Parables:Keys to the Kingdom: Wedding Feast

Luke 14- Kirk Rupprecht 

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Transcript

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Alright, I guess I do. Um, how's everybody doing? Good, good. Um, just grateful to be just with you guys today. Um just one of I don't know, one of those weeks. I don't know if you guys have experienced one of these before where you just kind of feel like there's just a lot. And just feel like there's the fullness of life. You see, there's just moments of joy, then moments of challenge and hardship and struggle, and it just reminds me of like just the beauty of having a space like this to come together. And uh the beauty of of even this passage we're looking at today of just the invitation of Jesus. And uh so I'm just I'm encouraged to be able to share uh this passage this morning. And uh thank you, Elaine, for reading uh just a portion of it. And as we were I was just kind of thinking through, you know, this this whole passage studying, what I what I realized is that there's so much depth found throughout this whole uh this whole chapter, chapter 14 here of Luke. And so we're not gonna read all the um the verses because it's it's a lot, but I would encourage you guys this week or even just you know, as I'm up here, just just read along if you have a Bible with you. Uh take a look at this whole uh passage of of chapter 14 that that the gospel of Luke shows us. And um this morning, you know, we're we're in this this uh teaching of keys of the kingdom as that um throwback to the we sports thing showed us that uh parables of uh Jesus. And uh we're gonna look at just an incredible key this morning. And uh I want to just start by looking at um really we're gonna we're gonna break down chapter 14 a little bit, where I kind of look at it as like if you watch um like a series on Netflix or something like that, right? There's like a um let's just take, for example, you guys have probably heard of that thing, Stranger Things, right? And there's different episodes, right? So I'm gonna break it down today into just four different episodes, not of Stranger Things, but of uh Luke chapter 14, of course. And so the first one we're gonna look at, uh I'm gonna call it episode one. It's gonna be verses 14. Oh, sorry, verses chapter 14, verses 1 through 6. And it's uh it's called the incident, okay? Need some like dun dun dun, something kind of cool like there. Uh all right, so here's what's happening. So Jesus is um he's eating in the house of a Pharisee. Now, if if you you know something about the gospel accounts, the Pharisees they invite Jesus to a lot of things, not necessarily because they um they want to celebrate him or anything like that, but really they want to trick him, they want to uh question his authority, and and they just want to, you know, looking for reasons altogether to just challenge his ministry. So this this dinner invitation probably was not um motivated by hospitality as much more as like maybe like an investigation of Jesus. And Luke says this, he says, they were watching him closely. They weren't listening to him closely, right? They weren't learning closely, they were watching him closely. Uh I was thinking, maybe you experienced something like this before, like um maybe you were invited somewhere, maybe maybe out to dinner or something like that, but it felt like more like an audition, right, than an invitation. Um maybe you're like in a new relationship or something like that, or you meet the parents of uh you know the person you're dating, right? It's it's it's almost like sure there's an invitation, but there's also this evaluation of who you are. So uh that's the Pharisee's approach here. And and yet Jesus, I love that he still accepts the invitation. He still shows up to the table. Because Jesus, as we'll see throughout the gospels, Jesus doesn't waste an opportunity uh for a table and for a meal. And so during this dinner, here's what happens: there's a man who's suffering from what's called dropsy. Now, listen, that's not like this man was like clumsy or like dropping plates or anything like that, right? This would be known as this medical condition today, known as edema, okay? And this man, he's brought before Jesus. Now, here's what happens: he's he's visibly he's suffering, but there's a tension here. The dinner is taking place on a specific date. The dinner is taking place on what's called the Sabbath. And if you know anything about the Sabbath, the Sabbath is a set-apart day in the Jewish custom and law. And so Jesus, he sees this suffering man, right? But he puts aside this, he puts aside the custom and the law, and he responds with compassion and he heals this man. Now, most of us will probably hear that and be like, wow, go Jesus, right? Way to go. Uh the Pharisees, however, took it a little differently, right? In their minds, healing on the Sabbath violated their religious system. Like, if Jesus had healed this man the day before, no issue. Right? If you healed him the day after, no controversy. The problem was that Jesus healed this man on a day that violated uh the religious, uh, the the religious standing of this group. And what takes place from there is really the silence around this table becomes incredibly loud. Right? And and the