"The Gospel of Luke" (63) May 12, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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for each woman here today. They'll be in the North Ex and Fellowship Hall, ladies, after church.

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Well, Pastor Jason will come now, and I think, when I made out this order of service,

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I think we're at Acts 12, right? Okay, and so let's read about the furthering of the gospel that's taking place in the early church,

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Acts chapter 12. Acts chapter 12.

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About that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some of those who belonged to the church.

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He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest

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Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the

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Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

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Now, when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

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And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a great light shone in the cell. He struck

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Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, get up quickly, and the chains fell off his hands.

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And the angel said to him, dress yourself and put on your sandals, and he did so. And he said to him, wrap your cloak around you and follow me, and he went out and followed him.

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He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

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When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them on its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.

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When Peter came to himself, he said, now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod, and from all that the

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Jewish people were expecting. When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was

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Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named

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Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy, she did not open the gate, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.

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They said to her, you were out of your mind, but she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, it is his angel.

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But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.

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But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison, and he said, tell these things to James and to the brothers.

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Then he departed and went to another place. Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

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And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered them that they should be put to death.

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Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded

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Balastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food.

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On an appointed day, Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them.

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And the people were shouting, the voice of a God and not of a man. Immediately, an angel of the

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Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

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But the word of God increased and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them

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John, whose other name was Mark. Let's pray.

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Lord God, we thank you for this text, and we thank you for the account of the early church. And Lord, so clearly we see you moving through the lives of these men and women.

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And we see how you love the church, how you supported the church, and how you built up the church.

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And Lord, we pray that that would continue today, that you would continue to build your church, that you would grow our church, that you would grow us in the depth of our knowledge of who you are and what you've done.

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And Lord, we pray that you would guide us now as we continue to worship you through the preaching of the sermon.

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We pray, Lord, that the words that we hear would affect us, that they would change us.

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We pray that these words would transform us into the image of Christ. And so we pray,

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Lord, that our act of worship to you now would be pleasing. Thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Well, let's turn in our Bibles to Luke chapter 14. Today we'll give attention to a lengthy portion of Luke's gospel.

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A little reluctant to do so because it really is too long, but it's a unit, as we'll see.

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It relates the events of a single occasion in which Jesus had an afternoon meal in the house of a

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Pharisee on the Sabbath day. And this meal, the events that took place, transpired over the course of an afternoon.

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This Pharisee invited Jesus after the Sabbath worship service on Saturday morning.

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And during this meal, we have in Luke 14 recorded three events.

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First, Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day. And then following that healing,

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Jesus gave forth two parables to those who were present. So again, this is a longer passage, but it is speaking about a single event.

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Now it happened as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the

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Sabbath that they watched him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before him who had dropsy.

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And Jesus answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the

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Sabbath? But they kept silent. And he took him and healed him and let him go.

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And then he answered them saying, which of you having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately pull him out on the

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Sabbath day? And they could not answer him regarding these things. So he told them a parable.

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He told a parable to those who were invited. When he noted how they chose the best places saying to them, when you're invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him.

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And he who invited you and him come and say to you, give place to this man. And then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

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But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, go up higher.

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Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

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Then he also said to him who invited him, when you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back and you be repaid.

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But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you.

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For you should be repaid at the resurrection of the just. Now, when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

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And he said to him, a certain man gave a great supper and invited many and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, come for all things are now ready.

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But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him,

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I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it. I asked you to have me excused.

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And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.

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And still another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and reported these things to his master.

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Then the master of the house being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city.

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Bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind. And the servant said, master, it's done as you commanded and still there is room.

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Then the master said to the servant, go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.

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For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.

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So all this happened at this meal time on a

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Sabbath day. We can analyze these verses in the three sections which we find first Jesus healing a man on this

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Sabbath day verses one through six. Second, Jesus told a parable respecting an ambitious guest verses seven through 14.

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And then third, Jesus gave a parable regarding the invitation to a great supper. Let's work through these.

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First, Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. So much of Luke 14 transpires in the house of a prominent

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Pharisee on a Sabbath afternoon. We read in verse one. Now it happened as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the

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Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath that they watched him closely. The Pharisee had invited

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Jesus to join him after the morning worship service for the afternoon meal that would have taken place weekly.

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This was a common ordinary event. When Luke wrote that Jesus was invited to eat bread, we should understand that to eat bread was a euphemism for dinner or supper.

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We should probably not assume that the Pharisee's primary concern was to show hospitality to Jesus, that he had invited him principally for fellowship.

