Day 406: An invitation scorned - Luke 14 vs 13 – 24

13-14 (Jesus said to the man who’d invited Him to a banquet) “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 resurrection of the righteous.” 15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16-17 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.' 18-20 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 have just got married, so I can’t come.'

21 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.' 22-24 '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 compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.  I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'” Luke 14:13-24 From the English Heritage Version

At the banquet He was attending, Jesus had just spoken of an event called 'the resurrection of the righteous'. This is the day when the bodies of believers will be raised to live forever in the new heaven and new earth spoken of in Revelation 21. It prompted the comment we read in vs 15. We don't know if the man who made the comment took it for granted that he would be at that heavenly gathering, but it led Jesus to tell the story of a wealthy man who prepared a lavish banquet and sent out invitations to many people. Notice that the invitations were in advance, so that those invited could prepare for that day. Yet when the time came, they all gave excuses as to why they would not go to the feast.

I suspect there's something of the customs of those days involved here. To scorn such an invitation was probably also to dishonour the host who had invited you. The Pharisee who had hosted the banquet Jesus was at, as well as the other Pharisees and distinguished guests who were present, would have got the point Jesus was making. What would you say was the point of that first part of the story?

I suggest that Jesus particularly had in mind the Jewish nation to whom the Father had first sent His invitations to be His chosen guests. The invitations had come through Abraham and Moses and all the prophets. But through the centuries the Jewish people often made excuses and served other gods. And that led to the second part of the story where the man hosting the banquet sends his servants out to invite, and even to compel, all those who were unable to buy fields and oxen, or even to marry.

The kind of people Jesus spoke of there were the sort of people the Pharisees would've looked down on in the same way that Jews looked down on gentiles. They were despised in their sight. Years later the apostle Paul was under house arrest in Rome, but he had opportunity to carefully explain the gospel to the Jewish leaders there. We read that “some were convinced by what he said, but others continued in their unbelief.” Then Paul said to those who rejected God's invitation “let it be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” (Acts 28:28)

Have we heard God's wonderful invitation in the gospel message to His eternal banquet? Did we say yes, but have subsequently ignored or forgotten it? Let us take to heart the warning Jesus gave that not all who've been invited will be admitted. Don't scorn His invitation.