THE CHOSEN, THE CALLED, AND THE INVITED

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LUKE 13:31-35
LUKE 14:1-24
Lesson #40
THE CHOSEN, THE CALLED, AND THE INVITED

• Memory Verse: Psa 70:4
• Jesus Christ had been teaching along the way as He and the disciples approach Jerusalem. He had spoken boldly in parables that indicate the lost condition of the religious leaders and the judgment that will come upon them.
  • They continue to look for ways to discredit Him with the people, and ways to terminate His mission.
  • Of course, as Jesus pointed out in our previous lesson, there are two opposing kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.
  • In this lesson this theme of the two kingdoms continues.
• Read Luk 13:31-35
  • King Herod is concerned about Jesus large following and the possibility of a rebellion against Rome.
  • Jesus calls Herod “a fox” and then predicts his own death and resurrection. (32)
    • In other words, Jesus’ message to Herod is that He has been busy healing the sick and not raising a rebellious army.
    • Herod will not need to worry about Jesus because soon He will be crucified.
  • Arriving at the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem, Jesus overlooks the city and feels great sadness for the judgment that is coming. (33-35)
    • “…for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” (33)
      • This phrase seems somewhat sarcastic because in the next verse Jesus says that the religious leadership killed the prophets of Israel down through their history.
      • In fact all the Old Testament prophets were killed by their own people. They killed the messengers of God because they did not like the messages they brought.
    • “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” (34)
      • This is God’s lament through all of Israel’s history.
      • God wanted to be like a mother to His people, wrapping His loving arms around them to protect them, but they did not want God’s love and protection.
  • ^“ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (35)
    • This is Jesus’ prophetic prediction of the coming judgment on Israel and Jerusalem in 70 AD.
    • Then in the same verse Jesus predicts the final salvation of the Jews at the second coming of Christ when they will receive Christ as their Messiah.
• Read Luk 14:1-6 A Man Healed on the Sabbath
  • Only Luke tells us this story about Jesus’ invitation to eat in the house of a Pharisee where a man was healed on the Sabbath.
  • This is the last Sabbath before the crucifixion.
    • We have seen numerous previous occasions where Jesus healed on the Sabbath amidst numerous occasions of criticism.
    • We have seen various occasions where the religious leadership invited Jesus to their homes only for the purpose of finding some way to trap Him and discredit Him.
      • Humanly speaking, knowing of this plot behind the scenes, we would not accept these invitations.
      • Notice that Jesus is not worried about these plots. He accepts the invitations for His purposes:
        • He uses these occasions to train the disciples how to handle adversity and opposition.
        • He uses these occasions to minister personally to the hearts of those who are against him, giving them an opportunity to repent and get right with the Lord.
  • Jesus’ reaction to this deceitful set up:
    • Notice that there is a sick man present in the house of the Pharisee. Probably he was there by design, specifically to get Jesus to break the Sabbath.
    • Notice that Jesus takes the initiative.
      • He asks the Scribes and Pharisees if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath.
      • No one answers Jesus (4).
        • Why was it so bad for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath?
        • The Scribes and Pharisees believed that to do any kind of work on the Sabbath broke the Mosaic Law.
    • When there is no objection, Jesus heals the man and asks the Scribes and Pharisees about their practice of the Law of Moses.
      • If their animal fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would they not immediately rescue it?
      • In other words, which is more important an animal or a point of Law? Which is more important an animal or man?
        • Many people today place greater importance on animals than on man.
        • In God’s creation, man has greater importance than animals, why?

Man has an eternal soul.

Animals do not have an eternal soul, neither can they experience salvation.

• • • • • Mercy is more important than Law.
• Read Luk 14:7-14
  • The Parable of the Ambitious Guest
    • To whom does Jesus speak the parable?
    • Jesus is speaking to a mixed group of lawyers, Pharisees, and the disciples.
    • What action prompted the parable?
      • Jesus saw how the Pharisees chose the best seats. (7)
        • What does the chief seat represent? (8)
        • In the culture of that day, the tables for eating were arranged in a square in this fashion:

The head table had three seats. The center seat was the place of greatest honor.

