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The Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-23)
15When 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." 16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18"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.' 19"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20"Still another said, 'I 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" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23"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. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' " (NIV)
Maybe some suitable nibbles would be in order this week!!!
Word:
(I have inserted a copy of my preach notes below)
Did anyone have anything they didn't understand from this passage?
What spoke to you from the story?
What is the 'feast of the Kingdom of Heaven' referred to in v15? (see also Isaiah 25:6-9)
Why did Jesus tell this story to the Pharisees, whilst he was at the feast? (you might want to broaden your reference back through the rest of chapter 14)
How have you been doing over the past two weeks at responding to Jesus' invitation to have fellowship with Him? What excuses have you given Him for doing other things?
How do you plan for this to change this week?
Witness:
Jesus shows again his willingness to be around people with vastly different world views to him, but also the strength to stand up for truth. How have you been doing recently with this life challenge?
What are you going to do to grow in this? Pray for one another.
My preach notes:
Background to the story...
Ruler of the Pharisees throwing a banquet on the Sabbath - eating bread - someone shouts out v 15
"Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
sacred meal or banquet:
Palestinian speech and religious culture - symbol for salvation
(salvation culminates in a meal at the end of the age)
Isaiah 25:6-9 (New International Version)
6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
"Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."
note: banquet, salvation, all the peoples (gentiles included)
Between OT and NT development of the theme, gentiles excluded, only the worthy attend
theme related to the coming of the Messiah (Saviour)
Jesus in Luke 13 - similar idea - feast at the end of the age, many who expect to be there will be rejected, come from four corners of the earth, not all who are invited respond
pious banqueter invokes a blessing, expected response, something like:
‘O Lord, may we be among the righteous and be counted without blemish, worthy to sit with the men of renown on that great day.’
instead he tells a story:
v16,17
cultural: invitations, actual cooking of the meat
theological: hour of the Banquet approaches, come, all is now ready
Messianic banquet - everything prepared, invitations out there, come and enjoy the fellowship and nourishment of the repast
expect yes, but no - excuses - insulting and in bad taste
v18 real estate
just bought a field, need to go and see it
everyone knew the land in question, its features and yield - discussed prior to purchase
Sharon and offer - purchased over the phone without seeing it
v19 oxen
farmer announces oxen for sale, pulling them on such a day - prospective buyers can observe
like Anthony buying 5 used cars and phoning up to cancel dinner to see if start
point: transparent excuse
v20 wife
Middle Eastern restraint in talking about women
‘Yesterday I said I’d come but this afternoon I am busy with a woman who is more important to me than your banquet!’
Rude, intensely rude in a Middle Eastern context at that time
Why Did Jesus tell this story?
Jesus’ message for the Jews, for the religious insiders - the Pharisees etc.:
Messianic Banquet is ready
With Jesus, Luke tells us the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand
Those who seek to eat bread in the Kingdom of God but must seek to eat bread with Jesus
But stream of excuses - He eats with sinners, He does not keep the Sabbath
He doesn’t fulfill their own nationalistic and theological expectations of the Messiah (Saviour)
+ the parable is stating that not only making excuses, but preferring to do other things!
v21
graceful response on part of host
those invited - part of community, but ostracized from community life
symbolize the outcasts of Israel welcomed by Jesus
v22-23
beyond the community
outreach to the gentiles
(implementation of e.g. Isaiah 25)
+ not yet fulfilled in the parable! - sending endorsed by Jesus but not fulfilled by Him
resurrection = turning point, from gentiles may come in, but don’t go out to them
‘compel’ them to come - Middle Eastern culture, an unexpected invitation has to be refused, especially when received by one of lower social rank than the host
guest - it’s a generous offer and a delightful prospect but He can’t mean it!
[us handing out invitations this week!]
(Jesus knows His servants (His messengers) will be met with this response, grab by arm and bring in)
v24 emphasis of gravity for Jesus’ listeners, as for us and those we invite today
p111 conclusion
Message for religious insiders and outsiders
for those in church and those outside:
inside?
1. God’s invitation to fellowship with Jesus is ongoing, let’s not make stupid excuses for not joining in!
2. Christians are servants of Jesus, sent out to invite people to His feast - we’ll probably need to be winsome and persuade people that He intended to invite them!!
3. Warning - God can get along without us, if we fail to respond He can proceed with outsiders
outside?
Time runs out on the invitation - places are not kept open indefinitely
No one crashes this party (guests must be invited, respond and come in - no participation at a distance)
Self-imposed concept of judgement - i.e. those who reject the invitation shut themselves off from fellowship with host and the guests
Grace is unbelievable - Jesus invitation to the banquet is extended to the unworthy who can’t compensate the host for his gift
(with reference to Kenneth Bailey, Poet and Peasant) |
Robin Plummer, 08/07/2008 |
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