Man's Inexcusable Excuses

Let's pray together. Father, we're grateful for today, the great joy we have of worshiping you. Thank you for, Lord, what you've done to Rita's life and that she can be with us today to worship here among us. It's great to see all that you've done in her life. We pray for her and her family and all that's taken place over the last several months since before Christmas, and now we anticipate what's going to happen with this bone marrow transfusion, and we just ask, Lord, that you would do a great work and that, Lord, you would go before the doctors and give them wisdom and pray, Lord, that you would do a mighty work in Rita's life.

We commit her to you. You are the great physician. You are the healer of all of man's diseases, and you are the great God of this universe. We pray for her, pray for Steve, their family, Katrina, their daughter, that, Lord, you do a mighty work. Use this to draw them closer to you. Use this to draw our church closer to you, so we might learn to trust you even more for all your great benefits toward us. Bless our time in your Word this morning, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. There is a plaque that's on the home of, or in the home of many people.

Maybe you have it in your home. Maybe you don't. It reads as follows. Jesus Christ is the head of this house, the silent listener to every conversation, the unseen guest at every meal. It sounds good, and it is good. I'm not so sure, truth be known, that we would want Jesus to listen in on our conversations at mealtime, or to even be present at mealtime, for sometimes our conversation and our behavior isn't what it ought to be. I know that in our story in Luke chapter 14, Jesus was a seen guest, not an unseen guest.

And he wasn't a silent listener to the conversation. He was an active listener to the conversation. And it's true that Jesus Christ was not the head of this Pharisee's home by virtue of what took place there, and what happens after this conversation. We'll pick up the story in Luke chapter 14, verse number 15, when it says this, and when one of those who were reclining at the table with him heard this, he said to him, blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. But he said to him, a certain man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many.

At the dinner hour, he sent the slave to say to those that had been invited, come, for everything is ready now.

But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, I have bought a piece of land, and I need to go out and look at it.

Please consider me excused. And another one said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm going to try them out. Please consider me excused. And another one said, I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come. And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry, and said to a slave, go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor, and crippled, and blind, and lame. The slave said, master, what you commended has been done, and still there is room.

And the master said to the slave, go out into the highways, and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner. The conversation ends. We don't know what happens next. We know the next story in chapter 14, and how it unfolds, but we know nothing of what took place as a result of the conversation. At this meal in this Pharisee's house. Luke 14 began with Jesus being invited. Being an invited guest to the house of a Pharisee.

And by way of introduction, there are several things that are pointed out to us in those first 14 verses.

One, number one, was a lesson, was a lesson in sympathy. Not based on what the Pharisee said done by bringing this man with dropsy or edema, a man filled with fluid because of some kind of organ disease that he had. Not because they were sympathetic, but because Jesus himself was sympathetic. That they began to watch Christ as he would come in, and they would bring this man and sit him before him, wondering what he would do next. And Jesus basically asked the question, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

Well, the answer to that was yes, because the biblical mandate in the Old Testament provided for great acts of mercy to be accomplished. But the Pharisees, they remained silent. They said nothing. They could not ever say anything because they were so hypocritical. So Jesus heals the man and sends them away. And then he responds by saying, you know, if you have a son who's in a ditch, you're gonna pull him out on the Sabbath. If you have an ox that's in the ditch or in a well, you're gonna pull him out on the Sabbath, aren't you?

And they didn't respond. Again, they were silent. Because not only was it a lesson in sympathy, it was a lesson in hypocrisy. They were filled with hypocrisy, filled with duplicity. They would say one thing and do another. It was all about what they said, not about what they did. But then Jesus would take over the meal. That's what Jesus does. He's in charge. And so you move to a lesson in humility. Because he was watching them as they watched him. And as he was watching them jockey for the position of hierarchy there at the table, he told them, look, you need to go to the last place, not the first place.

