Luke 14:1-24 "Kingdom Feasts"

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As far back as I can remember, I've longed for significance.

As a kid, I always wanted to do something that really mattered, to make a big difference

in the world.

And that looked different originally, it was being an awesome, incredible baseball player.

And that's what was really going to make a difference.

At other times, it was just wanting to write books that would be read across the world and

for centuries after I was gone.

Other times, I really just longed for my friends, the people who already knew me, to think I

was really smart and really spiritual.

I think we all have some of that longing in our hearts, don't we?

To be significant.

To be important.

And it's actually a good impulse because God created each of us for significance, as Ron

has reminded us from Psalm 8 this morning.

To be important.

To be valuable.

But what I've seen in my life and in the lives of those around me is that the ways we look

for and pursue that significance are often backwards.

You can think of backwards ways that people strive for significance in our culture.

The same is true for other cultures, including the culture of Jesus in the Bible.

And in our passage this morning, in Luke chapter 14, Jesus is going to call out some of those

Luke 14 · chapter mention

backward ways of seeking significance through awkward moments at a dinner party.

It's going to happen a few times.

Let's pray together and then we'll follow the story in Luke 14 as we go.

Father, we do ask again for your help.

We need you.

We want you to show us your truth and show us our hearts at the same time.

That we might be different, that we might be changed, that we might be what you created

us to be.

Do that as we look to your word this morning.

Speak to us, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Luke 14 at verse 1, the scene is set.

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching

him carefully.

So there's tension at this Sabbath lunch with Jesus, right?

The religious leaders are trying to catch him.

They're watching him carefully.

And that tension leads to the first awkward moment right off the bat.

One comment on these awkward moments we're about to see.

If there's an awkward moment at our Sabbath lunch today, it will probably be because I tried

to tell a dad joke.

And got eye rolls and silence and chuckles at best.

Jesus is creating these awkward moments because do you remember what we learned last week?

What's his heart towards these Pharisees?

He longs to gather them in.

He sees the backwardness and the brokenness.

He sees the backwardness and the brokenness and he wants to bring healing.

So he creates these conversations, even these awkward moments, to pursue their hearts for his kingdom.

Verse 2.

Silence.

Silence.

Twice.

Well, all right.

Not how this event was supposed to go here.

Jesus was supposed to be a friendly.

Jesus sees something in the culture of the religious elite.

Their joyous religious formalism with no joy there at all.

Their sense of moral superiority.

Their cold and calculated, dutiful religious performance.

It's one way they're finding significance, isn't it?

And it completely misses the heart of the kingdom.

As we've seen, it misses the heart of the Sabbath, doesn't it?

Which is to rejoice and rest in God's redemption and deliverance.

Jesus says there's a social shift that must take place in this Jewish town.

Stop playing church and start bringing the life of the kingdom to people.

All the time.

Especially on the Sabbath.

Dream of how the joy of deliverance could bless someone who needs to experience the freedom of the love of God.

Sometimes we start to think that what really matters is whether we sang the right song.

Whether the sermon was too long.

Whether the sanctuary was too cold.

Whether we are doing church the way we're used to doing it.

And feel like we ought to after all these years.

And we lose the joy of the kingdom.

By looking for significance in formal religious tradition.

We lose the focus of the kingdom there and making it about ourselves.

We're going to do it better than everybody else.

And it's about our preferences instead of letting it be about King Jesus.

Just like the Pharisees did.

And we find ourselves critiquing others instead of blessing them.

In contrast to that, a couple weeks ago I called a woman in this congregation to ask her if she'd be willing to pray at our congregational meeting last week.

We'll call her Deb for the sake of this story since she may or may not be here.

Deb was a little bit unsettled by that.

She said, I don't really feel comfortable praying into a microphone in front of everybody.

And she felt terrible about the fact that she felt terrible.

Perhaps I should really get over this and do this.

It's important for the kingdom.

Maybe I really ought to get better.

And as we talked, I heard in the background of our conversation the voice of one of our homebound widows.

I said, are you with her?

She had just finished giving her a bath and they were chatting together and so happy to be together.

I said, Deb, you're exactly where you need to be.

You don't have to pray into a microphone to do something important for the kingdom.

You are taking the joyful deliverance and freedom of the kingdom to those who are outcast and lonely right where God has called you.

