Pastor Scott Andrews | March 15, 2026
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Luke 14:12-24
When we first moved to Boone in 1997, there was an older couple in the church, Al and Hermine Hartley. How many of you remember them? They lived in Ft. Meyers, Florida most of the time, but they had a summer home at Grandfather Mountain. Al was a comic writer and illustrator. He did some comics you’ve likely never heard of – Pasty Walker, I guess was a big one – but for many years he did the Archie comics – Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and the rest. He actually did some work with Atlas Comics, the precursor to Marvel, and even did an issue on Thor for Marvel; in 1965, he actually helped write Iron Man issue #68 – but decided superheroes were not his forte. All of that was before he and Hermine became Christians, born-again Christians by their own confession, in their mid-forties in 1967 – in fact, at one point when doing the Archie comics, he was told to tone down his Christian beliefs.
Anyway, I mention them not to talk about Al, but Hermine, his wife of 61 years. She was a wonderful lady and wrote a book called The Family Book of Manners, published in 1990. While out of print, you can still get it on used book sites – I commend it to you. Manners from a Christian perspective. It was a marvelous book. We did family devotions at dinner each night – and we actually took a few weeks off to go through that book – no doubt, one of our kids’ favorite memories. If you have Ben and Laura over for dinner and she knows which fork to use, you can thank Hermine.
That’s what the book was about – manners, with a large section on dinner table manners. How to set the table, fork and napkin on the left, knife and spoon on the right, expressing gratitude to the host, complimenting the meal, how to fold the napkin and where to place it post meal, you don’t begin eating till all are served – all that important stuff. Yes, parents, you can still get that book online at used book outlets.
You see, Hermine came to mind this week as I was continuing to study Luke 14 and the Sabbath lunch Jesus attended one day at a leader of the Pharisee’s home. As we saw last week, we don’t know where it was, but we know it was a Sabbath day, and this particular Pharisee was an important one – perhaps even a member of the Sanhedrin. But here’s my point: Jesus clearly never read Hermine’s book. He blew the lunch up – not once, but four times. Now, to be clear, Jesus never sinned, and frankly the lunch needed some significant correction.
Four times. First, He began by healing the man who had dropsy, what we today call edema. He was clearly a plant – a test by the scribes and Pharisees to get Jesus to break their rules – not the Law of Moses – their rules by enticing Him to heal on the Sabbath. They were watching Him closely, that is, to see what He would do. Talk about poor table manners – they were tempting Him to, in their estimation, sin. Well, of course Jesus did heal the man, then He corrected their faulty thinking by asking two questions, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? You’re the ones who made up the rule, only if it’s life threatening. And, Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? Of course, you would – demonstrating that you care more about animals than people. They had set a trap, He sprung it on them. And in the process, He offended everyone.
Second, again as we saw last week, while they were watching Him, He was watching them. And He noticed their poor table manners – poor manners which sprung from a heart of self-righteous pride. He noticed they were jockeying for position – for the best seats closest to the host – seats of honor. Well, having offended everyone, He now zeroed in on the guests, calling them out – don’t take the best seats, the places of honor. Take the last seat and perhaps the host will say to you, come up closer. I suggested Jesus was not giving the family book of manners on table etiquette, but was calling out their pride and calling them to humility. After all, he who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Social etiquette wasn’t the issue – self-righteous pride was.
Which brings us to the text today, where third, Jesus now turns His attention to the host and his table manners. Last week, Jesus told the guests where to sit and where not to sit; this week He tells the host who to invite and who not to invite. He’s blowing up everybody. Then fourth, He’ll round out this lunch party-crashing with a parable of the great feast, the great banquet to come – how everyone is invited, but who will attend, and who will not. Let’s read the text – Luke 14:12-24. (Milestone Sunday)
You have to wonder – in that last verse, was Jesus still telling the parable or did He switch back to those at the luncheon. I want you to understand: Jesus is throwing a grand dinner party – a magnificent feast – a great banquet and all are invited. Some will refuse to come, but the party will happen anyway. And it will be full. The question is, will you be there?
The text starts with Jesus taking the host to task. He’s already blown up the lunch by healing the man on the Sabbath. Then He called out the guests. Now, He turns His attention to the host. The outline of the text, which is a continuation of the lunch started last week, looks like this:
- Who to Invite to Dinner (12-14)
- Who Jesus will Invite to Dinner (15-24)
Verse 12 says, And He [Jesus] went on to say to the one who had invited Him. Jesus was on a roll – might as well take out the host, this leading Pharisee, as well. You see, the man deserved to be called out, and it carries application to us today. When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
And many of us may go, yeah, exactly – that’s the point. Isn’t that the way we do it? The rich invite the rich, the poor invite the poor, and we middle class invite the middle class. I’ve never been invited to the Met Gala. I invite people over I like, knowing that not only can they, but they will invite me back. Tit for tat. Reciprocity. That’s the way it works, right? Maybe not.
Now, to be clear, Jesus was not suggesting you can never invite friends or family over for dinner. He regularly dined with those He liked – who were His friends. Mary, Martha and Lazarus come to mind, as well as the Last Supper – although, Judas was there, too. But His point is, friends and family should not be the only ones on your guest list. The truth is, and this is painful, if that’s all you ever have over, then you are really just serving yourself. And they will invite you back – and you’ll have your repayment. The tally will be even, good for you. Again, Jesus peels back their ultimately self-serving motives. You invite people over that you like, and well, they will like you back.
Instead, Jesus said, when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Why? Two things to note about this amazing group of people. First, they are not typically on anyone’s guest list. They are the overlooked, the marginalized, the uncared for, the ones left out. Jesus says, invite them, go after them. Oh, and by the way, you should know second, they have no means to pay you back. In other words, you’re not inviting them over to receive – to be paid back. Reciprocity. No, you’re inviting them over to care for them, with no expectation of repayment. They can’t. In other words, why don’t you just care for people, love people because you care for people and love people. Not for ROI – a return on your investment – because you love people, especially the ones most don’t.
Well, except there will be a return. Notice, Jesus says, you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you – that’s the point – you will then be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. I haven’t said this in a while, but Jesus showed up and switched the price tags of life. The things we thought valuable, aren’t, and the things we think worthless, aren’t. The way everybody does it – reciprocity – don’t.
Several important things to notice. First, there will be a resurrection. Don’t miss that – it’s the first time the word resurrection appears in Luke. But that means Jesus, the Son of God, expects, declares a future resurrection. This is not all there is – there is a resurrection to life to come for the righteous, which means further, there will be a judgment. I mean, who determines who the righteous are? There is judgment. And then, your righteous deeds will be seen and recompensed, rewarded. You may not be paid back in this life – that’s not, after all, the goal. But God sees, and you will be blessed – you will be repaid, rewarded. Now, to be clear, you are not made righteous by your deeds, but you are proven to be righteous by your deeds. As Dom reminded us, faith without works is dead. So, here’s the question as we close this point: who sits at your dinner table?
Which brings us to our second point, verses 15ff. It is one of the most remarkable, memorable and meaningful parables Jesus ever told. He talks about a great feast, a great banquet. Will you be there? Having just mentioned the resurrection, someone at the lunch, reclining at the table with Jesus, said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” One of my commentators suggested this guy was trying to salvage the lunch that Jesus just blew up. Finally, He said something we like, we can agree on. Maybe.
You see, there are several things to note there. First, these religious leaders, the Pharisees, they did believe in the resurrection. We’ll find out later the Sadducees, who controlled the Temple, the high priesthood, the chief priests, did not. How can you be a religious leader and not believe in the resurrection? Good question. But these did. It’s interesting to note – we believe many of the same things the Pharisees did – orthodox beliefs. You men, it’s possible to believe the right things and not get in? You see, further, as such they believed they, of all people, would be included in the resurrection of the righteous, and they also would be seated at the Messianic banquet to break bread in the kingdom of God. If anyone would make it, they would. They were sure of that.
