078 Stories of the Kingdom: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

It happened at a dinner party. Jesus’ critics tried to lay a trap for Him, but Jesus turned the tables on them. How? He told them a story. 

A man planned a banquet and sent out the invitations. RSVPs came in and preparations were made. On the appointed day, once everything was ready, the man sent his servants to each of his guests saying: “Come! The party’s ready to start.” But one by one each guest offered a lame excuse. Jesus’ audience would have laughed at the reasons given for why they couldn’t attend. They were ridiculous, and the height of rudeness. 

When the host heard the excuses he told his servants, “Go bring in the poor and the lame and the blind and bring them to my party. Go to the highways and the byways and bring people in. I want my table to be full.”

There’s a lot of symbolism here that would have been readily understood by Jesus’ audience. The master of the banquet obviously stands for God. And the guests who were originally invited were the Jews – God’s “chosen people.”  

The point Jesus is making is this:  Throughout history, you people (He was speaking mostly to the religious elite here) have been looking forward to the day when the Kingdom would break in, and yet, now that it finally has, you have all sorts of reasons why you don’t want to commit.

Why would that be?  For one thing, Jesus didn’t fulfill their expectations of a conquering hero leading them to triumphant victory.  Rather, He took the form of a servant and He was calling them to be servants as well. 

Moreover, He seemed to be predisposed toward those who they’d tried to stay away from - the broken, the sick, the stained, and the marginalized. The idea that these were the people not only to be reached out to but actually prioritized messed up their privileged way of thinking.  

So now, when told “all is ready,” the reply from all too many was, “Sorry, but I’m not interested.” 

So how might we summarize this and apply it to our day?  

1.  GOD INVITES US TO A GREAT BANQUET. 

For some, all you’ve had is a view of God as a mean tyrant or an aloof, impersonal force.  Others have known nothing but dry religion – where you have to keep the rules and jump through the hoops.  

But here God says, “Come, all things are ready.”  How could that be?  Because Jesus paid for your invitation with His life. He made it possible for you to be invited to the banquet. 

But...
 
 2. GOD’S INVITATION CAN BE REFUSED.
In Jesus’ parable, the excuses came down to three things: 

-       the preoccupation with business

-       the distraction of things

-       the affection for another

Each person has to decide whether they will accept the invitation or opt for life outside the banquet hall.

3. GOD IS ANGERED WITH OUR EXCUSES.

We don’t like to think about the anger of God. Yet this parable tells us quite clearly how God feels about our excuses for rejecting his wonderful and costly offer. 

Finally…

4.  GOD ASKS US TO INVITE IN THE LEAST, THE LAST, AND THE LOST.

While the master gives the invitation, it’s up to the servants to share the word.  The master longs for the house to be full, for all the seats around the table to be taken.  And He wants those who are in your sphere of influence to know that there is a place for them.  

Text: Luke 14:1-27

Originally recorded June 21, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.