(Using the print feature in your browser will print the sermon without the navigation menu on the left.)
I'm sure that everyone of us, at one time or another, has received an invitation to a wedding, graduation, or birthday party. My family recently received an invitation to attend a wedding in Austin this summer. We filled out the RSVP and are looking forward to being there.
We are invited to some events that we just don't want to miss. They are very important to us, so we make every attempt to attend. On the other hand, there are some events that we would rather not attend. We just don't want to go. We have something more important going on. We are too busy or just not interested.
Well, in our text for today, we receive an invitation. It's not an invitation to a wedding or to a birthday party. It's an extraordinary invitation. We will learn today that God invites us to believe in Jesus. He wants us to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
The master of the house gave a great banquet. The food is prepared. The table and chairs are set up. The dishes and silverware are on the table. The candles are lit and the wine is poured.
Then, the master sent his servants to say, “Come, for everything is now ready.” Don't bring a covered dish; there is plenty of food. Don't bring your wallet; the meal is free. Furthermore, there is no work to be done. Everything is already prepared. Just come, eat, drink, and be merry for you are the guest of a man who wishes to do you good. You are the guest of a very generous and merciful man.
The meaning behind this parable is that God the Father is the master. He sent Jesus to be your Savior. Jesus took your sins upon Himself and paid the price in full. Jesus died and rose again for you. Because Jesus lives, you too shall live. Jesus is your bread of life and your living water. Therefore, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust in Him alone for your salvation. There is nothing for you to do regarding your salvation. Jesus has done it all. It is finished. This sounds too good to be true, but it is true.
But, if you are more interested in worldly things than heavenly things, you would be just like the three men in our text who gave excuses for not coming to the supper. The first man just bought a piece of ground and wanted to go see it. The second man just bought five yoke of oxen and wanted to test them. The third man just got married and cannot come. These are all ridiculous excuses. The point is that all three men didn't care about the master's free supper. They had more important things to do. They were more interested in worldly things than a free gift. In the end, none of these three will taste the master's supper.
This is a picture of those who refuse to believe in Jesus as their Savior. They do not believe that God is merciful and gracious on account of His Son. They reject God's gift of free salvation. They refuse to hear Jesus' life–giving Word and follow Him. They are offered the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins, and victory over death, but they say, “No thank you.” On judgment day, God will destroy those who have rejected His Gospel.
We hear many excuses today. “I cannot come to church, because I stayed up too late on Saturday night.” “I cannot come, because I have to try out my new boat.” “I cannot come, because I have other more important things planned.” And the list goes on and on.
Dearly beloved, do not let Satan take your faith away. Do not let the world and the sinful flesh choke out your faith in Christ. Be cautious of the temptation to put family, work, and pleasure above God. Don't give excuses for missing worship, but make Sunday morning a high priority. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the earthly things you need will be provided.
It's easy for us to point the finger at those who are not here this morning, but all of us are sinful by nature and are in constant need of God's free banquet meal. Inwardly, there is a sinful pride and an arrogance which loves to compare itself to others.
God is not fooled. He can look into our own heart and see sin and unbelief. He is not appeased by excuses. He knows when we simply go through the motions apart from repentance and faith. So, do not say, “Well, I'll repent later.” Repent, now! There may not be a tomorrow.
Dearly beloved, the banquet is now ready. There is no work for you to do. The Word was read from the lecturn. The Gospel is being preached. Furthermore, the altar is set, and the meal is ready to be served. Everything is provided. Believe in Jesus as your Savior. Eat and drink. You are the guest of God Himself who wishes to do you good. He is merciful and gracious.
After the master of the house found out that those who were invited rejected his invitation, he said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame.” And the servant said, “Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.” Then, the master said to the servant, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
Our sinful flesh will ask, “Why invite the poor and the crippled and the lame and the blind? They have nothing to give and nothing to contribute. Is the master of the house crazy? These kind of people are the outcasts of society. Why does the master want to invite those within the city and those outside the city?”
The point of our parable is that, just as the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind have nothing to contribute toward the supper, so also, we sinners have nothing to contribute toward our salvation. The Gospel which is preached and taught is free. We come to supper empty handed and are filled with life and salvation.
We are the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. We were stripped of our righteousness in the Garden of Eden, yet in Holy Baptism we were clothed with Christ's righteousness.
Because of Adam's sin, we were crippled and lame, like a lost lamb. We cannot make it back to the fold. We cannot, by our own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ our Lord or come to Him. And yet, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, found us. He washed us clean in the waters of Holy Baptism. He bandaged our wounds and make us clean. As His dear lambs, we now follow Him on this path of righteousness all the way to heaven.
Because of Adam's sin, we were blind and could not find our way out, but Jesus is our light and our salvation. Therefore, we fear no evil.
Again, we contribute nothing toward our salvation. Jesus has done it all. He fulfilled the law perfectly. He appeased the wrath of God by His righteous sacrifice upon the cross. He destroyed death and the devil, and He paid for our sin. Christianity, therefore, is about Jesus. It's about what He has done for you by His death and resurrection. Faith believes in this Gospel and trusts in it for our salvation.
God wants His house filled. He wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth no matter what a person's skin color or economic situation or social status or age. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Therefore, invite the bad and the good; the Jew and the Gentile; Democrats and Republicans; blacks and whites; the rich and the poor; every neighbor and friend; every color and race. All those in Wylie, Lavon, and Sache are invited to believe in Christ as their Savior. Yes, even here at Faith Lutheran Church there is still plenty of room.
Therefore, the church is called to “Go, and make disciples of all nations by baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them about the Words of Christ (Matthew 28:19).
One of the Pharisees sitting at the table said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.” The Pharisee thought that he was already in the kingdom by virtue of his genealogy with Abraham and on account of his good works. But he failed to see that Jesus is the bread of life and that entrance into the kingdom is through faith in Jesus. Jesus once said, “The sons of the kingdom will be cast out in to outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). Those in hell are there because they have rejected the Gospel and have resisted the Holy Spirit. They refused to be blessed by God's grace and mercy in Christ. They refused to humble themselves as poor miserable sinners. They have neglected to see their need for a Savior.
Blessed is he who looks to Jesus as the bread of life. Jesus once said, “Blessed is he who hears the Word of God and keeps it.” Scripture also says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven.”
Blessed are those who are baptized into Christ and who believe in God's promises made in baptism.
Today, we have the chance to partake of the Master's supper. We call it the Lord's Supper. The food is prepared, and all things are now ready. Here, the poor will receive forgiveness; the crippled and the lame will receive strength; and the blind will see with the eyes of faith Christ's body and blood. The Lord's Supper is also a foretaste of a banquet meal in heaven.
So, there are some events we would rather not attend. But the place where God is present with His gifts of life and salvation is something we would not want to miss. May God keep us in the one true saving faith now and forever. Amen.
( TOP )