So this exclamation, like everything else at this luncheon, was self-directed, self-promoting, and self-aggrandizing. We will be there, because of our God-pleasing self-righteousness. But… Jesus said to him – and He launched into a scathing, yet hope-filled story of the banquet He will one day give – who will be there, and who won’t. There is an invitation. Will you be there?
Jesus speaks of three groups of people – two groups will be there, one will not. He starts with the group who won’t. But He said to him – the one who exclaimed assuredly the ones there will be blessed and it would be them. To these, Jesus said, “A man was giving a big dinner [the ESV has it, a great banquet], and he invited many.” Immediately those listening would have looked at one another admirably. Clearly, we are the many, which is the point, by the way. They were the many – but they hadn’t heard the rest of the story yet.
Now, you should understand, this is how the cultural practice went at this time. The man, obviously a wealthy man, would send out an invitation to all those and only those invited. He would receive RSVPs, and as this was an important community event, a big party, most would say, why yes, count me in. But they had no clocks, watches, time pieces at this time – the day would be identified, but the time would be later announced in a second invitation. They didn’t know when it would be, but they would be ready, anticipating, prepared. In fact, it would go like this – as the preparations were completed, the table ready, the servant would go out again – all is now ready. Come, for the dinner is at hand – come and enjoy the feast.
Understand, this was the expectation of the Jews. They knew the Messiah would prepare a great banquet – and they would be invited. They weren’t too sure about anyone else, but they’d be there. After all, Isaiah 25 said it this way:
6The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
7And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
8He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9And it will be said in that day,
“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
Hallelujah, they thought. This was that for which we longed, waited and prepared. By the way, in its context, it was a message of grace – not worth. In other words, the gracious King, the Lord of hosts, would invite you to His table. You didn’t earn it – He will save, and His people will rejoice in His salvation. Through the years, they lost that part. They thought they had earned a spot at the table.
Bringing us back to Jesus’ parable – remember, an earthly story revealing a spiritual truth. And His story contains a shocking twist. As the second invitation was announced, time to come, they all – don’t miss that – all of them who were expected to come – those who had previously been invited and affirmed they would be there, began making excuses. Look at them:
The first said, I’ve just bought a piece of land and I need to go look at it – consider me excused. I won’t be able to make it. A couple of challenges with that excuse. First, who buys a piece of land without looking at it before the purchase? You would survey the land, then make the buy. Second, he bought the land – it was his – it would be there tomorrow – he could go see it then. But no – he made a completely ridiculous excuse. The hearers would have looked at one another in wonder – who would do that?
The second said, I’ve just bought five yoke – five teams of oxen, and I am going to try them out – see how they perform, how they work together. Consider me excused. Two challenges with that excuse. Obviously, this was man of wealth – who buys five yoke – ten oxen to serve in tandem – without first checking them out? Further, the purchase is made, he could check them out tomorrow – or as a wealthy man, have a servant check them out. But no, I won’t be able to make it. The hearers would have looked at one another in surprise. Who would accept the first invitation and reject the second? That’s just rude.
The third said, I’ve just married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come. He doesn’t even politely as for recusal. Sorry, won’t be able to make it. Did the wedding surprise him? Didn’t he know he was getting married when he RSVP’d yes? Would a few hours away at this important community even cause marriage trouble? True, the Law in Deuteronomy said you were excused from military service for a year after getting married. It didn’t apply to this. This was an evening away. The hearers would have looked at one another in astonishment.
And yet, are these not the excuses most give today, and feel justified about it. I’ve got property to take care of; I’ve got a job that demands my attention; I’ve got a family that is my priority. Those all sound like good things, even right things. Unless, of course, in your focused attention on them, they keep you from the table. I’m too busy for the things of God – I’ve got my responsibilities that consume my time – good responsibilities. They are expected, even by those who claim to be religious, spiritual. Like good little Pharisees who do what we should and don’t do what we shouldn’t. With that, God is well-pleased, right? Not if you are counting on your performance of good things to get you in. The invitation by the Master awaits – how important is the Host to you? Are you making acceptable excuses to keep you from the table? Here’s the bottom-line truth – these people didn’t want to come to the banquet.