On the other side was a table with three seats. The center seat was the place of the second greatest honor.

Around on the other side was a table with three seats. The center seat was the place of the third greatest honor.

Around on the fourth side of the square, the table had three seats with the center seat being the place of the fourth greatest honor.

• • • • • When dinner was called to begin, the Pharisees ran for the best seats of greatest honor.
      • Jesus was sitting on the sidelines watching the people as they came in.
        • He saw the struggle for precedence, prominence, power, and influence.
        • He saw the evil motive behind people’s actions.
      • The desire of the Pharisees was to be seen by others in the company of someone important.
    • Discussion: In what ways do we see this same attitude today?
      • Jesus says that when you go to someone’s house, you should take the lowest seat, and the host will elevate your standing if he so desires.
      • If you take the most important seat, it would be very embarrassing if someone of higher standing came in and you took his seat. Then you would have to move to a lower seat. The one of highest standing in the Pharisee’s house was Jesus, and He took the most insignificant seat because it was not important to him to impress anyone.
      • At a formal dinner party in old England, the practice was to put the salt shaker at a certain point on the table. If you were invited to sit on the side of the salt shaker toward the host, you were more important than those who were told to sit below the salt. The location of the salt shaker became the dividing mark between the socially important and the socially unimportant. Therefore, we get the saying in English, “He is not worth his salt.”
    • The significance of the persons in the parable:
      • In the parable, who does the host of the wedding feast represent? The host represents God, the Father.
      • Who does the man invited to the wedding represent? (8) This invited guest represents the believer in Jesus Christ because we are all invited into the kingdom of God to be the bride of Christ. Those who agree to attend the wedding are welcomed.
      • The significance of the objects in the parable: What does “the chief seat” represent? (8)
        • The chief seat is the most honored position nearer to God. Some of the disciples had this same attitude that Jesus observed among the Pharisees.
        • Read Mar 10:35-44
    • What does Jesus mean by verses 12 and 13?
      • “Then said he also to him that bade him, when thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.”
      • The common practice was that a person would invite only those people that he knew would reciprocate with a subsequent invitation in return.
        • Therefore, Jesus is teaching that when you do something for someone, don’t do it with the expectation of getting something in return.
        • If the person reciprocates, you have your reward. However, the best reward will be the reward God gives us in heaven.

Notice that Jesus says in verse 13 that one should invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind.

These are people who would not be able to return your favor.

Also to the socially elite people, you would not appear to be someone of great importance in the company of these kinds of people.

These are the people who were not welcome in the Jewish temple.

Jesus used the example of the poor, the lame, and the blind because of the Pharisees in his audience who saw these people as unacceptable in the temple.

• • What is the central truth of the parable?
    • There are three messages to this parable:
      • =1= Do not seek glory and importance in the kingdom of God.
        • Humility is the key.
        • Read Mat 20:20-28
      • =2= Give without expecting anything in return.
        • This is the principle for Christian hospitality.
        • God will reward even the smallest act.
      • =3= Jesus also, in a very subtle manner, indicates that God, the Father, is the supreme example.
        • God invited us, the poor, the lame, spiritually blind, the needy into his kingdom through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
        • He gives us eternal life as a free gift.
        • God does not expect anything in return. Instead, His attitude is one of supreme grace.

Read 2Cor 8:9

Read Eph 1:6

• • • And, of course, because the Jewish leadership was refusing to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the kingdom would then be offered to the Gentiles who were considered the dregs of society.
• Read Luk 14:15-24 The Parable of the Great Supper
  • Background note:
    • A man of rank and affluence would send out two calls to a planned feast. The first was a preliminary call conveying the invitation and a suggestion to make all necessary preparations for accepting the invitation.
    • The second call was the actual invitation that came later. It indicated that the feast was now ready and that the invited guest should give up what he is doing, act on the invitation, and attend the feast.
  • What does the great supper represent?
    • The supper is called “great” because of who gave it. The “certain man” giving the feast represents God, the Father. (16)
    • The supper is called “great” because of what it represents. The great supper represents the kingdom of God.
      • The kingdom of God includes all the blessings of being a child of God such as provision for all our needs as well as eternal life.
      • The great supper is called in scripture, “the marriage supper of the Lamb”.
      • Read Rev 19:7-10
  • Who do the many who were invited to the supper represent? (16)
    • The many people that God invited to be partakers of his kingdom were the Jews through all of history.
    • Who does the servant represent in verse 17?
      • The servant represents those in the Old Testament who called people to the Lord.
      • They were the Old Testament prophets.
    • What are the three excuses given?
      • Verse 18 says that the people were all of “one consent” or one mind in their refusal.
      • Even though there are 3 excuses, their answer is one…rejection.
        • The word, “consent” does not occur in the original language. In other words, they were one in the excuse they gave (one in spirit and essence).
        • These excuses are those given after the second invitation was received.

