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Chapter 4 - Dinner - Indifference
Luke 14:16-20
16 Then [de] said he [epo] unto him [autos] , A certain [tis] man [anthropos] made [poieo] a great [megas] supper [deipnon] , and [kai] bade [kaleo] many [polus] :
17 And [kai] sent [apostello] his [autos] servant [doulos] at supper [deipnon] time [hora] to say [epo] to them that were bidden [kaleo] , Come [erchomai] ; for [hoti] all things [pas] are [esti] now [ede] ready [hetoimos] .
18 And [kai] they all [pas] with [apo] one [mia] consent began [archomai] to make excuse [paraiteomai] . The first [protos] said [epo] unto him [autos] , I have bought [agorazo] a piece of ground [agros] , and [kai] I must [echo] needs [anagke] go [exerchomai] and [kai] see [eido] it [autos] : I pray [erotao] thee [se] have [echo] me [me] excused [paraiteomai] .
19 And [kai] another [heteros] said [epo] , I have bought [agorazo] five [pente] yoke [zeugos] of oxen [bous] , and [kai] I go [poreuomai] to prove [dokimazo] them [autos] : I pray [erotao] thee [se] have [echo] me [me] excused [paraiteomai] .
20 And [kai] another [heteros] said [epo] , I have married [gameo] a wife [gune] , and [kai] therefore [dia] [touto] I cannot [ou] [dunamai] come [erchomai] . KJV-Interlinear
16 But He said to him, 'A certain man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited,' Come; for everything is ready now.' 18 'But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.' 19 'And another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.' 20 'And another one said, 'I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.' NASB
The Pharisee is giving a large dinner party to his guests, to those whom he deems important, and the primary purpose of the party was to entertain his guests by dishonoring or humiliating Jesus in their presence. The trap was the sick man.
The Pharisee and his guests had no interest in the scriptures in which they were responsible for, and for which they pretended honor in holding custody of same. Other than being descendants of the Priesthood (the Sadducees) or the Levites (the Pharisees in general) they had no real connection to the truth for which the scriptures represented. The scriptures only held for them the security of a bureaucracy which gave them a life style which they could not obtain otherwise. They were in effect the government usurping the masses in the name of God for their own selfish interests.
The objective of the Bible, among many things, is to receive many (humanity) into heaven for a huge never ending banquet. This banquet was a common picture of heaven among the Jewish peoples. And it is the banquet of all banquets. God is the host, and who among mankind can or would refuse to attend the party of a lifetime?
Isa. 25:6
6 And the 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. NASB
The purpose of the banquet was for social activity, for nourishment from an endless table of foods and beverages, and for entertainment. Remember our study of the word for 'abundant' from the other day, an endless provision of which no one could possibly make use of all that is provided. All of these of course are supposed to be legitimate and not shackled with ulterior and deceitful motives.
The Lord gave the scriptures to the descendants of Abraham for the purpose of evangelizing the entire world. They are the first invited guests in the parable. The books of the Old Testament are testimonies of their constant rejection and straying from God in pursuit of more worldly demands and pleasures.
The written documents - the scriptures, are exchanged for other writings - regulatory inventions of mankind. The responsibility of teaching and service is exchanged for the life style and attentions of an elite, which the masses can provide to those who would be leaders. General contempt leads to neglect and the eventual refusal to accept the invitation of a lifetime.
The first man bought a piece of real estate. A really good deal. So he passes up the opportunity of entering into heaven, a place where the party will only get better and will go on forever, and the prosperity will be beyond ones imagination (he could own cities or galaxies), and he wants to go and look at a piece of ground which he can only hold while he remains alive. And a piece of ground which the authorities will eventually tax and force hardship on the owner such that if it does not produce more and more, then it will become a burden.
The second person bought some oxen. That means work, the sweat of the brow, the chaining up of ones time and energy to produce for ones self or family in order to make ends meet and make it through the harvest and into the next year. This is more important than heaven where there is no work, no worries, no jeopardy of famine, no stress?
The third simply gets married. What more can one say about honeymooners!
The priorities of this life can only entertain or temporarily satisfy the five senses. They have nothing to do with the spiritual realm.
To take something which is temporary at its very best, and make it more important than something which will last forever, to the extent of ignoring the 'forever,' is not good judgment. That is an inordinate complacency in the world, a care and concern about the world, which keep people from Christ and His grace. Giving a preference to the body above the soul is a fools reality. Though all these things are legitimate and lawful (ownership, trade, social activities) their preference over the spiritual will prove to be a great loss to the individual.
The excuses are all a result of lacking wisdom. Lacking wisdom is a result of lacking an interest in acquiring it. Lacking an interest means that the priorities for wanting something less are greater than wanting something of greater value and this occurs when the 'less' becomes perceived as being of greater value.
Thus the worldly things, in the minds of those who are negative (people who lack Bible doctrine), are more valuable than the spiritual. And the weak excuses become legitimate in their minds as well. Actually virtually any behavior pattern can become legitimized in the minds of the negative person. That is why you will find the Sadaam's of the world, and the liberal politicians, and believers in general who will willingly compromise their own life for the satisfaction of nurturing their five senses. They can create any truth they want so long as they control their immediate environment. And the delusion takes over.
The Judaism leadership of the time, or any religion for that matter, were triflers in the matters of theology. It was just a means to an end - the good and respected life. They had invitations from heaven but they did not assume the attitude of people who cared nothing for it, but contrary to that, they were pleased in their belief that heavens privileges were theirs, and theirs to offer to others. Thus they held a power over people as people would be dependent on them. This same self delusion and self centeredness applies to politicians who use government, entertainers who use the entertainment industry, common folks who use their jobs, social clubs and so forth in order to promote their agenda whatever it might be. No one is exempt from its bonds, no one except positive believers that is.
When the real invitation comes along, then they will be too wrapped up in their delusional world and they will decline the true invitation into heaven and that will end up excluding them forever. This approach to life, ignoring Bible doctrine, is a very dangerous choice in that it will impact ones entire eternal future.
A negative attitude leads to ignorance, and ignorance leads to poor choices, and poor choices lead to great loss.
End of Lesson
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