I'll be reading verses 1 through 24 this morning.
If you're looking in a pew Bible, it is page 820.
Luke chapter 14, let me read beginning at verse 1.
One Sabbath, when he, that is Jesus, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees,
they were watching him carefully.
And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.
And Jesus responded to the lawyers and the Pharisees saying,
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?
But they remained silent.
Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.
And he said to them,
Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day,
will not immediately pull him out?
And they could not reply to these things.
Now he told a parable to those who were invited
when he noticed how they chose the places of honor,
saying to them,
When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast,
don't sit down in a place of honor,
lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him.
And he who invited you both will come and say to you,
Give your place to this person.
And then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.
But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place,
so that when your host comes, he may say to you,
Friend, move up higher.
Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.
And he who humbles himself will be exalted.
He said also to the man who had invited him,
When you give a dinner or a banquet,
don't 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 they cannot repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.
When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things,
he said to him,
Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.
But he said to him,
A man once gave a great banquet 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.
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.
And another said,
I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to examine them.
Please have me excused.
And another said,
I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.
So the servant came and reported these things to his master.
Then the master of the house became angry.
And he 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've commanded has been done.
And still there is room.
And the master said to the servant,
Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled.
For I tell you,
none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
What's your vision of the Christian life?
Some Christians emphasize studying and learning,
growing in knowledge of God.
Other Christians emphasize praying and worshiping,
growing in intimacy with God.
Other Christians emphasize serving,
sharing Christ with the world,
carrying out the mission of God.
Now all of those visions are valid and important.
We've been looking at this middle section of the Gospel of Luke.
And we've seen that Luke depicts the Christian life as a journey.
A journey of learning and praying and serving with Jesus.
But there's also another way that Luke depicts the life of a Christian.
Luke wants us to envision the Christian life as a party.
Where we're eating and drinking together with Jesus,
where we're feasting at His table,
reveling in His grace and extending His welcome to others.
Now let me ask,
is that how most people see the church today in our world?
Do most people look at the church and say,
man, those people really know how to celebrate
in the most honoring and life-giving way,
in a way that makes you feel better the next day and not worse?
Do people look at Jesus' followers and say,
those are the people I could go to
if my life completely falls apart?
Even if I know they don't agree with me,
they would still care about me
and want the best for me
and take me in.
Do people look at Christians and say,
they are the most genuinely hospitable people on earth?
Some of you have experienced that kind of joy
and hospitality from other Christians.
Some of you have told me that you've been drawn to this church
because you found that.
You've seen that in the lives of Christians.
But many people do not see the church
as offering anything remotely like that.
Many people see the church as self-promoting,
self-righteous, self-enclosed,
and selectively judgmental,
and maybe boring too.
If we're honest,
some of us don't always envision the Christian life
as a party either.
But notice the patterns of Jesus
and his disciples in the Gospels.
At least ten times in Luke's Gospel,
we see Jesus going to a party
or invited to a meal,
spending extended time over food and drink
at someone's house.
Chapter 5,
Jesus is invited to Levi,
the tax collector's house, for a party.
Chapter 7,
Jesus is invited to Simon,
the Pharisee's house for a dinner.
Chapter 9,
Jesus hosts an outdoor picnic
for 5,000 men in the desert.
Chapter 10,
Jesus eats at Mary and Martha's house.
Chapter 11,
Jesus is invited to a Pharisee's house for lunch.
Here again,
he's invited to another Pharisee's house for lunch.
Chapter 19,
Jesus invites himself over to Zacchaeus' house
for a meal.
Chapter 22,
Jesus presides at the Passover meal,
what we call the Last Supper.
And after his resurrection in chapter 24,
he breaks bread with the two disciples
that he's walked with all that way to Emmaus.
And then he goes back to Jerusalem,
and when he meets the disciples in Jerusalem,
he eats a piece of boiled fish.
He shares food with them as well.
But Jesus carried out his mission on earth
in the context of meals.
And it's not just because he had to eat
in order to physically survive,
but because meals were an important context
for teaching and embodying the values
of his kingdom.
The Old Testament anticipated
that when the Messiah came,
he would throw a party.
He would provide,
and he would preside
at a great banquet of grace,
a wedding feast
celebrating the reunion
and reconciliation of God and his people.
