[0:00] Back in Luke chapter number 14, if I was to ask you the question, how would you finish this statement, the Son of Man came? How would you answer that? Three different ways that's answered here in the gospel.
[0:11] First of all, the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom. Secondly, it says, the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
[0:22] And the third way that this sentence is finished is that the Son of Man came eating and drinking. Right? And we see that here in the book of Luke, is that the many focuses on the topics of discussion that Jesus was having.
[0:37] I don't think it'd be fair to say that the disciples were foodies. I think that's something that I could be called. Maybe some of you, William, could be called a foodie. We like to talk about food. We don't really care who's at the meal.
[0:47] We want to know what are we eating, right? Here though, in the focus of the meal, you don't see what they're eating. That's not the focus. The focus is who gave the invitation, who is going to be there.
[0:58] And that's really where the insult comes in with this invitation that is given. So after the man says, blessed is he that should eat in the kingdom of God. And he is probably referencing Isaiah 25, 6.
[1:12] The people we know that they were experts in the law. That's the group that Jesus is meeting with. They knew the Old Testament. And throughout the Old Testament, there was prophecy of a time that the Messiah would sit and that he would eat and he would set out a meal, a banquet for people.
[1:28] And this man says, it's great when that will come. And that is certainly true. It is great when that day will come. It will be great to be among those people. But Jesus is going to make sure it's clear to them to know it doesn't matter what kind of family you're brought up in.
[1:43] It doesn't matter how much of this you have memorized. You have a decision that you have to make about me if you plan to be at that meal. There's a decision you have to be that you have to make about the person giving the invitation to the meal that will determine if you come to it.
[1:59] And he couldn't have said it any more clearly. Well, he is God, so he's pretty good at what he does, right? Communicating clearly. But in giving parables at times, he doesn't give it to those that won't ask questions.
[2:11] But here he gives such a very clear parable. And then he explains it that nobody there, nobody listening, got to have any confusion about what the Son of God is saying about who will be with him in eternity, enjoying that type of fellowship and that meal.
[2:28] He just lays it out before them. Jesus teaches us that inviting people to your house and our homes and our wealth are to make friends for the sake of the kingdom.
[2:40] Luke 16, 9, it says, And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of righteousness that when you fail that you may receive in the everlasting habitations.
[2:51] He recognizing the power that is there in building a relationship over having a meal together. It says, Use your resources and build friendships.
[3:01] When tough time comes, you're going to be glad that you have these friendships. An invitation to a meal is very much connected to an acceptance of a person's friendship.
[3:13] And so a rejection is. Verse 16, An age before the clock, the date of the banquet would have been announced far in advance, but the exact time would only be announced on the very day.
[3:31] So an invitation would have been a save the date. On this day, on July the 4th, we're going to get together. I want to invite you to come. Don't make any other plans on that date. We're going to have a meal.
[3:42] Well, they didn't have pizza rolls and Doritos and Mountain Dew and all the glorious things that would make for a good banquet now. All right. And they didn't have the things that could be thrown into the oven real quickly.
[3:53] It was going to be a long ordeal to get the meal ready. So you live knowing that sometime that afternoon around lunchtime, that word was going to come to you that the meal was ready.
[4:06] And here's a picture of the Jewish leaders who believed in the law and the prophets and the kingdom, but they rejected the second invitation. The Jesus, the king himself, a picture of Israel and the leadership rejecting this invitation.
[4:22] It says that it was a certain man that was having a great supper. Who was able to put on a great supper? It was a certain man, a man of great means, a man of great influence there in that community, a person that when you get an invitation from him, you want to be there because you know that this is a man that's going to be able to put out a great spread.
[4:44] This is going to be the place to be. But then we have not only invitation that is given, but then it gives us the excuses that are given to them.
[4:55] And he sent his servants at suppertime saying that we're been come and all things are ready and all were one consent to make excuses. They're not all giving the same excuse, but they're all in agreement on the type of excuse that they're going to give.
[5:11] They're all in the same mind. So the first one here is there's a field that I need to go and I need to check on. I bought a piece of ground. I must need to go and see it.
