Daily Bread Luke 14
Daily Bread Luke 14
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
18"But 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.'
19"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
20"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
21"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then 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.'
22" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
23"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
Observation:
Whenever one goes to great lengths to prepare a party making sure it will be a good time for everybody, the last thing they would want would be for nobody to show up. Hence when we send out invitations we usually ask for people to RSVP, so we will know who is going to show up.
As Jesus taught on what the kingdom of God was like, he used this parable of the Great Banquet to illustrate God’s desire for His heavenly banquet hall to be full. Although all those who gave excuses seemed to have legitimate reasons for not coming, they didn’t realize the magnitude of what they were rejecting.
The Master told his servant to go out and “compel” others to come so that His house would be full.
Application:
As we preach the Good News to people there will be those who will have excuses as to why they don’t have time for it. But our calling is to go and make disciples of all nations. We are called to invite people to follow Christ, but if people are not interested we should extend the invitation to others.
As we preach and share our faith there should be an urgency in our effort. Although we can’t make anyone become a Christian, I think we can present a compelling case for the Great Banquet that has been prepared for those who are open to an invite. And in the story this urgency is accented by a willingness to go outside of the crowd we might normally hang out with to find those willing to attend the feast.
It seems as though the Master is not as worried about who say “yes”, as he giving everybody an opportunity to attend.
Prayer: God you have prepared a banquet in heaven for those who hear your call and are willing to drop what they are doing to follow you. May we be faithful send out the invites and compel people to attend. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
18"But 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.'
19"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
20"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
21"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then 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.'
22" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
23"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
Observation:
Whenever one goes to great lengths to prepare a party making sure it will be a good time for everybody, the last thing they would want would be for nobody to show up. Hence when we send out invitations we usually ask for people to RSVP, so we will know who is going to show up.
As Jesus taught on what the kingdom of God was like, he used this parable of the Great Banquet to illustrate God’s desire for His heavenly banquet hall to be full. Although all those who gave excuses seemed to have legitimate reasons for not coming, they didn’t realize the magnitude of what they were rejecting.
The Master told his servant to go out and “compel” others to come so that His house would be full.
Application:
As we preach the Good News to people there will be those who will have excuses as to why they don’t have time for it. But our calling is to go and make disciples of all nations. We are called to invite people to follow Christ, but if people are not interested we should extend the invitation to others.
As we preach and share our faith there should be an urgency in our effort. Although we can’t make anyone become a Christian, I think we can present a compelling case for the Great Banquet that has been prepared for those who are open to an invite. And in the story this urgency is accented by a willingness to go outside of the crowd we might normally hang out with to find those willing to attend the feast.
It seems as though the Master is not as worried about who say “yes”, as he giving everybody an opportunity to attend.
Prayer: God you have prepared a banquet in heaven for those who hear your call and are willing to drop what they are doing to follow you. May we be faithful send out the invites and compel people to attend. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment