The Parable Of The Great Wedding Feast - Mike Criswell

It's great to see you tonight, appreciate your presence again

and I know probably by this time you're getting, maybe a little

bit tired, maybe a little bit tired of me, I don't know, but

I'm glad you're here tonight. And if you're a visitor at this

place, I want you to know that you are a very honored guests,

we appreciate the energy and the time that you have taken to be

here tonight. A lot of places you could be and

of course, you can even be at home with your feet, propped up.

But you have chosen to come here either because of an invitation

or because you just want to hear Or something more about the

Bible. And I personally and I know the

congregation here appreciates that very much as well, you

know, really, there's nothing more important than we can do

than to get together and study God's word together.

You know, we live in a busy life.

We are very fast paced in our culture.

Maybe that's one of the reasons I like to go to other places

like Africa, where things are? You know, slower.

In fact, you know, when you go for example, to Tanzania many of

you probably years ago, or at least you kids saw The Lion King

and there was a phrase in that Lion, King movie called Hakuna

Matata, and that just means no worries.

Well, that's salt Swahili for no.

Where's and that's a phrase, you'll hear a lot in Tanzania

and if it doesn't get done today, well, it might get done

tomorrow, if not, we'll get it done next week.

Well you know that's not the way we live in our Western culture

and of course, we're harried and were hurried and where, you

know, very tired, a lot of the times, but you've chosen tonight

to be here and to worship and to see Seeing and of course, to

study God's word. You know what to do something a

little different tonight. I want us to look at one of The

Parables that Jesus taught. You know, Jesus was a masterful

Storyteller. In fact, many of the things that

Jesus had to say, well, there are commands and there are other

Ark. There are other styles of

teaching Jesus did the best. It seems when he talked about

things in Parables. Now, what's a parable?

But before we look at the parable tonight, let me just

talk to you a little bit about what it is, a parable.

Is a story and literally the word means to lay alongside like

you might lay, for example, a measuring stick along.

Something else in order to kind of get a feel for the size of

that thing. Well, a parable is a story that

you lay alongside a spiritual truth and that story while it is

a physical story illustrates that spiritual truth and

parables are a wonderful tool for teaching.

They are a wonderful thing because They're usually easy to

remember. They usually have something

within them, that maybe grabs your attention, there have

something within them that usually you're familiar with and

so, they're easy to remember and then take away and kind of chew

on as you go throughout the next few days.

And, of course, Jesus understood that, you know, for example,

when Jesus came, he came to Common People, he came to this,

the working-class folks out in the country of Judea and

Galilee, of course, where he based his ministry.

So he would use things in their environment, so that they could

then get a grasp on something that they had never seen.

And that is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus was inaugurating something that only the prophets had

foretold and promise in the future.

And now, Jesus was bringing about the kingdom.

He was bringing about the reign of God to the people.

And so he wanted them to understand it and it was going

to take some time for even his Apostles to grasp, the deeper

nuances of Of what the kingdom or the reign of God was all

about. And so he taught stories, he

taught Hillary told stories. He told, you know, illustrations

that came from things right around the people of that day.

For example, one of the greatest and most famous Parables that

Jesus teaches is the parable of the sower, you know, the sword

went out into a field and he cast his seed by hand and some

of that seed fell upon good ground and some fell upon, not

so good ground and Jesus illustrates you know, the

various Types of soils that, that are out there and he

Compares it to the various types of hearts that people have.

When they hear the gospel, sometimes we preach the gospel

and there are good solid Hearts. Honest hearts that take the word

and it's like seed and it grows in their life.

Others of course just kind of brush it away.

So Jesus tells stories for example, like the story of the

parable of parable of the sower, rather.

Well tonight I want us to look at the parable of the great

wedding. Feast and this is found in Luke

the 14th chapter and it's really an incredible story because in

my view it's almost a funny story.

No, I don't mean that in the sense of a joke are in the sense

of you know haha funny but there's an irony that Jesus sort

of puts into the story as we see the story unfolding and just to

kind of give you a thumbnail sketch of what the story is All

About. It's about a rich man.

