his work that he could hardly creepup to the church! Another
woman admitted to me that she never read her Bible, but pleaded that she was
too busy, and had too many cares. Myeye caughta greatbundle of journals
above the clock. She confessedthat these were novels, on which she spent

twopence halfpenny every Saturday, and that she read them on the Sabbath.
If you wish an excuse, the smallestthing will give you stuff enough for the
weaving of it.
(J. Wells.)
Excuses ofnon-communicants
E. Blencowe,M. A.
I. First, then, it is not uncommon for people to say, "I do not pretend to be a
scholar, and I do not understand the meaning of this sacrament." Canyou
really say that you have been earnestto gain instruction? or have you not
rather been wellsatisfiedto be ignorant? Let me ask you, dear brethren, if the
life of your body depended on your knowing how to plough, or sow, orreap,
would you not take pains to learn? Should you not think yourselves justly
blamed if you did not?
II. I come now to consideranother excuse, which is most commonly made, for
not attending this sacrament — "I am not fit to come."
III. Another excuse is, "I am now too much troubled with worldly cares;I
cannot attend as I ought to my soul; but I hope the time will come when I shall
be more at liberty."
IV. Again, youth is made an excuse for not coming to the Lord's table. God
says in the Bible, "Those thatseek Me early shall find Me." (Proverbs 8:17).
(E. Blencowe,M. A.)
On the Lord's supper
Bishop Dehon.
The causes whichprevent men from observing this ordinance of our religion
are various It may be presumed that a leading cause ofthe neglect of this
ordinance is a thoughtlessnessofits nature and obligations.
1. The pressure of the business and cares of this world is urged by many as a
reasonwhy they neglectto receive this sacrament.
2. Further. A sense of sinfulness deters many from approaching the table of
the Lord. They are so oppressedwith the consciousnessofhaving transgressed
many commands, and omitted many duties, that they dare not go to so holy an
ordinance.

3. There are many persons, who have a lively sense ofthe holiness of this
ordinance, and wish to join in the celebrationof it, who are deterred by a fear
that they shall not be able afterwards to live up to their obligations.
4. Another cause whichprevents men from receiving this sacramentis the
existence ofanger and animosity in their bosoms — the consciousnessofill-
will betweenthem and some of their fellow-beings.
5. It is urged by some who neglectthis ordinance that they see many go to the
Lord's table who seemnot in any respectto be benefited by it. There are
many persons deterred from receiving this sacramentby a particular passage
of Scripture, which is frequently misunderstood. I mean that striking
observationby St. Paul, that "he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth
and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." There
are two causes from which the misapplication of this passageproceeds —
from affixing a meaning to the word "damnation," which in the originalit
does not bear, and from indefinite or erroneous ideas of the unworthiness
which the apostle condemns. By damnation is not here meant, as by many is
supposed, everlasting destruction, but immediate disapprobation, the
displeasure of the MostHigh; which displeasure is manifested, as the apostle
states, by visiting the unworthy recipients with divers temporal judgments;
and this too in order to their final salvation;if, haply, being chastenedof the
Lord, they may not be condemned with the world. And, accordingly, the same
word which is here rendered "damnation" is rendered in one of the following
verses of the same chapter, by "condemnation." Moreover, we should have
definite ideas what it is to eatand drink unworthily. The Corinthians, whom
the apostle here addresses, hadfallen into an irreverent, and in some cases
profane, manner of celebrating the Lord's Supper. They brought their own
bread and wine; they blended this sacredmystery with their common feast;
the rich waited not for the poor; the poor were jealous ofthe rich.
(Bishop Dehon.)
Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city
Home missions
J. E. Goode.
I. THE PARTIES TO WHOM THE SERVANT WAS DIRECTED TO
MAKE KNOWN HIS BENEVOLENT COMMISSION. Stripped of its
figurative clothing, the passageintimates to us the calling of the Gentiles upon
the rejectionof the gospelby the Jews. Butthe compassionofthe Lord was as

large as His provision and the creature's necessity;therefore the servantwas
sent further from home — he was to "go out into the highways and hedges,"
to pick up the vagrants and the wanderers, to address those for whose
condition no man had eared, and to invite and urge them to partake of the
banquet of heavenly mercy. The parties to whom our attention is to be
directed are presentedto us under a twofold aspect. Theyare described —
First, by the nearness oftheir residence to us. They are the miserable and the
distressedin the streets and lanes of the city. Next to our own individual
conversionto God, our attention is to be directed to the conversionof those
around us. But the persons to whom this merciful attention is to be directed
are described— Secondly, by their miserable and destitute condition. The
dismal descriptionwhich is given us of these wretchedbeings in the parable is
borrowedfrom temporal things, and is expressedin terms which convey a
lively picture of misery and wretchedness.
II. THE METHOD TO BE EMPLOYED BY THE SERVANT IN ORDER
TO BRING THESE PERSONS TO THE ROYAL BANQUET. He was to
"bring" them in, and "compel" them to come.
1. The servant must "compel" sinners by setting before them their guilty and
perishing condition.
2. There must be, in connectionwith this, an exhibition of the Saviour's grace.
3. He must "compel" sinners to come in by unfolding the encouragement
which is given to comply with the invitation and to believe the gospel. And
these encouragements are neither few nor small.
4. The servant of the Lord must "compel" men by a solemn testimony of the
guilt and dangerof a refusal.
(J. E. Goode.)
The kingdom of God thrown open
W. Hubbard.
I. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS OPENED AMONGSTMEN. It is here now.
We have not to go to it — it has come to us. There is nothing to wait for; all
things are ready. The love, the light, the pardon, the mercy, the sonship, the
welcome, the plenty, are all waiting.
II. GOD INVITES ALL MEN INTO HIS KINGDOM. The feastwas always
intended for all. God's own people were to be admitted first, as being
members of His household; and they were expectedto entertain the strangers

who should afterwards come in. But when the time came they failed. So
without them, insteadof through them, the gates ofthe kingdom had to be
thrown open, and the universal invitation given. They shut themselves out, but
not, therefore, would God permit the despisedand perishing everywhere to
remain uninvited. The feastshould not therefore spoil. The abundance of the
feastshows it to be for all. The freeness of it says it is for all. Those for whom
it is prepared — the strickenand needy everywhere-show itto be for all. Can
infinite love be restrictive? Can infinite pity be elective?
III. THE KINGDOM IS NOT YET FULL. We need not be afraid of inviting;
and we need not be afraid of coming. There is room yet. Grace will endure a
vacuum as little as nature.
(W. Hubbard.)
Personallabour for souls
J. L. Peck, D. D.
"How shall we gain the masses?""Go forthem!" was Moody's rough but
sensible response. Letthe text be our guide. Scripture, reason, history, and
experience corroborate it. There is a vast work outside our ordinary Church
connection. Those whomwe daily meet in business, in the neighbourly
intimacies of life, or in circles ofpleasure — many of them are neglecters of
God and His worship. Shall we let them die? Our Christianity needs to be
more abundant in labour; our prayers need feet!
1. This work is to be done by you, or the blood of souls will be found on your
skirts.
2. You have the facilities for doing it. Let not religion be the lastthing on your
tongue in "society."Remember, you must give accountfor your opportunities.
3. It is inhumanity to neglectthis work.
4. It takes but little time.
5. It is the most successfulkind of work. It builds up Sunday-school, prayer-
meeting, Christian character.
6. No specialtalents are needed. Only a specialconsecration. The diversity of
works fits to the varied talents we have, as one cog-wheelworksinto another.
But only the gifts that are on the altar canGod use.
(J. L. Peck, D. D.)

The powerof earnestness in converting souls
J. L. Peck, D. D.
I once knew a wonderfully successfulwinner of souls. Few were so blessed.
Yet he could not speak six words without stuttering and stammering painful
to hear. Everybody would have said, "He'd better keep still"; but everybody
would be wrong. The love of Christ will burn up the chaff of your excuses.
The angelwas terribly in earnestwhen he laid hold of Lot and brought him
out of Sodom. If you are thus roused, then your vigils of prayer and hand-to-
hand labour for souls will prove the reality of your Christian life. A gaygirl
went to Troy to buy a ball-dress, fell in the way of a newly-converted
companion, and came under the power of an endless life; returned home,
roused her father out of his formal piety, and then sought out and led to
Christ the pastor's daughter. These two girls started a prayer-meeting, and in
ten days from the time that the unworn, now useless, ball-dress was brought
home, so mighty a work of grace had begun that the pastor sentto Troy for
help in the new and unlooked-for burdens thrown upon him. "Go ye out into
the highways. Compel them to come in; for yet there is room."
(J. L. Peck, D. D.)
The gospelfeastis free to the vilest
A. P. Foster.
Christ has spread the table, and our poverty, our imperfections, our limping
steps, our blindness of spiritual sight, are the reasons why He would have us
come. The island of Molokai, in the HawaiianArchipelago, is set apart for the
occupancyof lepers. These poor, filthy beings staggeraboutthere in all stages
of disease, a most pitiful sight. Now, suppose a famous physician lands upon
the island, and sends out his invitations through the community. He has
spread a table large enough for all, and on it placed a variety of delicacies
such as none there had ever tasted, which are a sovereignspecific againstthe
prevalent disorder. "Come," says he, "poordiseasedcompany, and sit at my
table just as you are. This feastwill cure you. You are incurable otherwise."
All Molokaiis in commotion. The lepers gatherin knots and talk the matter
over. "Oh," saythey, "whata looking company are we to sit down at a rich
man's table! We had better wait awhile. By and by, perhaps, we shall be more
presentable, and then we will go." So they send up a delegationto the doctor,
with their compliments and thanks, but beg to be excusedtill they are more
deserving of the honour. And so the good man sadly turns away, leaving the
islanders slowly to rot into their graves. The passage before us presents a case

preciselyparallel. Christ invites a sin-strickenworld to His feast. The factthat
we are sin-stricken, unworthy, lost, helpless, and hopeless is why He asks us to
come.
(A. P. Foster.)
COMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(17) And sent his servant.—The servantstands in this parable as the
representative of the whole order of prophets and apostles—ofallwho, like
the Baptistand the Twelve, had been sent to invite men to the Kingdom. “The
time of supper” is, in the primary application, the time of our Lord’s coming,
when the Kingdom of Heaven was first proclaimed as nigh at hand. All
things—pardon, peace, blessedness—werenow ready for those who would
acceptthem.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
14:15-24 In this parable observe the free grace and mercy of God shining in
the gospelofChrist, which will be food and a feastfor the soul of a man that
knows its own wants and miseries. All found some pretence to put off their
attendance. This reproves the Jewishnation for their neglectof the offers of
Christ's grace. It shows also the backwardnessthere is to close with the gospel
call. The want of gratitude in those who slight gospeloffers, and the contempt
put upon the God of heaventhereby, justly provoke him. The apostles were to
turn to the Gentiles, when the Jews refusedthe offer; and with them the
church was filled. The provision made for precious souls in the gospelof
Christ, has not been made in vain; for if some reject, others will thankfully
acceptthe offer. The very poor and low in the world, shall be as welcome to
Christ as the rich and great;and many times the gospelhas the greatest
successamong those that labour under worldly disadvantages and bodily
infirmities. Christ's house shall at last be filled; it will be so when the number
of the electis completed.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Sent his servant - An invitation had been sent before, but this servant was sent
at the time that the supper was ready. From this it would seemthat it was the

custom to announce to those invited just the time when the feastwas
prepared. The custom here referred to still prevails in Palestine. Dr. Thomson
("The Land and the Book," vol. i. p. 178)says:"If a sheikh, beg, or emeer
invites, he always sends a servant to call you at the proper time. This servant
often repeats the very formula mentioned in Luke 14:17; Tefŭddŭlû, el 'asha
hâder. Come, for the supper is ready. The factthat this custom is mainly
confined to the wealthy and to the nobility is in strict agreementwith the
parable, where the certainman who made the greatsupper and bade many is
supposedto be of this class. It is true now, as then, that to refuse is a high
insult to the maker of the feast, nor would such excuses as those in the parable
be more acceptable to a Druse emeerthan they were to the lord of this 'great
supper.'"
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
17. supper-time … all now ready—pointing undoubtedly to the now ripening
preparations for the great Gospelcall. (See on [1670]Mt22:4.)
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 14:16"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And sent his servant at supper time,.... Either John the Baptist, the harbinger
and forerunner of Christ, who declaredthat the kingdom of heaven, or the
Gospeldispensation, was at hand; and exhorted the people to believe in Christ
that should come after him; or Christ himself, who is God's servant as man, of
his choosing andappointing, and whom he sentin the fulness of time in the
form of a servant, as the minister of the circumcision, to the lost sheepof the
house of Israel, and to callsinners to repentance;or servantmay be put for
servants, since in Matthew 22:3 mention is made of more; and so the Persic
version here; which parable bears some likeness to this, if it is not the same;
and may designthe apostles ofChrist, who were the servants of the most high
God, and the ministers of Christ, who were first sent by him to preachthe
Gospelto the Jews, and to them only for a while:
to say to them that were bidden, come: this call, or invitation, was not the
internal call, which is a fruit of love, and by grace, andof mighty power; to
specialblessings, grace, andglory; and is irresistible, effectual, and
unchangeable:but external, to outward ordinances:and is often slighted and
neglected;and is sometimes of persons who are neither chosen, nor sanctified,
nor saved:

for all things are now ready; the Syriac version adds, "for you":
righteousness, pardonof sin, peace, and reconciliation, sin put awayby the
sacrifice ofChrist, redemption obtained, and life and salvation secured;which
shows the perfection of the present dispensation, and the large provisions of
the Gospel, to which nothing is, or canbe brought to be added to them, or
qualify for them.
Geneva Study Bible
And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come;
for all things are now ready.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 14:17. εἰπεῖν τοῖς κεκλημένοις:a secondinvitation according to Eastern
custom still prevailing (Rosenmüller, Morgenland, ver .192;Thomson, Land
and Book, vol. i. chap. ix.).
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
17. sent his servant at supper time] This is still a custom in the East, Proverbs
9:1-5; Thomson, Land and Book, i. ch. 9: The messageofthe servant
corresponds to the ministry of John the Baptist and of Jesus Himself.
Come; for all things are now ready] “Repentye; for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand,” Luke 10:1; Luke 10:9; Matthew 3:1-2.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 14:17. Εἰπεῖν, to say) The successive steps ofthe gradation are to be
observed:Luke 14:17, εἰπεῖν, to say, κεκλημένοις, to the called: Luke 14:21,
εἰσάγαγε, bring in, τοὺς πτωχοῦς, the poor: Luke 14:23, ἀνάγκασον, compel,
εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς, i.e. those who are in the highways, etc. The call goes forwardto
those that are at a greaterdistance, and by its continually increasing urgency
it compensates forthe delay previously incurred. [The called are of Israel.—
V. g.—ἤδη)alreadynow. Herein the time of the New Testamentis shown to be
the presenttime.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 17-20. -Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one
consentbeganto make excuse. The excuses, viewedas a whole, are paltry, and
"if," as it has been wellsaid, "as a mere story of natural life it seems highly
improbable, it is because men's conduct with regard to the Divine kingdom is
not according to right reason... The excuses are all of the nature of pretexts,

not one of them being a valid reasonfor non-attendance at the feast." The fact
was, the invited were pleasedto be invited, but there the matter ended with
them. The banquet, which they were proud to have been askedto share in,
had no influence upon their everyday lives. They made their engagements for
pleasure and for business without the leastregard to the day or the hour of
the banquet: indeed, they treated it with perfectindifference. The key to the
parable is easilyfound. The Jews were "solemntriflers in the matter of
religion. They were under invitation to enter the kingdom, and they did not
assume the attitude of men who avowedly carednothing for it. On the
contrary, they were pleasedto think that its privileges were theirs in offer,
and even gave themselves credit for setting a high value on them. But in truth
they did not. The kingdom of God had not by any means the first place in
their esteem. Theywere men who talked much about the kingdom of heaven,
yet caredlittle for it; who were very religious, yet very worldly - a class of
which too many specimens exist in every age" (ProfessorBruce, 'Parabolic
Teaching'). I have bought a piece of ground... I have bought five yoke of
oxen... I have married a wife, etc. These excuses, ofcourse, by no means
exhaust all possible cases.Theysimply representexamples of usual everyday
causes ofindifference to the kingdom of God. To all these excuses one thing is
common - in eacha present goodis esteemedabove the heavenly offer; in
other words, temporal goodis valued higher than spiritual. The three excuses
may be classedunder the following heads.
(1) The attraction of property of different kinds, the absorbing delight of
possessing earthlygoods.
(2) The occupations of business, the pleasure of increasing the store, of adding
coin to coin, or field to field.
(3) Socialties, whether at home or abroad, whether in generalsocietyorin the
home circle; for even in the latter case it is too possible for family and
domestic interests so completelyto fill the heart as to leave no room there for
higher and more unselfish aims, no place for any grander hopes than the poor
narrow home-life affords. The primary application of all this was to the Jews
of the Lord's own time. It was spoken, we must remember, to a gathering of
the Rite of the Israel of his day. In the report of the servant detailing to the
master the above-recordedexcuses, it has been beautifully said, "we may hear
the echo of the sorrowful lamentation uttered by Jesus overthe hardening of

the Jews during his long nights of prayer." The invitation to the feastwas
neglectedby the learned and the powerful among the people.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 14:17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had
been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.'
KJV Luke 14:17 And sent his servant at supper time to sayto them that were
bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited Lk
3:4-6; 9:1-5; 10:1-12;Pr 9:1-5; Mt 3:1-12; 10:1-4;Acts 2:38,39;Acts 3:24-26;
13:26,38,39
Come; for everything is ready now Mt 11:27-29;22:3,4;Jn 7:37; 2 Cor5:18-
21; 6:1
Luke 14 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 14:15-24 How to Have Dinner With Jesus - StevenCole
Luke 14:15-24 An Invitation to God's GreatBanquet - John MacArthur
What is the meaning of the Parable of the GreatBanquet (Luke 14:15-24)?
At the dinner hour he sent his slave to sayto those who had been invited -
Notice that this is at the dinner hour and is in essencethe secondor follow-up
invitation -- it was common practice to send two invitations to an oriental
party, the first to announce the event and the secondto tell them all the
arrangements were complete.
Keener adds "Invitees would have respondedto the first invitation already; it
was common for such invitations to require a response in advance (RSVP)."
Life Application Commentary - In Israel’s history, God’s first invitation came
from Moses andthe prophets; the secondcame from his Son. Jesus’listeners,
the religious leaders, acceptedthe first invitation. They believed that God had
calledthem to be his people. But they insulted God by refusing to accepthis
Son. They would miss the banquet completelybecause they refused to accept
the Son’s invitation—they would not get even the smallesttaste of what had

been prepared for them. And there would be no second(or third) chance.
Thus, just as the master in the story sent his servant into the streets to invite
the needy to his banquet, so God was sending his Son to the whole world of
needy people (Jews and Gentiles)to tell them that his kingdom had arrived
and was ready for them.
Rod Mattoon- When the man speaks aboutthe blessing of eating bread in the
kingdom of God, Jesus speaksup and shares a story to illustrate an important
truth about God's love for sinners and His invitation for men to come to Him
for salvation. The Lord speaks ofa certain man who prepared a greatsupper
and invited many to come to it. The certain man is a picture of the Lord
Himself. Greatpreparation and effort has been made for men to come to
Christ and receive God's gift of eternal life. For two thousand years, Christ
has invited mankind to acceptHis invitation of salvationand eternallife.
There is no other way to get into God's supper, if you please. You cannot work
your way into Heaven. Ephesians 2:8-9.(Treasuresfrom Luke, Volume 4)
Normal Crawfordtells a story illustrating this oriental custom of double
invitations - An illustration may help the reader. A christian attended a
breaking of bread meeting in an assembly in the Middle East. At the close of
the meeting, a well-dressedArab invited him to dinner. When the invitation
was acceptedthe host walkedawaywithout giving instructions about how to
get to his home or the time of the meal. Worried, the christian askedfor
information from others, and was told to go to his hotel and await
developments. In a short time a servant came and askedthe christian to follow
him. He was takento the home of the gracious hostand the dinner was ready.
(Ibid)
Slave (servant) (1401)See doulos. (contrastthe parable in Mt 22:3, 4 where
the king sentout not one but many slaves)This is the man's personalservant
conveying the invitation. It was common in such upper-class meals to send
servants to call guests to come to the table. "This custommade perfectsense
in a time frame of no telephones, watches,orassuredtiming for preparation
of a huge meal. So the secondinvitation helped everyone to know exactly
when to come." (Life Application Bible Commentary)
Had been invited (2564)(kaleo)is in the perfecttense signifying the invitation
had been given at point in time and was still valid or in effect.
Come for everything is ready now - Everything is ready. There is enough
room for everyone. Now is the time. All you have to do is come!The fact that
everything was ready now, reminds us of Jesus'completionof the work of
redemption when He uttered the incredible word " tetelestai" signifying "It is

finished" and all the "preparations" for entrance into the greatbanquet in
the MessianicKingdom have been completed, everything has been paid for in
full! the gospelinvitation goes out on the basis of that completed work. All
that is left for those invited is simply to come (present imperative). This also
reminds us of Jesus'invitation in Matthew 11
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the
Son exceptthe Father; nor does anyone know the Fatherexcept the Son, and
anyone to whom the Son wills to revealHim. 28 “Come to Me, all who are
wearyand heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take Myyoke upon you
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL
FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Mt 11:27-29-note)
Bock writes that "The meal at the table pictures entry into salvation’s
ultimate benefits."
Ready (2092)(hetoimos from an old noun heteos = fitness) means ready,
prepared, in a state of readiness. Luke's uses of hetoimos - Lk. 12:40-note;
Lk. 14:17; Lk. 22:33;Acts 23:15; Acts 23:21. The English word "ready"
means completelyprepared or in condition for immediate use! Inherent in this
word is a sense of urgency. My mother used to yell at me when I delayedto
come to supper "You had better come now while everything is still hot!" I
usually responded.
The phrase everything is ready now reminds us of Paul's solemnwords
regarding the importance of "NOW" in SecondCorinthians
“AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE
DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold (idou), now is “THE
ACCEPTABLE TIME,” Behold(idou), now is “THE DAY OF
SALVATION!” (2 Cor 6:2)
Comment: Dearreader, are you "investigating" the claims of Christ and the
surety of His Gospel, but procrastinating on accepting His invitation to
"Come to Him?" If so, you need to considerwhere you will be tonight if
TODAY should be your last day on earth! Remember the warning in James
4:14-15 "you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a
vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you
ought to say, “If the Lord wills (AND HIS WILL IS THAT YOU BELIEVE
TODAY AND BE SAVED TODAY!), we will live and also do this or that."
Crawford writes "All the great costof the feasthad been fully met, the supper
was fully prepared. All was ready and those who were invited just neededto
come. Over the cross where the Saviour suffered, bled and died the words
could be emblazoned, "Come;for all things are now ready".

Guzik - In an age before the clock, the date of the banquet was announced
long before, but the exacttime only was announced the very day. This means
that many acceptedthe invitation when it was first given; yet when the actual
time of the banquet came, they were of a different mind. “To acceptthe
invitation beforehand and then to refuse it when the day came was a grave
insult.” (Barclay). By analogy, we can saythat God has made it so all things
are now ready for men to come and receive from Him. We come to God and
find that He has been ready for us.
Steven Cole sees in this passage "a greatpicture of the abundant salvation
God so freely provides for sinners! When you come to His banquet table in
Christ, He doesn’tjust give you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He gives
you the works!He is a fountain of living water to washawayall of your sins.
He gives you the indwelling Holy Spirit who gives you peace to replace your
anxiety, joy to replace your depression, powerto overcome your sins and
wisdom to make the right decisions. You have fellowshipevery day with the
gracious Saviorand the promise of eternity with Him in heaven. The apostle
Peterdescribes it like this: “His divine powerhas granted to us everything
pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge ofHim who
calledus by His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet. 1:3). Long before we ever
thought of God, He thought of us and made ample provision for our salvation.
His abundant provision means that you are welcome to come to His table and
eat until you are satisfied." With that kind of offer, you may wonder, “How
can anyone refuse?” But Jesus’parable clearlywarns that some do refuse
God’s broad, free, and ample invitation.
Steven Cole applies this secondinvitation to God's invitation through His
messenger, Johnthe Baptist writing "Whenthe dinner hour came, Godsent
His messenger, Johnthe Baptist(Mal 3:1-note), to say, “Everything is ready
now.” But the Jewishleaders made excuses anddid not come. So the Lord
expanded the invitation to the “outcasts”ofIsrael. The Pharisees despised
these people as “born entirely in sin” (John 9:34). Many of the prostitutes, tax
collectors andother notorious sinners respondedto God’s invitation and were
following Jesus. This proud Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner would never
have thought of extending his invitation to these outcasts (Lk 14:13), but Jesus
is telling him that God’s invitation includes those whom the proud Pharisees
had rejected. (Lk 14:21) But there was still room at the master’s table (Lk
14:22). And so the invitation goes still wider, outside the “city limits” of
Judaism, to the Gentiles who are out in the highways and along the hedges
(Lk 14:23). At His greatbanquet the Lord will have a greatmultitude which
no one can count from every nation and tribe and people and tongue (Rev.

7:9). God’s invitation is a broad invitation! It includes every person from
every race, no matter whether his or her backgroundis very religious or
completely pagan. We commit a greaterror when we make the church an
exclusive club for the religiously inclined. Have you ever lookedat someone
and thought, “That personwould not be interestedin the gospelbecause he
lives a very ungodly life”? Or, you see someone who looks like he belongs to a
motorcycle gang and you think, “That persondoesn’t look like a good
candidate for a Christian!” Or perhaps we see a person whose attire identifies
her as a Hindu or a Muslim. We think, “She has her own religion and way of
life. The gospelis not for her.” Whenever we think like that (and we all have),
we’re limiting God’s broad invitation of the gospel. His gospelwill transform
every sinner from every backgroundwho will believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. To every personon this planet the Lord says, “Come, foreverything is
ready now.”
Rod Mattoonwrites that "God's invitations to man have been constant
throughout history.
1. The Invitation for the Removalof Sin
Isaiah1:18— Come now, and let us reasontogether, saith the Lord: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
2. The Invitation to RefreshYour Soul
Isaiah55:1— Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that
hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat;yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price.
3. The Invitation to find Restfor your Soul
Matthew 11:28— Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
4. The Invitation to Receive the Savior
Revelation3:20— Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me.
Illustration - At Christmas one yeara pastor hoped to illustrate God’s free
salvation. He pointed to a beautiful Christmas poinsettia setting on the
platform, wrapped in red cellophane with a ribbon, and said, “Whoeverwants

this gorgeousflowermay have it. All you have to do is take it.” He waited, but
no one came forward to get it. Finally, a mother timidly raisedher hand and
said, “I’ll take it.” “Great, it’s yours,” saidthe pastor. But then the woman
nudged her son and said, “Go get it for me.” The pastorsaid, “No, whoever
wants this plant must come and get it personally. You can’t send a substitute.”
The woman shook her head, unwilling to risk embarrassment. She wouldn’t
go get it for herself. The pastorwaited, pointing to this beautiful plant that
would make a fine decorationin any home. It was free for the taking, but no
one was coming up to getit. Someone snickered, “What’s the catch?” “No
catch,” saidthe pastor. “It’s totally free.”
A college student asked, “Is it glued to the platform?” Everyone laughed.
“No,” the pastor said, “it’s not glued to the platform. It’s just setting there,
free for the taking.” A teenage girlasked, “CanI take it after the service?”
The pastorwas tempted to give in, but he thought of the verse, “Todayis the
day of salvation,” and shook his head: “You must come and get it now.” He
was just beginning to wish that he had never startedthe whole thing when a
woman he had never seenbefore stoodup in the back. Quickly, as if she were
afraid that she would change her mind, she strode to the front and picked up
the plant. “I’ll take it,” she said. After she had gone back to her seat, the
pastor launched into his messageon Romans 6:23, that the gift of God is
eternal life, free to all who will receive it. After the service, whenmost of the
people had gone home, the woman who had claimed the poinsettia came up to
the platform where the pastorwas picking up his Bible to leave. “Here!” She
held out her hand. “This flower is too pretty to just take home for free. I
couldn’t do that with a clearconscience.”The pastorlookeddown at the
crumpled paper the woman had stuffed into his hand. It was a ten dollar bill.
(Adapted from “Leadership,” Spring, 1990, p. 125.)
Friends, you can’t stuff the ten dollar bill of your goodworks into God’s hand
to pay for His salvationbanquet. He provides it all, totally free to you, but at
greatexpense to Himself. Human nature is so inclined to boastin goodworks
that when you tell people the good news about Jesus, you must take pains to
make it clearthat God’s invitation is free and only free. (Steven Cole)
BARCLAY
THE KING'S BANQUET AND THE KING'S GUESTS (Luke 14:15-24)

14:15-24 When one of those who were sitting at table with Jesus heard this, he
said, "Happy is the man who eats bread in the kingdom of God." Jesus said to
him, "There was a man who made a greatbanquet, and who invited many
people to it. At the time of the banquet he senthis servants to say to those who
had been invited, 'Come, because everything is now ready.' With one accord
they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field,
and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.'Another said, 'I have
bought five yoke of oxen, and I am on my wayto try them out. Pleasehave me
excused.'Another said, 'I have married a wife, and, therefore, I cannot come.'
So the servant came and told his master these things. The masterof the house
was enraged, and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes
of the town and bring here the poor, and the maimed, and the blind and the
lame.' The servantsaid, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and there is
still room.' So the mastersaid to his servant, 'Go out to the roads and to the
hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell
you that none of these men who were invited shall taste of my banquet.'"
The Jews had a series ofever-recurring conventionalpictures of what would
happen when God broke into history and when the golden days of the new age
arrived. One of these was the picture of the Messianic banquet. On that day
God would give a greatfeastto his own people at which Leviathan, the sea
monster, would be part of the food. It is of this banquet that the man who
spoke to Jesus was thinking. When he spoke of the happiness of those who
would be guests atthat banquet he was thinking of Jews, andof Jews only, for
the average,orthodoxJew would never have dreamed that gentiles and
sinners would find a place at the feastof God. That is why Jesus spoke this
parable.
In Palestine, whena man made a feast, the day was announcedlong
beforehand and the invitations were sent out and accepted;but the hour was
not announced; and when the day came and all things were ready, servants
were sent out to summon the already invited guests. To acceptthe invitation
beforehand and then to refuse it when the day came was a grave insult.
In the parable the master stands for God. The originally invited guests stand
for the Jews. Throughoutall their history they had lookedforwardto the day
when God would break in; and when he did, they tragicallyrefused his
invitation. The poor people from the streets and lanes stand for the tax-
gatherers and sinners who welcomedJesus in a way in which the orthodox
never did. Those gatheredin from the roads and the hedges stand for the
gentiles for whom there was still ample room at the feastof God. As Bengel,
the greatcommentator, put it, "both nature and grace abhor a vacuum," and

when the Jews refusedGod's invitation and left his table empty, the invitation
went out to the gentiles.
There is one sentence in this parable which has been sadly misused. "Go out,"
said the master, "and compel them to come in." Long ago Augustine used that
text as a justification for religious persecution. It was takenas a command to
coerce people into the Christian faith. It was usedas a defence of the
inquisition, the thumb-screw, the rack, the threat of death and imprisonment,
the campaigns againstthe heretics, all those things which are the shame of
Christianity. Beside it we should always setanother text--The love of Christ
controls us. (2 Corinthians 5:14.) In the kingdom of Godthere is only one
compulsion--the compulsion of love.
But though this parable spoke with a threat to the Jews who had refused
God's invitation, and with an undreamed of glory to the sinners and the
outcasts and the gentiles who had never dreamed of receiving it, there are in it
truths which are forever permanent and as new as today. In the parable the
invited guests made their excuses and men's excuses do not differ so very
much today.
(i) The first man said that he had bought a field and was going to see it. He
allowedthe claims of business to usurp the claims of God. It is still possible for
a man to be so immersed in this world that he has no time to worship, and
even no time to pray.
(ii) The secondman said that he had bought five yoke of oxen and that he was
going to try them out. He let the claims of novelty usurp the claims of Christ.
It often happens that when people enter into new possessions they become so
takenup with them that the claims of worship and of God getcrowded out.
People have been knownto acquire a motor carand then to say, "We used to
go to church on a Sunday, but now we go off to the country for the day." It is
perilously easyfor a new game, a new hobby, even a new friendship, to take
up even the time that should be kept for God.
(iii) The third man said, with even more finality than the others, "I have
married a wife, and I cannot come." One of the wonderful merciful laws of
the Old Testamentlaid it down, "whena man is newly married, he shall not
go out with the army or be chargedwith any business;he shall be free at
home one year, to be happy with his wife whom he has taken" (Deuteronomy
24:5). No doubt that very law was in this man's mind. It is one of the tragedies
of life when goodthings crowdout the claims of God. There is no lovelier
thing than a home and yet a home was never meant to be used selfishly. They
live best togetherwho live with God; they serve eachother best who also serve

their fellow-men; the atmosphere of a home is most lovely when those who
dwell within it remember that they are also members of the greatfamily and
household of God.
The Banquet Of The Kingdom
Before we leave this passagewe must note that Luke 14:1-24 have all to do
with feasts and banquets. It is most significant that Jesus thought of his
kingdom and his service in terms of a feast. The symbol of the kingdom was
the happiest thing that human life could know. Surely this is the final
condemnation of the Christian who is afraid to enjoy himself.
There has always been a type of Christianity which has takenall the colour
out of life. Julian spoke ofthose pale-faced, flat-breastedChristians for whom
the sun shone and they never saw it. Swinburne slanderedChrist by saying,
"Thou hastconquered, O pale Galilaean,
The world has growngray from thy breath."
Ruskin, who was brought up in a rigid and a narrow home, tells how he was
given a jumping-jack as a present and a pious aunt took it awayfrom him,
saying that toys were no things for a Christian child. Even so greatand sane
and healthy a scholaras A. B. Bruce saidthat you could not conceive ofthe
child Jesus playing games when he was a boy, or smiling when he was a man.
W. M. Macgregor, in his Warrack Lectures, speakswith the scorn of which he
was such a master, about one of John Wesley's few mistakes. He founded a
schoolat Kingswood, nearBristol. He laid it down that no games were to be
allowedin the schoolorin the grounds, because "he who plays when he is a
child will play when he is a man." There were no holidays. The children rose
at 4 a.m. and spent the first hour of the day in prayer and meditation, and on
Friday they fasteduntil three in the afternoon. W. M. Macgregor
characterizes the whole set up as "nature-defying foolishness."
We must always remember that Jesus thought of the kingdom in terms of a
feast. A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms. Locke, the great
philosopher, defined laughter as "a sudden glory." There is no healthy
pleasure which is forbidden to a Christian man, for a Christian is like a man
who is forever at a wedding feast.