Pharisees, they're thinking this, Jesus, don't you know the rules? Right? And with that, here's what their response is, what they reveal. They've placed boundaries on a boundless God. Right? Instead of rejoicing that the suffering man has been healed, which is an incredible thing, they become disturbed. That Jesus, he's operating outside of their preferred framework. Right? That's what's that's what's taking place. And before we move on, though, I think there's something important here for us to chew on a little bit. Is it possible, even in our own faith journeys, we ever find ourselves with this like posture of the Pharisees? Almost like limiting where God can move, who God can save, right? Defining like what settings are appropriate for Jesus. And what the Pharisees are wrestling with might be called something like this: it's this idea of like a sacred secular divide where religion becomes elevated over things like relationships, where policy gets prioritized over people, where systems overshadow the mission of God. Now hear me out. Yes, there are um people who are set apart unto God, that is true, and there are spaces set apart for distinct worship, right? Like the church, like we're gathering today. But when it comes to the movement of God, right, there's no sacred secular divide. And why is that? Well, it's because you you can't divide omnipresence. God is present everywhere, right? There's no environment beyond his reach. You see, Jesus, he dismantles this divide pretty pretty often. Right? There's no environment beyond Jesus' uh terms, domain, right? He says, I think about the the idea of this the Samaritan woman at the well. If you know that story in John 4, the disciples are confused that Jesus would engage with this type of person. But what Jesus does, he steps directly into that space anyway. And he says this, he says, the hour is coming now here when the true worshipers worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. So there's a question for us here. When we think about where God can move, when we think about something like how God can move or who God desires to save, do we attempt to confine this boundless God to our like limited understanding? Or do we trust Him as this limitless God who he truly is? So that's episode one. Now we're gonna go to the next movement, episode two. It's called the instruction. So Luke chapter 14, verses 7 through 11, Jesus tells his first parable here. Now the genius of Jesus is on display here because he speaks directly into the setting that he finds himself. Because Jesus, he's at the dinner table and he tells a parable about what a banquet, right? It's incredible. And doing so, here's what Jesus is doing. Essentially, Jesus is teaching table manners for the kingdom of God. And the instruction here is simple. The roles of the banquet, these have already been clearly defined. And so here's what that means. When you are received this invitation, understand this. The seat of honor has already been taken. The role of the guest of honor already belongs to someone, and that someone, of course, is Jesus. Right? Jesus is the host, Jesus is the honoree, Jesus is the king. Like if we were going to um gather around the table and sing, for he's a jolly good fellow, right? That jolly good fellow would be clearly defined. That would be Jesus. Okay? That's that's where we find ourselves. And so here's how Jesus talks. He says, we approach him as receiving this invitation in a particular way. And that way is through humility, humbly. Jesus says this when you're invited, go and sit in the lowest places. Now the question is, why why the lowest? Like why there? Well, here's the thing. Because what we recognize, and Jesus is trying to tell us, this kingdom does not operate the way our world does. It's very different, right? It doesn't operate through things like self-promotion, it operates through humility, which is a direct challenge in this moment to the Pharisees. Like they would have been caught off guard because through their religious practice, through their devotion to the law, they had done this. They developed a sense of entitlement. They believed they had earned the best seat at the table. Yet Jesus, he exposes a problem here. The guest, the guest doesn't set the table, the host does. That's his role. Right? The guest doesn't define the standards of the kingdom, the king does. And what Jesus is confronting is something really incredible. It's this moment of the danger of something like spiritual pride. Right? Spiritual pride, a belief that uh their proximity to their religious activity has now somehow entitles them to a higher standing before God. But that's not how the kingdom works. Right? The kingdom doesn't operate through things like self-marketing, it operates through humility. The invitation is freely given, true. And through that, the proper response is to the invitation. It's not arrogance, it's gratitude. It's not self-exaltation, it's surrender. Because the reality is this every single one of us who finds a seat at the table, the table of God, we are there because of the grace of the host. It's not by our capacity or capability to abide by the law, right? Because the law wasn't there to legislate Jesus, right? Jesus, he does this, he actually legitimizes the law. And so let's let's chew on this thought