That's the kingdom showing up.

That's the shift Jesus wants to see in our community.

Quit thinking that a good Sunday is one where you make it through worship and Sunday school without your heart really being engaged so that you can go home and feel better than the other guy.

Knowing that you're spiritually superior to the guy who stayed home.

Stop seeing the law of God as a way to make you feel good about yourself and consider it as an avenue for blessing others.

No more letter of the law legalism that misses the heart of the law.

Love for God and love for neighbor, right?

That's what it's about.

That's a nice way to start off lunch.

Just kind of call everybody out.

Maybe we should get to the meal here, Jesus.

We came here to eat.

But in verse 7, Jesus gets awkward again.

Now he told a parable to those who were invited.

He wants to give some instructions to the guests right here in the middle of the party.

When he noticed how they chose the places of honor, he said to them,

When you're invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor,

lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him.

And he who invited you both will come and say to you,

Give your place to this person.

And then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.

But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place,

so that when your host comes, he may say to you,

Friend, move up higher.

Then you'll be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Now listen, we do great at this on Sundays.

I've been trying to figure out for years why it is that nobody will sit

on the front row in the places of honor.

And it's because all of you have read this passage,

and you're humbling yourselves and staying back there.

I'm so grateful.

Well done, Southwood.

I finally figured it out.

But you know, there's something about where we sit at meals

that really gets at our hearts, isn't there?

At the spink dinner table, there's a coveted seat between mom and dad.

So we have three girls, and at each meal,

only one will get to sit by both parents.

And there is never any arguing about that seat

except on nights where we're eating dinner.

But it goes all the way back to our middle school lunch tables, doesn't it?

Where the table you sit at and the people who are near you

tells how important you are, how cool you are.

Nowadays, for us, it's who am I seen talking with at the dinner party

or whether I can dress the part while I do.

It's how can I position myself to get over and talk to the guest of honor

and maybe catch an Instagram picture to kind of show everybody else that I did.

And this heightened social tension that we know very well

was even more significant in biblical culture.

The closer you were to the head table, the more important you were.

And not only that, the better food you ate at the dinner.

In fact, so much so that if the party was big enough,

those who were not as connected, the poor, those who were less valuable,

probably wouldn't even be in the same room

or, as it were, ordering off the same menu as you were.

Everybody knew where you sat at dinner, showed how important you were.

That was the case even when the church gathered to eat.

Can you imagine that?

Maybe you can.

And Jesus comes into that context and says,

my kingdom flips this social convention on its head.

Don't put yourself forward.

Don't rush ahead of the line.

Instead, run to the back.

Race to the bottom.

Humble yourself and consider others first.

Don't turn every conversation to yourself.

Don't ignore the lonely to be seen with the influential.

And at first, it can kind of sound just like a wiser strategy to get ahead, right?

A way to get noticed and honored publicly.

But as we go on, we'll see that Jesus is really encouraging

a completely new system of significance.

And, of course, he said this right there in front of guests who've just rushed ahead

to the seats of honor.

So, there's a lot of tension in the room.

Maybe everybody except the host is feeling the awkwardness,

and so Jesus turns to the host next.

Verse 12,

Now, I know that you find it hard to understand,

how who comes to your party and whose party you're invited to

can make you feel important or significant.

But, apparently, that's how people often felt back in Jesus' day

before we matured so much and got over that struggle.

Jesus says,

This social dynamic has to change.

It must be different in his kingdom.

Don't seek significance in social networking.

Instead, what's the difference going to be?

Generously connect and share what you have with the least of these.

How many people have been in your home recently

who don't have a home to invite you into?

Whom do you share your life with that brings you

no tangible social benefit?

When you gather people together for something,

do you consider the ones most like you,

whom you most want to be seen with,

and whom you most enjoy spending time with?

Or, do you consider who most needs your time and your friendship?

Can we be honest that that kind of society

Jesus says his kingdom brings is a big shift for us too

is not the way we usually function.

We love to drop names,

to feel important because of the circles that we run in,

to feel we have value because someone else who has value values us.

Translation of that last sentence,

if Tim Keller or Dabo Swinney friends me on Facebook this afternoon,

you will definitely hear about it.

I will find a way.

That's what I mean by that.

Because it will communicate that I'm in.

