Luke 13:31-35, 14:1-24 Disciples Serve
Bible readings
Call To Worship Revelation 19:6–9 "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."
Law and Grace Reading Ezekiel 3:16-21 16And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me:17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.18 If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul."
Acts 2: 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you,27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Bible reading: Luke 13:31-35, 14:1-24 Disciples Serve
Benediction: Acts 20:32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
DISCIPLES SERVE SELF-FORGETFULLY
Those of you of my generation will remember the song by Carly Simon, "You're So Vain." Carly Simon never revealed who she was talking about when she wrote it, but she did date Warren Beatty, who dumped her. And he did call her up after the song and thanked her for writing it about him! The words say:
"You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht.
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye; Your scarf it was apricot.
You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte.
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner–
They'd be your partner, and...You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you.
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you. Don't you? Don't you?
Some of you are so vain you probably think this sermon is about you, don't you, don't you?
Well, if you don't think it's about you, it probably IS!
"What's my P.Q.?" (Pride Quotient) Just check yes or no if any of these statements applies to you:
1. I enjoy being the center of attention. Y N
2. I think I deserve the best. Y N
3. Much of my conversation is filled with "I." Y N
4. I find it difficult to admit that I'm wrong Y N
5. I seldom pass a mirror without looking at myself. Y N
6. I'. stubborn–I don't like to be corrected or change! Y N
7. My feelings are easily hurt. Y N
8. I am impatient with other people's mistakes. Y N
9. I don't get enough appreciation for all that I do. Y N
10. I'm offended if I render a service and don't receive a "thank you." Y N
11. I seldom ask for help, because I can do the job better myself. Y N
12. I feel pretty good that I didn't check "yes" to every question! Y N
If you have one or more "yes" answers, it reveals the presence of pride in your life. If you don't have any "yes" answers, it simply reveals you are lying to yourself about yourself! Pride is hard to see in ourselves, but we can easily see it in others. Another problem with pride is: Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Jesus was saying the best way to guarantee you'll fall is to let pride take over your life. I heard the funny story about a frog that wanted to go south with the birds for the winter. It was too far to hop and he couldn't fly, so he thought about it and came up with a solution. He got a couple of his bird friends to hold each end of a stick in their beaks and then the little frog clamped down on the center of the stick with his mouth. The birds took off and the frog was hanging from the stick they were carrying in their mouths. They flew over a couple of farmers who observed the scene. On farmer said to the other, "What a brilliant idea! Whoever came up with that idea is a genius. I guess it was one of those birds who had the idea!" When the frog heard that he just couldn't let the birds get the credit for his good idea, so he said, "I…I...I..." as he fell to the ground. The moral of that story is: If someone else gets the credit for your good idea, just keep your mouth closed!
The problem for most of us is that we don't feel like the Lord Jesus felt when the Pharisees rejected Him. The Pharisees rejected and then threatened Him.
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."32 And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.
Our Pride gets our hackles up. We are ready for the fight. Or the flight! If we were the Lord we would just blast that fox Herod and those hypocritical Pharisees just right out of the water!
But the Lord's attitude is compassionate, not passionate!
DISCIPLES SERVE COMPASSIONATELY
'34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"
Instead of fighting, the Servant Invited people to come to Him. Instead of Passion He has Compassion!
And when read together, that's the next lesson the Lord teaches us about discipleship.
Servants Don't Fight
One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.5 And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?"6 And they could not reply to these things.
"dropsy"—whose body legs and torso was swollen by the retention of body fluids in the stomach and chest cavities and connective tissues. Such swelling often indicates organ failure. The man was very sick, probably terminally ill. They thought they had Jesus trapped.
But Jesus confounded them with a single question: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" (v. 3). If they said yes, they would appear soft and hypocritical regarding the stringent measures they required for Sabbath observance. But if they said no, they could be accused of being inhumane and uncaring about human suffering. It was one thing for the Pharisees to condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. It was quite another to take responsibility for denying recovery to a needy person. Trapped, their only response was sulking silence.
"Then he took him and healed him and sent him away" (v. 4). This must have been an amazing spectacle because "healed" here means completely healed. The watery fluids dissipated, his organs healed, the swelling disappeared! But Luke gave little detail because he wanted his readers to focus on the utter entrapment of the Pharisees and scribes by Jesus.
Jesus' second question further sealed their lips: "And he said to them, 'Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?' And they could not reply to these things" (vv. 5, 6). Their Sabbath regulations allowed them to rescue their animals, as did the later Mishnah (Shabbath 18:3). So to forbid the deliverance of humans would have meant they treated their animals better than people.
They were actually proud lovers of self and position. None of them would make it into the kingdom unless there was a radical change in their spiritual disposition. So Jesus went after their souls.
DISCIPLES SERVE HUMBLY
Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Selfishness always reduces the importance of others and enlarges the importance of one's own life. "I'm the greatest, so where is my seat?" "I'm superior, and this place reflects my worth!" They assumed that if they did not get the chief seats, woe betide others.