That the host may invite you to come up. You're so busy jockeying for position, wanting to be the top dog, that you forget that if you're humble, God will exalt you. But if you're arrogant and prideful, God will humble you. It's a lesson on humility. It's a major lesson. Because this is a lesson that Jesus taught often in his ministry. Because the kingdom of God is for the poor. It's for the broken. It's for the contrite. It's not for the arrogant. But the Pharisees were so arrogant. They were so prideful.

And what they were doing was symbolizing their religiosity. Everything was about a hierarchy. Everything was about how I can repay someone else for what they've done for me. And then Jesus turns to the host and goes from a lesson on sympathy, from a lesson to hypocrisy, to a lesson on humility, to a lesson on generosity and hospitality. He goes to the host and says, Listen, man, you just can't invite your friends and your family and the people that are in the know. You've got to invite the poor, the lame and the crippled.

You've got to reach out to them. Because in order to be a part of the resurrection of the righteous, that you might receive a reward at that time, you must be the kind of individual that exemplifies a broken and contrite heart. That's the whole lesson on humility. That's the whole lesson of the first 14 verses.

It all centers around a humble heart that manifests itself by seeking the last place and being sensitive to lowly people. And they were not that way at all. For everything in their religion was about how they would be put on display. How great they were, how wonderful they were. And Jesus talks to them about the resurrection of the righteous. Well, they knew about the resurrection of the righteous. They understood that. And you can feel the tension in the room. You ever been in one of those awkward moments around the table conversation and no one quite knows what to say?

And that's where they were. I mean, Jesus had basically humiliated these men. He had intruded on their lunch. And he wasn't there to build them up. He was there to convict them of their sin. And so as he had gone through this whole parable about seeking the last place in order to obtain the first place because of a humble lifestyle by going out and reaching out to the poor, the lame, and the crippled because that's what Jesus came to do.

They had nothing to say. The air was so thick you could slice it with a knife. No one knew what to say until one guest pops up and says these words by way of exclamation. And when one of those who were reclining at the table with him heard this, he said to him, Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. And it was almost like there was air let out of the balloon. There was a big sigh of relief because you see, this statement made by this Pharisee was an affirmation that he would be a part of the resurrection of the righteous.

And it also was an affirmation that what Jesus said they didn't believe in. They refused to believe in the words that Jesus said. Because Jesus is talking about the resurrection of the righteous. And they believed in the resurrection. They believed that they would be a part of that resurrection. That's why they did what they did. That's why they had all these rituals. That's why they had all these rules. Because if I'm able to keep these rules and I'm able to manage these rules, then I will have a place around the host of heaven in glory.

And I will be recognized in glory. This was a works-based system. Every religion is a works-based system to somehow gain the resurrection of the righteous. To somehow get to heaven. There are two kinds of religions in the world. One is the religion of human achievement. The other is the religion of divine accomplishment. There's only two kinds of religion. That's it. There is no other kind. One, God does it. Or two, man does it. And they believed that man did it. They believed they had all these rules that would allow them to be a part of the great resurrection of the righteous.

And so amidst all the tension in the room, as difficult as it was, someone speaks up. Blessed are all those who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. You can almost hear the concerted, Amen, brother. Amen, brother Pharisee. Good job. We all agree to that. Because they believed in the great resurrection of the righteous that at that resurrection there would be this grand celebration at the table of God. They believed that. See, this is what they thought. And that's why Jesus gives this story about a great feast.

See, you have to understand. It's not like us today. You know? It's completely different. I mean, this is what they did. I mean, you live in a region. There's no movies. There's no TV. There's no direct TV. There's no dish network. There's nothing to watch on television. There's no place to go. You just can't go out to McDonald's and get a fast food meal. I mean, this is bare bones work, man. I mean, you've got to really go at it to fix a meal. I mean, this is full time work. And the highlight of Judaism was a meal.

A feast. A big dinner. And that's why Jesus in his parables would talk about the great wedding feast. Because a wedding was the high point in Judaism. It could last for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days, even beyond. And so he would use this as an illustration. Because every Jew believed that at the resurrection of the righteous there would be this lavish banquet in heaven. Turn with me to Isaiah 25 for a moment.

