Luke

The Gospel Feast

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The Gospel Feast

Luke 14:15-24

Last week we saw what happened when a Pharisee invited Jesus over to his house on the Sabbath to enjoy a meal with others. Instead of minding his “Ps” and “Qs”, Jesus took the opportunity to do good to the souls of those who had gathered. He confronted the sins of hypocrisy, pride, and selfishness. Not only did he speak a word of reproof to the other guests who were there, but then he turned and spoke to the host – the one who had invited Him! These folks were pursuing the wrong practice, place, and people.  Jesus ends up in verse 14 by telling the host that when he gave a dinner he should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, and he would be blessed, for they don’t have the means to repay him, for he would be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

When Jesus mentioned the “resurrection of the righteous”, this caused one of those who were present at that dinner to say, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” The Jews saw the resurrection of the righteous as sort of a great eternal feast. We know that because back in Luke 13:28-29, Jesus said, “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.”  You see, heaven was seen as reclining at the table with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God.

And the Jews got this idea from the Old Testament scriptures. In Isaiah 25:6-9 we read, “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in 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.’”  Notice what is on the menu at this lavish banquet that the Lord prepares – death swallowed up, tears wiped away, reproach removed, and salvation given. It’s all there on the menu at this wonderful feast that the Lord has prepared! So, this fellow here, blurts out, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

This causes Jesus to respond with a wonderful teaching about God’s gospel feast. Notice the first word of verse 16 – “but”. It’s a word of contrast. Yes, you’re right, “blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But there’s a problem here. Although God offers a wonderful, eternal, joyous and delightful heavenly feast, no one wants to take Him up on this offer! So, if you expect to enjoy that heavenly feast one day, you better make sure you take God up on His offer to come to the gospel feast right now!

The parable that Jesus gives points to three great truths:  1) The lavish gift of God; 2) the universal refusal of man; and 3) the effectual call of the Spirit.

1. The Lavish Gift of God (14:16-17)

Lavish.  Now, why am I speaking of God’s lavish gift? It is because of two words in verse 16 – “big” and “many.”  This was a big dinner. Most other translations use the word “banquet.” This was a feast. You can imagine that there were appetizers, and then soups and salads, various cuts of meat, potatoes & gravy, vegetables, and several different pies with ice cream to top it all off! Notice also, that this man invited “many.” This dinner wasn’t just for his immediate family, or even for his servants. This man was pulling out all the stops, and just sending a wide and general invitation to the people of his city to all come and enjoy this feast with him.

What does that tell you about the character of the man? It tells us that he must have been very wealthy, and very generous. Notice that he isn’t charging an admission fee to come to this dinner. Verse 16 says he was “giving” a big dinner. This dinner was free. All the people had to do was show up and enjoy it.  Of course the man in this parable represents God. The Bible describes God as both rich and generous. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph.2:4-5).  God is rich. He’s rich in mercy. And not only is He rich, but He is generous with His wealth. He doesn’t just keep all this mercy to Himself. He delights in bestowing it on those who are dead in transgressions! If we were to keep on reading in Ephesians we would see these words in verse 6 & 7, “and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  Oh God is very, very rich in mercy and grace, and He is very, very generous with His wealth! God loves to save sinners. In fact, I think God is more delighted to save us, than we are of being saved!

Jesus is the Feast.  Now, if the man represents God, and if the slave (as I will argue later) represents the Holy Spirit, where is Jesus in this parable? Jesus is the feast itself. He’s the food on the table! Jesus said in Jn.6:35, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” In John 7:37 the Bible says, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living waters.’” Jesus is the true bread and true drink. He is the living bread which came down from heaven and the living water which alone can satisfy our souls. He is the feast that God has given to the world! Remember that most famous verse in all the world, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”  God gave Jesus Christ, His Son. God gave this lavish banquet. And that banquet is Christ.

Those who had been invited.  Who are they? This is Israel. In the first century, a pre-invitation would be sent out ahead of time, letting everyone know this great feast was coming. Then, when everything was ready, a servant would be sent out to actually invite them all to come. Israel was given a pre-invitation. For century after century, the prophets prophesied that God was sending them a Messiah, a Deliverer. God gave them a lot of advance notice that a Savior was coming.

Everything is ready now.  Once Jesus had come, lived a perfect life, and then died as a substitute to bear God’s wrath against sin, and rose from the dead three days later, the Spirit of God moved upon the early apostles and preachers of the gospel to go forth and invite men to the gospel feast. And wherever they went, they invited the Jew first.