Who probably was a king. Who throws a great dinner party

and he invites several people all of his friends and probably

the village to his dinner party. And then when the dinner party

time arrives, he sends out his servants to bring them in and

they began to make excuses. Now, before we begin to look at

this, Parable in depth, I want us to consider it at least from

this angle tonight. You know, Jesus is teaching

about the kingdom of heaven. And ultimately, I think he's

teaching about himself and him come Aiming to the world.

And of course, he came as the master, if you will of the

banquet, the kingdom was being offered and people refuse to it.

And so I think we can apply of course, that Parable certainly

to those terms because Jesus was talking to people of his day,

especially the religious leaders who really denied him and they

had been given as it were the first seats at the great

banquet, but they refused to come to the party.

But, you know, I want us to think about it more in a

personal level tonight because, you know, Tonight, both in the

church and if you're not a member of the board's body, the

same goes for you. We have been extended or given

an invitation to literally be with Jesus.

We have been given the invitation to as it were Feast

from his great table. You know, the Jews always wanted

a feast at the Messianic banquet.

They thought it was going to be a physical banquet, by the way,

but yet, of course, we know it's a spiritual banquet, but

nonetheless, you know, the Jews of Jesus day and then go.

In all the way back, even to the Old Testament.

Wanted this great feast that the Messiah was going to bring where

they could sit with the Messiah, the Redeemer and truly have, you

know, one-on-one relationships with this individual.

In fact, probably that's what is being talked about.

In Psalm 23 where it says you prepare a table before me in the

presence of mine enemies. You know, the Jews love to think

that when the Messiah came, they were going to be right there.

Eating at the feast, the literal feast and the Gentiles were

going to be sort of looking in the windows wishing.

They had some of that food. Well, the point is, this Jesus

did bring a great feast and he brought a spiritual feast.

And today we have the opportunity to sit at the table

of Jesus. Now, I don't mean the Lord's

table necessarily as we talked on some boards, they morning,

although that would be included but we have the opportunity to

enjoy the nourishment. That comes from God's word that

comes from the life of Jesus that comes from having our sins

washed away in baptism by his blood that It is applied to us

at that point. We have all of these blessings

and the way I want us to look at this, Parable tonight is to

think about maybe how much we appreciate that or do not

appreciate that. Because sometimes, you know, we

have all of these blessings literally at our fingertips and

yet we make excuses so that we don't have the responsibility of

actually being there with Jesus, I think on some level, you know,

we want to be with Jesus, but it will comes right down to it

other things. Perhaps are more important.

And, you know, I'm not here to get on the soapbox about

anything special tonight, but we all have things that distract Us

in life. You know, maybe it's our job or

maybe it's our family or friends, or whatever the case

is. You know, we all have things

that distract us and Jesus of course demands.

That he's first Jesus demands that he's first.

Now there are a lot of really good things that we do in life

but and that's fine. Providing we don't forget the

best thing and that is following.

Jesus Christ, Jesus doesn't want anything to be above him and so

everything we do in life, we should think of it in terms of

Jesus first. How would this how is this going

to react? Or how is this going to affect

my relationship with Jesus? In fact, what we'll see tonight

is that Jesus as he tells this Parable he basically breaks it

down these three excuses into things that steel impact our

lives. Today, we're going to see a

stuff excuse, or a real estate. Excuse, we're going to see a

work excuse, and we're going to see a relationship excuse now.

You know, everything in our lives, typically would fall in

one of those categories. We have a lot of stuff sometimes

or Goods, or real estate, or whatever it is, they keep us,

you know, from totally giving our lives to Jesus.

Or maybe we have work-related obligations that, keep us from

giving our lives, totally to Jesus, or we have relationships

that keep us from giving our lives, totally to Jesus.

And so, So, Jesus is going to build off of those three main

areas in people's lives. He Jesus knew people really

well. And even the people of his day,

struggled, No Doubt with those very same areas as they wanted

to follow Jesus. You know, sometimes Jesus would

talk to people who would say, you know, I am ready to follow

you, you remember the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus and he

says, Lord, you know, I want to follow you but you know you know

what I need to do, and Jesus, you remember that conversation?

