PACK THE MASTER’S HOUSE
Luke 14:15-24
By Cleavon P. Matthews Sr.
April 10, 2002
INTRODUCTION
Movie producers want to have packed theatres. Those who own professional sports teams want to have their stadiums and arenas packed. Concert promoters want to sell out every show. Restaurant owners want to have a waiting list of those desiring to dine at their tables. Hotels and Resorts want their accommodations filled to capacity. Institutions of higher learning want to have every classroom seat filled. The amusement park wants to have every ride and show packed. The Airline wants to fill every seat on every flight. And the Lord wants every seat in His House to be filled at every assembly!
Empty seats bring concern to Movie producers. Empty seats cause owners to either sale or relocate their teams. Concert promoters cancel shows with too many empty seats. Restaurants shut down when there are too many slow days and nights. Hotels and Resorts are vacated and abandon if there are too many empty rooms for too long. Institutions of higher learning cancel courses when there are not enough students. Amusement parks go out of business when ticket sales are too low. Airlines cancel flight destinations when too many seats are empty. And the Lord is angry when His house is not full!
The movie producer, professional sports owner, the concert promoter, the restaurant owner, the hotel owner, the institution of higher learning, the amusement park owner, and the owner of the airline want us to fill their seats because we make them rich. They want our money. They want to exchange goods and services. See in the context of this story Jesus tells the lawyers and Pharisees in verse 12: “When thou makest a dinner or supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbor; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee.” But God is different He wants us to sit at His table to make us rich! The motivation for having the guests is to bless them. Jesus also says in the text, “But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
I.THE CALL
Luke 14:15-17 “And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.”
We can only speculate concerning the motivation for this man’s speaking out and saying blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. We should be more concerned with what he said! He pronounces blessing to those who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Eating bread in the kingdom speaks of celebrating the provision of deliverance and salvation. This was an anticipated hope for Israel. They were convinced that their biological link to Abraham guaranteed them a place at the table.
Jesus tells this parable to give them a look at themselves. He had already made the future clear in chapter 13. Somebody asked Him are there few that be saved? (v23). In other words there are few who will eat bread in the kingdom of God? Jesus responded by saying strive to enter at the strait or narrow gate many will seek to enter in and shall not be able. When the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without saying Lord, Lord open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. The purpose of this parable is to let them know who would eat bread in the kingdom of God. Unless they repent and turn to Jesus as Lord and Messiah they will not enter in!
Whenever someone held a great supper they would invite their guests. The guests would make an agreement to come or rsvp. This was a ‘great supper’ so many were bade or invited to the supper. After the invitations had been accepted the host would then prepare the feast. If it was a wedding supper or feast it could have been an interval of up to twelve months from the time the invitations were sent out and accepted. Then when everything was prepared and the host was ready the second invitation to come would be sent out.
This relates to us in so many ways. Those in the body of Christ have accepted the initial invitation. We have heard, believed, repented, confessed, and be baptized for the remission of our sins. We are now members of the Lord’s One Church! We rejoiced at this heavenly calling. We accepted this holy calling. We received this high calling. We were called to hope in Christ Jesus. We are called to be saints. We realized not many noble or mighty are called. We loved being called in the grace of Christ. We have been called into the kingdom by the Gospel. We have been called to an inheritance and eternal glory. Our hearts are comforted at the word of God saying, “And we know that all things work together for good to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). We know God called us with a good and mighty purpose. He called us for His purpose!
However we must be aware that many are called but few are chosen. Furthermore Peter said, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). Don’t repeat the mistake of Israel. They thought their salvation was guaranteed because they were descendants of Abraham. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your salvation is guaranteed because you are in the right Church! Make no mistakes about it; the Church of Christ is Right! Its founder is right. It’s Head is right! Its doctrine is right! Its birthplace is Right! Its name is right! Its worship is right! Its leadership organization is right! But not everybody in the Church is Right! Peter also said, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).