My heart will smile and I'll say,

I've arrived.

It makes me meaningful and important.

Jesus says no.

No.

You look for the person no one else is inviting

and you have them over for lunch.

Except not this week because they heard this sermon too,

so now no one can invite anyone for lunch in this church all week

without feeling bad about why you invited them.

But next week, next week,

you invite that person over for lunch.

You jump at the chance we get at Thanksgiving

to have international college students around our table

for Thanksgiving dinner.

You rearrange your priorities to invest in relationships

with those different from you

and less socially connected than you.

Jesus says,

you think differently in my kingdom.

It is really different, isn't it?

Can you imagine how our society would be transformed

if everyone lived this way?

Joyfully serving others,

being humble all the time,

giving to those who have less,

welcoming the outsider in.

If that's what drove everybody all the time,

what a different place.

What an amazing city.

What a great country.

And that's a dangerously good message.

One that you can hear at many churches,

not to mention temples,

Islamic education centers,

and schools in Huntsville.

There's a lot of truth in that message as we've seen.

And many churches have decided because of that

that that is the gospel.

The good news of Jesus is that.

He's a social revolutionary

who teaches and demonstrates a new society

and what it really ought to look like.

But it's dangerous.

It's dangerous because sometimes the story stops there

and we miss Jesus as a savior.

The ability to address larger, eternal problems

and to enjoy true relationship with the Father

through Jesus.

We find ourselves trying to express grace

that we haven't actually experienced ourselves first.

And so we call that the social gospel

because it says the good news

is a transformed society.

Now our denomination,

the Presbyterian Church in America,

was founded before I was born

in part to avoid that danger,

that development,

and to maintain the importance of Jesus

as the savior of sinners.

And I thank God for that.

But sometimes pendulums swing, don't they?

Overcorrecting is really easy.

And we can function as though Jesus came only

to save us from hell and get us to heaven.

In a noble effort to avoid the social gospel,

we can accept its false dichotomy

between eternal and temporal,

spiritual and physical,

spiritual and social even.

And we can neglect

how the good news of Jesus

transforms society too.

We want to worship Jesus on Sunday

and then do business

and throw parties

and develop friendships

and raise our children

however we good and well please.

We say we experience God's grace,

but it never transforms us

into people who express that grace

in every area of life

and expect to see society transformed

as we do.

Jesus says there's a third way.

It doesn't have to be an either or.

Jesus doesn't want only our spiritual life

or our eternal destiny

and our Sunday mornings.

He wants our Sunday afternoons

and our Friday night parties

and our Tuesday night dinners

and our Wednesdays at work

and our Mondays at school.

all of it.

He wants all of that.

It's hard to miss that

in this passage, isn't it?

Jesus is our Savior

and then a social revolutionary,

if you will,

because He changes everything.

But the story's not over yet

in our passage.

There's one more awkward moment

where Jesus is going to drive home

the foundation for this whole new society.

How is it that in Jesus' kingdom

this actually takes place?

In fact, why is it that His kingdom

must function this way?

And that if you function differently

from the new society He's laid out,

you're actually not a part of His kingdom,

He's about to say.

The power for this transformation

comes from God

who started these kinds of relationships

where we experience grace

to fuel our expression of grace to others.

Listen to this.

Verse 15.

When one of those who reclined at table with Him

heard these things,

He said to Him,

Blessed is everyone who will eat bread

in the kingdom of God.

What's going on is that

you could cut the tension with a knife

and there's always somebody there

that can't quite handle that.

It's getting uncomfortable.

And so He leans forward at family dinner

and says,

Here's something we can all agree on.

How wonderful it will be

when we're all together eating in heaven.

The turkey's great, Grandma.

Boy, it's a little cold around here today, isn't it?

And Jesus doesn't stop.

He seizes on this to tell a parable

to challenge this man's presumption

about being there at that kingdom feast.

But Jesus said to him,

A man once gave a great banquet

and invited many.

And at the time for the banquet,

he sent his servant to say to those

who'd been invited,

Come, for everything is now ready.

That's what happened.

You'd get an invitation,

you'd RSVP,

and then weeks later when the party came,

the day of,

the servant would come to say,

Now we're ready for you.

But they all alike began to make excuses.

The first said to him,

I have bought a field

and I must go out and see it.