together for a quick moment. When we think about in our own lives, when it comes to what we do for Jesus, are there moments where we're also at times maybe beginning to feel entitled to maybe a certain standing, a certain seat at the table, right? A certain level of recognition. And honestly, if we're not careful in just exploring that, we can drift into this mindset too where we can subtly just start believing that our service, our service to God, earns us like a greater standing before God. And Jesus, like we could probably say, like, Jesus, hey, I served this much, I gave this much, Jesus, I avoided this sin, right? And those are good things, right? But but but before long, faithfulness quietly becomes like uh entitlement. Uh think back to um even James and John, right? They struggled with this. These guys felt entitled enough to they they did this, they they actually asked their mom. They asked their mom to go ask Jesus if they can receive honor uh in in his kingdom. Right? That's some confidence right there, right? Hey, mom, can you ask Jesus if we can sit in the VIP section, right? Look at this account. And and the mom does it. She says, Hey, say to these two sons of mine or to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom. Right? These guys go and they get mama bear involved. It's pretty wild. And and look at the answer. Jesus says, he says, It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be a servant. Whoever be first among you must be your slave. Even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve to give his life as a ransom for many. And Jesus in this parable, he gives the same answer here. He says, For everyone who exalts himself, this is what happens. He will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So Jesus responds by saying, Greatness, greatness in the kingdom, it comes through this. It comes through humility, right? And it comes through servanthood. And so here's just maybe a key for us as we're we're studying this this morning. A place at the table is not granted through entitlement, it's received through humility. Our obedience, our generosity, our service, they're not for attempts at getting a place at the table. Here's where they flow from. They flow from the reality that we have received this invitation, that we are on the guest list by grace and grace alone. And so, because of that, right, we don't approach the table demanding some sort of like honor. We approach it with what? Humility. We approach it with things like gratitude, not pridefully, but gratefully. All right, now we're on to the next episode. We're moving quick here, but don't worry. Uh episode three is a big one. Here's the issue. This is what Elaine read for us earlier. Jesus, he shifts his uh from table manners to those who are on the guest list. And once again, he's directly confronting the Pharisees in this context. Because the moment that Jesus starts describing the kinds of people that are invited to the kingdom, here's what he does: he lands like a direct hit on the heart of the Pharisees. Like I was thinking, if Jesus and the Pharisees were playing a game of battleship, like Jesus would have just sunk their battleship. That's what took place here. And here's what we recognize um Jesus flips the script. He flips it regarding any those who are welcome into the presence of God. I want to show us how that happens. First, he he reminds them once again, you are not the distinguished guests, right? Or you don't make the guestless. And so, because of that, right, don't build your life around impressing like the socially important amongst you, right? The other religious elite. The people who can do this, the people who actually want to elevate your status in return. Don't surround yourself only with people who you're like the yes man, right, who will just applaud your accomplishments. They'll celebrate your religious image, and doing so reinforce the your sense of spiritual uh superiority. Jesus is essentially saying this this isn't that kind of party, right? And he's saying this isn't your party. Jesus is stating that the kingdom banquet, it's it's it doesn't operate according to our worldly systems, it's just different. It's not about prestige, it's not about networking, it's not about our religious clout, our social standing, right? Jesus is saying this party, it's not about you, it's about me. That's the heart. And and and those that Jesus says that I desire at my table. And so because it's about Jesus, well, Jesus then, he gets to determine the invite list. And I love who Jesus invites. Look at the list he gives. He says, the poor, the crippled, the the blind, the lame. In other words, Jesus he says this invite the people you've overlooked. Invite the people you've pushed aside, the people that society has deemed insignificant, maybe people you've determined are beneath your social standing, maybe outside of your circle, right? Those are the ones, those are the ones I want to see here. Now, why does Jesus say that? Because they have nothing to repay you. They can't elevate your status, they can't offer influence, prestige in return, they can't strengthen your public image. All they can bring is their brokenness, their need, themselves. And Jesus says there's so much joy in that kind of invitation. And the joy comes because the