YOUTH LESSON 115: PARABLE OF THE GREAT SUPPER

TEXT: LUKE 14:1-24 MEMORY VERSE: "Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper,
and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all
things are now ready" (Luke 14:16,17).

One of the special features of the teaching ministry of Jesus Christ was the use of parables. Parables are
comparisons or illustrations of spiritual truths with familiar and common life events. During Christ's
earthly ministry, He had time to interact with all classes of people, including the young and the old. The
interaction of Christ with people provided a good opportunity for Him to teach spiritual truths and
correct long established wrong notions and corrupt traditions often clothed in garments of religion. In
our text, one of the chief Pharisees invited Christ to his house to eat bread on a Sabbath day (Luke 14:1).
The host and other guests at the feast did not recognise who Christ was and the gift of God in Him. They
would have been interested to sit at His feet to hear His word and have salvation. Unfortunately, they
turned the dinner to a trap to advance their conspiracy against Christ. This encounter provided Christ
the opportunity to teach the right perspective about the Sabbath, emphasise the importance of humility
and the priority of the gospel over every human pursuit.

1. THE RIGHT ATTITUDE ON THE SABBATH (Luke 14:1-6; Mark 11:27-33; Luke 6:1-5; Mark 2:23-27;
Matthew 12:11,12, Act 20:7)

"And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the Chief Pharisees to eat bread on the
Sabbath day, that they watched him" (verse 1). The opposition of Christ by the Pharisees prompted a
malicious observation of His actions with a view to finding charges to incriminate Him. The root of such
behaviour by the Pharisees was unbelief. Ignorance and unbelief of Christ and His mission on earth are
the root of the rebellion and perdition of many unbelieving youths today.

Question 1: What are some wrong reasons for which youths attend church services?

Like these Pharisees, some youths attend church services without knowing the purpose while some
attend because of their parents. Others are in church to make friends, have fun, seek marriage partners,
healing and academic success. Christ wants us to set our priorities right. He says, "But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).
"And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy" (verse 2). The Pharisees were
closely watching to know what Christ would do on the Sabbath day. Jesus asked, "Is it lawful to heal on
the Sabbath day?" (verse 3). This question disarmed the Pharisees as they did not know how to answer
it. An answer in the affirmative would be contrary to their intention of accusing Christ of wrongdoing. To
answer in the negative would make them open to charges of indifference to human suffering. They,
therefore, chose to remain silent on this and Christ's other question. Hence, Jesus said, "Which of you
shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?"
(Luke 14:5). Their difficulty was how to answer Jesus' question without either exposing their ignorance
of God's word or contradicting their position by their words. Like Christ, Christian youths should be
cautious in their relationship with those who oppose the gospel.

Question 2: Mention reasons some young people are yet to receive Christ today.

Many youths are yet to receive Christ because of their involvement in sinful pleasure, academic
malpractice, love for material things and fear of men. They either give a deliberate false answer or
choose to be indifferent when asked the reason for their not giving their lives to the Lord. On the
contrary, the Christian youth should be "...ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh... a
reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). By healing the man through
the act of mercy on a Sabbath day (verse 4), the Lord was teaching the right attitude. What Christ did
shows that works, which pertain to human life, mercy and the glory of God could be undertaken on such
a day (Matthew 12:11). However, beyond a sincere and honest pursuit of these ends, it is wrong to
trample on God's word in respect of the Sabbath day. The Scripture enjoins us to "...call the sabbath a
delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding
thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words" (Isaiah 58:13). "Blessed is the man... that keepeth
the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil" (Isaiah 56:2). These Scriptures
condemn the practices of ungodly youths who abandon themselves to other vices like pleasure seeking
and corrupt activities on the Lord's day.

