St Louis UBF UBF Bible Study : Luke 14:1-35 (2011)

Bible Study Materials

Luke 14:1-35 (2011)

by Paul Choi 08/28/2011

Question

THE GREAT BANQUET IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Luke 14:1-35

Key Verse: 14:23

1. Read verses 1-6. Notice the contrasts in the banquet. What was the Pharisees’ plot? How did Jesus show God’s mercy and answer his accusers?

2. Read verses 7-11. What did Jesus notice and what did he teach the guests about being humble? Read verses 12-14. What advice did Jesus give his host? Whom should we invite to parties? Why? (Mt 25:36-40)

3. Read verses 15-24. What is this parable about? Who were the invited guests? (Ro 9:1-5) What excuses did invited guests give? Why? Who finally sat down at the banquet table? What is God’s kingdom like?

4. Read verses 25-27. What must one overcome in order to be Jesus’ disciple and sit at the heavenly banquet? What does he mean by “hate”? “Carry his cross”? In what way is the invitation to disciples like the banquet invitation?

5. Read verses 28-33. What one point do these two illustrations teach? What is the cost of following Jesus? What does this mean? To you? Read verses 34-35. What does it mean to lose our saltiness?

Attachment

THE GREAT BANQUET IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD-questions.doc

Message

THE GREAT BANQUET IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Luke 14:1-35

Key verse: 14:23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.”

None of us here came to this house without an invitation. What I mean is that all of us came to this worship service or bible study because someone invited us. What a great blessing to be invited to a wonderful place filled with wonderful people, especially to the kingdom of heaven! Today’s passage teaches us how our God invites his people into his kingdom and how much he wants them to fill his kingdom. We also learn how we should respond to God’s invitation to his kingdom.

Today’s story starts with Jesus healing a man suffering from dropsy in the house of a Pharisee. Look at verse 1. “One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.” This verse tells us that Jesus was invited to a dinner party hosted by a Pharisee. We don’t know the motivation of the Pharisee, but every movement of Jesus was being carefully watched. Certainly the prominent Pharisee’s house was luxurious and the dinner table was gorgeous. But Jesus didn’t care about the beauty and value of the house, but rather about one suffering person standing in the corner of the house. Look at verse 2. “There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.” Dropsy is a disease caused by bad water circulation in the body, and results in the body swelling like a balloon. This sick man could not stand properly because of his swollen body. Jesus had compassion on him and was about to heal him.

Before performing his miraculous procedure, Jesus had something to do. Look at verse 3. “Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” In the past, the Pharisees and experts in the law often asked Jesus the same question in order to trap him as a violator of the Sabbath law. This time, however, Jesus initiated asking the question in order to teach them a very important lesson. What was it? God desires mercy, not being politically correct. Mercy is an act of pardoning derived from compassion. We are sinners, but pardoned by God’s mercy. God desires mercy because he is a merciful God. In the same way, God wants us to practice being merciful to others.

Look at verse 4. “But they remained silent…” This meant that they were defeated. Jesus didn’t hesitate to heal the man. Taking hold of the man, Jesus healed him and sent him away. In order to teach them the mercy of God, Jesus continued by telling a story. Look at verse 5. “Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” Life is more important than everything else. Love goes beyond law. Jesus was well aware that the Pharisees wanted to kill him. But he did not mind risking his life in order to save one lost soul. This reminds us of Jesus, who said, “I am the good shepherd. The Good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (Jn 10:11)

Now Jesus carefully watched the dinner party. The dinner guests were all from the high ranks of society. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable. “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (8-11) When you go to a wedding reception, it is better to wait to be seated in order to avoid humiliation and embarrassment. What is the point of this parable? Humble yourself and God will exalt you! The Pharisees thought that they were better than others. They expected other’s unconditional respect. We often make the same mistake, considering ourselves better than others. But the Bible teaches us something different. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Jesus showed us a good example. Though being in very nature God, Jesus did not consider equality with God,…but made himself nothing…being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross. What happened to him next? Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,…so every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Php 2:6-11) The kingdom of God is given to those who humble themselves and whose attitude is the same as that of Christ Jesus. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (Jam 4:6)

Look at verses 12-14. “Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Every Christmas season, the owner of a Chinese restaurant in Chesterfield invites thousands people, including many homeless people, to a Christmas dinner. He is happy to serve them. He calls his restaurant ‘Happy China’. What’s wrong with us when we invite only our favorite people to dinner? What Jesus really meant here is that we must practice the mercy of God by inviting those who are in need. The kingdom of heaven is a heavenly banquet with many people of God who were saved by the mercy of God. Indeed, to God’s eyes, we are spiritually poor, crippled, lame, and blind. Only by God’s mercy were we invited to his kingdom. God wants us to practice his mercy to those who are in need as he did for us. On this earth, we may not be repaid. But, in the kingdom of God our acts of mercy will be fully repaid by our Lord Jesus Christ.

