12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” Luke 14: 12-24 ESV
Luke 14: 12-24 Respecters of Person
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? James 2: 1-6 NIV
When you give a dinner or a banquet - We had just finished reading His example of a wedding feast, and these were important gatherings to these people. He had just lectured them on self promotion as well, a good lesson in humility, not false humility that points out "look how humble I am, I didn't choose the chief seat", but rather goes there naturally. It could be argued even that from the standpoint of the Kingdom of God, that this is the more honored seat. Remember, the first last and the last first, but also that Jesus told His disciples that the greatest was the one willing to be the slave of all, and this was in answer to their arguments over standing and personal promotion. So the banquet would be an important thing in their culture, and it is much like cooperate culture where you go for "face time", and you invite people that can help you climb the social and business ladder, a place to determine prominence.
Lest they also invite you in return - Don't invite people solely on the hopes of promotion, status, or pay back. Don't stick to a small circle of immediate family or your rich neighbors. This is contrary to everything they have learned and teach their children. Remember, like Pentecostals, they have a prosperity sort of message that views the poor and sick as being greater sinners. Again, God has taught against such doctrines, immensely in the book of Job where He corrects Job's friends who treat him as though he has committed some great sin which causes him to lose everything. This is a foreshadowing of Christ, who will take the cross, not for the sins which they accuse Him of, but for mine. If the infinite God can condescend to men of such low estate, then who am I not to have compassion, forgiveness, a desire to see men saved and even do well in this life?
…42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,…
…45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?… Matthew 5: 42-47
Warren Wiersbe - Jesus does not prohibit us from entertaining family and friends, but He warns us against entertaining only family and friends exclusively and habitually. That kind of “fellowship” quickly degenerates into a “mutual admiration society” in which each one tries to outdo the others and no one dares to break the cycle. Sad to say, too much church social life fits this description. (Borrow Be Courageous - Luke 14-24) - Precept Austin
Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind - In other words, those that cannot repay you. Think about it, who better to invite to a meal than the person who is hungry, starving. Is this not the same invitation that Christ represents? Are you able to repay Him; do you have anything He needs? According to scripture you are spiritually bankrupt, poor beyond poor, and even your attempts at moral living are but filthy rags. Scripture also refers to you as dead in your trespasses and sins, so outside of Christ you don't even have life, and you can't raise yourself from the dead. Only fools look down on beggars when they are beggars themselves. Jesus is a guest in this man's house, and they invited Him knowing that He could heal because in their twisted and bad doctrine they thought that would be a sin. In reality, they should have invited more than that man, hoping that Jesus would heal many.
…26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. 27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1: 26-27
…30But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”… Luke 5: 30-32
Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God - Apparently this man was certain that he was numbered among them. It was a problem among many of the Jews at that time that they thought themselves in good standing based upon their lineage. It's a problem today as well, God offers one way and saves only one type of person, the Way is Christ and the people He saves are sinners, yet so many people that I meet think themselves good by birth, by deeds, keeping some code, not breaking all the laws. This is the difference between Biblical Christianity and every other form of religion, including apostate Christianity. They count on, depend upon some work of man, or the indifference of a God they have fabricated in their mind. A God that is not Holy in the sense of so otherly that He will not forever coexist with sin, that He will punish sinners. They give a nod to Jesus, but will later refer to Him as the historical Jesus, the one in the sandals with long hair who is always smiling in the pictures they draw of a man they have never seen. Jesus spoke of hell more than many other Bible writers did, and all the prophets warned people to repent. I think it will shock some who they find and also who they don't find in heaven. We judge by our preferences, yet God looks at the heart, and there better be a new one there, purchased by Christ.
…22One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’…
…25But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. 26And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’ 27‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house,… Luke 16: 22-27
…7“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied. 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”…
…10When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”… Matthew 8: 7-12
Come - So now Jesus moves into the invitation to a banquet, and look what many of those who were first invited say. Listen to their excuses, and this is brilliant, because they are banking on being sons of Abraham, on having kept parts of the law, but when they receive God's invitation, which is happening to them write there and then, they don't want it. The invitation is Christ, He is the pascal Lamb, the seed of the woman, the Passover, the only One Who is pleasing and worthy to God. God only recognizes me in Him, because I am a sinner, and God hates sin. They don't want Him. They are self righteous, self involved, just listen, the event of their life time, but:
I bought a field - It's not going anywhere, you can go look at it after the feast. None of their excuses were fitting, and that's the very thing, that's the delusion of it. I put off God because I wanted my sins, like drunkeness, drugs, fornication, materialism, brawling, unforgiveness. They were like the seed that fell on the soil that contained weeds, and they get choked out by it, by the cares of this world.
But they all alike began to make excuses (paraiteomai) - But introduces a sad contrast. All invited but all turning down the invitation. ALL means ALL without exception and this to implies that there were not just three because earlier we see many were invited (Lk 14:17), but here we see that "ALL" of that many refused! Unbelievable! And without exception they ALL gave weak, even dumb excuses. Making excuses is equivalent to refusing the invitation. And keep in mind that this wasn't a small dinner they were turning down, but was a "big dinner!" The expectation of the reception by those invited to such a dinner would have been that most would want to attend. Instead ALL made the choice to refuse to come! Surely we can see in the wonderful invitation to this "big dinner" the Lord's invitation of the "Good News" and the tragic personal choice of refusing His invitation! This reminds me John's sad commentary declaring that Jesus "came to His own (ISRAEL), and those who were His own (ABSOLUTELY) did not receive Him." (John 1:11+).
MacArthur commenting on their excuses writes that "This was completely contrary to expected behavior. No one invited to an extravagant dinner by a wealthy host would have refused to come, let alone everyone. It was so absurd as to be incomprehensible to the status-seeking scribes and Pharisees, who must have stared at the Lord in disbelief. Jesus gave three sample excuses that heightened the absurdity of the situation by making it obvious that the guests had no rational reasons for refusing to attend." (See Luke Commentary)
Spurgeon - “Excuses are curses, and when you have no excuses left there will be hope for you.” - Precept Austin
…18Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word, 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20Still others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, receive it, and produce a crop—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold.”… Mark 4: 18-20
Go out quickly to the streets - This is sad, but happy, because that's where you would find me. There are many people who grew up around the vocabulary of Christ, but they don't recognize the real One, because they carved another Jesus in their mind who is happy with them in their sin. He calls the Pharisees to repent, and they are the ones who have studied the Scripture, read in the synagogues, went to the temple, were circumcised according to the law, but what the law should have taught them they did not learn. It is the mirror that tells me that I am flawed, but they walked away and found a different mirror, found someone they thought was worse than them and he became the bar. I'm not like that man. They don't need Jesus apparently, and so they refuse the invitation. We will wait for another Jesus, another gospel, for God to bow down to us and accept the sin which this God is against. He doesn't bow down to them, and instead the feast goes on at it's planned time. He has them take the same message and go into the streets to find those that are hungry, those that know they are sinners, those that are willing to stop everything, turn around and walk into the banquet.
9To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.…
…12I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ 13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”… Luke 18: 9-14
None of those men who were invited - Those who had the law and the prophets, the signs of Christ coming, didn't just not recognize Him when He came, but chose not to recognize Him. Theirs was a rich history, all the signs were there, but they didn't believe the God they said they believed in.
…35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light. 36But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works I am doing— testify about Me that the Father has sent Me. 37And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form,…
38nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent. 39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.… John 5: 35-40
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.