THE GREAT SUPPER

LUKE 14:15-24

      Jesus pictured the Kingdom of God like a Great Supper. Heaven will be a gathering to a supper with the Lord (Ps. 23:5; Rev. 3:20).

Lk. 22:30 [GW]. You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will also sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

Rev. 19:9 [GNB]. Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And the angel added, "These are the true words of God."

When I was just a boy in days of childhood,

I used to play till evening shadows come.

Then winding down an old familiar pathway,

I heard my mother call at set of sun:

Come home, come home,

It's supper time,

The shadows lengthen fast.

Come home, come home,

It's supper time,

We're going home at last. (Ira Stanphill)

  I. The Great Invitation: “Come” (14:15-17)

      A. Arrangement (16)

      Barclay explained, “In Palestine, when a man made a feast, the day was announced long beforehand and the invitations were sent out and accepted; but the hour was not announced; and when the day came and all things were ready, servants were sent out to summon the already invited guests.”

Jn. 14:2 [GNB]. There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so.

1 Cor. 2:9. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

      B. Announcement (17)

      Edersheim wrote, “The guests bidden were those in the city, the chief men - not the ignorant and those out of the way, but the men who knew, and read, and expounded these prophecies.”

Gen. 7:1. And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Mt. 11:28 [ESV]. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jn. 7:37 [ESV]. On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Rev. 22:17. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

      C. I. Scofield, commenting on Gen. 7:1, wrote, “This first occurrence of the word ‘come’ in the Bible embraces the basic meanings of this gracious invitation occurring again and again in the Scriptures, even down to the last page (Rev. 22:17).”

 II. The Great Excuse: “Wait” (14:18-20)

Mt. 22:3 [GNB]. He sent his servants to tell the invited guests to come to the feast, but they did not want to come.

1. Market (“bought;” Lk. 17:28; Rev. 18:11)

•          See it (“necessity;” what the man owned, now owned him)

•          Test it (new things turn into old stuff)

2. Marriage (Gen. 2:24; Jos. 24:15; 1 Kg. 16:31; Lk. 17:32; Acts 5:1-2; 2 Cor. 6:14; 1 Pet. 3:1)

      A. Wealth (18)

      D. L. Moody said, “Strange time to go and see ground just at supper-time! On the face of it it was a downright lie. He did not want to go to the feast, and so he manufactured this excuse to ease his conscience.”

Mk. 10:29-30 [ESV]. Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

Acts 4:37. Having land, sold [it], and brought the money, and laid [it] at the apostles' feet.

      B. Work (19)

      This man made an excuse because he was just too busily involved in other things.

      C. Wife (20)

      D. L. Moody said, “Why did he not take his wife along with him? Who likes to go to a feast better than a young bride? He might have asked her to go too; and if she were not willing, then let her stay at home. The fact was, he did not want to go.”

      This man and wife determined that their own banquet was better than what the Lord offered at His banquet.

      Edersheim said, “But the ultimate ground of their refusal was, that they felt no real desire, and saw nothing attractive in such a feast; had no real reverence for the host; in short, that to them it was not a feast at all, but something much less to be desired than what they had. . . .”

      Stagg wrote, “The New Testament knows no doctrine of irresistible grace.”

•          Excuses followed every invitation (pre-conditioned negative answer).

•          Excuses camouflaged the real reason (hides the real problem).

•          Excuses influenced others to make excuses.

•          Excuses seemed increasingly justified.

•          Excuses sounded so original to the one making them (devil inspires no new excuses).

•          Excuses ended the opportunity for another invitation and opened the door for others.

•          Excuses given to the messenger offended the Lord who sent the invitation.

      When the time came for the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, to be crowned as queen, selected invitations went out to certain people. On the bottom of every invitation the Queen had written, “All excuses ceasing.” When royalty sends an invitation, it is a serious matter.

      D. L. Moody said, “My friends, your excuses will look altogether different when you come to stand before the great tribunal of your judge.”

Ps. 1:5 [CEV]. Sinners won’t have an excuse on the day of judgment, and they won’t have a place with the people of God.

Jn. 15:22 [ESV]. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

•          Not now–another time (Is. 55:6; 2 Cor. 6:2)

•          Do not feel like it (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9)

•          Too many hypocrites (Mt. 7:1; Rom. 14:12)

•          Afraid I cannot hold out (Jn. 10:28-29; Phil. 2:13)

•          Too great a sinner (Lk. 19:10)

•          Not that bad (Rom. 3:10-23)

•          I am religious (Mt. 7:22)

•          Always been a Christian (Jn. 3:3)

•          Waiting on God (Jn. 19:30)

•          Too late for me (Lk. 23:39-43)

•          Too much to give up (Mk. 8:36)

•          Sounds too easy (2 Kg. 5:13)

•          God is too good to punish (2 Pet. 3:9)

      Junior Hill tells the story of an older brother who had not been saved. The brother came to hear Junior preach but said, “I am not ready.” Not long afterwards, that brother, a picture of health, fell dead. He waited too late.

III. The Great Commission: “Go” (14:21-24)

      The Lord sent His servants to go and fill the house (Mk. 2:2).

Mt. 28:7 [ESV]. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.

Mt. 28:19 [ESV]. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Jn. 20:21 [ESV]. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."

Rom. 10:15 [ESV]. And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

      A. Sinners’ chance (21-23)

      Edersheim wrote, “But now he is bidden to ‘go out,’ outside the City, outside the Theocracy, ‘into the highways and hedges,’ to those who travel along the world’s great highway, or who have fallen down weary, and rest by its hedges; into the busy, or else weary, heathen world.”

Lk. 5:32 [ESV]. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Eph. 2:14 [HCSB]. For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh,

      For those who took the place of those first invited, the news of a banquet seemed too good to be true (2 Kg. 7:9).

Acts 13:46 [ESV]. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

Though millions have found Him a Friend

And have turned from the sins they have sinned

The Savior still waits

To open the gates

And welcome a sinner before its to late

There's a room at the cross for you

There's a room at the cross for you

Though millions have come

There's still room for one

Yes, there's room at the cross for you (Ira Stanphill)

      B. Second chance (24)

Mt. 22:8 [ESV]. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.’

      The door to the banquet closed for those who insulted the host of the Great Supper.

Is. 55:6 [HCSB]. Seek the LORD while He may be found; call to Him while He is near.

Mt. 25:10 [GW]. While they were buying oil, the groom arrived. The bridesmaids who were ready went with him into the wedding hall, and the door was shut.

Lk. 13:25 [CEV]. Once the owner of the house gets up and locks the door, you will be left standing outside. You will knock on the door and say, "Sir, open the door for us!" But the owner will answer, "I don't know a thing about you!"

2 Cor. 6:2 [GW]. God says, "At the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped you." Listen, now is God's acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!

      Tony Evans wrote, “The story is told of an eagle flying over a river in the wintertime and noticing a large chunk of ice floating down the river. The eagle landed on the ice to relax for a minute, even though there was a steep waterfall ahead. He knew he had plenty of time to fly away before the ice chunk plunged over the fall. But as the eagle stood on the ice, his feet froze to it. Then, as the chunk of ice got near the waterfall and the eagle tried to fly away, he discovered that he was stuck. So over the waterfall went the ice and the eagle, because he waited a little too long to do something about his situation.”

Heb. 12:25 [ESV]. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.