I'll show you where they get this concept from. Isaiah chapter 25, verse number 6. And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on the mountain. A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined aged wine. And on this mountain he will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples. Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time. And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces. And he will remove the reproach of his people from all the earth.

For the Lord has spoken. For it will be said in that day, Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation. You see, that's how the Jews saw heaven. They saw it as a lavish banquet prepared by God, the host of heaven, for the people of God. And so therefore, whenever there was a meal on earth that there was a lavish banquet for, I mean, this was the high point. Not like the lunch they were at.

They were just at lunch, okay, on the Sabbath day. This is a huge meal. A feast. And that's what prompted a man to say, Well, blessed is everyone who eats at the table in the kingdom of God. Because that was what's going to happen at the resurrection of the righteous. And so you move from the introduction to this instruction that begins with this exclamation by this man who cuts through the thickness of the air by trying to make everybody be comfortable around the table. Let everybody live at ease.

But Jesus is not going to let that happen. Jesus is not going to let them be comfortable. By the way, Jesus doesn't let anybody be comfortable. Because he wants you to be uncomfortable in order to receive what he has to give to you. That you might be convicted. You see, that statement was an affirmation that what they believed about the resurrection of the righteous, they would be there. Why? Number one, because of their Abrahamic ancestry.

Number two, because of their adherence to Judaism and the law of God. They believed that's what got them there. Their Abrahamic ancestry and their adherence to the law of God. Well, we're a part of the resurrection of the righteous. We're going to be eating at the table in the kingdom of God. Why? Because we're descendants of Abraham. We obey the law. We're going to make it. We're going to be there. And blessed is everyone who's going to be there. And all the whole table. It's almost like there's a big toast that's given.

He raises the wine glass and says, Oh, blessed be all those who will be at the table in the kingdom of God. Everybody else raises the glass and says, Oh, amen, brother. Amen. So be it. And yet, Jesus is not going to let them live that belief. He is going to attack it. He is going to come at them with an illustration, a parable, an analogy, an earthly story that portrays the heavenly meeting. That's what a parable is. And help them come to grips with the fact that they aren't going to be there. See, Jesus never affirmed anybody involved in a false religion.

He never did that. There's no place in Scripture where Jesus went up to the synagogue ruler and put his arm around him and said, Hey, brother, how you doing? I'm glad we all believe in the same God together. Never did that. Because the Jews don't believe in the same God we believe in. They don't. They think they do. But our God has a son whose name is Jesus Christ, who is the God of the universe. They don't believe that. They believe in a different God, see. And so Jesus never affirmed anybody in their false system.

He always confronted the false system. Because he didn't want anybody to think that what they did would get them to heaven. It was all by the grace of Almighty God. So he tells this story. There's this exclamation given by this man to cut the ease, to cut the tension, to make it at ease by cutting the tension. But Jesus picks up on that and gives the story that begins with an invitation. This is what he says. He said to them, A certain man was given a big, big dinner. And he invited many. And at that dinner hour, he sent a slave to say to those who had been invited, Come, for everything is ready now.

There's a certain man, okay, who provides a big dinner. This is a banquet. This is huge. Now, understand this. We know the Bible says that Jesus wept.

He cried often. Did he not? We understand that by reading the scriptures. But never is there an occasion where it says that Jesus ever laughed. And never is there an occasion where Jesus ever told a joke. But on this occasion, it would almost be perceived that Jesus was telling a joke. Because what he says, the Pharisees would laugh at. It doesn't make sense. There's a certain man. He's given a big dinner. Huge dinner. It's a feast. Well, they would understand that. They would get that. That's part of their culture.

