Luke 14:15-24

Luke 14:15-24 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man 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. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘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. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Jesus was talking to his people, the Jews, the chosen ones from the beginning. The banquet was prepared for them, the people of faith, Abraham's faith, for they believed in the one, true God. Because of their belief in him, God prepared the Jewish people to know him and to enter into his final rest. He gave them the righteous law to live by; He gave them a land to live in. He revealed his kindness to them by delivering them out of bondage. He kept them through the wilderness; even the soles of their shoes did not wear out. He also gave them men of God, prophets, to lead them. But the Israelites rejected all of this: they broke the law and defiled the land with idols; they relied on their own strength, their own armament, rather than God's strong right hand. They forgot they were once in bondage and treated the poor and aliens wretchedly. They asked for a king rather than the prophets of God to lead them. They broke loose from God's authority and went their own way rather than enter into God's ways, God's place of rest. They chose the turbulent river of life over God's placid, quiet waters where the Shepherd wanted to lead them.

Jesus says, rather than rejoice in the invitation, they chose self-interest over fellowship with God. They made up excuses for themselves, so they would not have to attend the banquet and to accept God's authority. Their coldness and indifference to his loving invitation revealed their lack of love for him. This obdurate behavior, this unwillingness to reciprocate God's love, hurt the heart of the Father. His servant, the Holy Spirit, wooed the house of Israel from the beginning. His spirit communed with Abraham, Moses, the judges, the priests, the kings, and the prophets. But the Israelites failed to completely, consistently heed the voice of the Spirit. Instead, they chose their own ways over God's ways. Notice, they all alike began to make excuses. They all had reasons they could not attend the banquet, could not give their lives wholly to the Lord' authority by attending his banquet. They all had reasons to go their own way, rejecting God's way.

Jesus says, this attitude made the owner of the house angry, and he ordered his servant to go out and invite the infirm and the rejected of society to his banquet, the same ones the children of God should invite to their homes: the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. When the banquet was still not filled, God sent the Holy Spirit out into the highways and byways (the country lanes--distant countries) to invite anyone who would to come to the banquet, so we, the Gentiles, entered in to God's abundance. Through the Holy Spirit, God urged the non-Jewish people to accept Jesus Christ and his works as our ticket to his banquet. We, the original outcasts, the ones not chosen, who were once far off, are now brought close to God because of the Spirit's call. The Bible says, unless the Spirit calls us, we cannot draw close to God. The Spirit calls us through Christ, who came down from heaven to bring righteous to us; He secured our place at the banquet. Now we are the called, those who have the right to enter into the kingdom, for we have been made right with God through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.

In reality all nations were called in Abraham, who was chosen as the father of many nations. His willingness to follow the one true God is the key to heaven. He followed God by trusting him, by placing his faith in God's promise. We too must find God in this way. We must follow him with our whole hearts, without any excuses. In the above passage, those God favored greatly rejected his call when they made excuses. We must not make excuses. Following Jesus requires total obedience. The banquet was for those who immediately heeded God's call without questions or excuses. Will we heed his call, or will we also say, I am too busy to give my all to God right now? I have more important matters to carry out than pay attention to God's demands on my life. Brothers and sisters in Christ, God will tolerate nothing else than our all. The invitation written in Jesus Christ's blood is too precious for rejection. If we fail to heed God's call, we will never sit in his presence at the banqueting table. Our choice determines our destiny. If we say we are too busy, we choose self over God, and we will never experience the abiding, loving presence of God in eternity. Instead we will be swallowed up in our contaminated, cancerous selves. This is hell. So joyously answer God's call on your life and share the good news with everyone you know.