BIBLE MEDITATION:
Luke 14:15-24; 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!” Then 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.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 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, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 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. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”
ENCOURAGING WORD:
What I just read is called “The Parable of The Great Supper” First of all, let me explain what a parable is. We read this in;
Matthew 13:10-11; “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He (Jesus) answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, butto them (all unbelievers) it has not been given."
Parables are mysteries that can only be understood if you are Born-Again and indwelled with the Holy Spirit. If you read the parables at face value, you might understand the surface, but you will not understand the deep meaning of what is being taught. Parables will for the most part, seem very confusing. The quick definition of a parable is (a short simple story illustrating a moral or spiritual truth.) Like it says in Matthew, parables reveal the mysteries of “The Kingdom of Heaven.” I personally believe that all the parables are in reference to the church, to those that have received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and believe that He paid for your sins. The reason being is because, if you aren’t a believer, there is no way for you to understand what is being taught. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the truth behind the parables.
Now, let’s break down the true meaning of “The Parable of the Great Supper” and how it applies to us.
“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!” Then 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.”
It is the Father who is preparing this Great Feast. Those who were originally invited were the Jews. When Jesus came to the earth the first time, the main focus was to fulfill once and for all, the sacrifice that would now pay for their sins instead of just covering them. Covering their sins was the reason for daily sacrifices. The daily sacrifices just covered their sins, it didn’t pay for their sins. But Jesus, the spotless lamb of God paid for their sins and those that became believers were washed clean of all their sins. This is speaking of the kingdom of heaven where the “Great Feast” will take place after the days in which we live will have been completed. Those that accepted Jesus will be present at the “Great Feast” The misunderstanding for their unbelief is that the Jews believed that the Messiah would come and bring about their promised Kingdom at that time. They were not expecting their Messiah to come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. They were expecting their Messiah to come as a fighting Warrior. If they would have received Jesus Christ as their Messiah at that time, all things would have been ready, but as we know, that was not the case. Good thing for us, otherwise there would have been no hope for the gentiles to enter heaven.
Then we read the next section where all kinds of excuses rolled in as to why they would not attend the feast.
“But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”
These are those that rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah because once again, they were expecting a "Messiah that was supposed to deliver them from all oppressors and lead them into a new golden age. A Rabbi from Galilee was not what they were expecting. What they did not know was this, Jesus did not come to deliver Israel from all oppressors and lead them into a new golden age at that time, He came as a suffering servant to pay for the sins of the world, where all who would believe on Him would be saved from the eternity in the "Lake of Burning Fire." The Jewish Kingdom they were speaking of, would not come for another two thousand years, which by the way, will come when Jesus returns to set up His "One Thousand Year Millennial Kingdom," this will come at the end of the seven year tribulation period. This will usher in the time of rest which was ordained the seventh day of the week.
Remember what we read in 2 Peter 3:8; “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ta thousand years as one day.”
To God it will be the seventh day, to us it will be the seven thousandth year.
Then we go on.
“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, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind."
Let me explain right up front, the lanes of the city, and the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind are possibly speaking of those that were in Jerusalem but unable to attend because of some disability, so I believe this is a message is also to all who are disabled in our world that aren’t able to make rational decisions on their own. I believe all who suffered in this world due to some disability will automatically enter into heaven when they pass on from this world. There is a reason why some people are disabled, something that we will never understand this side of Heaven. I don’t believe that they will suffer throughout life in this world and then be cast into the “Lake of Burning Fire.” That doesn’t sound to me like something God would do, but then again, God's thoughts and actions are much higher than ours, so regardless of what we think, God’s will, will be done. The poor, maimed, lame, and the blind people could also apply to healthy people. You may say, we aren’t poor, maimed, lame, and blind, but in the sight of God, we are. We are poor in faith, maimed and lame and blind to the truth of the Word of God, so in a sense , the healthy are also in this category. Until the Jews rejected Jesus Christ, the gentiles were all outside of Gods plan of salvation.
We read John 4:22; “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
Originally salvation was for the Jews as we just read, but because of their rejection of their Messiah, we, the believing gentiles were grafted in. It was then, at that time when the door was open to receive gentiles into the Kingdom, but only those that would receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Then we get to the last couple of verses in this parable,
“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. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”
Those that rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah were now no longer invited to the “Great Feast.” It was then that the door was open to all who would receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and become Born-Again into the Holy Spirit.
Now let me explain how this applies to us today. First let me say this, the Servant that is mentioned in this parable is the Holy Spirit. Those that are in the highways and hedges are those that the Holy Spirit is calling on to become Born-Again. The door to salvation is open to all who will accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and accept the greatest gift ever offered, it is the gift of Grace. This is the only propitiation for our sins. Rejection of this gift will exclude you from the heavenly kingdom or to put it more clearly, you will end up in the “Lake of Burning Fire” for all eternity. The “Certain Man” (The Master) who gave the “Great Supper” and invited many to enter was God the Father. Those that were called, were the Jews, (no gentiles at that time). When the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God, The Father, sent the Holy Spirit out into our World to gather, what we now know as the true church, those that would believe and be Born-Again into the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is now calling on people to join the Great Feast which will come at the end of this age. But what do we see happening. Most people are rejecting the truth and they are making all kinds of excuse as to why they won’t receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, just as the Jews did back when Jesus came the first time. Things are no different now than they were back then. Truth is being rejected and it has become a famine in our world just as prophesied in the days of old. That famine is Spiritual Famine.
The invitation to sit at the table of the “Great Feast” is still open to all who will receive the truth of the Gospel. Those that reject the Gospel will join all those that rejected Jesus when He rode into Jerusalem two thousand years ago.
Everybody seems to want to blame the Jews, for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, when in reality, we are all just as guilty. If you sin, which we all do, you are the reason that Jesus Christ hung on that cross. If He didn’t, we would all be destined to the “Lake of Burning Fire” for all eternity. The reason that Jesus went to the cross was because of His love for you and I! But we have to accept His love and the truth of the Gospel.
So, are you going to follow the rebellious hearts of those that rejected Jesus back two thousand years ago or, will you join the millions of Born-Again believers that have accepted their Invitation to the Greatest Supper that will ever be. All you have to do is RSVP by accepting the free gift of “Grace” and follow Jesus Christ during this short time that we have left here on earth.
Most likely you will not be taught this doctrine in the majority of the churches of today. The main reason is because, most of the pastors are not Born-Again and do not understand the truth behind the parables. I have heard these teachings explained away so many times. The reason being is because they need them to make sense in their eyes. The reason that they do not understand parables is because parables explain what will happen in the end times, and most churches of today do not believe the end time prophecies that apply to today, so they have to allegorize them to make any sense. When you take out the thirty percent of the Bible, which is prophetic, there is no way that you can understand the rest of the Bible. Prophecy explains everything that is happening today, take out prophecy and nothing makes sense.
The door to grace is still open, but that door could close soon. When it does, that will usher in the worst time in human history. A time that you do not need to be a part of. You can accept Jesus Christ and be Born-Again into the Holy Spirit, or you can be left behind and suffer through what we refer to as “The Great Tribulation” Don’t let anybody tell you any different.
So, the last thing I have to say, is what God said at the end of the parable that we just learned, “Come, for all things are now ready.”
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