beauty of the kingdom is that people, they're welcomed. It's not because of what they can offer the host, it's merely because they've accepted the invitation of the host. That's grace. That's what grace is. And the joy, the joy is found in watching outcast become a guest, watching broken people experience the presence of King Jesus. Now, not because they've earned it. Yes. Not because they've earned it, um, but because they they've just received it, because they were invited, right? And after this, Jesus says, one of the after Jesus says this, here's what happens. One of the men at the table, he gets fired up. He's excited. He's he's like, and maybe even intrigued by this picture that Jesus is painting of the kingdom. And he blurts out this is blessed, blessed is everyone who gets to eat bread in the kingdom of God. Like Jesus, this is so incredible. What what a party that's going to that this is going to be. And I love this, but then Jesus responds with um just something really honest and powerful and and and almost like sobering. Uh he says this. Let me just drink a sip of water here. He says, as incredible as this invitation uh actually is, he says this, not everyone, sadly, not everyone will accept it. And many people will prioritize lesser invitations over this kingdom one. Things like earthly distractions that that ultimately keep them from the greatest feast that's offered right in front of them. So what Jesus is essentially saying is this um, hey, the banquet is wet, is ready, the doors are open, come join the celebration. And yet he's acknowledging here's the reality. Sadly, as much as um this place is open for anyone, people will place their passions and priorities ahead of this kingdom invitation. And so from that reality, Jesus begins to give us examples of excuses that people make for missing the banquet. Here's the first one excuse number one is is career. I got a lot going on right now, right? Work is crazy. An excuse that revolves around status of work, career. Like this is what Jesus tells in the parable. He says, sorry, I just bought a field, right? And for us, maybe that translates to the hey, work is busy right now, my career is taking off. Maybe when things settle down, I'll have time for your kingdom, Jesus. Now, how how spot on is Jesus? Especially when it comes to like that culture, yes, but what about our the lens of our current culture? How spot on? Because we're a culture where careers do this, they become often they become our identity, our identity, where things like production become worth, where success becomes validation, where people measure their standing based on titles, incomes, promotions, public perception. And as a result, here's what happens. Suddenly the invitation of Jesus slowly gets pushed, slowly gets pushed further and further down the priority list. Because, well, we got to focus on our status, our work, our career. That comes first. And that's how we become identified. If you think about it, in our culture, when we meet someone new, right, we we typically, of course, we ask, wait, what's your name, right? But but what's what's the typically the follow-up question? What do you do, right? Now, there's there's some intrigue in there, curiosity, right? But I think for the most part, we tend to ask that follow-up because we'd rather understand the value of that person and their productivity and career and their status. And so for maybe for some of us today, we might need to wrestle. There's a spider right here. Hold on. Can I kill it? You guys are offended? Okay. What a day. Oh my goodness. Well, he's gone. Okay. Anyway. That's called ADD, guys. I'm sorry. It's been my whole life. Okay. Uh, so, but what we might need to wrestle with is this. Um, if we receive this invitation, right, to the feast, is it possible that my work or my career status is just getting away with my attendance, right? Towards this kingdom, towards this feast. Jesus then gives another excuse. It's this. Relationships. Sorry, Jesus. Like I just got into this new amazing relationship. You know, we need to do this. We need to enjoy some time traveling, right? We need some you know time together just to get to know each other, right? Um, and maybe we can fit your party in later on, right? You know how it works, Jesus. All right, we gotta uh get established. Maybe then, you know, maybe at time we'll have some kids, right? Um, and maybe, of course, then eventually, right? We want our kids to have some sort of moral foundation. So, okay, yeah, maybe in 10 years we'll circle back around to this kingdom invitation, Jesus. Now listen and be clear. Jesus is not saying things like career or marriage are wrong, right? He's not saying work is wrong. He's not saying relationships like marriage are off, right? What he's doing is this he's exposing what happens when good things become ultimate things, right? The issue for Jesus isn't career, the issue isn't companionship, right? Those are gifts from God. They're part of his design for humanity. The issue comes this. When these created gifts become prioritized over the creator himself, when that happens, they they begin to operate out of their intended design. It's the whole like cart before the horse analogy, right? Work isn't wrong, marriage isn't wrong, companionship isn't wrong, but placing those