Ultimately says, you know. So what you Have and follow me

and and the man wouldn't do it. Another man came to Jesus on one

occasion, I said, Lord, you know, I want to follow you, I

want to be your disciple, but let me go back and settle up

some home Affairs first. Let me bury my father and then

I'll come and I'll give my all to you.

And Jesus has that phrase that almost May at times seem a

little cold Until you realize what he's saying, and he said,

let the dead bury the dead. In other words, let the people

who aren't interested in me, take care of things that don't

have anything to do with me and you come and you totally

dedicate your life to me. And so, of course, being, you

know, totally engaged with Jesus as hard.

It is difficult. And of course, for the religious

leaders of Jesus day, even to put it back in the context of

that first century. Jesus came and he literally

offered the Jewish leaders, you know, everything they could have

ever wanted, the Messianic banquet was right there and yet

they refuse to accept him. So no matter how we interpret

the Tonight, in its original context, we don't ever want to

take a passage out of context but there is an application for

us tonight. And that's where I want to go

with this. I want us to think about our own

relationship with Jesus. I want us to think about our own

relationship with God. I want us to think about our own

relationship with the church and see if maybe we can improve our

relationship by keeping these three areas in a better

perspective. Now, the context of Luke 14 is

Jesus has been at a wedding Feast.

He's been there and he's apparently given instruction

about what to do when you're at a wedding feast.

In other words, don't be greedy to have the best seat and he

goes down through here and gives various, you know, items of

decorum and ettiquette. But then on down in verse 15, he

begins to get into this. Parable of Luke chapter 14, it

Luke 14 · chapter mention

says that when one of those who sat at the table with him, heard

these things he said to him blessed is he whose Eat bread in

the kingdom of God. Now, by the way, Jesus was often

invited feasts. He was often invited to dinner

parties. In fact, right after he called

Matthew Matthew through a huge dinner party for Jesus.

And of course, sometimes that brought down the, you know, the

little bit of the criticism on Jesus that, you know, he was

some kind of a party person, but Jesus enjoyed good company, he

even Joy. Even apparently enjoyed it

times. Those who needed him the most,

but nonetheless Jesus was Often at a dinner, we find him in the

scriptures and it almost seems that the people wanted him there

because they could quiz him, he was sort of like dinner

entertainment. And then of course, you never

knew what Jesus was going to say.

He was always going to teach something and that seems to be

the case here. Well somewhat blurts out, and

obviously he has this Kingdom Concept in mind.

This better banquet this Messianic banquet that they

thought was literal in mind. When he says blessed is the one

who eats bread and the kingdom of God.

You see he had it messed. But there is an element of Truth

to that. Well then Jesus Takes that he

takes that kernel of Truth and he builds on it.

And by the way, while we're not talking about evangelism today

in our lesson, you know, that's really what we've got to do, as

well as Christians we bought a, you know, grab those little

opportunities, those little phrases, those little statements

and little conversations that we have with folks that give us

that little door in order to talk to them about our faith.

And, of course, it's a great way to do that when they have.

Have opened the door. We can enter that door.

Well, Jesus has had the door open when it comes to the

kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God.

And so Jesus is just going to take that opportunity.

So then Jesus says that he said to him a certain man gave a

great supper and invited many. Now again a parable is not going

to give us every detail that we would like there are sometimes

details even in a parable that are sort of in the backdrop

there just to set the scene. But I imagined when I About

this. Parable when it says a great man

gave a great supper, I'm thinking he's probably he, I'm

thinking probably, you know, he's a king or at least a great

landowner over, maybe a great part of the country in which he

lives. Maybe he lives up on a hill way

up there and they he's got a mansion a palace that you know

the little commoners down here in the little huts look up to

and they have never even imagined that they would ever be

up there. And of course you know they have

wondered what people in. In that status live like you

know we do the same today sometimes we like to drive

through real expensive neighborhoods and we just wonder

what the other half lives like you know, do they do they really

have you know the same problems that we do.

