The Great Marriage Supper

The title is, The Great Marriage Supper. The Great Marriage Supper. And if you have your Bibles, let's take them. And we're going to actually begin by turning to two passages of Scripture to establish this subject matter regarding the Great Marriage Supper. The first passage that I would like us to turn to is going to be found in Revelation 19. Revelation 19, and we're going to begin reading in verse 1 through verse 9.

Revelation 19 verses 1 through 9. Here, at the end of days, we have this picture of the Great Marriage Supper that is going to take place surrounding the time of Christ's return, the actual return of Jesus Christ. And of course, surrounding this period of time, we're going to see in opening up this chapter of 19 the unfortunate but necessary, difficult events as the Great Harlot describing those who will be an enemy of Jesus Christ at His return.

That enemy will need to be subdued at His return. We're going to read first of that. So it is a time of great destruction, but necessary destruction that's going to take place. And then, at the same time, what we're going to see in this passage verses 1 through 9, it is also going to be a time of great celebration. A great celebration, a supper will be conducted with Christ, the bridegroom, the Lamb, as He will come to the marriage ceremony with His wife depicting the Church.

So we're going to read about all those things here. Revelation 19, beginning in verse 1, John writes, After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments because He's judged the Great Harlot, who has corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.

Again they said, Alleluia, her smoke rises up forever and ever, and the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who sat on the throne, saying, Amen! Alleluia! Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all of you servants, and those who fear Him, both small and great. Verse 6, And I heard, as it were, a voice of a great multitude as the sound of many waters, and the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Once again, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns, let us be glad, and rejoice, and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come.

Again, the Lamb picturing Jesus Christ, symbolic, and His wife, that is symbolic of the Church, His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be a raid in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Verse 9, And then He said to me, Right, lest are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Let's stop there. So what an occasion! Again, many chilling events, many terrifying events leading up to this event of ultimate celebration.

When the Lamb picturing Jesus Christ will then attend this marriage and this marriage supper with His bride, the Church here. And so this is the occasion that is foretold. Again, the bride, God's Church, partaking of the marriage supper with the Lamb, the bridegroom, Jesus Christ here. And so in reading of this future event, what it's going to do is to establish and set the stage for our second and primary study passage in Scripture, which is found in Luke 14 verse 15.

So if you'll turn there with me now, this will be our second and primary study passage today, Luke 14 beginning in verse 15 here. And we're actually going to see now that Jesus is going to give a parable pointing to this great banquet, this marriage supper. He's going to give a parable. And we're actually in this parable, and in this scene, we're going to see those who were attending this actual banquet that was happening at Christ time. Someone's going to yell out these words, bless these same words that we heard and read in Revelation.

Blessed are those who partake in this marriage supper. We're going to see those words. So here in Luke 14, while this is going to be happening at an actual marriage banquet that was occurring at Jesus time, we're going to ultimately see this whole parable and this whole chapter is in fact pointing to that prophetic banquet to come. And one of the most striking things we're going to see as we begin reading in verse 15 is the fact that there are many who are invited to partake in this marriage supper.

They're invited first. Many who will in fact, unfortunately and tragically, not respond to the invitation. And in fact, their seat at the banquet table is going to be replaced with individuals who accept the invitation.

So this is quite striking here, this this parable that we come to. Let's see this. Luke 14, we're going to read verses 15 through 24 here. Luke 14 verses 15 through 24.

Now, when one of those who sat at the table with him, that's with Jesus, when he heard these things, he said to him, blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. So again, that echoes what we just read in Revelation. Verse 16, then he Jesus said to him, here's the here's the great parable, a certain man gave a great supper and invited many and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, come for all things are now ready. Verse 18, but those so those first invited, but they all with one accord began to make excuses.

