Invitation and Rejection – Preaching
Preaching on Luke 14:17-21 – And at suppertime he sent his servant to say to those who were invited, “Come, everything has been prepared… bring here the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
The Supper – Luke 14:17-21
The Word speaks of the supper, the wedding, the union of the Church with the Lord Jesus, that great event that the Church is waiting for, which is the rapture. When the rapture takes place, we will sit at the table with the Lord to partake of the great supper.
In the comparison of this parable we see that the Holy Spirit invites certain people to take part in the supper. The invitation was not addressed to everyone, but to some, to those special people.
This great supper prepared by the father of the family symbolizes the great supper that the Church will attend with the Lord Jesus in eternity, that long-awaited event that will take place after the rapture. We will be raptured and then we will sit down with the Lord Jesus to take part in that feast that will take place in eternity, the feast for the union of the Lord Jesus with his Church.
In the past (and even today), the important people of the kingdom sat at the king’s table. This will happen to us on that great day.
The Guests – Luke 14:17-21
Initially, the invitation was addressed to a special group, and the Word shows this in a figurative way. We know that the Jews were called and that the Gentiles (non-Jews) had no right to salvation at that time.
The Jews were invited, the feast was prepared for them, but they rejected it, they didn’t heed the invitation, they disobeyed it and left the Lord’s presence.
When the Jews didn’t value the invitation (preferring to do other things rather than go to the feast), the Lord turned to the Gentiles.
Considering this same comparison, we can say that this can also happen to us. We too have received the invitation, accepted it, received the Lord’s blessing, opened our hearts, but there came a time when certain things began to enter our lives and became more important than salvation, than the Lord’s blessing, He took second place. That’s rejection. When the Lord doesn’t come first in our lives, we are rejecting him.
The Rejection Process
The father of the family (Father) sent his servant (Holy Spirit) to invite the Jews to the supper, to the marriage of the Lamb (Son), but he received three kinds of excuses in response.
Let’s consider, let’s understand that we are the ones who have been specially invited, who have received a blessing, but who, at a certain point, begin to reject the invitation that the Holy Spirit has given us.
The rejection is not deliberate. Those who reject don’t mean to, they don’t want to, but they reject through their actions.
Apologies
1st) I’ve bought a field, and I need to go and see it.
The field speaks of each person’s interests. One day, however, we entered the Lord’s field, where treasure was hidden (Mt 13:44).
When we open our hearts, we enter that field which is the Lord’s, a spiritual field, because everything spiritual is in the interest of spiritual things. We leave our material interests behind and enter that spiritual field and thus find the treasure that was hidden there, a treasure of great value.
When you leave the Lord’s field and return to the field of your personal interests, you are rejecting what is the Lord’s and then you start apologizing: Look, I’m sorry, but I have an unavoidable appointment today, I can’t attend to this invitation because I need to see the field I bought, I’m committed to it, I can’t today.
The person rejects without wanting to reject, it’s not intentional, it’s not on purpose, this rejection is imperceptible, the person is not categorical, they don’t say: Look, I’m rejecting, on the contrary, they don’t say it because they don’t want to reject, but they are rejecting through their actions. This is our care because the things of the Lord are very sensitive and the Holy Spirit knows our hearts.
2nd) I’ve bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out.
Behind the yoke of oxen is placed the plow, which is an agricultural tool that lifts and turns the soil, preparing it for sowing and planting.
The plow has a kind of handlebar where the farmer holds on to it and, at the other end, a tip that has a resistant material, an iron, for example, which will make the furrows in the earth, in the soil to be sown. The oxen pull the plow and it opens up the land in furrows. The person driving the plow must always be looking at the ground because they need to follow the direction of the trail they are making and to avoid stones.
When a person sees a stone, they stop the oxen, remove the stone and carry on working. If they’re not careful, the stone could break the end of the plow, tip the plow over and cause them to fall and hurt themselves, and that’s why the Lord Jesus said: “No one who takes up the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
Whoever is holding the plow must always be looking at the end of it to steer it and not let it bump into anything.
The yoke of oxen is what binds man to the ground, his gaze is completely turned to the ground, he can’t look up, he can’t look at the things of the Lord, they are the powers that bind man to the earth and take him away from the presence of the Lord.
Why are there two?
Because it’s a double portion, it’s really strong.
3rd) I got married, so I can’t go
It’s man committed to the flesh.
These are the three things that compromise man so that he rejects the invitation, the three excuses: his personal interests, the powers that bind him to the earth, and his commitment to the flesh.
These three things correspond to vanity, money and affection.