And they realize that. And he invited many to come. Many to come. And there came a time when the feast was going to take place, that he sent his slave out and said, Come, for now is the time. Now, you have to understand that when you invited somebody in those days, it's different than when you invite somebody in our day. If we have a big wedding feast, if we have a big feast, a big party, we send out an invitation, right? On that invitation, it tells us where the event is, when the event is, and what time the event is.

In those days, they didn't do that. They just told you there was going to be an event. Didn't tell you what day. And didn't tell you what time. Why? Because it was too difficult to determine all that stuff. There was too much preparation involved. And so, you'd be the initial invitee. You would get the invitation. You would accept the invitation. Because, listen, if somebody invites you to a feast, and someone's going to fix you a meal, and you're going to have the opportunity to experience the song, and the dance, and the wine, and the joy of fellowship, you're going to go, because you are working your tail off, every single day, just to survive.

It was so hard in those days, just to live from day to day. But if someone's going to throw you a big banquet, you're going to be there. And everybody accepted. Oh yeah, we're going, we're going. That's why at Wedding Feast, everybody showed up who was invited. Because it was a grand celebration. They didn't have too much to celebrate back in those days. And so, when these people were invited, they said they would come. There were many people invited to this grand feast. But they didn't know when it was going to happen.

They didn't know what time it was going to happen. They just knew it was going to happen because they had been invited. And now that everything was ready, all the animals were slain, and they were cooked, and everything was prepared. It took some time. It could be next week. It could be next month. It could be three months from now.

You didn't know. But you always had to be ready, see. Because when time came, and the slave came and says, Okay, now's the time, what do you do? You dropped everything and you went. You went, because you were invited. And you accepted the invitation. And this was the highlight of your life. The highlight of your life. There you go. So, the invitation was given. The people were invited. And the slave came and gave the second invitation.

Okay. Now's the day. Today's the day. Come. You go from the invitation to the rejection. Listen to this. But they all alike began to make excuses. All alike. Okay. Everybody. Not just a few. Everybody. And then Jesus gives three simple illustrations that are characteristic of the excuses. You follow me? You with me so far? This is very important. They're all invited. They've all said yes. And now, the slave goes and says, Now's the day. And now they make excuses. And this is where it gets pretty funny for the Pharisees.

Because, like, this doesn't happen. Nobody does this. If you're invited, you go. Nobody makes an excuse and says, I can't go. You live for this. You go. They might think that Jesus is about to tell a funny. They don't know. But it makes sense to them. And Jesus says, The slave went, invited them to come, and all alike began to make excuses.

First excuse. I have bought a piece of land, and I need to go out and look at it. Please consider me excused. Really? You bought a piece of land. You gotta go look at it?

You didn't look at it before you bought it? Where's it gonna go? Is it gonna go someplace? What are you gonna look at?

Trees? Dirt? What's there to look at? But this is his excuse. It's a lame excuse. This is his excuse. I bought a parcel of land. Gotta go check it out. Gotta go look at it.

It might not be the same as it was yesterday. It might have moved. I don't know. I gotta go check it out. That's his excuse. This guy comes and says, I bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm going to try them out. Please excuse me? What? You didn't try them out before you bought them? Or you can't try them out tomorrow? You gotta try them out today? Now, if you got five yoke of oxen, you're a rich man. You're not a poor man. You're a rich man. Can't you get one of your slaves to try out your oxen? Sure you can.

A lame excuse. I bought a parcel of land. Gotta go check it out. Bought five yoke of oxen. Gotta go try them out. Can't come. Please, please excuse me. We have a hard time even relating to that. The third excuse though, we have no problem relating to.

Another one said, I've married a wife. For that reason, I can't come. I just can't come. He didn't say, please excuse me. He said, I just can't come. She's already put a foot down. We've been married for a couple of months. She's already put a foot down. I'm not going anywhere. Sorry. Can't do it. Now, we all relate to that, right? Sure we do. You know, that's what took place. Again, a lame excuse. Because if I'm a Pharisee, if I'm a Pharisee, I pray two things every day. God, I thank you I'm not a Gentile.

