1/12/25 “You’re Invited”
“You’re Invited!”
Luke 14:12-24
(Show clip from ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’)
So, the clip you just saw was from one of my favorite moves called ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.’
In preparation for this sermon, I was trying to think of the most impressive invitation to a banquet I’d ever seen…
…and this scene immediately came to mind.
If you’re familiar with the storyline, this is where a relatively poor sailor named Edmond Dantes reappears unrecognizable many years later as the rich & powerful Count of Monte Cristo…
…And to formally introduce himself to the local elites around Paris, he decides to purchase a grand estate using gold from a buried treasure that he had recently come across.
…Then the Count proceeds to hold a huge banquet for all of the upper class nobility in the area.
I love how the movie portrays the process of how people were invited to this grand banquet…
…servants were sent forth from the Count’s estate with the mission of hand-delivering invitations to people whose names were on the guest list.
…one by one, each of these people would receive a personal invite to the grand gala.
As was evident In the movie, a vast majority of the people invited actually came to the Count’s banquet….
…they were excited to have been invited, and this excitement manifested itself through their being at the event.
Our passage of scripture for today also deals with a grand banquet…
..A banquet that Jesus describes in a parable as he teaches his listeners about things such as God’s extensive grace, the importance of humility, the Holy Spirit’s calling upon each and every individual’s heart, and the tragedy of rejecting God’s kingdom.
Today is our second Sunday in a series of messages covering the parables of Jesus…
..and this story has traditionally been called the parable of ‘The Great Supper’…or, ‘The Great Banquet’.
For some situational context, verse 1 of Luke 14 tells us that Jesus had been invited for dinner at the house of a prominent Pharisee…
As a reminder, Pharisees were a group of Jewish scholars during the time of Jesus who placed a great deal of emphasis upon following the traditions of the law…
…some of which came from the law of Moses, and some that were simply made up by other Pharisees and Rabbis through the years.
The Pharisees loved to be seen as pious, righteous, religious, and devout…despite the vast majority of them having cold hearts when it came to showing compassion, mercy, and grace toward others.
It is this group of people who hated Jesus the most, because the message that Jesus brought was one that dealt with the importance of being clean on the inside…not on the outside.
Jesus says this about the Scribes & Pharisees in Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.”
…Jesus taught that it was about a repentant heart that made a person right with God, not one’s outward religiosity or obedience to a set of manufactured traditions.
So, it is very interesting that – in our passage for today – we find Jesus dining at the house of a Pharisee….a very prominent Pharisee.
While there, Jesus heals a man and teaches about the Sabbath…and what a heart of humility looks like at social gatherings….
we pick up at verse 12 where Jesus continues to elaborate on kingdom etiquette regarding how to interact with people of lower social or economic standing.
Jesus says in verse 12 (Luke 14:12) “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.”
So, is Jesus telling you that you’re not supposed to schedule a lunch date with a friend…or that you can’t invite your brother over to watch the big game?
No, of course not.
We know for a fact that Jesus himself ate many meals with his friends, including the disciples, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, etc. etc.
But what he is saying is that if you really want to do work for the kingdom, rather than always hob-nobbing with your social equals who will undoubtedly repay your hospitality at some point in the future…
…invite someone over who does not have the resources to pay you back in kind.
…invite someone who probably doesn’t get thought of very often – maybe they have a handicap, or a cognitive deficiency, or maybe they just don’t share your level of personal hygiene.
…Years ago, when I was a kid in church, I remember there used to be a man who would come to church straight from the barn – and, yes – he brought the smell of the barn with him.
As you might imagine….This man would rarely – if ever – get invited to people’s homes after church for dinner/lunch
…But Jesus is saying that if you really want to reflect His love to others, these are the kinds of people who you need to be inviting over for food & fellowship.
…It’s these kinds of people who won’t have the time or ability to reciprocate your offer of hospitality – therefore, your act of good will toward them is an outward demonstration of an altruistic attitude of love in your heart.
…and it is this spiritual love – agape love - shown toward others that our heavenly Father wants us to convey to the rest of the world.
Can’t you just imagine the Pharisees wincing with pangs of discomfort when in verse 13 (Luke 14:13) Jesus tells them to invite the poor…the handicapped…the slow and the blind…
…invite these people to your homes for dinner.
The Pharisees just didn’t hang out with these kinds of individuals!
They were – after all - of a social order high above the dregs of society…
They would certainly not have spent their precious time entertaining the cultural outcasts of the day….
…such “sinners” would never be found on the doorstep of any self-respecting Pharisee.
Remember when Jesus is eating at Matthew’s house with a bunch of Matthew’s friends…and the Pharisees ask the disciples:
“…Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” (Matthew 9:11)
But Jesus now tells them that these ‘sinners’ are exactly the kinds of people who he expected the Pharisees – as the perceived gold standard of Jewish righteousness - to care for…to love…to show mercy & patience to.