Well, here's a great man, no doubt.

Very respected in the community. No doubt one whom everyone knew

and he's going to throw this incredible great.

Supper probably a wedding Feast is what I'm guessing because the

context of chapter 14 is Decorum and a wedding feast and so, he's

going to throw this great supper.

Now he's going to do everything to prepare for that supper, you

know, think about, even when we have weddings today, how much

trouble we go to, and how much expense?

In fact, it's almost gotten ridiculous.

It's almost gotten to the point that we can't afford, you know,

to do what we are expected to do in our culture, you know, some

30 years ago when I lived in New York, there were, there were

clubs. Literally that people would get

together and commiserate with one another because they didn't

have the Money to give their kids some huge wedding because

it was expected out there in that North Eastern culture.

We, you know, today we like to have the Big Show.

We like to have the big party. Well, this man had the money to

do it and so he's going to have this huge supper.

Now, what's he going to do? Well, let's just read back in

thinking of, you know, maybe what we know of other passages

and things. You know, when I think of this,

I think of Luke 15, you remember when the prodigal son comes home

and, you know, he's been away in a far country.

For a long time and the father sees him and so happy.

And he puts the the robe on him and he puts the ring on his

finger and he kills the fatted. Calf.

That's probably what's going on here.

Now, the fatted calf was, you know, a calf that they kept up

just for a special occasion. You know, some of you have been

raised on the farm and maybe you fat out of be for side of beef

or a cow or two, you know what I'm talking about?

You know, you fatten it up and it's there and it's going to be

the best meat. Eat ever.

And so you're preparing this calf just for the perfect

occasion, or maybe it's a sheep, or maybe to go back in this

period of time, but everything's got to be just perfect.

And of course, you're going to send your servants out and

they're going to bring in the finest fruits and vegetables.

For the feast you're going to have your servants and your

staff, cook it in just the right way.

You know Abraham, for example in the Old Testament was a very

hospitable man. Remember when those angels

appeared to Abraham? And of course he, you know, has

his servants killed they The other sheep and he has them

bite, special bread. You just put on the show, you

put you bring it all out because you want your guests to feel

honored Hospitality was huge in the Oriental culture.

And so we can imagine the wealth of this man.

He is going to do everything. Everything is going to be just

perfect. Now, not only that, but he's

going to send out invitations. Now in the next couple of

verses, we're going to find out that he's going to tell people.

Hey the supper Is ready. But now there's a lot of

preparation for this man, no doubt.

And even for us, when we have great events, you know,

sometimes I go through my mail and I get a lot of, you know,

invitations to things and sometimes you'll get out the

little card out of the envelope. And it had the baby out of young

couples picture on it and it will say save the date.

You know, that's sort of a pre invitation.

It's sort of one of those things that says you have been selected

to be good enough to get an invitation later.

You see, it's not an invitation. Not really, it's a premium, the

tation and then later on, you'll get the invitation, where it

tells you, where the register that way you get the by gift.

You see, so really the dinners, not free.

You get to pay for it in another way.

That's okay. We kind of expect that but

anyway, it's a lot of lead up to the actual event.

That's the way it was in Jesus day.

They would send out an invitation maybe one or two.

The whole village would know what's going on on the mountain

up there, in that great house that day.

And so it was a day Day that everyone who even thought they

might be invited had cleared on their calendar.

They didn't want anything. If you were anybody, you wanted

to be there and you did not want your calendar be cluttered for

that day. Well, the day arrives, it's a

great day. Everyone is in anticipation of

this, tremendous, Feast those who again, were going to be

invited, are going to be up there.

In the little people are going to be looking on.

Say, I wish I was one of them, I wish I could sit at that Kings

Table. And taste that food and that

stuff that he's serving, it would be so good.

Well, at supper time, he sends his servant for 17 and they say

to those who were invited come for all things are now ready.

They have anticipated this. There have been much work put

into it and now it's ready. Now, in the context of Jesus

day, you know, we can think about the Jewish Nation.

