LUKE 14: 12-16-24 [PARABLES IN LUKE]
GOOD EXCUSES
[Isaiah 25:6-9]
While attending a dinner party at a Pharisees’ house (vv. 1, 7, 12) Jesus challenges the guests to live and work so they will be rewarded in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus then gives a parable about a banquet that alludes to the great messianic feast that occurs at the end of the age. [The parable is about an invitation to the kingdom of God illustrated as a great festival or party.] He says that the King is throwing an elaborate and festive banquet to which He invites guests. God invites us to enjoy His presence forever and ever, feasting and celebrating with Him, yet many will make excuses instead of accepting His gracious invitation.
[This Great Banquet is a biblical metaphor for the kingdom of God. [Compare the parable in Matthew 22:1–14.] . When Jesus approaches this subject, He participates in a conversation that had begun over seven hundred years earlier (Psalm 23:5; Isaiah 25:6-9).] At the very heart of the parable is who will be found in the Kingdom of God. It has to do with those who will respond positively to their invitation to accept Jesus, God’s great invitation to salvation (CIM).
I. DINNER PARTY CONVERSATIONS, 12-15.
II. BANQUET INVITATION EXCUSES, 16-20.
III. COMPELLING INVITATIONS, 21-24.
[Background] This whole section concerns instructions pertaining to invitations for banquets. When Jesus was invited to the home of a prominent religious leader, He offered this unsolicited advice concerning invitations for banquets in Luke 14:12-14. “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
So Jesus advised us, “Don’t only invite people who can do something for you—who can pay you back, include you in their circle, or return your invitation. When you give a dinner party, it is better invite the nobodies.” Luke’s lists the fringe people as the poor, maimed, lame, and blind, which is repeated in the next story is his list of kingdom people. [That has been clear since Mary’s song (1:46-55)].
Now notice the words, “you will be repaid at the resurrection.” Jesus’ declaration is that God will repay you for some things after you're dead. This contradicts what many of us believe - that God rewards us mainly on earth. No, these words show that when you do a worthy deed for someone who cannot repay you: One, you will be repaid by God, and two, the real reward will come in the next life.
If you fail to understand this timing you'll find yourself saying: "I serve God faithfully, so why am I struggling? Doesn't God notice or care?" Friend, God notices and God cares! But He doesn't promise that work for Him now will always result in gain from Him now. Many [most] of the rewards God has for us are so great, it'll take eternity to appreciate and enjoy them!
Jesus said, "Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name. . . will by no means lose his reward" (Mk 9:41 NIV). No deed for God will be overlooked or go unrewarded not even a cup of cold water, or a prayer in the middle of the night. When you do things God’s way, at the appropriate time He will repay you. God records and will reward “at the resurrection of the righteous.” Will you trade momentary ease or prominence here for eternal reward and glory there?
At the mention of the Resurrection a dinner guest reclining at the table with Jesus becomes excited. He said to Jesus and the other guests in verse 15, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
To “eat bread in the kingdom of God” is a reference to the eschatological messianic banquet. The person who makes this statement wants to invoke Jesus' views on the topic of the coming kingdom of God and the Messiah who is to inaugurate that kingdom. At the end of history the final fulfillment of that kingdom was understood to include a great banquet with the Messiah, known as "the messianic banquet." The person's outburst is a challenge for Jesus to express His views on that topic, and possible to change the uncomfortable topic of reaching out to the down and out.
[Those around the table would expect Jesus to say something such as, "Yes, let’s keep the law so precisely that when that great day comes, we will be counted worthy to sit with the Messiah and all true believers at his banquet.” Bailey, Kenneth. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. 2008. InterVarsity Press, Dover Grove, IL. p.309]
This person was assuming that he and the other people present would all be there in the kingdom. Jesus took the opportunity to use the feast motif to explain that many of the people there would not be present in God’s kingdom. In their places would be many outcasts and Gentiles.
II. BANQUET INVITATION EXCUSES, 16-20.
In verse 16 Jesus begins His parable about the Great Banquet. “But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;”
The host in the parable invited many guests. Since it was to be a big feast or party great preparation would be underway for the grand event even as the personal invitations went out.
The invitations went out to the sort of people with whom people most want to associate. It was to be the great event after all. Surely everyone who is anyone would be there.
The banquet feast has been prepared so in verse 17 the host invites the guests to come and take their place. “and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’
[The parable assumes the custom of an invitation in advance and an invitation at the time of the meal to those who accepted the first.] All the preparations have been finished and everything is in order for the invited guests’ arrival. The invitations of course went out to the sort of people with whom people most want to associate. It was to be a spectacular event after all. Surely everyone who is anyone would be there. The Hollywood types, the brilliant scientists, the astute politicians, the savvy business people, the athletic stars, the cultured rich, the ingenious geeks, and the popular religious leaders.