Luke 14:1-24 - The GreatBanquet
GreatBanquet Hall at Biltmore
Jesus enjoyedteaching around meals. His first miracle was at the wedding
feastin Cana (John 2:1-11). It was on a hillside that he took a boy’s loaves and
fishes and fed five thousand (Luke 9:10-17). It was in Martha’s kitchen where
he pointed her to the most important thing – a relationship with Him (Luke
10:38-42). Laterduring a meal he taught a lessonon costlyworship when
Mary anointed his feet with perfume (Luke 7: 36-50;John 12:2-8).
Then there was the most famous meal, the Lord’s Supper (John 13-17). They
would eat togetherone more time on the Sea of Galilee afterthe Resurrection
when he encouragedSimonPeter(John 21).
In the future, we will all celebrate anothermeal – the marriage supper of the
Lamb (Rev 19:7-9), when as Christ’s perfect Bride dressedin the cleanliness
of His righteousness we will celebrate that GreatBanquet. Today’s passage
points us to that meal through the banquet given at a Pharisee’s house.
Key Truth: Luke wrote Luke 14:1-24 to teachbelievers that Jesus invites
them to a coming a Banquet of healing, of honor, and of harvest.
Key Application: Today I want to show you what God’s Word says about
Jesus’invitation.
Key Verse:Luke 14:23
Pray and Read: Luke 14:1-24
Contextual Notes:
Since the beginning of his Gospel, Luke has focusedon the importance of
walking in faith and not in unbelief. After the major shift in the Gospelat

Luke 9:51, Jesus leaves his ministry in Galilee and turns with determination
toward Jerusalemand His coming Suffering, Death, and Resurrection. Luke’s
messageoftrusting Christ sharpens, and his warning againstunbelief hones
in on the very religious yet unbelieving Jewishleadership.
We see Jesus’rising determination in his call to realign our priorities to those
of our resolute Lord: the priority of His Gospelto the nations (Luke 10:1-24);
the priority of our love for our neighbors (Luke 10:25-37);the priority of His
Presence (Luke 10:38-42)lived by the priority of prayer (Luke 11:1-13);the
priority of Jesus’authority (Luke 11:14-28)which calls us to the priority of
repentance (Luke 11:29-36).
Luke 10:1-24 The Priority of His Gospel(for the nations)
Luke 10:25-37 The Priority of Your Love (for your neighbor)
Luke 10:38-42 The Priority of His Presence
Luke 11:1-13 The Priority of Your Prayer
Luke 11:14-28 The Priority of His Authority
Luke 11:29-36 The Priority of Your Repentance
Then Luke’s Gospelpoints toward First, Jesus condemns the wrong kind of
religion – dead religion that is devoid of relationship with Him (Luke 11:37-
54). Then he warns his disciples of hypocrisy and points awayfrom the fearof
man to the right kind of fear, the fear of God (Luke 12:1-12). Jesus next warns
againstmaterialism but instead to focus on being rich toward God (Luke
12:13-21), then warns againstworry and encourages his disciples to trust the
Lord for provision (Luke 12:22-34). The right kind of focus follows (Luke
12:35-59), then Luke’s outline calls us to the right kind of religion, one of
repentance and grace (Luke 13:1-19).
Luke 11:37-54 The Wrong Kind of Religion(not ritual, but
relationship)
Luke 12:1-12 The Right Kind of Fear(not of men, but of God)
Luke 12:13-21 The Wrong Kind of Focus (not greed, but God)
Luke 12:22-34 The Wrong Kind of Fear(not worry, but trust)
Luke 12:35-59 The Right Kind of Focus (on eternity, not this world)
Luke 13:1-9 The Right Kind of Religion(not pride, but repentance)
With a series of illustrations, Jesus reminds us that the world is rushing
toward Christ’s SecondComing. To be ready, believers must serve God

actively (Luke 12:35-53)and unbelievers must make peace with God before it
is too late (Luke 12:54-59)with the right kind of religion, one of repentance
(Luke 13:1-9).
Jesus encouragesus to embrace the Kingdom of Grace (Luke 13:10-17)which
begins humbly and grows rapidly to embrace the nations (Luke 13:18-21). It is
a Kingdom of Repentance with a strict deadline (Luke 13:22-30), its rejection
having dire consequences(Luke 13:31-35). It is a Kingdom of Provision of
healing (Luke 14:1-6), honor (Luke 14:7-14), and harvest (Luke 14:15-24).
Sermon Points:
1. Jesus invites you to a Banquet of healing (Luke 14:1-6)
2. Jesus invites you to a Banquet of honor (Luke 14:7-14)
3. Jesus invites you to a Banquet of harvest (Luke 14:15-24)
Exposition: Note well,
1. JESUS INVITES YOU TO A BANQUET OF HEALING (Luke 14:1-6)
a. Jesus’teaching is setin the context of a meal at the home of a prominent
Pharisee (as in Luke 7:36; 11:37). It was a banquet ostensibly to honor the
Lord, but really to continue to measure everything he saidand did. Eating
bread togetherwas supposed to be an occasionforintimate fellowship. The
treacheryof the Pharisees wouldbe repulsive to ancient hearers. The original
phrase here means that they were “insidiously watching on the sly, with evil
intent.” As bait, they placed a man with dropsy in front of him, apparently on
a Sabbath day. Dropsy(Greek:hydropikos), medically known as edema, an
excessive accumulationof serous fluid in tissue spaces orbody cavities,
causing excessiveswelling. It is a symptom pointing to a more serious
condition possibly with the kidney, liver, blood, or heart.
b. This is the lastof the five Sabbath miracles in Luke.[1] It didn’t take a
brainiac to figure out what they were up to. Jesus therefore asks, “Is it lawful
to heal on the Sabbath or not?” No one will answer, for they knew the Law
permitted works of mercy on Sabbath. Under rules of debate, by being
silencedand unable to reply, they would be presumed wrong or at best too

ignorant of the law to defend their position. The Pharisees can’tanswer
because it would reveal their swollenhypocrisy which has puffed them up
more than a man with edema. Jesus cures the man.
c. APPLICATION: Jesus doesn’thealjust symptoms, He heals causes. He
heals root issues.
d. Jesus heals the man apparently while the guests were assembling. Jesus
reminds them that they would rescue an animal trapped on Sabbath without
breaking it (Deut 5:14). Not only that, while no cooking was done on Sabbath,
it is remarkably double-standarded to serve a banquet on Sabbath without
some labor. It proves that there was little real seriousnessaboutkeeping
Sabbath, how fastand loose they could play with their own convictions, how
taking care of selfwas always more important than really striving towardany
real spiritual relationship with the Lord.
e. APPLICATION: Legalismblinds us and makes us short-sighted. It blinds
us to anyone who doesn’t follow our lists of acceptable behavior. It makes us
short-sightedto the needs of our world.
2. JESUS INVITES YOU TO A BANQUET OF HONOR (Luke 14:7-14)
a. The host relieves the awkwardtensionof the healing by inviting everyone
to the table. The table is U-shaped, and places of honor at banquets were those
closestto the host. At the bottom-center of the U is the seatof highest honor,
descending in importance from there left and right. Jesus watches them
jockeyfor position for the best seats. He watches the haughty glow of those
who scoreda great seatnext to Rabbi So-and-So and the sulking eyes of those
who missed out and had to sit next to the kitchen. Having given a lessonon
Sabbath, Jesus proceeds to give one on humility, and He has a lot to point out
at this feastwhere the Pharisees spentso much energy promoting themselves,
vying for the positions of honor at the table.
b. Luke 14:8 – Jesus is here commenting on Proverbs 25:6-7: “Do not exalt
yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among greatmen; it
is better for him to say to you, ‘Come up here,’ than for him to humiliate you
before a nobleman.”
c. Luke 14:9 – One’s honor determined whom one could marry, with whom
one could do business, what functions one could attend, and where one could
live. The public shame of being moved from the first seatto the leastwould be
a humiliation almost worse than death.
d. Luke 14:11 – Exalting yourself: Echoing the words of Mary’s Magnificat
(Luke 1:52),[2] Jesus’spiritual principle is clear. Don’t push for glory. Let the

Lord honor you (Ezek 21:26). Only those who the Messiahhonors with a place
in his kingdom are truly honored. Those who honor themselves are worthy of
no honor.
e. Luke 14:12-14 – Jesus applies the principle in a fascinating way. If his host
really cares about honor from God, he should invite the poor and powerless,
who can never repay him in this life (Prov. 19:17). Jesus uses the word for a
formal dinner party or reception, a striking word for socialoutcasts.[3]Eating
with someone oflower socialstatus couldjeopardize one’s own social
standing. But Jesus says Godis concernedfor the poor. He will exalt the
person who cares forthe helpless, rather than the powerful who canrepay
you for your kindness.
f. APPLICATION:Pride backfires and makes us selfish. We start playing
the childish game of who’s better than whom. We always end up losing. We
naturally tend to seek recognitionand esteemfrom others, but Jesus says that
those who seek self-glorificationwill ultimately find themselves humbled,
while those who put others first will be exalted. The highest calling of a
Christian is to look out for others first, encouraging them to be all that God
would have them to be.
3. JESUS INVITES YOU TO A BANQUET OF HARVEST (Luke 14:15-24)
a. One of the guests seemedto get Jesus’point that He was pointing to the
future millennial kingdom.[4] The guestresponds in Luke 14:15 by alluding to
Isaiah25:6; cf. Luke 13:29). The Pharisee assumesthat all of Israelwould be
included in that future kingdom. But Jesus uses a parable to warn them that
participation in the kingdom would not be determined by physical lineage
from Abraham, but rather by spiritual lineage from Abraham who believed
God and it was credited to him as righteousness (similarto Luke 13:28-30).
b. Luke 14:17 - In the Middle Easterncontext, an invitation goes out and an
RSVP is sent. Then a secondinvitation comes when the meal is prepared
(Esther 6:14). To refuse to come once the invitation has been acceptedis not
only rude and insulting. It places a financial burden on the host.
c. Luke 14:18 - One is concernedwith material things (Luke 14:18). He just
bought a field. This is a bold lie since no one, especiallyin that culture, buys
land without knowing every square inch of it already. What an insult. The
field was more important than their relationship.
d. Luke 14:19 - One is more concernedwith his business (Luke 14:19).
Again, this excuse is probably a lie, for who buys ten oxen without seeing them
first? Insulting and rude. Property comes over friendship.

e. Luke 14:20 - One is more involved with family concerns (Luke 14:20). It
would be crude and unbecoming to use his new marriage as an excuse. Unlike
the other two, this man does not even ask to be excused, but rudely announces
that he is not coming. They were not ready to make the sacrifices involved.
Their rejectionof the invitation revealedtheir lack of respectfor the host.
f. So the mastersent his servants to those who consideredthemselves
unworthy of an invitation, even to the roads and country lanes (Luke 14:23),
the extensionto the nations. Even though excluded, they were welcomed(Eph
2:12). This is the Messianic promise of Isaiah 61:1-3, read in the Nazareth
synagogue atthe beginning of Jesus’ministry.
g. APPLICATION: Compassionalways blessesus and makes us sensitive. It
helps us overlook the colorof people’s skin or the size of a person’s wallet.
Compassionhelps us to see others through Jesus’eyes.
h. Luke 14:23 – Compel them: The Greek wordtranslated “make them”
(anankazo)involves compulsion, but not necessarilyexternal physical force.
This compulsion (and the most powerful of all) comes from an internal
motivation as a positive response to a morally powerful command or
invitation. The invitation so lightly dismissed by Israelwill prove compelling
when extended to the Gentiles – the outcasts ofJesus’illustration.
Invitation:
Salvationcalls us to a greatchoice. With Christ there is no middle ground. He
makes us choose betweenthe things of this world and the blessings of God’s
kingdom. Jesus invites us to a Great Banquet. It is being prepared now. Will
you be ready when the trumpet sounds?
GENE BROOKS
ALAN CARR
Luke 14:15-24 ARE YOU COMING TO THE SUPPER?
Intro: Ill. The context of the parable. In response to a flippant, self-righteous
answer, Jesus relatesthis powerful parable about salvation. In these verses,
Jesus compares salvationto a feast. Now, watching some Christians, you
might think salvationwas a funeral. They walk through life with a tombstone
under one arm and a coffin under the other. When you come to Jesus, you
are going to a feastand not a funeral!

Ill. Some of the feasts I have attended in my life – Homecomings, Family
Gatherings, Revivals, etc. Theywere like a pauper’s meal compared to what I
have receivedfrom the hand of the Lord Jesus in salvation.
Think of it! When you sit at the Lord’s salvationtable, you can see a dish
of forgiveness;there is a tray of filled with grace and peace;bowls of joy are
sitting here and there; and plates of His sweetlove are all overthe table!
What a blessing it is to know Him!
This parable is all about a precious invitation to come to this great and
wonderful table of salvation. I want to sped our time togethertoday talking
about the Lord’s invitation to come to His supper. I want to share the facts
about this invitation with you today and ask you this question: Are You
Coming To The Supper?
I. v. 17 THE INVITATION IS EXTENDED
(Ill. Ancient customs regarding large feasts. An announcement would be
made weeks oreven months in advance. Those invited were expected to send
back a letter wither accepting ordeclining the invitation. Then, when the day
of the feastarrived, and the feastwas prepared, servants were sent to invite
those who said they would come to make their way to the feast.)
A. The Invitation Is Simple – “Come” – One of the greatestwords in the
Bible. Used by Noah;used by Isaiah, Isa. 1:18; used by Jesus, Matt. 11:28.
Let “whosoeverwill” come, Rev. 22:17. It is a simple invitation! Anyone who
will come to Jesus will be saved, Rom. 10:13; John 14:6; Isa. 45:22. (Ill. The
serpent on the pole.)
B. The Invitation Is Solid – “All things are now ready” – God has already
done everything necessaryto make salvationavailable. He did it all when He
sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins. He tears, His suffering, His death, His
resurrection, all say, “Come, allthings are now ready!” (Ill. John 19:30!) (Ill.
This is the difference betweenreligion and salvation. Ill. Moody and “Your
salvationis spelled ‘Do’.” Mine is spelled ‘Done’.”)
C. The Invitation Is Serious – “Now” – Godhas done everything necessaryto
provide salvation. He is ready, but He wants us to come to Him. The time to
come is now, 2 Cor. 6:2. Do not put it off until later; later may never come,
Pro. 27:1; Pro. 29:1. There may never be another opportunity, Isa. 55:6.
II. v. 18-20 THE INVITATION IS EVADED

(Ill. The context. “With one consent” sounds like they gottogetherand
conspirednot to come to the feast. They made their excuses.)
A. The Excuses Are Examined – Ill. The excuses – They sounded reasonable.
All sound reasonable. (Ill. What’s your excuse?)
B. The Excuses Are Exposed – While they appear reasonable onthe surface;
in truth, they are absolutelyfoolish and unreasonable! Sinners are left
without excuse before the Lord, Rom. 1:20; Rom. 2:1. (Ill. Queen Elizabeth II
– “All excuses ceasing.”)
Ø Ill. The excuses usedby people for not coming to Jesus:
Ø “Too many hypocrites in the church” Hell will be full of them;
Ø “I am afraid I cannotlive it” – Same as saying, “I’m not going in a pool
until I learn to swim”; or “I will not touch a piano until I learn to play.” You
can’t live for Jesus, He has to live through you, Gal. 2:20;
Ø “I just don’t feelit” – Show me where you are supposed to feel
something. Jesus said“Come!” you do that and He will give you the feeling!;
Ø “There’s too much to give up” – Like what? Ill. Mark 8:36-37. That’s
like a man with cancertelling the doctor to leave it because he is too attached
to it.;
Ø “I am too greata sinner” – He can and will save anyone – John 6:37;
Heb. 7:25;
Ø “I’ll come later, but not today.” – You may be too busy to come to
God, but you are not too busy to live in sin; and you certainly aren’t too busy
to die!
III. v. 21-23 THE INVITATION IS EXPANDED
(Ill. The context – A command was issued and carried out and the feast
continued. Ill. How salvationcame to us – Rom. 1:16; John 1:11-12.)
A. The Direction Of this Grace – All kinds of people; people no one else
wanted; people no one else would have invited. That is what grace does! (Ill.
Who God will save – If you want to know, just look around His table today –
David, Peter, Rahab, Magdalene, drunks, harlots, drugs addicts, religious
people, ect. John 6:37.) Imagine some of the excuses this crowdmight have
had.

B. The Desire Of This Grace – A full house – There will not be an empty seat
at His table. He knows who is going and there is a place for eachone over
there!
C. The Demand Of This Grace – “Compel” – Means “to persuade, to drive.”
– Speaks ofthe drawing of the Spirit, John 6:44, Eph. 2:1-4a. Nothing to
commend, but compelledto come anyway! What grace!
Conc: Ill. Verse 24 – Those who offered excuses andrefused to come were left
out, John 8:24. Notenough to be invited, you must taste!What will you do
with His invitation? If you come to Jesus, you will be part of an eternalfeast
in Heaven. If you do not, you will be part of an eternal funeral in Hell. Are
you coming to the supper? (Ill. Write your excuse…Irefusedyou invitation
because… Do you think it will hold up? Well, it won’t!) (Ill. Take another
sheetand this time write out your desire to acceptHis invitation to be saved.)
Will you come to Jesus Christ today and be saved?
ALAN CARR
Luke 14:16-35 COME AND DINE…GO AND DIE
Intro: Have any of you folks ever been invited to a formal dinner? Has some
millionaire or the other calledyou up and askedyou over? Or, has the
Presidentof the United States, orsome other head of state ever invited you
their home for dinner? Probably not! However, we have all been invited to a
dinner hostedby a far more wealthy and famous host than any of these I have
mentioned. According to the Bible, God Himself is hosting a Supper one of
these days. It is calledthe Marriage Supper Of The Lamb. You can read all
about it in Rev. 19. At this supper, Jesus Himself will be serving us – Luke
12:37.
I would feel honored if some greatman upon the earth called me to come to a
dinner he was hosting, and I would go. However, when I consider the fact the
God is hosting a supper and has invited all of us to attend, how can I say no to
Him? In fact, I have already made my reservations and returned my RSVP.
They are expecting me there at that supper in the sky. I hope you are going to
be there also.

In these verses, Jesus speaks ofa dinner party given by a certain man. He
speaks ofthose who were invited and who chose not to come. He speaks of
others who were invited and who gladly came. In doing so, He gives a
wonderful portrait of salvation. However, there is more here than just a
dinner party. He goes onto speak to those who are following Him. He reminds
us that there is more to being a disciple of Christ than just coming to the
party. There is a word here for everyone in this building today. I want you to
hear it! (Ill. V. 35 – If you have ears to hear, then you are qualified to listen to
this message. Whatyou do with it after that is up to you!)
What Jesus is doing here is issuing a callto men. The call is simple, "Come
And Dine…The Go And Die." That is what I would like to speak onthis
morning. "Come And Dine…Go And Die!"
I. v. 16-17 AN ELABORATE PARTY
A. A Lavish Affair – (Great – indicates the wealth of the host.) Apparently,
this man was a man of greatmeans. He was hosting a party of lavish
proportions. They were putting on the dog!
B. A Large Affair – The guestlist was large and it included to great men of
the community. All the hobnobbers would be there. It was the socialevent of
the season.
C. A Longed For Affair – Many would have loved to have been invited. After
all, one could determine their socialstanding basedon whether or not they
had an invitation to this greatdinner.
D. There Is A LessonHere – In this parable, the "man" is God. He is shown
as one of greatwealth, who is preparing a lavish affair and wants to invite
many to come to it. This is a picture of Heaven and the joys that awaitthe
redeemed. When the saints of God are gatheredhome, it will be the social
event of all eternity! To be on this guestlist is the difference betweenHeaven
and Hell. How many have longedthroughout their entire lives to know that
they were on that guestlist? How many have died wondering where they
would spend eternity? (Ill. The wonders of Heaven – 1 Cor. 2:9; Rev. 21:4)
All of this was well and good, but there arose a problem with the festivities…
II. v. 18-21bAN ENRAGING PROBLEM
A. A call was issuedwhen all things had been prepared for the supper. This
gracious hostsent his servant to tell those who were calledthat supper was
ready. It was time for them to gather.
(Ill. The primary context points to Israel and their callto come into the
Kingdom. Just like the people in the parable, they had been notified of the

upcoming event beforehand. Yet, when the time came to go to Messiah, they
refused and would not come, Luke 19:14;John 1:11-12. When this happened,
God turned to others to fill up His household – Rom. 11:11; Rom. 1:16)
(Ill. There is an application to this present age of grace. Godthe Father has
prepared a means of salvationfor all who will come. He did so by sending His
Son Jesus to die on the cross. Now,He has sent His Holy Spirit into the world
and it is He who invites sinners to come to Jesus. Yet, like Israelof old, men
turn a deaf earto the pleading of the Spirit of God. Mostmen do not realize,
however, that without His call and His wooing, man cannotbe saved – John
6:44; John 6:65.)
B. All those who had been invited to this lavish affair refused to come. It
seemedthat everyone of them had an excuse. They all had, what they thought,
was a valid reasonfor refusing to attend.
1. v. 18 – The Excuse Of MaterialPossessions – This man had purchased a
piece of property, without seeing it first.
(Ill. He pictures the sinner who is so materially minded that he refuses the call
of the Gospelso that he can continue to accumulate material possessions.)
(Ill. God has a Word for this type of individual – Mark 8:36-37. Ill. He will say
the same thing to them that He saidto another foolishman one night – Luke
12:16-21. The most important thing in life is not, "How much am I worth?";it
is, "Am I saved?" Where are you this morning?)
2. v. 19 – The Excuse Of ProfessionalAdvancement – This man had bought 10
oxen, without trying them out, and he can’t come to the party because he has
to go and plow a field. I getthe impression that he is interested in promoting
himself in his profession.
(Ill. Many are just like this fellow. They allow their occupations, businesses
and the pursuit of gain keepthem from coming to God. There is nothing
wrong with working and with making money, but when these things come
aheadof God, they are sinful! There are many who placed a careeraheadof
God and as a result will die and go to Hell.)
3. v. 20 The Excuse Of PersonalRelationships – This man was a newlywed.
We canunderstand that he wanted to spend time with his new bride, however,
he placed his personal relationships aheadof everything else in life.
(Ill. Many are in this same shape today. They won’t come to Christ because
they are afraid of what their families or friends will think of them. They are
too absorbedin their own little world to give their lives to Christ.)

(Ill. Even one’s family is not worth dying lost over. Jesus predictedthat His
appearance wouldcause many families to splinter, Matt. 10:34-38.)
C. Dearlost friend, whateverit is that is keeping you from coming to Jesus,
you need to realize that it is not worth what you think it is. Nothing is worth
losing your eternal soul over. When this life is over and everything you’ve
trusted has vanished away, what will you do then? My challenge to you is to
come to Jesus right now!
III. v. 21b-24 AN ENCOURAGING PLAN
A. When those who were invited turned a deaf earto the calto dinner, the
gracious host, determined to fill his house, sent his servant to call from the
surrounding societythose for whom no one else seemedto care.
B. In this, we can see a picture of the Heavenly Father and the love He has for
the fallen members of the human race. When we take the time to look at the
ones who were calledby the servant, we find in their descriptions a portrait of
ourselves before God. Notice who he called.
1. The Poor – He calledthose who could never pay him back. (Ill. What a
portrait of God’s grace. He reaches downto men who will never be able to
repay Him for His salvation. Yet, God asks forno repayment, He just asks
men to come to Himself – Isa. 55:1; Rev. 22:17.)(Ill. Salvationis free! All man
needs to be savedis to be a convictedsinner, then he cancome to Jesus and be
savedby grace!)
2. The Maim – Here are the deformed, the twisted, those around whom society
feels uncomfortable. These are the people who are the defects ofsociety. Yet,
this gracious man reachedout to them. (Ill. Godloved the spiritually maimed.
There are many in this world that possess a twistednature. There is a bent in
them toward sin. The Bible calls this "iniquity." Even though society, and the
church, often draw back from these people, Jesus loves them and died to save
their souls. He calls the twisted among us to come to Him. In fact, there is no
sin so vile that will ever cause Godto stop loving the sinner – Jer. 31:3. Jesus
is clearwhen He says, "Whosoeverwilllet him come…")
3. The Halt – These are the crippled. Those people who are unable to get
around on their own. In fact, to come to the supper, these would have had to
have help. (Ill. Again, this is a picture of the person outside Jesus. Crippled by
sin and unable to get to God, Isa. 59:2, sinners need help coming to Jesus. (Ill.
The crippled man in Mark 2. His friends preached a sermon that has
reverberatedthrough the ages. This is the very reasonthat Jesus seeksthe
sinner – Luke 19:10. He knows that in themselves, lostpeople can not getto
God by themselves. They need help. Jesus is that help!) (Ill. It doesn’t matter

what state of "crippled" you are, you cannotget to Christ on your own. Ill.
Just as no corpse is any more dead than any other, no spiritual cripple is any
more crippled than any other.)
4. The Blind – These are the people who are trapped in their ownlittle world
of darkness. Theydo not possessthe resourcesto get to the Lord by
themselves. They need a guide. They need someone to show them the light. (Ill.
There are millions who are wandering around in spiritual darkness and
headed to Hell – 2 Cor. 4:4. These people needsomeone to show them the
light. That is the Spirit of God’s job! He comes in and He illuminates the
darkness. He makes it possible for the blind sinner to see his need of Jesus.)
5. Highway and Hedge dwellers – After the servant had found all the wrecks
of humanity he could find and had brought them in, the master’s house still
had room. Now he send the servantinto the streets and the hedgerows.Here
would be found those whom no one else wantedanything to do with. These
people were the off scouring of all humanity. Mixed among these assorted
homeless and wanderers would be found those who were journeying or out on
business. In other words, the servant would meet anyone and everyone in the
streets and hedges. (Ill. This speaks to our hearts today and reminds us that
anyone, anywhere can come to Jesus for salvation. God will turn nobody
away.)
C. This wealthy man was determined that his house would be filled. If the
intended guests refusedto come, then he would fill his house with others. His
goalwould be realized. (Ill. So it is with God. He calls all to come unto
Himself. Yet, many refuse the Gospelcall. It isn’t wise to trifle with God’s
call! There may come a day when He won’t knock on your heart’s door
anymore – Gen. 6:3; John 6:44; Rev. 3:20.
D. Notice in verse 21 the servantwas to go "quickly", this speaks ofthe
urgency of the situation. This day, this hour may be all the chance you will
ever have – 2 Cor. 6:2; Pro. 27:1. Verse 23 tells the servant to "Compelthem."
This means to use force. God apparently sees this call as being extremely
urgent. The question is, "Do you?"
This is the goodnews. Anyone who needs salvationwill find it in Jesus!
IV. v. 25-35 AN ENORMOUS PRICE
A. Lest anyone think that being a followerof Christ is cheap, Jesus makes it
very plain that it is anything but cheap. The price, in fact, is more than many
are everwilling to pay! (Ill. The large crowds that followedJesus would have
awedmany men. However, after Jesus wooedmen, He would then challenge
them. It is at this point that we can safelyseparate the Christian from the

Disciple. A Christian is one who has receivedJesus into his/her heart. A
disciple is one who has surrender EVERYTHING to Jesus and is following
Him faithfully, even unto death.)
B. Jesus tells us that there are 5 basic thing we have to do to be a disciple of
Christ. Anyone who is not willing to pay the price and do these things may be
saved, but they are not a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the
requirements for true discipleship.
1. v. 26 – The true Disciple will love Christ supremely. Every other love in our
lives must seemlike hate when comparedto our love for Jesus Christ! This is
a tall order, but it is simply the fulfillment of Mark 12:30.
2. v. 27a – The true Disciple will take up his cross. The cross is not a bad
situation on life, it is not a disease,orsome other burden. The cross is a
pathway of reproach, suffering, loneliness and even death that the believe
voluntarily endures for Jesus’sake. Notall believers are cross bearers!It is
possible to be savedand to leave your cross unborn. You do this by living a
"nominal" Christian life. You go to church, you claim Jesus as Savior, yet
your Christian walk goes no deeper. It is a surface thing in your life. But,
when you decide to go all out for Jesus, youcan expectto face the same level
of satanic opposition that Jesus facedwhile here on earth. Are you bearing
you cross forChrist this morning?
3. v. 27b – The true Disciple will follow Jesus – This means to be engagedin
the work He did. When we are following Him, we will walk as He did, speak
as He did, live as He did and love as he did. When we are following Jesus, we
are demonstrating the Father to a lost and a dying world. Is it possible for
people like us to live out Christ in this presentday? Yes, but only s we yield to
Him and allow Him to live His live through us daily – Gal. 2:20.
4. v. 28-33 The true Disciple will Count The Cost. He will weighhis worldly
attachments againstthe demands of the cross andhe will enter into the race
knowing that it will costhim everything he has for the sake ofChrist. His
work demands that everything be placed on the altar of sacrifice. Very few
are willing to pay that price, but those who are will find a grace for living that
the restnever experience. Theywill find a peace that others cannot
comprehend. They will know power with God and for God that others can
only dream of. The price is outrageous to the mind of man, but when
compared with the payoff, it is extremely cheap.
5. v. 34 The true Disciple will fulfill his one purpose in life. Jesus speaksofsalt
that has gone bad. This salt cannotbe re-salted, therefore it is worthless and
goodfor nothing. The salt, referred to here, has one purpose. Its purpose is to

flavor food and make it taste better. When it become incapable of doing that
one thing, then it is worthless. (Ill. The disciple of Christ has one purpose in
life. That purpose is to show Christ to a lostworld. When we fail in this
mission, we are worthless to the cause ofChrist. When we reach the place
where the world can no longer see Jesus in our lives, we are worthless as far as
any ministry is concerned.)
C. What Jesus is telling us is this. Anyone cancome to Christ and get saved.
They can miss Hell by placing their faith in His shed blood and in His
resurrectionfrom the dead. Salvationwas costlyfor the Lord, but it is free to
sinners. However, after salvation, there is a price to pay to be everything God
desires and demands. What strikes me as sad is this: There are many who are
saved, and know they are, but they also know that there Christian life doesn’t
go any deeper than that, yet they never take any steps to change that. They
seemto be contentto be far, far less than they can be. Every Christian has the
potential, through Christ in Him, to be greatfor the Lord. Yet, so many seem
satisfiedwith a nominal walk. (Ill. The Israelites – 1 Kings 18:19-39 – It’s time
to get off the fence!It’s time to be everything you canbe for Jesus!)
Conc:Salvation costs nothing, but being a disciple costs everything! As we
bring these thoughts to a close today, maybe there are those who need to come
to God for salvation. He has awakenedin your heart a desire to be saved.
Please don’t delay, come to him now and He will save your soul. Perhaps there
are Christians who need to sell out fully and finally. You come too. Whatever
the need, Jesus canand will meet it if it is brought to Him by faith. Will you
come and dine and then go and die? That’s what this messagehas been about.
Just coming to God by faith and being saved, and then paying the price to be
all out for Jesus. Ibelieve you want to do just that. The first step is coming to
Him. Will you do that today? Be obedient and He will bless your life!
REFUSING GOD WITH AN EXCUSE
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Luke 14:15-24
6-3-62 7:30 p.m.

On the radio you are listening to the services ofthe First Baptist Church in
Dallas. This is the pastor bringing the evening messageentitledRefusing God
with an Excuse. And the reading of the Scripture is in the Third Gospel;and
let us all turn to it. Matthew, Mark, Luke, the Third Gospel, the Gospelof
Luke, chapter 14;and we shall read from verses 15 through verse 23, 24.
Luke 14, and if you are listening on the radio, get your Bible and read it out
loud with us. And all of us in this great auditorium, reading it together, the
fourteenth chapter of the Gospelof Luke, beginning at verse 15 and reading
through verse 24. Now let us everyone read it together:
And when one of them that sat at meat with Him heard these things, he said
unto Him, Blessedis he that shall eatbread in the kingdom of God.
Then said He unto him, A certain man made a greatsupper, and bade many:
And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come;
for all things are now ready.
And they all with one consentbeganto make excuse. The first said unto him,
I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee
have me excused.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I
pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannotcome.
So that servant came, and showedhis lord these things. Then the master of
the house being angry saidto his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and
lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt,
and the blind.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there
is room.
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out unto the highways and hedges, and
compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
For I sayunto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of
my supper.
[Luke 14:15-24]

Can you imagine such a thing? Can you think of such a thing? Yet our Lord
told that parable as a characterizationofthe vast majority in this world. For
God’s goodness, andGod’s grace, andGod’s forgiveness,and God’s love, and
God’s salvation is like a vast, marvelous, interesting, sumptuous, luscious
banquet; and when God invites men to share His grace, andHis goodness,and
His love, and His mercy, and all the bounties of life, most men turn Him down
with an excuse.
One of them said, "I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and
see it: I pray thee have me excused" [Luke 14:18]. Isn’t that an amazing
thing? Buy a piece of ground and he hadn’t even seenit. Not many people do
that; but this guy says he did it. "I can’t come to the banquet; I’ve bought me
a piece of property and I haven’t lookedat it. I got to go see it now that I’ve
bought it, after I’ve bought it." Isn’t that an amazing thing? Then the other
fellow says, "I can’t come: I pray thee have me excused. I have bought five
yoke of oxen, and I go to try them, to see whetherthey can pull or not, see
whether they work or not" [Luke 14:19]. Isn’t that an amazing thing that a
man would buy five yoke of oxen, and he doesn’t even know whether they
plow or not, or whether they work or not, or whether they pull or not? Why,
they may be, they maybe like the cow I bought: she didn’t have any teeth.
You just don’t know what can happen when you buy things and you don’t
look at them. "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray
thee have me excused." But this other guy is a humdinger; he takes the cake.
The third one said, "I have married a wife, therefore I just cannot come. I
have married a wife, and therefore I cannotcome" [Luke 14:20]. Whole lot of
fellows do that, whole lot of fellows do that; all kinds of excuses,but the one
that’ll really stump you is when the fellow’s gota wife and he says, "Preacher,
I just can’t be there. I can’t be there." She’s got him out doing this, and she’s
got him out doing that, and she’s gothim out doing the other thing, and the
rest of his life she’ll be having him out doing those things, and he can’t come.
Well, these are all, as the Lord has described, they are all excuses;they’re not
reasons, theydon’t hold water, they don’t stand at the judgment bar of God,
and the Lord can see through the flimsy misty cheeseclothfabric of every one
of them. They’re just nothing. Yet they give the reasonto God, the excuse to
God, why a man doesn’t come to the Lord.
Now I used to wonder at that. How in the earth is it that men can know of
God and know of the gospeland of the goodthings that God has to offer,
freely given away, and yet refuse them? How is that? And the plain and
simple answeris found in an Old Testamentprophet by the name of
Zechariah, in the third chapter of his book and the first verse: "And God

showedme Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and
Satanstanding at his right hand to resisthim" [Zechariah 3:1]. That’s why:
whenevera man comes face to face with God, and the Lord appeals to his
heart, right by the side of that man is Satantrying to undo every invitation
God gives, and trying to gainsayand repudiate every invitation the Lord
makes. And there’s nobody that stands in the presence of the Lord and hears
the invitation of Christ but that has that conflict in his heart. While God is
pleading, Satanis resisting, and he’s saying all kind of things in your heart
why it is you ought not to respond.
Now the sermontonight. Just as quickly as I cansay these things, and as long
as we have time, I want to point out to you some of those things that Satan
says in your heart, these excuses that he puts in your mouth. When a man
bids you to Christ in the name of God, Satan resists, andhe whispers these
things in your heart, and here’s what he says. The first thing he’ll say to you
is this: "Now you listen to me, now you listen to me," says the devil, "now you
listen to me," says Satan, "Now you listen to me: he’s just trying to rush you.
You don’t want to make that decisionnow. You don’t want to give your heart
to God now. You don’t want to be savednow. He’s just trying to rush you.
You’ve gotlots of time; you’ve gotplenty of time. Man, think it over. Man,
put it off. Man, do it some other day, some other time, but not now: this guy’s
just trying to push you into it; he’s trying to rush you."
Well, that’s a strange thing in the kind of a world in which we live; because
this world is like a sinking ship; this world is like a planet on fire; this world is
filled with the judgment and the death of an almighty God. "It is appointed
unto men once to die, and after that the judgment" [Hebrews 9:27]. And
there’s not a man that lives who does not realize that and does not know that.
We stand in the way of a flood and of a storm and of a furious raging
judgment; and for a man to stand facing these things and not make
preparation for them is the most unthinkable thing that mind could conceive
of. What would you think if a man ran to his friend on a sinking ship and
said, "Man, this ship is sinking, the lifeboat, the lifeboat," and the fellow
replied, "Oh, you’re just trying to rush me, you’re just trying to rush me"?
What would you think of a family that stoodin the way of a flood, the dam
has broken, and the great tidal wave is coming down the valley, and you ran
to warn the family, and they said, "Oh, you’re just trying to rush me; you’re
just trying to rush me"? What if you were in the path of an atomic bomb and
somebody came and said, "Escapefor your life"? "Ha, ha, you’re just trying
to rush me; you’re just trying to rush me."

I was in Hiroshima, as some of you know, not long after that bomb was
dropped. And the awful scars that holocaustmade in that valley there where
that city is built: they were everywhere evident. And [Buntaro] Kimura, the
pastor of our Baptist church in Hiroshima, in the days of the war, was
conscriptedand he was working in a factory outside of town at the edge of the
city. And as you know, that bomb burst in the very heart of the city, over the
city hall. And Kimura said, when I askedhim, "What was it like," he said,
"We were working in the factory where I was conscriptedand sentby the
Japanese government, and I was working in a munitions factory." And he
said, "Suddenly it seemedas though the sun burst! It was a brilliant, blinding
flash of light, and then soona blast that knockedus all to the floor." I said,
"What did you do?" He said, "Immediately, the Japaneseauthorities sent us
all into the city to minister to the dying, and the bleeding, and the wounded,
and to try to getthem to hospitals and to doctors whereverwe could find them
in this part of Japan." And I could imagine as that preacher Kimura went to
these who were bleeding and dying, wounded sore, and say, "We must take
you to the doctor, we must get to the hospital," and these who were dying say
to Kimura the preacher, "Oh, fellow, don’t getexcited, we’ve gotlots of time.
We’ve got lots of time." Bleeding to death, but we’ve gotlots of time. Facing
death, but we have lots of time. "Don’t try to rush me. You’re trying to get
me into a decision, and I’ve gotall of my life." Yeah, isn’t that interesting.
In the Talmud I read this story. One of those fellows went up to the rabbi and
said, "Rabbi, how long do I have to repent to get right with God?" And the
rabbi said to him, "You’ve gotthe rest of your life; you’ve got the rest of your
life."
"Wellfine," said the fellow. "Well, Rabbi, how much is the rest of my life?
How long am I going to live?" And the rabbi said, "Sir, nobody knows, and
you don’t know;and that means you better getright with God now. You
better repent now." That’s a flimsy excuse that Satanputs in a man’s mind to
push him awayfrom Christ: "You just wait a while, he’s trying to rush you;
he’s trying to rush you."
Here’s anotherexcuse that Satanputs in the heart of a man when he’s invited
to come to God and to believe in Christ. Here’s another thing Satanwill
whisper in his heart, and he’ll say to him, "Now you listen here, you listen
here: there’s a whole lot of things you don’t know anything about. There’s a
whole lot of that that you don’t understand. There are a greatmany
mysteries in this thing that are inexplicable. This thing they call the new
birth, being born again[John 3:7-18], and the atonement of Christ [Hebrews
2:17], and all of those things; you don’t know all of those things, you don’t

understand those things. And you just wait until you understand them, and
then you cangive your heart to God."
Oh man, and that’s a cogentthing; I meet it all the time. And yet, I tell you
verily, with all the things that we don’t understand, and with all the mysteries
that we can’t explain, yet I tell you verily there’s not a man in this world that
doesn’t know the plain duty that God has for his life. Every man ought to get
right with God. Every man ought to turn and repent [Ezekiel33:11]. Every
man ought to acceptChrist as his Savior [Acts 16:30-31, 2 Peter3:9]. And
there’s no mystery at all about what a man ought to do. That’s plain and
simple. Then about understanding these things in life, man, you don’t
understand anything finally and actually: all you do is just observe it, all you
do is just watch it; but you don’t understand it, and you can’t explain it. But
that doesn’t keepyou from doing it. And if you didn’t you’d die; you couldn’t
live in this world. The things you don’t understand are everything. And what
you do understand is nothing. And all you do is just observe it.
There’s not a man in this earth that can explain to me eating, nobody can,
nobody can. The most brilliant men who everlived or shall ever live can’t
explain that thing of eating. How in the earth canyou take matter, dead inert
matter, there it is on the table, and it becomes you; it’s turned into heart and
soul and mind and life that can love and hate and respond and think and live,
you? That’s you. As I look at you, that’s what you are. Beans and potatoes
and steak and gravy, that’s what you are. Oh, you say, "Preacher, yougot me
down wrong; that’s not what I am." Well, you just leave eating off for a
while, just quit eating for a while, and let’s see what you look like. Yet there’s
not a man in this earth that canunderstand the mystery of eating, of
assimilation. You just don’t; but you just eatanyway. Can’t understand it,
don’t know what it’s all about, but man let’s eat, let’s eat. All of life is like
that.
One of the most inexplicable mysteries in this world is the birth of a child, the
birth of a baby. Little old celland then it’s two cells;those two make four,
and those four make eight; and pretty soonthere’s a little bud here, little bud
there, and there’s a leg, and here’s a leg, and here’s his brain, there’s his
backbone, and give it time and by and by there comes into this world
somebody like you – the Lord help us – somebody like you, a reproduction of
you, an amazing thing. And how does it come to pass? Nobody can
understand. Those carpenters in there making teeth buds, and those chiselers
in there making all kinds of bones, and those sculptors in there framing a
skull, it’s an amazing thing, and nobody understands it; but there it is all
around us. We see it every day: the mystery of life.

