Welcome back to our series on feeding on Jesus, or as I’ve titled it, Dining on the Banquet of Christ. Because it truly is a feast.
Now without any further delay, let’s get into part 2, of dining on the banquet of Christ. Before the break, we looked at the parable of the banquet feast, and how in a very strange manner, all of the invited guests began to make excuses, and we began to think about why the invitees would make excuses.
Small Details, Large Meaning
The parable carries a lot of imagery, and as we saw last time, the excuses of the invitees don’t really make sense… which led me to wonder why were they making those excuses? But that’s not even the real question… the better question to ask is why were those specific excuses mentioned in the parable? Something about those three particular excuses made Jesus mention them in His story. Then it finally hit me… each of those three excuses, present a kind of false replacement, an alternative to Jesus:
- a field
- a yoke of oxen
- a wife
The first invitee couldn’t attend because he bought a field, representing a place where the ground is tilled, and fruit is produced.
The second couldn’t attend because he bought yoke of oxen, which is a beast of burden.
The third couldn’t attend, because he married a wife; an object of affection.
Consider a few things with me. We know that in John 15:5, Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branches, and we also know that we ourselves do not produce any fruit, but rather we bear the fruit produced in us by the Holy Spirit.
We also know that Jesus is the one who carries the heavy burden, and we simply follow him and learn of Him, in Matthew 11:29.
Finally, we know that it is the Holy Spirit who is the one who is our promised companion who remains forever in John 14:16.
In the parable of the banquet, those who were invited found replacement alternatives that they preferred, rather than what was prepared for them — something that they would rather do. And the same is true today for some people. Rather than coming to the banquet, sitting down, and enjoying a feast, they would rather engage in other activities, keep the law of Moses, try to improve their behavior, or engage in other religious duties.
Motives Matter
And from the outside looking in, that may seem very noble, but in reality they are missing the very point of it all. Why are you trying to do those things? Is it because you want a relationship with God? Do you want to be closer to Him? He’s the very one who invited you to the banquet that you are neglecting! It’s a strange kind of paradox— people are trying to work to improve themselves, while ignoring the One who can improve them from the inside out; and in-fact Jesus is the only way to truly improve our spiritually dead condition. Realizing this fact is the first step in enjoying the banquet of Christ… to release the shackles of dead works, and embrace Christ fully— not just as a Teacher (as many do), but truly as a Savior— and the key to your new identity in Him. Jesus did n’t say that He came to show you the way to salvation, He said that He is the way. Ponder that fact; meditate on it until it sinks down deep into your soul. Then you will begin to savior the flavor of Christ.
Join me next time, as we continue dining on the Banquet of Christ.
Be blessed.
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