Imagine you are invited to a meal in 1st century Palestine. The fact that you are invited means several things:
You matter.
You are at least close to the same socio/economic class.
You are ‘okay’ in that the host doesn’t mind being seen with you.
But once you get there, it’s not just about the honor of being a guest. The game is afoot!
The closer you are seated to the host, the more important you are. You might get an almost entirely different meal consisting of much better food, or you might even be in a separate room with the host while everyone else is in a different room. If you are seated at the end – sure, it was good to be there, but stay in your last place lane if you know what’s good for you, and good luck with the Ramen noodles. A Roman poet named Martial who loved him some satire criticizes the different quality of food served to guests: “Since I am asked to dinner ... why is not the same dinner served to me as to you? You take oysters fattened in the Lucrine lake, I suck a mussel through a hole in the shell; you get mushrooms, I take hog funguses…Golden with fat, a turtle-dove gorges you… there is set before me a magpie that has died in its cage. Why do I dine without you, although Ponticus, I am dining with you?”
The closer you were, the later you arrived, just so everyone could see you get ushered to the front. If you assumed you would be last, you could get there early and try to claim a place close to the front, but you ran the risk that when the really important people got there later, they would move you to the bottom in front of everyone. Rabbi Akiba said, “Go two or three seats lower than the place that belongs to thee, and sit there till they say unto thee, ‘Go up higher’; but do not take the uppermost seat, lest they say unto thee, ‘Come down’: for it is better that they should say unto thee, ‘Go up, go up’; than that they should say, ‘Come down, come down.’” (Adam Clarke)
It turns out meals – especially feasts on special occasions – were a lesson in merit and distinction that revealed your social, economic and maybe even religious status in the eyes of others.[1] This brings us to today’s text.
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee…and noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. So the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then, ashamed, you will begin to move to the least important place.
“But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you.For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” [2]
But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will be blessed/blissful, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous/just.”[3]
I don’t think Jesus was saying that we shouldn’t invite our friends over for meals.[4] Luke’s story is about more than social circles or proper etiquette with guests.
In Jesus’ time, there were serious economic, political and religious problems wrapped normal-looking moments. What should have been a time of fellowship became a time of pride and competition. What should have brought people together pushed people apart. What should have added value to people’s lives actually judged their value.[5] Paul talks about this in his advice to the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 11: 17-33).
In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.
So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.
Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter...So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.
Paul goes on to say that people are sick and some have even died because of this problem. There are a number of ways that passage has been interpreted; I lean toward a very practical application. People were having sometimes fatal health issues because they lacked proper nourishment – or had too much. Paul called this “despising the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing.” It is vitally important that church communities have a keen eye for those in need, while avoiding the kind of self-indulgence we see in this passage.
This leads to what is called The Parable of the Great Banquet.
When one of those at the meal with Jesus heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will feast in the kingdom of God!” But Jesus said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests.[6]
At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’
Okay, these are all terrible excuses.
First, there would have been an RSVP sent out far ahead of time for a date to which these folks committed. (Say, Tuesday, the 25th of June.) The servant went out on the day of the event to tell them it was time. This wasn’t a surprise. It’s just that the food was hot and it was time to eat on the previously agreed upon date.
Second, the quality of the excuses are terrible.
“No one buys a field in the Middle East without knowing every square foot of it like the palm of his hand.” (Kenneth Bailey). This dude had certainly seen that land already.
Same with the oxen. Five yokes was…a lot. Bro was rich. He did not get rich by not knowing what he was buying.
No way was the marriage happening at the same time, because no one would schedule a major banquet at the same time as a wedding. Meanwhile, men were exempt from military service for their first year of marriage (Deut. 20:7; 24:5), but this is not a war.
Bottom line: they didn’t want to go. They were fascinated by the things right in front of them and didn’t want to be distracted, so they made excuses. Jesus had just lamented this in Luke 13:34-35, reminding them “how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate.”
“So the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ Then the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’
So the master said to his slave, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads and urge[7] people to come in, so that my house will be filled. For I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet!’ “[8]
I think we have to be careful with this parable and not make it bear more weight than is intended. It doesn’t fit cleanly with “Jesus is throwing the party” because that would imply that Jesus first invited his friends and important people, and then when they couldn’t come, he went with his back-up plan of the marginalized and outcast. He had JUST WARNED against this kind of favoritism, so I am confident we should not read the parable in a way that supports a favoritism reading.
Some dude at the meal - so, someone who is part of the “in” crowd - had just said, ““Blessed is everyone who will feast in the kingdom of God!” Then the text says, “But Jesus said,” as if he is going to contradict him. He doesn’t contradict his statement; he contradicts his expectations by clarifying who will be at that feast.
The audience expected it to be the deserving –specifically, them. But Jesus’ responded, “Everybody is invited to the great banquet.” It is the Father’s good pleasure to give the Kingdom to all who respond to the invitation of Jesus.
But you have to accept the invitation to enter in. Your title, your family background, your standing in the synagogue, your reputation, your past good works, the fact that you are at that meal with all the prestigious folks – none of those things mean you are or will be at the feast of the Kingdom.
The point isn’t that the “poor and crippled and blind and lame” (v. 21) and those who live in the “highways and country roads” (v. 23) were a back-up plan. What was scandalous to his proud audience was that are just as welcome. They probably didn’t expect these people to even respond to the message when they heard it (like the “tax collectors and sinners” Jesus had been eating with recently). Twice already, we have read where the people assumed it was sinners who were sick (John 9) or on whom calamity fell (Luke 13).
The Pharisees were those who assumed they were invited to the feast of the Kingdom. They were put together, healthy, religious, prosperous. They sat at the top of the table. Of course they would be invited. God was lucky to have such amazing followers. Jesus is about to tell the parable of the Prodigal Son (The Two Brothers). This is the older brother in that parable, the one who lived on the father’s land and missed the feast.