When I was in Melvin Carter’s home town of Boston, I went out to Harvard
University to look at the greatAgassizbotanicalmuseum. Why, that thing is
beyond, it’s beyond imagination. Those men, those Agassizmen, they had
takenglass and they had made flowers, flowers, flowers, the roots and the
stems and the buds and the flowers and how it grows, andit’s room after
room after room. You never in your life saw anything like that, sea flowers,
and land flowers, and tree flowers, and bush flowers, and every kind of
vegetationyou can imagine, all in glass. And when you walk through that
museum at Harvard – there’s just almostmiles of it, it seems – when you walk
through that museum, every one of those things looks alive; it looks just
exactly like it is out there in the world. And yet it lacks one greateternal
mysterious thing: it lacks the breath, the germ of life. And as greatas those
Agassizscientists were and as ingenious as they were in making these things,
they couldn’t put in it that marvelous mysterious thing of the germ of life.
And yet I’ve got a weedin my backyardthat can produce more seedthan it
takes five men to mow, and to cut, and to dig, and to keepout, those bloomin’,
everlasting, no-count, good-for-nothin’, but smartestthings in the world,
weeds making seeds, making seeds, putting God’s germ of life on the inside of
the thing. Why, it’s an amazing thing, it’s an astonishing thing, and you don’t
understand it, you don’t explain it.
I tell you these smart-aleck fellows who know more than God, and more than
anybody else, and too smart for the Lord, they are a sight to behold. I read
about one of them that was driving through the Ozark Mountains in
Arkansas, and he got lost. And he stopped, and there was an old codgerthere
leanin’ on a hoe in a field. And he gotout of his car and walkedover to him,
and he said, he said, "Old codger," he said, he said, "Do you know where this
road goes?" And the old hillbilly lookedat him and said, "Well, well I’ve
been living here about forty years and it ain’t gone nowhere yet." And the
fellow lookedat him and he said; "Now listen, I’m trying to getto Little Rock.
Do you know where Little Rock is?"
"No," he said, "I don’t know where Little Rock is, but I got a mighty biggun’
in the back of my field; we can find that." And the guy lookedathim and
said, "Listen, you’re not very far from a fool, are you?"
"Nope," saidthe old codger, "justabout three feet." And the city slicker
lookedat him and said, "Listen, you hadn’t gotenough sense to know straight
up." He said, "That’s right, mister, but I ain’t lost."
Any time a man struts by, and he says, "I’m smart, I gotthe answers, man,
ask me, I cantell you all about it. I know more than God" – they don’t
believe there is such a thing – "and I know more than the creationin the

universe; I can explain how it all got here and how it all works." Thatman
the Bible says is a what? A f-oo-l: "The foolhath said in his heart, There is no
God" [Psalm 53:1]. What does the Book say? "The beginning of wisdom is
the fear, the reverentialawe of the Lord" [Proverbs 9:10]. That’s the first
sentence;that’s the first grammarian’s rule; that’s the first principle; that’s
the first foundational statement;that’s the first corollary; that’s the first
axiom; that’s the first great revelation. "In the beginning God" [Genesis 1:1],
and we start from there, and are educated in His school.
But we’re talking about these things that Satan whispers in a fellow’s heart,
and whispers like this, "Now you just wait. Don’t you listen to that preacher,
don’t you come down that aisle, don’t you give your heart to the Lord, now
you just wait. You’re coming along good, you’re doing good, you’re just
coming along fine. Conversionis a progressive thing, and by and by you’ll get
there."
Now you listen: conversionis a beginning and a beginning is never
progressive. We eitherstart or we don’t start. We either begin or we don’t
begin. We do or we don’t do. We say yes or no. We’re in the kingdom or
we’re out of it. We’re savedor we’re lost. It’s one or the other; there’s no
such a thing as a middle ground betweenthe two. And a man either obeys the
gospelof Christ and does what Christ says, orhe doesn’t obey the gospelof
Christ and he doesn’tdo what Christ says. And it’s that plain and that
simple. And that’s what it is to be saved: for a man to say yes to God and to
say "yes" to Christ, and "Here I am, and here I stand, and here I come." It’s
that simple, it’s that plain.
Some of you all have had this experience:your child, and they all go through
these things, your child gets angry, you interdict or you say something and it
doesn’t please the youngster, and so he may slam the door as he goes out of
the room, or pick up a book and slams it down on the floor. All right, what do
you do? Okay, there’s the book slammed down on the floor, and you say,
"Now, come here, honey, come back here. You see that book on the floor?
Now you pick up that book real nice and set it on the table."
"Well, well, well, let me pray about it, let me pray, I need to pray."
"No, pick up that book and put it on the table."
"No, let me mourn about it for a while, let me be burdened about it for a
while."
"No sir, you just pick this book and put it on a table."

"Yeah, but let me, let me do some other things for you. Let me washthe
dishes or shine your shoes orsweepthe floor. Let me do something else."
"No sir, you pick up that book and put it on the table." And until that child
does that, there’s no obedience in the heart of that youngster; and it’s that
plain and that simple. God says to bow. God says to confess. Godsays to
trust. God says to come. God says to confess. Godsays to give your heart to
Jesus. Until you do it, nothing is done, howeveryou pray, howeveryou
mourn, howeveryou seek. Firstobeywhat Godsays. Pick up that book, put
it on the table nice like; then all the other things will follow after.
And Satanwhispers in your mind, and he says, ‘Don’t you listen to that
preacher. Don’t you listen to that preacher. Listen, I gotlots of things that
are just as good, lots of things. Be altruistic, philanthropic, be generous. Or
give to these civic things and all of the needs, and live a fine moral life, and
join the clubs, and join the fraternities, and be active in the work of
ministering to needy people, and you’ll getto heavenall right. Anything
exceptgive your heart to God, anything," says Satan, "exceptbow before
Jesus and acceptHim as your Savior."
I went to see a man who was dying in the hospital; and the family askedme to
go see him and pray for him and try to get him to the Lord. And so I went
and talkedto him and prayed with him and beggedwith him. And you know
what that man’s eternal answerwas to me? And he died saying these words:
on his finger he had a ring of a fraternal organization, and when I pled and
beggedfor Christ, he held up his finger and he pointed to that ring and he
said, "Thatring will getme into heaven." He died that way. Oh!
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not Christ, I
am a sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge;and though I have
all faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not Christ, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body
to be burned, and have not Christ, it profiteth me nothing.
[1 Corinthians 13:1-3]
The all in all of God’s heaven is the Lamb, His Sonand our Savior.
And in this last little moment – I tell you thirty minutes goes by before you
just getstarted, doesn’tit? And in this last little moment, as the preacher
pleads for Jesus, he [Satan] whispers in your heart, "Now wait, you’re not
ready to come. You’re not ready to come. Manlook at this in your life, and

look at that in your life, and that, and that, that, that. Now you patch those
things up first; you patch that up, you patch that up, and you patch that up.
And then some of these days, when you getgood enough, and when you’ve got
it all patched up, why, then you go down that aisle and give your heart to
Jesus, and be baptized, and belong to His church." And you follow that
advice and you’ll never come. Do you remember the old, old song?
Come, ye sinners,
poor and needy,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.
I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms
["Come, Ye Sinners, Poorand Needy," by JosephHart]
Do you think Jesus calls us because we’re good? Do youthink He loves us
because we’re lovely? It’s just the opposite: it’s because we’re unlovely, and
because we’re lost, and because we’re sinners that He came to this world to
die for us [Matthew 1:21; John 12:27; Hebrews 10:5-14]. And He bids us
come to Him [Matthew 11:28], sin and all, dirt and all, filth and all, lostness
and all, "Come just like you are." Godbids you; God wants you, just like you
are.
In the days of this last terrible World War, as you know, at Temple, Texas
they built a hospital there for amputees, McCloskeyHospital. And we had in
our church, and one of our deacons, anillustrious doctor, and he had taught
in the medical schoolin Dallas. And one of his students, a medical doctor, was
the head of McCloskeyHospital, the coloneldown there. And the physician
here in our church said, "Preacher, come withme and let’s go down and visit
the hospital and see my old student."
So we spent the day down there in that hospital. Made an impression on my
soul I’ll never in this earth forget. And out of those boys that we saw – some

of them like stumps, hands and legs and just pieces – one of them was a young
officer who in his terrible wounds, he’d lost his eyes;shrapnel had takenout
his eyes and he was blind. And we visited with him in his room. And as we
talkedto him, somewhere, somewhere onthe WestCoastthere was a
wonderful young wife, and she sent him words of encouragementand wrote
him letters of love and cheer. And the young fellow said as we visited with
him, he said, "Oh, I’m so happy." He said, "Justthink: three more weeks,
three more weeks, andI’ll see my wife – three more weeks,three more
weeks." Well, you know, I got so wrapped up in the enthusiasm of the boy
that I never caught it at the time; but as I walkedaway, I happened to think,
"Why, he said, ‘Three more weeksand I’ll see my wife.’" Why man, he’s
blind. He’s blind! "Three more weeksand I’ll see my wife." And then the
whole thing came before me: why, that blessedgirl, wherever she was, and
whoevershe is, that blessedgirl had so made that young man wanted and
loved that he’d forgothe was blind. "Three more weeks andI’ll see my wife."
He’d absolutely forgottenof the tragedy of the war.
That’s Jesus. Manit’s because we’re blind, and because we’re crippled, and
because we’re sinners, and because we’re lostthat God bids us come [Luke
19:10]. That’s the reason for coming to Jesus. And let’s do it now. Let’s do it
now. While we sing this hymn of invitation, somebody you, give your heart to
Christ. Somebody you, putting your life in His blessedhands, in this balcony
round, on this lower floor, while we sing the appeal, make it tonight;
"Preacher, Igive you my hand; I give my heart to God, and here I come, and
here I stand, and here I am." Make it now, while we stand and while we sing.
STEVEN COLE
How to Have Dinner With Jesus (Luke 14:15-24)
RelatedMedia

00:00
00:00
Have you ever had dinner with a famous person? If so, you probably paid
dearly for the privilege ($1,000 a plate to have dinner with the President) or
you knew someone who got you in the door. Or, perhaps you were privileged
to know the famous personyourself. But in any case, dining with a famous
person is not something for the masses. Only a few get that privilege.
Today I want to tell you how you all can have dinner with Jesus. You would
think that everyone would jump at that opportunity, but as we will see, many
turn down the invitation. When I say, “have dinner with Jesus,” I am using a
metaphor of the joys and delights of being with Him in His kingdom, dining at
the Messianicbanquet that He provides throughout all eternity. The Book of
Revelationrefers to it as the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9) and

makes it clearthat you will want to be there. Jesus Himself referred to it in
Luke 13:28-29, where He said that people from all corners of the earth will
dine with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobin the kingdom, but many who assumed
that they would be included will be castout. I want to show you how you can
be sure that there will be a place at the table with your name on it.
The unstated question that lies behind our text is, “What sort of person will be
in the kingdom of God?” The Jewishleaders assumed, “People just like us will
be in the kingdom, of course:goodJews who keepthe Law of Moses,who
follow the traditions of the elders, who keepthemselves from ceremonial
defilement.” If you had askedthem, “What sort of people will be excluded
from the kingdom?” they would have responded, “Gentile dogs, the immoral,
the greedy, dishonesttax collectors—those kinds of scum will not be in the
kingdom.” But Jesus yanks the rug out from under their self-righteous
assumptions by telling a parable.
To catch the full flavor of this parable, you must understand the setting. Jesus
was eating in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees onthe Sabbath.
They were watching Jesus carefully to catchHim in some violation of their
Sabbath laws (14:1). They believed that to heal someone was work and
therefore not permitted on the Sabbath. They probably planted this man with
dropsy right in front of Jesus to trap Him. Jesus was not your typical, “polite”
dinner guestwho went out of His way not to offend anyone. So, He defied the
Pharisees by healing the man (14:1-7).
Next, Jesus watchedas these proud men pickedout the places of honor for
themselves at the table. Then He delivered a pointed message abouthumility,
which must have humiliated the guests (14:7-11). Finally, as if the tension
were not greatenough already, the Lord told the host that he had invited the
wrong guests!He said, “You should have invited the poor, the crippled, the
lame, and the blind instead of all these friends, relatives, and rich neighbors
who can return the favor” (14:12-14)!At this point you could have sliced the
atmosphere with a knife!
At the end of Jesus’rebuke (14:14), He mentions the resurrectionof the
righteous. To break the tension and to try to sound spiritual, one of the guests
exclaims, “Blessedis everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
(14:15). He probably thought that both Jesus and all the guests could agree
with this pious comment. Everyone around the table probably nodded in
agreementand said to one another, “Amen! It will be wonderful when we’re
all there, won’t it!” Perhaps there was some nervous laughter.

But Jesus wasn’tone to pass up opportunities! He was quick and ready to
correctwrong ideas in the spiritual realm. And so He told this parable about
the greatdinner to correctthis man, who wrongly was assuming that he and
all of his cronies would be presentat that banquet due to the fact that they
were Jews, and not just any Jews, but Pharisees.Theysaw themselves a few
notches above the common Jewishpeople, and not even in the same league
with paganGentiles. Jesus shows them that many of them would not be in the
kingdom because they were refusing the Lord’s invitation. To their great
surprise, many whom they assumedwould not be there would in factbe there
because they responded to the invitation. The last would be first and the first
last (13:30). The answerto the question, “Who will be at God’s banquet in the
kingdom?” is, those who respond personallyto the invitation.
To have dinner with Jesus in His kingdom, you must respond personally to
His invitation.
We will look first at the nature of God’s invitation and then at the responses
to His invitation.
1. The nature of God’s invitation: It is broad, free, and ample.
A. God’s invitation is a broad invitation.
Verse 16 states, “He invited many.” In the imagery of the parable, the many
who first were invited refers to the Jewishreligious leaders ofJesus’day.
These men had the privilege of studying the Scriptures. They had read Moses;
they knew what the Prophets predicted concerning the Messiah. As Paul puts
it in Rom. 3:2, they had the advantage of being entrusted with the oracles of
God. When the dinner hour came, God sent His messenger, Johnthe Baptist,
to say, “Everything is ready now.” But the Jewishleaders made excuses and
did not come.
So the Lord expanded the invitation to the “outcasts”of Israel. The Pharisees
despisedthese people as “born entirely in sin” (John 9:34). Many of the
prostitutes, tax collectors andother notorious sinners responded to God’s
invitation and were following Jesus. This proud Pharisee who invited Jesus to
dinner would never have thought of extending his invitation to these outcasts
(14:13), but Jesus is telling him that God’s invitation includes those whom the
proud Pharisees had rejected.
But there was still room at the master’s table (14:22). And so the invitation
goes still wider, outside the “city limits” of Judaism, to the Gentiles who are
out in the highways and along the hedges (14:23). At His great banquet the
Lord will have a greatmultitude which no one can count from every nation
and tribe and people and tongue (Rev. 7:9). God’s invitation is a broad

invitation! It includes every person from every race, no matter whether his or
her backgroundis very religious or completely pagan.
We commit a great error when we make the church an exclusive club for the
religiously inclined. Have you ever lookedat someone and thought, “That
person would not be interested in the gospelbecause he lives a very ungodly
life”? Or, you see someone who looks like he belongs to a motorcycle gang and
you think, “Thatperson doesn’tlook like a goodcandidate for a Christian!”
Or perhaps we see a person whose attire identifies her as a Hindu or a
Muslim. We think, “She has her own religion and way of life. The gospelis not
for her.” Whenever we think like that (and we all have), we’re limiting God’s
broad invitation of the gospel. His gospelwill transform every sinner from
every backgroundwho will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. To every person
on this planet the Lord says, “Come, for everything is ready now.”
B. God’s invitation is a free invitation.
The servant was not selling tickets for admission. It was not a $1,000 a plate
fundraiser for the kingdom. It wasn’ta benefit supper where you kick in
whateveryou feel led. It wasn’t even a kingdom potluck, where you bring a
main dish and salador dessert. The master says, “Come, foreverything is
ready now.” All you need to bring is yourself and an appetite. It is totally free
for you, because the host picked up the tab. You eat at His expense.
This is one of the most beautiful things about God’s gospelinvitation, and yet
it is one of the most difficult things for people to acceptbecause it means that
they cannot take any credit for themselves. If they can offer something in
exchange for the meal, they feel better about it, but to come and eatfreely is
an affront to their dignity and pride. But there is only one way that God offers
His salvation:He pays for it all and all you can do is come and receive it
freely. Any other way would bring glory to man. God’s way brings all the
glory to Him and His grace.
At Christmas one year a pastorhoped to illustrate God’s free salvation. He
pointed to a beautiful Christmas poinsettia setting on the platform, wrapped
in red cellophane with a ribbon, and said, “Whoeverwants this gorgeous
flowermay have it. All you have to do is take it.” He waited, but no one came
forward to get it. Finally, a mother timidly raised her hand and said, “I’ll take
it.”
“Great, it’s yours,” said the pastor. But then the woman nudged her son and
said, “Go getit for me.” The pastorsaid, “No, whoeverwants this plant must
come and getit personally. You can’t send a substitute.” The woman shook
her head, unwilling to risk embarrassment. She wouldn’t go getit for herself.

The pastorwaited, pointing to this beautiful plant that would make a fine
decorationin any home. It was free for the taking, but no one was coming up
to get it. Someone snickered, “What’s the catch?” “No catch,” saidthe pastor.
“It’s totally free.”
A college student asked, “Is it glued to the platform?” Everyone laughed.
“No,” the pastor said, “it’s not glued to the platform. It’s just setting there,
free for the taking.”
A teenage girl asked, “CanI take it after the service?” The pastorwas
tempted to give in, but he thought of the verse, “Todayis the day of
salvation,” and shook his head: “You must come and get it now.”
He was just beginning to wish that he had never started the whole thing when
a woman he had never seenbefore stoodup in the back. Quickly, as if she
were afraid that she would change her mind, she strode to the front and
picked up the plant. “I’ll take it,” she said. After she had gone back to her
seat, the pastor launched into his message onRomans 6:23, that the gift of
God is eternal life, free to all who will receive it.
After the service, whenmost of the people had gone home, the woman who
had claimed the poinsettia came up to the platform where the pastor was
picking up his Bible to leave. “Here!” She held out her hand. “This floweris
too pretty to just take home for free. I couldn’t do that with a clear
conscience.”The pastorlookeddown at the crumpled paper the woman had
stuffed into his hand. It was a ten dollar bill. (Adapted from “Leadership,”
Spring, 1990, p. 125.)
Friends, you can’t stuff the ten dollar bill of your goodworks into God’s hand
to pay for His salvationbanquet. He provides it all, totally free to you, but at
greatexpense to Himself. Human nature is so inclined to boastin goodworks
that when you tell people the good news about Jesus, you must take pains to
make it clearthat God’s invitation is free and only free.
C. God’s invitation is an ample invitation.
He says, “Come, for everything is ready now.” Everything! All you can eat
and more besides!He makes all the necessaryprovisions beforehand and puts
them on the table. When you walk in the door, you see a table loadedwith
appetizers. Help yourself! There is a full saladbar, along with soup. Go back
as often as you wish. There are severalselectionsfor the main dish. Would
you like prime rib or lobster? And there is pie a la mode to top it all off! It is
the most fabulous feastyou canimagine, all freely provided by the host for
everyone who will come and eat.

What a greatpicture of the abundant salvation God so freely provides for
sinners! When you come to His banquet table in Christ, He doesn’t just give
you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He gives you the works!He is a
fountain of living waterto washawayall of your sins. He gives you the
indwelling Holy Spirit who gives you peace to replace your anxiety, joy to
replace your depression, powerto overcome your sins and wisdom to make
the right decisions. Youhave fellowship every day with the gracious Savior
and the promise of eternity with Him in heaven. The apostle Peterdescribes it
like this: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and
godliness, through the true knowledge ofHim who called us by His own glory
and excellence”(2 Pet. 1:3). Long before we ever thought of God, He thought
of us and made ample provision for our salvation. His abundant provision
means that you are welcome to come to His table and eatuntil you are
satisfied.
With that kind of offer, you may wonder, “How can anyone refuse?” But
Jesus’parable clearly warns that some do refuse God’s broad, free, and
ample invitation.
2. The responses to God’s invitation: Some refuse with excuses, while others
personally acceptit.
To ignore or postpone responding is to refuse the invitation, because the table
is ready now. At some point soon, every seatwill be full and the door will be
shut. Those who procrastinate may miss the opportunity. Let’s look first at
those who refuse:
A. Some refuse God’s invitation with excuses.
Eachof those who are first on the invitation list responds with an excuse for
why he cannot come. The first man says that he cannot come because he has
bought a piece of land and he must go out and look at it. This is a flimsy
excuse!Who would buy a piece of land sight unseen? Besides, why does he
need to go to look at it at the same time as the dinner? If he wanted to, he
could plan to do both. Clearly, he did not want to come to the dinner. He
represents the person who is tied up with his possessions orinvestments so
that he has no time for God. He forgets that this very night his soulmay be
required of him, and then who will own what he has workedso hard to
accumulate?
The secondman says that he cannot come because he has bought five yoke of
oxen and he is going to try them out. Again, it was a flimsy excuse. No one
would buy oxen without first trying them out. Like the first man, this man
was caughtup with his possessions andhis work. He can’t even take time off

to have dinner with Jesus. He is living for the things of this world, but he is
neglecting his soul.
The third man says that he cannot come because he has married a wife.
Perhaps he is saying that he couldn’t bear to be apart from his beloved for
even a few hours. Maybe his wife didn’t want him to go anywhere without
her. At any rate, he was making an idol of his wife, putting her above his need
for God. As Jesus goesonto say, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate
his ownfather and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters,
yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (14:26).
The interesting thing is that none of these excuses was sinful, in and of itself.
There is nothing wrong with buying land or animals (or machinery) to work
the land. The Bible commends enterprise and hard work. There is nothing
wrong with marriage and the love of family. The Bible commands us to love
our families. But the point is, things that are legitimate in their rightful place
can be wrong if they hinder us from getting right with God. It is not just
gross, flagrantsins that keeppeople out of God’s kingdom. Goodthings
wrongly emphasized will do the trick just as well. If a person gets wrongfully
caught up with these otherwise goodthings, he can invent all sorts of excuses
for not accepting the Lord’s invitation to His dinner.
There may be someone here who is so caught up with your possessionsoryour
leisure pursuits or your careerthat you are neglecting your soul. Perhaps you
are single and longing for a mate and you would considermarrying even a
non-Christian, because you think he or she would bring you fulfillment and
happiness. You would put momentary pleasure above the eternal pleasure of
dinner with Jesus. You’re saying, “Lord, I can’t come to Your dinner because
I have married a wife.”
To allow anything to cause you to refuse or put off accepting God’s offer of
salvationis a foolish decision. The host gets angry at the refusal, because it
was a rude personalinsult to turn down such a bountiful invitation. God
offered His own Son as the sacrifice forsinners to be reconciledto Him. As the
author of Hebrews asks, “How shallwe escape if we neglectso greata
salvation?” (Heb. 2:3). As the host here declares, “ForI tell you, none of those
men who were invited shall taste of my dinner” (14:24). The refusal of the first
group led the hostto send out the invitation to others who acceptedhis offer.
B. Others respond personally to God’s offer in spite of potential excuses.
The striking thing is that everyone who acceptedthe invitation could have
come up with seeminglylegitimate excuses fornot coming. The poor man
could say, “I don’t have anything decent to wearto such a feast.” The crippled

man could say, “I can’t getanyone to carry me there.” The blind could say, “I
can’t see to find my way.” The lame could say, “It hurts me too much to walk
on my bad leg.” Those along the highways and hedges, the street people, could
say, “I haven’t had a bath in days and my clothes are dirty and ragged. I can’t
come.” But they all acceptedthe offer because the servant convinced them
that they were welcome and they clearlyknew their own need; they were
hungry. They believed the offer and they responded personallyto it in spite of
the potential excuses theyeachcould have come up with.
The servant didn’t run a backgroundcheck on all these people before he
invited them to the feast. Their backgrounddidn’t matter. He didn’t find out
their nationality. He didn’t ask about their religious backgroundor whether
they even had one. He didn’t geta promise that they would behave and show
proper manners at the dinner table. The invitation was not basedon anything
in the recipients;it was basedtotally on the goodness andbounty of the host.
All that these people had to do was recognize their hunger, believe that the
offer was true, and say, “Yes, I’ll come.” When they came, they found that the
feastwas far better than they had ever expectedor imagined.
Conclusion
One of the main hindrances that will keepyou from having dinner with Jesus
is that you are so full of your own goodness thatyou won’t acknowledgeyour
need for His banquet. Your pride will make you say, “I’ll bring the saladand
dessert.” Butthe Lord says, “No, I provide it all. You just come.”
Imagine a multimillionaire who sends his servant out in his limousine to the
poorestsectionof town. The servant tells the chauffeur to stop by a bum in
raggedclothes. He gets out and asks, “Wouldyou like to come to a feastat my
master’s mansion? We’ll take you. Please, getin.”
The guy on the street eyes the servant warily and asks, “What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch;my masteris a kind and generous man. He has prepared a
meal like you wouldn’t believe. Won’t you come?”
“I haven’t had a bath in days. I haven’t washedmy clothes in weeks,and these
rags are all I own. I would feelout of place at a mansion.”
“There will be many others there just like you. The food is on the table and
the dinner is about to begin. Just come as you are.”
It sounds too goodto be true, doesn’tit? It is good, but it’s also true,
according to Jesus. The main catchis, you have to see and admit that you are
that needy bum. Spiritually, you have nothing to commend yourself to God.
Salvationis not basedon anything in you. In fact, it is offeredfreely in spite of

you. It is all of God’s free grace, not at all of your works, lestanyone should
boast.
Jesus is saying to eachperson, no matter how greatyour sins, “Come, for I
have prepared everything for you to be savedfrom God’s judgment and to
dine with Me for all eternity.” Will you say, “Yes, Lord. I’ll come!”
DiscussionQuestions
Jesus seemedto ignore “politeness”attimes to jar people out of their spiritual
complacency. Should we do likewise?How?
If no one can come to Christ without the Father’s drawing him (John 6:44)
should we appeal to lost people to come? Why?
How can we know if a person’s excuse for not receiving Christ is genuine or a
smokescreen?
Jesus says, “Compelthem to come in.” To what extent canwe use
persuasivenessor“sales techniques” in evangelism?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999,All Rights Reserved.
BOB DEFFINBAUGH
Table Talks (Luke 14:1-24)
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus wentto eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee,
he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering
from dropsy. 3 Jesus askedthe Phariseesand 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 healedhim and senthim away. 5 Then he asked them, “If one of
you has a son or an ox that falls into a wellon the Sabbath day, will you not
immediately pull him out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests pickedthe places ofhonor 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 man your seat.’Then, humiliated, you will have to take the
leastimportant place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowestplace, 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 ofall your fellow guests. 11
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus saidto 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 cannotrepay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the righteous.”
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he saidto Jesus,
“Blessedis the man who will eat at the feastin the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus
replied: “A certain man was preparing a greatbanquet and invited many
guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he senthis 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 excuseme.’20 “Still another
said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’21 “The servantcame back and
reported this to his master. Then the ownerof 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.’”
Introduction
The meal table is (or at leasthas been) one of the socialcenters ofthe home.
Think of some of your warmestmemories, and many of them will be
associatedwith meal-time. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, usually
include a festive meal, fellowship, and pleasantmemories.
In our text, the entire section is centeredabout a meal table. A prominent
Pharisee askedJesus to eatat his home. A number of things took place at this
table, but none of them were very pleasant. Indeed, I am inclined to think that
when most of those seatedatthis dinner table went home they immediately
went to the medicine cabinet and reachedfor the Rolaids. Of course they did
not have medicine cabinets or Rolaids, but if they would have had such things,
they would have been used after this meal. All-in-all, it was a most unpleasant

occasion. It was not a time of friendly conversationand warm hospitality. It
was a time of silent sullenness, of treachery, of self-seeking onthe part of those
Pharisees who were present. It was a time of rebuke and sober warning from
the lips of our Lord. It was not a pleasantmeal. The “tensionof our text” (as I
sometimes speak ofit) is here the tension which exists betweenJesus and those
sitting at table with Him.
The meal took place on the Sabbath. Things started off with a confrontation
over the legality of healing a man on the Sabbath (vss 1-6). The Pharisees
silently and sullenly watchedas Jesus healeda man of dropsy. They remained
silent when Jesus askedthem whether or not healing would be possible, and
they were even more so when Jesus unveiled their own hypocrisy as to the
keeping of the Sabbath.
When the guests jockeyedforposition at the table, Jesus spoke to this evil as
well (vv. 7-11). While they believed that “getting ahead” sociallyrequired self-
assertionand status-seeking, Jesus toldthem that the way to get aheadwas to
take the place of less honor and status. Status was gained by giving it up. One
is exalted by humbling himself, Jesus said.
The Masterthen went on to direct a word specificallyto the host (vv. 12-14).
He had apparently invited all the prominent people to his table on this
occasion. Jesustold him that while men might seemto get more in return
from inviting their friends, family, and prominent people to a meal, in
heaven’s currency men were rewarded by God when they invited those who
could not give anything in return—the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the
blind.
The final words of our Lord in this sectionwould have been the most
disturbing to those present at the meal (vv. 15-24). By this time, I believe that
things were so tense you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. It was
exceedinglyuncomfortable and to break the silence resulting from Jesus’last
words (and partly in response to His mention of “the resurrection of the
righteous,” v. 14), a man called out, “Blessedis everyone who shall eat bread
in the kingdom of God!” (v. 14, NASB). Jesus’response was evenmore
unnerving. He went on to tell a parable which informed His listeners that
while feasting at the banquet of heaven (that is, the kingdom of God) would be
a blessing, it was one that they would not experience. Indeed, Jesus indicated
that the prominent people would turn down the invitation given them and that
the guests wouldbe those they would never have anticipated, indeed, that they
would never have invited to their own banquets.

I call the title of this message“Table Talks,”but these are not friendly, casual,
“fireside talks,” they are stinging words of rebuke to those who have not
receivedJesus as Israel’s Messiah. Theyare a shocking statementto those
who viewed themselves as those who would be prominent in the kingdom of
God that they will not even be present.
These words of our Lord are, once again, directed specificallyto Israelites.
This does not mean, however, that they have no relevance to us. The
misconceptions ofthese prominent Jews are similar to those current in
religious and Christian circles today. And while we may be greatly
disappointed and grieved at the failure of certain“Christian” leaders in
recentdays, this text will remind us that we should not be taken by surprise
that leaders often fail, and miserably. Let us look to our text and listen well to
the teaching of God’s Spirit as we seek to understand it and have it applied in
our lives today.
A Sick Man, A Sabbath
Healing, and a Sullen Silence
(14:1-6)
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus wentto eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee,
he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering
from dropsy. 3 Jesus askedthe Phariseesand 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 healedhim and senthim away. 5 Then he askedthem, “If one of
you has a son or an ox that falls into a wellon the Sabbath day, will you not
immediately pull him out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
It was the Sabbath day, in some unnamed town of Israel. Undoubtedly Jesus
had been in the synagogue thatday, teaching. The “preacher” was invited to
the home of one of the prominent Pharisees fordinner. It is my impression
that the atmosphere was hostile and the mood unpleasant from the very
beginning. Jesus did not, in my opinion, sour the mealtime conversationby
saying something unpopular. Jesus does notseemto be invited for the
hospitality of it, but for the hostility of it. I believe that word of Jesus had
already come to these Pharisees, andthey knew Him to be at odds with them,
their beliefs and their practices. His messagethat day had probably confirmed
their suspicions. It seems that He was invited so that some specific charge
could be leveledagainstHim. Luke simply tells us, “they were watching Him
closely” (Luke 14:1, NASB).
It appears that the guestlist was made up of all the prominent Pharisees, and
few others. Perhaps, I should say, just one other person—the man who was

afflicted with a strange-sounding ailment known as “dropsy” (verse 2). He
seems hardly to have been there by chance. I think that the inference is clearly
that this man was placedhere, knowing that his ailment was obvious, and that
Jesus’compassionwas so predictable, he would surely not be overlookedby
Him.
I can visualize the stiff silence as they all watchedJesus'eyes fix on the
pathetic sight of this man, suffering from his sickness.Theireyes perhaps met
those of their colleagues, knowing that the trap was working. Jesus missed
none of this. Before healing the man, He turned to these silent skeptics and
askedthem whether or not the law permitted healing on the Sabbath (verse
3).250
Here was a touchy matter. Their traditions, their teachings, clearlyforbade
such healing. The Law of Moses, however, did not forbid healing on the
Sabbath. Indeed, if the Sabbath was made for man, for his benefit and
blessing, how could one refrain from healing on the Sabbath, if he had the
ability to do so?
They would not answerthe question. And why not? It was not because they
had no beliefs or teaching on this issue. Perhaps they would not discuss the
matter because theyhad heard that Jesus could easilyshow the folly of their
position. Surely they did not want to discuss the matter in order to learn from
Him, and thus to change their minds. Keeping silent, they thought, would
perhaps result in His healing the man, and if they thought this they were
right.
The man was unceremoniouslyhealed, and then sent away(verse 4). But why
was the man sent away? The meal does not yet seemto have been served(cf.
verses 7ff.). He hadn’t eatenyet. Often, those who have been healedby our
Lord want to stay with Him, to worship and adore Him. Why is this man not
left to do so here? I think that it is because the man was never brought here to
eat in the first place, but only as “bait” by which to trap Jesus. Knowing this,
Jesus sentthe man awayimmediately. He had played his role and served his
function, at leastso far as the Phariseeswere concerned.
Jesus may have had other reasons forsending him away, however. I believe
that this personhad been used. His illness must have been very evident, and
perhaps even grotesque. Frankly, this man’s infirmity had been “used” by the
Pharisees.Jesus graciouslyhealedthe man, but He would not leave him there
to be humiliated. But how would he be humiliated? Jesus had already drawn
attention to the error of the teaching of the Pharisees as it related to healing
on the Sabbath. Jesus was now about to show them their hypocrisy in terms of

their own practice. I believe that Jesus did not want this man to be among
those who were about to be rebuked, and perhaps evenshamed for using one
who was infirmed, and so He sent him away. This is an actof mercy and
grace, just as the healing had been.
With the man gone, Jesus now askeda secondquestion of the Pharisees. The
first was a matter of principle; the secondwas a matter of practice. It would
be one thing for Jesus and His critics to differ over principle. It was another
when these critics differed in what they professed(and demanded of others)
and what they practiced. And so Jesus exposestheir hypocrisy (inconsistency)
with these words:
“If one of you has a sonor an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will
you not immediately pull him out?”
No matter what these Pharisees taughtand demanded of others, they made
exceptions for themselves. Let one of their sons, or even one of their oxen fall
into a well on the Sabbath and they would “work” to getit out. They would do
so immediately, without any hesitationor agonizing reflection. If, then, they
would come to the aid of their son or their stock, why should Jesus notbe
allowedto heal the infirmed? Pharisaicalhypocrisywas showing, again. The
silence which results is the silence of sullen willfulness. If there was no
willingness to discuss the matter, neither is their any intention of
acknowledging their hypocrisy. Silence is the passive form of rebellion, but it
is rebellion none the less.
Pecking Orderand Position:
A Parable and a Paradox
(14:7-11)
7 When he noticed how the guests pickedthe places ofhonor 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 man your seat.’Then, humiliated, you will have to take the
leastimportant place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowestplace, 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 ofall your fellow guests. 11
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted.”
In Israel, the meal table played a very important role, not only in the family,
but in societyas well. When an Israelite provided a meal for a guest, even a

stranger, it assuredhim not only of the host’s hospitality, but of his
protection. Lot, you will recall(Genesis 19), invited the angels of God into his
home and provided them with a meal. When the men of Sodom wanted to do
these guests harm, Lot offered his daughters to the men to sexually abuse, in
an attempt to prevent harm from coming to his guests. This is shocking to us,
but it tells us the meaning of a meal.
Also in Israel (as elsewhere), the meal table was closelytied to one’s social
standing. “Peckingorder” was reflectedin the position one held at the table.
Places atthe table were something like “chairs” in a band—they all have
rank. In my high schoolband, as in virtually all others, there was a “first
chair” trumpet position, and then “secondchair,” “third chair,” and so forth.
We all eagerlysoughtto win “first chair.” Some believe that at the “last
supper” Judas may have been seatedin the chair of honor.
The Pharisees who attendedthis meal (not to mention many others) seemedto
think that one’s table position not only reflectedone’s position, but may
indeed create it. Thus, people jockeyedfor position at meal time, so that they
could end up in a seatof honor. It was like musical chairs, except there was no
music.
Where I grew up, unlimited hydroplane racing was a very popular sport. The
Gold Cup races oftentook place on Lake Washington. How well I can
remember boats like Slo Mo IV and Slo Mo V. The boats could cross the
starting line at the sound of the starting gun. They were allowedto have a
“flying start,” which meant that they would all mill about the lake, a good
distance away, and then begin to charge the starting line at about 160 miles
per hour. The first boat across the starting line (sometimes their timing was
off and they crossedtoo soonand were disqualified) had the distinct
advantage. Forone thing, it could leave the restof the boats not only in its
wake, but also under its roostertail of water, which made visibility difficult,
and sometimes drowned out engines.
I like to think of the meal scene where Jesus was presentas something like the
jockeying for position that took place in the Gold Cup races. Canyou imagine
the humorous antics which Jesus must have observed as all the guests tried
their own techniques at getting to sit in the best seats?It was nearly time to
eat. The guests would soonbe seated. Everyone beganmilling about, just
happening to be standing beside a chair of honor. How subtle it was all
supposedto be. Jesus saw it all, and spoke to it.
As I have thought more about this incident at the table, it occurredto me to
wonder where Jesus ended up sitting. Here He was, Israel’s Messiah, sitting at

a table. What a perfect prototype of the kingdom of God. But was Jesus sitting
at the seatof highest honor? Was He sitting in the seatof the host? I hardly
think so. It would appearthat while the others jockeyedforposition, Jesus sat
back, watching. When He finally arrived at the table, there would only have
been one place left—the seatof lowesthonor. Here is the King of Israel,
sitting, very likely in the place of the lowestperson. How tragic, in one sense,
and yet how appropriate, given His calling (cf. Philippians 2:4ff.).
Jesus did not deal directly with the position-seeking, but only responded on
the basis of it. Instead, He told a parable. They all knew, of course, whatHe
referred to. He told them that they should avoid seeking the place of honor,
for in so doing they actually set themselves up for humiliation. Suppose that a
more important personcame, after they had seatedthemselves in that
individual’s chair. The host would have to ask them to sit elsewhere, and the
only place left would be (thanks to the other self-seekers)the place of lowest
position. How humiliating it would be, in front of all the rest, to be unseatedin
such fashion! As our kids would put it, this would be a real “put-down.”
On the other hand, if one were to take the lowestplace, then the only way to
move would be up. The host might then come to you and move you up higher,
in front of all. What a blessing this would be, to be honored publicly before
all.
In verse 11, Jesus moved from the parable to a principle which underlies His
teaching:
“Foreveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles
himself will be exalted.”
Here is a paradox indeed. The way up is down. To try to “work up” is to risk
being “put down.” Those who wish to be honored must be humble and seek
the lowly place. Those who strive to attain the place of honor will be
humiliated. The ways of our Lord and His kingdom are not man’s ways.
Guidelines for the GuestList
(14:12-14)
12 Then Jesus saidto 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 cannotrepay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the righteous.”