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Rather, he, that Pharisee along with others of his party sought to entrap Jesus for the

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Pharisee and those of his party watched him closely. Jesus was in the house of a prominent

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Pharisee for this man was one of the rulers of the Pharisees, maybe a member of the

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Sanhedrin. And so this host was a respected, revered person in the community.

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He was very meticulous about the way he lived before God. He would have thought quite well regarding himself and no doubt he was a man with high esteem in the eyes of others and probably in his own eyes, he thought well of himself.

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He would have been a legalist. His way was God's way or so he thought.

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His way was the only right way and you would have only needed to ask him and he would have told you confidently that it was so.

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But he believed that if others did not live according to his standards of behavior, they were to be faulted. They were regarded as ones who did not love

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God as he and others like him. Again, he was a legalist. And so it was quite magnanimous for Jesus to accept this invitation.

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Of course, it was not unusual for Jesus to do so. As one put it,

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Jesus never refused an invitation whether the inviter were a Pharisee or a Republican. Remember he had dinner with Matthew after Matthew became a disciple with all the other tax collectors.

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Whether a friend or foe, he never mistook the disposition of his host. He accepted greetings where no kindness is and on this occasion there was none.

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The entertainer, the Pharisee was a spy and the feast was a trap. What a contrast between the malicious watchers at the table ready to note and to interpret in the worst sense every action of his and him loving and wishing to bless even them.

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The chill atmosphere of suspicion did not freeze the flow of his gentle beneficence and wise teaching.

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His meekness remained itself in the face of hostile observers. A good pattern for us,

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I would think. And so Jesus may be seen to set an example before us how we should act and behave when invited among others who may not have our

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Christian convictions. And this is a common experience, is it not? Matthew Henry wrote, our

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Lord Jesus here sets us an example of profitable edifying discourse at our tables when we're in company with our friends.

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We find that when he had done none but his disciples who were his own family with him at his table, his discourse with them was good and to the use of edifying.

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And not only so, but when he was in company with strangers, nay, with enemies that watched him, he took occasion to reprove what he saw amiss in them and to instruct them.

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Though the wicked were before him, he did not keep silence from good. For notwithstanding the provocation given him, he had not his heart hot within him, nor his spirit stirred.

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We must not only not allow any corrupt communication at our tables, such as that of the hypocritical mockers at feast, but we must go beyond common harmless talk and should take occasion from God's goodness to us at our tables to speak well of him and learn to spiritualize common things.

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The lips of the righteous should then feed many. Our Lord Jesus was among persons of quality, yet as one that had not respect of persons.

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Of course, it takes courage to do so, doesn't it? And you can anticipate reaction and rejection as no doubt the

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Lord Jesus did on this occasion. Now it may have been as people were first gathering at the house that Jesus spotted this poor suffering man before him.

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Verse two records, and behold, there was a certain man before him who had dropsy.

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Unusual term to us. Here is this man apparently right in front of Jesus who had this condition, dropsy.

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The modern medical term for this condition is edema. It's a condition in which one retains an excessive amount of fluid in the body.

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And so this man would have been physically, it would have been apparent physically that he had this problem.

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And so Jesus watched this suffering man as the Pharisees watched him. Potential conflict arose immediately.

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Initiated by the Pharisees who had perhaps planned and planted this person there in need of healing to entice the

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Lord to performing a work on the Sabbath day. They sought to find reason to accuse

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Jesus and discredit him. And the Lord took up the challenge. Jesus had certainly intended to heal this man of this condition, but knowing that it would precipitate a negative reaction by his host and those present, he first posed a question to them.

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And so we read in verse three. And Jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the

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Sabbath? Jesus would heal this man even though he knew that it would result in conflict and rejection of him by others.

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Jesus did not act out of a desired effort to please those about him. He dealt with others according to their physical and spiritual need.

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He acted for their benefit for he had compassion for them that he encountered.

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Luke informs us that there were a plurality of lawyers and Pharisees present. Lawyers are commonly called scribes who were regarded as experts in the laws of Israel, both the written

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Mosaic law, as well as the oral tradition that by this time had been codified and written down, which later in the second century,

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I believe, came to be known as the Jewish Mishnah. Scribes were experts in these writings.

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Take note how Jesus addressed these Jewish leaders. He did not make an overt statement such as, it is lawful to heal on the

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Sabbath, but he posed a question. Is it lawful to heal on the

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Sabbath? And really that was a clever way in which Jesus was dealing with these people.