You know what? Jesus came all things were

ready. In fact, John was the final

call. You will, for the Messianic

banquet and, you know, the prophets had come in the Old

Testament said he was the Messiah coming, you know, and

it's going to be a wonderful time when you can, you know, be

with the one who can actually save you from your sins.

And yet when the invitation was finally given, they offered

excuses as it were, they rejected him so much.

So that at the end, he ended up on a cross.

But now, the invitation Goes Forth and says all things are

ready now. I want to say to us tonight.

All things are still ready, you know, even though Jesus has come

and died and risen and ascended, 2,000 years ago, the preparation

for that Feast is still right now.

We are right again available already or you know, we have the

ability rather, do you actually sit down at that table?

And so as we go through these little excuses, think about your

life and I'll think about my life and will say are we taking

advantage of what Jesus is off? It or maybe you've already been

baptized. Maybe you're already a member of

Lauren's body. You know, we can steal and up

offering excuses for not getting into a deeper loving

relationship with the Lord and we can use the same excuses so

now the invitations out so what happens well in verse 8 it says

or 18 but they all with one Accord began to make excuses.

Now you know I think there's a difference between an excuse and

a reason you know, reason is something typically that Is

beyond our control. What we're going to see is that

these truly works uses because these individuals could have

made changes in their life, that would have allowed them to be

there at that. Great feast, they just chose not

to. And I think, you know, God

understands reasons things beyond our control, but I

believe that God is very, very intolerant of excuses.

Well, what's the excuse? Well, let's notice again the

laughs ability of these excuses. The first said to him, I bought

a piece of ground and I must go and see it.

I asked you to have me excused. They you think?

Well, that's pretty good. He made an investment.

Sure needs to go see it. Well, had he seen it before he

bought it hadn. T seen it before he bought it

and apparently not. And you know, if as most

parties, are we have evening coming on?

Why would he go at night and want to look over this land?

You know, it's one of those things that's almost laughable.

Shows the foolishness of the man who's making the excuse in that

he has invested all of this money and time into this stuff

into this real estate when he doesn't even really understand

its true value now. You know, we do the same today,

you know, we invest a lot of money into things that really

ultimately have no value. Now, sure, we have real estate,

we have stuff in our possession. Sure.

We have baggage as we carry through life but the spiritual

baggage is really what I'm talking about you.

No. Sometimes we have things that we

love more than Jesus and because we have things or stuff in our

life, where reticent were hesitant to give those things up

and follow Jesus and give our all to him, you know, maybe

against the job or maybe it's, you know, it's a house or

whatever the case is and and we hold on tightly to our stuff.

Now, there's nothing wrong with having stuff, we all have

stopped and in every dispensation of time people had

Bad stuff. But stuff must never come

between us and the Lord. You know, I like the philosophy

of using our stuff are at least thinking about our stuff only in

relationship to how we can use it for the Lord.

You know, I've noticed folks that have stuff like nice

houses, they won't even have anybody over.

They won't have a church group over because they might spill

something on their carpet. Well, I don't want to be too

critical. I don't like this bill things

either, but, you know, we need to use our stuff.

For Jesus. And so it's not that these folks

couldn't have had their land, but they needed to put this

relationship with this great Master first.

And so, they said, I bought a piece of ground.

I need to go see it. I pray have me excused.

What about the second man? Well, another said I have bought

five, yoke of oxen and I'm going to test them.

I asked you to have me excused now.

This is laughable as well because here we have the

work-related excuse. Now, you Go back in that day and

in the Old Testament in general, you know, the oxen was sort of

like the farm all or the John Deere tractor.

It was your means of tilling, the soil and getting work done,

and of course it was. So important that even the Old

Testament, the Old Law had various rules about how you take

care of your oxen. For example, you couldn't muzzle

the ox. That was treading out the grain

or grinding the grain. You had to allow that Ops to

reach over and eat a little bit as Work God cared for oxen.

Also, if the auctions in the ditch, you had the ability of

the right to pull it out or, you know, maybe The Oxen because

they work so hard, God gave laws and he did about how you had to

Pare oxen, with equal oxen, you couldn't pair two different

animals together. In other words, God cared about

ox, and so, nothing wrong with owning oxen nothing on a wrong

with owning this all important, necessity for farming.