The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground and I must go see it. I ask you to have me excused. So, you know, I can't attend this banquet. I've got to go see this land. May I be excused? Verse 19, another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen. Incidentally, that's that's 10 oxen. A yoke is a pair. I bought five yoke of oxen. I have and I am going to test them. I ask that you have me excused. So I don't I'm not accepting this invitation. Verse 20, then another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. So we could say hearing these three excuses, that servant came and reported these things to the master. Then the master of the house being angry said to the servant, go out quickly into the streets, the lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind. So bring them in here. In verse 22, the servant said, master, it is done as you commanded and there's still room. Then the master said to the servant, then go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper. Let's stop there. That is an impactful parable there knowing what this parable is pointing to. It's pointing again, once again, to remind you to the great wedding supper that's going to occur at Jesus Christ's return. That's the ultimate context here.

So what we're going to do is endeavor to take this parable and to delve into it and to take the instruction for it to usher with the purposes to usher us into successfully the great future marriage supper to come. This parable and we're going to see this whole passage of Scripture surrounding it is of a critical importance to us if we are going to endeavor to have our seat reserved at that great marriage supper to come. Now, just like with any parable, it's important for us to not just pull this parable out and to perhaps lose the fact or lose the sense of the context in which it has emerged.

So what we want to do is, before we delve into verse 15 here in this parable, let's take a moment to look at the context of where this parable here in Luke 14 emerges from. And if you allow your eyes to go up to the beginning here of this chapter of Luke 14, and if you look at verse 1 and 2, we actually see that this marriage supper parable actually emerges at an actual banquet that was taking place.

And it was a banquet, we can see in verse 1 and 2, that Jesus was invited to attend. So Jesus Christ didn't crash this wedding party and this banquet. In fact, he was invited. And we quickly see Luke 14 verse 1 and 2, that he was invited by a Pharisee that had a lot of oomph behind him. He was actually a ruler, a prominent Pharisee here, which is a little unusual in and of itself.

Of course, as we know, the Pharisees didn't think highly of Jesus Christ. So even receiving the invite, I'm sure Jesus Christ knew, there's something up here. There's something up, and certainly there was, as we're going to see. Looking at the context, looking at the air that was present at this banquet, we see very quickly, leading up to the parable in verse 15, there was, in fact, an unusual amount of silence. You know, leading up to a marriage supper, you would actually think that there would be a buzz in the air, there would be a lot of energy.

But in fact, Luke, with an eye for detail, tells us there's actually significant moments of silence leading up to this banquet. In fact, look at verse 4 in response to a question that Jesus asked those in attendance about healing on the Sabbath. Verse 4 says that they kept silent, right? So there's some silence happening here, even amongst this celebration. Another moment of silence. There's a second question asked by Jesus in verse 5 regarding a scenario of an ox who had fallen in a pit on the Sabbath day. And verse 6 also says they could not answer him. So once again, the guests at this banquet are struck silent.

And again, this is a little bit odd, you know, there would have no doubt in a normal marriage banquet been a buzz, you know, of people talking and those in that way. And you actually realize that leading up to this parable, there's actually three significant events that occur before he gives that great marriage supper parable. This, in fact, as Jesus no doubt could have predicted, was a setup for Jesus.

Okay, look at verse 1, the end of verse 1. They were watching him closely. So this is the Pharisees. No doubt this ruler of the Pharisees invited Jesus Christ. They were looking to set him up in order to dispense of him. Verses 1 through 6 is this first incident that occurs where Jesus is going to point out to them their hypocrisy surrounding what is acceptable or not acceptable on the Sabbath.

Verse 2, we see that they had placed an individual who had a crippling disease of dropsy. They had placed him right front and center where Jesus would have entered in and been confronted with this man who had this disease of dropsy. They're all watching him carefully, it says. Again, it's a setup. Knowing the Pharisees, there's no way they would have humbled themselves to be associated with someone with such a crippling disease. Now, they wouldn't have invited this kind of man into their lofty wedding ceremony, but this man had dropsy. I don't know if any of you know what this disease is. I had to look it up. It actually has to do with where the body is experiencing immense swelling, a crippling swelling.