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For in doing so, he was pressing upon each of them to search their own understanding of what was a true course to take.

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The question served to address and challenge the conscience of these men. It would lead them to think and ponder the matter in the light of their own knowledge of God's truth.

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And this is a very good and effective manner in addressing others who may be predisposed to reject us in our faith.

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Post questions to them that might lead them to consider and assess their values and opinions of a matter in the light of the truth that God has decreed in his word.

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He posed a question. But let us also be on our guard as Christians as we attempt to bear witness to our

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Lord in a fallen world. J .C. Ryle wrote, he that desires to serve Christ must make up his mind to be watched and observed.

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No less than his master. He must never forget that the eyes of the world are upon him and that the wicked are looking narrowly at all his ways.

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Especially ought he to remember this when he goes into the society of the unconverted. If he make a slip there in word or deed and acts inconsistently, he may rest assured it will not be forgotten.

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And that's certainly true. There are people that are wanting to discredit you because of your witness of Jesus Christ to them.

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Well, what was the response of our Lord's detractors? Verse 4a records, but they kept silent. They would be quick to condemn him, but they were silent about their own understandings.

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Perhaps knowing that their own understanding was indefensible. Matthew Henry described the situation that he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, that's scripture.

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They watched him. The Pharisee that invited him, it would seem, did it with a design to pick some quarrel with him.

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If it were so, Christ knew it and yet went for he knew himself a match for the most subtle of them and knew how to order his steps with an eye to his observers.

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Those that are watched and need to be wary. It is as Dr.

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Hammond observes, contrary to all laws of hospitality to seek advantage against one that you invited to be your guest, for such a wand you've taken under your protection, these lawyers and Pharisees, like the fowler that lies in wait to ensnare the birds, held their peace and acted very silently.

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And when Christ asked them whether they thought it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, and herein he is said to answer them, for it was an answer to their thoughts and thoughts are words to Jesus Christ.

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He knows what we think. They would say neither yea nor nay, for their design was to inform against him, not to be informed by him.

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They would not say it was lawful to heal, for then they would preclude themselves from imputing it to him as a crime.

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And yet the thing was so plain and self -evident that they could not for shame say it was not lawful.

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But having posed the question, the Lord was not gonna sit still and debate the matter.

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Perhaps there was a pause. I can anticipate an awkward pause of silence. The silence of these men, perhaps becoming pronounced, but then

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Jesus acted and he healed this man. Verse 4b reads, and he took him and healed him and let him go.

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I can imagine this man who is obviously bloated with all of this fluid in his body, it dissipates and he looks normal all of a sudden.

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And then the Lord let him go. There's no word of reaction on the part of this man whom our

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Lord healed. For that matter, there's no mention of faith in Jesus on the part of this man or even a word of gratefulness.

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Jesus would often heal someone who had faith, but he was not bound by another's faith in order to perform a miracle.

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Here, Jesus purposed to heal the man irrespective of his faith. Jesus had graciously healed him and then

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Jesus let him go. And one can imagine the immediate rage that welled up in the souls of those who sought to discredit and dismiss

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Jesus. But again, this kind of reaction was a common experience of our

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Lord, again, Ryle. The circumstance here recorded is only a type of what our

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Lord was constantly subjected to all through his earthly ministry. The eyes of his enemies were constantly observing him.

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They watched for his halting and waited eagerly for some word or deed on which they could lay hold and build an accusation.

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Yet they found none. Our blessed Lord was ever holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from evil.

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Perfect indeed must that life have been in which the bitterest enemy could find no flaw or blemish or spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

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Must have been really aggravating to these guys who wanted to fault him. Jesus answered their silence with a word of defense that was in accordance with the law of God that this man be healed on the

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Sabbath. Verse five reads, then he answered them and said, which of you having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately pull him out on the

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Sabbath day. There is a textual variant in this verse that led the

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English standard translators to render the verse slightly different than the New King James version that we just read.

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The ESV reads and he said to them, which of you having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on the

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Sabbath day will not immediately pull him out. The reading of son has the evidence of older manuscripts and perhaps it's to be the preferred original pen by Luke.

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So son or donkey in the Greek language, both son and donkey are both four -letter words and they look somewhat similar and you could see how a scribe might have misunderstood and miscopied it at some point when manuscripts were copied by hand.