We read one of those prophecies earlier
in the service.
On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food,
a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow,
of aged wine well refined.
You know, in the Gospel of John,
Jesus did his first miracle
at a wedding feast.
He's saying,
I've come to fulfill that vision
that the prophets have foretold.
This morning's passage has four parts.
Verses 1 to 6,
Jesus is invited to a Pharisee's house.
Verses 7 to 11,
he gives a word to the guests.
Verses 12 to 14,
he gives a word to the host.
And then verse 15 to 24,
he ends with a climactic parable
of the great banquet,
but there's one main point
to it all.
Jesus came to host
a banquet of grace.
This sermon has one main point,
just one,
and then we'll have two applications from it.
So, yes,
there will still be the three sections.
But one main point,
Jesus came to host a banquet of grace,
and then we'll get to how it applies to us.
So, let's look at this passage.
How do we see
Jesus came to host a banquet of grace?
Well, at the beginning of the chapter,
Jesus is invited as a guest
to the Pharisee's home.
It was a Sabbath day,
and synagogue leaders
would normally invite visiting teachers
to have lunch in their home
following the Sabbath synagogue worship service.
So, that's probably why they invited Jesus.
So far, all is well and good.
But there's a problem.
The Pharisee's meal
is marked by a complete lack of grace.
Notice in verse 1,
they were watching Him carefully.
From the very beginning,
the Pharisees,
who we've already seen
having some conflicts with Jesus,
they were hostile to Him.
They refused to rejoice
in His healing power.
They refused to even engage
with His questions.
And further,
they are indifferent
to a broken and hurting man.
A man with dropsy,
today it's more commonly called edema,
that is,
swelling,
bloating,
caused by excess fluid buildup
in the body,
usually a sign of heart
or kidney failure.
Ancient writers commented
on the tragic irony
of this condition.
Ovid wrote,
the more a man with dropsy drinks,
the thirstier he grows.
Having the condition of dropsy
would make you feel bad
and look bad.
And yet the Pharisees
were cold and indifferent.
They planted this man
in front of Jesus,
not because they hoped
he would be healed,
but because they wanted
to test Jesus
in order to accuse Him
of violating the Sabbath laws.
But it wasn't only the host
who lacked grace.
Jesus noticed in verse 7
how the guests
were all about
self-promotion,
trying to put themselves
in the places of honor.
How did Jesus respond
to this graceless meal?
Well,
by demonstrating grace
and by teaching about grace.
First,
we see Jesus demonstrating grace
by healing the man
with dropsy.
Now,
several ancient writers
saw an analogy
between the physical condition
of dropsy
and the moral condition
of insatiable greed.
Always wanting more
and yet
never being satisfied
and becoming increasingly
deformed as a result
and unhealthy.
dropsy.
Now,
many writers
distinguished
the medical condition
from the moral condition,
but not all.
Some said
the medical condition
is a sign
of the moral condition.
It's an outward sign
of a disordered heart.
And so,
many people in practice
kept their distance
from people with dropsy.
I mean,
it doesn't make you
look that great
if you're always
swollen
and bloated.
Just as many people
today
keep their distance
from people
who are
very overweight
or who have
obvious physical deformities,
but not Jesus.
Verse 4 says,
Jesus took him.
The word means
he took hold of him.
He touched him.
He did not stay far away.
He did not keep himself
at a distance,
and he healed him.
Now,
most translations
of verse 4 say
he healed him
and sent him away,
which is possible.
Perhaps the Pharisees
would have become
even more hostile
to him if the guy
had stayed,
but it's more likely
that the word
should be translated
released
or loosed.
That's how the same word
is translated
in chapter 13,
verse 16,
when Jesus heals
a woman
on the Sabbath.
she was loosed
from her bond.
So,
it's probably better
to say,
translate verse 4,
as Jesus took hold
of him
and healed him
and released him.
He set him free
from what was
ailing him.
And notice that
Jesus was not concerned
here with assigning blame.
Jesus does not say
one way or the other
whether the man's dropsy
was a result
of his excessive greed
or lust
or whether it had
nothing to do with that
and it had no connection
to that at all.
Jesus simply
demonstrated grace
to the lowliest
and most despised
man in the room.