To the great shock of all, the different invitees offer excuses for not coming beginning in verse 18. “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’
Slaves were sometimes used by the wealthy to summon invited guests. This act displayed the wealth of the host and gave the guests a distinguish escort to the banqueting hall (Esther 6:14). Quite unexpectedly all those invited began to give excuses for not attending the banquet celebration. They refused to accept the invitation, citing what they believed to be more important obligations. They were simply too busy with commitments when the invitation is given to respond.
The excuses offered seem important at first glance. The first excuse was, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused. The excuse though is absurd because house buyers inspect a property with great care before they consider purchasing it, not after.
The servant approaches the second invitee in verse 19. “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’
The second also claims he has more important things to do. He has bought no less than five pair or yoke of oxen and must go test them. This claim is again a transparent put off. Who buys untested oxen? Any astute farmer wants to know if the pair will work together before he even bids much less purchases them. If not he could get a pig in a poke (just like on a used car). [These worldly concerns are similar to three of the conditions that disqualify an Israeli from participating in a war (Deut. 20)].
In verse 20 we find a third excuse. “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’
This guy completely snubs the host not even offering an excuse. It would be like saying my wife and I have better things to do with our life than go to your banquet. Marriage though does not exempt you from other responsibilities.
The excuses were offered as valid—the need to see about a recently purchased field, or to try out recently purchased oxen, or to be with one’s recently married bride [perhaps appealing to the principle of Deut 24:5; 20:7], but were simply justification for not coming. All three excuses were lame or feeble.
Aren’t these the same excuses men use to this day?
• “I can’t accept Your invitation, Lord. I’ve got to take care of my possessions,” or —
•“My job just won’t allow me to seek God at this time in my life,” or —
•“I’m married. My first priority is my spouse.”
Jesus is speaking of heaven, of salvation, of eternity—of matters of the greatest possible significance. Yet people say, “Sorry, I just don’t have time.” [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2003, S. 370.]
The COWBIRD is unique in North America. While some other birds will occasionally lay their eggs in other birds' nests, the cowbird does so exclusively. In Illinois, for example, the little brown cowbird with its mink-colored head is a common sight, but bird experts say you will not find one cowbird nest in the entire state.
And that's becoming a problem, says writer Peter Kendall. The cowbirds are “prodigious egg-layers: Each female commonly deposits 20 to 40 eggs in dozens of other nests each spring. Cowbird eggs usually hatch more quickly than the other bird's eggs, and the chicks grow more quickly. Because birds tend to feed the largest and loudest of their young first-because they usually would be the healthiest and have the best chance of survival-the host bird spends inordinate time and energy tending to the cowbird.” As a result the cowbird is pushing some other songbirds to extinction.
Like the cowbird, distractions in our lives have a way of intruding themselves and taking over. The distractions of life can push out and cause the extinction of godly activities.
III. COMPELLING INVITATIONS, 21-24.
The host became angry because of the excuses he is receiving and demands his servants invite the out casts to his feast in verse 21. “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
The sort of people with whom people most want to associate would not come. The master of the house became angry at their refusal and rejection. He had given a great opportunity to people. Yet all they gave him in return were weak excuses. They would get no more special invitations.
Still he was going to have a glorious banquet. He commanded that those not originally invited to the feast be invited in place of those who had rejected his invitation. This people were in the streets and alleys of the town . . . the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame, the host wanted those deemed broken and unworthy invited. Jesus was referring to those members of the Jewish community who were considered inferior and ceremonially unclean such as the man with dropsy He had just healed (vv. 2-4).
Why would the master of the house invite those who were poor, maimed, and blind? Because poor people wouldn’t be distracted by material possessions; maimed people wouldn’t be harnessing oxen; and blind people weren’t likely to be married. In other words, the servants were to invite those who were not distracted by possessions, vocation, or affections. They were to invite those who wouldn’t make ludicrous excuses, who wouldn’t be sidetracked by things of the world, who would have a heart for heaven and sensitivity toward the things of the kingdom. That is why Paul would later say to the early church, “Look around. You don’t see many rich, many noble, many wise among you,”—and why we find the same to be true two thousand years later (1 Corinthians 1:26). [Courson S. 370.]
The servant returns with his report of his invitation efforts in verse 22. “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
Immediately these broken people came. But the banquet room was large and the preparation extensive. So the servant could not find enough close by who would come to the banquet. There was still room in the fellowship hall.
