The Parable Of The Great Supper

Luke 14:1-24
A Man With Dropsy Healed On The Sabbath
1 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.
2 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.
3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.
5 Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”
6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

Take The Lowly Place
7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:
8 “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;
9 and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.
10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.
11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 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.”

The Parable Of The Great Supper
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!”
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.’ ”

Jesus told the Parable of the Great Supper at a Sabbath meal in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees. As Jesus was eating, the people were watching Him closely.

Then, a man whose legs and arms were swollen came to Jesus. Jesus knew their hearts. He asked the teachers of the laws and the Pharisees, “Does our laws allow healing on the Sabbath or not?” But they could not answer His question.

Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away.

Then He said to them, “If any one of you had a child or an ox that happened to fall into a pit on a Sabbath, would you not pull it out at once even though it occurred on a Sabbath day?” But they were silent, and unable to give an answer.

Jesus was teaching them what it meant to be a true servant of God to serve others. But the Pharisees were highly religious. They were more interested in doing religious activities and actions than serving others. As the sick and the poor were never in their hearts and agendas on other days, they were also not be so on the Sabbath!

I know of a Christian leader who believes that he is a high priest of God. He is so holy that he will not go and pray for the sick or the dying lest they would defile him! He is highly religious, and many of his languages and actions are similar to that of the Pharisees.

When Jesus noticed that all who came to the dinner were trying to sit near the head of the table, He shared a preliminary parable, before the Parable of the Great Supper, with the people present at the Sabbath meal.

Jesus told them, “If you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t always head for the best seat. For if someone more respected than you shows up, the host will bring him over to where you are sitting and say, ‘Let this man sit here instead.’ And you will be embarrassed as you will have to give up your coveted seat, and to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! Do this instead—start at the foot; and when your host sees you he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place than this for you!’ Thus you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For everyone who tries to honor himself shall be humbled; and he who humbles himself shall be honored.”

Then Jesus turned to the host of the meal, a leader of the Pharisees. He said to him, “When you put on a dinner, don’t invite friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors! For they will return the invitation or repay you somehow. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who cannot repay you.”

If this meal is like the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, what will the Church do? Will the people of God be like the Pharisees of old? Will we crave for the best seats? Will we dream to become like our famous and rich leaders, apostles and prophets? Will we lust for power and prestige? Will we aspire to lord over others than to serve them? Will we respect the rich and powerful, and despise the poor and weak? Will we exalt ourselves and become boastful? Or will we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord?

Are our churches and homes open only for rich friends, brothers and sisters, relatives, and neighbors? Do we turn away the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind? Do we invite only people who will repay us someday? Or do we remember the poor and needy, and invite those who cannot repay us?

Many Christians today are more interested in attending church services, conferences and seminars than visiting and feeding the poor in the streets, and praying for the sick in hospitals and elderly homes. They are more comfortable doing religious actions and activities in comfortable settings and environments. Appearing to be holy on the outside, but deep inside, it is another story.

Deuteronomy 28:13
And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

Many people want to be the head and not the tail, but very few pay close attention to the commandments of the LORD, and are careful to observe them. Worst, many don't know His commandments, and have become lawless.

James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

God the Father desires us to take care of orphans and widows in their sufferings, and to keep ourselves from being corrupted by the world. But many of us don't care about serving the poor and needy, and have adopted worldly ways. How to look good, be rich and famous, be wealthy and healthy, promoting ourselves instead of preaching the gospel of Christ. Many of the sermons are sharing about three keys to be successful or five arrows to unlock the wealth of heaven for ourselves or seven steps to spiritual enlightenment etc. Very few shared the cross of Christ and true discipleship!

Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

1 John 2:15-17
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Very few of us today truly desire to come after Jesus, deny ourselves, and take up our cross, and follow Him. Many of us love the world and the things in the world. Like the Pharisees, we may look okay before men. But before God, we may not.

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!”

This verse was the transition between the two parables. A man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed after Jesus had shared the opening parable. He said, “What a privilege it would be to get into the Kingdom of God, and partake the food therein!”

Jesus always shared His parables very simply so that the people could relate and respond to them. This great banquet was probably a wedding feast. In those days in Israel, this feast was a very sacred and joyous thing. Some even lasted for more than a week.

In the parable, a man planned a large banquet and sent out many invitations. When all was ready, he sent his servant to notify the guests that it was time for them to arrive. But they all began making excuses. One said he had just bought a field and wanted to inspect it, and asked to be excused. Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out. Another had just been married and was not able to come.

The servant returned and reported to his master what they had said. His master was angry and told him to go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and to invite the beggars, crippled, lame, and blind. But even after they were seated, there was still room for more people to enjoy the feast.

The master said to the servant, "Well, then, go out into the country roads and out behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I invited first will get even the smallest taste of what I had prepared for them."

The excuses for skipping the banquet are definitely not excusable! Nobody would buy land without seeing it first. Nobody would buy oxen without first inspecting them. And nothing should keep a newly married couple from attending another wedding feast. These three excuses reveal the insincerity and deceitfulness of those who were invited. They were not interested in the wedding feast. They had their own agendas, programs and activities. They esteemed, and placed their own interests above those of others.

When Jesus told this parable, He was speaking to the Pharisees and the religious leaders in Israel on a Sabbath day. He opened the door of salvation, and invited them to come in. The Lord of the Sabbath was offering to them the Sabbath of Sabbaths - the perfect rest for all mankind! He came to them in love, but they rejected Him with hatred. Yes, they despised and rejected their Messiah. And the blessings of the kingdom of God were then made available to all who would come to Christ by faith. Those who were not God's people had become God's people!

Hosea 2:23
Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
Then I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”

Interestingly, those who were in the feast and enjoyed the meal were the poor, maimed, downtrodden and crippled. And these people were considered unclean and cursed in the eyes of the Pharisees. But God's kingdom was open for them! They were despised by the world. But the Lord bestowed compassion, mercy and grace upon them. The weak became strong, and the poor became rich.

And our God is not satisfied with a partially filled banquet hall. He wants every seat at the tables to be taken and filled. Full house!

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Those who ignore the invitation and gentle reminder to the Banquet will miss out the Feast. They would not be able to taste the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Many Christians are playing church today. Many of us are engrossed and preoccupied with all kinds of events and programs. When the time comes, will we be ready to drop everything else and come to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? Will we give all kinds of excuses for not coming? Will we be like the people living in the days of Noah busy doing this and that, and miss the boat?

Matthew 24:37-39
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

May we be diligent in not committing the same errors as the Pharisees and the religious leaders! May we desire to do the will of the Father, and not our own will. May we walk humbly before the Lord, showing mercy and grace to the poor and needy, and serving them with love! May we be ready to come to the Banquet when the time comes! May we taste the Great Supper of our Lord!

Written on: 28 February 2019