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Now, we might interject that at this time in Jewish history, there was not much agreement as to what was lawful or not on the

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Sabbath day. Some taught it was okay to pull an animal out of a pit on the Sabbath, but others said no.

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You could throw some food into the pit, but you had to wait till sundown before you took that animal out. At Qumran, the community down by the

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Dead Sea, they said that an animal could not be pulled out of a pit on the Sabbath day, but you could pull a man out providing you did not use any tools to do it with.

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This is how legalists think. But the point of our Lord's question was to show forth the absence of love and compassion that these people had for other people.

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Our Lord's rebuke must have been apparent to those present that their objection was empty and futile for verse six reads, and they could not answer him regarding these things.

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They were refuted and defeated. This episode, by the way, is the fourth recorded by Luke in which

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Jesus had conflict with the Jewish authorities regarding what was lawful on the Sabbath. Sabbath day observance was one of the chief means that the legalistic

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Jewish leaders could assert authority over the people and that they would criticize lawbreakers and enforce conformity to their own views and practices.

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They were always condemning Jesus for what he did on the Sabbath day while he always critiqued them for what they failed or refused to do on the

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Sabbath day. But it's a sad commentary that Sabbath day observance has been a point of conflict and controversy in many places throughout church history.

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And it is so today in some quarters. In these days, there are those who will pass judgment on your orthodoxy or the sincerity of your devotion and degree of your consecration before God based on whether or not you keep their standards of behavior on the

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Lord's day, that is the Christian Sabbath. Now granted, the

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Lord has established standards for how Christians should regard and live on the Sabbath, but it's the nature of man to go to extreme, either imposing too strict a regimen or dismissing any standards to be kept by the

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Christian at all. Our statement of faith, by the way, addresses the matter both biblically and historically.

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The major matter to be kept in mind is that God created the Sabbath day for the benefit of man, that God in his wisdom had set aside one day a week so that one can rest and recuperate physically and be restored and strengthened spiritually in order to face the coming week.

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And that's the whole point of the matter. The Lord's Sabbath is Sunday, of course, the first day of the week, the day on which our

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Lord was raised from the dead. The Lord's day is to be a day for corporate worship, for rest from worldly occupations, and is to be employed in service to others in the

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Lord. That's the bottom line. Well, now we come to the parable of the ambitious guest.

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Perhaps our Lord had healed the man with drops, he is a people who first gathering in the house. He saw the man entering with the others, took notice of him, but our

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Lord must have also noticed a strange hustle and scrambling of other guests to obtain the most notable places among the guests.

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And so this resulted in our Lord giving forth the following parable. So he told the parable to those who are invited, when he noted how they chose the best places, saying to them, when you're invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place.

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Let us one more honorable than you be invited by him and he who invited you, and him come and say to you, give place to this man.

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And then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you're invited, go and sit down in the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, go up higher.

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Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. Now we might just interject.

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Jesus, of course, was not telling people how to get honor in the eyes of others, but rather the point of Jesus's parable is found in verse 11.

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And oftentimes in a short portion of the narrative, the final statement many times is the conclusion and the lesson that is being emphasized.

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Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And so it is a general principle of the

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Christian life that's being set forth by means of this parable. And so our

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Lord witnessed his guests scrambling for places of honor. And so he gave some instruction in etiquette and wise diplomacy.

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When a host invited guests to his home, he generally assigned seating according to the prestige of the individual, particularly at a wedding feast.

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If someone took a place that the host had intended for a special guest, the host would ask him to move to another place, to a place of less prominence.

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And so the lesson our Lord taught through this parable was this, if you strive to increase your stature in the eyes of others, it will result in you being humiliated.

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That's the point. It's the same lessons, Proverbs 16, 18, pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

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What the Lord was stressing is recorded after the parable in verse 11. Again, for whoever exalts himself will be humbled.

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He who humbles himself will be exalted. The Lord is the one who determines the honor that will be conferred upon people.

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And our desire and chief concern should be what he thinks of us. We should not be scrambling about with the motivation of having others exalt us in their estimation.

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We should strive to gain the honor that God confers upon his faithful servants. Alexander McLaren was a well -known

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Baptist pastor in London during the days of Spurgeon. For to desire to be exalted in the kingdom is wholly right.

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To humble oneself with a direct view to that exaltation is to tread the path which he has hallowed by his own footsteps.

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The true aim for ambition is the honor that cometh from God only. And the true path to it is through the valley.

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For God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. And so he's setting forth a general principle to Christian life.