Not only does this kind of hospitality please God, but Jesus tells us in verse 14 (Luke 14:14) that whoever does these things will reap rewards…
…future rewards in heaven – as well as the immediate reward in this life of being blessed….which is just another term for being happy.
Remember the beatitudes?...blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers….etc…etc. – It means people who exhibit godly characteristics will inherently share in God’s happiness as well.
When we exude a kingdom attitude, God rewards it through granting us peace...and satisfaction…and joy.
So, have you been depressed lately?...
Do something nice for someone who doesn’t have the means to pay you back…and watch how your attitude miraculously changes!
After Jesus is finished speaking, someone – most likely a Pharisee – condescendingly blurts out these next words as an attempt to take the uncomfortable edge off of what Jesus just said…
“Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
This was definitely not a statement saturated with acceptance of what Jesus had just said…
….it was, rather, a one-sentence message meant to reassure his fellow Pharisees that – because of their pious religiosity – they would of course be sitting at God’s dinner table in His eternal kingdom.
In reality - It was a simple platitude….of spiritual ineptitude…in the form of a beatitude!
This is when Jesus doubles down on his previous statements…and he does it by way of a parable.
A parable – again – is essentially an earthly story with a heavenly meaning….
…It’s a physical tale containing a spiritual lesson.
In verse 16 (Luke 14:16) Jesus begins to describe a wealthy man who was “Preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.”
These guests would have been society’s elite – much like who we saw in the ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ clip from earlier.
In 1st century Judaism, the invitation process was composed of 2 parts.
The first part was the initial invite…
…And when people received this invite, it was expected that they would attend the function…
…Unless…they told the person delivering the message (usually a servant of the homeowner) that they could not make it for some reason.
It would have been like an understood RSVP.
In some ways, It’s similar to today when you see an event come up on Facebook and you can click on either “Interested” or “Going”
Over the years, I’ve learned to be very careful about clicking on “going” – just in case something changes in my schedule…
…and as a pastor, I’ve learned that can easily happen!
As a general rule, I always hit “Interested” unless I am 100% confident that I will be able to make it to the event.
So - getting back to our story - if the people who were initially invited to a function accept the verbal invitation, then their presence at the future event would have been expected.
…much like choosing the ‘Going’ icon on Facebook.
The second part of the invitation process would be conducted when the food was just about ready.
Servants would again go out to tell the people who had RSVP’d that the food was prepared, and the function was about to begin.
This is what we see happening in verse 17 (Luke 14:17) where the servant proclaims “…Come, for everything is now ready.”
However…instead of people flocking in to attend the banquet as would have been customarily expected….in this story – no one shows up.
All of the people who had previously RSVP’d are now providing last-minute excuses as to why they cannot attend.
Jesus provides 3 specific excuses that can be seen in verses 18-20.
…and – really - these excuses are actually quite comical.
The first individual in verse 18 (Luke 14:18) wants to be excused because they just purchased some property – he just bought a field – and now he must go see it…
…Ummm, do know of anyone who has ever purchased a piece of land sight-unseen…not even a picture?.... No, Me either.
As many of you know, Lisa & I just recently purchased a new house…
We toured it 3 times – once with a professional inspector – before deciding to go ahead and purchase the property.
What’s even more perplexing in this excuse from verse 18 is that the landowner could have easily inspected his new property after the banquet was over.
The second excuse in verse 19 (Luke 14:19) is similarly nonsensical.
Here we have a man who asks to be excused from attending the banquet because he just bought 5 yoke of oxen – 10 total animals – and now he must go try them out.
This excuse sounds more like a blatant lie.
An ox was good money back in those days, and anyone wealthy enough to purchase 10 of these animals would undoubtedly have had tried them out long before purchasing them…
…It was not that uncommon for an animal to be sickly and weak, or unable to perform some of the stringent tasks that field animals were expected to do…
It would be like someone wanting to sell you their 10 year old SUV, but you couldn’t test drive it before purchasing the vehicle.
That would make no sense…and this excuse makes no sense.
Finally, in verse 20 (Luke 14:20) we find what I think is the most ridiculous excuse of all…”I just got married!”
So…Obviously…I cannot go to your banquet!
You can’t tell me that when this individual received the initial invitation, he was not aware of his upcoming wedding!
…forgetting an anniversary is one thing, but forgetting about your upcoming wedding day…!?!?
So – after hearing excuses from literally every guest as to why they were not coming – the homeowner becomes…understandably…angry.
He knows that what lies behind all of these excuses is the simple truth that every single one of his so-called ‘friends’ just really had no desire to come to his party.