The servant was sent to call those who had been invited or bidden saying: Come for all things are now ready! The Lord is calling! Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
The Lord invites you to His banquet table. The Lord invites you to break bread with Him. The Lord invites you to drink from His cup. The Lord invites you to be in His presence. You don’t need to bring anything because all things are now ready! The admission price is paid in full. He is Jehovah-Jireh. He has made all of the provisions. The word is the lamp. Jesus is the Door. David said in the long ago, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies” (Psalm 23:4). Can’t you see the Lord preparing a table? It’s a table better than Momma’s holiday table. It’s a table more sumptuous than any restaurant. It’s a table better than any buffet! It’s a table better than any fellowship meal! I don’t know about you but I believe Jesus. He said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3).
All things are ready! Salvation is ready. Love is ready. Joy is ready. Peace is ready. Forgiveness is ready. Deliverance is ready. Power is ready. Prosperity is ready. Healing is ready. Righteousness is ready. Hope is ready. Mercy is ready. Grace is ready. Long-suffering is ready. God the Father is ready. Jesus our Lord is ready. The Holy Spirit is ready. The saints are ready. The Church is ready. But the question is: Are you ready?
II.THE CONSENT
Luke 14:18-20 “And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”
The story takes an interesting turn because you would expect for those who have been previously invited and who had agreed to come to be happy and excited! But this is not the case. We find just the opposite. They with one consent or accord make excuse. The word translated make excuse literally means to beg off, to decline, shun, avoid, refuse, or reject. They were not prepared to make the necessary sacrifices. I believe this is why Jesus said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (v25-6, 33).
Great multitudes will come to supper as long as there is no price to be paid, no contract to sign, no commands to obey, no orders to follow, no sacrifices to surrender, no gifts to offer, no commitments to keep, no burdens to bear, no suffering to share, no hardship to handle, no effort to exert, no pills to swallow, no limitations to learn, no scriptures to study, no worship services to attend, no prayers to pray, no cooperation to communicate, no battles to fight, no pledges to promise, no covenants to keep, and no standard to uphold.
They have no legitimate excuse. These excuses are ludicrous. Imagine buying a piece of land without ever seeing. You don’t know if its good terrain or swamp land. Imagine purchasing an automobile without test-driving it. Imagine looking for loopholes to negate your responsibility to the Lord. Jesus makes the excuses so outrageous and ludicrous to show the extent of such folly. One is more concerned with material things. The other is preoccupied with his business. The other will not come because he was recently married. This man uses an absolute negative ‘I cannot come.’ The reality is they are rejecting the Master’s offer and they are rejecting the Master. They see no value in attending the Supper!
In the overall context of this scenario Jesus is dealing with the cost of discipleship. Just like it is ludicrous to purchase land without seeing it and oxen without proving; It is also ludicrous to follow Christ without first counting the cost. Discipleship requires a deliberate and purposeful decision before taking action. This is the reason why Jesus tells the story of the tower builder and the king going to war. The tower builder must first sit down and count the cost. The king must sit down first and consult whether he s able to meet his enemy. The Point is we must first consider our willingness to finish what we start because the end will be worse than the beginning.
III.THE COMMAND
Luke 14:21-24 “So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. 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 hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.”
The servant now returns to his master to report this horrible news. They would not come. They made excuses. Therefore the master of the house was angered. Rejecting the invitation was an incredible insult. It was a high form of dishonor and disrespect. The master of the house went to great expense in preparing the supper. The master of the house went through tremendous trouble in preparing the supper. The invited guest said they were coming; therefore, a place was set for them at the table! The master of the house is angered and now they will not taste of the supper!
But the master will gain honor for Himself. The master of the house will not let His provisions go to waste. Those who felt too worthy; too busy, and too important to be bothered with the master’s supper will not taste of it! He now tells his servant to go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind!
The master of the house says call those who are not worthy! Go quickly into the city streets and lanes and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame! Go quickly don’t hesitate. Go speedily. Go rapidly. Go hastily. Go suddenly. Go soon. Go into the streets of the city. The city streets are the wide places or open squares. Go into the lanes. The lane is a crowded alley or avenue. Go to the place where the unworthy folks hang out. Don’t wait on them to come to the supper! Go out and bring them in!