What was the message? “Come, for everything is ready now.” This wasn’t one of those $1,000 a plate fundraiser for God’s kingdom, or even a benefit supper where you make a donation. It wasn’t even a potluck where you bring your baked beans or salad to contribute. This banquet was absolutely free. All you have to bring is yourself. It’s free, because the generous and wealthy host has picked up the tab. You get to eat at his expense. This is the message of the gospel. God has provided a full and free salvation in Jesus Christ, and He invites you to come and receive it freely. There is nothing you must pay to receive it. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23).  “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling. Naked, come to Thee for dress, helpless, look to Thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me Savior, or I die.”  Christ’s work is finished. It’s done. It’s accomplished. All that remains is for us to rest in that work that He has provided for us.

Come.  “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest” (Mt.11:28). What must a sinner do to be saved? Simply this – come. He must leave the old life behind, and come to Jesus to rescue him from his sin. It’s that simple. He can’t stay away from Jesus and be saved. He must come. Coming includes both repentance and faith. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me” (Jn.6:37).

2. The Universal Refusal of Man 14:18-20

They all alike… The slave went out and urged those he had sent the pre-invitations to, to come because all things were ready. The fattened calf had been slaughtered and roasted, the many side dishes had been prepared, the breads and cakes had been baked. What was their response? Now, in a simple culture like this, a huge banquet with many guests would have been the social event of the year! Everyone would have turned out for this banquet. Yet our text says, “but they all alike began to make excuses.”  How many? All! The refusal to come to this banquet was universal. Everyone made excuses as to why they couldn’t come.

Notice what those excuses were. One fellow said he had bought a piece of land and he needed to go out and look at it. Another had bought five yoke of oxen and wanted to try them out. Another said he had just gotten married. Couldn’t the guy who bought the land waited to go look at until the next day? Couldn’t the other fellow try out his oxen a few hours later? And who knows a young woman who doesn’t want to go to a banquet?! These excuses are just that – excuses. They are so flimsy! The people giving these excuses are really saying, “I don’t really want to go to your banquet. I have better things to do with my time.” Isn’t it the same way today? When we go around and invite people to come to meet with us one evening a week to learn of Christ, forgiveness, and eternal life, they are so quick to say, “Well, I’m a very busy person. I really don’t have any extra time to study the Bible.” What they are really saying is that they don’t value Jesus Christ. Instead, they value everything else in their life more than Him. They value money, and possessions, and relationships more than Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers.

The people Jesus was telling this parable would probably have started snickering about this time. It would have seemed ridiculous to them that everyone would make excuses as to why they wouldn’t want to come to this free feast! And so it is today. It is insane the way sinners will do anything but give their time and attention to learning the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they can be saved. Now, why is this? It’s because all men are fallen! It’s because there is no one righteous, no not one. It’s because there are none that seek for God. It is because of the depravity and corruption of the human race. It is because all men have been blinded by the god of this world so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

Sinners are so attracted and allured by the world that they can’t see any glory in Jesus. Today they would say, “I’ve just bought a new home, and I need to go buy furniture for it.” Or they might say, “I’ve just bought a new video game, and I need to play it.” Or, “There is this new girl I’m going to move in with. I have no time for religion.”  Remember that Jesus said sometimes when the Word was sown, it would fall into soil where there were thorns, and it would choke out the fruitfulness of the Word.  That’s what is going on here.

He became angry.  What was this host’s response to the fact that everyone started making excuses as to why they couldn’t come? Anger! Here he had gone to great expense, and great personal effort to provide the feast. He had worked hard, and employed all his household staff in working to provide this lavish, wonderful feast for his community, and they would rather do everything else in the world, than come and enjoy it with him. And you know what? God feels the same way today! He has provided a rich feast in providing His Son as the Savior of the world. He has gone to great personal expense and pains to provide salvation. Yet, no one wants Him! They all would rather do something, anything else than come to Christ and be saved from sin. And this universal refusal angers God! His wrath has already been kindled because of their many sins, but they have just added the most serious sin of all to them. They have rejected the Son of God and His precious blood. This is how the author of Hebrews puts it in 10:28-31, “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

3. The Effectual Call of the Spirit (14:21-24)

Bring.  The first time the slave was sent out, he invited men to come. That’s not what he’s doing here. He is bringing them. He’s fetching them. And of course, he has to bring them, because these folks will never come on their own. Who are they? They are the poor, crippled, blind and lame (14:21). Isn’t that interesting? That is the same categories of men that Jesus told the host he should be inviting when he throws a dinner. Why? Because when we invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind we are being most like God, because that is who God brings to His feast! The poor have only rags to wear, and no money to buy suitable clothes. The blind can’t find their way there. The crippled and lame have no ability to walk to the banquet hall. All of these folks are unable to come. If they are ever going to attend this banquet, someone else is going to have to bring them. They can’t be simply invited. They must be brought.

Don’t have excuses.  These folks are poor. They don’t own land or oxen. They don’t have wives. No woman would marry the likes of them. These folks don’t find other things more alluring or attractive. They are overjoyed to be invited to this feast.