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You don't seek to exalt yourself, but rather serve others and exalt

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God. Well, our Lord then gave instruction to the ruler of the

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Pharisees who invited him to his home. Verses 12 through 14, we read, and he also said to him who invited him, when you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your neighbors, or your brothers, your relatives, your rich neighbors.

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Let's say also invite you back, you'll be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the lame, the lame, and the blind.

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And you'll be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you should be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

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Now, it might appear at first glance here, we're not to have relatives or friends over for dinner.

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But that would be a wrong application, of course. That was not the intent of the parable.

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Common teaching technique of the day, which our Lord employed here, was to state something in a manner so contrary to convention in order to arrest the hearer's attention.

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And that's what Jesus did here. The emphasis of our Lord is that we should be doing acts of kindness to all kinds of people, not doing so because you know that they are going to reciprocate.

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That's the point. However, benefit does not come when you show kindness in this manner to persons who are incapable of repaying your kindness.

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If you live in this manner, God will bless you in this life, but also in the life to come. We should have the highest regard and treatment of any and all people about us, not because they're gonna render something onto us in return, but because they are people created in the image of God, and we're to regard them highly and treat them respectfully.

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All people, every person, anywhere, everywhere. And the scriptures bear this out, that God blesses those who serve others in this humble fashion.

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In the Old Testament, we read of the noble character Boaz. He was a wealthy man, but he regarded and treated his workers with respect and concern.

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He was considerate and generous and recognized and acknowledged the kindness and sacrifice of others about him.

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Boaz was a noble man, a good man. And when the occasion arose to come to the aid, we might even say the rescue of a widow woman and her mother -in -law,

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Boaz delivered them from their poverty and secured for them a promising future. And what was the result?

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Well, Boaz reaped what he sowed. And so as a result, of course, we read that he had the love and respect of his servants.

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He found a virtuous wife for himself in Ruth. He had a son whose grandson was

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King David, and he had a lasting reputation as recorded in this Bible, this book.

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And then Ruth too, you consider her and her humility and her service to her mother -in -law because of her godly desires and her love and devotion to Naomi.

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The Lord gave her a husband, Boaz, with all the blessings that came with him.

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And she became the great grandmother to King David. She too had a lasting name.

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And so when the Lord's people live humbly and in service to others about them, the

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Lord blesses them both in this life, but also in the life to come. This is the principle of life.

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Our Lord made a promise in their passage, verse 14, Jesus declared, "'You will be blessed if you live this way, but because they cannot repay you, for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.'"

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The resurrection of the just will take place at the end of this age, at the coming of Jesus Christ. Here, Jesus refers to the resurrection of the just.

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In other words, those who are saved, those who are righteous in his sight, through faith in Christ. But this did not suggest that it's a separate resurrection from the resurrection of the unjust.

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And many believe that and teach that sincerely. For the resurrection of the just and the unjust take place at the same time.

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There's one future general resurrection of mankind. The Apostle Paul expressed it this way, "'I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.'"

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But here, Jesus is specifically speaking about the resurrection of the just. "'On that day,

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God will judge and condemn the unrighteous. Their sinful words and deeds in this life will result in their eternal damnation.'"

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The Bible teaches about hell, eternal hell. "'But

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God will also assess and reward his people on that day. As an owner rewards his faithful servants, our

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Lord Jesus will reward his faithful servants. And so in all your service to his name, to his cause, to his people, the

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Lord is keeping an account. In fact, you're laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, as Jesus said in another place.

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And the Lord regards himself as responsible to recompense those who serve him, although he really owes us nothing.

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And his recompense of our service will be far above what we had earned or merited. For Jesus says to his disciples, he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.'"

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Think about that. "'And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.

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If we do his will in this life, in his name serving others on his behalf, he will bestow untold blessings on us on the day of the resurrection, at the resurrection of the just.

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You will be happy while living in this manner, in this life, and God will show you great kindness in regard for having shown others kindness in regard on his behalf, when you stand exonerated on the day of judgment.

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His faithful people will be rewarded beyond their comprehension."

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But then lastly, the Lord gives this parable of the great supper. This is interesting. Second parable, our

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Lord taught this gathering address how different people respond to a gracious invitation to a great feast or banquet.

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And this parable was prompted by the outburst of one of the guests of the Pharisee's house after he saw the man healed, listening to Jesus, verse 15.

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Now, when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, "'Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.'"