2. RESULTS AND REWARDS OF HUMILITY (Luke 14:7-14; 11:43; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 5:5; Job 22:29;
Matthew 18:4; Luke 18:9-14)

Having healed the man who had the dropsy, Christ's attention was drawn to the manner in which the
guests, lawyer and Pharisees "chose out the chief rooms". Earlier in another encounter, Christ told the
Pharisees, "Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the upper most seats in the synagogues, and greetings
in the markets" (Luke 11:43). People generally attach importance to their social status. Christ teaches is
that our conduct as believers should never be found to portray self-exaltation. That Christ "...marked
how they chose out the chief rooms" reveals that His watchful eyes see everything we do. The lessons
we learn here are: (i) humility is the hallmark of true children of God: (ii) humility is always morally right
and preserves from shame and embarrassment. (iii) When we give place to others in humility, it
advances love and cooperation. Christ's humility remains a challenge to Christians of all categories and
levels. He says, "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master
have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that
ye should do as I have done to you" (John 13:13-15).

Question 3: What are the benefits of living a humble life?

Some benefits of humility as a Christian virtue are: (i) It brings divine exaltation (Luke 14:11). (ii) It
attracts the grace of God into our lives (1 Peter 5:5). (iii) It is a product of repentance and it brings God's
mercy and forgiveness of sins (2 Chronicles 34:27). The Lord condemns every form of self-projection.
Humility as a Christian virtue runs contrary to the ways of the world. It does not agree with man's
natural disposition, but like other godly virtues, it requires the grace of God, which is available through
faith in Christ Jesus.

3. THE PRIORITY OF THE GOSPEL OVER HUMAN PURSUIT (Luke 14:12-24; Proverbs 19:17; Psalm 7:11-
13; Matthew 6:33)

"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
recompence be made thee" (verse 12). Christ observed from the type of guests at the great supper that
they were mainly the brethren, kinsmen and the rich neighbours of the Pharisee that invited Him. This
provided Him the opportunity of correcting the practice of showing favour to those who are in position
to return such favours and neglecting those who cannot. The Lord here teaches that Christian youths
should exhibit hospitality and be more disposed to show kindness to the poor and disadvantaged
(Proverbs 19:17). This was also to condemn the tendency to cultivate friendship with youths whose
parents are wealthy and disregard the friendliness of less endowed youths, even if they are of good
character and disposition. "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" (verse 15). This remark elicited from
the Lord a most heart searching parable concerning the kingdom of God and man's grossly misplaced
priorities. "Then said he unto him, a certain man made a great supper and bade many" (verse 16). The
people invited neglected the supper and the hospitality of the host, preferring rather their own priorities
and gratifications. Each of the invited guests offered an excuse. This parable of our Lord Jesus Christ
shows that God disapproves of every excuse for neglecting His free gift of salvation. This is why "God is
angry with the wicked every day" (Psalm 7:11). The one who has "bought a piece of ground and... must
needs go and see it" (verse 18) could have deferred the inspection till the next day. The one who bought
five yokes of oxen should have done the same. They gave unreasonable and false excuses because such
activities as they mentioned were not done at supper time. The one who had “married a wife and
therefore cannot come" could have brought his wife along, and not allow earthly relations and
affections to take off his affection. for God. The truth underlying such excuses, whereby people seek to
exclude themselves from the blessing of the kingdom of God is ignorance as to where their true
interests lie. "And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the high ways and hedges, and compel
them to come in, that my house may be filled" (verse 23). Millions of young people have been saved
already; yet there is still room in the kingdom of God for sinners to fill. Our Lord gave this parable also to
show to the Jews that the Gentiles, represented by the people on the highways and the hedges, are as
much partakers of the salvation plan as them. The part every believer needs to play is to win sinners into
the kingdom of God. The word translated "compel" here conveys the notion of prevailing on someone
by entreaties, counsel and prayers.

Question 4: What is the danger of delayed response to the gospel message?

"When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to
warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at thine hand" (Ezekiel 3:18). Every believer in Christ must "go out quickly" with
the gospel message. There is no time to lose. Sinners also must respond without delay and be saved
from their sins. This is because after death or rapture "...none of
those men which were bidden (and gave excuses) shall taste of the supper" (verse 24).