the-great-banquet-study-notes

Stories on the Way to the Cross: The Great Banquet

Luke 14:15-24

I cannot travel anywhere in the world without noticing quickly that all is not yet as it should be: politics, health, weather, standard of life. There are some “glass half full” types out there – but, if we listen long enough, we will soon learn that all is not perfect anywhere.

At same time, all cultures have stories of a time when things were better in the past and stories of promises that things will be restored in the future. These stories, usually end with a great celebration! Jason and the Argonauts. Odysseus. Oedipus. Agamemnon, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Narnia tales….

That brings us to Luke 14 where Jesus is taking up this very subject of how things are not at all what they should be in this world – but that God promises a better day ahead that will be launched with a great celebration feast. Jesus is letting us know that these old stories of a day in which all is made new point to something that is true in the plan of God. There was a “better day” in the past (Gen. 1-2). But, as we know, things have gone wrong in our world (Genesis 3ff). But God still is – God still reigns – and God says a day is coming when all will be made new.

The Scriptures consistently look to a day when a Messiah would come, and when his work is completed, there is to be a feast, a Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19). Remember now that we’re on our Lenten journey – and as we embark on it, we come to the stories Jesus tells on his own journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. Here is Luke 14, early in his trip toward Jerusalem, Jesus takes up the matter of how everything will end. He is letting everyone know that his death will not be the end of things. Instead, although he knows there will be great pain en route, he speaks about the joy-filled completion of his mission. He knows a death will come. But, he knows it will lead to a feast.

The question is, “Who will be at this great banquet of God?” Jesus’ answer (which is very unexpected): The humble. This will not be like the feasts with the values of fallen human beings who do what they do for their own benefit. This feast will demonstrate the values of God.

Jesus wants us to know that the long-awaited feast of God will not be the kind that most people think it will be. God’s great feast will be a feast made up of the humble.

“All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Then Jesus said to his host… "When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed are those who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God" (from Luke 14:11-15).

Jesus is calling all who will be in the feast, all who will be present when the kingdom of God’s fulfillment is celebrated, to be humble. The point of the story Jesus tells is to have us say, “I want to be there! I want to be in a world with no pain, no death, no sorrow, and no tears. A world filled with singing and great food and deep friendships… But, from the words of Jesus, it is clear that if we are proud, we will not be there. Jesus, in effect, tells a parable to declare, “Yes, the completion of the kingdom of God is going to be a great, great feast – like none we have ever seen. But… be warned: it will not be the kind of feast that most of us think it will be.”

As we begin Lent, I want us to examine our inner beings to see if we have humble hearts surrendered to the rule of God. Jesus’ story told on the way to open up that banquet to imperfect people, gives us several measures:

Measure #1: The Humility of Patience – to wait for God’s timing

"A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests “ (14:16).

Do you see that in Jesus’ story an invitation had been sent out early – and only later is the feast ready for guests to attend? So, when the first announcement comes that a great feast was someday going to take place, the invitees still had to wait in their current situations for a period time determined by the host and by the host alone.

I’ve led a number of tours to biblical lands in the past – and have been on university choir tours – and one of the hardest parts is that there is always at least one person who makes everyone wait. All of us who wait think it’s rude to have this one person make dozens of people wait. We think, “He/she is wasting my time! He/she is ruining my experience!”

But, I remember a time when I was one of 12 Christian college presidents invited to the White House to discuss faith-based initiatives for compassion or educational work. The invitation was from the president and was to be with the president – yes, of the USA! No one turned down the invitation. So, we were all waiting in a conference room when the president’s representative come in and said, “The president had been detained by an emergency call with the chiefs of state of our closest allies. But, he will come to be with us as soon as he can. I’ll tell you: We had to wait a long time for him to come in. But, believe it or not, not one of us seemed impatient or even frustrated. Deep down, we all knew that the president’s priorities were right. This call with these leaders was far, far more important than a few moments of our time. But, we had to be humble enough to accept that our time was not as important as that of the major chiefs of state in our world. When you think about it, it takes a certain kind of humility of heart to do this; i.e., to know that another person’s schedule is more important than mine!