And number two, I thank you that I'm not a woman. Pharisees pray that every day. Same prayer. Because to be a Gentile was to be the most despicable person on the earth. And to be a woman would be the most degrading thing on the earth. And they didn't want to be despicable nor degraded. So they thank the Lord I'm not a Gentile. I thank the Lord I'm not a woman. And so, this excuse is ridiculous to them because they're saying, you know, no woman tells a man what to do. Come on, are you kidding me? Are you trying to be funny, Jesus?

But these are the excuses that are given. The invitation comes. The invitation comes. Jesus tells a story because these Pharisees believe they're going to be a part of the great lavish banquet in heaven at the resurrection of the righteous. They think they're going to be there. They're, in their mind, guaranteed to be there because of their Abrahamic ancestry and because of their adherence to the rules of Judaism. And Jesus says, you know what?

Let me say it to you this way. There was a man at a huge dinner. Huge. He invited many who all said they were going to come. And when it came time for the banquet to happen, he sent a slave out to say, hey, now's the day. And he said, I can't make it. What do you mean you can't make it? Ah, got to look at the land.

Got to try out my oxen. My wife won't let me. At least he admitted to being hen-pecked. I mean, that's one thing he admitted to, right? And so, those are their excuses. Now, it's not that they couldn't come. Say, well, everybody's got an excuse. No, no, it's not that they couldn't come. They wouldn't come. That's the point. They wouldn't come. He doesn't have to look at his land.

It's not going anywhere. It's the same land it was yesterday. He can always try his oxen out tomorrow or better yet, have one of his slaves do it because he's a rich man. And there's no excuse for you not to do anything because your wife says you can't do it. So, he says, here's the point. It's not that they couldn't come. They wouldn't come. They wouldn't be there. Why? Because when it comes to responding to the invitation to the kingdom, there are two things that are more important to you than God.

One are my possessions and the other are people. And those are two illustrations that Christ uses to help us understand why people won't come to the great kingdom of God and the banquet that's available is because they value their possessions more than they value God and they value people more than they value God. There's something that's actually more important to them. There's something that means more to them than the Lord God. And that takes us back to the parable in Luke 8 and Matthew chapter 13, the parable of the sower and the soil where people jump on the Jesus bandwagon but because of the desires of this world and deceitfulness of riches, they fall by the wayside, right?

They don't stick true to their commitment. Why? Because they love the world. They love their possessions. They love what they have. And that means more to them than experiencing the beauty of forgiveness at the table of God in glory for His purposes. And Jesus would speak a lot about the kingdom of God and the table set before them. In fact, back in Luke chapter 13, Jesus said it this way. Luke 13, verse number 28, There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets of the kingdom of God but you yourselves being cast out and they will come from east and west and from north and south and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

You see, even the Lord God presented the kingdom of God as a lavish table, a lavish banquet. In fact, He says over in Luke chapter 20, Luke chapter 20, He says this. And when the hour had come, verse number 14, He reclined at the table and the apostles with Him and He said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, take this and share it among yourselves for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.

Why? Because in the kingdom of God, there's this thing as the book of Revelation describes as the marriage supper of the Lamb. Remember that? It's in Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19 verse number 7. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him for the marriage of the Lamb has come and is bright and has made herself ready and it was given to her to clothe herself in the fine linen, bright and clean for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And He said to me, Right, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

You see? So even John was able to understand in the book of Revelation the uniqueness of the marriage supper of the Lamb. It's all about this huge feast, this huge opportunity in heaven to sit down at the table with God Himself as the host and to celebrate new life in Christ, to celebrate the forgiveness of sins. And the Pharisees thought that they would be there based on their ancestry and based on their works system. And the Lord God says, No, that's not going to cut it.

Let me give you a story. Let me explain it to you this way. There was a man. The man is God the Father. There was a man who prepared this great dinner, this great lavish feast. And many were invited. The many is Israel. The many is Israel who were invited. And when it came time for the supper to happen, the feast to happen, He sent His slaves. The Jews were invited by the prophets of old, by all the Old Testament prophets. That's how they were invited. And when it came time for the supper to happen, He sent a slave.