And then Jesus began
teaching about grace,
about the grace
that would characterize
his party
in contrast
to the Pharisees.
Verse 7 to 11,
Jesus taught the guests,
those who were invited,
about grace.
Now at first,
when you read
verses 8 to 10,
they might seem like
merely pragmatic advice.
How to avoid
being embarrassed
at a dinner party.
If you're not sure
where to sit,
don't assume you belong
at the head table.
Better to be boosted up
than brought down.
But what Jesus said here
goes much deeper.
It's not just
about dinner etiquette.
verse 7 says
this is the parable.
In other words,
there's a spiritual lesson
to be learned.
And verse 11
makes that lesson
very clear.
Everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled.
And he who humbles himself
will be exalted.
You see,
Jesus is talking about
how we relate to God.
Not simply
how to avoid
being embarrassed
at a party.
better to be humble
and get lifted up
by God
than be proud
and get taken down
by God.
You see,
pride is the opposite
of grace.
Pride says,
I don't need grace.
I can do it myself.
I can rely on my own merit
and achievement.
Pride says,
I deserve better
than what God
has given me.
Now,
in one sense,
the best thing
that can happen
to a proud person
is for him
to be brought down
in one way
or another.
Because then
he might possibly
see how foolish
his pride was.
And so,
God may even
be showing mercy
as well as justice
in bringing down
the proud
because it may
lead them
to repent.
But Jesus says,
the only people
who will get good
seats at God's table
are those who
willingly,
humbly,
take the lowest
place of all.
Not in a fake
display of modesty,
not in a calculation
of reverse psychology,
but having rightly
perceived their
desperate need
for God's mercy.
You see,
that's what humility is.
Humility is not
thinking less
of ourselves
than we ought to.
Humility is seeing
ourselves rightly
in light of our
position before
a holy God.
Realizing that we
don't have any
entitlement
when we come
before God.
So,
Jesus speaks to
the guests about
grace in verses
7 to 11,
and then He speaks
to the host about
grace in verses
12 to 14.
And here,
Jesus didn't start
with seemingly
familiar advice
about how to
avoid embarrassment
at a dinner party.
In fact,
that advice,
you can find it
in the book of Proverbs,
you can find it
in the ancient
writer Plutarch.
But in verses
12 to 14,
Jesus didn't start
with conventional
wisdom and take
it a step further,
He attacked the
conventional wisdom
head on.
Verse 12,
when you throw
a party,
don't invite
your friends,
siblings,
relatives,
or rich neighbors,
or anyone else
who might invite
you back
or repay you.
What?
Really?
That's what
everybody did
in the ancient
world.
You throw a party
to connect
with people
who will benefit
you in some way
or at least
who won't
drag you down.
You run with
the winners,
not with the losers.
I scratch
your back,
you scratch
my back,
and we all
get along.
It's not all
that different
today.
Sometimes we
call it
networking.
Jesus says,
don't play
that game.
Jesus says,
invite the poor
and the disabled.
Invite the people
who can't repay you,
the people who
can't help you
get ahead in this
world.
Invite the elderly
man with advanced
Alzheimer's who
won't remember
what you did
for him ten
minutes later.
Invite the
disabled woman
who can't get
to your place
on her own
and you have
to wheel her
across town
in a wheelchair.
Jesus said
earlier on in Luke,
if you love
those who love
you,
what benefit
is that to you?
Everybody
does that.
If you do
good to those
who do good
to you,
what benefit
is that to you?
If you lend
to those from
whom you
expect to
receive,
what credit
is that to
you?
Love your
enemies
and do
good and
lend expecting
nothing in
return and
your reward
will be
great and
you will be
children of
the Most
High for
he is kind
to the
ungrateful
and the
evil.
Be
merciful even
as your
father is
merciful.
That's what
it looks like
to be a
gracious
host,
to be
merciful as
God has
shown us
mercy.
Now by
this time
somebody at
the table
seemed to
think that
Jesus had
gone a
little bit
too far.
So he
tried to
smooth things
over in
verse 15.
Blessed
is everyone
who will
eat bread
in the
kingdom of
God.
Doesn't that
sound nice?
And can't
we just
end this
conversation
here before
there's any
more tension
in the
room?