Our Lord’s words in verses 7-11 were directed towards the guests, who were
jockeying for position at the table. The host, however, had no need of doing
this, for his chair was guaranteed. He had the only reservedseat. But there is
much evil to be exposedon the part of the host, for those he invites are those
who promote his standing. The same spirit is seenin the host, but in a
different way, and thus Jesus deals with this, too. He is going to leave no one’s
sins unveiled.
It is not just where one sits at the table that gives one status, but also whom
one is sitting with at that table. I remember someone saying that status would
be to be sitting in the Oval Office with the President of the United States, to
have the red phone ring, and for the Presidentto hand it to you, saying, “It’s
for you.”
I do not know this as a fact, but it occurred to me as I studied this text that the
Jews ofthat day may not have been introduced to the “potluck dinner.” We
all know that a potluck dinner is one that everyone contributes to. It has
become a part of our culture, and very often when we invite someone to our
table for dinner they ask what they canbring. It would seemthat this thought
never occurredto the person of Jesus’day. If people ate “potluck” then there
would have been no need to reciprocate, but as it was, whenone person
invited another to dinner, they provided the entire meal, and the guestwould
reciprocate by doing likewise. This seems to be the backdropfor what Jesus is
saying in our text.
When planning a banquet, the temptation is to invite those who are most
likely to do us some goodin return. Thus, one thinks first of inviting family
members or rich friends, who will reciprocate in kind. We are tempted to give
in order to get. Jesus taught that this practice should not only be revised, but
reversed. In this world, men invite their friends and the rich, in order to gain
from their reciprocalinvitations and hospitality. In God’s economy, men are
gracious to the helpless and to those who cannot pay them back, so that when
the kingdom of God is establishedon the earth (at the resurrectionof the
righteous), God may reward them. Thus, Jesus advocatedinviting as “guests”
at our next banquet the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind (verse 13).
Doing so assures us of God’s blessings in heaven.
While the words of our Lord in verses 7-14 should be seriouslytakenand
applied in a literal way, let us take note of the fact that Jesus was speaking a
parable (verse 7, cf. v. 12). The parable and its principle is thus to be much
more broadly applied.
Jesus Turns The Tables

(14:15-24)
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he saidto Jesus,
“Blessedis the man who will eat at the feastin the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus
replied: “A certain man was preparing a greatbanquet and invited many
guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he senthis 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 excuseme.’20 “Still another
said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’21 “The servantcame back and
reported this to his master. Then the ownerof 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.’”
The Pharisees were concernedwith their position at the table, not only the
dinner table of their host, but also the table of the kingdom of God. The
disciples had also become infectedwith this preoccupationwith position, as we
know from the gospelaccounts. Jesus’words must have causedall of those
present at the meal greatdiscomfort. Jesus had effectively exposedand
rebuked their sinful ambition. Hearing the mention of the “resurrectionof the
righteous,” a clearreference to the coming kingdom of God, one man saw a
way to defuse the situation, and so he called out, “Blessedis the man who will
eat at the feastin the kingdom of God.”
There was one thing greatly wrong with this man’s statement: he spoke from
the vantage point of one who would be sitting at that table. This man, like the
other Pharisees, assumedthat if anyone were to be at this messianic meal, this
banquet of the kingdom of God, it would be him. Here they were, jockeying
for positionin a kingdom which they were not even going to be a participant
in.
Jesus speaksa word of warning to this man and those like him with another
parable in verses 16-24. He tells of a certain man who plans a greatfeast, and
who sends out invitations, well in advance, to all those guests He desires to
attend. We would conclude that God is the host, that the feastis the kingdom
of God, and that the invitation would be the covenantpromises of the Old
Testament, along with the announcements of the Old Testamentprophets,

including John the Baptist, the last of these prophets. The invited guests are,
we would know, the people of Israel, the Jews.
One would assume that all the invited guests implied by their deeds and words
that they were going to be a part of God’s promised kingdom. It is only when
the announcementis made that the feastis ready that the invited guests
“welch.” Theyall have their excuses, ofcourse. One man excuses himself to
look at land he has just purchased, which apparently he had not inspected
before the purchase. Another declines to “try out” his oxen, which he bought
untested. A third has to stay at home with his wife, whom he has just married.
These invited guests—Israelites—whomGodinvited and who appeared to be
planning on participation in the kingdom of God, failed to acceptthe
invitation when it actually arrived. They had other, better, more important
things, to do. In response, Godnow offers the blessings of participation in His
kingdom to those who would not have been consideredacceptableguests, the
very ones (the poor, crippled, blind, and lame (verse 21)) whom God has told
His host to considerinviting to a feast(verse 13). But not just the rejected,
lower, classesofIsraelare invited, but even those unsuitable people along the
by-ways are compelledto come. God will not take “no” for an answerfrom
them. It is not that they have chosento be a part of God’s kingdom, but that
God has chosento make them a part of that kingdom. It is God’s sovereign
purpose that has prevailed, not some superior wisdom on the part of Gentiles.
Thus, there is no basis for pride.
What a word this is for Luke’s Gentile readers, the audience to and for whom
he has written. This explains to Gentiles how it is that the blessings of the Jews
can be experiencedby the Gentiles, and how the majority of the Jews canfail
(at this time) to graspwhat God is doing or to acceptit.
What a word Jesus has given to His Jewishaudience! Let those who would
strive to get first place in the kingdom be certain that they are even going to
be in it.
Conclusion
What a lessonthe words of our Lord in this text conveyed to the Jews ofthat
day. They assumedthat they had a place at the “table,” that is in the kingdom
of God, and their only concernwas which place that would be. They were
concernedwith their position in the kingdom, while it never occurredto them
to be concernedwith their possessionofthe kingdom. These Jewswere not
atheists, nor great“sinners” in any outward way (such as the tax gatherers
and the prostitutes were, in the minds of some), they were very religious
people, in fact leaders of their religion. They had no doubt about their

salvation, but they were wrong. The lastsectionof our passageis a solemn
warning to the Jews that they will miss out of that which they presumed they
had.
For the Gentile readers of this gospel, they find an explanation of the reason
why the Gentiles have been privileged to enter into the blessings whichGod
promised His chosenpeople, Israel. It is, however, not a flattering text, one
which ridicules the Jews for their unbelief and which praises the Gentiles for
their greaterdiscernment, as evidencedby their faith in Israel’s Messiahfor
salvation. The Gentiles are those who are compelled to come, from the
highways and byways. They are, as it were, the “bums” along the roadway.
Note, too, the insight which we gain from this passageonthe interplay
betweenthe sovereigntyof God and the responsibility of man. Our text
attributes the failure of Israelites to enter into the blessings ofthe kingdom of
God to their rejectionof the invitation given to them. Luke does not tell us
that the Jews were keptfrom the kingdom by God’s choice (election—which
is, you understand, a biblical truth), but by their own choice. On the other
hand, the salvation of the Gentiles is not attributed to their choice, but to
divine compulsion. The sovereigntyof God is thus emphasized with respectto
salvation;the responsibility of man with respectto condemnation. Both
doctrines are true, though they must be held in tension. Let us keepthe
perspective and the emphasis which we find in Luke’s account. Luke does not
trade of God’s sovereigntyfor man’s free will, nor vice-versa. Indeed, he holds
both in tension (cf. Acts 2:23).
Let me pause right here for a moment. The reasonwhy the Jews lostout on
the kingdom of God was because they rejectedGod’s clearinvitation, in the
person of Jesus Christ, the King of Israel. Christ is still the key to man’s
salvation, or may I say, more bluntly, your salvation. The only waymen go to
heaven (getinto the kingdom of God—sit at the banquet table, as our text
symbolically portrays it) is by receiving Jesus Christ as the Son of God, God’s
King, God’s Savior.
In the Gospels, Godis declaring to you an invitation to “come to dinner at His
house,” as it were, to become a member of His kingdom, to sit as His table
forever, forgiven of your sins, righteous in His sight through the work of
Christ, and free to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. If I have failed to
make this invitation clearto you elsewhere in my expositionof Luke’s gospel,
let me do it now. The “goodnews” ofthe gospel(for this is what “gospel”
means) is that God wants you to enjoy fellowship with Him, in His kingdom,
forever. To acceptHis Son at His invitation is to obtain the right to enter in.

To reject His Son, or even to put off a decisionto acceptHim, is the cause for
being condemned to eternal separationfrom Him and His kingdom.
A number of years ago, I taught a Bible study in our home. It was a study of
the gospelofJohn. One of the couples that attended came to faith in Christ
during the study. When the husband shared his testimony with me, he
describedhis conversionin a way I had not heard before. He said that he
could not identify a specific time when he was saved, although he knew it was
in the lastseveralweeks. He said that his conversioncame “somewhere
betweenchapter 3 and chapter 7 (I confess,I’ve forgottenthe specific
chapters).
What an interesting way of viewing one’s conversion, and yet a very
reasonable one, for the person who has studied through a particular gospel
account. The gospelaccounts are written to build to a conclusion. They are
written to bring us to certainconclusions, foremostamong them is the
conclusionthat we are a sinner and that we can be savedonly by trusting in
Jesus as the Son of God who died in our place, bearing our penalty. I pray
that as you have traveled through the chapters of Luke’s gospelthe light has
somehow come on, and you now know that you, too, are a child of God,
assuredof a place at His table.
There is yet another lesson, whichis as applicable to men today as it was to
the Israelites who listened to these words of Jesus centuries ago. The “external
glue” of our text, which gives it a unity, is the dinner table. Everything which
is said here is said at or near the dinner table, and about the dinner table. But
there is an “internal glue” which should be recognizedas well, providing us
with an even deeper unity. That “silverthread” is the conceptof self-interest.
Think about the ways in which self-interestcan be found at the heart of every
sin which our Lord condemns in these verses.
In verses 1-6, self-interestis at the heart of the sinful actions and attitudes of
the Pharisees. Self-interestcausedthe Pharisees to rejectJesus, angrythat He
spent greatamounts of time and energy with “sinners” and the unsuitable
people, rather than with them. Self-interest causedthe Phariseesto want Jesus
out of the way, lest He overthrow their system, and prevent them from all the
“perks” whichit afforded them. Self-interestwas undoubtedly the motivation
for their asking Jesus to dinner, and for “using” a sick man’s ailment in an
effort to entrap Jesus in some technicallegalinfraction. So, too, it was self-
interest that enabled the hypocritical Pharisees to excuse their acts of labor
(pulling their son or ox from the well) on the Sabbath.

It was also self-interestwhich motivated eachpersonto seek to sit in the
places of honor at the dinner table (verses 7-11), whichvery likely left Jesus at
the place of lowesthonor, in a way fittingly appropriate, given the teaching of
Philippians chapter 2 pertaining to the humiliation of Christ, leading to the
cross.
Once again, self-interestis the culprit, a root evil, in verses 12-14. The reason
why we are tempted to invite our friends, relatives, and the affluent, to our
feasts, is that they canbe counted on to return the favor. Self-interestwill
always invite those who can pay us back, reciprocate,ratherthan to “waste”a
meal on someone too poor or unable to return the favor.
Finally, in verses 15-24,it was self-interestthat causedthe Israelites ofJesus’
day to rejectHim as Messiah. In the parable which Jesus told (vv. 16-24),
three individuals are saidto have accepted(by inference, at least)the
invitation to attend the feast, and yet the excuses for not attending were all
matter of self(selfish, if you prefer) interest.
It is self-interestwhich keeps men from coming to Christ for salvation. Men
wish to enter into the kingdom, but do not wish to create any pain,
displeasure, or sacrifice forthemselves. Thus, self-interestplays a prominent
role in keeping men from Christ and thus from His banquet table, the
kingdom of God.
Our culture is perhaps more permeated by self-interestthan any other people
at any other time in history. We have a magazine on the rack at the grocery
store entitled “Self.” We may laugh at the antics through which the Pharisees
went to get the best places at the dinner table, but we also sign up for classes
which teach us how to assertourselves, so thatwe can be more successful.
Nearly every problem which man experiences today is now linked (in some
mysterious way) to a poor self-concept. Thatwhich plagues the world is not
self-seeking, but rather the lack of self-love and self-assertion. We are truly a
self-orientedsociety, just as Paul describedthe culture of those in the last days
(2 Timothy 3:1-5).
But I do not wish to dwell on the self-orientationof the unbelieving world, as
evil as this is. I wish to draw your attention to the way self-interesthas become
a primary motivation in the church, and in the lives of countless Christians
(myself included). While we may not fight for the chair of honor at the dinner
table (only because there is none), we will find Christians lining up for
leadership training classes,forpositions of prominence and public visibility.
At the same time, those tasks whichcall for menial service, for little
recognitionor power or prominence seemto go begging those who would

faithfully carry out this non-glamorous ministry. We avoid ministry which has
little immediate returns (such as praise, or increasednumbers or growth).
Ministry to those who are unable to pay us back, even with conscious
gratitude, is shunned like the plague. Ministries where people don’t seemto
appreciate us and our contribution are quickly left behind, replacedby some
ministry which is more “fulfilling.”
I say to you my friend that “self-interest” literally abounds in the church and
in our lives. This is one of the reasons forthe strife which the New Testament
writers describe (cf. Philippians 2). Paul had to look long and hard to find a
man like Timothy, who would be “genuinely concernedfor your welfare”
(Philippians 2:20). The reasonfor this is also given by Paul in this same text:
For they all seek aftertheir own interests, not those of Christ Jesus
(Philippians 3:21).
What a sad commentary!
Let us recognize how much self-interestparalyzes and perverts our ministry,
our worship, and our Christian walk. Let us learn from our text that our
reward in heaven will be great, and that it comes to those who “give up their
life” to gain it, while those who seek to save their lives lose them. May the
Spirit of Godwork through the Word of God to replace self-seeking with self-
sacrifice, to the glory of God and for our own goodas well.
250 Incidentally, do you think that “healing on the Sabbath” was one of the
greatcontroversialissues ofthat day? Is this a frequent problem, which
therefore required a great dealof debate and frequent clarification, due to the
number of times the “rule” had to be applied? Let’s face it, my friend, this is
an issue occasioned(in my mind at least)only by Jesus. It was His healings on
the Sabbath which were at issue, and not any others, for there were no others,
unless by His disciples. The Pharisees hadto declare a position on Sabbath
healings only because Jesushad come.
Bob Deffinbaugh
MATTHEW HENRY
Verses 15-24
The Generous Invitations The NeglectedFeast.

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said
unto him, Blessedis he that shall eatbread in the kingdom of God. 16 Then
said he unto him, A certainman made a greatsupper, and bade many: 17 And
sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come for all
things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consentbeganto make excuse.
The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go
and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought
five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20
And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannotcome. 21So
that servant came, and showedhis lord these things. 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 hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the
blind. 22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and
yet there is room. 23And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be
filled. 24ForI say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall
taste of my supper.
Here is another discourse of our Saviour's, in which he spiritualizes the feast
he was invited to, which is another way of keeping up gooddiscourse in the
midst of common actions.
I. The occasionof the discourse was given by one of the guests, who, when
Christ was giving rules about feasting, said to him, Blessedis he that shall eat
bread in the kingdom of God (Luke 14:15), which, some tell us, was a saying
commonly used among the rabbin.
1. But with what design does this man bring it in here? (1.) Perhaps this man,
observing that Christ reproved first the guests and then the master of the
house, fearing he should put the company out of humour, startedthis, to
divert the discourse to something else. Or, (2.) Admiring the goodrules of
humility and charity which Christ had now given, but despairing to see them
lived up to in the presentdegenerate state ofthings, he longs for the kingdom
of God, when these and other goodlaws shall prevail, and pronounces them
blessedwho shall have a place in that kingdom. Or, (3.) Christ having
mentioned the resurrectionof the just, as a recompence for acts of charity to
the poor, he here confirms what he said, "Yea, Lord, they that shall be
recompensedin the resurrectionof the just, shall eatbread in the kingdom,
and that is a greaterrecompence than being reinvited to the table of the
greatestman on earth." Or, (4.) Observing Christ to be silent, after he had
given the foregoing lessons, he was willing to draw him in againto further

discourse, so wonderfully well-pleasedwas he with what he said and he knew
nothing more likely to engage him than to mention the kingdom of God. Note,
Even those that are not of ability to carry on gooddiscourse themselves ought
to put in a word now and then, to countenance it, and help it forward.
2. Now what this man said was a plain and acknowledgedtruth, and it was
quoted very appositelynow that they were sitting at meat for we should take
occasionfrom common things to think and speak of those heavenly and
spiritual things which in scripture are compared to them, for that is one end
of borrowing similitudes from them. And it will be goodfor us, when we are
receiving the gifts of God's providence, to pass through them to the
considerationof the gifts of his grace, those betterthings. This thought will be
very seasonable whenwe are partaking of bodily refreshments: Blessedare
they that shall eatbread in the kingdom of God. (1.) In the kingdom of grace,
in the kingdom of the Messiah, whichwas expectednow shortly to be setup.
Christ promised his disciples that they should eatand drink with him in his
kingdom. They that partake of the Lord's supper eatbread in the kingdom of
God. (2.) In the kingdom of glory, at the resurrection. The happiness of
heaven is an everlasting feastblessedare they that shall sit down at that table,
whence they shall rise no more.
II. The parable which our Lord Jesus put forth upon this occasion, Luke
14:16, &c. Christ joins with the goodman in what he said: "It is very true,
Blessedare they that shall partake of the privileges of the Messiah's kingdom.
But who are they that shall enjoy that privilege? You Jews, who think to have
the monopoly of it, will generallyrejectit, and the Gentiles will be the greatest
sharers in it." This he shows by a parable, for, if he had spokenit plainly, the
Pharisees wouldnot have borne it. Now in the parable we may observe,
1. The free grace and mercy of God, shining in the gospelof Christ it appears,
(1.) In the rich provision he has made for poor souls, for their nourishment,
refreshment, and entertainment (Luke 14:16):A certainman made a great
supper. There is that in Christ and the grace ofthe gospelwhich will be food
and a feastfor the soul of man that knows its owncapacities, forthe soul of a
sinner that knows its own necessitiesandmiseries. It is called a supper,
because in those countries supper time was the chief feasting time, when the
business of the day was over. The manifestationof gospelgrace to the world
was the evening of the world's day and the fruition of the fulness of that grace
in heaven is reservedfor the evening of our day.
(2.) In gracious invitation given us to come and partake of this provision. Here
is, [1.] A generalinvitation given: He bade many. Christ invited the whole

nation and people of the Jews to partake of the benefits of his gospel. There is
provision enough for as many as come it was prophesiedof as a feastfor all
people, Isaiah 25:6. Christ in the gospel, as he keeps a goodhouse, so he keeps
an open house. [2.] A particular memorandum given, when the supper time
was at hand the servant was sentround to put them in mind of it: Come, for
all things are now ready. When the Spirit was poured out, and the gospel
church planted, those who before were invited were more closelypressedto
come in presently: Now all things are ready, the full discoveryof the gospel
mystery is now made, all the ordinances of the gospelare now instituted, the
societyof Christians is now incorporated, and, which crowns all, the Holy
Ghostis now given. This is the call now given to us: "All things are now ready,
now is the acceptedtime it is now, and has not been long it is now, and will not
be long it is a seasonof grace that will be soonover, and therefore come now
do not delay acceptthe invitation believe yourselves welcome eat, O friends
drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved."
2. The cold entertainment which the grace ofthe gospelmeets with. The
invited guests declinedcoming. They did not say flatly and plainly that they
would not come, but they all with one consentbegan to make excuse, Luke
14:18. One would have expectedthat they should all with one consenthave
come to a goodsupper, when they were so kindly invited to it: who would
have refused such an invitation? Yet, on the contrary, they all found out some
pretence or other to shift off their attendance. This bespeaksthe general
neglectof the Jewishnation to close with Christ, and acceptofthe offers of his
grace, and the contempt they put upon the invitation. It also intimates the
backwardnessthere is in most people to close with the gospelcall. They
cannot for shame avow their refusal, but they desire to be excused:they all ato
mias, some supply horas, all straightway, they could give an answer
extempore, and needed not to study for it, had not to seek foran excuse.
Others supply gnomes, they were unanimous in it with one voice. (1.)Here
were two that were purchasers, who were in such haste to go and see their
purchases that they could not find time to go to this supper. One had
purchased land he had bought a piece of ground, which was representedto
him to be a goodbargain, and he must needs to and see whetherit was so or
no and therefore I pray thee have me excused. His heart was so much upon
the enlarging of his estate that he could neither be civil to his friend nor kind
to himself. Note, Those that have their hearts full of the world, and fond of
laying house to house and field to field, have their ears deaf to the gospel
invitation. But what a frivolous excuse was this! He might have deferred going
to see his piece of ground till the next day, and have found it in the same place

and plight it was now in, if he had so pleased. Another had purchasedstock
for his land. "I have bought five yoke of oxen for the plough, and I must just
now go and prove them, must go and try whether they be fit for my purpose
and therefore excuse me for this time." The former intimates that inordinate
complacencyin the world, this the inordinate care and concernabout the
world, which keeppeople from Christ and his grace both intimate a
preference given to the body above the soul, and to the things of time above
those of eternity. Note, It is very criminal, when we are calledto any duty, to
make excuses for our neglectof it: it is a signthat there are convictions that it
is duty, but no inclination to it. These things here, that were the matter of the
excuses, were,[1.]Little things, and of small concern. It had better become
them to have said, "I am invited to eatbread in the kingdom of God, and
therefore must be excusedfrom going to see the ground or the oxen." [2.]
Lawful things. Note, Things lawful in themselves, when the heart is too much
setupon them, prove fatal hindrances in religion--Licitus perimus omnes. It is
a hard matter so to manage our worldly affairs that they may not divert us
from spiritual pursuits and this ought to be our great care. (2.)Here was one
that was newly married, and could not leave his wife to go out to supper, no,
not for once (Luke 14:30):I have married a wife, and therefore, in short, I
cannot come. He pretends that he cannot, when the truth is he will not. Thus
many pretend inability for the duties of religion when really they have an
aversionto them. He has married a wife. It is true, he that married was
excusedby the law from going to war for the first year (Deuteronomy 24:5),
but would that excuse him from going up to the feasts ofthe Lord, which all
the males were yearly to attend? Much less will it excuse from the gospelfeast,
of which the other were but types. Note, Our affection to our relations often
proves a hindrance to us in our duty to God. Adam's excuse was, The woman
that thou gavestme persuadedme to eat this here was, The womanpersuaded
me not to eat. He might have gone and takenhis wife along with him they
would both have been welcome.
3. The accountwhich was brought to the master of the feastof the affront put
upon him by his friends whom he had invited, who now showedhow little they
valued him (Luke 14:21):That servantcame, and showedhis lord these
things, told him with surprise that he was likely to sup alone, for the guests
that were invited, though they had had timely notice a goodwhile before, that
they might order their affairs accordingly, yet were now engagedin some
other business. He made the matter neither better nor worse, but related it
just as it was. Note, Ministers must give accountof the successoftheir
ministry. They must do it now at the throne of grace. If they see of the travail

of their soul, they must go to God with their thanks if they labour in vain, they
must go to God with their complaints. They will do it hereafter at the
judgment-seat of Christ: they shall be produced as witnessesagainstthose
who persistand perish in their unbelief, to prove that they were fairly invited
and for those who acceptedthe call, Behold, I and the children thou hast given
me. The apostle urges this as a reasonwhy people should give ear to the word
of God sent them by his ministers for they watchfor your souls, as those that
must give account, Hebrews 13:17.
4. The master's just resentment of this affront: He was angry, Luke 14:21.
Note, The ingratitude of those that slight gospeloffers, and the contempt they
put upon the God of heaventhereby, are a very greatprovocation to him, and
justly so. Abused mercy turns into the greatestwrath. The doom he passed
upon them was, None of the men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.
This was like the doom passedupon the ungrateful Israel, when they despised
the pleasantland: God swore in his wrath that they should not enter into his
rest. Note, Grace despisedis grace forfeited, like Esau's birthright. They that
will not have Christ when they may shall not have him when they would. Even
those that were bidden, if they slight the invitation, shall be forbidden when
the door is shut, the foolishvirgins will be denied entrance.
5. The care that was takento furnish the table with guests, as wellas meat.
"Go" (saith he to the servants), "go first into the streets and lanes of the city,
and invite, not the merchants that are going from the custom-house, nor the
tradesmen that are shutting up their shops they will desire to be excused(one
is going to his counting-house to castup his books, anotherto the tavern to
drink a bottle with his friend) but, that you may invite those that will be glad
to come, bring in hither the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind pick
up the common beggars."The servants objectnot that it will be a
disparagementto the masterand his house to have such guests at his table for
they know his mind, and they soongather an abundance of such guests:Lord,
it is done as thou hastcommanded. Many of the Jews are brought in, not of
the scribes and Pharisees,suchas Christ was now at dinner with, who thought
themselves most likely to be guests atthe Messiah's table, but the publicans
and sinners these are the poor and the maimed. But yet there is room for
more guests, and provision enough for them all. "Go, then, secondly, into the
highways and hedges. Go out into the country, and pick up the vagrants, or
those that are returning now in the evening from their work in the field, from
hedging and ditching there, and compel them to come in, not by force of arms,
but by force of arguments. Be earnestwith them for in this case itwill be
necessaryto convince them that the invitation is sincere and not a banter they

will be shy and modest, and will hardly believe that they shall be welcome,
and therefore be importunate with them and do not leave them till you have
prevailed with them." This refers to the calling of the Gentiles, to whom the
apostles were to turn when the Jews refusedthe offer, and with them the
church was filled. Now observe here, (1.) The provision made for precious
souls in the gospelof Christ shall appear not to have been made in vain for, if
some rejectit, yet others will thankfully acceptthe offer of it. Christ comforts
himself with this, that, though Israel be not gathered, yet he shall be glorious,
as a light to the Gentiles, Isaiah49:5,6. God will have a church in the world,
though there are those that are unchurched for the unbelief of man shall not
make the promise of God of no effect. (2.) Those that are very poor and low in
the world shall be as welcome to Christ as the rich and greatnay, and many
times the gospelhas greatestsuccessamong those that labour under worldly
disadvantages, as the poor, and bodily infirmities, as the maimed, and the
halt, and the blind. Christ here plainly refers to what he had saidjust before,
in direction to us, to invite to our tables the poor and maimed, the lame and
blind, Luke 14:13. For considerationfor the countenance which Christ's
gospelgives to the poor should engage us to be charitable to them. His
condescensionsand compassionstowards them should engage ours. (3.)Many
times the gospelhas the greatestsuccessamong those that are leastlikely to
have the benefit of it, and whose submissionto it was leastexpected. The
publicans and harlots went into the kingdom of God before the scribes and
Pharisees so the last shall be first, and the first last. Let us not be confident
concerning those that are most forward, nor despair of those that are least
promising. (4.) Christ's ministers must be both very expeditious and very
importunate in inviting to the gospelfeast:"Go out quickly (Luke 14:21)lose
not time, because all things are now ready. Call to them to come to-day, while
it is called to-day and compel them to come in, by accosting them kindly, and
drawing them with the cords of a man and the bands of love." Nothing can be
more absurd than fetching an argument hence for compelling men's
consciences, nay, for compelling men againsttheir consciences, in matters of
religion: "You shall receive the Lord's supper, or you shall be fined and
imprisoned, and ruined in your estate." Certainlynothing like this was the
compulsion here meant, but only that of reasonand love for the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal. (5.) Though many have been brought in to
partake of the benefits of the gospel, yet still there is room for more for the
riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible there is in him enough for
all, and enough for eachand the gospelexcludes none that do not exclude
themselves. (6.) Christ's house, though it be large, shallat lastbe filled it will

be so when the number of the electis completed, and as many as were given
him are brought to him.
An Invitation to God’s GreatBanquet
Sermons Luke 14:15–24 42-194 Oct9, 2005
Play Audio
Add to Playlist
A + A - Reset
It's fascinating to study the life of Christ so intimately and so closelyand in
such detail as we do in going through the gospelof Luke and having gone
through the gospelofMatthew and the gospelof John and in the future the
gospelof Mark, looking into His life with tremendous scrutiny. And while we
see a myriad of details, there are some sortof broad and sweeping realities
that come into our view. One is that though Jesus wept, there is no statement
in the Scripture that He everlaughed. Though He told all kinds of stories that
were somber and sobering, there is no indication that He ever told a joke.
And yet the text before us today surely seemedto the listeners as if He was
telling a joke. Open your Bible to Luke 14 and I want to read verses 15-24.
We'll look at this text. Luke 14, verses 15-24. "Whenone of those who were
reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, ‘Blessedis everyone
who will eatbread in the kingdom of God.’ But He said to him, ‘A man was
giving a big dinner and invited many. And at the dinner hour he sent his
slaves to sayto those who had been invited, “Come for everything is ready
now,” but they all alike beganto make excuses. Firstone saidto him, “I've
bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it. Please considerme
excused.” Another one said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and I'm going to
try them out. Pleaseconsiderme excused.” Anotherone said, “I have
married a wife and for that reasonI cannotcome.” And the slave came back
and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became
angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the
city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” Then the
slave said, “Master, whatyou have commanded as been done and still there is

room.” And the master said to the slave, “Go out into the highways and along
the hedges and compel them to come in so that my house may be filled. For I
tell you none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner."’”
This story would be receivedby the Jews as laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous,
impossible. No such scenario couldever happen. Inconceivable, this is a joke
without a punch line. Invited guests to a greatfeastprepared by a wealthy
man as indicated by the factthat it was a big dinner and many were invited
would be the pinnacle of sociallife, the high point. Forimportant people to
hold such banquets and to fill them with those invited guests was to receive
not only a greatmeal prepared for you, not only great honor for being there,
but to enjoy greatmusic and the fun and the fellowship that went along with
the celebration.
This was the pinnacle of Jewishsociallife in a rather mundane and boring
world of existing in an agricultural environment or eking out an existence in
the city, in the routine of trying to get enough for food, which was a daily
battle because you had to prepare your own or have someone do it for you. To
have a greatfeastprepared for you and to be invited by a very prominent
person could be the highlight of your life. This just wouldn't happen; that
people who had acceptedan invitation would then refuse to come, and the rich
man would fill his banquet table with the riffraff and the scum of society.
Absolutely absurd.
Now before we look at the story and its meaning, just a reminder, verse 15
says, "Whenone of those who were reclining at the table with Him." It
reminds us that we're at lunch. And this is a lunch provided by a very
prominent Pharisee forother Phariseesand scribes mentioned in verse 3 of
this chapter. A luncheon is first identified in verse 1. And they had invited
Jesus becausethey wanted to trap Jesus into healing a man who had a case of
edema relatedto some serious organdisease. Theywanted to trap Jesus into
healing the man, thus violating the Sabbath, and thus proving that He was not
from God.
Well, Jesus overturned their intentions and silencedthem. He did the healing
and then He confronted them with the reality that if they had an ox that fell in
a ditch, they'd pull it out on a Sabbath because it meant money. Certainly if
they had a sonthat fell into a ditch, they'd pull him out because oflove. They
really were hypocrites. Theyreally were duplicitous. Then He went on to talk
about humility, the kind of humility that is characteristic ofthose who enter
the kingdom.