During the Depression era of the last century, the COAL-MINING REGION of eastern Tennessee was hit hard by poverty. Miners' families, living in tiny shacks sprinkled around the lower part of one of those coal mountains, were sometimes subject to further troubles from the natural elements. One spring the rains came particularly strong, and the small stream down in the valley spilled over its banks and eventually swept away some of the homes. On the day of the worst of the flooding, a man named Mr. Underwood drove his mule-team coal wagon down to the edge of the flood waters again and again to bring a load of families up to higher ground. He was determined to leave no one behind.
Flood waters are rising all around us, and we have the message of the gospel that can bring a dying world to the high ground of salvation. Are we willing to go out and bring them in?
In verse 23 the master sends out another invitation to expand the search area and intensifies the invitation. “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
The host commanded that others be invited from the roads and country lanes. These common folk outside the city were probably Gentiles, those outside the covenant community.
He commands that these be compelled or pressed to come to the great banquet. Some poor people would fell unworthy and be hesitant to accept the invitation of such magnitude. Consequently, the host’s slave needed to convince them to come into the banquet. He was to use all means to convince them that the invitation is indeed serious and that they are genuinely welcome at the master banquet.
Some Christians have the idea that if they erect a beautiful building, put up a sign, and place an ad in the newspaper, the unsaved will flock to church. But it just doesn't work that way. There's an impelling GO IN THE GOSPEL that makes us responsible for our friends and neighbors. We must reach out to lost sinners and bring them in.
In D. L. Moody's day, it was a common practice for people to rent a church pew. One Sunday morning, 19-year-old Moody marched down the aisle with a motley crew of society's outcasts trailing behind him. He had rented four pews and was determined to fill them with those who were spiritually needy. Having taken the Savior's "Go" personally (Mt. 28:19), he literally "went out into the highways and gathered together. . . both bad and good" (22:10).
Don't make the mistake of believing that Jesus' command to go applies only to missionaries in faraway places. All of God's children are to share the good news of salvation. What a tragedy it would be if our own neighbors never heard the gospel because we never told them!
Ask the Lord to place a burden on your heart for a friend or loved one who is lost. Then go and bring them in! We must go to sinners if we expect sinners to come to the Savior.
In verse 24 it becomes clear that the parable is about the messianic banquet in the kingdom. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’ ”
In verse 24 the speaker is not the host but Jesus, speaking not to the servant but to “you” (plural) or all. Jesus stated that none of the originally invited guests would get a taste of His banquet. Those originally invited were excluded because of their refusal and those who were originally excluded participated in the banquet
[This parable at a banquet about another banquet reinforced His previous teaching that He would abandon Jerusalem (13:34-35). The people who originally had been offered a share of the kingdom had rejected it, so now the message was going out to others including Gentiles.] The excuses seemed good to those who gave them, but they were sorely inadequate for refusing Jesus’ offer of His eternal kingdom. Nothing was so important as accepting His offer of His kingdom, for one’s entire destiny rests on his response to that offer. [Walvoord, John & Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, S. 243.]
IN CLOSING
In His story, Jesus is rebuking those who are making excuses. Instead of simply admitting they don’t want to come, they justify their lack of response. Most excuses are phony. The excuses Jesus describes here are no exception. All those invited gave excuses for not attention the banquet celebration. All the excuses were supposedly valid in that they were occupied with legitimate concerns, but unfortunately they gave those concerns priority over God and His kingdom.
There is always an excuse we can make for not attending to the things of God. Those who hear the good news must accept it and enter the reception hall, if not they have rejected the invitation. Acceptance is not possible without participation.
[Martin Luther once said that sin does not hurt us as much as our own self-righteousness does.] Excuses are an attempt to justify our self and remain innocent before God. God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ on the Cross is not innocence, but an acceptance of responsible for our sin and guilt. I am guilty but I confess my responsibly for my failure. If I do, I can be forgiven. When I accept responsibly for my sin there is forgiveness and a chance to move on. To live without excuses is to accept our humanity and fallibility, which is what real humility is all about. I can confess my failure because I have the security of being loved and forgiven by God Himself.
Will you do just that today? Will you stop making excuses? Will you stop trying to justify yourself for not following Jesus? Will you accept His invitation and participate in His calling?
If you have not really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off with still another excuse. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart.
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I turn from of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior and Lord. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now in the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior, and received forgiveness for all my sins through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. So come forward and let us help make your relationship with God in Jesus Christ all that He would have it be. You come as we sing this hymn of reflection and response.