Sort of
like somebody
today who
says,
well isn't
everyone in
the world
just following
our own
path and
we're all
walking up
the same
mountain and
we'll all be
together in
the end?
That might
sound nice but
it's not
reality.
And Jesus
is not thrown
off by the
comment.
In verse
16 he
launches into
the climactic
parable which
again is all
about grace.
The parable
begins with a
man like his
Pharisee host,
like any
typical host
of the day.
Seems to be a
well-off man.
He invited
many to a
great banquet.
Of course he
invited people
like him,
people with
means,
people with
status,
people with
who could
buy a field
and buy a
bunch of
yoke of
oxen.
He got his
initial RSVPs.
The way that
banquets worked
back then is
you invite your
initial guest
list, you get
their initial
RSVPs, you
decide, similar
to how
wedding banquets
work today, you
decide how much
food you have
to cook,
depending on
how many
people reply.
That depends
whether you
have to kill
a sheep or
a goat or
two goats or
whatever,
whatever you're
going to,
whatever everyone's
going to feast
on.
And then,
when the food
is about ready,
you send a
messenger out
and tell everyone
food's ready,
time to come.
So he's got his
initial RSVPs,
he's got his
guest list,
they've all said
yes, they're
going to be
coming,
he's got the
food cooking,
got the table
set, got the
decorations out,
all's going
just as planned,
and then
verse 18,
but they all
alike began
to make
excuses.
Down to the
very last
man.
Plan
foiled,
party
ruined,
host
disgraced,
he will sit
alone that
night in
his banquet
hall with
all the
platters of
food,
and all
the tables
set,
and every
chair
empty,
feeling the
sting of
rejection.
So he gets
angry,
verse 21,
that's exactly
what one would
expect.
But then,
he does
something
unexpected
in verses
21 to
23.
In a
parable,
you always
have to
look for
what is
the surprise.
There are
two surprises
in this
parable.
One is
what the
guests all
make excuses
and no
show,
but the
second
surprise is
what he
does.
In
verses
21 to
23,
he tells
his servant,
go out
and bring
in the
poor and
the crippled
and the
blind and
the lame.
The same
kinds of
people that
Jesus just
told his
host to
invite,
in verse
13.
And then
he even
goes one
step further,
says,
go outside
the city
to the
highways
and the
hedges,
the people
who are
far off,
and bring
them in.
The host
begins by
acting exactly
like the
Pharisee,
but he
ends acting
like Jesus
by extending
grace even
to the
last,
the lost,
and the
least.
And in
verse 24,
Jesus
concludes the
parable.
He looks
around the
room and
says,
I tell
you.
Now,
you know,
verse 24 is
not just the
master in the
parable speaking
to the
servant,
because you
is plural.
Jesus is
looking around
the room and
says,
I'm telling
y'all,
none of
those men
who were
invited will
taste my
banquet.
Wait a
minute.
My
banquet.
Jesus is
saying,
I'm not
just your
guest.
I'm the
host of
God's
heavenly
banquet,
and you
all are
in grave
danger of
missing out
on it,
because you
haven't grasped
the most
basic reality
of what it
means to
know God,
and that
is grace.
Jesus came
to host a
great banquet
of grace.
That's the
main point.
Now,
two practical
applications.
What does
this mean for
us today?
First,
what does it
look like to
be a guest
at Jesus'
banquet of
grace?
we see
three aspects
of this.
First,
Jesus says,
come just
as you
are.
Verses
1 to 6.
Do you
notice the
man with
dropsy is
the only
person in
the Pharisee's
house that
Jesus does
not rebuke,
but simply
blesses and
heals?
And what's
the man with
dropsy doing?
he's just
standing there
in front of
Jesus,
probably feeling
helpless and
maybe a little
embarrassed.
He has a
problem.
He has a
condition.
He can't
fix it on
his own.
He can't
hide it.
It's out
there for
everyone to
see,
but Jesus
has mercy
on him.
come to
Jesus
just as
you are
with all
your problems
and all
your junk
hiding
nothing,
and he
will have
mercy on
you,
and he
will receive
you.
Second,
come in
humility.
Verses
7 to
11.
The Pharisees
and their
pride pushed
themselves
forward,
and the
result was
they pushed
others out.
What did
Jesus Christ
do when he
came into
this world?