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That our Lord gave this parable in response to this man's exclamation suggests that our Lord may have been alluding to the anticipated feast of the

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Messiah. We spoke about that recently, the Messianic banquet. In response to this man's comment, the

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Lord gave this parable. Let's read it again. Then he said to him, "'A certain man gave a great supper, invited many.

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He sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, come for all things are now ready.'

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But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, "'I bought a piece of ground,

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I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' Another said, "'I bought five yoke of oxen and I'm gonna test them.

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I ask to have me excused.' And still another said, "'I've married a wife and therefore

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I cannot come.' So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, "'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city.

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Bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' And the servant said, "'Master, it's done as you commanded and still there is room.'

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Then the master said to the servant, "'Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

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For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper.'"

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We read that the preparations for the feast was complete. Verses 16 and 17. He said to him, "'A certain man gave a great supper, invited many and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, "'Ready come for all things are now ready.'"

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It's clear to us that the great supper of the parable is intended to picture God's salvation, which had been in preparation for many centuries.

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This was the hope of Israel that one day the Messiah would come and a golden age would be established. A great messianic banquet would be prepared and the people of Israel all reunited as one large family would dine with their deliverer.

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Sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This event was planned in eternity, prepared in time, and Jesus now declared, "'Come and enjoy the blessings of salvation.'"

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Long before we ever thought of God, God thought of us and made preparations that we would enjoy his presence.

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That preparation for this messianic banquet was needed is clear from scripture, for there were many things barring man's entrance into the banquet hall, which had to be ready.

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There were barriers from God's perspective through sin that had entered the world through Adam's fall.

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God's authority had been challenged and rejected by us. God's law had been transgressed.

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God's holiness had barred our entry into his garden presence. His justice required satisfaction.

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But there were also barriers with respect to ourselves. We were legally guilty and under condemnation due to our sin.

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We were morally averse to coming to him, being rebellious in our nature. We were spiritually unable to respond to him, being sinful, unholy.

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We were powerless to do the things commanded us. We needed his spirit to empower us.

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And so preparations were made. God chose a people whom he would save, whom he would need to prepare to come unto him.

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And God gave forth many promises and invitations. God sent forth his son to be the savior of his people, and that he was the lamb of God, he would be sacrificed to remove their sins far from them.

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And Jesus had come. The Messiah, the anointed, was now here. And Christ says, come, for everything is now ready.

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The banquet was prepared and spread out for the taking. And so it is today.

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Everything is now ready. And he bids one and all to come and receive and enjoy salvation.

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We stand and give this general call to all people without distinction. It's now ready.

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Come and dine with us in the presence of God. Come and experience the life of joy, peace, and righteousness that God has provided in Christ.

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But notice Jesus bids them to come now, for all things are ready now. There's no gospel offer assured for you tomorrow.

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Today's the day all things are ready. Today's the day of salvation. And so if you hear his voice, you're to respond fully to his free offer of salvation.

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Come for cleansing, come for forgiveness, come and be purified of your sins. Come now, come today in faith and humility.

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Well, if you're like one of these three men, however, not today, perhaps tomorrow, you've already begun the hardening process for there will always be another tomorrow.

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Charles Spurgeon gave a sermon on this phrase of verse 17. I wish we had the time and you had the patience for me to read the entire thing.

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Absolutely incredible. He spoke on this phrase of verse 17, come for all things are now ready.

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He reasoned that the perfect readiness of the feast of divine mercy is evidently intended to be a strong argument with sinners, why they should come at once.

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And so he wrote these words. To the sinner then I do address myself. Soul, do you desire eternal life?

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Is there within your spirit a hungering and a thirsting after such things as may satisfy your spirit and make you live forever?

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Then hearken while the master servant gives you the invitation, come for all things are ready. All, not some, but all.

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There's nothing that you can need between here and heaven, but what is provided in Jesus Christ in his person and his work.

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All things are ready. Life for your death, forgiveness for your sin, cleansing for your filth, clothing for your nakedness, joy for your sorrow, strength for your weakness.

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Yes, more than all that you can ever need is stored up in the boundless nature and work of Christ. You must not say

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I cannot come because I have not this or have not that. Are you to prepare the feast?

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Are you to provide anything? Are you the purveyor of even so much as the salt or the water?

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You know not your true condition or you would not dream of such a thing. The great master of the house himself has provided the whole of the feast.

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You have nothing to do with the provision but to partake of it. If you lack, come and take what you lack.

