We are looking at the parable that Jesus shared in in Luke 14:16-24 this week. Jesus said, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"
Last time we were reminded that our words are not adequate to give us eternal life. Our verbal response is insufficient if it is not accompanied by a volitional response. Today, we will see that our Excuses for not responding properly are Not Acceptable either. Hear again what Jesus said in verses 18-20. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'
When the banquet was ready a slave was sent to announce the start of the feast. All of those who had verbally responded in the affirmative should have now been ready to respond with action. They had all affirmed the invitation with their words. Now it was time to affirm the invitation with their actions. But they all began to make excuses. These were clearly excuses, not reasons. First they were deceptive. After all, who is going to go buy a field without first inspecting it? Who is going to buy one yoke of oxen without testing them, much less 5 yoke of
oxen? The guy who was just married appealed to scripture, but he twisted it and took it out of context to fit his situation. Their excuses were all deceptive and that is what an excuse is any way….deceit. An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. Not only were they deceptive, but they were also weak. If this guy did buy a field without looking at it, it was too late now to turn back. The field was bought. He could see it later. It is done. It was the same with the oxen. And the guy with the wife…he would have attended if he were still single, but now he
is married and he can't come. That sounds like someone really desperate for an excuse. I am so henpecked that I can't come. It is plain that they did not want to come and there is the root of most excuses. They are not reasons, they are polite ways of saying I do not want to. Not only were these excuses deceptive and weak, but they were dishonoring as well. A tremendous amount of effort, work, and expense has been invested in this banquet. A tremendous act of generosity and kindness has been offered. They had responded to the RSVP and then decided at the time of the banquet to skip out. Is this not dishonoring? This is considered outrageous and unacceptable conduct. Some ancient near eastern traditions equate this with a declaration of war.
The problem wasn't found in the deceptiveness, the weakness, or the rudeness of their excuses. The fact that they made excuses at all was what mattered, because no excuse was valid. They reserved the place. They agreed to come. They then declined with deceptive, weak, and dishonoring excuses. Their excuses were not acceptable.
Our excuses are not acceptable either, because we have no excuse. We have heard the Gospel in church. We have the Gospel available to us in our homes (the average household in America has 4 Bibles) and if you dusted off all of the dusty Bibles in America, a dust storm of such proportions would erupt that President Obama and the whole Go Green Movement would have to reach for an anti-anxiety pill. We have the Gospel. We have no excuse. God's kingdom must take precedence over everything else: over the cares of this world, over the deceitfulness of riches, and over the pleasures of this world. What excuses are you making for not whole heartedly surrendering your everything to Christ? No excuse is valid. Our words are not adequate. Our excuses are not acceptable. Next time we will hear some good news. Until then….
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