Please have me excused.

And another said,

I've bought five yoke of oxen

and I go to examine them.

Please have me excused.

And another said,

I've married a wife

and therefore I cannot come.

So the servant came

and reported these things to his master.

Then the master of the house became angry

and said to his servant,

Go out quickly to the streets

and lanes of the city

and bring in the poor

and crippled and blind and lame.

And the servant said,

Sir, what you commanded has been done

and still there is room.

And the master said to the servant,

Go out to the highways and hedges

and compel people to come in

that my house may be filled.

For I tell you,

none of those men who were invited

shall taste my banquet.

Jesus tells a story

about that kingdom banquet.

And that last verse

is the most pointed one of all,

isn't it?

What you can't tell in English

but is pretty clear in the Greek,

in verse 24,

it's not the master speaking

to the servant anymore.

It's actually Jesus

having finished the parable,

turning and addressing

the dinner party.

It's a direct warning.

And it's also a direct reminder

that the banquet in the kingdom

is about Jesus.

He says,

It's my banquet.

It's his wedding supper,

isn't it?

And God the Father

is the one

who at his son's wedding supper

has insisted on inviting whom?

The poor,

crippled,

blind,

and lame.

Jews and Gentiles,

haves and have-nots.

It's so much so

that he has to compel

these people to come in.

It's not because he's angry at them

or because they don't want to come

but because socially

they're such that they know

they couldn't pay him back.

They couldn't invite this guy back over

so they're hesitant

to accept something

so much so that he has to come

and in a sense

take them by the hand

and insist,

No, I want you here.

I want you in

at the party.

That kingdom banquet

is going to look different

from what many of us

would expect.

It's those kinds of people

whom Jesus has come to rescue

to bring into a relationship

with his Father

so that they are at this feast.

And then look how this action

of the Father,

how what he does

in gathering these people

into his feast

leads to the transformed society

we've been talking about.

Just briefly read this

gospel foundation

back into what we've seen

already this morning.

We're going to go in reverse order

back through the passage, okay?

Hang with me.

Don't try to climb

the social ladder

to get selfish gain.

Instead, do what?

Reach generously

to the least of these.

Now why?

Well, God,

the highest

and most significant

has already reached down

to them.

They've been at his feast

so they're valuable.

They're not lesser people

than you.

In fact,

they're actually like you

because if you're

at the king's feast,

you too were crippled,

poor, blind,

and lame,

living outside,

as it were,

until he compelled you

to come in.

So it's not some big request

to humble yourself

and take a seat further down.

It's just the truth.

And you can be confident

as you do

that he will exalt you

because your significance

comes from the invitation

of the king.

So finally,

what's the basis

for the joyful celebration

of deliverance?

Why is that what our lives

should be about,

characterized by all the time?

That the kingdom of God

itself is what?

A party.

A feast.

A banquet

where the king is intent

not on getting all those

who will rigidly

and coldly follow

all the rules.

Who's he intent

on getting there?

Those who will celebrate

his son joyfully

and passionately.

That's what he wants

at his feast.

He wants his house

filled for the party.

And no one who finds

the cares and concerns

of life

more important

than his son,

more important

than his kingdom,

will be there.

More from Jesus

on that next Sunday.

Watch out.

But the king

is inviting people

into a celebration

where his son

and the work

of deliverance

that he achieved

for these people

is treasured

above all else

and joyfully shared

with all others.

See, the church

should be a taste

of this new

and different kingdom.

Right?

A picture of this

kind of transformed society.

This counter-cultural community.

And shame on us

when we aren't.

As we confessed earlier,

when we don't live like this

because we've stopped

seeing ourselves

as poor,

blind,

and naked,

we better repent.

Something's got to change.

It's not the way

the kingdom works.

We heard on the video,

if we don't love

our neighbors,

there's something

we're missing about God

and how he throws a party.

The gospel

is what drives us

to throw the kind of parties

that we've been invited to.

Right?

The gospel

is what drives us

to make strangers

family,

to find our neighbors

to be both

those we naturally run into

and those

we intentionally

go out of our way

to run into.

To seek the flourishing

of others

of different races

or socioeconomic levels,

even on the back

of my property value

because of the gospel.

God did all this first.

Jesus rescues sinners.