So this man is there front and center. They're watching to see what Jesus does. Will he heal this man on the Sabbath? Right? And in verse 3, Jesus answers and spoke to the loggers, that's the Sadducees, and the Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

And silence follows. Verse 4, Jesus takes the opportunity to take a hold of this man and heal him and send him away. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Silence once he heals this man. And then we see there in verse 5, he asks them another question. Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day? Verse 6, they couldn't answer him. You see there. So again, in this first incident, we're seeing some of the ugly character that those who were invited to this banquet were possessing. The ugly character. And one of the aspects of their ugly character was hypocrisy. To a man, they would have pulled out an ox from a ditch, right? But they wouldn't have healed this man who has this dropsy on the Sabbath. You see? Oh, they would take care of their animals, no doubt. But all of a sudden, they would not, they have this idea that it's not proper to heal someone on the Sabbath. You see? Ugly.

The Pharisees added all kinds of ugly additions to God's law, and they made the Sabbath a burden. So much so, if there was genuine need, their regulations, not God's regulations, prevented them from helping someone on the Sabbath. You see? Their kind of Sabbath would be one to be content, to leave someone crippled in life, even if they had the ability to help that individual.

So, hypocrisy was the first characteristic that is identified in these individuals who were invited. Again, I'll remind you, this is symbolic of the Great Marriage Supper to come, and we're going to see that these individuals are kicked out. So, we can't have any of this kind of ugly character in us who were invited to the Great Marriage Supper to come. The second incident happens in verse 7, where we're told that Jesus himself was looking around. So, not only were they looking at him, Jesus himself was looking around and noticed that something that was also ugly about their character. Verse 7, he told a shorter parable to those who were invited when he noted how they chose the best places. You see? So, first hypocrisy. Now, he's pointing out that there was the character of pride in these individuals, the wrong character of pride here, and that they needed humility.

When someone invites you to a wedding feast, the middle of verse 8, do not take the best place. Do not take the place of honor, he says. Don't come with that motivation to be seen. Oh, I want to be seen. Everybody can look at me. Look at the prominence I have. I'm sitting at the best chair at the wedding feast. You know?

You can think in terms of us moving to the Great Marriage Supper, we're not to have lofty notions of ourselves. You see? Better to be asked to move up than asked to move down, you see. And I don't know, I will say, at every wedding meal, it is one of the particular pitfalls that can happen. This has never happened to me, of course. So, you have all the name plates, the little name cards that they put on all the tables, and you just happen to unintentionally sit down at a table only to be asked to move. You know, that's reserved for those relatives of the married couple. By the way, as we have a marriage coming up, be careful of that. I don't know if there's going to be any name tags there, but it is easy to do. But this is not what Jesus is speaking about. It's not some unintentional sitting down at the wrong seat. This is actually someone who is placing themselves prominent at the marriage supper. So, in these first two incidences, leading up to the Great Marriage Parable, where the first are invited and others are brought in, what is one of the most important aspects that we're seeing so far is the fact that we should always look to lift others up and to look to place ourselves in a humble state. You see? We have to move to the Great Marriage Supper that's coming with a lowly mindset, a humble mindset, all the time lifting others up. The exact opposite of those who were invited to this banquet here. So, this is what we're learning about as we think of that great banquet feast there in Revelation 9 that we read. Third incident here, leading up to the Great Parable, is found in verses 12 through 14. Let's read this. Jesus now speaks to the host, the host who invited him, and he's going to give a lesson in value system and who should be invited to this banquet feast. Verse 12 through 14, then he, Jesus, he turns to the one who invited him. He also said to him who invited him, When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just. Let's stop there. Again, this is punctuating the fact that what we're actually talking about here is that first resurrection. Those first invited to the wedding supper, those first invited to be part of that first resurrection that's going to come at Christ's return. This is what we're talking about here. This is a reversal of man's value system here. Do not move through life with any notion that the way you're going to serve is going to be determined on what they can give you back. In fact, not only should that not be any consideration, you should actually make it a point to serve those who have no ability to pay you back in any way. Those are the ones you should come to, and in fact, they're the ones that you come to, and nobody's going to even know. There's nobody's going to even know you brought them a meal and you showed them love. No one even knows, except for God. And you give without any expectation or without any desire to be paid back.