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And all things are ready, dwell on that. At this very moment, you'll find the feast to be the best possible condition.

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It was never better and never can be better than it is now. All things are ready, just in the exact condition that you need them to be.

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Just in such condition as you shall be best for your soul's comfort and enjoyment. All things are ready.

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Nothing needs to be further mellowed or sweetened. Everything is at the best that eternal love can make it.

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But notice the word now. All things are now ready, just now at this moment.

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They are all ready just now. Though you've never thought of these things before and dropped in this morning to see this large assembly with no motive whatever as to your own salvation, yet all things are ready now.

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Though your sins are as the stars of heaven, your soul trembles under an awful foreboding of coming judgment, yet all things are now ready.

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After all your rejections of Christ, after the many invitations that have been thrown away upon you, come to the supper.

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And if they are ready now, the argument is come now while still all things are ready, while the spirit lingers and still strives with men, while mercy's gates still stand wide open that whoever will may come, while life, health, and reason still are spared to you and ministry and voice that bids you come can still be heard.

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Come now, come at once. All things are ready, come. Delay is as unreasonable as it is wicked.

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Now that all things are ready, wonderful appeal.

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But we read in our Lord's words that despite the glorious feast prepared for sinners to come and receive and enjoy all that God had provided for them, that the invited guests refused to come.

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The rejecting guests are themselves rejected, verses 18 through 20, but they all with one accord began to make excuses.

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The first said to him, I bought a piece of ground, I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.

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Another said, I bought five yoke of oxen, I'm going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.

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And still another said, I've married a wife and therefore I cannot come. And so in the parable that Jesus gave, there were some invited guests that said in effect, not now, maybe later.

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And in fact, notice all the invited guests made excuse. These three excuses are given.

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One says, I have something else to see, please excuse me. Piece of property he had bought.

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Another says, I have something else to do, please excuse me. He'd purchased five yoke of oxen.

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Third said, I have someone else to please, so I cannot come, he'd married a wife. With the first, possessions were more important.

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With the second, business took precedence. The third, relationships prevented him from responding. All good excuses to them.

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Look what they missed out on. But what they were actually were saying is, I have no interest in the banquet.

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I have little regard for the host of the banquet. And when people refuse to come to Christ for salvation, they're saying in effect,

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I have little interest in salvation. I have little regard for what God has provided in Christ.

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Now it's clear from the context, Jesus in this house of a ruler of the

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Pharisees, and there were scribes and Pharisees present, it's clear from the context, Jesus was alluding to the self -righteous

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Jews as the ones who refuse the invitation to salvation. To the

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Jew first, it was promised and offered. But it's also clear that the vast majority of Jews rejected the

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Lord Jesus. And so we read in John 1 11 that he came unto his own, and his own received him not.

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They didn't want him. They had no desire for what he had to offer them. And it's no different today.

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People do not want to come and enjoy the salvation that God has to offer. Just ask them. Bid them come.

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Tell them of the wonders and glorious promises of God in Christ, and show them how they can be theirs freely.

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Ask them to come now on his terms, and they will begin to make excuse. By the way, this is always the response of free will.

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That is, if a bare invitation is given apart from the grace of God working powerfully in the heart, you offer salvation freely, eternal life with all that's blessing, and people will say, not now.

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I care not for it now. It's a testimony to the fact of man's depraved nature that God could provide such a wonderful salvation, and yet no man, if left to himself, wants it, but will make every kind of excuse to keep from coming unto him.

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Not now. Notice in the parable that the owner of the house is angry at those who refuse to come at his invitation.

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It angers God that people refuse his gracious offer. And when people have heard the gospel and have been graciously invited to resalvation, if they fail to respond,

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God is angered, and rightly so. This attitude of God toward Christ's rejecters should be made known so that they may come to their senses, and that others may not postpone responding to the gospel.

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God is gracious and merciful, but you better respond. All things are ready now, but upon the refusal of those invited to come, an invitation is sent forth widely for the house to be filled, that the banquet may have many guests in attendance.

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And so in verses 21 through 23, we read of the graciously received outcasts.

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After the rejection of many, the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor, the maimed, and the lame, and the blind.

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And the servant said, master, it's done as you commanded, there's still room. And then the master said to the servant, go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

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This parable may be seen as a prophetic word from the Lord Jesus. He was revealing the purposes of God and the response of people to the gospel that he would unfold, that would unfold.