things above God and at the expense of what he's inviting us into, it does, it distorts the purpose of why these were created. So God invites us to work, yes, right, but to labor from a place of connection with him. Not to do this, not to spend our entire lives laboring first, then maybe carving out some leftover time for him. And look, God designed marriage as something far more deeper than mere companionship. Marriage is created as a reflection of covenant, it's a reflection of Christ and his bride, the church. And yet many people enter into marriage just simply seeking companionship, comfort, or personal fulfillment at the expense of missing this intentional, deeper invitation that God calls us to through first and foremost leaning into Him. And that pattern offered in this parable, it's so relevant to our culture, it becomes like this hey, let's build our life together first, and then maybe if faith fits into it, maybe we'll make space for God to somewhere uh join us along the way. Or let me get established in my career, and then I'll carve out time. What I just want to share is like, listen, Jesus isn't anti-work, Jesus isn't anti-marriage, he's just pro-design. That's what he is. Because he's the designer, he knows how life is meant to function because he's the one who created it. Which means Jesus isn't condemning these things, he's correcting the context of them. But but sadly, these very gifts of God that he designed for joy and flourishing have become excuses for keeping people from experiencing him and experiencing them in the proper design. Because the correct design doesn't come from excusing ourselves from the banquet in order to chase priorities. The correct design comes from prioritizing the presence of God first, from prioritizing the banquet, prioritizing the kingdom, prioritizing this, the host. And it's out of that correct prioritization. Things like work can flow. Things like marriage can flow, right? Be experienced in this reality of this kingdom gathering. So here's the next one. Next excuses that something like this, just temporal parties. Things like money, sex, power, influence, right? Things that only offer temporary feelings of fulfillment, temporary moments of validation, temporary celebrations and satisfaction. And the reality is these uh these all come with an expiration date. That's the truth. Because at some point, money won't matter, right? Sex won't ultimately satisfy. Power and influence will eventually fade. And it's heartbreaking, honestly, how often we settle for momentary celebrations when we're invited to an eternal celebration. It's in that invitation is just sitting at the table in front of us. Here's another excuse. Meaning well, but putting off the invite. So for some of us, maybe the issues we've begun treating Jesus the same way we treat other relationships or invitations in our lives. I'll give you an example. Like maybe we view Jesus like someone we used to spend time with back in the day, right? Yeah, we were close once, right? We used to hang and we see, maybe, maybe we recognize Jesus again. We're like, hey, we should really hang out again, right? And and not because Jesus drifted away, right? He's always present, but because our lives become crowded. But you know those moments where you like randomly run into someone you haven't seen in years, and you're like, hey, we seriously need to get dinner. And then like another five years pass, and you're like, ugh. We do that at times with Jesus, right? Like, Jesus, oh man, I meant to text you back. Sorry, like I meant to reconnect. But you know, Billy had swim practice, Susie got the lead role, right? The play, like work out busy, Jesus. Life, Jesus, life. And so then maybe the key for the from the parable for some of us today is simply this just prioritize this invitation, right? Don't keep giving Jesus the, yeah, we should probably hang out sometime treatment. And and I share this not out of guilt, not out of like obligation, but because of what we're actually missing when we fail to prioritize Jesus. Right? Jesus isn't just some guy looking to occasionally like spend time together. He's Lord over all of life, and he desires to be Lord over your life. He he desires to allow you to understand him, right? And he's Lord, and it's not an oppressive thing. What it is with Jesus, it's a life-giving thing. And and yes, eternal life awaits, but here's what Jesus also promised: it's this abundant life, it's this present life, it's an invitation for here and now, which means maybe today is simply just a call back to abundant life. A call to maybe just stop postponing the invitation, a call to sit regularly with Jesus, walk with Jesus, enjoy the presence of Jesus because ultimately he truly is the life of the party. And maybe there's another group of people today here. It's not putting off the invite, it's doing this, we just avoid it. All right, maybe Jesus has confronted areas of our lives that he knows will ultimately not bring about goodness, not bring about healing, not give life to us. And maybe he's called us away from those patterns of sin that lead to death and invited us towards himself, but there's just we just simply don't want to let go of those things. And because of that, we begin treating Jesus like you know, that person or that couple that honestly we