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The Second Sunday After Trinity
June 1, 2008
The Great Supper
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—Jesus is in the house of one of the Pharisees to eat—it is
the Sabbath day and Jesus just healed a man with dropsy—the Pharisees considered
that a violation of the Sabbath—to teach the Pharisees, Jesus then discussed the
invitation to a dinner or feast—Jesus says invite those who cannot repay you or
cannot invite you back—and your repayment will come at the time of the
resurrection—the sentence immediately preceding today’s text is this
NKJ Luke 14:15 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!"
One of the attending Pharisees offered these words as he considered sitting in
heaven eating at the table of God—Jesus then spoke the parable of our text—as we
start our examination—we first remind ourselves that God wants all men saved—the
Pharisee—the Jew—the Gentile—and the maimed or lame
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—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
Consider the lesson of the text—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
TEXT: 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.
Notice the word servant is singular—one servant—and in this case, 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.
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, the hidden wisdom
which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of
this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory....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.
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 is the invitation to the supper—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—listen as the angel Gabriel announces the coming of the man who will
baptize the very Son of God
NKJ Luke 1:15 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink
neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even
from his mother's womb. 16 "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to
the Lord their God. 17 "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of
Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient
to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
TEXT: Luke 14:18 "But they all with one accord began to make excuses.
Those invited in the parable are the Jews—God’s chosen people—whose descendants
were protected by God through the generations—and now they have no time for
God—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
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.
TEXT: Luke 14:21 "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.
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
We have to remember that Jesus’ audience for this parable is comprised of
Pharisees and scribes—the Jewish elite—the Jewish leadership—those who surely
knew these words of the prophet Isaiah
NKJ Isaiah 49:6 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.' "
We’ll close with a quote by a Hebrew’s Hebrew—Paul—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;
28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has
chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 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."
We are invited to the supper by the Gospel message—as the truth of the Word is
revealed to us by the Holy Spirit
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!