That slave is characterized by John the Baptist, Christ Himself, and the apostles because when John the Baptist came and when Christ came, they preached the same message. The kingdom of heaven is here. It's at hand. It's right before you. The celebration is now.

Now is the time to repent. Now is the time to give yourself. Now is the time for the grand celebration. Come now because you're invited. They refused. They refused to come. They didn't want to be a part of that kingdom at all. Why? Because there was something more important to them than God. That's why people don't get saved. There's something more important to them and it falls in either the realm of possession, something that I have, something that I want, or in the realm of people and the affection I have for that certain individual.

Those two aspects cause people not to respond to the invitation that God gives them. And so from that rejection comes the reaction. It says in verse number 21, the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, go out at once into the streets and lanes of the cities and bring in here the poor and the crippled and blind and lame. He was angry. Now the Pharisees would get this because you know what? To be invited, to be pre-invited and to accept, and then when the day happened you reject.

In the ancient Near East was a cause for war. Cause for war. You just don't do that. War breaks out. And this man, this host who was God himself was angry. And the Pharisees would relate to that because they would say, yeah, he has every right to be angry because he had invited these people, they said yes, he prepared everything for them, just perfect for them, and when the time came they said we're not coming. He had every right to be angry. The Pharisees would get that. They would understand that.

And he was angry. So he says go to the slave. He says, you go. You invite the lame, the crippled, the poor. It takes you right back to the previous aspect of the story where it had taken place already during dinner. You see, as the text says, as the dinner, the dinner on the table was getting cold because the discussion around the table was getting hot. Was it not? Sure it was. He takes them back to the previous aspect of a parable that he had given to them, to the host. When you invite people, don't invite your friends and your family and those who are well-to-do.

Invite the lame, the blind, the crippled. Invite the unworthy people. So Jesus says in the parable, tell the slave to go out and invite all those who are unworthy.

That's what he says. He says this, and go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor. You got to bring them in. Why? Because they're not going to come. Why won't they come? Remember the whole reciprocity thing we talked about last week? They can't repay. Everything was about repayment in the system of the Pharisees. You do for me, I'll do for you. And because they couldn't do for the Pharisees, they wouldn't come. So he says, you got to bring them in. You got to bring them in.

You see, because in their system, they did for God, God would do for them. The more they did for God, the more God would do for them. That was their system of religion. That's how they made it to heaven. And that's why they had all these rules that they had to keep, that they had to keep keeping because they wanted to do for God because they knew at the end God would do for them. It was a religion of human achievement. But Christianity is a religion of divine accomplishment. You go out and invite the lame, the crippled, the blind, the poor, all those who are unworthy, all those who are desperate, all those who are destitute, all those who have nothing to repay, all those who have nothing to give in return, you go invite them.

You got to bring them in. Why? Because they don't think they're worthy. They don't think they're worthy. You got to bring them in. You see, no one was ever saved by saying, boy, God is sure good to have me in this kingdom. I can do a lot for God's kingdom. All my talents, all my gifts, boy, God is sure blessed to have me. Oh, no. That person knows nothing about salvation. These people know they have nothing to give. They're unworthy. They have nothing to give in return. It says you got to bring them in because they're not going to want to come.

But they're coming because of my invitation, because of my grace, because of my mercy. The slave says, Master, what you commended has been done, and still there is room. See, the poor, the lame, the blind, the crippled, that was Israel. And there was a remnant of people who would come. They've come. They're here. And yet there is still lots of room. So what's he say? He says, and the master said to the slave, Go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.

Who's that? That's the Gentiles. That's the Gentiles. You go out into the outer skirts of the city, go out into the highways and the hedges, and you compel them to come in. Again, you got to compel them. You got to compel them to come in. You got to convince them this is for them because they're not going to come because Israel are the chosen people of God. They're the recipients of the law. They're the recipients of the covenants. They're the recipients of the promises, right? But you got to go to the Gentiles.