[5:22] Well, first off, land isn't changing. All right. If you bought it yesterday, it's going to look the same today. Okay. And it's going to look the same the next day. And then why did you buy a piece of land that you haven't looked at?
[5:34] This isn't the time we live in here in Georgia. If you have a piece of land and you don't keep it, a dollar general will pop up on it. All right. If you do not make sure that somebody knows that you're living on it, a dollar general could grow there.
[5:47] All right. That's not the case in that day and age. That land was going to stay there. There was no urgency about the matter for them to be at it. But he was given excuse. Remember, he had accepted the previous invitation.
[5:59] But when it came the time to make the decision, an insult was given. The second one was about oxen. This man apparently had enough means that he's buying a team of oxen, which means he had other people that could go and look at the oxen.
[6:12] Or he shouldn't have bought the oxen before looking at them. But he says, I want to go try them out. This is kind of a preoccupation with something, right? I kind of got this new boat and I just really want to go out and ride it this weekend.
[6:25] I know I told you that I was going to come, but I just got this new thing that I really want to check out before I can take your invitation. And then the last one, which I said is the most reasonable one, right, is in marriage.
[6:40] Well, that answer should have been easy. Like, can I have a plus one? Thank you for your invitation to the party. Can I bring somebody along with me? I've gotten married since I first heard about it. There's all kinds of things that could have been said about that.
[6:52] But we see the financial and we see the family. And that's what kind of summarizes it, is that you could give an excuse that was either financial or family.
[7:02] I forget what country I was at, but one of the missionaries told me that when telling somebody that you can't go to something, you have a very hard time convincing them.
[7:12] They'll be very persuasive. But if you ever say anything about, I can't come because my kids have to go to bed or I can't do this because I have a family member, there's no more conversation.
[7:23] That is the absolute trump card, right? Because nobody would ever want you to do anything that would go against the family. And so that's the excuse that was being given.
[7:34] Maybe this was the third guy. He had more time to think about it, right? The person was like, ah, filled. I got some oxen. The third guy's like, good. I'm glad I had a moment. I'm going to give a good one that nobody's going to argue about is that I am married.
[7:47] And so they were different, but they were all the same. Excuses that were here. Something else is more important to them than attending the great feast. Something is more important than their relationship with the person that was giving the great feast.
[8:04] That's what the excuses were all in the same together. And so it's just death by a thousand little excuses. Charles Spurgeon said, excuses are curses. And when you have no excuses left, there will be hope for you.
[8:18] When you run out of excuses, there can be hope for you. When those people ran out of excuses and they just finally get to the point and said, I don't want to be in your company.
[8:29] I don't want to go to your banquet. I don't want to have a relationship with you. When they would get out of excuses and get honest, then that's where hope could have came into the story.
[8:41] As I said, only a fool would buy a piece of land and go and then check on it later or oxen there. Something was more important than Jesus. And so what excuses are being given? Or what excuses have you heard?
[8:54] Years ago, going out with Floyd Henson, the deacon in the church, and doing some visiting of some people in our church. I told you I always thought it was funny. He would say, we're going to go visit old people.
[9:04] And I'm like, you're like 80 years old. Who's older than you, you know? But we go visit real old people. And we invite people to church. And one time a man told us, he said, I can't come to church tomorrow. I don't have any peanut butter.
[9:16] And then we're like, we don't have any peanut butter. Like, we can get you some peanut butter. You can come to church. And he was like, what do you mean you can't come to church? You don't have any peanut butter. And he said, well, I thought one excuse was as good as another.
[9:27] And I'm like, I wanted to say there's no greater wisdom in all of this county than this man right here. This excuse is good as anyone. What excuses have you heard?
[9:37] Or more yet, what excuses have you given before to not come and dine with Jesus? First off, for salvation. That's the primary importance of this passage here.
[9:49] But also just in your own fellowship with him. There's that communion that we get to have with him as a believer. And what kind of excuses you say, I don't have time to meet with him. And you don't have any peanut butter so that you don't go.
[10:03] And so this is a definitive rejection. In saying, I cannot come, the man intended, as it were, to dismiss the matter. He wished to understand, having made up his mind, that it was no longer open to argument.
[10:16] He didn't want to discuss it anymore. He just said, hands off. You're not persuading me. I cannot come. And this settles it. It wasn't open for discussion. But these were no's.