And after His lecture on humility, He concludes in verse 14 that those who
were truly humble will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. Now
they knew He was talking about eternal life. They knew what the resurrection
of the righteous was. Jesus was telling them that you are too proud to enter
the kingdom. You need to humble yourself and such would be manifest in the
fact that insteadof clamoring for chief seats ata banquet or instead of holding
a banquet and inviting only the prominent people, you would reach out in
humility and seek the last place or you would reachout in humility and invite
the poor and the blind and the maimed and the lame.
In other words, we remember that He was simply identifying the
manifestation or the outward expressionof a humble heart. He was telling
them that they were too proud. They needed to humble themselves if they
ever wanted to end up at the resurrectionof the righteous. And so verse 14
concludes with that comment about the resurrection of the righteous. Now,
the Jews knew this. They knew about the resurrectionof the righteous, of
course. And they believed that the righteous included them, particularly the
Pharisees andthe scribes. Theywere the elite of the righteous. And
resurrectionwas their whole hope. They held out hope for the resurrection
because that was what they had to look for in the otherwise very difficult, very
burdensome, very painful, very self-sacrificing and limiting existence ofa
legalist. Theylived their lives according to very minute prescriptions.
There were relentless burdens and limitations attachedto living under Jewish
legaltradition. It was painful. It was a kind of a deprivation. They endured
self-sacrifice. Theyendured endless rituals. The weight of their legalismwent
down to the very minute aspects ofeating every day. There was a huge
burden; a burden that was so difficult to bear Jesus calledit a burden that
was unbearable in the 23rd chapterof Matthew. Why would they do that?
Why would they live under such strictures?
Answer? Becausethey believed they were achieving the resurrectionof the
righteous. They were willing to suffer in this life to gain life eternal and to be
free in life eternalfrom such limitations. In fact, they actually believed that
the more rules they kept, the more they assuredthat they would be a part of
the resurrectionof the righteous and so they added and added and added and
added more and more and more traditions to the laws of Scripture in order
that they might in keeping them secure their place in the resurrectionof the
righteous.
Now this is about the way every religion functions. Why do any people endure
the strictures of their own religion? Why do they do that? Why do priests
and nuns endure the kinds of deprivation that they do in their situation except

for the fact that they believe that through this they achieve the resurrectionof
the righteous? Why do people go to mass and say their “Hail Marys” and go
through all of the religious things that they go through throughout their lives?
Why? Why do they endure all of that? Becausetheybelieve they're achieving
the resurrectionof the righteous. Why does anybody in any religion behave
according to the religious standards? Why do Mormons try to be as moral as
they can possibly be? Becausethey believe they're achieving the resurrection
of the righteous. That's how all religion works, exceptChristianity where we
know we can't achieve that. It's a gift of grace through faith in Christ.
But everywhere else, this is simply a willingness to make whateversacrifices
are required here to achieve the resurrectionto come. This is true in Islam.
This is true in any religion. The promise of a future goodlife is what causes
people to live with such restriction and restraint and limitation and burdens
of morality in their external conduct. And so the Jews were looking forward
to the resurrectionof the righteous, but they in viewing the resurrectionof the
righteous saw it as a lavish celebrationin the presence ofGod and indeed that
was right.
They actually saw it as a banquet. That was because the prophet Isaiah
describedit that way. In the 25th chapter of Isaiah, Isaiahlooks forwardto
the future that God has for his people. Listen to what he says. "The Lord of
hosts," verse 6, Isaiah25, "will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this
mountain, a banquet of agedwine, choice pieces with marrow and refined
agedwine and on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over
all peoples, even the veil which is stretchedover all nations. He will swallow
up death for all time. The Lord God will wipe tears awayfrom all faces,
remove the reproach of His people from all the earth. Forthe Lord has
spoken. It will be saidin that day behold this is our God for whom we have
waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited, let
us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."
We're going to be there. We're going to be saved. All the burdens will be
eliminated. All the veils will be takenaway. We'll all be there and we'll have
this lavish banquet. A lavish banquet was the highest experience socially, the
most fulfilling and joyful celebrationthey knew anything about and that is
why it became an analogyor a metaphor for the heavenly celebration. And
that's carried on even into the New Testamentwhere we see heavenin
Revelationas the marriage supper of the lamb. We all, as it were, sit around
the banquet table of God in the glory of the new heaven and the new earth.
So when Jesus speaks ofthe resurrectionof the righteous and it happens to be
at a lunch, they're sitting a table eating, somebodybegins to think about the

fact that isn't it going to be wonderful when we all get to the great banquet of
God, when we all getto the resurrectionof the righteous. And so in verse 15,
one of those reclining at the lunch table with Him, when he heard Him refer to
the resurrectionof the righteous, saidto Him, ‘Blessedis everyone who will
eat bread in the kingdom of God.’"
Almost sounds like a toast, doesn't it? It is a beatitude but it's almostas if he
picked up his cup of wine and said, ‘Blessedis everyone who will be eating
bread in the kingdom of God,’and they all saidyes. This is an affirmation of
two things: an affirmation that they were going to be there and an affirmation
that they didn't acceptwhat Jesus had just said. BasicallyJesussaidyou're
too proud to enter the kingdom of God. There needs to be a dramatic change.
You need to humble yourself as manifest in such things as who it is you
associate withand how you seek the last place and not the first place.
But they had nothing but scornfor the comments of Jesus, if indeed they
bothered to process them at all. Theywere convinced, due to their fastidious
and dutiful observance of the law and the traditions, that they were going to
be the righteous in the righteous resurrection and they were going to be sitting
at the greatbanquet of God eating bread in the kingdom. And so this is a
pronouncing of blessing upon their own heads, a kind of toastto themselves,
affirming that they had rejectedthe indictment of Jesus. Confident they were
secure in the resurrectionof the righteous by their Abrahamic ancestryand
by their adherence to the tradition. They would not only be there, but they
would be in the prominent seats there. That was so much a part of Jewish
thinking that even the disciples were caughtup in it. That's why James and
John sent their mother to ask Jesus if they could sit on the right and the left
hand in the kingdom. They had that same mentality. It was in the fabric of
how they thought.
They were all raisedup in a work system. You tried to achieve the highest
place of prominence. They were sure they would be in the chief seats in the
heavenly banquet. And while this is not directly an adversarialcomment, this
is not an attack on what Jesus says directly, indirectly, it is a scornand a
rebuke of the Lord's insinuation that they were too proud to be in God's
kingdom, that only the humble were going to show up at the righteous
resurrection. On the contrary, we are the blessedwho will eat bread in the
kingdom of God and all the rest would have said yes, amen, we'll all be there.
Now dear ones, this is a totally misguided assumption that needs immediate
and unmistakable correction. And so our Lord speaks and I'll just tell you
something right here, because it's a goodplace to inject it. Jesus always
sought to shatter false religious hope. He never put His arm around a

Pharisee and said well we worship the same God, we're both going to be there,
You're my brother. He never put His arm around a scribe who was living in a
delusion and said to Him well you are a student of the Old Testamentand you
are worshiping the God of Israel and we're going to be there. You're my
brother.
He never put His arms around a synagogue crowdand said what you're doing
is really good, God's going to acceptthis religious effort in His name as
enough. He exploded every time the false religious security of the Jews at
every level, at the level of the Pharisees, the scribes and at the level of the
people in the synagogues. Jesusalways soughtto shatter false religious hope.
This is critical in all evangelism. This is being honest. This is being honest.
Anybody who lives under some kind of misguided assumption that they're
headed for heaven needs to know that that is not true.
It needs to be immediately and unmistakably and clearly corrected. This is
applicable to people in any false religion. You cannot put your arms around
people in false religion and say well because you're religious, because you have
quote "faith" you're OK; especiallyin this climate in which today everybody
is sort of entitled to their own faith and whateverit is going to be OK. I was
thinking about that when I was listening to some of the conversations about
Harriet Miers, the President's new appointment to the Supreme Court and
there was some interviews on the Christian radio that I was listening to over
in Colorado and they kept saying her faith is important to her. Her faith is
the centerof her life. She lives according to her faith. And then her pastor
came on and said essentially, you know, I've known Harriet and her faith is
strong and she lives according to her faith. And at one point I wantedto so
OK, hold it here. I'm not really interested in her faith. That's subjective. I
want to know: What is her relationship to the faith, once for all delivered to
the saints?
And it may be that she's a true believer. I don't know anything about it. I
just know that that has seepeddown into the vernacularso that even pastors
use that kind of language. Idon't want to hear about your faith. I want to
hear about your relationship to the faith, the faith once for all delivered to the
saints. Becauseyour faith...everybody's got faith in something. That doesn't
mean anything. Unless your faith is placedin the Lord Jesus Christ, your faith
is useless. Butwhy do people trust in religion. Becausethey believe it's going
to take them to the resurrectionof the righteous. It's going to getthem into
the kingdom of God. Why do they go through strictures and the requirements
and the duties and responsibilities and constraints, and the moral
requirements of their religion? Becausethey make all of those sacrificesso

that somedaythey won't have to make any sacrifices, they'll be in the glory of
heaven. That was how the Pharisees lived. That was how the Jews lived. But
this was all a delusion, because theywere not headed for heaven at all. And
Jesus is going to shatter their false hope with a story, a parable. And in fact,
there's a brief outline, four points: invitation, excuses,inclusion, exclusion.
Can you follow that? Invitation, excuses, inclusion, exclusion. Let's look at
the invitation, verse 16. "He said to him, ‘A man was giving a big dinner and
He invited many," the operative words, “big” and “many.” This is a huge
event. This is a very wealthyman. He has a dinner in mind that will be a
grand, gala banquet. And he invites a huge number of people. Now this is a
mirror that the Jews caneasilysee themselves in because theyunderstand
this. This is a...This is the pinnacle of their socialexperience. ForJesus it's a
story to attack the delusional self-confidence ofthe Jews in their false religion.
The man is obviously prominent because he has the capability to give a big
deipnon, meaning dinner banquet, on a grand scale, like the wedding feastin
the parable of Matthew 22, which is very similar to this one. And the wedding
feastwould be the banquet of all banquets, could last for days as this one
perhaps could. He invited many and that would be an extensive number of
people and the invitation would come in a very personal, formal wayas an
invitation would come to you even today, to a wedding or to some grand scale
gala banquet. It would identify the event, only when we getone of those, it
tells us where it is, when it is, and exactly the time you're supposedto be there
right. But in the ancient world it wasn't like that. The actual day and the
actualtime were left open. It would be some time in the future. In a world
without clocks anda world without watches, life moves at a different pace and
in a world where you had to kill the animals and you had to clean the animals,
you had to cook the animals and you to get all of the vegetables and
everything else you wanted and do all the preparation, specificitycouldn't be
statedat the first invitation so always there were two invitations.
First invitation identified you as one who was being invited as an honored
guestand you waitedto get the secondinvitation which basicallysaid in verse
17 says, "At the dinner hour, he sent his slave to sayto those who had been
invited, ‘Come for everything is ready now.’" Every one of these kind of
events had two invitations: the one that let you know you would be future
invited and then the secondinvitation came when everything was ready.
Again, this indicates the lavish nature of this. This wasn'tlunch at
somebody's house after a Sabbath service in the morning such as they were
experiencing here. This was a huge event. And the indication here is that
everybody accepted. Nobodyrefuses. Doesn'tsay anything like that. And

that is according to Jewishcustomthe wayit would have been. I mean the
Pharisees lovedto be at banquets. Matthew 23:6, "Theysought the chief seats
at banquets," because theywere places of honor and prominence and public
vision. Everybody would have said yes, absolutely. Oh this would be...this
would be an honor, not only the lavish spreadand the greatentertainment
and all the falderal that would go on, but the prominence that you would be
given by being invited by such a person.
But at the dinner hour when all the animals had been killed and skinned and
prepared and everything had been gatheredand everything was ready and the
slave goes to those who had been invited and said, “Come now, for everything
is ready, the most bizarre thing happens.” They are pre-invited guests,
because that's what it says in verse 17, "Sayto those who had been invited,
‘Come for everything is ready.’" The long awaiteddinner is to begin. They
would have been with baited breath anticipating, when do you think it'll
start? When do you think it'll start? Will it be this week? Will it be
tomorrow? Will it be the next day? Will it be tonight that we're going to hear
that it's going to be tomorrow? They would live in anticipation of this great
event.
But when the invitation comes at the hour, verse 18, we getexcuses. So we go
from the invitation to the excuses. Listento these. "Theyall alike began to
make excuses." Everybody saidI can't come, all of them. They all came up
with excuses. Nowthis is where the Pharisees atlunch are saying, this is
ridiculous, nobody would do that. What a joke. This is churlish to borrow an
English word. This is rude. This is unrefined. This is consideredoutrageous
and unacceptable conduct. This would not happen. This kind of breech of
courtesyand the breech of kindness to a man and his staff who had prepared
a massive feast, to sayI'm sorry I'm not going to come and have everybody
say that, I mean that would...that is a horrible breech of socialethics.
In fact, some ancient near easterntraditions equate with a declarationof war,
because whenyou were invited to a meal with someone that was an extension
of friendship and when you refusedthat that was a statementthat you wanted
no friendship with that individual. It was essentiallya declarationof war.
Nobody would do this, but they all alike did it. And the Phariseesand the
scribes must have lookedat eachother and saidthis is an absurd story.
Where is this story going? Nobodywould do that, let alone everybody.
And then Jesus says to them, unless they think that there was some really
goodreasonwhy they wouldn't come, here are three sample excuses. The first
sample, verse 18, "Theyall alike began to make excuses. The first one said to
him, ‘I bought a piece of land. I need to go out and look at it.’" What?

Where do you think it's going to go? What are you going to see, dirt? You're
going to turn down a banquet to go look at dirt? This is absurd. This is...they
would chuckle here and they would say this is getting funnier by the minute.
Nobody would do that. The dirt's not going anywhere. “Please considerme
excused.” It's a lame, ridiculous, absurd excuse.
And another one says in verse 19, "I bought five yoke of oxen." By the way, if
you had five yoke of oxen that was an indication that you were a very wealthy
landowner. So here's a guy who's a fairly wealthy guy in the story. He says,
“I've got yoke of oxen, I'm going to try them out.” You're going to try out
your oxen instead of going to this deal? You think your oxen can't be tried
out in another few days. That's ridiculous. Here's the only one that even gets
close to reality. Verse 20, you're already there, right? Oh yeah, you identify
with this. "I married a wife and for that reasonI can't come." Yeah.
You know, she just slammed down her sandal and said we aren't going. That
does have a ring of reality to that one, doesn't it? Yeah, I would have come
had I been single, but you understand I'm now married and I confess to being
henpecked, nothing new under the sun. There were some provisions in the
Old Testamentlaw. Deuteronomy24:5 that said if you married a wife, you
get some leave for a year from military service and from having to go awayon
long business junkets and things like that, but a dinner? A banquet? Nobody
would make an excuse like that. And anybody who was that henpeckedwould
make up a different excuse. Bythe way, Pharisees andscribes considered
women as the lowestofthe low. Every day a Pharisee prayed, “I thank you
God that I'm not a Gentile or a woman.”
So women didn't dictate to men what to do. None of these make any excuse at
all. And the story is getting more absurd and more ridiculous. That leads us
to the inclusion. We have a problem now. We have a massive banquet
prepared and nobody to come. So the slave comes back, verse 21, reports to
his masterthese ridiculous excuses whichare samples of all the excuses given
by everybody who was invited because none of them are going to come. The
head of the householdbecomes angry and anybody would say that is a just
anger. This is tremendous effort, tremendous work, tremendous expense, a
tremendous act of generosityand kindness returned with indifference and
disdain.
And he said to the slave, "Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city
and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” The celebration
will go on. The preparations are made. We won't cancelthis event. Every
seatwill be filled, but it's going to be fulfilled by the most unlikely people.
Now Jesus had just told them back in verses 12 and 13, "Whenyou have a

dinner don't just invite your brothers and your friends and the rich, but find
the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame." And here this again
appears here. Go at once into the streets and lanes in the city. We're talking
about the streetpeople here. We're talking about the poor, the crippled, the
blind, the lame. We're talking about the beggars and the outcasts who live in
the slums, who live in the shanties. We're talking about le miserables. We're
talking about the...the outcasts, the untouchables. Go to the poor sections of
town, the slums. Find the scum, the riffraff.
And the now the story turns from one kind of preposterous idea, that the
people invited wouldn't come, to an equally preposterous idea, that the man
would invited the scum. Neitherof these are anywhere near reality in the
societyof the Jews. Neitherwould happen. The first group wouldn't turn
down the invitation and the secondgroup would never ever be invited. The
Jews prided themselves on never touching the outcasts, onscorning Jesus for
associating with prostitutes and tax collectors andsinners. They even
confronted the disciples of Jesus as we learnedearlier in Luke and said,
“Your mastereats with sinners.” These people were below the waterline of
socialacceptance.
But the master says go and bring them and it would have to be brought. The
verb “bring in,” in verse 21, is important. They would have to be brought in
because they would resistit. They know socialprotocoland as we pointed out
last time, it's all about reciprocation. I'll hold a banquet for rich friends so
rich friends will hold a banquet for me. That's how it works. The elite stayed
togetherand scratchedeachother's back. And these people would have said
look, I can't repay anything. There's no...Idon't want to come to a dinner
there because I'm going to be obligatedto provide one in reciprocation. I
can't do that. I have no capability to do that. Plus I'm not worthy to come
into that place.
You know, when Luke was convertedas a tax collectorhe had a big banquet,
but the only people who would come to the banquet were other tax collectors
and the strong-arm people who broke people's arms to collecthis taxes and all
the riffraff that went with them. Now these people would have to be brought
in. They would have to be literally persuadedto come because it was so
againstthe convention that they were used to. And that's the kind of attitude
that Jesus wantedpeople to have.
The slave, verse 22 said, "Masterwhatyou have commanded has been done
and there's still room." I gotall the people I could from the poor sectionand
there's still room. Still some seats atthe table. It's a very big place, a very big
dinner. And so in verse 23, the master said to the slave, “Go out into the

highways, along the hedges and compel them to come in.” Now you have to
compel these. You have to bring the ones in town because they're going to
resistyou just because they know they can't pay back. They know they don't
belong there. Now when you go out it's even going to be a more difficult task
so you compel them to come in. Those people don't even have houses inside
the city. They're not allowedin the city. They live outside the city. They are
the highway people. They live in the brothels, the inns, the roadhouses and
along the road and in the trees and in the bushes.
And their harder to reachbecause they're scatteredfarther and you're going
to have to compel them to come in because if the people inside the city, at least
they've been acceptedinto the city, if they have a hard time accepting the fact
that they could come to a banquet like this, these people are going to have an
even harder time. So you really do need to compel them. And the idea of the
word “compel” here is a very strong word. I'll comment on it a little later.
Verse 24 then goes to the exclusion.
We see the invitation, excuses, the inclusion of this other group and now the
exclusion. Verse 24, "ForI tell you none of those men who were invited shall
taste of my dinner." Now they would all say, “It's right. Boy! I agree with you
on that one.” The whole ridiculous story would come to this ending, but in
one sense, theywould all say well, of course, if anybody did that you'd never
ever let them back into the dinner. They forfeited their privilege for good
with that kind of conduct. Theywould all agree with that. But at this point,
the applicationof the parable takes it a completely different direction. The
story has all along been in the third person. A man, giving a dinner, he sent
his slave, and the people made excuses. It's all in the third person.
But all of a sudden in verse 24, we move into the first and secondperson. This
is no longerthe story. This is the application: "ForI tell you." And now he's
pointing the story at his audience. This is not he and them, this is you and I
am telling you. By the way, “forI tell you” appears six or seventimes in the
gospelof Luke. Every time it's when Jesus applies a story to His audience. "I
tell you none of those men who were invited," notice this, "shalltaste of my
dinner." We're not talking about the man and his dinner. We're talking Jesus
and the Messianic dinner. We're talking about heaven. We're talking about
the greatbanquet provided for the resurrectionof the righteous. We're
talking about the heavenly celebration, salvation, eternalkingdom,
resurrection, life.
Jesus says, "Itell you none of those who were invited shall taste of my
dinner." Bottom line, you will be excluded from the heavenly banquet, which
means you will not be in the kingdom of God, not among the blessed, nor will

you be there at the resurrectionof the righteous. Now let's go back to the
parable and see the application. All of a sudden what's bursting on their
minds at this juncture...By this application, they recycle it and this is what
they come up with. The invitation, a man, that's God, was giving a big dinner.
Salvation, the eternalkingdom, the resurrectionof the righteous, the heavenly
celebration, the lavish banquet in glory, and He invited, through the prophets
and the men of God and the authors of Old TestamentScripture many,
meaning Israel, the pre-invited guests, the chosenpeople of God to whom
were given the Scriptures and the covenants and the promises and Messiah
and the adoption.
And they all said yes. The first reactionto the Old Testamentrevelationis
this. You're God's chosenpeople. God has prepared and provided for you,
eternal life. He invites you to that eternal life. He invites you to the heavenly,
lavish banquet. He invites you into His eternal kingdom and they believed it.
They believed they were God's chosen people. They believed they would be
resurrectedinto heavenly glory and blessing. This was their hope. This still is
the hope of all religious Jews. Theybelieve that they will be the recipients of
all the Old Testamentpromises. Theybelieve it.
And included with them are other proselytes from the Gentiles who became
proselytes to Judaism. Theytoo will share in that kingdom, even though, as
verse 34 of chapter 13 says, "Theyhad killed the prophets and stonedthe
divine messengers." Theyhad rebelled. Theyhad gone into idolatry. They
still believed that because oftheir Abrahamic ancestry, we are the seedof
Abraham and because oftheir keeping of the tradition they were going to be
there. They were waiting for the kingdom. They were waiting for the
Messiah. Theywere in full hope of that promise. That's why all Judea and
Jerusalemwas going out to John the Baptist, who was saying the kingdom is
at hand, the king is here. That was their anticipated hope. And as I said, they
lived for that. That's why they would live with all the strictures.
But at the dinner hour, which Jesus calledthe acceptable yearof the Lord, the
moment when the meal was ready He sent His slave...Goddid, to sayto those
who had been invited, "come for everything is ready now." This could be
John the Baptistor Jesus and the apostles, allof them. The messengers come
and sayit's time now, the kingdom is ready, the door is open, the meal is
provided, salvationis here. Jesus saidto the synagogue crowdin Nazareth,
He said, "Today, these things are fulfilled in your ears." The pre-invited
guests were given the secondinvitation. Everything is ready. The king is here
and the kingdom was offeredto them.

And then we see the excuses. Theyall beganto make excuses. Twoofthem
have to do with possessions. One ofthem has to do with relationships. And
this is typical. That's all you've got in this world. You either have possessions
or relationships. You either have animate things or inanimate things. You
either stuff or people to fill your life. Disinterest, indifference, self-
satisfaction, the joke is on them by now as they processedthis again they're
probably not laughing any more, because they're the ones that are holding on
to the deceitfulness ofriches and the cares ofthis world in the language of the
parables of Matthew 13 and also in Luke.
They are not interested in the messageofJesus Christ or in Jesus Christ.
When the true gospelof salvationcame, they wantedto stone Him. One
messagein the synagogue in Nazarethand they tried to throw Him off a cliff.
They have no interestin the banquet of God if Jesus Christ is the door to the
banquet hall. They have no interest in the banquet of God if Jesus Christis
the way. They are the fools with the stupid excuses, who hold onto everything,
and that's why Jesus said, "If you're not willing to sell all and follow me, you
can't be my disciple; if you're not willing to hate your father, your mother,
your sister, your brother and even your ownlife." Look at it down in the same
chapter, verse 26. "If anyone comes to me and doesn'thate his own father,
mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters and even his own life, he can't be
my disciple. Whoeverdoesn't carry his owncross, come afterme can't be my
disciple."
Jesus repeatedlysaid this. Often spoke of leaving material possessions and
leaving human relationships behind. You see the Jews had all said yes to
God's promise and no to God's Son. Yes, to the original invitation, no to the
invitation to come. Theywere dominated like all sinners by natural desire,
love of the flesh, love of the world, love of self. How stupid to make dirt your
priority or oxen or a relationship, even that with a wife. Thatis exactly why
in chapter 13:34 He said, "I wantedto gatheryour children togetheras a hen
gathers her brood under her wings. You wouldn’t have it. Now your house is
left to you." Godsteps back. I abandon you. You are desolate.
And judgment fell in 70 A.D. physically when the Romans came and
massacredhundreds of thousands of Jews. And the slaughterwent on for
years and years. How stupid to prefer anything to salvation. How ridiculous
to make that choice with the most severe and eternalconsequences. How
much better to do as Paul, to see all of that stuff connectedto his Judaism as
manure comparedto Christ.
Then we come to inclusion. Verses 21-23,they're reprocessing this againand
starting to be clear what He's talking about.

So he came back, reports, the householdhead is angry. God has been
dishonored. Godhas been scorned. Godhas been affronted. His goodness
and His generosityand His kindness have been treatedwith contempt. This is
a righteous, just angerand they know it. They would have said it in their
minds. Whoa, that man has every right to be angry, and so does God have
every right to be angry with those who rejectHis Son. The story seemed, at
first, to be ridiculous, but the very ones amused by it were the ones who now
see themselves under the anger of God. John 3:36, "He who believes in the
Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Sonwill not see life, but the
wrath of God abides on Him."
And in 2 Thessalonianstells us in strong, strong language, unforgettable
language, that when the Lord comes He will deal out retribution to those who
do not know God and do not obey the gospelofour Lord Jesus Christ and
they will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, judgment. They knew what
He was saying. He is angry and you are excluded. You're desolate, left to
yourselves. And then, "Go into the streets and lanes of the city and bring the
poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame." You remember the Sermon on the
Mount, the meek inherit the kingdom? The spiritually bankrupt, the humble,
the hungry, the thirsty? This is what He's saying.
Go out and find the people who are spiritually destitute. Go out and find the
people who are broken and hungry. Go out and find the sinners who know
they're unworthy. Go out and find those who know they don't belong at the
banquet of God because oftheir wretchedness, the tax collectorsand the
riffraff. Go find the beggars, the untouchables, those who are spiritually
aware of their utter uselessness, hopelessnessandunworthiness. The banquet
will not include the Pharisees, notinclude the scribes, not include the rabbis
and the priests. With a few exceptions it will not include the generalreligious
synagogue people. Butthe banquet will include the outcasts, like the publican,
Luke 18, pounding his breast. "Godbe merciful to me, a sinner." That's why
1 Corinthians 1 says not many noble, not many mighty. God has chosenthe
humble and the poor and the base and the lowly and the nobodies.
That's the Jewishremnant. That's the Jews who were broken enough and
humble enough and spiritually mourning over their wretchednessand they
came out of the outcastcrowd. But the slave comes back in verse 22 and says,
"What you've commanded has been done, there's still room." There's not
enough from just the remnant of Jews andthroughout all of history there
continue to be a remnant of Jews who come to faith in Christ, who humble
themselves and know they are the meek and the mourning and the lowly and
the destitute and the hungry and the thirsty and the outcasts, like Paul, who

saw himself as the chief of sinners. But that's not enough. There's not just
going to be the Jewishremnant to fill up heaven. There's still room.
So verse 23, "The mastersaid to the slave, go outside the city. Go over to the
highways and along the hedges." This indicates Gentiles. Getoutside of the
confines of Judaism. Now we're talking about the greatcommission. "Go
into all the world, preachthe gospelto every creature. Make disciples of
every nation. Go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the world." Now we're
talking about preaching the gospel, Romans 1:16, to the Jew first and also to
the Gentile. The highways, the hedges:That's all over everywhere, outside the
confines of the city. People of every tongue and tribe and people and nation
and compelthem, anagkaz, very strong word. It means to persuade strongly,
to urge, to constrain, because they're going to say well, I'm not even a part of
Israel. I'm not even inside all of this choosing ofGod, this people of God.
I...I'm unworthy.
You're going to have to compel them. That verb is used by Jesus...ofJesusin
Matthew 14:22, making the disciples getinto the boat; strong, convincing
persuasion, getin the boat. It's used by Paul in Acts 26:11, who tried to force
people to blaspheme. It's used again, 28 of Acts, he was forced, compelled,
urged, had no other course than to appeal to Caesar, he says, in his conflict
with the Jews. Itwas used regarding Titus being compelledto be circumcised
in Galatians chapter 2. So it's a strong word. You're going to have to compel
these people because oftheir unworthiness. This is againthis publican
attitude.
And here I...It's not, “Here I am Jesus. Aren't You glad to get me?” It's, “I'm
not worthy. I don't deserve this, but I cry out for mercy. God be merciful to
me, a sinner.” So God gave the invitation in the Old Testamentand reiterated
it in John the Baptist. Then came the secondinvitation when everything was
ready and Christ, Himself, came and His apostles preachedthe second
invitation. Israelrejectedand the salvation of God reacheddown below the
sociallyacceptable line to collecta remnant of outcastJews who were the
riffraff of societyfor the most part. And then was extended in the great
commissionto the Gentiles and to the world.
The celebrationwill occur and the table will be filled by a Jewishremnant and
a Gentile church. That takes us to the final statement again, the exclusion
statementin verse 24. "I tell you none of those men who were invited shall
taste of my dinner." The nation of Israelwon't be there. The Israelof the life
of Christ won't be there. Much of Israel in the history before and since the
predominant reality is this, they will not be there. The vast amount of Jews,
14-15 million today, will not be there. The horrible tragedy of Israel's

unbelief and rejectionof God, the Messiah, salvation, is a forfeiture of eternal
blessing and eternallife. "They will never taste my dinner."
They may wonder: Lord, Lord, we did this, we did that. "Departfrom me, I
never knew you." Absence, listen, is due to the rejectionof Jesus Christ.
Absence at that dinner is due to a rejectionof the gospel. The originally
invited ones won't be there. And there are many of you who have been
invited. You have heard God's invitation to the banquet and you have used
some lame and ridiculous excuse to refuse to come to Christ. Take this
warning. Unless you acceptGod's invitation to come through Christ, you
won't be there either. No matter how much of an invitation you had you're
going to be like those virgins in Matthew 25, on the outside with no oil in your
lamp, a lot of spiritual information and no light.
Anyone who rejects Jesus Christwill never experience heaven. Anyone who
rejects Jesus Christwill never experience the celebrationGodhas prepared in
heaven for those that love His Son. And the gospelis God's invitation. Take a
look at what ridiculous excuses youmight be throwing up that will ultimately
exclude you from the greatestopportunity ever given.
Father, we come to you now at the end of this service, beengripped in our
minds and hearts by the potency of this scene. We don't know the outcome. It
doesn't tell us how they responded. And it's an open end and it should be
because the same parable needs to be told againand againas it has been this
morning. There is an invitation, not just to Israel, but to the Gentiles. The
invitation will not be receivedby the people with silly, superficial excuses who
want to hold onto their possessions andtheir relationships. But it will be
receivedby the broken and the humble and the meek and the mourning and
the destitute and the lowly who know they aren't worthy to come into Your
glorious presence. Theyaren't worthy to come into Your heaven. They aren't
worthy to come to Your feasts and Your banquet, but they will be compelled
and urged to come. And one day Your banquet will be full, and it will be full
of the most unlikely. And there are going to be many Jews in hell as Jesus
said earlierwho are going to become aware that there at that banquet will be
Abraham and Isaac, Jacoband others and people from the eastand the west
and the north and the south, from all over the world, but they themselves shut
out.
Father, extend that invitation with grace and power through the Spirit to
every heart here. May there be no foolishexcuses. Maythere be an
embracing of the only way of salvation, the only hope of heaven, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Father, we do commit to you this truth and we thank You for
the greatand glorious time of worship and the refreshment of being in Your

presence with Your people. We pray that the truth that we have learned
today may be useful to us, not only in our own lives, but as we reach out to
others. May we like Jesus seekto pull the rug out from under people who are
living with a false hope. May we unmistakably and clearly tell people that
apart from Christ there will never be a heaven. Use us Lord to bear Your
truth to those who need to hear. We thank You in Your Son's name, amen.
A. MACLAREN
EXCUSES NOT REASONS
‘They all with one consentbegan to make excuse.—LUKE xiv. 18.
Jesus Christ was at a feastin a Pharisee’s house. It was a strange place for
Him—and His words at the table were also strange. ForHe first rebuked the
guests, and then the host; telling the former to take the lowerrooms, and
bidding the latter widen his hospitality to those that could not recompense
him. It was a sharp saying;and one of the other guests turned the edge of it by
laying hold of our Lord’s final words: ‘Thou shalt be recompensedat the
resurrectionof the just,’ and saying, no doubt in a pious tone and with a
devout shake ofthe head, ‘Blessedis he that shall eatbread in the Kingdom of
God.’ It was a very proper thing to say, but there was a ring of conventional,
commonplace piety about it, which struck unpleasantly on Christ’s ear. He
answers the speakerwiththat strange story of the greatfeastthat nobody
would come to, as if He had said, ‘You pretend to think that it is a blessed
thing to eat bread in the Kingdom of God, Why! You will not eatbread when
it is offered to you.’
I dare say you all know enough of the parable to make it unnecessaryfor me
to go overit. A great feastis prepared; invitations, more or less general, are
sent out at first, everything is ready; and, behold, there is a table, and nobody
to sit at it. A strange experience for a hospitable man! And so he sends his
servants to beat up the unwilling guests, and, one after another, with more or
less politeness, refuses to come.
I need not follow the story further. In the latter part of the parable our Lord
shadows the transference ofthe blessings ofthe Kingdom to the Gentiles,
outcasts as the Jews thought them, skulking in the hedges and tramping on
the highways. In the first part He foreshadowsthe failure of His own
preaching amongstHis own people. But Jews and Englishmen are very much

alike. The wayin which these invited guests treatedthe invitation to this feast
is being repeated, day by day, by thousands of men round us; and by some of
ourselves. ‘Theyall, with one consent, beganto make excuse.’
I. The first thing that I would desire you to notice is the strangelyunanimous
refusal.
The guests’conductin the story is such as life and reality would afford no
example of. No set of people, askedto a greatbanquet, would behave as these
people in the parable do. Then, is the introduction of such an unnatural trait
as this a fault in the constructionof narrative? No! Ratherit is a beauty, for
the very point of the story is the utter unnaturalness of the conduct described,
and the contrastthat is presented betweenthe way in which men regardthe
lowerblessings from which these people are representedas turning, and in
which they regard the loftier blessings that are offered. Nobody would turn
his hack upon such a banquet if he had the chance ofgoing to it. What, then,
shall we say of those who, by platoons and regiments, turn their backs upon
this higher offer? The very preposterous unnaturalness of the conduct, if the
parable were a true story, points to the deep meaning that lies behind it: that
in that higher regionthe unnatural is the universal, or all but universal.
And, indeed, it is so. One would almost venture to say that there is a kind of
law according to which the more valuable a thing is the less men care to have
it; or, if you like to put it into more scientific language, the attraction of an
objectis in the inverse ratio to its worth. Small things, transitory things,
material things, everybody grasps at; and the number of graspers steadily
decreases as yougo up the scale in preciousness,until, when you reachthe
highest of all, there are the fewestthat want them. Is there anything lower
than goodthat merely gratifies the body? Is there anything that the most of
men want more? Are there many things lowerin the scale than money? Are
there many things that pull more strongly? Is not truth better than wealth?
Are there more pursuers of it than there are of the former? For one man who
is eagerto know, and counts his life well spent, in following knowledge
‘Like a sinking star,
Beyond the furthest bounds of human thought,’
there are a hundred who think it rightly expended in the pursuit after the
wealth that perishes. Is not goodness higherthan truth, and are not the men
that are content to devote themselves to becoming wise more numerous than
those that are contentto devote themselves to becoming pure? And, topmost
of all, is there anything to be compared with the gifts that are held out to us in
that greatSaviour and in His message?And is there anything that the mass of

men pass by with more unanimous refusal than the offered feastwhich the
greatKing of humanity has provided for His subjects? What is offeredfor
eachof us, pressedupon us, in the gift of Jesus Christ? Help, guidance,
companionship, restfulness of heart, powerof obedience, victory over self,
control of passions, supremacyovercircumstances, tranquillity deep and
genuine, death abolished, Heaven opened, measureless hopes following upon
perfect fruition, here and hereafter. These things are all gatheredinto, and
their various sparkles absorbedin, the one steady light of that one great
encyclopaediacalword—Salvation. Thesegifts are going begging, lying at our
doors, offered to every one of us, pressedupon all on the simple condition of
taking Christ for Saviourand King. And what do we do with them? ‘They all,
with one consent, beganto make excuse.’
One hears of barbarous people that have no use for the goldthat abounds in
their country, and do not think it half as valuable as glass beads. Thatis how
men estimate the true and the trumpery treasures which Christ and the world
offer. I declare it seems to me that, calmly looking at men’s nature, and their
duration, and then thinking of the aims of the most of them, we should not be
very far wrong if we said an epidemic of insanity sits upon the world. For
surely to turn awayfrom the gold and to hug the glass beads is very little
short of madness. ‘This their way is their folly, and their posterity approve
their sayings.’
And now notice that this refusalmay be, and often in fact is, accompanied
with lip recognitionof the preciousness ofthe neglectedthings. That Pharisee
who put up the pillow of his pious sentiment—a piece of cant, because he did
not feelwhat he was saying—to deadenthe cannon-ball of Christ’s word, is
only a pattern of a goodmany of us who think that to say, ‘Blessedis he that
eatethbread in the Kingdom of God,’ with the proper unctuous roll of the
voice, is pretty nearly as goodas to take the bread that is offered to us. There
are no more difficult people to getat than the people, of whom I am sure I
have some specimens before me now, who bow their heads in assentto the
word of the Gospel, and by bowing them escape its impact, and let it whistle
harmlessly over. You that believe every word that I or my brethren preach,
and never dream of letting it affect your conduct—if there be degrees in that
lunatic asylum of the world, surely you are candidates for the highest place.
II. Now, secondly, notice the flimsy excuses.
‘They all, with one consent, began.’I do not suppose that they had laid their
heads together, or that our Lord intends us to suppose that there was a
conspiracyand concertof refusal, but only that without any previous
consultation, all had the same sentiments, and offered substantially the same

answer. All the reasons that are given come to one and the same thing—viz.
occupationwith present interests, duties, possessions,oraffections. There are
differences in the excuses whichare not only helps to the vividness of the
narrative, but also express differences in the speakers. One man is a shade
politer than the others. He puts his refusal on the ground of necessity. He
‘must,’ and so he courteouslyprays that he may be held excused. The second
one is not quite so polite; but still there is a touch of courtesyabout him too.
He does not pretend necessityas his friend had done, but he simply says, ‘I am
going’; and that is not quite so courteous as the former answer, but still he
begs to be excused. The last man thinks that he has such an undeniable reason
that he may be as brusque as he likes, and so he says, ‘I have married a wife,
and therefore I cannot come’and I do not make any apologies. So with
varying degrees ofapparent recognitionof the claims of host and feast, the
ground of refusal is setforth as possessions in two cases, andas affections in
the third; and these so fill the men’s hearts and minds that they have no time
to attend to the callthat summons them to the feast.
Now it is obvious to note that the allegednecessityin one of these excuses was
no necessityat all. Who made the ‘must’? The man himself. The field would
not run away though he waitedtill to-morrow. The bargain was finished, for
he had bought it. There was no necessityfor his going, and the next day would
have done quite as wellas to-day; so the ‘must’ was entirely in his own mind.
That is to say, a greatmany of us mask inclinations under the garb of
imperative duties and say, ‘We are so pressedby necessaryobligations and
engagements thatwe really have not gotany time to attend to these higher
questions which you are trying to press upon us.’ You remember the old story.
‘I must live,’ said the thief. ‘I do not see the necessity,’saidthe judge. A man
says, ‘I must be at business to-morrow morning at half-past eight. How canI
think about religion?’Well, if you really must, you can think about it. But if
you are only juggling and deceiving yourself with inclinations that pose as
necessities, the soonerthe veil is off the better, and you understand
whereabouts you are, and what is your true position in reference to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ.
But then let me, only in a word, remind you that the other side of the excuse is
a very operative one. ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
There are some of us around whom the strong graspof earthly affections is
flung so embracingly and sweetlythat we cannot, as we think, turn our loves
upward and fix them upon God. Fathers and mothers, husbands and wives,
parents and children, remember Christ’s deep words, ‘A man’s foes shall be
they of his own household’; and be sure that the prediction is fulfilled many a

time by the hindrances of their love even more than by the opposition of their
hatred.
All these excuses referto legitimate things. It is perfectly right that the man
should go and see afterhis field, perfectly right that the ten bullocks should be
harnessedand tried, perfectly right that the sweetnessofwedded love should
be tasted and drunk, perfectly wrong that any of them should be put as a
reasonfor not accepting Christ’s offer. Let us take the lessonthat legitimate
business and lawful and pure affections may ruin a soul, and may constitute
the hindrance that blocks its road to God.
Brethren, I said that these were flimsy excuses. I shall have to explain what I
mean by that in a moment. As excuses they are flimsy; but as reasons which
actually operate with hundreds of people, preventing them from being
Christians, they are not flimsy; they are most solid and real. Our Lord does
not mean them as exhaustive. There are a greatmany other grounds upon
which different types of characterturn awayfrom the offered blessings ofthe
Gospel, which do not come within view of the parable. But although not
exhaustive they are widely operative. I wonder how many men and women
there are listening to me now of whom it is true that they are so busy with
their daily occupations that they have not time to be religious, and of how
many men, and perhaps more especiallywomen, among us at this moment it is
true that their hearts are so ensnaredwith loves that belong to earth—
beautiful and potentially sacredand elevating as these are—thatthey have not
time to turn themselves to the one eternal Lover of their souls. Let me beseech
you, dear friends—and you especiallywho are strangers to this place and to
my voice—to do what I cannot, and would not if I could, lay these thoughts on
your own hearts, and ask yourselves, ‘Is it I?’
And then before I pass from this point of my discourse, remember that the
contrariety betweenthese duties and the acceptanceofthe offered feast
existed only in the imagination of the men that made them. There is no reason
why you should not go to the feastand see afteryour field. There is no reason
why you should not love your wife and go to the feast. God’s summons comes
into collisionwith many wishes, but with no duties or legitimate occupations.
The more a man accepts andlives upon the goodthat Jesus Christ spreads
before him, the more fit will he be for all his work, and for all his enjoyments.
The field will be better tilled, the bullocks will be better driven, the wife will
be more wisely, tenderly, and sacredlyloved if in your hearts Christ is
enthroned, and whatsoeveryou do you do as for Him. It is only the excessive
and abusive possessionof His gifts and absorption in our duties and relations
that turns them into impediments in the path of our Christian life. And the

flimsiness of the excuse is manifest by the fact that the contrarity is self-
created.
III. Lastly, note the real reason.
I have said that as pretexts the three explanations were unsatisfactory. When
a man pleads a previous engagementas a reasonfor not accepting an
invitation, nine times out of ten it is a polite way of saying, ‘I do not want to
go.’It was so in this case. How all these absolute impossibilities, which made it
perfectly out of the question that the three recreants should sit down at the
table, would have melted into thin air if, by any chance, there had come into
their minds a wish to be there! They would have found means to look after the
field and the cattle and the home, and to be in their places notwithstanding, if
they had wanted. The real reasonthat underlies men’s turning away from
Christ’s offer is, as I said in the beginning of my remarks, that they do not
care to have it. They have no inclinations and no tastes forthe higher and
purer blessings.
Brother, do not let us lose ourselves in generalities. Iam talking about you,
and about the setof your inclinations and tastes. And I want you to ask
yourself whether it is not a fact that some of you like oxen better than God;
whether it is not a fact that if the two were there before you, you would rather
have a goodbig field made over to you than have the food that is spread upon
that table.
Well then what is the cause ofthe perverted inclination? Why is it that when
Christ says, ‘Child, come to Me, and I will give thee pardon, peace, purity,
power, hope, Heaven, Myself,’ there is no responsive desire kindled in the
heart? Why do I not want God? Why do I not care for Jesus Christ? Why do
the blessings aboutwhich preachers are perpetually talking seemto me so
shadowy, so remote from anything that I need, so ill-fitting to anything that I
desire? There must be something very deeply wrong. This is what is wrong,
your heart has shakenitself loose from dependence upon God; and you have
no love as you ought to have for Him. You prefer to stand alone. The prodigal
son, having gone awayinto the far country, likes the swine’s husks better than
the bread in his father’s house, and it is only when the supply of the latter
coarse dainty gives out that the purer taste becomes strong. Strange, is it not?
but yet it is true.
Now there are one or two things that I want to say about this indifference,
resulting from preoccupationand from alienation, and which hides its
ugliness behind all manner of flimsy excuses.One is that the reasonitself is
utterly unreasonable. I have said the true reasonis indifference. Cananybody

put into words which do not betray the absurdity of the position, the conduct
of the man who says, ‘I do not want God; give me five yoke of oxen. That is
the realgood, and I will stick by that.’ There is one mystery in the world, and
if it were solved everything would be solved; and that mystery is that men
turn awayfrom God and cleave to earth. No accountcanbe given of sin. No
accountcan be given of man’s preference for the lesserand the lower; and
neglectof the greaterand the higher, exceptto say it is utterly inexplicable
and unreasonable.
I need not saysuch indifference is shameful ingratitude to the yearning love
which provides, and the infinite sacrifice by which was provided, this great
feastto which we are asked. It costChrist pains, and tears, and blood, to
prepare that feast, and He looks to us, and says to us, ‘Come and drink of the
wine which I have mingled, and eatof the bread which I have provided at
such a cost.’There are monsters of ingratitude, but there are none more
miraculously monstrous than the men who look, as some of us are doing,
untouched on Christ’s sacrifice, and listen unmoved to Christ’s pleadings.
The excuses willdisappear one day. We cantrick our consciences;we canput
off the messengers;we cannotdeceive the Host. All the thin curtains that we
weave to veil the nakedugliness of our unwillingness to acceptChrist will be
burnt up one day. And I pray you to ask yourselves, ‘Whatshall I say when
He comes and asks me, “Why was thy place empty at My table”?’‘And he
was speechless.’Do not, dear brethren, refuse that gift, lest you bring upon
yourselves the terrible and righteous wrath of the Host whose invitation you
are slighting, and at whose table you are refusing to sit.
SERMON:Table Talk:Parables about Banquet Invitations SCRIPTURE:
Luke 14:1-24 SPEAKER:MichaelP. Andrus DATE: July 31, 2005
Suppose you invite a couple hundred guests to a sit-down receptionat your
daughter’s wedding. In the middle of the meal one of them does something
really offensive to everyone else, but instead of apologizing he begins to
criticize the other guests, then he turns and rebukes you as the hostfor not
inviting the right kind of guests. And suppose he goes evenfurther and tells a
story that implies that you and most of your friends are going to hell. You
wouldn’t be very happy, would you? Well, in effectthat’s what happens in our

