{"id":283,"date":"2023-10-04T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=283&2023"},"modified":"2023-10-02T18:00:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T00:00:02","slug":"joining-a-movement-luke-14-7-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/joining-a-movement-luke-14-7-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Joining a Movement: Luke 14:7-24"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"spoiler spoiler-style-2\"><div class=\"spoiler-title\">Focus Passage: Luke 14:7-24 (GW)<\/div><div class=\"spoiler-content\"><p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">7<\/sup> Then Jesus noticed how the guests always chose the places of honor. So he used this illustration when he spoke to them: <sup class=\"versenum\">8<\/sup> \u201cWhen someone invites you to a wedding, don\u2019t take the place of honor. Maybe someone more important than you was invited. <sup class=\"versenum\">9<\/sup> Then your host would say to you, \u2018Give this person your place.\u2019 Embarrassed, you would have to take the place of least honor. <sup class=\"versenum\">10<\/sup> So when you\u2019re invited, take the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, \u2018Friend, move to a more honorable place.\u2019 Then all the other guests will see how you are honored. <sup class=\"versenum\">11<\/sup> Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.\u201d <\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">12<\/sup> Then he told the man who had invited him, \u201cWhen you invite people for lunch or dinner, don\u2019t invite only your friends, family, other relatives, or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they will return the favor. <sup class=\"versenum\">13<\/sup> Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind. <sup class=\"versenum\">14<\/sup> Then you will be blessed because they don\u2019t have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God\u2019s approval come back to life.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">15<\/sup> One of those eating with him heard this. So he said to Jesus, \u201cThe person who will be at the banquet in the kingdom of God is blessed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">16<\/sup> Jesus said to him, \u201cA man gave a large banquet and invited many people. <sup class=\"versenum\">17<\/sup> When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, \u2018Come! Everything is ready now.\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">18<\/sup> \u201cEveryone asked to be excused. The first said to him, \u2018I bought a field, and I need to see it. Please excuse me.\u2019 <sup class=\"versenum\">19<\/sup> Another said, \u2018I bought five pairs of oxen, and I\u2019m on my way to see how well they plow. Please excuse me.\u2019 <sup class=\"versenum\">20<\/sup> Still another said, \u2018I recently got married, and that\u2019s why I can\u2019t come.\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">21<\/sup> \u201cThe servant went back to report this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry. He told his servant, \u2018Run to every street and alley in the city! Bring back the poor, the handicapped, the blind, and the lame.\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">22<\/sup> \u201cThe servant said, \u2018Sir, what you\u2019ve ordered has been done. But there is still room for more people.\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">23<\/sup> \u201cThen the master told his servant, \u2018Go to the roads and paths! Urge the people to come to my house. I want it to be full. <sup class=\"versenum\">24<\/sup> I can guarantee that none of those invited earlier will taste any food at my banquet.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"passage-read-more\">Read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke 14:7-24&amp;version=gw\" title=\"Read the passage on BibleGateway.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"hyperlink-underlined\">Luke 14:7-24<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>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 &#8212; 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\u2019s narrow our focus of the servant role to how he represents Jesus.<\/p>\r\n<p>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 \u201cchurch people\u201d \u2013 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.<\/p>\r\n<p>But wait! There was no \u201cChristian\u201d church when Jesus came. He launched the disciples to \u201cbuild\/grow\u201d it at the close of His earthly ministry. So doesn\u2019t that mean that only the Jews rejected the invitation while leaving the Christian church safely in the second round of invitations?<\/p>\r\n<p>Maybe, but <strong>Jesus didn\u2019t come to start an institution, He came to start a movement.<\/strong> The Jewish \u201cchurch\u201d at the time was more about the institution than about the God it claimed to worship. Too often, I see today\u2019s Christian church being more focused on the institution, than on the Savior who\u2019s name we uphold. In this regard, today\u2019s church is just as at risk for rejecting God\u2019s invitation as the original Jewish \u201cchurch\u201d was.<\/p>\r\n<p>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.<\/p>\r\n<p>I believe that there will be a large number of Jews in heaven \u2013 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 \u201cspontaneous\u201d invitees, because God does not want Heaven\u2019s banquet to have any empty seats.<\/p>\r\n<p>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 \u201csafe\u201d. 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. <strong>We must not turn away anyone who God is inviting to be at His banquet.<\/strong> 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 \u2013 which is something we can only know after having given them a chance and time to experience God\u2019s love. They will exclude themselves before we should exclude them. That is how God works.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Everyone is invited.<\/strong> You are either a part of the first group of invitees or the second. <strong>Are you willing to accept Jesus\u2019 invitation and place being like Him (i.e. being His representative to others) ahead of your other projects, goals, and responsibilities?<\/strong> It is no small commitment, but it is what He called us to.<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"aj-wrap-up--283\" class=\"aj-wrap-up\"><p><em>This thought was inspired by studying the <strong>Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, <a class=\"underline\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/\" title=\"Check out Reflective Bible Study!\">click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p><p><em><a class=\"underline\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\" onClick=\"rbs_aj_inline_subscribe(this, '283');\">Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"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 &#8212; 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\u2019s [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Joining a Movement: Luke 14:7-24 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/joining-a-movement-luke-14-7-24\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joining a Movement: Luke 14:7-24 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 &#8212; the one who the master sent to invite those to the banquet. 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