MEDITIONS FROM THE PARABLES OF JESUS
THE
GREAT SUPPER
Read
Luke 14:15-24
Jesus told this parable in the home of
one of the chief Pharisees. When Jesus made mention of "the resurrection
of the just," someone said, "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in
the kingdom of God."
To this Jesus responded with the parable of the "Great Supper." Since
someone at the meal had just spoken of the great blessings of which those who
enter God's eternal kingdom of glory will partake, Jesus spoke this parable to
warn His Jewish audience concerning their rejection of God's invitation to take
part in this kingdom. They had the promises of the Old Testament Scriptures
concerning the coming Messiah and Savior and His eternal kingdom, and they were
called and invited by God to be a part of this kingdom through faith in the
Messiah and Savior. Yet when Jesus--that promised Messiah and Savior--appeared
to redeem all mankind by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death, and
when the Gospel invitation went out again: "Come, for all things are now
ready," did they come? No, they excused themselves for various reasons.
They were too concerned about worldly things and too deceived by their own false
religious beliefs to see God's kingdom or enter into it. Jesus warns that those
who reject God's gracious invitation to enter His eternal kingdom through faith
in Jesus Christ will never taste the blessings of salvation and eternal glory
in Christ Jesus.
God has also graciously invited us out of the
streets and lanes, highways and hedges, to "come, for all things are now
ready." Jesus Christ, by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death
for all men, has won for us forgiveness of sins, life, and a place in God's
eternal, heavenly kingdom! Let us not be so busy with the things of this world
that we neglect to hear and accept God's gracious invitation in Christ.
Dear Lord Jesus, Today Thy mercy calls us
to wash away our sin. However great our trespass, whatever we have been, how
ever long from mercy our hearts have turned away, Thy precious blood can
cleanse us and make us white today. Amen. (TLH., Hymn #279, Verse 1)
Meditations from the Parables
of Jesus Index