REQUIRED TO ATTEND
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Luke 14:15-24 |
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And when one of them that sat at meat with Him heard these things, He said unto him, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.” Then said He unto him, “A certain man made a great supper and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, ‘Come; for all things are now ready.’ And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.’ And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore cannot come.’ So the servant came and shewed his Lord these things. Then 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 hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Lord it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.’ And the Lord said unto the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.’ ” KJV |
When one of those at the table with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 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 have just got married, so I can’t come.’ The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and 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.’ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ” NIV |
These verses of Scripture tell us that although a great many were invited to the supper few attended.
Note how this plays out:
v17 All is READY – Come for ALL things are now ready
v18 All REFUSED – They ALL with one consent began to make excuses.
v24 All REJECTED – I say unto you, that NONE of those men who were bidden shall taste of my supper.
One has got to ask the question: How is it that God gets all the blame when things go wrong? Well our verses of Scripture give us the answer. Here God is pictured as One who invites all to be with Him and to feast on the many wonderful blessings that only He can provide. The first group make excuses and all refuse. The second group accept and attend the feast. We are not given any details of how many attended out of the third group, nevertheless, this is a picture of the Gospel being spread to all who will listen and obey.
As Believers we are commanded to preach the Gospel to everyone and to bid them to come and taste and see that the Lord is good. Those who refuse to come, and those who refuse to listen will only have themselves to blame when the door of invitation is shut firmly. Those who reject God, will find themselves rejected by God.
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2 Corinthians 5:20-21 |
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Now then we are AMBASSADORS for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. KJV |
We are therefore Christ’s AMBASSADORS, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. NIV |
Here is yet another example of where we are implored to be reconciled to God, and the only way this can happen is if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
We are required to attend the supper prepared by our Creator.