Shalom,
We often receive an invitation from someone for birthday party, thanksgiving, wedding, etc. and people give various responses to the invitation such as happy and honored maybe because the host is a reputable person; some are not sure that they will come or not because they do not know what gift to bring or what appropriate dress to wear; while others may be ignorant for being busy with their business, etc.
How about the host himself? He, of course, has a high expectation that the invitees (his relatives, family and friends) will make time to come to his party.
The Gospel of Matthew often uses the term Heavenly Kingdom. God’s Kingdom and Heavenly Kingdom actually have the same meaning.
When someone invites his guests to his party, surely he hopes that the invitees will appreciate his invitation. But what would his reaction be if the guests do not appreciate his invitation and even refuse to come? He could do nothing except stroking his chest [Indonesians’ gesture to tell themselves to be patient], or become angry and offended.
In Luke 14:18-20 we can see the reaction of the host when people rejected his invitation with many excuses. He became furious and ordered his servant to bring in whoever they met (the poor, the crippled, the paralyzed) and to force all people on the roads and country lanes to attend the party (vv. 21, 23).
God calls/invites the sinners to come to Him and be saved by Him, doesn’t He? He does it not by force but through the Gospel (good tidings). So, the Gospel is an invitation from God to the sinners so that they can believe in Jesus. It is also an order to come to Him and, at the same time, good tidings of forgiveness of sin by Jesus’ sacrifice. However, the Gospel could also serve as a threat for those who refuse it and an encouragement to believe in Jesus to have salvation.
What is our response when the Owner of God’s Kingdom invites us to His banquet? Luke 14:1-24 writes some attitudes to respond His invitation, they are:
- We must understand and experience Sabbath (vv. 1-6).
On a Sabbath day Jesus was invited by a chief of the Pharisees to eat at his house. This was a ‘special’ invitation. Why? Because after Jesus entered the house, all people watched Him closely to find His mistake from what He would do.
Sabbath day was a door for the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, and the chief priests to blame Jesus regarding His ministry. Why did they always seek Jesus’ guilt on Sabbath? Because they considered Sabbath as a sacred one of the Law; therefore, nobody was allowed to do anything on that day. They referred Sabbath to the seventh day when God rested from all His work of creation (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:10). The problem was, Jesus and His disciples often did physical activities on Sabbath. Hence they assumed Jesus and the disciples to be guilty of trespassing the Law.
Actually what Jesus meant by Sabbath was a rest in Him and a personal meeting with Him to find contentment, peace and relief. Sabbath in the Old Testament had been fulfilled by Jesus, the Son of Man, who is the Lord of Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). And the real Sabbath is actually Christ, Himself (Collosian 2:16-17). That’s why, unlike the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, Jesus did not prioritize physical Sabbath—physical rest.
It has been almost two years the Lord allows us to experience the pandemic of Covid-19. Because of it, we experienced ‘physical sabbath’ for we were not allowed to run on-site church services. We were forbidden to come to church and there were no busy ministries as usual. Now the Lord, through our government, gives us the oppurtunity to hold on-site service with a strict health protocol. God wants us to respond to the on-site worship invitation to feel the atmosphere of His Kingdom again. We must make an effort to come to church. Don’t let the convenience of online service (safe of time, energy and money) make us lazy to come to church!
In this pericope, there was a man suffering from dropsy standing before Jesus. What is dropsy? It’s an abnormal accumulation of fluid in abdominal cavity caused by cirrhosis/lever cancer, or heart failure or kidney failure. Adding to the suffering, the patient’s belly looks bigger and becomes an eyesore.
Before the healing, firstly Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees whether it was lawful to heal on Sabbath or not. Afterward, He healed that man and sent him away. We can imagine how joyful, relieved and peaceful he must have been to be released from dropsy.
So the real meaning of Sabbath is we have rest and peace (Romans 14:17). Have we understood the meaning of Sabbath and experinced it? What is the sign of experiencing Sabbath? To have a peace-filled heart and an attitude or conduct that does not become a stumbling block for others. Besides, experiencing Sabbath in speech means stop talking negative things like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who remained silent for they couldn’t answer Jesus (v. 4). Don’t let this heart and mouth judge people easily! Instead, speak good words which are able to build and become a blessing!
- Live in humility (vv. 7-11)
From the parable of a wedding banquet, Jesus reminded the guests not to become conceited (Galatians 5:26). On the contrary, we must be humble and learn to restrain our ego as not to embarrass others.
- Care for the weak (vv. 12-14)
Jesus reminded the host who invited Him to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, who could not repay him. By doing this, the host would be blessed and repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Application: We should have the spirit to share impartially. By caring for the weak, we are blessed and the Lord will repay us at the resurrection day. Even now we can live in happiness because it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
- Appreciate the invitation and use the opportunity properly (vv. 15-24)
While Jesus was talking about people invited to the banquet, suddendly one of the guests said to Him, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the Kingdom of God.” Jesus replied to him directly by giving a parable about the great banquet that invited many guests. Of course, the invitation was not spread at the last minute but it had been informed long before the D-Day so they could save the date. Approaching the banquet, when the guests were asked to confirm their presence, they refused to come with many excuses (just bought a field, oxen, just married). Finally, the host invited the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame; and even the people on the road and country lanes were forced to come to the party.
Conclusion: Apparently not only busy people rejected the Lord’s invitation to the banquet, but also those who were weak, in need and in limitation. Take note, the Lord does not want the weak to use their weakness as an excuse to reject His invitation. If they waste the opportunity, other people will substitute for them and sit on their seats to enjoy the party. Those who reject the invitation will surely suffer the consequence of being inadmissible to the Kingdom of God.
Application: We should not reject the invitation from God to enter His Kingdom with any excuse – business, personal matters, our shortcoming and weaknesses, etc. – so that one day, we will not be rejected to enter the banquet of the Lamb to become His bride (Revelation 19:9).
Let’s respond to the banquet invitation of God’s Kingdom by receiving the Gospel of salvation to enjoy the Sabbath—rest in His peace. One day we will relish the great wedding banquet of the Lamb and live with the Heavenly Bridegroom in His Kingdom forever. Amen.