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He foretells the predominant Jewish rejection of him with his offer of salvation, but the favorable response of a remnant of Jewish sinners who embrace him in faith.

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And he also hints at the future inclusion of Gentiles of the world into his kingdom. The account of which unfolds in the historic record of the book of Acts.

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And so there are three groups of people described in this parable. First, there are all those who with one accord began to make excuses who refused to come to the banquet.

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This speaks of all the unbelieving Jews and their leaders who refused to embrace Jesus as their promised savior and Lord.

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And then secondly, there are those who are the poor, maimed, and lame, and blind that are brought to the banquet.

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These represent those poor, rejected, outcast, Jewish sinners whom Jesus did grant salvation during his earthly ministry.

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He was a friend of sinners. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And he gathered to himself a motley sort.

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On one occasion declared to the Jewish chief priests and elders, assuredly I say to you that tax collectors and harlots will enter the kingdom of God before you.

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And this answers to this second group. He purposed to save sinners, and he was successful in this.

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A remnant of Jewish sinners has and would come, and yet, again in the parable, there's still room.

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And so a third group is sought who are compelled to come to the banquet. Verses 22 to 24.

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The servant said, master, it's done as you commanded. Still there's room. Then the master said to the servant, go out into the highways and hedges, compel them to come in so that my house may be filled.

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For I say to you that none of those men who are invited shall taste of my supper. These would be

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Gentiles. Those ordained to life and compelled to come in for his banquet hall will be filled.

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And we read later that this is what transpired in the book of Acts, Acts 13. So when the

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Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. And now when the congregation had broken up, many of the

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Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

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And on the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the

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Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy. In contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.

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And Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first.

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But since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the

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Gentiles, for so the Lord has commanded us. I've set you as a light to the Gentiles that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.

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And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, as many as been afraid of messianic banquet in the kingdom of God.

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But for us, let us rejoice in our inclusion in the kingdom of God. Through our faith in the

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Lord Jesus. Let us set before others the glorious news that this banquet admits all who come to Christ in repentance and faith.

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And so let us declare to others, the invitation is freely given to you. Some things have not changed, however, you have left yourself, you'll make excuse, you'll not come.

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What happens? The Lord will have his house filled. He will compel his people to come.

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Those whom he has set upon with his love, he'll humble the proud heart, he'll break the independent spirit.

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He will cut you down until you see yourself as poor in spirit, crippled and unable to come on your own, blind not knowing the way, lame, utterly helpless to come.

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And unless and until you have that kind of image of yourself apart from Christ, you'll not be brought into the banquet room to enjoy

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God's salvation. But when you see yourself in that condition, take heart for Christ, God's servant is coming for you.

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He's searching every hedge and behind every rock and will find everyone in that condition and bring them to feast with himself and his father.

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He came to call sinners and he receives every humble, seeking, self -confessed sinner who comes to him in faith and repentance.

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And so we have set before us here a record of a

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Sabbath day meal with Jesus. It was an occasion of great blessing for a diseased man who went away well.

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It was an occasion when proud and self -confident men were confronted and instructed in living humbly and graciously.

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And it was an occasion for all present to be warned that although God had graciously provided the way of salvation to them, they had a responsibility to respond immediately in faith and repentance to receive what was offered to them.

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It was a full day and the Lord was faithful to all present. And may we be faithful to one another and faithful to our world in which he's placed us.

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We've got a glorious messianic banquet that awaits us and let's bring many with us as fine sinners.

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As an old preacher down south, Henry Mann once said that a sinner is a hard thing to find.

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Well, aren't all sinners? Well, no, you go find one. A self -confessed, humble, repentant sinner, they are scarce.

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And then he quoted the hymn, a sinner is a holy thing. The Holy Ghost hath made him so.

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And we're looking for sinners. Self -confessed, guilty, helpless sinners who see their need for a

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Savior, Jesus Christ alone. Amen. Let's pray.

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Thank you, our Father, for our Lord and the example he set before us and for his graciousness, our

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God, and mercy that he shows to people in need. And we thank you, our

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God, for the instruction we receive as well, that we should be humble in seeking glory, the glory of the

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Lord Jesus Christ, not our own, and that we have a glorious message to proclaim and offer to sinners, our

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God, eternal life, eternal blessedness, eternal peace, forgiveness of sins, our

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God, and glorious rest and peace in Jesus Christ with all his people through eternity.

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And we pray, our God, that you would compel many to come in who hear this word, for we pray in Jesus' name, amen.