WEBVTT 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:06.959 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:08.080 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:10.240 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:17.920 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.559 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:25.839 Well, I want to welcome you in. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:27.760 If you are new with us, my name's Clayton. 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:30.079 I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:31.679 And I'm so glad that you joined us. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:36.960 Last week, we talked about the power and the importance of living a life of love. 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:43.679 If you missed last week or any of the uh weeks in the past, you can catch up very easily on our YouTube channel. 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:48.560 That's metachurch.com or no no no YouTube.com slash metachurch. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:56.320 This week, we are going to talk about one of the simplest ways that you can express that love to those around you. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.679 My message today is called the Great Invite. 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:00.960 The Great Invite. 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:02.000 Would you pray with me? 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:03.280 Jesus, we love you. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:05.599 We thank you for your great love for us. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:13.599 And uh Holy Spirit, we know that you're here, that you are wanting to speak to us, to give us something new, to give us something fresh. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:28.159 And so I pray that whether we have been believers for a very long time, or whether we are here or streaming online, maybe we're on the fence or skeptical, we would just humble ourselves in this moment and seek you, and I believe that you will speak to us. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:31.680 We love you, and I pray that you guide this time, and we ask it all in Jesus' name. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:33.840 And if you're ready to get going, say amen. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:34.719 Amen. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.879 Today we're gonna be in Luke's gospel. 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.239 This is one of the historical accounts of the life of Jesus. 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:49.040 And to give you a little bit of context about Luke chapter 14, Jesus has been invited to a meal with a group of Pharisees. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:55.120 Now, the Pharisees were the religious leaders at that time, and they did not like Jesus. 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:01.920 They saw him as a threat to their power and to their position, and they were always butting heads with Jesus. 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:05.920 And so here they are inviting him to recline and have a meal. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.159 And this isn't like out of the kindness of their heart. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:09.759 This is not an olive branch. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:12.400 This is kind of so they can feel them out and keep an eye on him. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:18.080 But this is that whole idea of keep your friends close and your enemies closer. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.080 Okay, so y'all know how to act like Pharisees. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:20.479 I love that. 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:21.280 That's so good. 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:23.840 Um, so that's what the Pharisees are doing. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:33.280 And as soon as Jesus sits down, you need to know some things about Jesus because a lot of us we like the characteristic of Jesus where he is so kind. 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:35.680 Don't we love the kindness of the Lord? 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:37.919 And we should, and that is a part of his character. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:51.439 And we like the parts, like when I think about the kindness of Jesus, I think about that one moment where there's a group of small kids and they're wanting to come and hang out with Jesus, but Jesus is teaching all of the adults, and so some of the adults are like, hey, you know, sit down and shut up or whatever. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:55.680 And Jesus is like, let the little children comeeth unto me. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:56.879 That's how they talk back then, you know? 00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:59.280 And it's just like, man, he's just so kind, you know. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:07.680 But if you read the gospels and you should be reading scripture, Jesus is also very direct when people are wrong. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:15.680 And when people are wrong and manipulative and abusing their power, Jesus can be straight up savage. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:20.960 And so he's invited into this meal and he sits down and just goes in. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:26.319 He starts talking to them about all of these habits that they have and preaching against it. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:35.120 Like one of the things that they would do is they would always make sure that they were invited to all of the social events, and they would leverage their power and position to make sure that they were on the list. 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:37.520 So they'd get invited to all these big fancy banquets. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:43.439 And then once they got to the banquet, they would kind of jockey for position because it was an honor-shame culture. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:46.400 And the closer you were to the head of the table, the more honor you received. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:50.800 And so they would try to manipulate their way to the head of the table, and Jesus just starts going in. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:04:00.560 Like you shouldn't be doing this, and you shouldn't be fighting for position, and you should give up your seat for others, and you should actually humble yourself, and they're just not getting it. 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:10.800 In Luke 14, 12, Jesus also said to the one who had invited him, I'm telling you, Savage, uh, when you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:12.479 That's what he just did. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:20.319 Don't invite your brothers or sisters, your relatives, your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back and you would be repaid. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:26.720 Now that's an interesting teaching in the ancient world because they're all thinking, that's exactly why I invited these people. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:30.000 I invited them so they'd pay me back. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:34.800 I invited them so they would then invite me to something else. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:51.360 On the contrary, Jesus said, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:55.519 Now, in just these three verses, there's a lot of important context. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:00.800 First, you need to know this because the whole metaphor today is gonna be about a banquet. 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.480 Um, being invited to a dinner would have been the highlight of your week. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:17.360 Being invited to a banquet would have been the highlight of your year, and depending on who threw the banquet, it might be the highlight of your entire life. 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:21.199 You would tell the story of this banquet forever. 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:26.079 And we have to try and put ourselves in the cultural context to understand how big of a deal this was. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.720 This was 2,000 years ago, which means there was almost no entertainment. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:35.199 And 2,000 years ago, when the sun went down, guess what it was? 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:37.360 Dark, right? 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:44.480 There was no electricity, there were no lights, to have any illumination, you had to burn oil, and the oil was expensive. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:54.639 And if you were like 97% of the people alive in the ancient world, you were poor and you would never burn your oil just to play some games or have some excitement in your life. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:06.720 And so you worked because by the time you were 12 or 13, you were working, and you would work until about 30 minutes until the sun went down, and then the sun went down and it was just dark and boring. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:10.480 And so you went to bed, nothing exciting ever happened. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:15.120 And I was thinking about how overstimulated and over-entertained we are. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:23.360 You could pick a lot of spots like this here in our city in San Antonio, but I was thinking about that one area right by 10 and 1604 at the rim. 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:42.480 And I thought you could park in one parking spot and never move your car, and you could spend an entire day, and for a few hours, you could go to Andretti and race go-karts up a three-story track, then you could walk next door and you go to Top Golf and drive golf balls off the fourth story while drinking mimosas and eating the world's best tater tots. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:47.279 Then you could get down and walk and go skydiving indoors in iFly. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:48.879 And that's your whole day. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:53.120 And then you would go home and your kids would complain that you haven't cooked a good enough meal for them. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.879 You know, like we're so overstimulated and we have so much entertainment. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:59.199 And in the world back then, there was just nothing. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:04.480 You didn't go bowling with your friends in the evening, you didn't stream and binge the latest show. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.560 It was just dark and boring, and everything was hard. 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:10.639 So if you wanted food, guess what? 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:14.319 You had to work really freaking hard to get that food. 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:21.439 If you wanted fruits and veggies, you had to plant them, and then water them, and then you just had to wait forever, and then you had to go pick them, right? 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:23.920 Like all of them before they went bad on the vine. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.199 And it was hot and sweaty work just to eat some grapes. 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:37.439 And if you wanted protein, at minimum, you had to go to the market and buy almost the whole animal and then butcher it yourself yourself and then cook it yourself, and you didn't have an oven. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:43.839 And if you didn't have a market, because you lived in a more rural area, you would have to go kill that animal and then gut that animal. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:46.800 Then you would have to butcher it, then you would have to cook it. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.399 Just getting a meal on the table was so difficult. 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:52.079 No H E B. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.720 Here, everything sucks, right? 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:56.959 It's just hard all the time. 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:01.759 And so a banquet was like a huge party. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.160 And depending on who threw it, it might last two, three, four days. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:12.720 And there was often live music, and there was a huge spread of food, there was free wine. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:14.000 Some of y'all are interested, right? 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:15.199 In the banquet now. 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:21.839 And you would show up, and there would be protein, and you didn't have to do anything but just walk up. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.279 Y'all didn't know you're gonna watch me eat today. 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:27.600 And you'd just be blown away. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:28.959 Like, I didn't have to cook this. 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:31.360 You walk over, grapes. 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:34.159 You didn't have to do anything. 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:40.879 It's just if you're an ancient person, just having to do this, and now there's a grape in your life, gosh crazy, right? 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:55.039 I was thinking, like, um, every once in a while, some of us in San Antonio, not me, but maybe you end up like with really, really amazing, sweet seats at the Spurs game. 00:08:55.360 --> 00:09:00.000 You know, like your cousins, brothers, uncles, friends, like had a thing, right? 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:03.120 And owed you one, and then you had amazing seats. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.080 And then this is what I've heard, I haven't done it, but this is what I've heard. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.919 You have the amazing seat, and then whenever you want, you get to walk through the tunnel. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.799 You're in the tunnel with the spurs, you know? 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:16.559 And then in that tunnel, this is what I've heard free food. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:22.960 If that happens to me, I'm gonna tell that story to my grandchildren's children, okay? 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:26.799 That's like going to a banquet in the ancient world. 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:29.200 It is the biggest deal. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:39.440 In the ancient world, worked on a concept called reciprocation, which means I scratch your back, you scratch mine. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.200 And so a banquet might cost a year or two's salary. 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:45.039 It was a huge cost. 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:55.440 But if I can get 50 people or a hundred people or a hundred fifty people to my banquet, I'm set up for the next five years. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:58.559 Every couple weekends, I'm gonna be invited in. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:03.440 I brought you to mine, so you bring me to yours, and that's the way it works. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.799 I honored you, and so you give me honor. 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:10.399 I did all the work, and now I get something for it. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.840 And Jesus just completely explodes this idea. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:24.080 He says, on the contrary, when you host a banquet, a life-changing event, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:28.799 Now remember, Jesus is with the Pharisees, they know the scriptures inside and out. 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.399 And so he says something with deep theological significance. 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:37.360 He says, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:42.320 For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:45.679 We talk all the time at Metachurch about having a pilgrim's perspective. 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:48.000 It's one of our seven values for how we live here. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:56.000 A pilgrim's perspective means every day trying to broaden your perspective to the highest possible point where you keep eternity in view. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:03.279 And what happens when you keep eternity in view is you realize this life is not your home, that you are just a pilgrim passing through. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:09.039 Your realist reality is on the other side of this life when you spend your eternal life with God. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:16.639 The resurrection of the righteous is when you enter into God's eternal kingdom. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:26.159 Jesus is telling them all of these parables, he's challenging them, he's calling them arrogant and manipulative and saying they have everything upside down. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:29.200 And to the Pharisees, they were right on track. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:35.759 You see, they had bought this lie that the way that you get eternal life is through your works. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:40.159 And of course they thought that way because everything was based on reciprocation. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:45.759 If I do a lot of good things for God, then God will owe me something good in the end. 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:58.720 The Pharisees were so obsessed with following the law that not only did they follow the law of Israel, which is in the Jewish scriptures, what we call the Old Testament, they started adding laws to guide those laws. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:03.360 And then they would get together and add more rules to follow those rules. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:23.360 And then they'd get some new commands to structure those commands, and they just built burden and burden and more rules and more regulations and more laws into the society, knowing that most people didn't have the luxury of being able to actually follow all of these cumbersome rules. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:28.639 Only the Pharisees who spent all day in the temple could possibly even have a shot. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:31.519 They would parade their goodness and righteousness around. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:35.440 They dressed themselves much differently than the normal everyday person. 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:40.720 So just by looking at them, you could see just how righteous they were. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:48.240 Jesus came to turn everything that they thought about the way God works on his head. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:53.840 And what's so genius about what Jesus is doing is he's doing it through the parable of a banquet. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:13:06.480 In the Old Testament, a banquet is one of the metaphors that is used, is very near and dear to the heart of the Jewish people, is a metaphor for God's eternal kingdom. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:09.440 This thing that they were looking forward to. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:17.919 Now he's really challenging them to change the way that they're living and structuring their life and thinking about themselves, and they do not get it. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.519 The Pharisees are so lost. 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:37.440 As a matter of fact, they're so lost that right after Jesus challenges them and tells them they're doing everything wrong, they prove how much they do not get it by one of them offering up a toast of, like, yes, the resurrection of the righteous, where us Pharisees will all obviously be there. 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:48.480 Verse 15, when one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to them, Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:50.639 Subtext. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:14:03.279 Blessed is the one, boys, that's us, who will be there at the banquet at the end of time, God's eternal kingdom, eating bread and sitting in eternity with our Heavenly Father. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:08.480 Now I told you when Jesus heard bad theology, he would confront it directly and often savagely. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:15.200 And that's what he does with our primary parable that we're gonna look at today, the parable of the banquet in verse 16. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:19.919 Jesus told him a man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:26.639 And at the time of the banquet, he sent a servant to tell those who were invited, come, because everything is now ready. 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:34.320 Now just remember, you gotta keep this in your mind because we hear invited to a banquet, and most of us think uh boring, right? 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:38.960 To them, this was the most exciting thing that could possibly happen to them. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:40.960 They're invited to a banquet. 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:42.559 And this is the ancient world. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:43.840 It's brutal. 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:45.759 Everything is difficult. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:47.759 Now, a little bit of ancient context. 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:52.639 When someone would throw a banquet, there were actually two invitations that would go out. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.240 And the first invitation was like the RSVP. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:01.200 And so the master would send a servant out to all of the invited guests and they would just check in. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:03.120 Hey, my man's throwing a banquet. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:04.399 Would you like to attend? 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:09.360 Now, it was basically a rhetorical question because the answer was yes. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.240 Now, what if it's your kid's birthday? 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.240 The answer's still yes. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:16.559 What if it's your 10-year wedding anniversary? 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:18.159 The answer is still yes. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:19.919 What if you're on your deathbed? 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:24.159 The answer is yes, and then you just figure out how to get there, right? 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:29.279 Like no one will ever turn down an invitation to a large banquet. 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.080 And so it's kind of rhetorical, but it's just more like a courtesy. 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:33.759 It's letting you know you've been invited. 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:35.919 I'm gonna check yes for you on the RSVP. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:37.840 Then you would wait. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:53.039 You see, we live off like Google calendars, where if I'm gonna invite you to something, I'm gonna say it's gonna start at 7.05 p.m., okay, arrive at 6.55, you know, like that's how we operate, not in the ancient world, and still today, not in many Eastern societies. 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:56.720 Because it was like this a banquet's coming, so be ready. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:59.360 And then the master's gotta source the wine. 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:01.120 It might be coming from Capernaum. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:04.799 And it's gonna get there whenever the camel gets there, right? 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.879 And so then you put the banquet together, and the second invite comes out. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:11.600 And what did the servant say on the second invite? 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:16.000 He goes out to the people and he says, Come, everything is now ready. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:18.879 The banquet is at hand. 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:20.399 That's how they would say it back then. 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:26.399 The banquet is at hand, which meant go take a bath, get some clothes on, it's on. 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:27.840 The time has come. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:29.039 Show up. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.039 Everybody knew that this is how it worked. 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:39.039 However, in the parable that Jesus is telling the Pharisees, the most insane thing happens. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:47.360 In verse 18, but without exception, that means all of them, without exception, they all began to make excuses. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:53.039 The first one said to him, I've bought a field and I must go out and see it, so I ask you to excuse me. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:58.320 And another said, I've bought five yoke of oxen and I'm gonna try them out, so I ask that you excuse me. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:03.440 And another said, I just got married, and therefore I'm unable to come. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:09.039 Now we don't know how to react to this part of the parable because we are overstimulated and over-entertained. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:19.519 But I can almost guarantee you that when Jesus finished this part of the parable, the Pharisees sitting around the table with him were laughing hysterically. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:21.359 He probably couldn't even get that out. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:29.200 The idea that anyone would turn down coming to a banquet, first of all, they already RSVP'd yes. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.759 Which means they made preparations for them to be there. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:33.359 And now they're gonna say no. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:34.880 Oh, that's hysterical. 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:39.920 I can imagine the Pharisees like breaking down these excuses and just how stupid they were. 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.319 He bought a field and he can't come because the field is the field gonna get up and walk away? 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.759 He can't see the field tomorrow? 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:47.759 He bought some oxen, they're in a pin. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:48.799 Just wait, bro. 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:50.240 See the oxen next week. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:50.880 It's fine. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:54.559 The last one, it's like Jesus put it in there just to throw them over the top. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:56.240 Oh, I just got married. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:18:01.440 And you know how notoriously women hate being taken on once-in-a-lifetime dates, you know? 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:08.559 Like my new wife would much rather labor all day long to make us a modest meal than to come and get this spread, right? 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:10.079 It's laughable. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:11.839 No one could believe it. 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:17.359 And they're like, Jesus, what kind of story are you telling here? 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:23.119 He continues and says, So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:25.039 And the master was angry. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:31.119 In the ancient world wars were started over this kind of disrespect. 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:35.440 Checking yes on the RSVP and then saying no the day of. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:44.079 In anger, the master of his house told his servant, Go out quickly in the streets and alleys of the city and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame. 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:48.079 Master, the servant said, What you ordered has been done, and there's still room. 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:57.759 And the master told the servant, go out into the highways and the hedges, and make them come in so that my house may be filled now. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:18:59.920 Jesus' story was already wild. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:03.680 Huge banquet, everyone says no to going. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:06.000 It's like an impossible story. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:08.480 And now it gets ten times crazier. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:12.480 Like, number one, no one would turn down a banquet. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:19.039 And then no one throwing a banquet would ever fill it with the outcasts of society. 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:22.720 This is a culture of reciprocation. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:27.759 You would never invite a bunch of people who cannot give you anything in return. 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:42.480 And my guess is that the hysterical laughter of the Pharisees over these excuses turned into deafening silence as they try to even comprehend what point Jesus could possibly be making. 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:52.240 Now, Jesus is getting really close to landing the plane on what this parable actually means, and he starts giving us some hints with the language that he's using. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:20:02.640 For example, in verse 21, he tells them to go into the city, into the streets and the alleys, to the poor, maimed, blind, and lame, and to bring them here. 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:07.759 Now notice he doesn't say to invite them. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:14.799 And the reason that it's stronger language than an invitation is because an invitation never would have worked. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:23.119 We're so far removed from this context that even if we have nothing to give, if someone invites us to a large banquet, we're probably gonna be like, I'm there. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.319 I can't wait. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.079 Save my spot. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:32.799 Back then, if you didn't have something that you could reciprocate, you would never dare show up. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:38.000 And so they go to the poor of the city and say, the wealthiest man is throwing a banquet. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:40.480 He has he has asked that you show up. 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.200 They're gonna be like, I can't do that. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.240 I can't throw a banquet in return. 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:50.559 I can't throw a lunch in, I can't throw a loaf of bread in return. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:52.720 I have nothing to give this man. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:58.079 I have no clout, I have no status, I have no influence, I have no resources. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.720 He doesn't say to invite them, much stronger. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:02.960 He says bring them in. 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:11.200 In a culture of reciprocation, the first job of the servant is gonna be to convince them that this is actually for free. 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:13.680 No strings attached. 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:16.960 He's just invited you to the table. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:19.039 I really hope you'll come. 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:22.319 Then it gets crazier. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:31.279 In verse 23, the master told the servant, Go out, which means outside of the city, into the highways and the hedges, even stronger. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:33.519 Make them come in. 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:35.279 Make them come in. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:36.720 This is one Greek word. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:38.960 It's the Greek word anikas. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:45.680 The word means to compel someone, to strongly persuade someone. 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:50.720 It's the image of like dropping to your knees and begging someone. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:59.759 You see, the people who were in the city, the poor, the maimed, the blind, the lame, they were in the city, they were stepped over and left behind. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.000 Behind, but but they lived inside the city. 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:06.880 They were seen as a part of Israel. 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:15.200 Many believed that they were cursed by God, maybe because of some sin in their life, or maybe even some sin in the lives of their family. 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.680 People had bought the lie that we have a reciprocal God. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:24.400 You scratch my back out, scratch yours. 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:26.640 At least they were in the city, though, you know? 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:29.279 People would, you know, throw them some coins. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.960 But then the master says, go outside the city. 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:34.880 Take the highways out. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:51.440 You see, the people who lived outside of the city, not only did they not consider themselves a part of the community anymore, not a part of Israel anymore, these were the people who were so filled with sin and shame that they wouldn't show their face in town. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:23:01.519 These were the people who weren't allowed to enter into the temple, which was not only the seat of religious exercise, it was also the center of their community. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:09.920 These were the people that everyone was convinced were not just forgotten by their people, but were actually forgotten by God themselves. 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:13.359 To get them to the banquet, you gotta compel them. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:17.839 First, you just have to get them to show their face in the city. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:23.440 It's a crazy story and one that the Pharisees would have really had to wrestle with. 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:28.000 Honestly, it would have been quite offensive of a story for Jesus to tell. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:36.720 Finally, Jesus is gonna start making his point quite clear, and he does so grammatically by changing from third person to first person. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:43.279 So the whole parable has been in third person about the wealthy man, the master who threw a banquet for the people. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:45.920 And now Jesus is gonna move to the first person. 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:54.559 He says in verse 24, for I tell you, not one of these people who are invited will enjoy whose banquet? 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:56.400 My banquet. 00:23:56.559 --> 00:24:02.160 All of a sudden, this isn't a simple parable to teach like an earthly good lesson. 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:11.119 This is now Jesus claiming to be the king of the eternal banquet that is coming at the resurrection of the righteous. 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:13.039 Here's the meaning of the parable. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:20.640 All the way at the beginning of the Jewish scripture, what we call the book of Genesis, God calls one nation. 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:27.519 And the call is like be my chosen people, the God of the universe who spoke it all into creation. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:32.319 Be my people, special and set apart to me. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:40.160 Join in with all I have, including all my glory and all my wonder, and live forever in my eternal kingdom. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:42.720 The invitation of a lifetime. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:46.079 And of course, check Jess. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:55.440 Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, down to Moses and Joshua, and King David, everyone's like, we're in. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:57.759 We are your people, set apart for your purposes. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:01.920 One day, sitting at the eternal banquet with God Himself. 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:03.119 We're in. 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:07.200 That's the first invitation. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.599 And then God sent Jesus to earth. 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:16.720 And do you remember the invitation that Jesus made when he came? 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:18.960 Hero Israel. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:23.440 The kingdom of God is at hand. 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:30.079 Preparation has been made, and you are the first of those invited in. 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:33.200 However, you have bought a lie. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:36.559 That it is your works that will make you right with my Father. 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:43.839 And I tell you, if you want to see your eternal life, you must believe in the Son of God. 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:53.440 The second invitation comes, and the same nation who checked yes to the RSVP rejects Jesus. 00:25:54.720 --> 00:26:05.839 Now think about when Jesus was on earth, if you've read the gospel stories or maybe you've seen it portrayed in a show like The Chosen, who was it that actually followed him in Israel? 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:17.119 The outcasts, the poor, the blind, the maimed, the lame, the stepped over and left behind. 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:22.880 Those were the ones who threw aside their tradition and put their faith in the Son of God. 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:31.599 And Jesus comes to earth, lives the perfect life, dies the death that we deserve, defeats death itself, and right before he ascends. 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:32.880 What does he say? 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:36.640 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:39.519 And you will be my witnesses where? 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.880 In Jerusalem, okay, that's Israel. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:46.400 And in Judea, okay, that's Israel. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:50.079 And in Samaria, that's like half of Israel, right? 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.119 And outside of the city. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:59.359 And the highways and the hedges. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:07.519 To the people that you believe not only are forgotten by you, but forgotten by God. 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:10.880 To the ends of the earth, the Gentiles. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:13.359 People like me and you. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.000 The parable brings us all the way to today. 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:24.079 And you see this all throughout the early church. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:32.880 That Jesus and his movement went out to the broken, the confused, the sinful, the worthless, the overlooked, the passed up, the shamed. 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:40.160 Jesus said while he was on earth, I have not come to call the righteous or those who think they're righteous. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:44.400 I have come to call sinners to repentance. 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:47.519 Jesus didn't seek his own honor. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:51.039 He sought the honor of his father. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:57.839 He came as a messenger to invite us all to the great eternal banquet. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:06.559 There's a famous scripture that says we love Christ because Christ first loved us. 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:18.319 And I think in the same way, we are called to invite others because Christ first invited us. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:27.039 And some of you know this very well because you can remember very clearly where you were when you met Jesus. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:34.960 Some of you remember your emotional state, your mental state, the state of your habits and addictions, your relationships, your finances. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:41.200 You remember being in the pit of despair and gripped by depression, on the edge of your sanity. 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:47.680 I had a plan for my life, and it was a bit of a reciprocal plan. 00:28:47.839 --> 00:29:06.400 I had done a little bit of networking, and I thought I knew how my life would play out, and things were actually kind of lining up for it, and the details don't matter all that much, but I was gonna live for myself and my own fame and status and hopefully stack up a lot of money and have all the relationships that I wanted, and I was miserable. 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:10.000 And I remember where I was when God met me. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:14.400 I was falling into a depression. 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:17.759 I was trying to cope with drugs and alcohol. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:23.279 I was abusing pornography because I had no sense of myself and was deeply insecure. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:30.079 I grew up knowing who God was and believing in Jesus, but I was running from Jesus as far and as fast as I could. 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.319 I became so depressed, I wanted to quit everything. 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:35.680 I just wanted to give up. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:41.440 And it was then I prayed my first ever honest prayer. 00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:46.400 And I just said, Jesus, I'm not stopping. 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:53.039 I've tried, I don't know how, and so if you want me, you gotta come get me. 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:58.480 It's amazing what Jesus can do with a really honest prayer. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:17.440 The trajectory of my life was changed, and the reason that I want to spend all of my time and all of my energy for however many years God gives me on earth inviting as many people in to experience what I've experienced in Jesus is because he first met me and invited me. 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:34.400 And I realized that the further and faster I ran, the further and faster he followed after me, compelling me, persuading me, begging me, there's a better life for you if you'll just accept my invitation and come into this family, invited me so I can invite you. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:39.119 And you've been invited to now go and invite somebody else. 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:41.759 That is how the movement moved. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:58.160 The apostle Paul experienced this as well, which, by the way, when God met and invited the apostle Paul, he was out there imprisoning other Christians. 00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:01.039 Makes me feel a little bit better about where I was at when Jesus met me. 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:01.680 That's besides him. 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:20.480 In 2 Corinthians 5, here's what Paul says in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and Christ has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:27.279 Paul is making this very high-level statement about the work Jesus did on earth. 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:37.920 And the work Jesus did was reconciling us, which means bringing us from a state of enemies into friends with God, reconciling us. 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:45.680 And then he says, and now the very work Jesus did was given to us to do as well. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:54.880 Therefore, he says, we are ambassadors for Christ because God is making his appeal through us. 00:31:55.759 --> 00:32:02.880 So we plead on Christ's behalf, we plead, we compel others, we persuade others. 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.319 If we need to, we get on our knees, we beg others. 00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:09.279 Be reconciled to God. 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:20.160 Last week we talked a little bit about spiritual gifts and how God has given his people in his church unique gifts and unique talents, which means your spiritual gift might not be your spiritual gift. 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:23.519 It takes all of us because we're the body of Christ and we all play a function. 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:38.079 And I think somewhere along the way we got it in our mind that the ministry of invitation, what Paul's calling the ministry of reconciliation, that that's also like a unique spiritual gift. 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:40.799 And some people have it and some people don't. 00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:43.759 But that's not what scripture says. 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:49.200 You have some unique gifts, we also have some corporate callings. 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:59.839 And Paul says Jesus was reconciling us and now has given us corporately the ministry of reconciliation. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:01.839 Here's what we believe at Metachurch. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:06.000 We are all called to invite others. 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:12.559 And some of you are like, yeah, man, I mean, I'm really, I'm really good at like holding the babies and metakids, I do that. 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:13.440 That's kind of my gift. 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:15.680 You know, other people do the invitation. 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:18.880 You know, we've got the extroverts out there on the welcome team. 00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:28.559 You know, we got them at the I'm an introvert, and so the extroverts can invite, and then, you know, I don't care what you want me to do, I'll wash their feet if you want me to, but I they'll do the inviting and then I'll make. 00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:33.680 We all are called to invite others. 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:43.440 And the reason is because you are unique, created by God on purpose and with purpose. 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:49.440 And only you hold the exact place in this world that you hold. 00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:55.680 Only you have your exact unique circle of influence that God has given you. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:34:05.440 And whether your circle of influence is two people or whether it's two thousand people, God has placed you on earth and he's put people around you. 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:13.519 And either that's all just kind of accidental, or God has positioned you with divine appointments all around you. 00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:24.800 And I think that often we lack in the ministry of invitation because we lose focus on what it took for Jesus to invite us in. 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:30.480 And we invite others because Christ first invited us. 00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:38.320 Imagine if we all took up our role given to us by Christ to be his ambassadors and to begin inviting people around us. 00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:39.679 Uh, we're growing. 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:44.000 You look around, there's not a ton of seats, you know, unless we're gonna all go shoulder to shoulder. 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:49.440 I can't wait for y'all all to be shoulder to shoulder one of these days, but I know you don't want to be shoulder to shoulder, but the Holy Spirit might want you to be shoulder to shoulder. 00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:52.320