And the slave came back and reported to his master – an interesting choice of words. The man or the master in most parables speaks of God Himself. The slave reported to the master, and the head of the household became angry. They had been invited – expected to be there. They said they would. These were their flimsy excuses.
This is a parable, but I want you to consider the excuses: two were material – land and oxen – I suppose we would say houses and cars today. And one was relational – I’m newly married. All three excuses kept those invited from the banquet. My possessions, my holdings, and my relationships are more important than being seated at the master’s table. Oh, I intended to be there – I said I would – but life’s demands took my attention – I won’t be able to make it. Those expected to be there, won’t. Listen carefully, even these seemingly legitimate responsibilities are trifles compared to the eternal kingdom of God.
This was an indictment on the Pharisees and scribes and lawyers and the religious there that day. They had created an entire system of self-righteousness that convinced them, they were in. The had built an entire system of legalistic requirements based on the Law of Moses. But they didn’t know God – and He didn’t know them. Many suggest what happened here was the invitation had gone out through the OT and the prophets. And therein they focused. But when the Messiah came, extending the second invitation – to believe the gospel of the kingdom – to believe in the person of the Christ as Jesus – and what He came to do through His death and resurrection, they rejected Him. They said no. And we will see Jesus’ response to their rejection in the last verse – they will be disinvited.
So the master said to his slave, go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. That sounds familiar – the same list Jesus gave the host a few short verses ago. Go invite those who are typically not invited, who would never expect to be invited, to come. The broken of society – the sick, the feeble, those who have nothing to offer – because the feast is ready. Invite them – they are welcome. And they will come, you see, exactly because they are broken, and they have nothing to offer but their need. There is no way they can reciprocate, pay back the host. They understand the meaning of grace.
And so, the slave went as commanded, invited those who did not deserve a place at the table [no one did], and came back to report once again. Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. And the master said to the slave, Go out to the highways along the hedges – those hedges which probably divided lands and animals and crops – hedges where the poor, beggars, the traveler, the foreigner, often found refuge to rest – go to those places and compel them to come in, so that my house will be filled. Many masters would have cut his losses – not this master. His banquet will be full.
These people, likely along with the second group, had to be compelled. Not forced, but encouraged. They never expected to be invited. They didn’t know the master, the host. But the host knew them. They will need some encouragement – yes, the master is calling you to come and sit at his table. Because his house will be filled by people who understand grace – who understand they don’t deserve to be there. Most agree this third groups speaks of unexpected Gentiles – those who were far off – never expected to be at the table.
So, a little side note here: we go and compel people to come in. We don’t force, we encourage them to accept the invitation to believe. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says it this way, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
It was the hope of the Jews, promised in Isaiah 25 and other places – which spoke of the nations. It is the hope of the church, promised in Revelation 19, which reads:
7“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” [this great banquet is a marriage feast]
8It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited [just like that guy said at lunch that day, blessed are those invited] to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”
There is a great banquet coming. Jesus will be the host. The question is, will you be there? It may be your life is consumed with things – responsibilities – properties, possessions, occupations, duties, family. And you may express those fulfilled responsibilities to the Master. But the question is, have you truly given your life to the Lordship of Jesus. Has the Lamb of God forgiven your sin, and are living with Him as the Lord and Master of your life? Or do you simply tip your hat to religious responsibilities – do all the things you should, don’t do the things you shouldn’t? Are you living a life of faith in Jesus and His gospel? Do you understand, you don’t deserve a seat, but you are invited anyway. It’s called grace.
Notice the last verse as we close. In this parable, Jesus has been quoting the slave and the master of the house. But here, most agree He makes a switch. For I tell you [and you is plural – he’s no longer speaking to the slave, but to those present], none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner. None of those who think they’re in because they deserve to be in, will be there. They were invited, but they refused. They won’t make it. Only those who realize they don’t deserve it, will be seated at My table. One said it this way, “Man cannot save himself, but he can damn himself” by refusing the invitation. Will you be there? Are you counting on yourself, or are you counting on Jesus as the Master? There is still room at His table.