On Line Bible Study - For the Week February 28-March 6, 2011

Lesson 482

Luke 14: ¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At 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 compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

We concluded the previous lesson with the warning to think and pray before choosing your seat at the table. For this lesson the warning might more aptly be: Whatever you do, make sure you GET to the table!

We have to recall the previous verses in order to understand Luke 14:15 .... It reads like this: Luke 14: ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

"Blessed is the one [are those] who eat at this banquet" - Indeed! The reference is to the banquet that takes place when God's people are vindicated. Darrell Bock suggests that the person making this comment assumes he is going to be present at the table. This inspires Jesus to share the parable that follows.

While this parable in Luke runs a parallel course with the story in Matthew 22:1-14, there are some differences between the two. Luke tells us one servant is sent to let the guests know the meal is ready. In Matthew, many servants are charged with the task. Is Jesus the 'servant' in Luke?

What about the nature of the excuses for not attending? Bock suggests the reasons for not attending the banquet were every bit as unsubstantial then as they sound today.

Notice how much time the master spends lamenting the fact that the invited guests have chosen not to attend ... He is angry; but he does not beg anyone to come. Instead, he re-writes the guest list.

I heard a sermon once the theme of which has stayed with me. The title of the message was: "If You Don't, Somebody Else Will". The theme is obvious. Taking one biblical character after another the preacher pointed out that God's purposes will be carried out - either by us, or by someone else.

It was amazing for First Century Jewish folk to hear and have to consider that the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame would get an invitation to this gathering. Their very status rendered them unclean. As the story comes to a conclusion it's important to remember: Those who didn't come, didn't come by their own choice.

Are we choosing the banquet? Or has the invitation to receive all that God wants for us been displaced by all the other important things in life?