Well, God has announced that his feast is open to all – to whosoever will trust in Jesus. But, in the midst of times of our own uncertainty and difficulty, we want all things to be made new right now!! Many of Jesus’ stories get at this point of our need to be humble enough to wait for God’s timing. Sometimes, Jesus would indicate, the whole matter of God’s kingdom will be like a small seed that takes time to grow. We may only get a small whiff of its scent – and small taste of the flavors of the banquet – right now. God will occasionally break into our lives and let us know he is at work and hasn’t forgotten us. But, be sure of this: The fullness of the banquet will come only in God’s time.

The lesson we must learn is to trust God’s timing. We won’t be completely healed and all will not be fully reconciled until it’s God’s time. All parents understand a measure of this. Maybe there’s a vacation you have planned as a family for a long time. You’re headed to Hawaii or to the mountains to ski. The family get into the car and within 15 minutes comes the question, “Are we there yet?” Then comes the crying. The parents say, “Trust us. It’s going to be great! But we still have a journey to make.” But the kids want to be there now!!

So, many of us know in our heads that Jesus is to be the Lord and that he’s told us to wait for his timing. And, perhaps we know he’s changed some things in our lives since we chose to follow him. But, still, we experience failures and problems. We may experience a little bit of his presence in a church service occasionally but still we feel pain or loneliness in our hearts. And we grow impatient. We ask, “Is this real? Maybe I should turn back. Why is there so much opposition?”

God says, “Have the faith and humility to wait for my time. I know what I’m doing. Wait and humble yourself to wait on my schedule.” Our first question on this Lenten journey:

“Am I humble enough to surrender my schedule to God and to wait upon him?”

Measure #2: The Humility of Grace – to receive a free gift with no personal acclaim

At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' (14:17).

I know that some people like to crash parties and try to pretend they actually are supposed to be at a party that they were not invited to. But, more often, when we get into a crowd where we feel like we don’t belong, we feel pretty uncomfortable. If we show up at a party of famous writers, highly acclaimed scientists, well-know actors, etc. and we haven’t accomplished anything to be there, most of us soon feel very, very awkward. Like George Costanza in many of the old Seinfeld episodes, you soon find yourself pretending you’re someone you’re not. We like to think we have earned our ways – that we belong on our own merits. It’s humbling to think we’re only in a place because of a mistake or because of someone’s pity.

We like to think that we have done something that makes us worthy of being at the feast. But, this feast of God is not a political campaign dinner where those who can pay the big fee can get in to hear the candidate. It’s not even a potluck where we can come if we bring a tuna casserole or the lime jello or the guacamole dip! No, in God’s time, he will say, “Come, everything is prepared! You can’t do anything to merit being here! It’s been prepared for you.”

This invitation to celebrate is a gift simply out of God’s mercy and grace – not of our merit. It’s a gift that has to be received humbly – not earned. This is a point that sets the Christian faith apart from other religions. And, it’s one reason we know this is not a religion a human being would have come up with. We always think about religion in terms of how good we have been, how many hours of meditation we have engaged in, how many acts of compassion we have engaged in… But, the Bible declares, “God made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions… It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:5-9).”

One one side, this is indeed a beautiful message. On the other, it takes humility to know we are dead to God on our own. We can do nothing to earn our ways to the feast. Our second question on our Lenten journey: Can you say? “Father, I do not deserve to be in your family. I have sinned as badly as anyone in this world. I know that if I will be at your banquet, it will only be by your mercy and grace.”

Measure #3: Humility of Humble Associations – to identify with God’s unexpected family

When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed… The owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' (14:13-14, 21)

When I read these verses, I think of the articles I see each year in the LA Times about the A-list parties after the Grammies and the Oscars. Everyone wants to be on the A-list. Some stars or musicians who do not get invited to the big parties and find themselves on the 2^nd tier parties speak as if they are offended. Of course, this “A-list” and B-list” designation has to do with our values. We all want to be seen with the famous, the fun, the people who bring us prestige, the most attractive… So, I wonder what we think of in our culture when we read Jesus talking like this.