You got to compel them to come because I am going to save them as well. Compel them to come in. Same word used of Christ in Matthew 14, 22 where he made the disciples get into the boat because they weren't going to go. He made them get into the boat. They're not going to come to the kingdom. You got to make them come to the kingdom. You got to tell them this is for them. You got to compel them. You got to persuade them. You got to show them this is for them because they don't feel that they're worthy either.

You compel them to come in. That's what the gospel is in Acts 28. Remember this? Paul was talking to some Jews in Rome. It says in verse number 23, and when they had set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers. And he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and from the prophets from morning until evening. And some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe.

And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word. The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers saying, Go to this people and say, You will keep on hearing, but will not understand. And you will keep on seeing, but you will not perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull. And with their ears, they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return, and I shall heal them.

Let it be known to you, therefore, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will also listen.

And the Jews departed because the gospel was for the Gentiles as well. And Jesus gives this parable. This analogy that helps them understand the kingdom of God. And who's going to make it? Who's going to not make it? It's the people who are unworthy. The lame, the blind, the crippled, the poor. Those on the highways and hedges that would never, never associate with the Pharisees because the Pharisees would not allow them to associate with them. Compel them to come in. This is the king's reaction.

He's angry. So he spreads out his blanket, his table, to encompass all who will come. And then he comes to this conclusion. For I tell you... That phrase is used seven times in the book of Luke. That phrase always is the application of the parable or the application of the story. For I tell you... Everything up to this point was third person, second person.

Now it's all first person. Because now he's telling them, it's not about this host's dinner. This is about my dinner. That's what he says. He says, for I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner. He's affirming his deity. That he is the one throwing the banquet. That he's the one throwing the huge feast. It's an affirmation of his deity. And I tell you, he says, here's the application, here's the conclusion. Not one of those men who were invited that you are going to be at my table, at my dinner.

So he just stops. Just ends. It's amazing to me how that happens. You'll see the same thing in Luke 15. He tells a parable about the lost silver, the lost sheep and the lost son. Remember, it's one parable. Three aspects to it. Just one parable. And yet, it just ends with no response from the religious establishment. This one ends, no response from the religious establishment. None. None. What are they going to say? What are they going to say? Here's the point. Here's the implications. The invitation has been offered.

What's the invitation? The invitation is the gospel. It's Christ himself. It's been offered. If you respond, if you respond to the invitation, there's salvation. There's celebration. There's reconciliation. There's extreme satisfaction. There's jubilation. If you reject, there's only condemnation, damnation, retribution. Let me ask you a question.

What excuses do you give as to why you don't respond? Because when you read about the excuses, they all alike said something similar to this. None of them hold water. None of them are really worthy of an excuse. What excuse would you give as to why you would not want to receive the forgiveness of sins? What excuse would you give as to why you would not want to embrace Christ as Lord of your life? What forgiveness, what excuse would you give that you might not embrace the kingdom of glory? What excuse would you give that you would not want to be a part of the great supper of God?

What excuse would you give? What excuse are you giving? What possession is holding you back? What person is holding you back? Because is it really worth it when it's all said and done? Eternity weighs in a balance. It weighs in a balance. Let me say it to you this way.

If you don't respond to the invitation, in order to embrace God, to sit down at His table and have supper with Him for all eternity, if you don't do that, you will become supper for all the birds of the air who will feast on your flesh. Revelation 19. Revelation 19. Either you will eat at the supper of God or you will be eaten at the great supper by the birds of the air. Those are the only two choices. There are no other choices. Either you respond to the invitation and receive the glories of heaven or you reject the invitation and experience the retribution of Almighty God.