[10:26] These were hard no's. No, I'm not coming. Here's the reason why. And we see Jesus, he's responding to this man in verse number 15. He's saying, won't it be great when we're all together at Messiah's banquet?
[10:39] And here's Jesus saying, you may admire the Messiah's banquet. Yet are you ready to receive the invitation when it comes? Or will you make excuses? You like the idea about the banquet.
[10:52] But now that I'm standing here, and I am the king, and I am the Lord, and I'm saying, now it's time, and things are ready. Are you going to say yes and follow me?
[11:03] Or are you going to make excuses? And Jesus answers. And then we get to the extended list in verses 21 through 23. The servants came. They told him what had happened.
[11:15] The master was angry. And he says, quickly, go out into the streets and bring the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind, and bring them in. They brought everybody that they could. And they look out, and the table still has room at it.
[11:28] Then he says, go out to the highways and the hedges. This says, go outside of our community. Go outside of the wall. That's another group of people. It's one thing that if you were poor and maimed, and you lived inside of the city, inside of the community, that's where you could beg.
[11:44] But when you're called to be an outcast, to be outside of the city, outside of society, that's another category of people. He says, go to those people. It doesn't record it here, but I expect some hesitation with his servants.
[11:57] Like, really? Like, I understand. Okay, we're going to go to this group. But you're meaning go outside of the city? That group of people we have nothing to do with? They're not even allowed to live among us.
[12:08] He says, yes, and compel them to come, because I want my house to be filled. This compel indicates God's great desire to fill his house, the wanderers and the outcast.
[12:21] And so I begin to wonder, why do they need compelling? Why would they need convincing? You know, you call me and say, I got a brisket coming off the smoker, and it's going to be ready in a little bit.
[12:33] I don't need any compelling. I'm on my way. I might forget to put my shoes on. I'll be at your house, and I'll be ready to eat it. I don't need any type of compelling. But it says all things were ready.
[12:45] Everything had been set. The dinner had been set. But they needed some compelling. And they needed to know that everything had been done. You might have heard this story before.
[12:56] An Englishman by the name of Ebenezer Wooten. What a great English name. All right? That's another thing we do different now in America. We name our kids different. All right? And he just concluded a preaching service in the village square.
[13:08] The crowd had dispersed, and he was busily engaged in loading the equipment. A young man approached him and asked, Mr. Wooten, what must I do to be saved? Sensing that the fellow was trusting in his own righteousness, Wooten answered in a rather unconcerned way, It's too late.
[13:24] The inquirer was startled. Oh, don't say that, sir. But the evangelist insisted, It's too late. Then looking the young man in the eye, he continued, You want to know what you must do to be saved?
[13:35] I tell you, it's too late now or any other time. The work of salvation is done, completed, finished. It was finished on the cross. Then he explained that our part is simply acknowledge our sin and receive by faith the gift of forgiveness.
[13:52] The work has been done. See, that's the invitation. The meal is set. It is all ready. Just come to it. Just attend it. And so why would you have to invite people?
[14:04] I mean, why would you have to compel people to this, to this ultimate feast? Because it came down to a matter of worth. The first people that were invited did not see the worthiness of the master.
[14:17] They felt that their life and the way they were living was of greater value than what this master had to offer. But the people that are on the outskirts of town and those poor people, they wondered about their worth.
[14:29] Were they worthy to come to the table? Worthy may not be a term that you are comfortable with when it comes to a conversation of salvation. You'd say, that's not really a word I would want introduced into a gospel presentation.
[14:43] I tell you, it's a biblical concept. Jesus, Paul, John the Baptist talk about this thing of worth quite often. Jesus will soon say, he'll say, if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brother and sisters, yea, in his own life also cannot be a disciple.
[14:59] But in a parallel passage in Matthew, the way that is said, it says, more than is not worthy of me. In Matthew 22, 8, then saith to his servants, the wedding is ready, but the which is forbidden were not worthy.
[15:11] They had not been prepared for this. And then Paul uses the words in Acts 13. And he says, Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, It was necessary that the word of God should have been spoken to you, but seeing you put it from you and judged yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
[15:30] In all these passages, being worthy is expected and necessary in the Christian life. And so how shall we understand our worthiness of Jesus in view of our sinfulness?