He did not
take the most
honored place,
even though he
deserved it.
He willingly
took the
lowest place.
He took
the lowest
place in
order to
make space
for us to
join him
in his
father's
house.
He humbled
himself and
took on the
form of the
servant and
became obedient
even to death
on a cross.
Jesus
didn't merely
teach about
the importance
of humility,
he lived
it.
And God
raised him
from the
dead and
exalted him
so that
one day
every knee
will bow
and every
tongue will
confess that
Jesus is
Lord.
Come in
humility
before Jesus
the humble
king.
If you
have been a
Christian
and you've
served in the
church ever
since the
day you
were born,
you have
the exact
same status
before God
as someone
who has
lived their
whole life
for themselves
and today
for the
very first
time
repents and
believes in
Jesus.
You're both
undeserving
but honored
guests at
Jesus' banquet
of lavish
grace.
And just
because you've
been at the
banquet for
longer doesn't
mean that you're
entitled to
special seats,
special honors,
special perks
that aren't
available to
newcomers.
You see,
we can be
tempted to
try to inch
our way up
to the
honored seats
the longer
you've been
at the
banquet
and then feel
that we're
entitled to be
there.
Christian,
have you
fallen into
self-pity,
envy,
bitterness,
or a sense
of entitlement?
Those are all
toxic
manifestations
of pride.
And they
will all
steal your
joy,
peace,
and love.
Even more
than that,
they are an
insult to
Jesus,
our host.
forsake
these things
today in
Jesus'
name and
receive grace
from Him
anew.
The only
way that any
of us can
come before
Jesus is
simply by
receiving and
resting on
His grace.
Whether you're
coming to Him
for the first
time or
whether you're
coming today
after being in
the church
for 90
years,
we come
to Him
on the
basis of
His grace,
not on the
basis of
any merit
or achievements
of our
own.
Come just
as you
are.
Come in
humility.
Come
without making
excuses.
Verses 18
to 20.
They all
alike began
to make
excuses.
Now, some
of the
excuses are
worded more
politely.
The first
two, please
have me
excused.
The first
one, he
sort of says
it's necessary,
I must go
out and see
it.
He claims a
competing
obligation.
Some are
less so, I
can't come.
Some of the
excuses sound
pretty lame.
Honestly, the
first one,
wouldn't you
check out a
field before
you buy it?
Sort of like
saying, I
just bought a
house and I
need to go
look at it.
Well, didn't
you look at it
before you
bought it?
I mean, I
just bought a
car and I
need to test
drive it.
No, you
test drive the
car before you
buy it.
Others
sound perhaps
more reasonable.
I just got
married can
be a good
reason for
declining certain
invitations.
You got a
legit excuse.
But here's
the question.
Whether you're
being polite or
defiant about it,
are you putting
something else,
whether it's
owning a piece
of property,
starting a
business, or
entering into a
significant
relationship, are
you putting that
ahead of Jesus?
Are you saying
yes to
something else
and not
quite now,
maybe later,
to Jesus?
Jesus warned
in the parable
of the soils
that the cares
and riches
and pleasures
of life choke
out His
Word and
make it
unfruitful.
There is
nothing in
this world
that can
compare to
the banquet
of grace
that Jesus
is offering.
You know,
there's another
category of
excuses that
perhaps aren't
quite so
apparent here.
But if you
notice in
verses 21 and
23, when the
Master sends
out His
servant, He
gives him
special instructions
about how to
bring in those
who would
naturally be
reluctant because
they would feel
like they don't
belong.
not long ago,
somebody said
to me,
and different
people have
said a similar
thing to me
over the years,
how could
Jesus want
me?
I am such a
mess.
I'm far more
broken than you
know.
If I become a
Christian, I will
almost certainly
fail.
But if that's
you, would
you dishonor
the host by
telling him that
he is not
strong enough,
not wise
enough, not
kind enough to
take in someone
like you?
400 years
ago, a man
named George
Herbert wrote
a poem.
I've included
it in the
bulletin.
But it's
representing the
invitation of
who he calls
love, but he's
clearly talking
about Jesus.
It says,
Love bade
me welcome,
yet my soul
drew back,
guilty of
dust and
sin.
