The Whole Armour of God and the Wiles of the Devil
TheParableOfTheGreatSupper – InvitationsExcusesAndUnexpectedGuests
The Parable Of The Great Supper – Luke_14.15-24 – Pastor Jack Hibbs
Thursday April 6th,
In the Year of Our Lord 2023.
The Parable of the Great Supper – Invitations, Excuses, and Unexpected Guests
The Parable of the Great Supper, as recorded in Luke 14.15-24, tells the story of a man who gave a big dinner and invited many guests. However, when the time came for the dinner, those who were invited began to make excuses, and the master of the house had to look for other guests to fill his table. This parable carries important lessons about invitations, excuses, and the unexpected guests who are welcomed into the kingdom of God.
In the parable, the first set of guests who were invited to the great supper made excuses to decline the invitation. One had purchased a field and needed to go and look at it, another had bought oxen and wanted to try them out, and yet another had taken a wife and could not come. These excuses may seem legitimate on the surface, but they reveal a lack of priority and commitment to the invitation. The guests were preoccupied with their worldly affairs and did not value the opportunity to dine with the master of the house.
How often do we also make excuses when God invites us to His table? We may be too busy with our careers, personal pursuits, or worldly pleasures to prioritize our relationship with God. We may come up with various reasons to delay or decline His invitation to fellowship with Him, just like the guests in the parable. But God’s invitation is a great honor and privilege that should take precedence over anything else in our lives. It is a call to a relationship with our Creator, a time of communion with the King of kings.
However, the master of the house in the parable did not give up when his initial guests declined the invitation. Instead, he instructed his servant to go out into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, the disabled, the blind, and the limping to fill his table. These unexpected guests represent the marginalized, the overlooked, and the outcasts of society. They were not originally invited to the great supper, but they were welcomed with open arms when the initial guests rejected the invitation.
This aspect of the parable carries a powerful message about God’s inclusive and compassionate nature. God’s invitation to His kingdom is not limited to a select few or a specific group of people. It is open to all, regardless of their social status, background, or condition. God’s grace is available to everyone, and He desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance and receive His salvation (2 Peter 3.9). He welcomes the poor, the broken, the lost, and the hurting with open arms, ready to bestow His love, forgiveness, and blessings upon them.
Furthermore, when the servant reported to the master that there was still room at the table even after bringing in the unexpected guests, the master instructed him to go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in. This signifies the urgency and persistence with which God invites people to His kingdom. He does not give up on anyone, and His grace pursues us relentlessly, even when we may initially reject or neglect His invitation. He goes to the highways and byways, reaching out to the lost and the wandering, and urging them to come to Him and partake of His abundant blessings.
On the other hand, the parable also reveals the consequences of rejecting God’s invitation. The initial guests who made excuses and declined the invitation missed out on the great supper. The master declared that none of those men who were invited would taste his dinner. This serves as a sobering reminder that there are consequences for disregarding God’s invitation to His kingdom. Salvation and eternal life are offered to us as a gift, but we need to respond. TheWholeArmourOfGod.org
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Luke 14.15-24 NASB
15 Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Parable of the Dinner
16 But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ 18 And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; please consider me excused.’ 19 And another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ 20 And another one said, ‘I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 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 those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.’ 22 And later the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.’” New American Standard Bible
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The Whole Armour of God and the Wiles of the Devil
TheParableOfTheGreatSupper – InvitationsExcusesAndUnexpectedGuests
The Parable Of The Great Supper – Luke_14.15-24 – Pastor Jack Hibbs
