An Exposition

Luke 14:15-24: “A Place at the Table, Part 2”

“And when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, ‘Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.’ But He said to him, ‘A certain man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many, and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’

“But they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ And another one said, ‘I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’

“And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ The slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is more.’

“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of these men who were invited shall taste of my dinner’” (Luke 14:15-24, NASB).

When you read these passages, what comes to mind?

It looks to me like our Lord Jesus is telling both His audience then and us now that He enjoys a good time with people and wants as many as possible to join Him in the celebration. I do not know about you, but I am more than ready to go, because what I see here in this present sin-soaked world is about as exciting to me as watching a snail race or a long distance marathon run by sloths. There is absolutely nothing in this world that appeals to me now. I never saw the sense as I grew older in watching my peers decide that going to a party meant getting smashed out of your mind and then waking up with headaches and nausea as a reward for alcoholism training.

Now, I enjoy a good party, and I liked having a good time when the opportunity came for events such as family weddings, barbeques, reunions, youth fellowships, and especially when we lived in the New Orleans area when it was time for Mardi Gras. We lived in a suburb that was intolerant of lewdness, alcoholic beverages, and citizens were protected by the local police.

There were colorful parades each year, and our church took it as an opportunity to pass out tracts and mingle among the crowds, talking to people about new life in Christ, and we had good results because we were having a good time with them, too. There was one church in the neighborhood that saw everything in a different light. They condemned the “wickedness” of Mardi Gras and declared it to be a “celebration of the devil.” They forbade their members to go view the parades or to take days off from work to do so. Their school had class on Mardi Gras day, and if a student or anyone in their church was caught or had been seen in the crowds, they were either expelled or thrown out of the membership. (I always wanted to know how they enforced that.) What they saw as sinful and wicked, we saw as an opportunity to spread the joy of the message of Christ.

I am not here to judge this congregation (which no longer exists due to Katrina and other factors), but sometimes we who call ourselves Christians have a tendency to turn a lot more people off than be the instrument of the Holy Spirit to draw someone to the cross and the joy that will be ours when King Jesus comes back to rule and reign forever. It looks to me as I read the words of our LORD that the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be a time of eternal happiness, worship, celebration, and a party to end all parties. The sad fact is that people are going to give the Sovereign God of Creation the lamest and most pathetic excuses to miss out on it. The story that the Lord Jesus tells the guests at the party He is attending presents that tragic outcome.

The illogical and just plain lame excuses the expected guests give to this man who has taken the time, trouble, and effort to throw a big party and time of fun are a representation of the same lame things people say to us and to the LORD Himself as to why they do not want to be a part of what looks like a potential good time. One guy says he cannot come because he has to look at some land he bought, one says he cannot come because he just bought some livestock that he has to test NOW, and one says his new marriage is more important than the event to which he has been cordially invited.

All I can say when I read this is, “You have got to be kidding me!” But I am not surprised at the outlandish beliefs and thoughts of people who have this strange notion. They are sure that the stale, moldy cake, the flat and warm drinks, the bored guests who have said and done the same old routines for years, and the inevitable hangovers and their aftermath are somehow superior to the treasures, joy, eternal life, reunion with loved ones, and personal love and fellowship from the King of Kings.

I like reading the host’s reaction. He has been snubbed and insulted but does not try to negotiate or rearrange his schedule to accommodate them. He has everything ready, and he is going to throw a party; but now he instructs his servant to go get everyone off the streets who is poor, lame, and blind to come and enjoy a bounty that they would never have expected.

He is not letting his time, trouble, and expense go to waste. If his snobby “friends” do not want to get into the action, it will not bother him in the least. He has new friends and colleagues that he will get to know and enjoy, and whose lives he will let be a part of his inner circle for all time, and he tells his servant to go get more people. His home is open, and the good times are going to go on as he wishes. He is telling his servant that everyone is welcome to the table no matter one’s situation, background, color, or status. That is representative of our great God who wants everyone to partake of His blessings, abundance, mercy, and grace. Who else would possess that kind of love in this age where everyone is at each other’s throats and rage is the order of the times?

All right, you who are reading this, I want to ask you this question if you do not have a personal relationship with the God who loves you and wants you in His kingdom. What kind of dumb excuse are you going to give Him for refusing to come to His celebration, made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross for your sins? He took your wickedness upon Himself as the perfect substitute for us so we would not end up in the hell we deserve for rebelling against Him in Eden. There is no way whatsoever you can redeem or save yourself or think you can get into heaven on your “good works,” of which the Bible compares to a bloody menstrual rag (Isaiah 64:6).

It is only through Jesus Christ that you can EVER have access to eternal life in heaven. He said it (Isaiah 53; John 3:16, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:6-11).