Then there are the Prodigal sons, those who assume they would not be invited: poor, crippled, blind, lame, living on the margins of society where unwanted people lived. This invitation was too good to be true.
When the parable says they were urged (‘compelled’ in many translations), they weren’t forced; a better translation is that they were lovingly persuaded to join the feast. There was a place already prepared for them. They were wanted. They mattered.[9] It was the Father’s good pleasure to give them the Kingdom.
Side note: we might be shocked to know who is ready to respond to the invitation of the Kingdom. Our culture is a spiritual battlefield, no doubt, but it’s also a relational mission field that’s ripe for harvest. I love how Jesus embodied how to do both when he ate with tax collectors and sinners. Surely, the Kingdom of God was storming the gates of hell in that moment.
“The witness of the church should be characterized by the joy of inviting people to the banquet God has prepared…both present and future.”[10]
We see in this parable that the law-keepers who knew the most in their heads about the kingdom were the most calloused and non-committed to the invitation to actually “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) It was those they assumed who knew the least and lived the worst who turned out to be hungry for the goodness of the feast that is Christ and his kingdom.
I wonder how much the church would grow in the United States if we were characterized by going out of our way to befriend those who look to be the furthest from Christ, who appear to be the least likely to follow Jesus, and joyfully inviting them to the feast that Jesus is hosting?
What if we worked with and cared for mothers considering abortion and offered them physical, emotional and spiritual hope rather than putting a sign in their face and yelling at them? Which approach matches the approach of Jesus?
What if we brought a loving, engaged presence full of truth and grace to schools whose curriculum or philosophy concerns us – mentoring kids, helping in the library, being a teacher’s aide, helping with a campus ministry – rather than angrily disrupting school board meetings?
I wonder how Jesus would be present with people wrestling with gender identity? I just can’t picture him as a keyboard warrior posting snarky memes. I can picture him inviting them to a meal, validating their worth as an image bearer of God, and introducing a righteous presence full of grace to walk with them through their confusion and into the freedom of truth.
Surely, in those moments, the servants of the king are going into the highways and country roads and offering a compelling reason for others to join the feast Jesus offers in the Kingdom.
Let’s talk about that feast and the Kingdom. In the Kingdom, God gives us a feast of salvation and sanctification, the guidance of His Word and His Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, the beauty of living in communion with God and righteous community with others.
“Whatsoever things are true, honest (honorable), just, pure, lovely (acceptable and prized), and of good report (repute)…think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
“The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
“Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7)
That’s the kind of thing that characterizes the Kingdom. That’s a compelling list. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us these things when we follow Jesus into the Kingdom of God in response to the Spirit and the Word of God.
It doesn't’ mean that life will be easy or perfect. It’s just that the more we experience the work and presence of Christ in our life, the more these things will begin to characterize our life in Christ and with others. And when entire communities begin to increasingly be characterized by these things, we start to see what it means that “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
We are going to share communion today. From 1 Corinthians 11:
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
The early church combined communion with fellowship meals. The wealthy brought more or all of the food in that setting; I suspect those struggling to eat well got to take the leftovers home. It’s a practical image of how God gives provision in His Kingdom. It’s a reminder that God’s plan for provision through Jesus’ sacrificial death was meant to be embodied by the generous, loving, sacrificial presence of His people: financially, emotionally, relationally, practically.
We are a body, together. As we take communion today, let’s remember that that the sacrifice of Jesus has made us onewithChristwhile drawing us into a Kingdom that makes us onewith each otherthroughChrist. And in righteous church community, we will see why God is so pleased to give us the Kingdom as we experience God’s provision.
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[1] “The early church struggled against traditional and societal pressures to maintain such social distinctions (see 1 Cor. 11:17–34.)” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Of The New Testament) Keep in mind that the Gospels were written after the letters of the New Testament. I suspect certain episodes from the life of Jesus were highlighted for a reason.
[2] His words echo the prophecy of Ezekiel, who predicted that there would be a day when, “the lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.” (Ezekiel 21:26) Similar guidance appears in a popular Jewish book at that time. “The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord.” (Sirach 3:18)
[3] The first clear reference to the resurrection of the righteous appears at Daniel 12:2
[4] “What he [inspires] here is charity to the poor and what he condemns is those entertainments which are given to the rich, either to flatter them or to procure a similar return; because the money that is thus criminally laid out properly belongs to the poor.” (Adam Clarke)
[5] “Experience has shown that seeking the chief seats leads to corruption, with exploitation of the poor and oppressed.” (Africa Bible Commentary)
[6] “On this mountain [Zion] the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples ...” (Isa. 25:6) Isaiah makes it clear that the messianic banquet is for “all peoples,” there was a tendency in Judaism to reject the notion that Gentiles would be included. The first-century b.c. Psalms of Solomon offers a prayer that the Messiah will “purge Jerusalem from gentiles” and “will destroy the unlawful nations with the word of his mouth. At his warning the nations will flee from his presence.” Jesus is about to radically alter this exclusive view of messianic salvation. (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)
[7] “By prayers, counsels, entreaties. No other kind of constraint is ever recommended in the Gospel of Christ every other kind of compulsion is antichristian, can only be submitted to by cowards and knaves, and can produce nothing but hypocrites.” (Adam Clarke)
[8] An interesting parallel to this story appears in the Jerusalem Talmud. When a village tax collector named Bar Ma’jan dies, the whole town comes out to mourn. Why? He had invited the city officials to a banquet, and when they failed to come, he gave orders that the poor should be invited so that the food would not be wasted. (Adam Clarke)
[9] Believer’s Bible Commentary
[10] Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide To The Parables of Jesus, by Klyne Snodgrass