We truly are being given an insight into God’s value system in this parable. It’s rooted in our study in Genesis 1, i.e., that all people are made in God’s image. That fact about us all is nothing we have earned. It is the awesome beauty with which all people have been created – by God. God sees all people as valuable. He loves the people of the world!

But the problem is that the more we move up in education or social status or in our careers, the more we will feel uncomfortable with this biblical truth. Jesus came to proclaim good news for all who believe in him. But, we sometimes subtly begin to ask, “Who is in that “all”? I have seen church people pull away from associations with those who have been known to fail – with the poor, the unpopular and the embarrassing.

Often in history, those who have come to Jesus have been among the poor, the needy and the outcast. All, of course, have had to acknowledge that we have sinned and need God’s mercy. Then, through the transforming power of Christ and the principles of Scripture (like the Proverbs), Christians sometimes have moved up in society. We receive better education and begin to be embarrassed by unsophisticated terms like “born again” and the message that we can do nothing to brag about before God. Other religions tell us we can engage in meditation or lives of almsgiving to become better people. But, the Christian message is so humbling! So, some have found this part of the message of Jesus unpalatable – or, at least, ignore this part of Scripture. We must always remember that it is only by grace that we are saved. And, one of our privileges is to humbly and gratefully invite others to the feast. “We are beggars telling other beggars where to find food.”

Do you know what always happens? We begin to think that all good religions tell us to do certain good things. We think, “Well, they’re all very similar, aren’t they.” “We Christians meditate like other religions.” “We can get in touch with our spiritual sides like other religions.” “We can care about poverty and injustice like other religions. Yes, we’re all the same.” But that kind of religion that centers on what we do doesn’t touch the poor. The churches that thrive in urban and poor areas in the US, in Africa, in Latin America, etc. are those that preach the Gospel that it is only by grace that we are saved and that we need to be born again through faith in Jesus. Why is this? It’s because Jesus told us not just to reach out and do things for others. We are to invite people into our family – we invite people to God’s banquet knowing that we don’t deserve to be there ourselves!

The Principle:

The closer we are to the power and prestige in a culture, the more likely we are to be put off by the Gospel of Jesus.

So, with this message of our need of grace, Jesus extends his reach through us to those in the streets. He tells us, “Take my invitation to where people are. Go, be with them. Invite them to come. Enter into my family with them. Invite the poor – the crippled – the blind. Invite those others may extend alms toward – but never invite to their parties.”

Our third question on our Lenten journey: Am I ready to be identified with a church family including those disrespected and ignored by people in the world?

Measure #4: Humility of Priority – to put nothing in God’s place

They all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come…'

I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' (14:18-20, 24)

Notice that the people who did not come to the banquet would have claimed to be believers. They did not reject the message. They had supposedly said yes to the invitation at one time but when it came to the time to obey the call, they made excuses.

What we see in verses 20-24 is the kind of things that has characterized “nominal Christians” in every part of the world and throughout time. People believe in God – say yes at some point – but this so-called faith is never allowed to disturb their normal lives. They add God to their own priorities but they will not let this faith disrupt their agendas and goals. Faith is only good for them when it furthers their own goals.

As he goes to the cross to die for our rescue, he is saying, “I must be your Lord. I am the king of this new kingdom. If my priorities make it hard to make as much money, you must do it my way. If my rule in your life and my values make your pool of potential marriage partners smaller, then you must follow me anyway….” Jesus declares, “I must come first. No other gods before me!”

And the warning is not vague is it? “Not one of those who were invited and put other things first will get a taste of my banquet.” Our fourth question on our journey:

Am I putting God into the first place in my life? Are his priorities my priorities?

And that brings us back to verse 11 and the great reversal of values that Jesus calls us to. It is “the upside down kingdom” in which:

All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (Luke 14:11)

On this first Sunday of Lent, I acknowledge that God’s Word calls me to examine myself to see if I have a humble heart. My prayer at the beginning of this Lenten journey is this. Lord, am I humble before you so that I:
*Wait for your timing
*Receive your grace
*Identify with your “unexpected family”
*Put you first in my life

Benediction:

May a dying Savior’s love,
A risen Savior’s power,
An ascended Savior’s prayer,
And a returning Savior’s glory,
Be with you all…now and forevermore.

To His Glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor