Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
September 26, 2001
Introduction
What to do at dinnertime. Jesus had been invited to a meal at the house of
one of the chief Pharisees. While He is there, a series of things happen and Jesus
uses this dinner to bring help and instruction.
While He was there, a man with a disease called “dropsy” (or, edema) showed
up. Since it was a Sabbath day, the Pharisees watched Jesus carefully to see if
He would break their tradition of not allowing any “work” done on the Sabbath.
Jesus addressed this issue and shows the Pharisees again that God’s heart is to
help people, even on the Sabbath.
Then Jesus turns to talk to the other guests at the party. They had been
pushing and shoving to get the best seats at the table, and Jesus teaches them
that the best thing to do is the humble thing, to take the last seat.
As Jesus has talked about humility, He continues to use this dinner party…
:12-14
:12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a
supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy
rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee.
that bade – kaleo –
to call; to invite
This is the man who is hosting the meal, a “chief of the Pharisees” (14:1)
dinner – ariston – the
first food taken early in the morning before work, breakfast; later usage:
dinner
supper – deipnon –
supper, especially a formal meal usually held at the evening,
new translations (NAS, NIV) – “luncheon or dinner”
friends – philos – friend,
to be friendly to one, wish him well
kinsmen – suggenes – of
the same kin, akin to, related by blood; in a wider sense, of the same nation,
a fellow countryman
neighbours – geiton – a
neighbour
rich – plousios – wealthy,
abounding in material resources
bid thee again – antikaleo –
to invite in turn
recompense – antapodoma
– the thing paid back, requital
These people, your friends and such, will always pay you back.
:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the
blind:
a feast – doche – a feast,
banquet
call – kaleo – to call; to
invite
the poor – ptochos –
reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms; destitute of wealth, influence,
position, honour
the maimed – anaperos –
disabled in the limbs, maimed, crippled; injured in, or bereft of, some member
of the body
the lame – cholos – lame;
deprived of a foot, maimed
the blind – tuphlos –
blind; mentally blind
:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou
shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
blessed – makarios –
blessed, happy
recompense – antapodidomi
– in a good sense, to repay, requite; in a bad sense, penalty and vengeance
Who are these people? People who can’t return your favor. These are people
you might not normally associate with.
resurrection – anastasis
– a raising up, rising (e.g. from a seat); a rising from the dead
Jesus is talking about heaven here.
just – dikaios –
righteous, observing divine laws; in a wide sense, upright, righteous,
virtuous, keeping the commands of God; approved of or acceptable of God
Does this mean I can’t ever spend time with my friends?
Not at all. Jesus spent time with His friends.
Just don’t think that it’s going to earn you any special rewards from the
Lord.
The problem is when we get to the point where all we ever do is spend time
with people we’re comfortable with.
Lesson
Think outside your comfort zone.
In a way, Jesus has just demonstrated this to his host. Jesus had been
invited to a dinner party, and for some, they might think that it’s time to
relax and take it easy. But Jesus sees this man with dropsy and turns to heal
the man.
These are the very people that God will in turn invite to His great Wedding
Feast (14:21), so in a way, God is asking us to have the same heart that He has
– a heart for the lost.
These invitations are actually way more than just asking someone over for
dinner. God wants us to be a part of
His invitation to the world.
There are a lot of hurting people in the world right now.
:15-24
:15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he
said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
sat at meat with – sunanakeimai
– to recline together, feast together; of guests
This is one of the people Jesus has just addressed, encouraging them to
think of others, of the less fortunate.
blessed – makarios –
blessed, happy
The guy is responding to what Jesus has just said, about being “blessed” in
the resurrection if you are one who reaches out to others. He’s saying that it
will be a really great time in heaven.
Does everyone really think it’s going to be great in heaven?
Jesus is going to address this.
When the rubber meets the road, there are many people who don’t act like
heaven is going to be all that great.
:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade
many:
supper – deipnon – supper,
especially a formal meal usually held at the evening,
great – megas – great
bade – kaleo – to call; to
invite
:17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden,
Come; for all things are now ready.
sent – apostello (“apostle”)
– to order (one) to go to a place appointed; to send away, dismiss
servant – doulos – a
slave, bondman, man of servile condition; this is the word that Paul often uses
to describe himself.
time – hora (“hour”)
– a certain definite time or season fixed by natural law and returning with the
revolving year; any definite time, point of time, moment
supper – deipnon – supper,
especially a formal meal usually held at the evening
This is kind of like when mom tells the family to come to the table because
dinner is ready.
In a way, Jesus is probably talking about the nation of Israel here, being
the ones who have been “invited” to God’s supper in heaven. Jesus and His
apostles were in the process of telling Israel that it’s time to come to God’s
supper. Everything is ready.
: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.
to make excuse – paraiteomai –
to ask along side, beg to have near one; to avert displeasure by entreaty; to
beg pardon, crave indulgence, to excuse; of one excusing himself for not
accepting a wedding invitation to a feast
This guy got to thinking that he’d rather spend his time looking after his
new investments. He didn’t have time to go to a supper.
:19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove
them: I pray thee have me excused.
to prove – dokimazo – to
test, examine, prove, scrutinize (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), as
metals; to recognize as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy
This guy also was more concerned about his investments. He had spent good
money on some new oxen and he wanted to see how well these oxen would be
working for him. He didn’t have time for a supper.
:20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
married – gameo – to lead
in marriage, take to wife; to get married, to marry
This guy had a good reason, he wanted to spend time with his wife at home.
This too can sound pretty acceptable, after all, the Jews had a provision
in their law that a man was able to be excused for military duty for a year when
he first got married, so why bother with something like a supper?
Lesson
Are you too busy for God’s
invitation?
Ben Franklin said, “The man who is good at making excuses is seldom good
for anything else.”
Illustration
NO EXCUSE SUNDAY
*Score cards will be available
for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
*Cots will be placed in
the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.”
*Murine will be available
for those with tired eyes from watching television too late on Saturday night.
*Blankets will be provided
for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who think the
church is too hot.
*We will have hearing aids
for those who say, “The Pastor speaks too softly,” and cotton for those who say
he preaches too loudly.
*Some relatives will be in
attendance for those who like to go visiting on Sunday.
*There will be 100 T.V.
dinners for those who cannot go to church and cook dinner also.
*We will have steel
helmets for those who say, “The roof would cave in if I ever came to church.”
*Finally, the sanctuary
will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those
who have never seen the church without them.
We all have our priorities. I can imagine
myself having been one of those people, thinking about how busy I am and that I
don’t really have time to go to some party.
Some people are simply too busy with the
ordinary business of life. They have places to go, things to do. They don’t
have time for something that seems so insignificant like “religion”. Others
seem to have more noble priorities, they want to spend time with their spouse
or their family. It’s more important to spend time with the family at the river
than to go to church.
But what if the one that is inviting you is
God? This is no ordinary dinner party.
:21 So that servant came, and showed 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.
came – paraginomai – to be
present, to come near, approach; to come forth, make one’s public appearance
showed – apaggello – to
bring tidings (from a person or a thing), bring word, report; to proclaim, to
make known openly, declare
being angry – orgizo – to
provoke, to arouse to anger; to be provoked to anger, be angry, be wroth
Who is the master angry with? Is He angry with the servant? No. He’s angry
with those who were invited but did not respond to the invitation.
master of the house – oikodespotes
– master of the house, householder
streets – plateia – a
broad way, a street
lanes – rhume – a swing,
rush, force, trail, of a body in motion; a tract of way in a town shut in by
buildings on both sides; a street, a lane
It would seem that the words describe things that are close by – reaching
out to places near you, reaching out to your local city.
the poor – ptochos –
reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms; destitute of wealth, influence,
position, honour
the maimed – anaperos –
disabled in the limbs, maimed, crippled; injured in, or bereft of, some member
of the body
the halt – cholos – lame;
deprived of a foot, maimed
the blind – tuphlos –
blind; mentally blind
These are the exact same words Jesus used back in verse 13 to
describe who we ought to be inviting to our parties.
We need to be inviting people who aren’t going to be able to “pay us back”.
Don’t just be thinking of wealthy people to invite to church, invite those who
are needy.
:22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet
there is room.
commanded – epitasso – to
enjoin upon, order, command, charge
room – topos – place, any
portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding space
: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.
highways – hodos – a way;
a travelled way, road; a travellers way, journey, travelling
hedges – phragmos – a
hedge, a fence; that which separates, prevents two from coming together
compel – anagkazo –
to necessitate, compel, drive to, constrain; by force, threats, etc.; by
permission, entreaties, etc.; by other means. Sounds like a pretty strong word.
may be filled – gemizo –
to fill, fill full
God just wants to have a full house.
Lesson
We’ve got to reach out
God’s desire is that we see that the church works outside these walls.
I was totally thrilled with what the Youth Group did the other day, having
a barbecue at Independence Park and giving out free hotdogs to the skateboarders,
then talking to them about Jesus.
We need to be doing more than just reaching out to our city, God’s desire
is that we also think in terms of the world as well, sending groups even to
foreign countries.
:24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall
taste of my supper.
shall taste – geuomai – to
taste, to try the flavour of
Lesson
Hearing isn’t enough
Jesus is probably speaking about the Israelites that He has been speaking
to. It isn’t enough for them to just have an “invitation”, they must respond to
the invitation.
If a person hears about the gospel, it isn’t enough unless they respond and
come to the dinner.