[15:44] Remember the centurion in Luke 7? Lord, trouble not thyself, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter underneath my roof. And Jesus said, there's nobody that has a faith like this man.
[15:58] John the Baptist, he says, He that comes after me is preferred before me. I'm not even worthy to tie his shoes in this understanding. Our preference for his worth is our worth.
[16:11] Our preference and our desires for his worth is our worth. Worthiness of the wedding feast is not earning or deserving or meriting yet. The dinner's already set.
[16:22] It's already prepared. You're not asked to bring anything. There's nothing that you can do to add to it. Just like the evangelist told that young man, it's already been done. The worthiness of the feast, the preferring the feast over farm and family.
[16:36] The worth of the guest is their embrace of the worth of the feast. And that's in the next sermon we will see where Jesus will just come to them and say, Will you follow after me?
[16:47] Is there anything in this world that you find of greater worth to you than the worth that is going to be found at joining me? And that was why the excuses came. They did not put their value or their worth in the master and his meal.
[17:01] And that's why Jesus will tell them in verse number 24, For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. There's an exclusion.
[17:12] It is guaranteed. You see, Jesus always sought to shatter false religious hope. He never played around with it. He never let people be delusioned about it.
[17:24] He never put his arm around a Pharisee and said, Well, we worship the same God. We're both going to the same place. You're my brother. He never put his arm around the scribe who was living in delusion and said unto him, You're a student of the Old Testament and worship the God of Israel.
[17:38] We're both brothers. He never put his arms around the synagogue crowd and said, You're doing a really good job. God's going to accept this for your religious effort in his name. He exploded every time the false religious security of the Jews at every level, at the level of the Pharisees, the scribes, and the level of the people in the synagogues.
[17:58] And Jesus always sought to shatter false religious hope. And this is critical in evangelism is that people know that their worth must be found in him, that he is the one that is worthy, and that our recognition that he is worthy and that we are not, and that his value is greater than all of these things in the world is what allows us to be there with him.
[18:24] So anybody who lives under some kind of misguided assumption that they're headed for heaven needs to know that it's not just assumed like it was with the man in verse number 15.
[18:34] But there's a decision that every one of us have to make. And there's a common man has a place at the table. Mark 12, 37, it says, And whence is he the son?
[18:45] And it says, The common people heard him gladly. Every one of us ought to be common people. Every one of us ought to have a proper view of who we are. These were uncommon people.
[18:56] These were people that saw themselves as more valuable. These were people that saw their agendas greater than that of the God of heaven. These were people that were just too busy to take a day to go and spend this time with that master.
[19:08] And those others think are more likely to be at the table, the religious will not be at the table. And those who will be will come from surprising places.
[19:19] Many said, Lord, Lord. And he said, I knew you not, knowing it's about a relationship. It's not about a vocabulary. It's not about memorizing scripture. It's not about being able to say that you said, Lord, Lord, or saying that you did things in his names.
[19:32] It's about knowing him. James 2, 5, Hearken, my beloved brethren. Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to them that love him?
[19:47] We need to have the view that Jesus gives about who will be at that banquet. And it will not be those that have found that they are worthy to be there.
[19:58] It's those that have found him to be the worthy one. And so it says the master in verse number 21 is angered at their response. The master of the house being angry said unto the servant.
[20:10] And so this story seemed that first to those that were listening, it might seem to even be kind of ridiculous. It might even seem like Jesus was telling a joke, if you will, because this isn't going to happen.
[20:21] Nobody gives an invitation like this, and then people don't come to them. And so they would certainly understand the anger that was coming there. John 3, 36 says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
[20:40] That's the anger that's being spoke about, that the wrath of God abides on those who do not accept that invitation that is given. So Jesus extends an invitation.
[20:52] He extended it all. He went to one group of people, and they weren't accepting it, and he continues doing that. We know in this case that to the Jewish people, that wasn't the only people that God was offering salvation, but God had a special work for them that he was going to use them to share the gospel with all mankind.