But a
quick-eyed
love observing
me grow slack
from my first
entrance in
drew nearer to
me, sweetly
questioning if
I lacked
anything.
A guest, I
answered, worthy
to be here.
Love said,
you shall be
he.
I, the
unkind,
ungrateful,
ah, my dear,
I cannot look
on thee.
Love took
my hand and
smiling did
reply, who
made the
eyes but I?
Truth, Lord,
but I have
marred them.
Let my
shame go
where it
doth deserve.
And know
you not,
says love,
who bore
the blame?
My dear,
then I
will serve.
You must
sit down,
says love,
and taste
my meat.
So I did
sit and
eat.
Come to
Jesus' banquet
and be his
guest.
Come as you
are, come with
humility,
come without
excuses,
come and be
his guest.
You know, it
doesn't stop
there with
being Jesus'
guest, because
once we become
a guest at
Jesus'
party, he
invites us to
join him in
extending that
invitation to
others.
That's the
second major
application I
want us to
consider, is
what does it
look like to
extend Jesus'
invitation to
others?
The Apostle
Paul said in
Romans 12, 13,
practice
hospitality.
Welcome other
believers as
Christ has
welcomed you.
Extend grace
to others as
you've received
grace from
Jesus.
What is
Christian
hospitality?
It's
welcoming
people because
of Jesus.
It's making
space,
sharing food,
opening
conversation,
and inviting
God's Holy
Spirit to
move.
Some
Christians have
a spiritual
gift of
hospitality, but
all Christians
are called to
practice
hospitality.
You know,
hospitality is
not just
something that
comes naturally
to some
people.
It's a skill
that we all
need to
develop as
followers of
Christ.
It's a muscle
that we all
need to
exercise in
one way or
another.
Many of us
have invested
time learning
to study the
Bible,
learning to
pray,
or reading
Christian
theology.
Have we
invested time
and energy
learning to
show
hospitality?
If you
like to read
books, I
have two books
that I
recommend.
One is
called A
Meal with
Jesus, and
one is
called The
Gospel Comes
with a
House Key.
I've got
one copy
of each, so
if you want
them at the
end, I'll
give them to
you, if you
will read
them.
But they
will challenge
you and
encourage you
in what it
looks like to
show hospitality
as a Christian.
Now, if you're
not so much a
book person, just
find somebody who
does it well.
You don't have to
read a book.
Just find somebody
who is welcoming
and who has
people over their
house or who's
just kind, and
see how you
can help them.
Work with
them.
Learn from
them.
Hospitality can
take many
different forms.
It can look
like inviting
someone to
share a meal
with you at
your apartment,
in the dining
hall, at a
restaurant.
It can look
like opening
your home to
neighbors and
their children
after school or
on holidays.
It can look
like inviting
someone in who
needs a place
to stay for a
short time or a
longer time or
indefinitely.
That's what
adopting a child
means, is you're
being hospitable
indefinitely.
Or you might
take in an
elderly relative.
That might
mean indefinite.
It might look
like bringing
food to someone
else's house.
Maybe your place
doesn't work for
hospitality for
whatever reason,
but you can go
help somebody
else.
You can bring
food.
You can help
wash the dishes
afterwards.
You can welcome
people and join
with somebody else
who's hosting.
It can also
look like
intentionally
greeting newcomers
at church,
being welcoming
to the person
who sits next
to you,
even if you
haven't met
each other
before,
trying to
remember people's
names and
faces,
praying for them
during the
week.
It can look
like setting up
coffee and tea
and snacks
downstairs,
as some of you
do every week,
or staying
after coffee
hour to
clean up.
And doing
that,
praying that
God's Spirit
would be at
work in the
conversations that
happen downstairs
in the Fellowship
Hall every Sunday
in coffee hour.
Hospitality can
take many
different forms,
but Christians
ought to be
the most genuinely
hospitable people
on earth.
We can make
time and space
for people because
Jesus has made
time and space
for us.
We can share
food,
physical food
and spiritual
food of God's
Word with people
because Jesus
has welcomed us
to His table.
We can celebrate
in a way that's
honoring and
life-giving and
full of joy
because Jesus
is our host.