But now notice what he's done, he's butting five yoke of oxen,

I would take a joke being too, so he's bought 10 beasts of work

here. And then, he says, I want to go

test them. Why wouldn't you test them

before you bought them? Now again, I guess we could get

technical and and say, well, you know, maybe there's a reason for

this but just on the surface, it seems rather silly, you know,

would you go out and buy a, you know, a 60 thousand dollar truck

and not drive it, would you go out and buy?

Two hundred thousand dollar tractor and not drive it.

First that seems ludicrous to me and yet that seems to be the

case here. So I think there's a little

humor, a little irony that Jesus sort of fits in.

But you know, again the issue is putting things first that should

go first, you know, it's nothing wrong with having a job.

There are Necessities nothing wrong with having the tools that

that we need to have to complete, you know, the task of

making a living for our family. But but that should never come

between us and the Lord. The Lord must come first and you

know the invitation of being close to Jesus must always take

precedent over the invitation or the Temptation really to spend

more time with things that have no Eternal value.

Well what about the third guy? Well the third one still another

said I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.

Now we could you know, sort of think about this.

I don't want to read too much into a parabola, Parable usually

is a story with a major thrust. It doesn't have, you know,

something that we just need to overanalyze.

But think about this, if this is a wedding Feast that's being

thrown up there or if it's just even a big feast in the town, no

matter what it is. You know, why would a man?

Marry a wife at this very Time, same time, you know, this party

had been advertised forever for a long time.

So why would this man have scheduled his wedding during the

time of this? Party.

That would be taken away the glory from the bride, you know,

in reality during a wedding, it's the bride's day.

She wants the focus upon her and rightly so.

But here's a man who has apparently entered in some

nuptials at some point in time, when all this other stuff was

going on. And he says, you know, in

reality my relationship with my wife is more important than

coming to this great feast and so, obviously, he is

discrediting not only this great man upon the hill, but Also

discrediting is why now the point is relationship here and

we do that ourselves. If we're not careful, many

times, Jesus is calling for us to do things and his service,

put him first. Read his word, dedicate our

lives in prayer, you fill in the blank and we are more interested

in being with friends or family or have relationships with the

world than we are and being with Jesus.

And of course, those are excuses.

So those same things that plagued the I love Jesus day

plague us as well. Well, the servant has made the

rounds. Now, he has talked to all the

folks in question and excuse after excuse, after excuse.

So he goes back verse 21. So that servant came and

reported these things to the master.

Then the master of the house being angry, said to his

servant, go out quickly into the streets and Lanes of the city

and bring in the poor and the maned and the lame and the

blind. Now contextually there may be

Some indication here are some application to the Gentiles.

You know, Jesus came to the Jewish people, they rejected him

and of course the gospel was preached but it didn't go to

waste. The gospel was preached and

later. The Gentiles really were the

ones who really composed the church and so that may be behind

some of the story as well, but the point is for us today.

Anyway, would be that, you know, sometimes if I can illustrate it

this way and again, I don't want to stretch the pair Ville too

far in the wrong direction. But you know sometimes those of

us who should appreciate God, the most appreciate him the

least and those who would think would appreciate God the least

end up appreciating God the most what I mean by that.

Well you know many times in the church you know maybe we've been

raised in the church. Maybe we have grown up with

Godly Parents and grandparents and maybe you know the lineage

of being in the church goes way back generations.

And so we sort of grow up taking things.

Granted and, you know, we really are.

Faith is our faith, but it's kind of not our faith because it

was passed on to us, you know, sometimes we just take it for

granted, you know, we don't realize how much of a blessing

it is to even come to worship while in other countries.

People are literally risking their lives to even hear the

teaching of the word and so we don't realize it.

We just, you know, just kind of, you know, just go through our

lives. Come to services three times a

week or two times a week or maybe someone a week and we

don't Not realize how much of a blessing and privilege it is to

actually have a personal faith in Jesus and be able to be close

to him. Now, once in awhile, you and

advise them of the services. Maybe they've got a whole

boatload of problems and maybe, you know, you're able to convert

them and they see the error of their past life and they change.

