You are invited

Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden,

Come; for all things are now ready.

Luke 14:16-17

In Luke chapter 14, Jesus tells us of a man who desired to give of himself to bless others. Some were willing to honor him and accept his gracious gift, while others were not. We all fall into one of these two categories. Which do you fall into?

Verse 16

Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

This man invited many. God invites all. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

Verse 17

And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden,

Come; for all things are now ready.

All things are now ready for our salvation:

“Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

John 19:29-30

This man had given of himself and prepared something great for the blessing of others, but when he invited them to come, instead of coming they made excuses:

Verse 18

And they all with one consent began to make excuse.

The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground,

and I must needs go and see it:

I pray thee have me excused.

There is nothing wrong with going to see a piece of ground that has been purchased, but this could have been done at another time; a time that did not interfere with accepting the kind offer of this gentleman.

Verse 19

And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them:

I pray thee have me excused.

Going to prove oxen probably would have been a lot of work. Honest work is a good thing, but this man could have easily done this at another time that would not have prevented him from coming to the supper.

Verse 20

And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

Marriage is a great thing, but marriage need not have kept this man from attending a supper that he had been invited to by a gracious man.

Verse 21

So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things.

Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant,

Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city,

and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

When this man understood that the people to whom he had shown such grace had rejected his grace, he was angry. God is the same way: only judgment awaits those who reject the great gift of his Son. Those who were needy were the ones to come to the man’s supper. Those of us who know we need God’s great gift of eternal life are the ones who will come to him.

Verse 22

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded,

and yet there is room.

Just as there was room at the man’s supper table, so there is always room at the cross.

Verse 23

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges,

and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Just as this man’s servant was sent out to urge people to come to his great supper, so God’s Holy Spirit will urge us to come to him.

Verse 24

For I say unto you,

That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

God bids each of us to come to him. When God bade me, I came. He invited me so graciously to partake of his gift of eternal life. He bids us all. Will you come?

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.

And let him that heareth say, Come.

And let him that is athirst come.

And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

Revelation 22:17