Scripture text today, and the rude guest at the dinner table is none other than
Jesus. Luke 14:1-24:One Sabbath, when Jesus wentto eat in the house of a
prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him
was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus askedthe Phariseesand experts in the
law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent. So
taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. Then he asked
them, "If one of you has a sonor an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath
day, will you not immediately pull him out?" And they had nothing to say.
When he noticed how the guests pickedthe places ofhonor at the table, he
told them this parable: "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. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you,
'Give this man your seat.'Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least
important place. But when you are invited, take the lowestplace, 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 ofall your fellow guests. Foreveryone
who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted." Then Jesus saidto 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. But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will
be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the righteous." Whenone of those at the table with him heard
this, he said to Jesus, "Blessedis the man who will eat at the feastin the
kingdom of God." Jesus replied: "A certainman 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.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just
bought a field, and I must go and see it. Pleaseexcuse me.' "Another said, 'I
have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my wayto try them out. Please
excuse me.' "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
2
"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the ownerof
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.' "Thenthe mastertold his servant, 'Go out to the roads
and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell
you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’"
Jesus accepts a suspicious dinner invitation. (1-6)
I call it suspicious because itcomes from a prominent Pharisee andfrom the
note that “he was being carefully watched.” The Phariseeswere fastbecoming
Jesus’mostimplacable enemies. There may have been a few Pharisees who
had not yet made up their minds about Him, but this man was not one of
them, for he apparently had arranged for some of the guests to “spy” upon
Jesus, to watch His every move and listen to His every word, so that reports
could be takenback to the authorities.
Have you ever wonderedhow Jesus managedto survive the pressure of being
under constant scrutiny and attack. When that happens to most people they
lose their nerve, and evenmore often, they lose their temper. They become
irritable and angry. Kenny Rogers ofthe Texas Rangers andLance
Armstrong have both struggledgreatly with a hostile press. Imagine how they
would have fared under the Pharisees!
Do you know what the secretof Jesus’ survival was? He never had anything to
hide. He was the same at night as during the day, the same in private as in
public, the same with friends as with foes. When that’s the case, one doesn’t
need to worry about spies or bad press. (Just as an aside, I get exasperatedat
times by the paranoia expressedby certain groups, liberal and conservative,
who are always challenging the PatriotAct or the notion of a NationalID
card, always fighting the use of public video cameras, and constantlyarguing
for privacy rights. I know that government prying can getout of hand, but
frankly, the person who isn’t doing anything wrong doesn’thave much to
worry about, at leastnot in this country. That’s just my own personalopinion
and I won’t charge you anything extra for it).
Undoubtedly these Phariseeswere particularly watching to see if Jesus would
do the unthinkable again–i.e. healsomeone onthe Sabbath. To that end they
had planted a man suffering from dropsy right in front of Jesus. Now Jesus

knows what they are up to, but He goes onthe offensive. He asks them, “Is it
lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
But they remain silent. Why? Becausethey canalready feel themselves being
impaled on the horns of anotherdilemma. The Mosaic Law didn’t forbid
healing on the Sabbath, but their rabbinic traditions did. If they say “no, it’s
not lawful,” they will be guilty of going beyond the teaching of Moses. If they
say “yes, it is lawful,” they will be in trouble with their own rabbis. Worse yet,
they will lose their #1 issue againstHim–Sabbath violation.
3
When they refuse to answerHis question, He goes aheadand heals the man
anyway, and sends him away. Then Jesus appeals for consistencyand a sense
of proportion: “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the
Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” Well, they know very
goodand well they would. And they know the unspoken punch line: “If you
would do as much for a son or an ox, why should I not release a man suffering
from a serious illness?” And it says, “Theyhad nothing to say.” What could
they say? He gave them an opportunity to speak to the issue before He
performed the miracle and they passed. Now allthey can do is stare in silence
and seethinside.
Now Jesus has gottenoff to a rather rocky start at this dinner. He has done
something very offensive to His host and to most of the other guests–not
something wrong, mind you, but certainly something thoroughly
unappreciated. Now if you’re a guestin someone else’shome, the last thing
you want to do is to offend them. And if you do, it might be wise to rebuild the
damagedbridges as quickly as possible. Instead, however, whatJesus does is .
. .
He uses a parable to criticize the other guests for their bad manners. (7-11)

Jesus was always very observant. One of the things He noticed during Happy
Hour at the Pharisees’house is that the guests had maneuvered for the places
of honor. From that observationHe seizes the opportunity to teachan
important spiritual truth.
But first, a bit of background. An ancient dinner was generallyheld around a
low, U-shaped table. The host sat (or actually reclined) at the center of the
bend in the U. The highestplace of honor was at the host’s left, the next
highest to his right, then at the centerof eachleg. The restof the places were
filled by those of lesserimportance. In this particular case, the guests had
conducted an undignified scramble for the best seats.
Without mentioning what He has observed and without pointing at anyone in
particular, Jesus teaches by means of a parable. He asks them to suppose they
have been invited to a wedding feast. He advises them, for their own sake, not
to grab for the places of honor, for such an actionruns a distinct risk. If one is
forcedto vacate his place because ofthe arrival of someone with higher
credentials, he may find all the other places occupied(because youcan hardly
ask everyone in the place getup and move down one place)and have to take
the leastdesirable place. In a societywhere honor and shame were major
issues, having to move from the top place to the bottom was an eventuality
that was almostunbearable.
The situation Jesus describes reminds me of a story that Chuck Colsonrelates
regarding Gen. Alexander Haig, a man known for an ego as big as all
outdoors. On October5, 1971 Haig, who was White House Chief of Staff,
decided to use the PresidentialBox at the ConcertHall in the Kennedy
Center. Imagine the importance and pride he felt as he surveyed the crowd,
which always looks up to see who is sitting in the PresidentialBox.
Unbeknownst to him, however, Richard Nixon decidedat the last minute he
wanted to attend the concert. The whole story is rather humorous but we’ll
only refer to the outcome. Haig had to vacate the box and apparently spent
the remainder of the evening standing in the hall because the concertwas a
sell-out.

4
The alternative to the embarrassmentof being humiliated is to take the lowest
place to begin with, so that if you are moved, it can only be to a higher place.
Jesus seems to be alluding to Proverbs 25:6,7, where we read, “Do not exalt
yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among greatmen; it
is better for him to say to you, ‘Come up here,’ than for him to humiliate you
before a nobleman.” The messageis that the way to the top is to start at the
bottom.
Here’s how Jesus summarizes His point in verse 11: “Foreveryone who exalts
himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” If one
starts at the bottom he runs no other risk than that of being exalted. And the
truly humble man will receive the honor that is due him. He doesn’t need to
seek it; he doesn’tneed to manipulate others to get it; he doesn’t need to
campaignfor it. It’s far better to be drafted.
The Apostle Petersays the same thing in his first epistle: “All of you, clothe
yourselves with humility towardone another; because, ‘Godopposes the
proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under
God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter5:5,6).
Friends, Godknows how to humble the proud. He did it to Queen Jezebel(1
Kings 21). He did it to King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4).
And He also knows how to exalt the humble. Surely the greatestexample of
one humbling himself and then being exalted is sharedfor us in Phil. 2:5-11,
which speaks ofhow Jesus humbled Himself by leaving the glory He enjoyed
in Heaven and being incarnated in the womb of a peasantwoman.
He rebukes the host for his bad motives. (12-14)
Verse 12: “ThenJesus saidto his host, “Whenyou 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. But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will
be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the

resurrectionof the righteous." At first Jesus’exhortationseems strange:stop
inviting your friends and relatives over for dinner. But clearly Jesus’point is
that we should not exclusivelyinvite our friends or relatives or especiallyour
rich neighbors. Why? Because the motives are suspect. It is so easyto have in
the back of one’s mind the issue of return invitations. There are other less
than noble motives, too. Maybe we just like to be seenwith important people.
Maybe we like to brag about whom we had lunch with. Maybe we hope the
networking will pay off in the future.
Now this is not to castany aspersions onthe salesmanwho takes a prospective
client to lunch with the hope of doing business. Noris it to suggestthatthere is
anything necessarilywrong in socializing with one’s friends or with famous
people or with wealthy people. Even rich people need friends, and frankly, one
of the most difficult things for celebrities is to find friends who really care
about them and aren’t trying to use them. But it does speak to the question of
whether
5
we are using friends for our own purposes or making friends for the
Kingdom. The best kind of hospitality is that which is given, not exchanged.
Let’s take a moment right now to apply what we have learned. I encourage
you to examine your own guestlist for the past year. How many guests have
you had who are significantly below your sociallevel? How many guests have
you had whom you didn’t know well? How many who were truly needy and
unable to return any favors? How many were unbelievers whom you were
trying to reach? Orperhaps some need to ask, “Have I had any guests at
all?”
Jesus says there’s a payday coming for those who practice hospitality, but it
may not be the payday we desire. Back in the mid-70's there was an oil filter
commercialon TV in which a garage mechanic suggeststhat an engine
overhaul was necessitatedby the failure to change a $4.95 oilfilter. He says,

“Payme now or pay me later.” Well, Jesus says, “Getpaidnow (with a return
invitation) or getpaid later (with eternaldividends).”
Well, Jesus has offended everyone and has criticized both the guests and the
host. But He’s not quite through.
He delivers another profound parable on dinner invitations (or perhaps better
on excuses).
We are still in the same Pharisee’s house. Everyone is feeling pretty
uncomfortable with Jesus’searching words. Perhaps there is an awkward
silence as everyone looks athis feet. Suddenly one of the guests decides it’s
time to move to a more positive subject. He picks up on Jesus’banquet
illustration and declares, “Blessedis the man who will eatat the feastin the
kingdom of God.” There was a strong expectationin Jewishcircles that there
would be a greatbanquet in the afterlife, and this man has no doubt that he
would be there. But Jesus challenges the man’s assumption. He tells the whole
group that those who appear to be in line for such blessing run a greatrisk of
not making it to the table at all.
Invitations extended. We see in Jesus’ parable the ancient custom of double
invitations. Because people had no watches and time was very elastic and
banquets took a long time to prepare, the hostwould generallynot only send
out invitations in advance of a dinner, but when the actualtime came he
would send servants to inform those who had acceptedthe invitations that
dinner was now ready.
Everyone seems to have acceptedthe initial invitation; at leastthere were no
refusals. This might be compared on a spiritual level to the generalresponse
of the average personto the evidence for the existence of God and the need for
a religious dimension in life. Mostpeople say, “Yes, I believe in God.” But
when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of actually coming to Him (which is
analogous to personalsurrender to Christ), then it is a different story. Where
one might expect a scramble for seats, he often finds only excuses,and not
even goodones.

6
Excuses offered. The first excuse is, “I have just bought a field, and I must go
and see it. Please excuseme.” Canyou imagine someone buying a field
without first looking at it? And even if he did, the field would still be there the
next day; there was no reasonhe had to see it on the very day of the banquet.
Clearly he did not want to come. I see this as the excuse ofpossessions–
“things” prevent us from being effective disciples. It may be a vacationhome,
it may be a hobby, it may be sports, but “things” are allowedto keepus from
getting serious with God.
The secondexcuse is career. “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on
my wayto try them out. Pleaseexcuse me.” This man is obviously a farmer.
“Business is booming, I can’t be bothered right now.” But again, there is no
need to hurry to try out the oxen; it could be done later in the week.
The third excuse is family: “I just got married, so I can’t come.” Actually
there was a merciful provision in the OT for the newly married. In Deut. 24:5
we read, “If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have
any other duty laid on him. Forone year he is to be free to stay at home and
bring happiness to the wife he has married.” Not a bad concept!But should a
recentmarriage isolate a person from all socialcontact, orkeepa person from
even accepting a banquet invitation, particularly one where the spouse is
equally welcome? Marriagecertainlyinvolves obligations, but it does not
cancelall other obligations. William Barclaywrites, There is no lovelier thing
than a home, and yet a home was never meant to be used selfishly. They live
best togetherwho live with God; they serve eachother best who also serve
their fellow men; the atmosphere of a home is most lovely when those who
dwell within it never forgetthat they are also members of the greatfamily and
household of God.i
There are other excuses people give today as to why they are not ready to
receive God’s invitation: I got too much religion as a kid. I need to study the
claims of other religions. There are too many hypocrites in the Church. I’ll
considerit when I’m on my deathbed. Well, I suggestto you that the road to

hell is paved, not just with crimes and greatscandals orwith goodintentions,
but with inverted priorities, false values, and sorry excuses.
Two new guestlists developed. The host in this parable, angry at the lame
excuses he receives from those invited, will not allow the ungrateful invitees to
disrupt His plans. So He tears up the original guestlist and orders His
servants to go into the streets and alleys of the town and to bring in the poor,
the crippled, the lame, and the blind. These representthe publicans and
sinners, the Jewishoutcasts like the crippled woman of chapter 13, and the
man with dropsy here in chapter 14.
But still there is room at the banquet. So the servant is sent out once more
with still another list of guests, this time to the roads and country lanes (the
KJV reads, “Highways and hedges”).
7
These representthe Gentiles, the pagans. Jesus’ listeners would certainly not
take kindly to the notion that the Messianic Banquetwould be attended by
Gentiles (the outreachof the Gospelto Gentiles through the Apostle Paul was
still future when Luke wrote). But God is intent upon having every chair filled
at His banquet, and He is willing to go to the ends of the earth to find those
who will acceptHis invitation.
You see, the reasonthe Gentiles are acceptable atthis dinner is that in spite of
their heathen backgrounds, these are the kind of individuals who most readily
see their ownpersonal needs and are willing to acceptthe invitation–people
like St. Augustine, John Newton, Charles Colson, and poor lostsinners
everywhere.
Vachel Lindsay wrote a poem about the Salvation Army. It was entitled,
“GeneralWilliam Booth Enters into Heaven,” and was meant to be sung to
the tune of “The Bloodof the Lamb.” But I will just read the first stanza:
Boothled boldly with his big bass drum The saints smiled gravely and they
said, “He’s come.” Walking lepers followed, rank on rank, Lurching bravos

from the ditches dank, Vermin-eaten saints with moldy breath Unwashed
legions with the ways of death. Frankly, that’s not a bad description of many
of many of Christ’s followers downthrough the ages. Maybe it even describes
a few people here this morning. In fact, it may describe more than realize it.
The servant is told, “Make them come in (compel them) so that my house will
be full.” It is interesting that the medieval church saw in this word “compel”
justification for the Inquisition. The infidels must be convertedunder threat
of torture and death! Sadly, there have been times in the history of
Christianity when the same methods used by radicalMuslims today were
employed to expand the faith. But this is a terrible misreading of Jesus’intent.
His point is that there is need for rational persuasionand urging so that the
Gentiles and the pagans, who don’t know the host even second-hand, might
come to believe that they really are wantedat a banquet designedoriginally
for God’s chosenpeople.
Consequencessuffered. The tragic consequenceis that there is no second
chance for the original invitees. The passageends with these words in verse
24: “I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will geta taste of my
banquet.” We see againhere the urgency of salvation. God is gracious and will
receive all who come to Him, but men must not dilly-dally and throw up lame
excuses.
Conclusion:The parable just given tells us clearly that no one can enter the
kingdom of God without an invitation, but it also makes clearthat if we are
excluded from the kingdom of God, it is only because we refusedthe
invitation.
Do you fear saying “Yes” to God? Please understand that this is an invitation,
not to a funeral,
8
but to a feast, a banquet, a joyous occasion. I grant there has always beena
brand of Christianity which took all the joy and color out of life. The emperor

Julian spoke of those pale-facedChristians for whom the sun shone and they
never saw it. Ruskin, who was brought up in a rigid and narrow home, tells
how he was given a jumping-jack as a present, and how a pious aunt took it
awayfrom him saying that toys were no things for a Christian child. But Jesus
thought of the Kingdom in terms of a permanent wedding feast. No one has
ever regrettedaccepting this invitation.
Friends, the deepesttragedy in the human experience is not found in the many
wrong and foolish things people do (and they are many), nor in the many good
and wise things they leave undone (there are many of these as well), but in
their rejectionof God’s gracious invitation. Do not decline. Do not delay.
____________ i. William Barclay, The Gospel
of Luke, 194
Luke 14:12-24
Sunday Morning Bible Study
July 31, 2016
Introduction
Pray for Russia Trip
Jesus’ministry is wellunder way, and the people have been amazed not just
at the things He’s been teaching, but the things He’s been doing.
Jesus had been invited to a meal at the house of one of the chief Pharisees.
While He is there, a series ofthings happen and Jesus uses this dinner to bring
help and instruction.
While He was there, a man with a disease called“dropsy” (or, edema) showed
up. Even though it was the Sabbath, Jesus healedthe man.

Jesus also talkedto the guests at the party. They had been pushing and
shoving to get the best seats atthe table, and Jesus teaches them that the best
thing to do is the humble thing, to take the last seat.
As Jesus has talked about humility, He continues to use this dinner party…
14:12-14 Gracious Invitations
:12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a
supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich
neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
:12 He also said to him who invited Him
This is the man who is hosting the meal, a “ruler of the Pharisees”(14:1)
Jesus is going to give this important man some tips on the next time he sets up
a dinner party.
:13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannotrepay you; for you shall be
repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
:14 they cannot repay you
Think about inviting people who are not able to pay you back for your
invitation.
:14 you shall be repaid at the resurrection
When you get to heaven, you will be rewarded.
:13 invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind
These are people to focus on when you invite.
Note: Can I make a request? When you invite people like this, don’t just
dump them on the church doorstep. Take anactive role in their lives. More
than once I’ve had people invite a troubled personto the church, only to
expectthat we do all the heavy lifting. Don’t just invite, be a friend, help out.
Can’t I just spend time with my friend?
Of course. Jesus spenttime with His friends.
Just don’t think that it’s going to earn you any specialrewards from the Lord
when all you do is hang out with people who are “easy”to be with.
The problem is when we getto the point where all we ever do is spend time
with people we’re comfortable with.
Lesson
No Comfort Zone
In a way, Jesus has just demonstrated this to his host. Jesus had been invited
to a dinner party, and for some, they might think that it’s time to relax and
take it easy. But Jesus sees this man with dropsy and turns to heal the man.

From time to time in church we are blessedto have visitors who are a little
different than others.
Some might have a different colorof skin than you do.
Some have disabilities.
Some are homeless.
Some don’t smell very well.
How are you going to treat these people? Are you going to treat them like
Jesus wants to treat them?
Video: OneTimeBlind - Comfort
These are the very people that God will in turn invite to His greatWedding
Feast(14:21), so in a way, Godis asking us to have the same heart that He has
– a heart for the lost.
14:15-24 The GreatSupper
:15 Now when one of those who satat the table with Him heard these things,
he said to Him, “Blessedis he who shall eatbread in the kingdom of God!”
:15 one of those who satat the table
One of the guys that Jesus has just addressed, one of the guys hearing these
things responds.
:15 Blessedis he who shall eatbread in the kingdom of God!
The guy is responding to what Jesus has just said, about being “blessed”in the
resurrectionif you are one who reaches out to others.
This guy has been thinking about it, and has this “wow” momentwhen he
realizes how wonderful it will be to be in heaven.
Does everyone think it’s going to be greatin heaven?
Jesus is going to address this. When the rubber meets the road, there are
many people who must not think heavenis all that greatbecause ofhow they
will respond to an invitation to heaven.
Jesus is going to tell a parable…
:16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a greatsupper and invited
many,

:16 A certainman gave a greatsupper
The certainman is God, who is going to give a great dinner in heaven.
The supper was actually described 700 years earlierby the prophet Isaiah:
(Isaiah 25:6–9 NLT) —6 In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will
spread a wonderful feastfor all the people of the world. It will be a delicious
banquet with clear, well-agedwine and choice meat. 7 There he will remove
the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. 8 He will
swallow up death forever! The SovereignLord will wipe awayall tears. He
will remove forever all insults and mockeryagainsthis land and people. The
Lord has spoken!9 In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We
trusted in him, and he savedus! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us
rejoice in the salvation he brings!”
This feastis intended to be for all people (Gentiles included).
The best part of the banquet will be that we will be with God face to face!!!
Keep in mind that Jesus is sitting with a bunch of Pharisees,the ultra-
orthodox super-strict. The Pharisees had some pretty strong opinions about
this greatsupper of God.
Severalcenturies after Isaiah, the idea of Isaiah’s banquet beganto change.
In the expanded Aramaic Old Testamenttranslation calledthe “Targum”,
Isaiah’s banquet lookedlike this:
Yahweh of hosts will make for all the peoples in this mountain a meal. And
although they supposed it is an honor, it will be a shame for them and great
plagues, plagues from which they will be unable to escape,plagues whereby
they will come to their end.[1]
In the secondcentury B.C., a document calledThe book of Enoch was written,
and included a description of Isaiah’s banquet.
It said that while the Gentiles would be included in the banquet, the angelof
death would show up, destroy all the Gentiles, and the banquet hall would run
with blood.
When the Qumran community wrote the “DeadSea Scrolls”, they were
certain that no Gentiles would be present at the banquet, and only pious Jews
would be allowedto attend. Their writings said that …

no one can attend the banquet who is “smitten in his flesh, or paralyzed in his
feet or hands, or lame, or blind or deaf or dumb or smitten in his flesh with a
visible blemish.”[2]
Can you see how God’s original banquet idea has been obscured? (you can’t
even see it on the screen…)
Instead of this banquet including many people from around the world, the
Pharisees sawthe banquet containing only a few, perfect, pious Jews.
We’re going to see Jesus challengethese very ideas.
:17 and sent his servantat supper time to sayto those who were invited,
‘Come, for all things are now ready.’
:17 sayto those who were invited
First the initial invitees gotthe invitation, but now word is out that the actual
event is about to take place.
It’s like you’ve been invited to a dinner party, and everyone is standing
around chatting in the living room, maybe playing “Twister”, whenword gets
out that the food is on the table and it’s time to eat!
The “invited” to the Pharisee mind would be the nation of Israel, the ones who
had already been “invited” to God’s heavenly supper through the Old
Testamentprophets.
In a way, the servant might representJesus and His apostles who were in the
process oftelling Israel that it’s time to come to God’s supper.
They were telling everyone that supper was ready.
In a way, the servant is a picture of all of us who follow Jesus.
:18 But they all with one accordbeganto 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.’
:18 I have bought a piece of ground

The guy is in the living room waiting for dinner, and suddenly decides that he
needs to go visit this piece of property that he has already bought???
: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.’
:19 bought five yoke of oxen
Oxen are put into yokes by pairs, so this fellow owns 10 oxen.
This fellow has been standing in the living room waiting to eatwhen he
suddenly remembers that he has just bought ten oxen and he wants to take
them out for a test drive.
:20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannotcome.’
:20 I have married a wife
This guy too is standing in the living room (he was playing Twister – the silly
picture) waiting to eat, and suddenly remembers his wife at home.
This excuse caneven be justified to an extent.
God gave Jewishmen an excuse when it came time to sign up for military
duty.
(Deuteronomy 24:5 NKJV) “When a man has takena new wife, he shall not
go out to war or be chargedwith any business; he shall be free at home one
year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.
But hey buckeroo, this is supper, not war.
:20 therefore I cannotcome
Lesson
What’s your excuse?
God has invited us to His Great Supper.
Everything has been made ready.
There actually is something that can keepyou from God’s supper, but God
has alreadytaken care of that problem.
The problem isn’t property, oxen, or a wife.

The problem is “sin”.
Our sin is what separatesus from God.
(Isaiah 59:1–2 NKJV) —1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it
cannot save;Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities
have separatedyou from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from
you, So that He will not hear.
God did the one thing that was necessaryto take care of your sin – He sent His
Son to die as a sacrifice foryou.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoeverbelieves in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
And now God simply asks you to “come” and follow.
Is sounds pretty easy, and in a way it is.
But “coming” means that you must “leave” something.
When you “come” to God, you must leave your old way of life.
(Matthew 16:24 NKJV) Then Jesus saidto His disciples, “If anyone desires to
come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, andfollow Me.
We often put it this way - that you must be willing to turn from your sin.
That’s something that some people don’t want to do.
What’s keeping you from coming to God’s GreatSupper?
What’s your excuse?
Ben Franklin said, “The man who is goodat making excuses is seldomgood
for anything else.”
Maybe it’s your “investments”
You’ve gottoo much invested in the ways of the world to follow Jesus – like
the guy with the piece of property.
Maybe it’s things you feel you must do first.
Things you want to do before you get serious about God. –
Like the guy who needed to try out his new oxen.
Maybe it’s certain relationships in your life.
You can’t follow Jesus because your parents won’t be too happy.
You can’t follow Jesus because your husband doesn’t want you to come to
church.
You can’t follow Jesus because your girlfriend won’t understand.

If you keepsaying “no” to Jesus, youjust may find that one day you can no
longerhear God’s invitation, and it will be too late.
In reality, all your worries about giving things up for God is quite silly.
When a rich young man came to Jesus asking abouteternal life, Jesus
challengedhim to give awayall his possessions.
For this man, his “stuff” was keeping him from Jesus.
The man just couldn’t do it.
After the young man walkedaway…
(Matthew 19:27–29 NKJV)—27 Then Peteranswered and said to Him, “See,
we have left all and followedYou. Therefore whatshall we have?” 28 So Jesus
said to them, “Assuredly I sayto you, that in the regeneration, whenthe Son
of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followedMe will also sit
on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who
has left houses or brothers or sisters orfather or mother or wife or children or
lands, for My name’s sake, shallreceive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal
life.
Don’t let your excuses keepyou from God.
: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.’
:21 the master of the house, being angry
Who is the masterangry with? Is He angry with the servant? No.
He’s angry with those who were invited but did not respond to the invitation.
:21 Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city
The original Greek words are describing places that are close by – reaching
out to places nearyou, reaching out to your localcity.
:21 bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind

These are the exactsame people Jesus described(vs. 13) as those we ought to
be inviting to our parties.
It’s also the opposite of who the Phariseesexpectedto be at the banquet.
Lesson
Unconditional Love
God wants us to learn to give in such a way that we don’t expectanything in
return.
Give to people who don’t deserve it.
This is the waythat God gives
Video: Simon’s Cat – Double Trouble
There are people like that in our lives aren’t there?
People who just cause us trouble and we’d like to push them away.
Sometimes God wants us to reachout and give them unconditional love.
(Ephesians 4:31–32 NKJV)—31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and
evil speaking be put awayfrom you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave
you.
The Greek wordfor “forgiving” is the word for “grace”.
We are to “grace” eachother.
We are to give eachother love that isn’t deserved.
: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 compelthem to come in, that my house may be filled.

:23 that my house may be filled.
God wants to have a full house.
:23 Go out into the highways and hedges
When the master first sent the servant out, it was to localplaces – streets and
lanes in the city.
Now the mastertells the servantto go as far as possible and reachas many as
possible.
:23 compelthem to come in
compel – anagkazo– to necessitate, compel, drive to, constrain; by force,
threats
Sounds like a pretty strong word.
Lesson
Reachout
God’s desire is that we see that the church works outside these walls.
I think it’s a goodthing every once in a while, to getout of your comfort zone
and reachout in a place that’s foreign to you.
It might be in South Africa, Hungary, and Russia.
It could be as simple as a trip to Mexico. Manueland Jennifer are going on
Sept. 9-11. All you need is a passport.
Think about getting involved in OperationChristmas Child, whether it’s by
putting togethera shoeboxthat will be sent to another country, or helping
here during CollectionWeek November14-21.
:24 ForI say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my
supper.’ ”
:24 none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper
Lesson
Hearing isn’t enough
Though Jesus is talking about the Jews who are listening to His message,this
applies to you all here today as well.

It’s not enough to just hear the message, youmust respond.
You must come follow Jesus.
Today, you have heard the gospel.
Today is the day to follow Jesus.
http://www.calvaryfullerton.org/Bstudy/42%20Luk/2015/42%20Luk%2014b.
htm
The GreatBanquet
Sermon by Ed Hartman on Nov23, 2015
Luke 14:12-24
Play
Mute
Loaded: 0%
Progress:0%
Remaining Time
-0:00
DownloadAudio
Print
Our Scripture reading this evening is Luke chapter 14 verses 12 through 24.
It’s on page 874 in your pew Bible if you’d like to use that. Luke chapter 14.
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
Holy Spirit, we come to You this evening because we desperatelyneed You.
We stand at a crossroadswith a divine transactionbefore us. You are
enabling us to see the beauty and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and
You’re calling us to come back. You have beckonedus over and over again.
Sometimes we’ve responded; sometimes we’ve headed in a completely
different direction. This evening, beckonus back againand cause us to find
the delight of Your presence as we draw near. In the process wouldYou

enable us to find You, that it is You drawing us to Yourself and finding Jesus
precious? We pray in His name, amen.
Luke chapter 14, verse 12. This is Jesus speaking.
“He said also to the man who had invited him, ‘When you give a dinner or a
banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich
neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you
give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be
blessed, because theycannot repay you. Foryou will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the just.’
When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said
to him, ‘Blessedis everyone who will eatbread in the kingdom of God!’ But
he said to him, ‘A man once gave a greatbanquet and invited many. And at
the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been
invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike beganto make
excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see
it. Please have me excused.’And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of
oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’And anothersaid, ‘I
have married a wife, and therefore I cannotcome.’So the servant came and
reported these things to his master. Then the masterof the house became
angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the
city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant
said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And
the mastersaid to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel
people to come in, that my house may be filled. ForI tell you, none of those
men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
This is God’s Word.
This evening I’d like to begin with where I trust we’ll end, with two
applications that will make up our conclusion. And then, Lord willing, we’ll
work our way through this parable to see how we get there. One applicationis
a clearwarning. The other is a specific encouragement. The warning goes
something like this. It’s possible to be surrounded by and wrapped up in the
things of God all your life and in the end find you’ve missed it. That’s the
warning! The encouragementis this, and that comes straight from verse 17.
Still today, Jesus invites us to come, but in a certain way. It’s the only way we
can come and it’s the only waywe can follow. That’s where I trust we will end
our study. So, three things I’d like you to see as we work our waythrough this
parable. One is the story; actually that’s the secondpoint but to get to the

secondpoint you have to see the back story. That’s the first point! And then
the conclusions.
The Back Story
So let’s begin with the back story. The back story, I’ve been helped
tremendously by the book, “ThroughPeasantEyes,”written by Kenneth
Bailey. He’s an ancientnear easternstudies scholarwho taught in Beirut,
Lebanon for years and years. But it’s that book that helps us see that to
understand the parables you have to first understand the 1st century mind,
their culture and their customs, so that you see these stories through the lens
of their experience. So I’ll be pulling a lot from what he wrote. In chapter 14
of Luke you find that there’s a dinner party and Jesus is invited. We’re told in
verse 1 that Jesus was invited not primarily to honor Him but they were
looking to watchHim carefully, to trap Him, to find some advantage to use
againstHim. And so the dinner begins. It’s hostedby a prominent religious
leaderand as the meal is served, Jesus and another is, they’re having a
discussion, and a man who’s listening to the discussionin verse 15 stands up,
he raises his glass, and he says, “Blessedis everyone who will eatbread in the
kingdom of God.” Now that may just seemlike an ordinary thing to us to say,
howeverthis was a formula toast. It was said often at gatherings of God’s
people as a way of looking forward to what the prophet Isaiahhad told God’s
people to expect. If you go back to Isaiah 25, you find the real back story to
this passagebecausein Isaiah25, the prophet writes about the Messianic
banquet that all of God’s people for sevencenturies prior to Jesus had been
looking forward to. Three verses out of Isaiah 25. Verse 6, the prophet says:
“On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feastof rich
food, a feastof well-agedwine, of rich food full of marrow, of agedwine well
refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is castover
all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death
forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the
reproachof his people he will take awayfrom all the earth, for the LORD
himself has spoken.”
Now with that Messianic prophecyringing in the ears of God’s people at every
banquet they’d be looking and they learn to offer this toastrecordedin verse
15, “Blessedis everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.” And the
expectedresponse when that toastwas offered was this, and all eyes were on
Jesus becausethey all expected Him to raise His glass and say, “O Lord, may
we be among the righteous and be counted worthy to sit with men of renown
on that greatday.” But imagine the surprise of the people who were there at
that banquet when this man stands and robustly says, “Blessedis everyone

who will eatbread in the kingdom of God,” and he’s looking at Jesus waiting
for the response and instead of responding with the formula response, Jesus
says, “Let me tell you a story,” and the parable begins. That’s the back story.
It’s an important thing to keepin mind as we work our way through.
You’re Invited to a Dinner Party
The story breaks down into three scenes andthe first scene I’d entitle,
“You’re Invited to a Dinner Party.” Verse 17, “At the time for the banquet,”
this is Jesus’parable, “he senthis servant to say to those who had been
invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’” Now, what you didn’t hear was
what was in verse 16. “But he said to him, ‘A man once gave a great banquet
and invited many.’” What’s happening is in the ancient near easternworld
there was a two-stage invitation given for a banquet. In the days before Whole
Foods or FreshMarketor Kroger, in the days before electricityand
refrigeration, before running water, when you held this kind of a banquet it
wasn’t quite as simple a thing as it might be for us. It was a pretty involved
process to figure out, “How do I figure out how much food, who’s coming,
how many animals do I need to slaughter, how quickly can I do it so the meat
doesn’t spoil, how much produce do I need to harvest, how do I getall of this
prepared in time for the gathering of the guests?”
So the invitation was done in two stages. First, the servantwent out and made
the blanketinvitation and he waited to geta commitment from those who
would say, “Why certainly, I’ll be there. Count on me.” He would go back to
his masterand say, “This is the number of people who have committed to
come.” Now once you told the servant, “I plan to come,” you could no longer
back out. You were duty bound to attend. And so the servants would go about
slaughtering the animals, harvesting the produce, preparing the bread, the
meal, the wine, the table. Everything would be set, and when everything was
ready the master would say to the servant, “Now go tell everyone it’s all
ready; come now.” And when that secondinvitation came, you dropped what
you were doing and you showedup. And in that custom, in that culture it was
horribly offensive to evernot show up when you saidyou would.
Something’s Come Up
And so that takes us to scene two, which I would title, “Something’s Come
Up.” In verse 18 we read, “But they all alike beganto make excuses.”What
I’d like you to see is that eachof these excuses, while maybe to us they seem
legitimate, in truth, in that 1st century world they were horribly offensive and
insulting. You’ll see in a moment why! The first excuse comes in verse 18.
“Theyall alike beganto make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a

