The Great Supper

Play Audio
MP3 Download (18.9 mb)

Third Sunday in Trinity
The Great Supper
June 13, 2010

NKJ Luke 14:16 Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 "and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' 18 "But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' 19 "And
another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' 20 "Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 "So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' 22 "And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' 23 "Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 'For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.' "
 
Again today we will examine a familiar story—a parable used by Jesus to teach those in His day—and us on this day—this is of course the parable of the great supper invitations—as we start our examination—we first remind ourselves that God wants all men saved
 
NKJ 1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
But not all men will be saved—and as we will learn from this parable, the men who would be most likely to be saved—are the very men who refuse to acknowledge the teachings of God—and these men are the teachers of the Jews—most men will fall into the hands of Satan—these will waver and will not be willing to make the sacrifices in this life necessary to inherit eternal life—and that is the point of this parable—God wants men saved—and they turn away from Him for various worldly-reasons
 
The devil never stops working on us—he tries to lure us—he tries to trick us—he tries to distract us from the things of God—he tries to plant doubt in our minds—so that even those who are in the Word begin to doubt the truth of the Word—that was the case with the men Jesus was speaking to—the Pharisees—the scribes—the teachers of the Law—God’s Word tells us not to waver—stay focused—don’t believe every little idea that someone places before you—go to God in prayer for help to find the answers—confident that God will give you the answers you need—in the parable, it was those who were least likely to be invited in to heaven that attended the feast of the Lord—therefore, each of us has the power of prayer—but when you pray—pray with confidence that our loving God will give what you ask
 
NKJ James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
 
And so we consider the lesson of the text—the preceding verses tell us that Jesus is having a meal at the invitation of one of the Pharisee rulers—a discussion of a supper begins—then Jesus tells the parable—consider these introductory remarks
 
NKJ Luke 14:12-15  Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 "But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 "And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." 15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
 
Our Lord’s choice of the invitation to the supper is not by chance—supper is the evening meal—the last nourishment before going to sleep—the meal before the coming of darkness—in this case of the parable—the supper is the feeding of the Holy Gospel—the last doctrine God gave us—and the doctrine that will usher in the end of the world—the supper is free to those who are invited—but the man giving the supper paid a great price for it—the life of His Son—now let’s examine the invitation
Notice the word servant is singular—one servant—and later, many apostles and ministers with one Gospel message—Jesus Christ died for your sins—believe and be saved—no matter how many men are sent out with the message—it is a single message from a single source—and it has been that way from the beginning of Jesus’ message—and will remain that way until Judgment Day—God the Father gave Jesus the words to say
 
NKJ John 14:10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
 
Jesus, the Christ, is the Servant sent with the invitation announcement to the feast—we learn from the Old Testament Scriptures that there will be a feast—and we learn that the servant will be Christ
 
NKJ Isaiah 25:6  And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.
 
NKJ Isaiah 49:5-6  "And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), 6 Indeed He says,`It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'"
 
After Christ’s ascension into heaven—the Apostles became the servants and delivered the message of the feast—then others were added through the centuries—ministers of God’s Word—messengers of God’s feast of salvation—Paul was among those Apostle-messengers—and he told us in his letter to the Corinthians
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.... 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, ... 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. ...12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
 
All who speak the message of God—speak the words through the Holy Spirit
 
NKJ Mark 13:11 "But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
 
The message is God’s—the message comes through the Holy Spirit—the message of the Gospel came first through John the Baptist—a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit from his very beginning—when the message was delivered, those invited began to make excuses
 
Those invited in the parable are the leadership and teachers of the Jews—God’s chosen people—whose descendants were protected by God through the generations—and the very men who were the teachers of the Word of God—and now they have no time for the messenger of God—the Son of God—sent to invite them to the very heavenly feast that they brought up in discussion—Jesus told us in Matthew’s Gospel the specifics of how we are to conduct ourselves in these types of instances
 
NKJ Matthew 10:37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
 
Whoever will come to this supper must love the Gospel above all things—more than their parents—more than their siblings—more than the pleasures of this world—those attending this supper do not have to give up the things of the Old Testament—but they do have to apply the Word as Jesus instructed—for example—Jesus summarized the 10 Commandments
 
NKJ Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
 
Jesus is teaching the proper understanding of Deuteronomy 6:5—Jesus has other teachings concerning our relationship with Him and with God the Father
 
NKJ Matthew 10:39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
 
NKJ Matthew 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
 
No one comes to this supper unless he comes in true faith—they have to love God above all creatures—including parents, wives, brothers, sisters, etc.
 
It was necessary to preach to the Jews first—then the Gentiles—Jesus taught His disciples—and us—this very thing
 
NKJ Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
 
After Jesus’ ascension into heaven—the disciples’ effort spread to include all men who would come
 
NKJ Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 "For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' "
 
Again we see Jesus quoting the Old Testament words of Isaiah 49:6 in His instruction—the parable continues
 
TEXT:  Luke 14:22 "And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' 23 "Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 'For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.' "
 
This set of verses is often misunderstood—we will not see people being drug by force into heaven—and we will not see inferior dredges of society shoved into heaven merely to fill the spaces the higher society members didn’t fill—heaven will be filled with those God chose from the beginning—remember that Jesus’ audience for this parable is comprised of Pharisees and scribes—the Jewish elite—the Jewish leadership—we’ll close with a Hebrew’s Hebrew passing along his insight into the attendees of this supper
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; … 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God -- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption -- 31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!