And, you know, sometimes you'll see folks who just Blossom now.

Sometimes, you know there's always this attrition rate but

you know, folks who I think coming from the world, having

lived in sin, sometimes probably appreciate the blessings of the

Messianic banquet or the church more than maybe we do, because

they don't take it quite so for granted, you know, Willie, when

you think about it, a lot of times to in the church we want

people like us you know kind of got everything worked out, you

know, social middle class economically, you know sort of

Savvy you know but in Jesus day was the poor Have the gospel

preached to them. It was a challenge.

But anyway, in this case, Jesus teaches that this make Banquets

not going to go to waste the foods prepared.

And so the servant goes out into the most difficult parts of the

city out under the hedges. He brings in the poor and the

maimed, the lame and the blind. You know, we don't understand

that today in this culture because we have all these safety

nets. But now if you go overseas and

you see Beggars on the street, you see people without limbs.

They literally are starving to death and it was even worse.

Back in Jesus day, these are the dregs of society.

These are people that normally you don't want to associate

with. Well, that's who now are invited

into this, great feast. And the point here is that, you

know, God is gracious. God's the one throwing the

feast? And no one has stooped lower

than God can reach to pick them up.

No one is so low, that God will not take them and make Something

of them if they're willing to come.

And so that's what happens. They begin to call these folks.

They come to the feast verse 22. The servants had Mastery.

It's done as you commanded and still there's room and then he

said to the servant go out into the highways and hedges and

compel them to come in to come in that.

My house may be filled, you know, God didn't send Jesus.

And Jesus didn't die. So that church pews could be

empty, he died so that we might spread the gospel, he died so

that we might wear the gospel on our sleeves.

So to speak and invite others to enjoy the blessings that we

enjoy. But first of all we got to

appreciate those lessons are self.

You see these three have been up here that made the excuse.

I'm convinced they didn't really appreciate the relationship.

They could have had with the master.

They didn't really appreciate the good things that the master,

Add in store for them. And so they didn't take

advantage of it. Well, Jesus, then concludes this

Parable and verse 24. And he says, again, the man

speaking that has thrown the feast he is ask now just felt my

house with, with people who need what I have to offer and he's

just for, I say unto you, that none of those men who were

invited shall taste my supper, that was Jesus talking to the

religious leaders to this point, or maybe the Jewish folks who

had rejected him maybe. And of So I think that's a

possibility that is very good but nonetheless there's an

application for us, you know, again, sometimes we don't

appreciate and God you know, God won't Force us into his kingdom.

He won't pull out the chair for us and make us sit down around

his table, it's there, but we have to take the invitation and

be willing to accept it. Well, there's so much we could

learn from. I think The Parables of Jesus

and you know when you boil it all down, The Parables of Jesus,

Primarily go about the kingdom and what that means is the reign

of God in our life. Yes.

It's about the church. Yes, it's about, you know, Jesus

coming to the Jews and then the Gentiles but you know, when you

talk about the kingdom concept, you don't want to forget that.

It's about the reign of Jesus in our hearts, you know, Jesus

wants to sit on the throne of our hearts and you know, that's

really what the kingdom is all about.

It's really what the church is all about.

When it's all said and done. And Jesus has provided, this

great Messianic banquet, he's even died so that we might be

able Able to sit at his feet. But we have to be willing to

accept the invitation. Well, how do we accept that

invitation today? Well, the invitation is the

gospel. We hear the gospel.

We believe what Jesus did for us.

We believe that he died for our sins.

We believe that he rose again, we believe that he ascended to

heaven. We repent then of our sins, we

change our lives so that we then begin to live in a different

direction than being a sinner. We confess Jesus as the son of

God. We make him the Lord of our life

allegiance to him is really what that's about.

And then of course we are baptized and have his blood

applied to our life and we are saved through his blood in the

waters of baptism. We thank you for listening to

our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.

Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional

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