[21:08] And then now as a church, we have that opportunity to do the same thing, but God comes. And then now he calls on us to go out and extend that invitation, an extended guest list.
[21:20] And he tells us to compel people, to persuade people, to give our every bit that we can. As we look at it on this side of salvation and knowing Christ, we think, How could anybody not want to be at this?
[21:35] How could anybody say no to what we're offering? I can't even imagine seeing life through any other way than through my belief in Jesus Christ.
[21:47] But there's many reasons. Because there's groups of people out there today that do not see their worth in Christ. They do not see the value in him. And they're so preoccupied with the things of this world.
[21:57] And we need to compel them. We need to tell them what you're living for is shallow and it won't last. The excuses that you're given not to think about the things of God are really a rejection of God.
[22:10] It's not that you're just too busy with business. It's not that you're just too busy with family. But you are being very decisive in making a decision that rejects the God of heaven. And I need to compel you to the truth.
[22:23] Then there's other people that we find on the outskirts of society. Those I consider that are blind and maimed. And they say, I'm just not worthy. And you get to tell them, well, it's good news.
[22:35] Because you're recognizing that you're not worthy. It allows you to see the worth in him which brings you to the place that you can be at that table. And compel them to defend your faith.
[22:50] To use the word of God. And understand where they are at. And to bring them to it. Because the time is short. And the meal is prepared. And the Father is expressing to us that he wants his house full.
[23:04] He doesn't want there to be an empty seat. There is enough room for everybody. And they're there. And now we get to be the, what an opportunity, right? How fun is that?
[23:14] To be a servant. To be running out and saying, you're not going to believe this. My master has this table spread. And it is incredible. And I would name some food. But you guys are already hungry enough, okay?
[23:26] But this table is spread. And he wants you to be there. And he wants you to sit at his table. And you can come right now. And people just look at him and they say, surely not me.
[23:39] Nobody's ever wanted me at a table. Nobody's ever invited me into their home. Nobody's ever saw anything good in me. And you're telling me that your master wants to eat with me.
[23:50] And we get to be the people who say, yes. That's exactly it. And you know what we call this message? We call this message good news. Because it's the only good news that this world is dying for.
[24:05] It's all satisfying. What a blessed people. I want to challenge you today. And I'm going to exhort you in here. If you're not somebody who's believing, to know there's an invitation. But Christians and brothers and sisters in here, I want to challenge you towards this.
[24:19] It's just an excitement that we get to share this news with other people. And that he loved this. And that he extended this list. And he invited us. So before I pray, I want to encourage you to go out and find people that are spiritually destitute.
[24:36] To go out and find people that are broken and hungry. Go out and find sinners who know that they are unworthy. Go out and find those who know that they don't belong at the banquet of God because of their sinfulness.
[24:47] Go out and find the beggars, the untouchables, and those that are spiritually aware of their utter uselessness and their hopelessness and unworthiness. And compel them to come in.
[24:58] Compel them to know our Jesus and his worth. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much that you have given us your word. And given us, Lord, in a language that we understand and in a country and a time in which we get to share it.
[25:14] But, Lord, we have a response every time we come to this word. I pray, Lord, as the unbelievers in this story when Jesus was sharing it would be convicted to want to respond to you.
[25:27] That they would begin leaving their safe position of believing that all the children of Abraham are going to heaven. And that they would see that, no, they have an invitation they must respond to.
[25:38] That nobody would find their false security, Lord, in their family or in anything outside of that personal decision of putting their faith in you. And then, Lord, I think about those servants today and how you told them to compel others.
[25:52] Lord, you have given us this ministry, this ministry of reconciliation. And I want to say thank you. Heavenly Father, I confess that I've seen this ministry of evangelism as something that has become a burden.
[26:07] That it's something that just must be done. But, Lord, I have been reminded by your word today of how just incredible it is that I get to share this good news. But I want to be consistent.
[26:20] And I want to be faithful at this. And not just share it, Lord, but share it knowing that it is the best news and it's what everybody needs. And, Father, I pray that none of our eyes would fall upon a person this week that we would believe that are without hope.
[26:34] That we would look upon this world and that whoever we see, that we would know that you desire to see them come. That we would share and we would compel them with everything that is in us.
[26:44] Thank you.