just they just make us feel uncomfortable. And so instead of responding to that invitation, we just avoid it, right? We know they want to hang out, we know they keep reaching out, but we continue to find like creative ways to decline the invitation. Like, oh, I I thought dinner was was uh next Saturday, right? Or sorry, like something came up unexpectedly. My grandma, she just came to town. Wait, didn't both your grandmas pass away? Oh, yeah, uh the one that I adopted from the volunteer nursing home. You know that one, right? You guys know how it goes. We become just like uh incredibly creative when we try to avoid uncomfortable confrontations. And I think spiritually, some of us we can do the same with Jesus. We keep offering excuse after excuse of why we're declining his invitation. But the reality is this because Jesus is a pursuing God, because he loves us, because he desires fullness of life for us, at some point we're just gonna run out of excuses. Now, now please hear me clearly, right? I'm not saying Jesus runs out of love. I'm not saying Jesus runs out of mercy, I'm not saying Jesus stops pursuing us, right? He doesn't stop desiring you. But eventually, we run out of convincing ways to avoid responding to him. Because the reality is real love pursues beyond conditions. Real love, it continues beyond convenience. Now, Jesus doesn't force his will upon us, but he also casually doesn't just give up on his desire for us to come to the banquet. And so maybe for some of us today, maybe the the invitation is just join the party, respond to the invitation. Right? Even today, because because here's here's here's the truth. At some point, the invitation will no longer remain open forever. At Jesus' return, or the reality of our mortality, the invitation phase will conclude. And the one who currently extends mercy and grace will then stand fully in his rightful role as judge. Now, listen, I I know that that truth can feel heavy. Um I know that it can be hard to understand why, right? But but here's how how I've seen it. Um because of sin, right? Sin cannot simply just go undealt with. If God truly is loving, here's what love includes. It includes something like justice, it includes confronting evil, it includes dealing rightly with sin and brokenness. And yet the beauty of the gospel, don't miss this, is the same God who is perfectly just is also overflowing with mercy. He desires that people would receive forgiveness, that people would come to salvation, that people would experience the rescue that Jesus offers. We serve a God who desires all people to accept this invitation to the kingdom feast. And yes, this invitation, it is a free gift of grace. That is so true. It's extended to anyone who desires to receive it. That's the beauty of the gospel. That's the good news. But Jesus closes this chapter with reminding us of just another reality. Yes, while salvation is freely offered, following Him still comes with a cost. And that leads us to our final episode. It's episode four, it's the implications. Uh, 25 verses 33. Jesus, he turns to these crowds and he gathers around and he just gives them an important truth. He says, if you desire to attend the banquet, if you desire access to the kingdom, if you desire a relationship with the Father through the Son, you must understand the reality about who Jesus is. Jesus does not share his seat of honor. He doesn't share his place as Lord with other competing loves, other priorities, other allegiances. Not that Jesus doesn't know how to share, it's because Jesus alone is worthy of that position. He alone is worthy to sit at this ultimate seat of authority, of devotion, worship, and surrender. He calls us to prioritize, prioritize him over any other guest of honor we might have tried to place in his seat. So Jesus tells us that there's a cost, but the reality is that there's also an incredible gain. And that gain comes when we take that step to receive this invitation. And so if if you you're here and you've never taken that step, you've never received that invitation of Jesus, I just want to encourage you. That's that's something you can do right now. Um and I just want to let us know maybe you haven't followed Jesus for a while. Jesus also invites us to another table. Uh and it's the communion table, it's it's the feast that we do in remembrance of what he's done for us. And so as a church, I want to just I want to just let the call the band up and um I want to just walk us through a time of reflection and remembrance through the Lord's Supper. Just sharing this incredible invitation of Jesus that wherever we find ourselves today, whatever weight we're carrying, whatever hardship, whatever sin, struggle, wound, whatever we have, Jesus invites us to reflect and to remember on his work and what he did on the cross, his body broken for us, his blood poured out, all that we can be entered into this new covenant with Jesus. This covenant that offers us not just abundant life, but eternal life. Invites us this presence of his spirit to dwell and live inside of us. That's what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We receive so much. Sure, there's a cost giving up these other these other idols in our lives, these other areas in our lives, but the gain is just it's just remarkable. There's nothing like it.