Excuse #1:

He bought a piece of ground he had not seen.

This is a very unlikely story to have bought something without first seeing it.

This is also an unlikely excuse for a person would not go to see land in the dark at the supper hour.

The significance of the excuse:

This excuse represents a person with a worldly perspective rather than a spiritual perspective.

The things of this world are more real than the things of God.

The things of this world are darkness spiritually.

Excuse #2:

He bought five yoke of oxen. He does not give any reason why his oxen come first. They just do.

The significance of the excuse:

This excuse represents a person with a wrong priority of material things that take precedence over spiritual things.

Material things are more important than the things of God.

Excuse #3:

He married his wife.

This is a poor excuse because the host would have known of the guest’s marriage and issued an invitation to his wife also.

The significance of this excuse:

This excuse represents a person with a wrong use of time.

His domestic cares and lustful desires require more time than the things of God.

• • • What was the host’s reaction to the rejections? (21) The host responded with anger and a new invitation.
      • Discussion: What does this reaction tell you about God?
      • God is offended by rejection, but He continues to pursue man despite rejection.
        • In other words, the door continues to remain open until the feast begins.
        • Then the door is closed and it is too late to accept the invitation.
    • Who do the poor, maimed, lame, and blind represent?
      • These people, without prestige and influence, represent the Gentiles who recognized their destitute condition and their need for something spiritual in their lives.
      • These people also include the believing Jewish remnant who humbled themselves before God.
      • Read Rom 11:5
    • Who do those invited from the highways and hedges represent?
      • These represent the world population as a whole through all time and in all places.
      • In other words, while the world is made up of only Jews and Gentiles, and these are represented by the first two groups, God emphasizes with this third group that there is always room for more and he is out there searching for them. No one slips through the cracks without receiving an invitation.
    • What does verse 24 mean?
      • Verse 24 means that those Jews who rejected God’s invitation into his kingdom have made their choice and will not be saved.
      • Even though they think they are saved by the fact that they are God’s chosen people, it is too late for them.
    • What is the central truth of the parable?
      • There are three groups invited into God’s kingdom to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb:
        • =1= The first group that God called to come were the Jews. (17)
        • =2= The second group that God called to come were the believing Jewish remnant and the believing Gentiles. They were brought into the kingdom. (21)
        • =3= The third group that God called were those Gentiles in the rest of the world. He “compelled” (strongly urged) them to come into the kingdom. (23)
      • The parable teaches that all are called to come to Jesus, but not all accept the invitation to come to Him. Those who despise the invitation are excluded from the kingdom for eternity.
• Application:
  • Through these parables we come to understand the great longsuffering mercy of God, where His love abounds even faced with severe rejection and the prideful attitudes of people who think they are better than others.
  • God chose the Jews, called the Gentiles, and invites all people to accept Christ’s invitation into the kingdom of God.
  • The Jews rejected their Messiah. But the Gentiles are no different because the majority of people in this world reject God’s invitation.

Homework
Luke 14:25-35

• Application of Luk 13:31-35 and Luk 14:1-24
  • The excuses in this lesson for not accepting God’s invitation were:
    • An earthly perspective
    • Wrong priorities
    • Wrong use of time
  • Have you avoided these excuses in your personal relationship with Christ? If not, which do you need to work on in your life?
• Preparation for Luke 14:25-35
  • Read Luk 14:25-35
    • What would you say is the most important thing to remember in this section of scripture?
• Memory Verse: Luk 14:33