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (15) This man must have been moved by Jesus’ words about the great banquet in the kingdom of God. How did Jesus reply? Jesus taught him that God wants to invite his people to his kingdom and how eagerly he wants to fill his house with his people. “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many quests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.” (16,17) The great banquet must have been a wedding banquet. The banquet must have been beautifully prepared and the people certainly had been invited long ago. Now, everything was ready. The owner of the banquet was ready to welcome and ready to serve. How did those who had been invited respond?

Look at verses 18-20. “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.” They all rejected the man’s invitation. Their excuses sound reasonable. Business and family affairs are important in our daily lives. Who are these people today? Suppose you invite someone to church on Sunday. They may make excuses, saying, “Oh. I am sorry. I forgot about my appointment with my boss. Excuse me!” Others may say, “I just came back from jogging. Sorry, next time!” Still others may say, “I have to finish my homework by tonight. If I fail the class, I will be in trouble!” We understand their situations and all their excuses sound reasonable. But they all refused to come to God.

What was the response of the banquet master? “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry. Rejection causes hurt. The man was hurt by their rejection. Did he cancel the banquet? No! Did he postpone it for another day? No! What did he do? Look at verse 21b. “…He ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The banquet master was not despairing or withdrawn by their rejection. Instead, he invited anyone who wanted to come. He was willing to welcome anyone and everyone who would accept his invitation. He opened the door for those who were willing to come.

In this parable, the master of the banquet is God the Father and those who were invited are the Israelites. God prepared the great heavenly banquet for his son Jesus Christ and invited his people, the Israelites. But they all rejected God’s invitation by rejecting Jesus. Did God cancel world salvation because of the Israelites’ rejection? No! Did God close the door of heaven because of them? No! God turned to the gentiles and invited them to world salvation work. Spiritually speaking, the gentiles are the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. The gentiles were originally not invited. Only by God’s mercy and by the Israelites’ rejection are the gentiles privilidged to enter the kingdom of God. 1 Peter 2:10 describes this, “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

It is by the amazing grace and marvelous love of God that God invited us to his kingdom. He does not show favoritism in inviting us to his kingdom. Anyone who accepts his invitation and says ‘Yes’, will enter the kingdom of God and participate in the heavenly banquet with our Lord Jesus Christ. In Revelation 3:20a, Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Recently, Warren Buffet, an American investor, sold a lunch date ticket for over 2 million dollars. However, in order to have a dinner together with Jesus, the Son of God and King of kings, we don’t have to pay even a penny. This is because Jesus himself paid it all on the cross by his precious blood. Jesus paid it all; All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow. Let us give thanks to God who invited us to his kingdom despite our unworthiness. Let us praise Jesus who paid the penalty of our sins and enabled us to enter the kingdom of God. Amen.

Look at verse 22. “Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.” The banquet was now filled with all kinds of people who received God’s mercy. But, there was still room. The banquet was too great and precious to leave room empty. Look at verse 23. “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.” Here we learn how much God wants to fill his kingdom with the people of God. We know this from Jesus’ commission to his disciples. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Mt 28:19) “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk 16:15,16) God does not want anyone to perish. He wants all people of the world to be saved. He is happy to see his people eat and be happy in his kingdom. That is why he is eager to invite us to his kingdom. That is why we invite our friends, family, and students to worship service, conferences and bible studies. God is love. God wants us to share his joy together with him in his kingdom forever. Amen.

Verses 25-35 teaches us the basic attitude of being a member of the kingdom of God. First of all, in order to attend the banquet in the kingdom of God, we must overcome our sentimentalism. Look at verse 26. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple.” Do not misunderstand. Here the word, “hate” does not mean to abandon our family members, but rather to deny our sentimentalism. Sentimentalism means extreme affection and attachment to human relationships. In order to follow Jesus, we must give our first priority to Jesus. We must please God rather than men.

Second of all, in order to obtain membership in God’s kingdom we must carry our own cross of mission. Look at verse 27. “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” We are invited to God’s kingdom by God’s mercy. This does not mean that we may become lazy and irresponsible. Jesus said in the previous chapter, ‘Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.’ (13:24) Jesus wants us to carry out God’s mission which is given to each of us.

Third of all, those who want to enter God’s kingdom must make a decision of faith. We must count the cost of following Jesus as a builder estimates the cost before he starts and as a king evaluates his military strength before he fights against his enemies. (28-33) Without making these decisions, no one can enter the kingdom of God. Let’s figure out what the most important treasure is in your life. Money? It comes and goes. Degrees and recognition? They will perish and tarnish as time passes by. Nothing on this earth will last forever, but will perish, spoil and fade away. But eternal life in the kingdom of God lasts forever. God invited each of us into his kingdom. We don’t deserve this blessing. But only by the mercy and love of Jesus Christ can we enter his kingdom and participate in his great banquet. Therefore, let us make a decision today for our eternal treasure, which is the kingdom of God. May God bless you when you together share his joy in the great banquet in his kingdom. I will see you over there! Amen.

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