He has never steered me wrong or left me, and there are millions of brethren who will testify of this truth throughout the centuries and now. Come on, you know by now in the time I have written these studies that I would not say otherwise. Give up your junk, your sins, your excuses, your self-centeredness, your stale food and putrid drink, and surrender your life to Jesus Christ today. He has your reservation ready and the table is set. The party’s getting started soon, and I want you to be part of the celebration. Jesus is the host, and He is ready to welcome you with open arms. Do not pass up this good time, please.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com

Philippians 3:20-21; “But our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.” (any emphasis mine)

Next, 1 John 3:1-2; “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us, is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now [all who have accepted Jesus as Savior], and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.”

1 Corinthians 15:49-52; “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust [Adam], we shall bear the image of the Man of Heaven [Jesus]. I tell you this brothers/sisters, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; at the last trumpet. For the Trumpet [of God] will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers/sisters, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope [died without Jesus]. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord; that we who are left alive [at the Rapture Call], who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command; with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the Trumpet of God. And the dead In Christ will rise first. Then, we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord.”

Please note, this is prior to the start of the Tribulation/Wrath, and at least seven years before Jesus actually sets foot once again on this earth. When the Tribulation/Wrath starts, all believers up to then will be with Jesus, and taken before the Judgment Seat of Christ to gain or lose rewards (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10). This judgment is not for the purpose of sending anyone to the Lake of Fire, as that one takes place at the end of the Millennium for all those who will have been lost forever (Revelation 20:11-15).

For all believers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, the prospect of getting a perfect forever body with a new mindset that will be immune from any sin nature is a real hope that will soon be fulfilled. Considering my age (past 70) and seeing people who are physically and even mentally impaired, keeps us looking up for our redemption (Luke 21:28). We will never be totally “whole” while humans on this earth.

When God first made humans, we were supposed to be immortal and live forever. However, with the sin in the Garden of Eden, God fulfilled His promise of Genesis 2:17; “but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

It’s true that they did not immediately die, but they began to know pain, and their quality of life changed drastically. They were no longer immortal but began an aging process that would actually lead to their physical bodies to cease to function (death). Their spirits would continue to exist, just as ours do today.

For those who went against God’s commandments from creation to pre-Calvary, and all who will have refused to accept Jesus from Calvary to the end of the Millennium, will be in a holding place that is not pleasant at all. This is a prelude to the suffering they will go through for all eternity. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is the perfect illustration of this. The rich man was suffering after his human body died, and Lazarus was in the “bosom of Abraham” or paradise (Luke 16: 19-31).

The final judgment of all the unsaved will take place right after Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire. He will join the final antichrist and false prophet, who will already have been there for a thousand years. Everyone there will receive what degree of eternal punishment they will be given, and be separated from the Lord forever. There is no pardon from this judgment. They will wish to completely cease to exist but will not do so.

All those who were and are faithful will not be at the Great White Throne. Our first judgment as stated is the Judgment Seat of Christ. The second judgment is for all the Tribulation/Wrath martyrs (Revelation 20:4). Finally, there will be the end of the Millennium judgment (Matthew 25:32-46). At this judgment, there will be the final separation of the saved from the lost. The lost go to the long line at the Great White Throne, and all the saved will go into eternal life. All judgments are final and forever.

[Todd’s note: Most Rapture Ready writers place the sheep and goats judgment at Christ’s Second Coming, but Dennis is entitled to his unique view.]

For all who will be with our Lord and Savior forever, we will have bodies that will be perfect and designed to last forever. Never again will we have “aging pains” or need any corrective surgeries. Never again will we say goodbye to loved ones who have died, as there will be no death in Heaven.

Jesus conquered death at Calvary. Also, He paid our sin debt in full and provided a means for forgiveness for all true believers as given in 1 John 1:8-10. In our new bodies, as I stated earlier, we will not be subject to temptations, and we will remain sinless. There will be no Satan or his demons to tempt anyone.

The new heavens and new earth will be wonderful. Revelation 21:4 describes this as, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore; for the former things have passed away.”

To have the promise that the Father has given, we must receive and accept Jesus as our Savior. Without Jesus, there is no Salvation. John 14:6; Acts 4:12; John 3:18; 1 John 5:12 and others all tell us that without Jesus we cannot be saved. Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:9-13 say that all who call on Him will be saved.

No special “ceremonies,” recitals, or any price can be applied. It’s a heart-thing – inviting Jesus to be in your heart forever. He would love a relationship with you but will force His will on no one. He will be coming back soon, as all the signs given in the Bible about the time of the end are here for the first time. If you have Him as your Savior, you’ll avoid the worst seven years this world has ever endured.

Every day, at least twice a day, I say to the Lord that it wouldn’t be too early to take us Home. One day soon, my wish and prayer will come to pass. Would love for you to be there too!

Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!

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