Luke 14:15-24 (ESV Strong's)
When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
Tag: Don’t Let the World Distract
In the above parable of Jesus we are reading about the priorities of life. Jesus is telling us a story about how the Kingdom of Heaven is being presented to mankind. But, man has been distracted. In the above parable you have a story about a “man” (representing God in Jesus’ teaching) who gave a banquet (representing the Kingdom of God). He invited people to join his banquet, but those invited had more important things to do (what could be more important that attending the banquet representing the Kingdom of God?). Instead of waiting for those invitees to arrive, the man goes out into the streets and invites anyone to attend (representing believers). The wealthy (those who bought lands) and the industry minded (those who must train their five oxen) and those love others more (the one who married someone), will not be allowed to enter the banquet (the Kingdom of God). The banquet (Kingdom of God) is for he blind, the lame, the poor, the outcast ... it is for those who have nothing in this world. We must not allow the cares of this world to distract us from the most important invite of all: Being members, by faith in Christ, in the Kingdom of God. That is where our citizenship is from.
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