If they had really wanted to be there, they would have made it a priority to attend.
So, in verse 21 (Luke 14:21) the homeowner tells his servant to go out into the streets – find and invite the poor…and the crippled…and the disadvantaged.
Then, when realizing he had more chairs to fill at the banquet, he tells the servant in verse 23 (Luke 14:23) to scour the roadways for the vagabonds and the homeless – and invite them in as well.
These unlikely – and very grateful – people….outcasts of society…. would now be filling the seats of the the rich, apathetic people of privilege who all had decided they would rather do other things that afternoon.
Jesus wraps up the parable in verse 24 (Luke 14:24) by describing the homeowner’s decision that none of the original invited guests will ever have a seat at his banquent.
This story would have made the Pharisees at the house party that day furious!
Worse than someone pulling for the Minnesota Vikings at a Packer party!
These dignified, well-schooled, egotistical, arrogant, prideful articulators of the law would have understood exactly what Jesus was teaching through this parable.
They would have seen the condemnation that Jesus was pouring over them.
The individual who had raised his glass and toasted back in verse 15 (Luke 14:15)…
…The Pharisee who smugly proclaimed that the man who eats at the feast in God’s kingdom was blessed…
…He would have come to the grim realization that the blessed people in Jesus’ story - were actually the outcasts…
Certainly NOT who he had in mind when giving the toast!
…And the people who stood condemned… were those of his own ilk.
This parable has so many life lessons for us.
Lessons in humility…
lessons in God’s grace toward all mankind…
lessons about the priorities in our own lives…
lessons about how God calls everyone to come and taste of the riches of His kingdom.
If you haven’t already guessed,
The head of the household in this parable represents God – from whom the invitation comes
The banquet represents salvation in God’s eternal kingdom.
The pre-invited – or initial invitees – are Israel…
The Israelites initially said ‘Yes’ to being the people through whom God would reveal himself to the rest of mankind…
…but they eventually became hard-hearted, calloused, and apathetic toward God and His invitation to eternal blessings.
The first invitation to the banquet was delivered by the Old Testament prophets
Israel had so many opportunities to repent and turn to Yahweh in faith and obedience, yet they purposely – consistently - decided not to.
The second invitation to come for dinner was delivered by John the Baptist and Jesus himself.
Their message was for the Jewish nation to repent and accept Jesus’ offer of the Kingdom of Heaven.
…But – they had better things to do.
…Other priorities to attend to.
…They were simply not interested in Jesus or His message.
It’s interesting how in this parable, 2 of the excuses have to do with material possessions…and one excuse deals with a relationship.
How often the Israelites were scolded by God – and by Jesus - for their attraction to – and reliance upon material items…
…And how often would Israel be deceived into worshipping false gods through relationships that were forged with sinful groups such as the Moabites and the Midianites.
These serve as warnings for us today as well…
How easy it is for us to veer off course spiritually through a lust for material objects or wealth.
…And how easy it is to allow an individual – especially an individual who we have respect for…or someone who we are romantically attracted to…
…How easy it is for that person to gain a foothold of influence over us and we experience a subtle shift in our priorities– even when we don’t think it’s happening.
Calling all young people here today…this is huge for you guys.
If you are in a relationship with someone who doesn’t share your faith in Jesus…RUN!
…Cut the ties…burn the ships…don’t go back!
We used to tell our daughters to find a man who loves Jesus more than he loves you…
and if you find that man…you should never have to worry about your marriage…
…And guys, that goes for you as well someday when you are looking for a wife to share your life with.
So, Back to the parable:
The outcasts who end up coming to the banquet…
…The poor, crippled, blind, and lame of the town represent the believing Jewish remnant….Messianic Jews, of which there are still today.
…The folks brought in from the highways & byways are the Gentiles..
…That’s all non-Jewish people…that’s you and me, folks.
God’s grace truly extends to all nations and all tribes.
All of humanity has been invited to attend God’s eternal banquet….
…The only question that everyone must answer is this: Will you come?
I’d like to end this morning with a few lyrics from a song by Sidewalk Prophets called “Come to the Table”
We all start on the outside, we’re outside looking in, this is where grace begins…We were hungry, we were thirsty, with nothing left to give, oh the shape that we were in…And just when all hope seemed lost, love opened the door for us…He said, ‘Come to the table, Come join the sinners who have been redeemed’, Take your place beside the savior, sit down and be set free, Come to the table…
Have you sat down at God’s table?
Have you given your life to Jesus Christ?
If not, there is an empty seat at God’s banquet just waiting for you….
Repent. Ask for forgiveness. Turn from your old life of sin…and experience the blessing – and the peace - of knowing the savior of the universe for all time!
Let’s Pray.