7 Then Jesus noticed how the guests always chose the places of honor. So he used this illustration when he spoke to them: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t take the place of honor. Maybe someone more important than you was invited. 9 Then your host would say to you, ‘Give this person your place.’ Embarrassed, you would have to take the place of least honor. 10 So when you’re invited, take the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move to a more honorable place.’ Then all the other guests will see how you are honored. 11 Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.”
12 Then he told the man who had invited him, “When you invite people for lunch or dinner, don’t invite only your friends, family, other relatives, or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they will return the favor. 13 Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then you will be blessed because they don’t have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God’s approval come back to life.”
15 One of those eating with him heard this. So he said to Jesus, “The person who will be at the banquet in the kingdom of God is blessed.”
16 Jesus said to him, “A man gave a large banquet and invited many people. 17 When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come! Everything is ready now.’
18 “Everyone asked to be excused. The first said to him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I bought five pairs of oxen, and I’m on my way to see how well they plow. Please excuse me.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I recently got married, and that’s why I can’t come.’
21 “The servant went back to report this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry. He told his servant, ‘Run to every street and alley in the city! Bring back the poor, the handicapped, the blind, and the lame.’
22 “The servant said, ‘Sir, what you’ve ordered has been done. But there is still room for more people.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go to the roads and paths! Urge the people to come to my house. I want it to be full. 24 I can guarantee that none of those invited earlier will taste any food at my banquet.’ ”
Read Luke 14:7-24 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
In the parable Jesus shares in our passage for this journal entry, we see an interesting parallel when we look at the character of the servant — the one who the master sent to invite those to the banquet. While there are several angles and roles that the servant could represent, for this article, let’s narrow our focus of the servant role to how he represents Jesus.
First off, the host sends the servant to those who were originally invited. If this role represents God sending Jesus, He first came to invite the Jews and the “church people” – specifically those who claim His name (Christ) and those who claim to be a part of His group. When these people discount the invitation, then God sends Jesus to invite everyone else.
But wait! There was no “Christian” church when Jesus came. He launched the disciples to “build/grow” it at the close of His earthly ministry. So doesn’t that mean that only the Jews rejected the invitation while leaving the Christian church safely in the second round of invitations?
Maybe, but Jesus didn’t come to start an institution, He came to start a movement. The Jewish “church” at the time was more about the institution than about the God it claimed to worship. Too often, I see today’s Christian church being more focused on the institution, than on the Savior who’s name we uphold. In this regard, today’s church is just as at risk for rejecting God’s invitation as the original Jewish “church” was.
The longer someone has been part of the Christian faith (i.e. church), the greater the temptation there is to drift towards supporting the organization over supporting the God we serve and the Savior we put our faith in.
I believe that there will be a large number of Jews in heaven – and I believe there will be a large number of Christians who have devoted their whole lives to Jesus there as well. But, I also believe that there will be a good number of people who are “spontaneous” invitees, because God does not want Heaven’s banquet to have any empty seats.
As someone who has grown up in the church, I share the temptation to shift my focus off of the reason for the church and onto keeping the church “safe”. We must not fall for this trap. Jesus came to rescue sinners: meeting them where they were, and helping them move to a new life. These people are part of the second wave of invitations. We must not turn away anyone who God is inviting to be at His banquet. We must be smart about how we relate with those who have a bad past, but we should never exclude them from the community, unless they value a sin over the Savior – which is something we can only know after having given them a chance and time to experience God’s love. They will exclude themselves before we should exclude them. That is how God works.
Everyone is invited. You are either a part of the first group of invitees or the second. Are you willing to accept Jesus’ invitation and place being like Him (i.e. being His representative to others) ahead of your other projects, goals, and responsibilities? It is no small commitment, but it is what He called us to.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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