So there's a lot
the New Testament
in general has to
say about hospitality,
but back to this
chapter in particular,
there's one
particular emphasis
that Luke 14
has,
tells us,
about how to
show hospitality
and it's this,
make sure to
include the people
who most often
get left behind,
the poor,
the disabled,
and the outsiders.
Now,
is Jesus saying
in verse 12
that it is a sin
to invite
friends,
family members,
and well-off
neighbors to dinner?
No.
He's using a figure
of speech called
hyperbole.
Jesus also said
if your eye
causes you to sin,
gouge it out
and throw it away.
He did not intend
us to carry out
that command literally.
He did intend
to get our attention,
and He did intend
to get our intention
by what He says
in verses 12 to 14.
Jesus spoke this way
because if He made
the point more politely,
we would more easily
disregard it
or explain it away.
In verses 12 to 14,
Jesus calls us
to extend intentional,
costly,
gracious hospitality,
to do people
earthly good
and spiritual good
without calculating
whether people will
or can pay us back.
Can you trust
that God will not
fail to repay
whatever you might
lose in the process?
You see,
spiritually speaking,
before God,
we all fit
in this category.
Spiritually speaking,
we are all poor,
disabled outsiders
compared to God.
And how did Jesus
love on us?
Jesus did not just
leave His house,
go do some good
to us,
and then,
okay,
it's five o'clock,
I can leave you
and go home,
and I'm going to
celebrate with the Father
and the Holy Spirit
because I've done my duty
to help those poor,
disabled outsiders.
No.
Jesus welcomes us
into His household.
He has delighted
to call us
into His kingdom.
He has included us
on the guest list
for His own party.
He says,
I want you,
I want to celebrate
with you.
I love you
and delight in you.
And because Jesus
has done that for us,
He calls us
to extend His grace
and joy
to people in the world
who are physically
and spiritually
poor,
disabled,
and outsiders.
People who
are costly to love.
People who
might never pay you back,
might never be able
to pay you back.
People who are
far off from God
and His kingdom.
But He has sent you
to bring them
an invitation.
Jesus wants us
to make sure
that everyone
in the world
gets an invitation
to His banquet.
that's why
Christians
go to the
ends of the earth
and translate
the Bible
into previously
unknown languages
so that
every tribe
and tongue
and people
and nation
can be invited
to the heavenly banquet.
At times,
this requires
extra effort.
Notice how
the Master
instructs the servant
in verse 21
and 23.
He doesn't
just say,
go tell the poor
and crippled
and blind
and lame
it's time
to come.
No.
He says,
go bring
them in.
Bring in
or lead in.
Why?
Because they'll
need someone
to guide them
if they're blind.
And they'll
need someone
to help them
up the steps
if they're crippled.
They'll need
reassurance
that you really
want them there
if they're poor.
And then
in verse 23
he goes even
further.
He says,
go out of town
to the highways
and hedges.
The people
who are furthest
away
from the kingdom
of God.
The people
who are most
unlikely
to ever become
Christians.
And he says,
compel people
to come in.
Now,
that does not
mean use
physical force
to bring people
into the church
against their will.
No,
the picture
is of a host
who takes
the hand
of a hesitant
guest
and ushers
him or her
personally
into the house.
That's what it
means.
Compel them
to come in.
It's to
meet someone
who is naturally
going to be
resistant.
Why are they
living out
in the highways
and hedges?
Because they feel
like they don't
belong in the city
back in the ancient
world.
Maybe they
had been banished
from the city.
Maybe they
had a bad
background.
All kinds
of reasons.
Why are they
living way out
there on their
own?
You just go to
them and say,
hey, come.
No way.
No,
Jesus says it's
going to take
a little extra
effort.
You might have
to walk them
in and say,
come with me
and let's go
to the banquet
together.
Jesus came
to host
a banquet
of grace.
Come to the
table.
Come to the
feast.
All are
invited,
greatest to
least.
Sins have
been pardoned.
Divisions have
ceased.
Come to the
table.
Come to the
feast.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus,
we thank You
for Your great
mercy and grace
that You
have invited
us in to
feast at Your
table.
We pray that
we would
delight in You
as our host
and that we
would honor You
as our host
and that
we would
be sent out
from here
to delight
in being Your
guests and to
delight in
welcoming others
in to experience
the joy of
fellowship with
You.
In Your name
we pray.
Amen.