There is no excuse you give that would ever hold water eternity. Some of these people couldn't come. These wouldn't come. How many people do you know? Maybe they're in your own family. They just will not come to Christ. They will not embrace His message. They will not embrace Him as Lord, as Messiah, as King. They just will not give their life to Him. You see, here's the point. We'll pick up next week. What did Jesus say? He said very simply these words. He says, If anyone comes to me, does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

The story flows from one to the other. Are you going to let possessions and people keep you out of the kingdom? Because if you do, let me tell you something.

You come after me. The people in my kingdom, they're not held back by possessions. They're not even held back by those closest to them because they realize that what I have to offer to them is more important than father or mother or brother or sister or wife or husband or even their own life. They're willing to give it all up for me. That's what salvation is. So Christ will go from this parable into a dissertation that will address not just Pharisees, because He's at the house of the Pharisees. He is going to address a whole throng of people, a huge group of people that are following Him.

And say, look, I'm glad you're here, but know this. If you're going to be one of mine and you don't hate your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, your father, your mother, even your own life, you're not one of mine. You can't be mine because nobody in my kingdom holds anything or anyone more valuable than me. That's salvation. That's the message Christ gives. You can't have something more valuable to you than me and be a part of my kingdom. Can't happen, won't happen. That's the message He gives.

So as the message gets longer or quicker toward the end of His ministry, as He gets toward the end, the message becomes stronger and stronger and stronger. It's not like Jesus saying, you know, boy, Lord, what am I going to do? Oh, Father in heaven, there's not very many people coming. Got to change the message. Got to make it more applicable to people. Got to make it easier for people to understand and believe. Let's change the message. Let's make it easier for people to receive and accept. On the contrary, Jesus gets harder, more stringent, more strict.

With all these people following Him, you think they'd say, hey guys, so good to have you, come on. Let's go to the kingdom together. No. It's quite the opposite. It's different than the way we do it today. We just want to get more people to come, more people to come. Jesus never wanted to get more people to come. He just wanted to get His people to come. Big difference. People loved Him more than anything else. That's where the parable leads us. You can't have something more valuable to you than God.

If so, you're not a part of the kingdom of God. You might think you are. You're not. If there's one person that's more valuable to you than God, it could be your wife, your husband, your children. The kingdom is not yours. If there's one thing you own, one thing you have, that's more powerful to you, more influential to you, more important to you, you are not a part of the kingdom of God. We've got to stop telling people that they're a part of the kingdom of God because they said a prayer and believe in Jesus.

Because Jesus never said that. He said, you want to be a part of my kingdom? You've got to come after me. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. That's why he gives the whole parable about count the cost in Luke 14. You've got to count the cost. I don't want you coming unless you set it all out, weigh it out, and weigh its value and say, you know what, is Jesus more important than my family? Is Jesus more important, is eternal life more important than this life? Is being saved from my sin more important to me than engaging in my sin?

Count the cost. Calculate it. Where do you stand? And that's where Jesus has taken us. And it all begins with this lunch he has with these religious leaders who think for certain, they are so convinced they're going to heaven. And that's why those kind of people are so hard to reach because they're all going to say in unison, oh blessed are those who are a part of the great supper in the kingdom of God. The moral religious elites are hard to win because they think they're good enough to get there.

But the blind, the lame, the broken, the destitute, no, they know they don't deserve to be there. And that's how you know they're there. They know they don't deserve it because they're so unworthy. And God in his grace and his mercy picks them up and saves them, and they are seated in heaven with Christ. Where are you? Have you responded to the gospel invitation? Or have you rejected that gospel invitation because of some lame excuse that really is absolutely ridiculous when it comes to eternal things?

Let me pray with you. Father, thank you, Lord, for today, the truth of your word, the opportunity we have to be a part of the greatness of your teaching. Surely, Lord, you are a great God and worthy to be praised. And we're grateful, Lord, for the things you have said. Help us, Lord, to understand that the gospel is the most important truth in all the world. We must value it more than our own life and the life of those around about us. Help us, Lord, to embrace all that you are. In Jesus' name, amen.