field and I must go out and see it.’” Now, here’s the problem with his excuse!
In that 1st century world, you could not purchase property without a
sequence ofevents taking place because land was precious;it was evenviewed
as being sacred. Before youcould purchase land you had to negotiate its
purchase, and to negotiate a price, you had to go out and walk the property.
You’d have to be able to memorize and define its characteristics, its
typography, its history, the amount of income it had produced from its
previous owners, and then you had to go to the village or town elders and
recite from memory everything you’d learned about that land so at no point
could there be the statement, “Well, I didn’t know. Well I wasn’taware of
that.” You had to declare everything you knew about that land because
changing possessionofownership of land was a big deal. And so for someone
to say, “Hey, I just bought some land and I need to go out and see whatI
bought,” is a blatant lie! It’s offensive and insulting!
The SecondExcuse
The secondexcuse in verse 19. “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of
oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’” And like the first
excuse, the secondhas the same problem. You couldn’t buy a yoke of oxen
without first trying them out to see if they pulled together. The excuse would
be almost as lame as calling your wife on the way home from work saying,
“Um, I’m not coming home this evening because I bought five cars on
Craigslistand now I need to see if they’ve gottires and whether they’ll
crank.” Wellyour wife or whomeverit would be whom you called would say,
“You’re not telling me the truth! I know you wouldn’t do that.”
The Third Excuse
And then the third excuse, verse 20. “Anothersaid, ‘I’ve married a wife, and
therefore I cannot come.’” Wellthis one’s a flat out lie because in that ancient
near easternworld, following a wedding would be a week-long reception. And
what this man was saying was this, “YesterdayI said that I would come to
your banquet, but tonight I’ve got plans for my new wife.” It just doesn’t
work!It’s offensive and it’s a wayof saying to the host, “You need to
understand that I have other things to do with my time that I’d much prefer
over againstspending it with you.”
See, it’s really not primarily about excuses;it’s about the desires and our
longings that Jesus is speaking. Think about it this way! In eachof these
excuses you have a man who’s made a decisionin response to a gracious
invitation from a generous hostand he agreed, “Iwill come, I will enjoy
relationship with you, I will enjoy celebrating the cause for this banquet. I’ll

be there.” And yet in eachexcuse there’s an attempt to concealthe fact that
other things are far more important, of far greaterworth than spending time
with the generous host. On one level, the application is relatively plain, isn’t
it? The Christian is one who has made a decisionin response to a gracious
invitation. He’s committed himself to relationship with Christ, to following
Him in discipleship. Yet many who respond to that gracious invitation choose
to follow only when it’s convenient, only when there’s nothing else on their
radar screenwhich they desire more, when they don’t desire something more
than they desire following and delighting in the company of the one who
extended the gracious invitation.
The Show Must Go On
And then there’s scene three in the parable. Scene three we’d entitle, “The
Show Much Go On. The Banquet Will Be Held. My House Will Be Full.” And
you need to notice that the masterin the parable, the host, doesn’t shrug his
shoulders and say, “Suit yourself! Your loss!” But it says, he’s angry. “The
servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the
house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and
lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’” The
invitation now shifts from those who are worthy of being invited to the
unworthy, to the outcast, to those who no one would ever expect to be invited
to this kind of a banquet - the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. And
you notice, don’t you, that this group of people bookendthis banquet. You see
them mentioned both in verse 13 and in verse 21. Verse 13, “When you give a
feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” Verse 21, “Go out
quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled,
the blind, and the lame.” And Jesus is not being redundant; He’s driving
home a point! You know what’s unique about those people - the poor, the
crippled, the blind, and the lame? It’s really rather simple! When they’re
invited, they’ll come. You know why? Becausethe blind don’t go out to
examine farmland. The crippled don’t plow with oxen. The poor aren’t
invited to hang out with the rich. And the lame and the maimed, they don’t
get married. Who wants them? And so when they hear the invitation there’s
no excuses. Theyhear the invitation and they say, “Of course!There’s nothing
in my world that I would value more highly than this! There is no treasure
that you could offer me that would be more valuable than this. Of course I’ll
come!I’ll come running, I’ll come crawling, but I’ll come.”
And look at the contrastbetweenthe two groups of people who had been
invited to this banquet. The first group of guests I would describe as the
independent, wealthy, self-sufficient, preoccupied, capable, visionary, self-

assured, satisfied, and oh by the way I think I’ve just describedyou and me.
Think about it! The first group of people, if you lined them up, they’d look
just like us. They were the religious people. They showedup at the right times
at their house of worship, they read their holy book when they were supposed
to, they recitedScripture. They were welloff, they were educated, self-
sufficient, independent, capable, visionary, self-assuredand pretty self-
satisfied. And in the parable they found something other to do than come to
the banquet. In contrastto that first group of guests you have the second.
They’re dependent, needy, handicapped, broken, damaged, filled with doubts,
marked by baggage,afraid, they’re hungry, they’re alone. But at the banquet,
they’re the only ones there.
We have to slow the whole story way down, because as Gabe very beautifully
describedthis morning you have the contrastbetweenthe reverent and the
irreverent, here you have the contrastbetweenthe worthy and the unworthy.
And when you look at the banquet, the worthy were outside and only the
unworthy showedup - the people who recognize, “There’snothing within
myself that qualifies me to be at this banquet but praise God I’ve been invited
in.” See, there are no party crashers atthis banquet! You can only come by
way of invitation, and the invitation as the same for both groups. Both the
worthy and the unworthy heard the same invitation. The only difference was
the response, andwhat was the deepestdesire within eachof the persons in
the groups. What’s most precious? Whatis my greattreasure? At the end of
the day what will I value most? What’s the pearl of great price? There is a
banquet and the invitation still stands.
A warning Against Presumption
That leads us to the application which I’ve already at leastintroduced to you.
Two observations - one, there’s a clearwarning and it’s a warning against
presumption. Don’t presume that you’re an insider on your own terms or
your own priorities. Don’t presume that you’re an insider because you’re
here. Becauseas we saidat the beginning, you can spend your entire life
wrapped up in the things of God and at the end of the day find yourself
outside. The question is, “What have you done with the invitation? And what
have you done with the definition of worthiness and who is and who isn’t?” It
strikes me that in Luke chapter 14 followedby Luke chapter 15 you’ve got
two greatbanquets. The one of which Gabe spoke this morning; when the
prodigal son returned there was a greatbanquet and an invitation to come.
And in this parable you have a banquet and an invitation to come. Right
betweenthose two banquet parables is Jesus’clearteaching on the high cost
of discipleship. And what He’s telling us is, “Yes, grace is free, but it’s never

cheap.” There is a cost!Jesus has paid an inestimable price to make goodon
the invitation. And as the costis set before us, the clearwarning is this - don’t
let any excuse justify giving higher priority to anything above your
relationship with the Lord Jesus and your commitment to walking with Him
in discipleship. Not your job, not your stuff, not your family, not your future.
It’s a warning againstpresumption.
The Invitation Still Stands
At the same time, there’s a specific encouragement, and I love the
encouragementbecauseit’s such a beautiful contrastto the warning. The
encouragementis this. The invitation still stands!Jesus still spreads His arms
wide and says, “Come!Welcome!Come, for everything is now ready.” I used
to so enjoy visiting Charlene Woodward. Mostof you probably don’t know
her, some of you probably did. She was an artist; a member of the church that
I pastoredfor ten years. When you walkedin her front door, just across the
hallway on the back wall, was this painting of this table lavishly spread with
food and wine and bakeryand desserts, andthe lighting and the backdrop
and the texture of the painting was so rich I’d stop and I’d look at it and I
would salivate. And on the frame beneath the painting in very simple letters
were written the words of verse 17, “Come, for everything is now ready.”
Come! It’s all done! It’s all prepared!
And the invitation stands not at the end of your life, it does that, there is a
Messianic banquet for us yet to come, but it also stands at the beginning of
eachday. Because,for example, when you wake up tomorrow morning the
Lord Jesus stands before you and He says, “Come, for everything is now
ready. It’s all prepared for you. Come meet with Me, not just at the beginning
of the day, but throughout the entire day. I’ve prepared a day for you in
which you’ll come to know Me to be precious to you. Come, everything is now
ready.” That’s the encouragement.
But there’s only one way to come, and the only way you cancome is to
recognize that you are poor, crippled, blind, and lame, that you, like the
secondgroup of guests in Jesus’storyare dependent, you’re needy, you’re
broken, marked by doubts, baggage, filled with anxieties, fears, you’re hungry
and you’re not exactly sure for what. And Jesus looksatyou and smiles and
says, “Come.”
The invitation is open to you! It’s a free invitation, but not a cheap one.
Becauseyou see, evenJesus onthe day He made that invitation, Jesus knew
that on a hill outside of Jerusalemwould stand a cross stainedin blood, His
own. And He knew that from that cross wouldbe removed His brokenand

dead body, buried, dead, lifeless in a tomb. And yet He knew that three days
later it would rise, He would rise, and ascendto glory so that He could
prepare a banquet of global, eternal proportions such as you and I cannot
even begin to imagine. And even this day He says, “Come, foreverything is
now ready. The table is lavishly spread. Everything is prepared. Nothing is
missing, but you.”
One condition! The condition we’ve talkedabout, you’ve sung it, you’ve sung
the words - “Come, ye sinners poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and
sore.” Poor, crippled, blind, and lame. And he says, “If you tarry till your
better, you will never come at all.” Don’t make excuses. Don’twait until you
figure out how to make yourself more presentable. Don’t think you’ve got this
figured out and you’ve gota plan. Don’t even say, “Wellthat sounds goodbut
later,” because laterwon’t arrive. Jesus looks atyou today and He says,
“Come.” To some ofus He says, “Come back. You’ve wandered. You’ve
gottencaught up in all of your own things.” He says, “Come back.”
We sang a greathymn with which I’ll close. It’s hymn number 80, “Lord,
With Glowing Heart I’d Praise Thee.” I don’t know that we’ve sung that
before. It was a new one to me. But I’ve been thinking about it all week. I’d
encourage youto go back to it sometime in your own reading and study but
the first verse, the lastphrases of that first verse included these words and
they’re in response to the invitation. The words are these, “Help, O God, my
weak endeavor;this dull soul to rapture raise:Thou must light the flame, or
never can my love be warmed to praise.” Let me translate that for you. “God,
I know you’ve invited me, but I can’t come unless you compelme to come. My
heart is so hard. My affections are so distracted. My mind is so preoccupied
with other things. Unless You grab my heart, unless You light a new flame
within my heart, I can’t come and I won’t come. As goodas the invitation is, I
need You to grab me by the heart and pull me back. Thou must light the
flame or never will my heart be warmed to praise. God, I want to come.
Would You please take me by the hand and by the heart and bring me close?”
That’s the grace that’s offeredtoday. Let’s pray together.
Praise the grace whose threats alarmedthee, rouse thee from thy fatal ease;
praise the grace whose promise warmed thee, praise the grace that whispered
peace. O Lord, let Your grace, our soul’s chief treasure, raise within us a new
and deep and abiding love for you. Do this for the sake ofYour people, for the
sake ofYour kingdom, for the joy of our hearts now and for all eternity. We
pray in Jesus’name, amen.

DON FORTNER
The GreatSupper
Text: Luke 14:15-24
Subject: The Parable of the GreatSupper
Date: Sunday Evening—October19, 2001
Tape # X-83b
Readings:
Introduction:
Our Lord Jesus is in the house of one of the chief Pharisees. He had
performed a greatmiracle on the sabbath day, healing a man of the dropsy.
The Pharisees andreligious legalists, ofcourse, were terribly offended by that
act of mercy (vv. 1-6).
Then, the Mastergave out a parable declaring his own method of grace and
salvation(vv. 7-11).
(Luke 14:7-11) "And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden,
when he markedhow they chose out the chief rooms;saying unto them, (8)
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest
room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; (9) And he
that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou
begin with shame to take the lowestroom. (10) But when thou art bidden, go
and sit down in the lowestroom; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may
say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the
presence ofthem that sit at meat with thee. (11) For whosoeverexalteth
himself shall be abased;and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
In verses 12-14, he very pointedly applied the parable, speaking directly to the
Pharisee who had invited him to dinner, exposing that man’s hypocrisy.

(Luke 14:12-14) "Thensaid he also to him that bade him, When thou makest
a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy
kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a
recompense be made thee. (13) But when thou makesta feast, callthe poor,
the maimed, the lame, the blind: (14) And thou shalt be blessed;for they
cannot recompense thee:for thou shalt be recompensedatthe resurrectionof
the just."
But there was one man in the crowd who heard and understood what the
Savior was saying. Look at verse 15.
(Luke 14:15) "And when one of them that satat meat with him heard these
things, he said unto him, Blessedis he that shall eatbread in the kingdom of
God."
It is in response to this man’s assertionthat our Lord spoke the parable
recordedin verses 16-24[1].
(Luke 14:16-24) "Thensaid he unto him, A certainman made a greatsupper,
and bade many: (17) And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that
were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. (18) And they all with one
consentbeganto make excuse. The first saidunto him, I have bought a piece
of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. (19)
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I
pray thee have me excused. (20) And another said, I have married a wife, and
therefore I cannot come. (21)So that servantcame, and showedhis lord these
things. 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 hither the poor, and
the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (22) And the servantsaid, Lord, it is
done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. (23)And the lord said
unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to
come in, that my house may be filled. (24) ForI say unto you, That none of
those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."
This is a parable full of instruction. May God the Holy Spirit now teachus its
meaning and apply it to our hearts.

A GreatSupper
Ver. 16. “Then said he unto him”—to the man who had declared, “Blessedis
he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”
“A certain man made a great supper”—This is not the Lord’s supper, which
had not yet been established. And this is not the marriage supper of the Lamb,
which will take place at the end of time. This great supper is the gospelfeastof
the boundless grace of God.
It is called a "supper";because made in the end of the world, in the lastdays.
It is called a "great" one, becauseHe who made the supper is the King of
kings, and Lord of lords. It is greatsupper, a feastof fat things, of wine upon
lees well refined.
· A Supper Provided by The Great God
· A Supper Table Spread at GreatCost—The Blood
· A Supper with GreatProvisions
· A Supper for Great Sinners with GreatNeed
· A Supper for a Great Multitude
· A Supper to Last a GreatTime—The End of Time
“And bade many”—Certainly, the reference here is to the Jews, the many
physical descendants ofAbraham to whom alone God sent the gospel
throughout the Old Testament.
· The Prophets
· The Law
· John the Baptist
· The Lord Jesus
· The Apostles

But we dare not limit the parable’s messageto the Jews. This wordof God is
to be applied to all who are privileged to hear the gospelofthe grace ofGod.
The King of Heaven has made a greatsupper and bids you and me come to
the supper.
The Servant
Ver. 17. “And sent his servant at supper time”—The servant here may refer
to John the Baptist, or to the Lord Jesus, to the Apostles of Christ, or to the
Spirit of God[2]. Certainly, the servantis representative of every servantof
God who is sent forth to preach the gospelof the grace ofGod to perishing
sinners.
“To sayto them that were bidden, come”—Gospelpreachers are God’s
servants, sent forth into the world to callsinners to the table of grace, to call
sinners to Christ.
Now, watchthis. We proclaim, all God’s servants proclaim a feastof God’s
providing.—“for all things are now ready.”
· RighteousnessReadyto Wear
· Pardon Readyto Give
· Redemption to Bestow
· SalvationReady to Give
· Sonship Readyto Bestow
· No Gifts Accpted!
Excuses ForUnbelief
Ver. 18. “And they all with one consentbeganto make excuse”—Unbelievable
as it may appear, all who are called to Christ make excuses notto come. All
who are called make the same excuses. All who are called of God by the gospel
to life and salvationin Christ, all who are calledto believe on the Son of God,
all who are bidden to follow Christ, have (in their own minds) completely

reasonable excusesfordisobedience. Ratherthan praying to God for mercy,
they say, “I pray thee have me excused!”
“The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, or a field, and I
must needs go and see it. I pray thee have me excused.”
Ver. 19. “And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove
them: I pray thee have me excused.”
Ver. 20. “And another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot
come.”
“The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go
and see it.” What foolwould buy a piece of ground, and then go see it? He
bought a piece of ground from a man without seeing it. What confidence he
must have had in that man.—But he has no confidence in God!
The secondwas worse. “Andanother said, I have bought five yoke of oxen,
and I go to prove them.” He bought five yoke of oxen without knowing
whether they could bear a yoke or pull a cart, taking a man’s word for it. You
will do that. But you will not believe God!
The excuse which the third makes, is worstof all. “I have married a wife, and
therefore I cannot come.” Had he said, I will not come, would at leasthave
told the truth. It is not your impotence that keeps you from Christ, but your
will, your want of a will to trust him.
· He who has married a wife is doubly responsible to come to the feast. He
is responsible for himself and his wife.
· If his wife will not come, he is a fool to let her keephim away.—Theythat
have wives must be as though they had none. We must not allow carnal
unions, sentiments, and affections to keepus from following Christ.—Adam
paid a very high price for hearkening to the voice of his wife. Our Lord
requires that we forsake husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers
and fathers, as well as houses and lands, if we would be his disciples.

The Servant’s Report
Ver. 21. “So that servant came and showed his Lord these things”—Gospel
preachers watchover the souls of men as those who must give account(Heb.
13:7, 17).
“Then the master of the house being angry”—You may think it is a light thing
to trample the blood of Christ under your feet, but that will not always be the
case. Godalmighty will make you see how offensive your unbelief is to him
(Pro. 1:23-33;29:1).
“And said to his servants, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city;
and bring in hither the poor”—
· Who have no bread for their souls.
· No righteous garments, but only filthy rags.
· No money to buy.
· No means to pay their debt.
· Poorin spirit.
“And the maimed”—Impotent, helpless sinners, without strength, without
hope, without life, without help.
“And the halt”—Lostpeople. People halting because they do not know where
to go for grace and mercy and help, and do not know the way. Not only lost
and ignorant, but cripple, being maimed by a terrible fall.
“And the blind”—Yes, the Lord God bids us go out and call poor, maimed,
halt, blind sinners to the feastof grace, the blind who cannot see, the halt who
cannot come, and the poor who have nothing to bring!
Plenty of Room

Ver. 22. “And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded; and
yet there is room.”
There is plenty of room in the house of grace and penty of bread for hungry
sinners.
Compel Them
Ver. 23. “And the Lord said unto the servant go out into the highways and
hedges:and compelthem to come in”— Yes, we are to compel, persuade, and
force sinners by the persuasive preaching of the gospelto come to Christ (2
Cor. 4:18-6:2).
This shows us “the nature of the Gospelministry, which is to persuade
Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem; and the power that attends it by the
divine Spirit; the case andcondition of souls, who are generallybashful and
backward, judging themselves unworthy; as also the earnestdesire, and great
liberality of Christ, the master of the feast.”
(John Gill)
“Thatmy house may be filled”—And filled it shall be! God’s house shall be
filled with chosen, redeemedsinners, as a sheepfoldfilled with a flock of
sheep. And eachone shall be filled with grace and glory. “And so all Israel
shall be saved.”
Ver. 24. “ForI say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall
taste of my supper.”
1. There is an infinite, boundless provision of grace in Christ for all who
want it. Christ is the Breadon the table. All who are hungry are welcome to
eat. Christ is the Water of Life. All who are thirsty are welcome to drink.

(Isa 55:1) "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that
hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat;yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price."
(Mat 11:28-30) "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. (29)Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30)For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
(John 6:37) "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise castout."
(John 7:37) "In the last day, that greatday of the feast, Jesus stoodand cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."
2. If you perish in your sins, if you go to hell, if you will not come to the
bounteous feastof grace, you will have no one to blame but yourself.—Then
your lands and oxen and relations will be fuel for the fires of your everlasting
torment.
3. How canI compel you to come to Christ (2 Cor. 4:18-6:2).
· Eternity!
· Immortality!
· Judgment!
· The Love Of Christ!
· A New Creation!
· A Finished Redemption!
· The Urgency of Obedience!

[1] Though there are clearly points of similarity betweenthis and the parable
of the wedding feastin Matthew 22, these are two distinct parables, spokenon
two separate occasions.
[2] A. W. Pink wrote, “In Luke 14:16 we read, "A certain man made a great
supper, and bade many." By comparing carefully what follows here with
Matt. 22:2-10 severalimportant distinctions will be observed. We take it that
these passages are two independent accounts ofthe same parable, differing in
detail according to the distinctive purpose and design of the Holy Spirit in
eachGospel. Matthew's account - in harmony with the Spirit's presentation
there of Christ as the Sonof David, the King of the Jews - says, "A certain
king made a marriage for his son." Luke's account - where the Spirit presents
Christ as the Son of Man - says, "A certain man made a greatsupper and
bade many." Matt. 22:3 says, "And sent forth His servants;" Luke 14:17 says,
"And sent His servant." Now what we wish particularly to call attention to is,
that all through Matthew's accountit is "servants," whereasin Luke it is
always "servant." The class ofreaders for whom we are writing are those that
believe unreservedly, in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, and such will
readily acknowledgethat there must be some reasonfor this change from the
plural number in Matthew to the singular one in Luke. We believe the reason
is a weighty one and that attention to this variation reveals an important
truth. We believe that the servants in Matthew, speaking generally, are all
who go forth preaching the Gospel, but that the "Servant" in Luke 14 is the
Holy Spirit Himself. This is not incongruous, or derogatoryto the Holy Spirit,
for Godthe Son, in the days of His earthly ministry, was the Servant of
Jehovah(Isa. 42:1). It will be observedthat in Matt. 22 the "servants" are
sent forth to do three things: first, to "call" to the wedding (v. 3); second, to
"tell those which are bidden ... all things are ready; come unto the marriage
(v. 4); third, to "bid to the marriage" (v. 9); and these three are the things
which those who minister the Gospeltoday are now doing. In Luke 14 the
Servant is also sent forth to do three things: first, He is "to say to them that
were bidden, Come: for all things are now ready" (v. 17); second, He is to
"bring in the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" (v. 21);
third, He is to "compelthem to come in" (v. 25), and the last two of these the
Holy Spirit alone cando!
In the above scripture we see that "the Servant," the Holy Spirit, compels
certain ones to come into the "supper" and herein is seenHis sovereignty, His
omnipotency, His divine sufficiency. The clearimplication from this word

"compel" is, that those whom the Holy Spirit does "bring in" are not willing
of themselves to come.”
What is the meaning of the Parable of the GreatBanquet (Luke 14:15-24)?
Question:"What is the meaning of the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke
14:15-24)?"
Answer: The Parable of the GreatBanquet is found in Luke 14:15-24. It is
similar to the Parable of the Wedding Feast(Matthew 22:1-14), but with some
significant differences. The story in Luke’s Gospelwas told at a dinner that
Jesus attended. Jesus had just healeda man with dropsy and taught a brief
lessonon serving others. Jesus then says that those who serve others “will be
repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14). At the mention of
the resurrection, someone atthe table with Jesus said, “Blessedis the man
who will eatat the feastin the kingdom of God” (verse 15). In reply, Jesus
tells the Parable of the GreatBanquet.
In the parable, a man planned a large banquet and sent out invitations. When
the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to contacteachof the invited
guests, telling them that all was ready and the meal was about to start (verses
16-17). One after another, the guests made excuses fornot coming. One had
just bought a piece of land and saidhe had to go see it (verse 18). Another had
purchased some oxen and saidhe was on the wayto yoke them up and try
them out (verse 19). Another gave the excuse that he was newly married and
therefore could not come (verse 20).
When the master of the house heard these flimsy excuses,he was angry. He
told his servant to forget the guestlist and go into the back streets and
alleyways of the town and invite “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the
lame” (verse 21). The servant had already brought in the down-and-out
townspeople, and still there was room in the banquet hall. So the mastersent

his servanton a broader search:“Go out to the roads and country lanes and
make them come in, so that my house will be full” (verses 22-23).
Jesus ends the parable by relating the master’s determination that “not one of
those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet” (verse 24).
The statementthat prompted the parable is key. The man who, in verse 15,
looks forwardto dining in the Messianic kingdomprobably subscribed to the
popular notion that only Jews would be part of that kingdom. The parable
Jesus tells is aimed at debunking that notion, as the following explanation
makes clear:
The masterof the house is God, and the greatbanquet is the kingdom, a
metaphor that was suggestedby the speakerat the table. The invited guests
picture the Jewishnation. The kingdom was prepared for them, but when
Jesus came preaching that “the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17),
He was rejected. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him” (John 1:11).
The excuses forskipping the banquet are laughably bad. No one buys land
without seeing it first, and the same can be said for buying oxen. And what,
exactly, would keepa newly married couple from attending a socialevent? All
three excuses in the parable revealinsincerity on the part of those invited. The
interpretation is that the Jews ofJesus’day had no valid excuse for spurning
Jesus’message;in fact, they had every reasonto acceptHim as their Messiah.
The detail that the invitation is opened up to society’s maimed and
downtrodden is important. These were the types of people that the Pharisees
considered“unclean” and under God’s curse (cf. John 9:1-2, 34). Jesus,
however, taught that the kingdom was available even to those considered
“unclean” (cf. Acts 10). His involvement with tax collectors andsinners
brought condemnation from the Pharisees, yetit showedthe extent of God’s
grace (Matthew 9:10-11). The fact that the master in the parable sends the
servant far afield to persuade everyone to come indicates that the offer of
salvationwould be extended to the Gentiles and “to the ends of the earth”
(Acts 1:8). “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people” (Romans 15:10).

The masteris not satisfiedwith a partially full banquet hall; he wants every
place at the table to be filled. John MacArthur’s comment on this fact is that
“Godis more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved.”
Those who ignored the invitation to the banquet chose their own
punishment—they missed out. The masterrespects their choice by making it
permanent: they would not “taste of my banquet.” So it will be with God’s
judgment on those who choose to rejectChrist: they will have their choice
confirmed, and they will never taste the joys of heaven.
The basic messageofthe Parable of the Great Banquet could be statedthis
way: “The tragedy of the Jewishrejectionof Christ has opened the door of
salvationto the Gentiles. The blessings ofthe kingdom are available to all who
will come to Christ by faith.”
The inclusion of the Gentiles is a fulfillment of Hosea 2:23, “I will say to those
called‘Not my people,’‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my
God.’” God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), and “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
GOTQUESTIONS.COM
The GreatSupper
The Passage:
Luke 14:15-24
The Parameters
Remote Context
The Pharisees hadjust been criticalof Jesus’healing on the Sabbath and
Jesus had noticed their haughty, self-seeking attitudes at the dinner.

In the OT and other Jewishwritings there are severalreferencesto dinning at
a greatbanquet with the Messiahin his kingdom.
Isa 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast
of rich food, a feastof well-agedwines, ofrich food filled with marrow, of
well-agedwines strained clear.
3 Enoch - says, “At once Israelshall be saved from among the gentiles and the
Messiahshallappear to them and bring them up to Jerusalemwith greatjoy.
Moreover, the kingdom of Israel, gatheredfrom the four quarters of the
world, shall eat with the Messiah, and the gentiles shall eat with them...”
In Matt 8:11 after commending a gentile for his faith, Jesus says, I tell you,
many will come from eastand westand will eat with Abraham and Isaac and
Jacobin the kingdom of heaven.
The Jews lookedforwardto the day when Messiahwould setup his kingdom
and part of the festivities would include a greatbanquet with the Messiah.
So the people hearing this parable about a greatbanquet would immediately
identify what Jesus was talking about. He was talking about the Kingdom.
The host of a banquet sent out two invitations. An original invitation in
advance and then a secondinvitation to notify that “dinner was served.”
Immediate Context
In the preceding context to this parable Jesus had noticed the proud, self-
seeking attitudes of the guests atthe dinner he was attending. He told them
not to seatthemselves in the places of honor but to leave that to the host,
otherwise, they would be shamed when they had to move. Last week we saw
the relationship betweenpride and shame. I think that the principle we
learned last week is applicable here.
He also tells them, that when they themselves give a banquet, they should only
invite those guests who cannotrepay. I’ve heard Dr. Pentecostsaynumerous
times in his class onthe life of Christ that hospitality was a signof
righteousness. Whenyou invite those who canrepay, your motives are wrong
and it is not righteousness.So, I’m sure that is related to our discussion.
The Problem
Someone comments that those who eatbread in the kingdom will be blessed.
Who is it that will eatbread in the kingdom of God? The Pharisees thought
that only they would make it into the kingdom and certainly not the outcasts
of society. The outcasts were not at this dinner, nor would they be at the
dinner table of the kingdom.

The Progression:Biographical
The Host
He was giving a big dinner which indicated he was wealthy. He had an
original “dinner list” of people whom he invited.
What you may not realize is one of the cultural practices ofthat time, when a
man was going to give a banquet, he sent out an invitation weeks ormonths in
advance. If it was a marriage banquet, the invitations went out soonafter the
betrothal - almost a year in advance. The events in the parable assume that
the advance invitation has been given and the 1st invitation we read about is
really not the first.
The Original Guests
The original quests all made lame excuses andcould not / or would not come
to the dinner.
Excuse #1
This man was concernedwith financial investments.
Excuse #2
This man was preoccupiedwith his business.
Excuse #3
This man was preoccupiedwith family matters.
The ReplacementGuests
The host invited anyone who wanted to come and filled his house so that there
was no room for the original guests.
The Point
God graciouslyinvites all to come to Him (1)1, but many are self-satisfiedand
preoccupiedwith their own lives and miss out on the invitation (2), and only
those who are aware oftheir inadequacy will acceptthe invitation (3).
The Relationof the Parable to the Kingdom of God
The original guests representthe nation Israel, and the poor, lame, etc.
representthe Gentiles and those outside “the system.” The Host (God) offered
the kingdom to Israel, but they rejectedthe offer. So the kingdom was given to
the Gentiles and the outcasts ofIsraelwho would acceptit.
The Particulars
The self-seeking guests ofthe preceding section(14:7-11)would not even be
allowedto attend the dinner by the end of the parable.

The class distinctions made in Israel (discussedin parable of goodSamaritan)
are appropriate here. The original guests would be the inner three circles -
Priests, Levites and “JosephJew.” The outer circles wouldbe the replacement
guests.
The traditional double invitation would refer to the OT prophets prediction of
Messiahand the Kingdom and Jesus’claimto be Messiahand announcement
of the kingdom.
Referencesto poor and crippled and blind and lame sound like Isa 61:1-2.
There was more than enough room for all the outcasts, but no room for the
original guests who refused the invitation.
The dinner went ahead as scheduled. It was not postponed. Could this mean
that the kingdom was not postponed?
DispensationalExplanation
The prophets gave advance invitation to the Jewishnation. They predicted the
coming Messiahand his kingdom. Isa 40:3
John the Baptist’s announcement of the arrival of Messiahand Jesus’claim to
be Messiahand His announcement that the kingdom was at hand was the 1st
invitation. Both John and Jesus quote from Isa 40:3 What was the Jewish
response? -They rejectedthe Messiahand his offer to come into the kingdom
(i.e. banquet)
The Disciples gave 2nd/3rd invitation- Acts 3: Only the outcastJews and
Gentiles responded. Referencesto poor and crippled and blind and lame
sound like Isa 61:1-2.
Banquet in the Millenium.
The Principles
For Unbelievers:
The original guests missedout because they were preoccupiedwith their own
lives. The things they were concernedwith were legitimate, but should not
have dominated their lives. We need to be sure we are not doing the same
thing.
What is your response to the invitation? What might happen if we put off
accepting the invitation? What happened to the ones who made excuses in the
parable? They didn’t getto go to the banquet at all. Principle: Those who
rejectGod in this life will not get a secondchance.

If you haven’t responded, what is hindering you? What are some reasons
people put off accepting the invitation?
Pride - like the 1st group of invitees?
New Field = Materialism
New Oxen = Business
New Wife = Family
For Believers:
If you have responded, what is you attitude towards those less fortunate than
you? Don’t be proud if you are on the inside. You are only inside because
others refused the invitation. This is not denying the sovereigntyof God, but
Paul himself says this in Rom 11:11&18.
What is God’s attitude towards sinners? --towards us, even in our sin? God is
pursuing us. What was the attitude of the host? What should your attitude be
towards the socialoutcasts? Inthe parable just before ours, Jesus saidthat
when we throw a party, we should not invite those who can reciprocate.
Instead, invite only those who cannotpay you back. Who are the ones who
attend the banquet? They are the poor, lame, blind, etc.
If God invites you and me to dinner, what does that say about us? What does
this sayabout you if you have responded? What is our “social” status?Could
we return the favor? We are outcasts. We don’t need to worry about being
goodenough to be there. No one is. Principle: Just as the replacement guests
could not reciprocate and were the recipients of grace, so we also are
recipients of the grace of God. HAMPTON KEATHLEY IV
CHARLES SIMEON
THE GREAT SUPPER
Luke 14:16-18. Thensaid he unto him, A certain man made a greatsupper,
and bade many: and sent his servant at supper-time to sayto them that were
bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent
beganto make excuse.
PERSONS, who are very ignorant of true religion, often express a desire to
participate its blessings. Whereverwe find them thus open to instruction, we
should endeavourto teachthem the way of God more perfectly. This was the

uniform practice of our blessedSaviour [Note:See John 4:15; John 4:21;
John 6:34-35.]. The person, that addressedour Lord, seemedbut little
acquainted with the nature of the Messiah’s kingdom[Note:ver. 15.]. Our
Lord took occasionto rectify his apprehensions on that subject, and to shew
him, under the idea of a feast, that the provisions of his Gospelwould be
slighted by that whole nation. The parable in this view declares the rejection
of the Jews and the call of the Gentiles;but it is also applicable to nominal
Christians in all ages. Its import, as it respects us, may be comprised in two
observations:
I. God invites us to partake of the blessings of his Gospel—
The Gospeldispensationis fitly comparedto a sumptuous feast—
[In feasts everything is set forth that cangratify the palate. Thus in the
Gospelthere is every thing that can administer delight or vigour to the soul.
There is pardon for all the sins that we have ever committed: there is strength
againstall the corruptions or temptations that can assailus:there is
communion with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: there are foretastes and
earnests ofthe heavenly glory. On these accounts the prophets also spake ofit
under the image of a feast[Note:Isaiah25:6.].]
God sends his servants to invite men to his table—
[The first persons that were invited to it were the Jews. Upon their rejectionof
the Gospelthe Gentiles were to be called in [Note:Romans 11:11.]. The
invitation to us Gentiles is still continued: the servants of God are sent to
hasten your tardy steps. We are to inform you, that “all things are now ready,
and, as it were, waiting for you [Note:The blood, which is to cleanse you, is
already shed: the Spirit, that is to renew you, is already poured out: God is
reconciledand is ready to receive you: nothing is wanting, but that you come
and fill the place prepared for you.]: we are moreoverto urge you to accept
the invitation: we are to take, as it were, no denial from you [Note:It is the
force of persuasionwhich we are to use; not the force of penal statutes:such
compulsion as that, is as abhorrent from reason, as it is from religion.]. Such
is God’s desire to bless us with all spiritual blessings.]
Nor are any, howevermean or abandoned, to be overlooked—
[We are to go and callpeople of all ranks and descriptions:we are to search
out the persons most distant, most obscure, mostimpious [Note: This seems
intimated by the streets and lanes of the city, and the highways and hedges
without the city.]: we are to bring them in, howeverlabouring under
infirmities of body, or distress of soul [Note:“The poor, the halt,” &c. may
refer to their spiritual as well as temporal condition.]. God will have his

“house to be filled:” nor are his servants to desistfrom their labours till that
work be accomplished;and, thanks be to God! “there is yet room” for more.]
One would suppose that such rich blessings would meet with universal
acceptance:but,
II. We ungratefully rejectthem with vain and frivolous excuses—
Few find any inclination to acceptthe invitations of the Gospel—
[The Jews in their day withstood the solicitationof the Apostles:so now, all,
howeverimportuned, “beginto make excuse.” Some pleadthe importance of
their earthly business;others urge that they must attend to the concerns of
their families. Thus earthly cares, orcarnalease and pleasure, stupify the
world.]
But God will resent the contempt poured upon his mercy—
[The pleas urged in the parable are not sinful in themselves:but nothing,
howevergood, should keepus from attending to the one thing needful. Every
concernbecomes sinful, when it is inordinately followed. Hence God declares
that he is “angry” with those who offer such pleas: he threatens that they shall
never partake of the feastthey so despise, nor even “taste” ofhis bounty to all
eternity. “None,”howeverattentive to their worldly callings, shall find an
exceptionin their favour. How awful their state, who are never to taste of
pardon, peace, or glory! May we never bring upon ourselves so terrible a
doom!]
Address—
1. Those who are averse to acceptthe invitations of the Gospel—
[Every one is forward to offer pleas in extenuation of his guilt; and, while
some civilly beg to be excused, others roughly answer, “Icannot come.” But
whateverbe our plea, and in what way soeverit be offered, God will discern
its fallacy. Indeed the very persons who refuse our invitations, know that their
excuses will avail nothing in the day of judgment [Note:“I can not,” and “I
will not,” will then be found to have meant the same thing.]. What folly, then,
is it to offer that in justification of ourselves now, which will serve only to
condemn us in the last day! Let us no longer cherish such fatal delusions. We
may give to the world and our family a due portion of our care;but let
nothing keepus from the feastwhich God has prepared.]
2. Those who are afraid to come at the bidding of their Lord—
[Many are kept from Christ by an apprehension of their own unworthiness.
They think it would be presumption in them to accepthis invitation: but it is

not possible to describe more clearly the persons invited. If we be poor, or
halt, or maimed, or blind, we are expresslycalled; nor is our distance or
unworthiness any ground of exclusion. Let none then yield to unbelieving
fears. We would “compel” you all, by every argument we candevise. Reflect
on the greatness ofthe host that invites you, and the excellence ofthe feasthe
sets before you. Considerthe blessedness ofpartaking of it, and the certain
consequencesofabsenting yourselves from it [Note:If the Sacramentbe
administered, it may be observed, that the table is now spreadbefore their
eyes, &c.]. Let all come, and “delight their souls with fatness.” The command
given to the Church is yet addressedto you [Note: Song of Solomon5:1.]—]
A BAD EXCUSE IS WORSE THAN NONE NO. 578
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 3, 1864, BY
THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT BAYSWATER.
“And they all with one consentbeganto make excuse.” Luke 14:18.
THE provisions of the Gospelof Christ may wellbe comparedto a supper,
provided as they were, in the evening of the world—“in these lastdays.” The
description, “a greatsupper,” is well borne out if we considerthe greatness of
the provision; how much love and mercy God has displayed towards the sons
of men in the person of Christ Jesus;how much of power and of gracious
working He has shown by His Holy Spirit. A greatsupper it is if we think of
the richness and sweetnessofthe provision—it is a feastworthy of the great
King. The flesh of Jesus is our spiritual meat, and His blood our choicestwine.
Our souls are satisfiedwith covenantmercies, mostfitly set forth as, “A feast
of fat things, a feastof wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines
on the lees wellrefined.” A great supper it is, moreover, when we considerthe
number of guests invited. “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospelto
every creature.” The call of the Gospelcomes to every man and woman within
hearing of the ministers of God— “None are excluded thence, but those Who
do themselves exclude; Welcome the learned and polite, The ignorant and
rude.”