He restores them

to relationship

with the Father

and then empowers them

by his Holy Spirit

to go transform society.

That's the gospel.

So we find

this transformed society

to begin where?

Not with us

walking out of church

to change the world

in our own strength,

but with our Father

who began it all

reaching out

to rescue us

and pull us

into the kingdom celebration

that transforms

all of society.

that's the true

and social gospel

and don't let anyone

take the social

away from you

and don't let anyone

take the gospel

away from you.

Amen?

That's the good news

of Jesus.

Not of us.

It's not the good news

of me

or my gifts

that I bring to society.

It's the good news

of Jesus

that comes and rescues us

and changes everything.

And it's that good news

that is why we come here.

Is it any wonder

that the picture

of the kingdom

that God has given

his people

is a meal?

A feast.

A feast that celebrates

the person and work

of Jesus.

Elders and ushers,

you can hang tight

for just a second.

I know I walked down here

but I'm not done yet

and I want you to hear this.

I promise I'll pray

in just a minute

and you can move then.

See that the kingdom

of God

as a celebratory feast

is a theme in the Bible

from cover to cover

where meals in the Bible

are such a powerful picture

of inclusion

and significance

and I won't give you

all the examples

for sake of time

but just a couple.

All the way back

to Mount Sinai

in Exodus

when God has delivered

his people from Egypt

but they've already

started to rebel

and to engage

in rampant idolatry.

when God establishes

what it's like

for them to have

this special relationship

with him

you know what he does?

He invites Moses

and Aaron

and his sons

and 70 elders

up to have dinner.

These people

who deserve to be run off

from God's presence

he eats

and drinks

with them.

You know when Jesus comes

what does he do?

He's known for eating

and drinking

with tax collectors

and sinners

inviting into relationship

those who others

are running off

and so it's

because of that

that in 1 Corinthians 11

when Paul is talking

about this table

the Lord's Supper

he says to the Corinthians

y'all aren't even

eating the Lord's Supper

you know why?

Because the rich

are getting there

and getting drunk

and the poor

are going hungry

in the back room

that doesn't get

the real food.

You're not eating together

and considering

each other.

That's how important

it is

that you create

that kind of community

with each other

they must wait

and consider each other

around God's table

and that's what we're

going to do

and why we gather

here this morning.

But before we do

one more

glorious passage

that tells us

this dinner

is a rehearsal dinner

that we're practicing

as it were

for the great banquet

coming one day

Isaiah prophesies

about that feast

on this mountain

the Lord of hosts

will make

for all peoples

for the nations

for the Gentiles

what's he going to

make for them?

A feast

of rich food

a feast

of well-aged wine

of rich food

full of marrow

of aged wine

well refined

and he will

swallow up

on this mountain

the covering

that is cast

over all peoples

the veil spread

over all nations

he will swallow

up death

forever

and the Lord God

will wipe away

tears

from all faces

and the reproach

of his people

he will take away

from all the earth

for the Lord

has spoken

it will be said

on that day

behold

this is our God

we have waited

for him

that he might

save us

this is the Lord

we have waited

for him

let us be glad

and rejoice

in his salvation

that's what happens

at that table

at that wedding supper

right?

death is swallowed up

tears are wiped away

we rejoice

and say

this is the God

we have been waiting

for to deliver us

that's the feast

you need to be

dreaming about

as you come

to this one

one last thing

that's actually

the true significance

that you long for

it's not that

you don't matter

you actually get

that true significance

you know how

who you sit by

by being invited

by the king

of creation

the most high God

to sit at his table

and look him

in the eye

and sit next to him

and eat

and drink

a rich feast

with him

forever

that's where

your significance

comes from

so you can throw

parties the way

God throws parties

and not even risk

losing your significance

nothing can take

that away from you

you get to invite

other people into that

as one who

whose eternal significance

is secure

you get to share

with others

what it means

to be invited in

and have a taste

of the king's feast

let's pray

and we'll celebrate

this together

Jesus thank you

thank you that you

gave yourself

thank you that you

gave us

simple elements

like bread

bread and wine

to remind us

that we're invited

to the feast

it's the only way

we could get in

by you giving your life

for us

swallowing death

forever

and so we rejoice

and we come to celebrate

remind us of that

and give us joy in it

we ask in Jesus name

amen

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