Compel.  When the slave came back and told his master that he had obeyed his orders, but there was still room, the master told him to go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in so that his house would be filled (14:22-23). At first the slave went through the city, looking for the riff raff, and disenfranchised and disabled men. Now, he is leaving the city, going along the highways and beating the hedges, and compelling men to come to the feast.

This word “compel” is a very strong word. It is used in Acts 26:11 where Paul says, “And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme.” It is the word for “force” in that passage. What does it mean there? It means that Paul was whipping those folks, and putting them on the rack, and torturing them, trying to force them to blaspheme. He was doing whatever was necessary to get these people to do what he wanted them to do. The word “compel” means to force, or to coerce. It is not to just invite. It is far stronger than that. It is to make someone do what you want them to do.

The Holy Spirit.  This is why I believe that this servant stands for the Holy Spirit. No mere man has the ability to compel another to believe on Jesus Christ. But the Holy Spirit can, and does! Over in Matthew 22, there is a parallel parable. In that parable it is a King giving a wedding feast for His Son. This King sends out his slaves to invite them to the feast. There the “slaves” stand for the evangelists, preachers and believers who bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, here in Luke, the head of the household sends out his slave (singular). I believe here we have the omnipotent work of the Holy Spirit who is able to compel sinners to come to Jesus Christ and be saved.

General and Effectual Call.  Theologians have distinguished between two kinds of calls in Scripture. There is the general call that goes out whenever we witness to Christ, or someone preaches the gospel. We call men and women to repentance and faith. We call them to come to Jesus Christ. However, that call is usually refused. That is the call we see in the first part of this parable. The servant goes out, invites all the folks to come, but everyone refuses the invitation. This general call only reaches the ears of our listeners. It is the only kind of call that we can give.  However, there is also another kind of call in God’s Word. This is the effectual call. This is the call the Holy Spirit gives, not just to the ears, but to the heart of the sinner. This call is backed by omnipotence. It is so powerful that it is able to cause that sinner to turn in faith and repentance to Jesus Christ. It is called “effectual” because it is effective. It is able to get the job done!

My friends, those people you witness to will always refuse to come to Jesus Christ unless the Holy Spirit is working along with the gospel to make them willing. Brian, are you telling me that God forces people against their will to become Christians? No, I’m not saying that. No one has ever become a Christian against their will. What I am saying is that God does whatever is necessary to make them willing to become a Christian. Ps. 110:3 says, “Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power.” When God’s day of power comes, sinners are going to be made willing to come to Jesus Christ! You can bank your life on it. The Holy Spirit will take out their heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh. He will take out a heart that is uninterested, and unresponsive to Christ, and He will give them a heart that is sensitive and responsive to their sin and to the gospel.

So, how does the Holy Spirit make sinners willing to come? May I suggest to you it is by convincing them that they are poor, crippled, lame and blind? The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. He humbles the sinner. Instead of being proud and self-righteous, the Spirit opens up a person’s heart to see their wretchedness, their poverty of spirit, their inability, and their spiritual blindness. They now see themselves as those that desperately need Jesus Christ to save them. Now, of course, they needed Christ to save them all along. But now, the Spirit has opened their eyes so that they see their need. They no longer walk with a  spiritual swagger. They no longer trust in themselves that they are righteous. Now, they bow down lie and put their hand over their mouth, and put their mouth in the dust and cry, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.”  You see, the Holy Spirit simply makes the offer of Jesus Christ irresistible. He makes them an offer that they cannot refuse.

Conclusion

Lost Person.  My friend, it is true, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” However, you will never eat bread in the resurrection of the righteous, unless you come to Jesus Christ and enjoy the gospel feast right now. Have you come to the feast? Have you come to Christ to be saved? If not, that’s the only thing you need to concern yourself with! Doing that, is far more important than your job or your relationships. Come! God is inviting you. Do you see yourself as guilty and undone? Do you see your great need for a Savior? Then come to Him. Believe on Him. Cast yourself on His mercy, and trust Him to save you. The moment you trust Him, you are saved.

Christian.  If you have come to Jesus Christ, what does this passage teach you? First, it teaches us that we should enjoy the feast! You have the unspeakable privilege of enjoying this great feast, not just at the beginning of your Christian life, but all during your Christian life. Every time you go to the Lord in prayer, or commune with Him through His Word, you are privileged to eat again at that great banqueting table.  Second, it teaches that you must rely heavily on the Holy Spirit. God has given you a work to do. It is that of teaching lost people the gospel. However, this passage teaches that you will never bring a single soul to Christ, apart from the all-powerful Spirit working with the gospel that you teach. So, yes, witness, and preach, and teach. But pray! Pray that the Spirit will accompany all your efforts. If He calls, no one can refuse. If He doesn’t call, all will refuse. My friends, if you are not already, get busy calling people to Christ. Give your life to this work. It is the work that Jesus left His church to do in the earth. If we neglect or ignore this work, we do so to our own shame.

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