No other king ever sent out an invitation as broad as this. But wisdom“cries
at the gates, atthe entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O
men, I call;and my voice is to the sons of man.” Is it not strange that when
the householder made so greata supper, when he offered it without money
and without price, that all his neighbors should with one consentbegin to
make excuse? He did not call them to prison or to misery, how then came they
to be so unwilling to obey the summons? Whence this unanimity in the
rejection? We find goodmen differing, how it is that evil men can hold
togetherso well? What! not one who has respectenoughto his generous friend
to sit at his table and receive his bounty? Not one. Truly, here, brethren, we
have a picture of the universal depravity of man. All men are thus vile, and
refuse the mercy of God. We never know how bad man is till the Gospelis
preachedto him. The Gospelacts as a white backgroundto set forth the
blackness ofman’s heart. Here, human nature reaches to the greatestheight
of sin’s enormity. Spitting forth his venom againstthe Lord of infinite love,
man proves himself truly to be of the serpent’s brood. The Gospelis preached
to thousands, and do all make excuse? So the parable has it, and truly so the
fact proves it. What! is there not one whose free will is inclined towards
Christ? Is there not one of so gooda natural disposition that he will come to
Jesus? No, the text says, not one, “Theyall with one consentbeganto make
excuse.” How thoroughly has father Adam ruined our understandings! What
fools as well as rebels we are to refuse to partake of the banquet of love. We
are altogetherbecome unprofitable, there is not one who seeks afterGod. You
will, perhaps, remind me that there were other men besides those who made
excuse. Mosttrue, but these were in the highways and hedges, orin the streets
and lanes of the city, and so those who do not hear the Gospel, and therefore
are not guilty of rejecting it, yet nevertheless are far off from God by wicked
works, and strangers to the commonwealthof Israel. Thus, taking the two
A Bad Excuse Is Worse ThanNone Sermon#578
Volume 10
2
2
characters to representall mankind, we find all to be enemies of God. Those
in the highways need to be “compelled” to come in, they had a natural
reluctance to feastat the goodman’s table, and so all sorts of men are averse
to the Gospel. Theyare perfectly willing to sin—contenteven to perish in sin,
but to come to Christ, to acceptthe greatatonement, to put their trust in
Jesus, this is a thing they care not for, and with one consent, when they hear

the Gospelthey begin to make excuse. We fearthat there are many in this
meeting house this morning, which have been blessedwith hearing the Gospel
for years, hitherto, the only treatment they have given to the gracious message
is to make excuses aboutit. I hope to deal with such very simply and very
affectionately, earnestlydesiring that they make their last excuse this
morning, and that it may meet with its death blow. O that they may come to
the feastwhich they have long rejected, and rejoice in the mercy of God in
Christ Jesus. Whydid they make excuse? Letus, first, try to accountfor their
conduct, secondly, what excuses did they make?—letus recount them, and
thirdly, how foolish thus to make excuses!—here let us encounterthem. I. Let
us try to ACCOUNT for the fact, the sad fact, that men are so ready to make
excuses ratherthan to receive the Word of God. We accountfor it in the first
place by the fact that they had no heart at all to acceptthe feast. Had they
spokenthe truth plainly, they would have said, “We do not wish to come, nor
do we intend to do so.” If man’s heart were not so deceitful, it would not make
excuses, but it would sayoutright, ‘“We will not have this man to reign over
us;’ we do not feel our sinfulness, we will not therefore acceptpardon, we
believe that we can work out our own salvationwith our own doings, or, if
not, we are content to take our chance. If it shall go ill with us, it will go ill
with a greatmany people. We will run all risks, we do not need salvation, we
choose ratherto have our full swing of carnal delights, your religion involves
too much self-sacrifice, it is altogethercontrary to the lusting of our minds,
and therefore we decline it.” This is at the bottom of it. Some of you, my
hearers, have often been impressed, and partially convincedof sin, but you
have put off Christ with excuses.Will you bear with me while I solemnly
assure you, that at its core your heart is at enmity to God? Your excuse may
look very pretty, but it is as flimsy as it is fair. If you were honest with your
own soul, you would sayat once, “I do not love Christ, I do not want His
salvation.” Your put-offs, your false promises, your excuses, are worthless,
any one with half an eye can see through them—they are so transparent. You
are an enemy to God, you are unreconciled, and you are content to be so. This
truth may be unpalatable, but it is nevertheless mostcertain. May God help
you to feel this, and may it humble you before His presence. Still, if they
would not come to the goodman’s feast, why did they not say so? If the real
secretof it was that they hated him and despisedhis provisions, is it not
melancholy that they were not honest enough to give him a “Nay” atonce?
Well, they certainly were not, and one reasonmight be because they wishedto
be upon goodterms with their conscience. Theyfelt they ought to go. He was
one who had a claim upon their courtesy, if not their gratitude, and therefore
feeling that they ought to go, and yet not intending to go, they sought to

compromise by an excuse. Conscienceis a very unamiable neighbor to men
who live in sin. It is said of David, “David’s heart smote him,” and it is a very
hard blow which the heart is able to give. In order to parry the blow, men
hold up a shield of excuses. Youcannot quite extinguish your conscience,
which is the candle of the Lord, and therefore you put it under the bushel of
an excuse. The thief fears the watchdog, and therefore throws him a sopto
keephim quiet—that sopis made of excuses. JohnBunyan tells us that Mr.
RecorderConscience,whenthe town of Mansoulwas in the keeping of
Diabolus, used sometimes to cry out at such a rate that he made all the
inhabitants afraid, and so they put him in a very dark place, and tried to put a
gag in his mouth to keephim quiet, but for all that, sometimes when his fits
came on, he made the town feel very uneasy. I know what conscience tells
some of you, it says to you, “How is it you canforget divine things? How can
you trifle with the world to come? How can you live as if you never meant to
die? What will you do when you come to die,
Sermon #578 A Bad Excuse Is Worse Than None
Volume 10
3
3
without an interest in the Lord Jesus Christ?” So, that consciencemay be
quiet awhile, you make an excuse, and persevere in refusing to come to the
feast. It may be that you make this excuse to satisfy custom. It is not the
custom of this presentage to fly immediately in the face of Christ. There are
not many men of your acquaintance or mine, who ostensibly oppose religion.
Your father fears God, your mother is a woman of greatdevotion, your
friends go to the house of God and speak experientially of divine things, you
do not like therefore to say to them, “I will never be a Christian, I dislike the
ways of God, I do not choose the plan of sovereigngrace,”and therefore to
spare their feelings you make an excuse. You do not want to grieve dear
friends, you are afraid if you spoke out honestly what your soul feels, it might
bring your mother with grey hairs to the grave, or make your father’s heart
break, and so you make the excuse, that they may entertain a comfortable
hope whereas, while you make excuses, there is no hope for you at all. Formy
part, I would rather you speak outright and say what you mean. I would that
you would say, “I am an enemy of Christ, I do not believe His Gospel, I will
not serve Him.” This might sound very badly, but it would show, at least, that
there was some sincerity in you, and we would hope that, ere long, you might
be bowed to the will of Christ. Excuses are curses, andwhen you have no

excuses leftthere will be hope for you. It may be you make these excuses
because you have had convictions which so haunt you at times that you dare
not oppose Christ to His face. You have gone home from the services to weep.
That little chamber of yours is a witness that you cannot live altogether
without prayer. The other day when you went to a funeral, you came home
with your mind very solemn and you thought then that certainly you would
yield to the commands of Jesus. Whenyou were sick, and had that week or
two upstairs alone, then you vowed and resolved, but your resolves melted
into thin air. The tearstarts in your eye, you are almostpersuaded to be a
Christian, you breathe a prayer, but ah! some ill companiontempts you the
next morning, and according to the old proverb, “The dog has returned to his
vomit, and the sow that was washedto her wallowing in the mire.” Ah! how
many times did I have convictions of sin, and terrible ones, too, and yet I said,
like Felix to Paul, “Go your wayfor this time, when I have a convenient
season, Iwill call for you,” but I could not quench these convictions by
downright oppositionto Christ, I knew too much, and felt too much to do that,
and so I tried to patch up a truce betweenmy soul and my convictions. Satan
is always ready to help men with excuses. This is a trade of which there is no
end. It certainly commencedvery early, for after our first parents had sinned,
one of the first occupations upon which they entered was to make themselves
aprons of fig leaves to hide their nakedness. Readthe Scriptures through, and
you will find that excuse-making has been a habit in all ages andamong all
classesofpeople, and till the last sinner shall be saved by sovereigngrace, I
suppose men will still be setting up their vain excuses in the temple of God. If
you will fire the gun, Satanwill always keepyou supplied with ammunition.
When he thinks that a truth is about to come home to you, if you cannotframe
an excuse, he will do it for you, he will run betweenyou and the cannon shot
of God’s Word to prevent your being wounded by it. If the preacher’s sword
should be too sharp for you, and make your consciencebleed, the evil one has
a satanic plasterwith which he very soonbinds up the wound. The natural
self-righteousnessofman prompts him to frame apologies. We are all the best
men in the world according to our own gauge and measure. If we could sit as
judges upon ourselves, the verdict would always be, “Notguilty.” Sin, which
would be very shocking in another, is very venial in us, nay, what would be
abominable in other men becomes almost commendable in ourselves, so
partially do we judge our own case. Since the sinner cannotthink it quite right
for himself to be an unbeliever in Christ, since his enlightened consciencewill
not let him saythat he is quite safe while he refuses to fly to the wounds of
Jesus, he runs to excuses in order that he may still say, “I am rich and
increasedin goods,”and not be driven to the unhappy necessityof crying, “I

am nakedand poor and miserable.” Sinful self is hard to conquer, but
righteous self is the worstenemy of the two.
Volume 10
4
4
When we can make men plead guilty, then God pronounces absolution upon
them, but while men will interpose their extenuations, there is little or no hope
for them. O greatGod, our Master, rend awaythe excuses from every sinner
here, and make him stand guilty before Your bar in his own consciousness,
that he may cry, “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” and find pardon through
the blood of Jesus Christ. Take heed, O you ungodly ones, lest you go on
excusing, and excusing, and excusing, until you excuse yourselves downto the
pit of hell, for this know, you will never be able to excuse yourselves out again.
II. We come to RECOUNT these excuses. Manywill not come to the great
supper—will not be Christians on the same ground as those in the parable—
they are too busy. They have a large family, and it takes all their time to earn
bread and cheese forthose little mouths. They have a very large business—
many servants in their employ, and from the first thing in the morning to the
last thing at night, if they do not see afterbusiness, their affairs must go
wrong. Or else, if they have no business, yet they have so many pleasures, and
these require so much time—their butterfly visits during the morning take up
so many hours—the dropping of their small pieces of pasteboardat other
people’s doors occupy all their leisure, and they really have no opportunity to
think about matters so unpalatable as death and eternity. This excuse scarcely
needs a word from me to answerit, because everyman knows that it is grossly
false. Nobody goes starving because he has not time to eat. Now, if God has
given time for us to support our natural frame, much more has He given us
time for the soul to feed. I do not find my friends in the street half dressed, but
I find some of them spend many a half-hour over that other pin, and that
other ribbon. Now, surely, if they have time to dress the body, they must have
had time given them in which to put on the robe of righteousness andarray
the soul. If you have not the time, God gave it to you, and you must have
misspent it. God gives you time as a steward, and if you say to your Master, “I
have it not,” He will reply to you, “I entrusted it to you, you must have spent it
on yourself, you have robbed God.” A little earlierrising, a little less time at
the table—eitherof these might give you time enough. You know you have the
time, and when you say you have it not, the lie is too thin, you can see through

it. O soul! O soul! when holy men can find hours for prayer, when such a man
as Martin Luther, when he was very busy, used to say, “I must have three
hours prayer today at least, or else I cannot getthrough my business,” do not
tell me that you have not time to seek the Lord. Besides, itis not an affair of
time. Salvationmay be wrought in an instant. There is life in a look at the
crucified One, there is life at this moment for you, and betweennow and the
time when this service shall have gone, there is time enough for you to have
laid hold upon eternal life, and to have receivedChrist Jesus to your soul’s
salvation. That excuse will not do. But then they fly to another. They are too
good. When I have preachedfree grace and a full Christ, I have heard some
say, “That is a goodsermon for the crowdin a theater, for ignorant, low-lived
people, but we respectable people do not require such salvation. To offer a
free salvationto men who are neither drunkards nor swearers, why the thing
is ridiculous. The sermon was very goodfor Magdalenes,for thieves, and such
like, but not for us.” No, you are too goodto be saved. You need not a
physician, because you are whole. Your owntable has enough upon it, you do
not need to come to this feast. But think, I pray you, whether this is not all a
mistake. In what are you better than other men, after all? What if you do not
indulge in open sins, does not your heart often go a-lusting towards evil? Does
your tongue always speak thatwhich is right and true? If you cannot
remember sins of commission, whatabout the sins of omission? Have you fed
the hungry? Have you clothedthe naked? Have you taught the ignorant?
Have you loved God with all your heart, and soul, and strength? Have you
given Him all that He demands of you? Why you cannot saythis. Now the
perfection, the holiness which God demands in order to salvationmust be like
a perfect alabastervase, if be is a single crack or spot on it, all is spoiled. You
may say, “Well, it is not much broken, we have not seriouslydamagedit,”
nay, but God requires it to be perfect, and no matter how
Volume 10
5
5
slight the damage it may have sustained, you cannotenter heaven upon the
footing of your goodworks—youare castout forever. Hear these words, “By
the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight.” “Cursedis
everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the
law to do them,” and “As many as are of the works of the law, are under the
curse.” Godsave you from that false excuse. Another class says,“We are too

bad to be saved. The Gospelcries, ‘Believe in Jesus Christand live,’ but it
cannot mean me, I have been too gross anoffender. When I was but young I
went into evil, and since then I have gone from bad to worse. O sir, I have
cursed Godto His face, I have sinned againstlight and knowledge, againsta
mother’s prayers and tears. I have spokenevil of God’s Word, I have laughed
at the very name of His Son Jesus Christ. I am too evil to be saved.” Here is
another bad excuse. You know, sinner, if you have been a hearerof the
Gospel, that this is not true, for bad as you are, no man is excluded from
Christ on accountof his vileness. “All manner of sin and of blasphemy shall be
forgiven unto men.” The invitations of the Gospeldo not stop at a certain
point of sin, but on the contrary, they seemto selectthe worstsinners first.
What did the Savior say? “Beginat Jerusalem.” But, Lord, the men live there
who crucified You. “Beginat Jerusalem.”But, Lord, it was in Jerusalemthat
they shed Your blood, and thrust out the tongue and laughed at You, and
made a mockeryof Your prayers. “Beginat Jerusalem”—the worstfirst. Just
as the surgeonin a battle, is accustomedto look to the worstcases first. Here
is a man who has losthis finger. Ah! well, let him bide awhile, we will see to
that. But here is another who has losta limb, and he is bleeding fast, and if the
blood be not stopped, his life will ooze out. The surgeongives him the first
turn. O you greatsinners, you who feel yourselves to have been notorious
offenders, I pray you be not so guilty as to make this an excuse for not coming
to Christ, on the contrary, use it as a reasonwhy you should fly to Him at
once. The more filth, the more need of washing;the more sick, the more need
of a physician; the more hungry, the more welcome to the table. Come to
Jesus just as you are, with all your sins, “Thoughthey be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
No form of sin, imaginable or unimaginable canby any possibility be a bar to
any man’s salvation, if he will but believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then
comes anotherexcuse, “Sir, I would trust Christ with my soulthis morning,
but I do not feelin any state to trust Christ. I have not that sense ofsin which
I think to be a fit preparation for coming to Christ— “‘If aught is felt, ’tis
only pain To find I cannot feel.’”
Ah! my dear hearer, this is an excuse which looks like a very goodone, but it
has no truth in it. There is no fitness wantedbefore you may trust in Christ.
Whatevermay be your present condition, if you trust Jesus Christ with your
soul, you are savedon the spot, your sins are forgiven you, you are made a
child of God, you are acceptedin the Beloved. Where do you read of fitness
for Christ in the Scriptures? Were the dead whom Jesus restored, fit to be

raisedthink you? Why, Martha said of her brother, “Lord, by this time he
stinks, for he has been dead four days,” was there any fitness in Lazarus for a
resurrection? And yet Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth!” Does the Gospelsay,
“He who is in a certain state, and then believes, shall be saved,” no, but, “He
that believes and is baptized, shall be saved.” How am I bidden to preach to
you? Am I to say, “Whosoeverfeels this is to come,” no, but, “Whosoeverwill,
let him come and take the waterof life freely.” Are you willing to have Christ?
Then you may have Him, for Christ is as free to every needy sinner as the
drinking fountain in the streetis free to every thirsty passer-by. Trust Jesus,
even if your heart be hard as granite—He can softenit. Trust Him, though
conscienceis asleep, though all the mental faculties be perverted—trust Him.
It is His business to make you holy, not your business—trust Him to do it all.
He is calledJesus becauseHe
Volume 10
6
6
saves His people from their sins. Trust Him to overcome your corruptions, to
kill your evil temper, to subdue your will, to soften your heart, to enlighten
your conscience, to inflame your love—trust Him to do it all. O, be not so
foolish, as to say, “I am too ill to send for a doctor, when I getbetter, when I
feel better, then I will send for him.” Do not say, “I am so black, if I felt
cleaner, I would wash,” no washbecause you are black, washbecause you
have nothing but filth about you, send for the greatPhysician because there is
no health in you. There is nothing in you but wounds, bruises, and putrefying
sores, therefore, letyour faith entrust your healing entirely to Him. Here
comes another, “O sir, I would trust Christ with my soul, but it seems too
goodto be true, that God would save me on the spot, this morning. You little
know where I was lastnight or what I did yesterday, you cannot tell who I am,
nor how bad I have been, and you tell me that if I trust Jesus Christ, I shall be
saved. Sir, it is too goodto be true, I cannot imagine it.” My dear friend, do
you measure God’s corn with your bushel? Becausethe thing seems an
amazing thing to you, should it therefore be amazing to Him? What if His
thoughts should be as high above your thoughts as the heavens are above the
earth? Is not this just what He has said in Scripture? I know you find it hard
to forgive your fellow man, but my Father, my God, canreadily forgive you—

“Crimes of such horror to forgive, Such guilty daring worms to spare: This is
Thy grand prerogative And none shall in the honor share.”
He creates like a God, He does not make a few insects, or here and there a
star, but this greatworld He fashioned, and He scatteredthe starry orbs
about with both His hands. So when the Lord comes to pardon, He does not
pardon some small offenses and wink at trifles, but the whole mass of sin He
cleansesawayin a moment, and all manner of sin and blasphemy, in an
instant, He casts behind His back. Do believe that God is God and not such a
one as you are, do think that He is capable of doing greaterthings than you
can dream of. Trust Him, trust Him now, and howevergoodthe things are,
you shall find them true, howevergreat, they shall be yours. I think I hear
one say, “It is too soonfor me to come, let me have a little look at the world
first. I am scarce fifteenor sixteen. There is plenty of time for me.” Have you
been to the graveyard? Are there not there the records of those who have
found fifteen or sixteen none too soon, for lo, at that age, they were taken
awayto their last account? Too soon!Is it ever too soonto be happy? If
religion made you miserable, I might advise you to put it off to the last, but
inasmuch as to be in Christ is to be happy, you cannotbe in Him too soon. I
have sat by many deathbeds, and heard many regrets, but never did I hear a
Christian regret that he was convertedtoo soon. I have receivedmany young
converts into church fellowship, but I never heard any of them say they were
sorry to be calledby grace so early. If I were condemned to die, and anyone
should bring me a pardon, I would not think I receivedit too soon. The wrath
of God abides on you—canit be too soonto escape fromit? You are the
subject of daily temptations, and you daily add to your sins—canit be too
soonto have a new heart and a right spirit? Others will row in the opposite
direction, pleading, “Alas, it is too late.” The devil first puts the clock back
and tells you it is too soon, and when this does not serve his turn, he puts it on,
and says, “The hour is passed, the day of grace is over, mercy’s gate is bolted,
you cannever enter it.” Let us answerthis at once. It is never too late for a
man to believe in Jesus while he is out of his grave. While the lamp of life
continues to burn, the vilest sinner who returns shall find Christ ready to
receive him. There have been men converted at a hundred years of age, we
have instances on recordof persons who have even passedthe century and
become children of Christ Jesus. How old are you? Are you in the sere and
yellow leaf of eighty? Ah! you have many sins, but what a triumph of grace it
will be when eighty years of sin shall all be washedawayin a moment! I tell

you that if you were as old as Methuselah, and in every year of that long life
you had as many sins as you have
Volume 10
7
7
already committed in the whole eighty years, yet the grace of Jesus Christis
sufficient to put all this away. Your sins may mount up like mountains, but
the love of Christ, like Noah’s flood, can go twenty cubits upwards, and the
tops of the mountains shall be covered. It is not too soon, it is not too late,
neither of these reasons are of any value though they delude many. “Well,”
says another, “I would believe in Christ, but I do not know whether I am one
of God’s elector not. Sir, that doctrine of electiontroubles me and staggers
me. If I knew I was one of the elect, I would trust Christ.” That is—if Godwill
show you His secrets, then you will do God’s will, and so the Almighty is to
bend to your conditions, and then you will do as He bids you! You will come to
feastat the man’s table, if he will take you into his secretcloset, andshow you
all his treasure!He will do nothing of the kind. How foolishthis talk is about
election!The doctrine of electionis a greatand precious truth, but it never
can be a valid reasonfor a man’s not believing in Christ. You are ill today,
and the doctor comes, “There,”says he, “here is the medicine, I will guarantee
if you take it, it will heal you.” You say, “Sir, I would take it at once, but I do
not know whether I am predestinated to get over this fever. If I am
predestinated to live, why then, sir, I will take the medicine, but I must know
first.” “Ah!” says the doctor, “I tell you what, if you do not take it, you are
predestinated to die.” And I will tell you this, if you will not believe in Jesus
Christ, you will be damned, be you who you may, but you will not be able to
lay it at predestination’s door, it will be at your own. A man has fallen
overboard, a rope is thrown to him, but he says, “I would like to graspthat
rope, only I do not know whether I am predestinated to be drowned.” Fool!he
will go down to the bottom with a lie in his mouth. We do not say, “I would sit
down to dinner today, but I will not eat because I do not know whether I am
predestinated to have any dinner today.” We do not talk so foolishly in
common things, why, then, do we so in religion? When men are hard up for
an excuse, they are glad to run to the mysteries of God to use them as a veil to
covertheir faces. O my dear friends, you must know that though God has a
chosenpeople, yet when He commands you to believe in Christ, His having a
chosenpeople, or not having a chosenpeople cannotexcuse you from

obedience to the divine command, “Believe onthe Lord Jesus Christ, and you
shall be saved.” I could not attempt to go through all the excuses, and
therefore after handling two more, I will have done. “Well,” says one, “if I
were to believe in Christ I would be as bad, after a short time, as I used to be.
I might be a little better for a time, but I would go back again, so it is of no use
trusting Christ.” That is to say, dear friend, Jesus Christ says if you trust
Him, He will save you, but you sayif you trust Him, He will not save you. That
is what it comes to. Jesus Christpromises that if you trust Him, He will save
you from your sins, you say, “No, I would go back to my sins and be as bad as
before.” Which am I to believe—yourexcuse, or His promise? Why, Christ’s
promise, surely! “But I tried once before,” says one. Very likely you did, but
Christ never tried, for if He had tried, He would have succeeded. “Well, but, I
did hold on a certain length of time.” I dare say you did—you held on, but if
Christ had hold of you, He would never have let you go. When you get hold of
Christ you may soondrop Him, but when Jesus gets hold of you, He says, “I
give unto my sheep eternallife, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand.” If you had greatlytrusted Christ, He would
not have allowedyou to become what you used to be. “Well,” says one, “I
cannot trust Christ, I cannotbelieve Him.” You talk Latin, brother, you talk
Latin. “No,” yousay, “I do not talk Latin.” Yes, you do. I will translate that
word into the Englishfor you. It means, “I will not.” When you say, “I
cannot,” it means, “I will not,” and understand, wheneverthe minister says,
“You cannot,” he means, “you will not,” for he does not mean that you have
any natural inability, but that you have a moral inability causedby your love
of sin—a willful inability. “I cannot,” is the Latin, but “I will not,” is the
English of it. A man once senthis servant to a certain town to fetch some
goods, and he came back without them. “Well, sir, why did you not go there?”
“Well, when I got to a certain place, I came to a river, sir, a very deep river, I
cannot swim, and I had no boat, so I could not get over.” A goodexcuse, was it
not? It
Volume 10
8
8
lookedso. But it happened to be a very bad one, for the mastersaid, “Is there
not a ferry there?” “Yes sir.” “Did you ask the man to take you over?” “No
sir.” Surely the excuse was a mere fiction! So there are many things with
regard to our salvationwhich we cannotdo. Granted, but there is a ferry

there! There is the Holy Spirit who is able to do all things, and you remember
the text, “If you then, being evil, know how to give goodgifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them who ask Him?” It is true you cannotmake yourself a new
heart, but did you ask for a new heart with sincerity and truth? Did you seek
Christ? If you say, “Yes, I did sincerelyseek Christ, and Christ would not
save me,” why then you are excused, but there never was a soul who could, in
truth say that. There never was a sinner yet who perished seeking Christ, and
there never will be, and if your heart’s sincere desire is after the salvation
which is treasuredin Christ Jesus, then heavenand earth may pass away, but
Christ will never castyou out while His own Word stands, “Him that comes to
me I will in no wise castout.” “Still,” you say, “I cannottrust Christ.” Now, I
am at issue with you here—Iam at issue with every awakenedsinner. I agree
with you, if you will let me give my own translation of the word cannot—that
you will not, but if it is to stand as the word is generally used, I am at issue
with you. Suppose that you believe me to be an honestman. Would it be fair
after that, to say, “Sir, I cannotbelieve you”? Now, if you believe me to be a
liar, I can very well understand that you cannot trust me, but if you take it for
granted that I am incapable of telling a falsehood, and yet do not believe what
I tell you, you are a liar. Now, you believe that Christ is incapable of
falsehood, you are not like those who are ignorant of the characterof Christ,
and therefore you know Him to be incapable of untruthfulness— and then
you sayyou cannot believe Him? Seeing that Jesus Christ cannotbut speak
truth, it cannot be a difficult thing for any man to believe what He speaks.If
you have sufficient light given you by the Holy Spirit, to know that Christ is
the truth, I believe you have sufficient power from the same source to believe
what Christ says. I trace this to God’s gift, but I do pray you to exercise the
powerwhich you certainly have. Tell Christ you cannotbelieve Him! Will you
tell Him that to His face, when He sits upon the judgment seatat last? Will
you dare to say this when His eyes of fire shall look you through and through?
“Mostholy Christ, I could not trust You! Mosttruthful Savior, I could not
believe You! I suspectedYou, I doubted You!” “Why did you doubt Me then?
What cause had I ever given you? Wherefore did you think Me a liar? In what
had I ever brokenMy promises, or when did I err from the truth?” “He that
believes not,” says John, “has made God a liar, because he believes not the
record that God gave of His Son.” O, think of this, and never make that
excuse again. Insteadof saying, “I cannot believe,” say, “I cannotmake God a
liar, I must therefore believe, for I know God is no liar—I must therefore
trust His SonJesus Christ. I have recounteda few of the excuses,perhaps you
will make another batch before the evening comes on—you who determine not

to be saved. It is only the mighty Spirit of Godwho can sweetlyconstrainyour
will to yield to Christ, and so I close with these two or three words, upon the
third point. III. HOW FOOLISH THUS TO MAKE EXCUSES. Forfirst
remember with whom it is you are dealing. You are not making excuses
before a man who may be duped by them, but you make these excuses before
the heart-searching God. My dear hearers, let me speak very solemnly, and
push this point closely home. You know that God can see through all this—
why then do you hang up such thin veils? Confess before Him your folly,
“Lord, I have been an enemy to You, Lord, I have been averse to Your Son
Jesus Christ, and therefore have I patched up these excuses, forgive me, I see
how foolishI have been, grant that I may do so no more.” Remember again,
what it is you are trifling with. It is your own soul, the soul which can never
die. You are trifling with a heaven which you will never see if you keepon
with these excuses. Youare trifling, sinner, with that hell which must be your
never-ending portion if you continue as you are. Can you play with hell-fire?
O, can you make sport of heaven? Can you laugh at the blood of Jesus? You
are really doing so while you are thus halting betweentwo opinions.
Volume 10
9
9
Now if you must play the fool, find something cheaperto play with than this.
O sirs, if you must have mirth, I pray you have it out of something else than
this. To be saved! hark to heaven’s music! To be lost!listen to hell’s groans!
Neither of these things are matters for you to play with. Say, as now you are
sitting here—I pray God help you to say it before you leave this house—
“Lord, I have been trifling with eternity, I have been making frivolous excuses
rather than I would acceptYour love in Christ, I have trifled with heaven and
hell, grant, Lord, that this may be brought to an end, that I may love and trust
You this day.” Remember, again, that these excuses will look very different
soon. How will you make excuses whenyou come to die, as die you must?
When death gets the grip of you, and the strong man fails, and they wipe the
death sweatfrom your feveredbrow, when the glaze of death’s night is
coming over your eyeballs, whatwill you think of these excuses then? It may
be you will rave with very fury at yourselves that you could have played with
your souls to such an extent. What will you do with your excuses whenyou
stand at the bar of judgment? The trumpet rings, you have awakenedfrom
your grave, you stand amidst the myriads to be judged. The books are opened,

and Christ proclaims your doom—“Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire.”
Will excuses comfortyou then? Will you be able to saythen, “Lord, it was too
soon, Lord, it was too late, Lord, I was too greata sinner to believe in Jesus,
or I did not need a Savior”? Nay, whenthe trumpet peals, and the heavens
are in a blaze, when the sun is turned into sackcloth, and the moon into blood,
and the stars fall like fig leaves from the tree, you will find other work to do
than excuse-making, youwill weepand wail because ofsin, and when you are
castinto hell, what will you make then of your excuses?Written in letters of
fire, you shall see in one tremendous arch above your heads, “You knew your
duty, but you did it not; you heard the Gospel, but you made excuses.”
Thundering more tremendous than the trumpet of resurrection, shall come
these words to you, “BecauseIhave called, and you refused; I have stretched
out my hand, and no man regarded. . . I also will laugh at your calamity; I
will mock when your fear comes;when your fear comes as desolation, and
your destruction comes as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon
you.” O, the Lord have mercy upon you, excuse makers, and bring you to
look to Jesus now. Now, I say, for the Scripture says, “Todayis the accepted
time, today is the day of salvation.” The only wayto end your excuses is not by
praying nor resolving, but by looking to Christ. There hangs the bleeding
Savior on the cross, He dies the just for the unjust to bring us to God, He
suffers there that sin may be forgiven. Look you to Him, trust you to Him, and
you shall be saved. My hearer, I give you now in God’s name this invitation,
this command, trust your soul to Jesus, the Sonof God, who suffered for sin,
and you shall be saved. But mind you this. I may never meet you all this side
of the grave, but I will meet you all at God’s greatday, and if you receive not
Christ and trust in Him, I am clearof your blood. Upon my skirts your doom
cannot fall. You have heard the Gospel, you have been told to trust Jesus as
you are, you have been assuredthat He is able to save to the uttermost them
that come to Him, You have been bidden to come, and now on your ownheads
be your soul’s ruin if you come not. May the Spirit of God take these things
and apply them to your souls. May He be as a fire and as a hammer in your
souls, as a fire to melt, or as a hammer to break, and may you today with
brokenness ofheart take Christ to be your Savior, both now and forever.
Amen.

Third Millennium Study Bible
Notes on Luke 14:15-24
The greatbanquet - Luke 14:14-24
Compare with a similar parable - but not the same - parable in the Gospelof
Matthew (below). "Whenone of those at the table with him heard this, he said
to Jesus, "Blessedis the man who will eatat the feastin the kingdom of
God"" (Luke 14:15). Jesus responds with a parable of a wealthy man who put
on a great banquet. The greatbanquet pictures the Kingdom banquet, the
supper of the Lamb (cf. Luke 13:28, 29; 22:16;Rev. 19:9). This is more than a
mere "meal," it is a "feast."Gooding explains, "The metaphor of feasting, as
distinct from merely eating a meal assures us that no true potential appetite,
desire, or longing given us by God will prove to have been a deception, but all
will be granted their richest and most sublime fulfillment." Heaven, and
especiallyits host (Christ) is utter and complete joyous satisfaction.
This feastreminds one of the Book of Esther5:8; 6:14. None of the
participants would attend the feastunless invited twice (Esther 4:2). So when
a greatbanquet was given, invitations were first sent out announcing the time
of the upcoming meal. At that time guests indicated their acceptance. Thenon
the day of the banquet itself, another invitation was extended - to re-invite the
already invited guests. To acceptthe first invitation but decline the secondwas
an insult.
But insults came; excuses were givenLuke 14:18-20. The first excuse is rather
lame: "The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it.
Please excuseme'" (Luke 14:18). Where was the field going? Who would
purchase a field before they lookedit over? This was a very petty excuse.
The secondexcuse was evenmore insulting: "I have just bought five yoke of
oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuseme'" (Luke 14:19).
Who would purchase 10 oxen with out trying them out? Moreover, is not the
person inviting you to the feastgreaterthan a mere ox?
The lastexcuse on its face may seem legitimate. "'I just got married, so I cant
come'" (Luke 14:20). But getting married in that era exempted one from
duties, not parties (cf. Deut. 24:5).
So, the excuses dealtwith possessions andaffections. While neither is
necessarilybad, when they become idols, they violate God's command (Exod.
20:3). People in that era actedas if the desired the Kingdom, but in reality
they didn't. Today, we see a similar pattern of unrighteousness - idols
replacing the only and true God.

These lame excuses were reportedto the master - the giver of the feast(Luke
14:21). An eternalrecord is kept. However, the master has already decided
that the banquet will proceedaccording to his own plan. It will go forth
without delay. The promised celebrationwill be held as announced. The
invitations picture the arrival of the Kingdom's initial phase. Jesus came in
the fulness of time (Gal. 4:4). God's time-table will not be interrupted. There
would be no delay to the Kingdom's arrival!
". . . 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" (Luke 14:21-23).
So, this parable is a prophecy of the extensionof the Gospelto those who were
deemed unworthy by the Pharisees. The "poor, the crippled, the blind and the
lame" (Luke 14:21)represent the "people of the land" (despised Jews who
were unable to observe the traditional laws of ritual purity), and those outside
the city on the "roads and country lanes" (Luke 14:23) representthe Gentiles.
Note the words "bring (Luke 14:21)and "make" (Luke 14:23) - "make them
come in." Unless the Holy Spirit changes a man's will - which is resistant to
the God, his Gospel, his Christ, his Kingdom and its King (Rom 8:7-8; 1 Cor.
2:14) - none can or will to come!One only becomes willing on the day of God's
power(cf. Psa. 110:3). Theylove him, because they first were loved (Rom.
5:8).
Jesus ends the parable with a rebuke. "I tell you, not one of those men who
were invited will get a taste of my banquet'" (Luke 14:24). The meaning is
clear, for those not entering into the banquet are left "outside" where there is
weeping and gnashing of teeth (Rev. 19:11-21;cf. Matt. 25:1-13). The elite of
Israelwho would rejectthe Messiah. Suchpeople would be given no second
chance.

Jesus was saying come, all is ready

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Jesus was saying come, all is ready

More from GLENN PEASE

Recently uploaded

Jesus was saying come, all is ready