The fifth-century Leviticus Rabbah I recommends: "Stay two or three seats below your place and sit until they say to you, 'Go (farther) up.' Do not begin by going up because (then) they may say to you, 'Go down.' It is better that they should say to you 'Go up, go up,' than that they should say to you, 'Go down, go down.'"4 This was good practical advice.
But there is more here than social wisdom. Our Lord was not concerned that his hearers merely learn to take the lower seat so they would avoid embarrassment and then achieve high human honor when they were ostentatiously ushered from the lowest seat to the highest. Neither was he teaching the Pharisees and scribes to put on a staged humility, so they would be greatly honored above their peers. Jesus hated the pride that pretends to be humble. Rather, he was imparting an eternal spiritual principle that will be evident in the end when everything is made right. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (v. 11).
There is something here too about why some take the lesser seats. They are conscious of their right to a better seat and so they would like to be exalted. But everyone knows that rarely happens anyway. You won't get bumped up to first class by not asking for it. But that is the point. True humility won't ask for it. Leave it with God! Let Him settle accounts on the last day, or before as He prefers. Do you really trust God? He will work it out at the resurrection "of the just!"
"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just" (vv. 13, 14). This is a reference to Daniel 12:2 and the second coming of Christ as Lord and King.
"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." (Revelation 19:6–9)
DISCIPLES SERVE EXPECTANTLY!
15 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!"16 But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.17 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.'18 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.'19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.'20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'21 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.'22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'23 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.24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"
We live in view of that great day!
This parable has two applications. The first is to everyone. Everyone should come to the banquet. Make sure you are really a Christian. And secondly every Christian is a disciple on mission with Jesus to invite others to the banquet. Every Disciple is outward focused. And the best you can do for others is to invite them to the banquet in heaven.
What can you take with you when you die? Others!
HAVE YOU ACCEPTED YOUR INVITATION?
The parable begins with a rich man inviting guests to come to a wedding feast. It was a "great" banquet and "many" guests were invited, so it was the social event of the season. Of all the occasions in Jewish culture, the wedding feast was the most joyous celebration possible. This is not a last minute invitation. It was Jewish custom to send an earlier invitation giving the day of the banquet, but no time was set. The guests would have already accepted the invitation, and then on the day of the banquet, the servants would simply go out and announce the banquet was ready. In this parable, our Heavenly Father is the host and each of us is invited to the banquet: it's the greatest wedding banquet in history. It's the wedding celebration of His Son to the Church, the Bride of Christ.
Everything is ready–you only have to come 17, "Come, everything is now ready!"
All throughout the Bible He invites people to Himself. "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) Isaiah 1:18, "COME now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'COME!" And let him who hears say, 'COME!' Whoever is thirsty, let him COME..." (Revelation 22:17) From Genesis to Revelation, God has been holding out His arms to sinful people saying, "Come to me" Why don't you come to Him today?
DON'T INSULT HIM WITH STUPID EXCUSES! Vs 18 To decline an invitation from a great man was like a slap in the face, an insult. In verse 21, we are told the owner of the house became angry. God is still angered by the empty excuses people try to offer Him.
An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.
The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.'19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.'20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'These excuses are lame: Whoever heard of a guy buying land but not checking it out first? "A man's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)
Excuse #2: My job keeps me too busy! The second fellow indicated he just purchased five yoke of oxen, so he was going out to test them. You and I know dozens of people who don't have time for God because they stay so busy with their jobs. Are you using your job as an excuse for giving God 100% of your life?
Excuse #3: My family takes up my time! It was unheard of to invite a man to a wedding feast and not invite the wife. Jesus said you cannot follow Him unless you love Him more than your mother or father, or brothers or sisters, or wife or husband or children. Family time is important. But your family need to have eternal life too, are you are depriving them of that?
DISCIPLES SERVE THE LOST
God's servants must go and deliver the invitation. Every Christian is like a heavenly Postman. God has issued the invitation to everyone–and we are to deliver it everywhere. We should take it to the down who live in the shacks, and the to the up and outs who live in the mansions. It's to everyone! The streets and byways were the pagans and the gentiles!
That's why we are an evangelistic church. We don't believe you should just sit around and enjoy the party–we want to invite others too. God has told us to GO, so we GO!. Proverbs 11:30, "He who wins souls is wise." Andrew Murray said there are only two kinds of Christians: Soul winners and Backsliders. Are you doing as the Master commanded? Have you delivered His invitation to anyone?
CH Spurgeon- "Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.
Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you're not saved yourself, be sure of that!"
"Compel them to come in." The Master is saying, "Don't just invite them, bring them if you can!" God wants us to have a sense of urgency and fervency as we go. God wants His house to be full. He wants us to keep bringing folks into His family. Here, there and everywhere!
When a church stops going and stops bringing people to Christ, they are saying: you can just go to hell for all I care.
And that is a church that doesn't have the Saviour's compassion or the Saviour's favour!
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