When Elijah was told by the Lord to anoint Elisha to be a prophet in his place (I Kings 19:16), he went to meet him in the field, when he was plowing the land with twelve yoke of oxen. He was with the twelfth.
Elijah passed by and threw his cloak over Elisha.
Elisha left the oxen and asked Elijah to go and say goodbye to his parents.
Elijah agreed.
When he returned, Elisha killed a yoke of oxen and cooked them with the wood from the plow.
And when Elijah was about to be taken away, he said to him: Ask me what you want me to do to you, before I am taken from you.
And Elisha asked him: I pray thee, let there be a double portion of thy spirit upon me. (II Kgs. 2:9)
In God’s work, he who wants the double portion of the Spirit must sacrifice the yoke of oxen, he must sacrifice that which binds him to the ground, he must make the flesh die (the oxen) and burn that which binds him to it and to the earth (the plow).
Everything Elijah did, he did twice as much. Whoever wants a double portion of the Spirit needs to sacrifice what binds him to the ground. Elisha sacrificed the double power that bound him to the ground and received a double portion of the Holy Spirit.
The Attitude of the Father of the Family
The Invitation to the Gentiles
When he heard all those excuses from his guests, the man became indignant and said to his servant:
Go out quickly into the streets and neighborhoods of the city, and bring here the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
Poor – Those who have nothing.
The Jews were born into a family that had all the guidance concerning the things of God.
There are people who were born in an evangelical cradle, that was their wealth. We were the poor because we didn’t have this wealth.
Cripples – Those who have to be carried.
Mancos – Those who don’t walk correctly, they don’t walk in a straight line. We didn’t get the Way right either.
Blind – Those who can’t see anything.
This is how we came into the Lord’s presence, and you have to be in this condition to receive the invitation and take part in the feast.
We had nothing, but the Lord, out of his infinite mercy, called us to take part in his supper and sit with him at his bountiful table. We accepted the invitation and that was very important for us, we valued what the Lord had given us, the invitation was superior to everything around us.
We are in the Lord’s field, earthly powers do not hold us back, they do not prevent us from accepting the invitation. Our commitment is not to the flesh, but we are committed to the Lord.
What happened to the first guests, those who rejected the invitation?
The father of the family said:
None of those men who were invited will taste my supper.
It’s interesting how the Lord sees things. Initially, the good ones were invited, but they rejected the invitation. We, who were not good, received the invitation later, because of their rejection, and we were accepted into the Lord’s presence. And, in the end, the Lord called the first ones bad.
So we see that the wicked before the Lord are those who reject the invitation.
Come, everything is ready
Everything is ready for the party, we just have to accept the invitation, the price has already been paid, the Lord Jesus has already fulfilled his part of the project, what was his to do, he has already done, he has already given his life for us, there’s nothing left on God’s part, there’s nothing left on our part, we just have to accept the invitation.
There’s still room
You can come, because there is still plenty of room, just listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and come.
Rejection is a human project. The servant has accepted the Lord, but the supper hasn’t taken place yet, so he has to be careful not to get involved with that which binds man to the earth, to secular things.
The process of rejection happens gradually, it’s not all at once, it’s slow, you get involved with this, with that, without wanting to reject the invitation, but you end up rejecting it because it’s coming into your life, it’s taking up space, it’s the flesh, it’s the powers, it’s the wood.
You left everything behind, but that “good” thing you liked reappeared and you got involved with it again. You had already abandoned it, but it began to creep in slowly, without you realizing it, and you began to look down, to the ground, forgetting to look up, to eternity, you rejected the invitation.
It’s a gradual process. First you buy the field and see it. Then you buy five yoke of oxen and try them out. Finally, you get married, make the commitment and you can’t go anymore. First he saw it and it touched his flesh, then he tried it and, finally, he got completely involved, got married, consummated the commitment and that’s it, he’s out of the supper.
There is an invitation from the Holy Spirit. The servants who have accepted the invitation need to be committed only to the Lord, so you have to be careful not to get involved with the things of this world.
Excuses are all acceptable, anyone can understand your situation when you say: I can’t go because of this or that, but for the Holy Spirit that’s rejection.
Sometimes you want both, you really want the Lord, but you get involved with one of these things and end up rejecting the invitation.
Everything is ready and there’s still plenty of room.
Those who have rejected the invitation will not take part in the supper.
The invitation is out there for everyone who wants to sit at the table with the Lord and taste his supper. You can come.
It’s still time to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and accept the invitation to this supper that will take place in eternity.
Amen
Preaching Outline on Luke 14:17-21 – And at suppertime he sent his servant to say to those who were invited, “Come, everything has been prepared… bring here the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
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