Jesus told the Pharisee when you make a dinner or supper call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee and a recompense be made thee. But call the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. You see a Pharisee would have never invited these kinds of people into his home to eat at his table. They looked down on the poor, crippled, blind, and lame.
But hear Jesus saying; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because he hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent Me to heal the broken-Hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set a liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18). The Lord said they that are whole have no need of the Physician but they that are sick. The Bible says all the publicans and sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him, and the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them (15:1-2). He went on to tell the story of the lost sheep, lost coin, and the lost son. He said, “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. The prodigal said he was no more worthy to be called his father’s son and his father saw him when he was yet a great way off, had compassion on him, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him. The father told them to bring the best robe, and a ring for his finger, and shoes for his feet. Bring the fatted calf and kill and let us eat, and be merry for my son was lost but now he’s found. He was dead but now he is alive!
I like what Jesus is teaching. He is telling us we must leave our comfort zones. He is telling us to go into the places where the unworthy are. Go into the homeless shelters. Go into the halfway houses. Go into the nursing homes and hospitals. Go into the runaway shelters. Go into the prisons. Go into the juvenile delinquent facilities. Go into the drug rehab centers. Go into the street corners. Go into the shopping malls. Go into the laundry mats. Go into the parks. Go into ghettos. Go into the slums. Go and bring them into the Master’s house!
You do know this is not your house, don’t you? This is the Master’s House! It belongs to the Master. You can keep folks out of your house, but you can’t keep folks out of the Master’s house. They have a personal invitation from the master. Some of us don’t want to have certain kinds of people in our church because it will mean more work for us!
Some of us are high-minded and self-righteous. Some of us think we are better than others. We don’t want to set next to people who can’t dress like us. We don’t want to share the pew and the hymnbook with folks who are fresh off the street with smell of liquor and drugs sipping through their skin pores. We don’t want to sit next to ex-convicts. We don’t want people struggling with homosexuality in our churches. But let remind you of a certain reality. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God!
Notice that the poor, crippled, blind, and lame didn’t make excuses. They took advantage of this grand opportunity. They had the attitude of the woman who washed Jesus feet with her hair and tears. They had the attitude of the prodigal son. They had the attitude of the publican who went to the temple to pray. They had the attitude of Zaccheus. They were those who hungered and thirsted for righteous and mourned.
This is a great servant for he could say, Lord it is done as thou hast commanded. How many preachers can say Lord it is done as thou have commanded? How many congregations can say Lord it is done as thou have commanded? How many elders can say Lord it is done as thou have commanded? How many members can say Lord it is done as thou have commanded?
The servant brought them in, and YET THERE IS ROOM! There is space in the Master’s House. There are empty seats in the Master’s House. Because there is still room the Lord says Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in that my house may be filled! Go into the back roads and side streets and the enclosed areas. Compel them by showing them the necessity of coming to the Great Supper.
CLOSING
Tell the drug dealer there’s still room
Tell the convict there’s still room
Tell the molested teenager there’s still room
Tell the abused wife there’s still room
Tell the aged person there’s still room
Tell the gambler there’s still room
Tell the exotic dancer there’s still room
Tell the divorcee there’s still room
Tell the unwed parent there’s still room
Tell the addict there’s still room
Tell the abandoned child there’s still room
Tell the backslider there’s still room
Tell the denominational follower there’s still room
Tell the unemployed there’s still room
Tell the broken, bruised, and burdened there’s still room
Tell the weak, wayward, and wanton there’s still room
Tell the damaged, depressed, and dogged out there’s still room
Tell the sick, suffering, and sinner there’s still room
Tell the anguished, afflicted, and anxious there’s still room
Tell the tempted, tried, and tortured there’s still room
Tell the lost, lame, and least there’s still room
Tell the outcast, over-looked, and overtaken there’s still room
Tell the poor, persecuted, and perverted there’s still room