That's the quality of those who are going to be seated at the great marriage supper to come when Jesus Christ returns. Don't look for any gratification in this life, and if you move forward that way, there's going to be eternal gratification to come. Just know. But that's not our motivation. We want to give without any expectation of giving back. And that was the third part of the ugly character of this group. They just scratched each other's back. Elite-ism. What can you do for me, you know, before I do anything for you?

So it's a real reminder to us to, as we look to serve others and as we move to help others, maybe put a particular emphasis on those who need it the most, who aren't able to pay you back, and God says you will be blessed in a resurrection of the just here. That's wonderful. That's wonderful.

Now, even though it doesn't say it, I would think that there's a third moment of silence after verse 14 here as Christ was just fricking their hearts, you know, with these things. And, you know, I'm sure at this point, those who were invited to this banquet, they're looking around and seeing that no one's qualified to stay at this banquet. No one, no one there has the character except for perhaps that poor dropsy fellow, you know, that they brought in just to catch Jesus. He was probably the only one there in these first invited who actually had some of these qualifications here. So no doubt, more silence here. Perhaps the silence was deafening after these piercing instructions. And I don't know the context, but perhaps to break the silence, we have someone in verse 14 then belt out this phrase here, blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

You know, there's always a few of us who can't stand silence, you know, and it's so, silence is so disturbing that we just have to say something, you know. I think Peter was one of those kind of individuals. Perhaps this individual was this kind. Recognizing what was happening here, recognizing that Jesus was not talking about this particular banquet, but it was a banquet that had eternal implications, he yells out just to let Jesus know, I'm tracking with you Jesus, I know what you're talking about here, blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. And of course, that was the prophecy. That's what the prophecy said in Revelation 19, that they would be blessed. So he was getting it, this particular man, perhaps again to squelch his own guilt, perhaps that he was feeling here. And I don't know what he expected. I don't know if he expected Jesus to say, well, at least one of you gets it, you know.

But what Jesus Christ does is he uses that blurting out of that man as then the foundation to thrust into, to move into, this great marriage supper parable here. So here we are. So he had he had spoken to their hypocrisy, their self-righteousness. He had spoken to those whom they were surrounding themselves with, and not looking to those in need. And now he launches into this parable here. And what he's now, with all that setup, they understand that he is now speaking of the future prophesied beast that's coming at his return.

They had known of the invitation given by the prophets.

They had heard the prophets speak about the kingdom coming, and so they couldn't miss the point when Jesus says, verse 17, uh, for all things are now ready, he says. And he sent the servant at supper time in this parable to say to those who were invited, come for all things are now, are now ready. This is not about this particular banquet. This is about the banquet to come. Scripture is being fulfilled. I am the king. The kingdom's coming. Are you going to have a seat at that banquet table or not? The only way you're going to have a seat is if you read out these things that I've just spoken to you about.

And so in this parable, Jesus is going to speak more additionally to the character, that ugly character, that those who are initially invited, that if they're not careful to read out, will eventually cause them to lose a seat at that banquet table. Because as this parable goes, we see that these are these excuses come, and there's three excuses. And again, they're representative of the type of excuses men and women who are called initially. These are the, this is representative of the type of excuses that men and women will use to reject the invitation of God to be one of those first invitees to the great banquet to come at his, at his return.

So we want to be thinking about these things and applying to us today. What excuses may we intentionally or unintentionally be making to reject this invitation?

Verse 18, here's the first one, I bought a field, a piece of land. Verse 18 here in Luke 14, and I'm going to have to look at it. Okay.

I don't know. Okay, go look at it. And after those 30 seconds, come back, you know.

So you begin to see with these excuses, they're not really excuses. What they're saying is they don't want to accept it. And these are, these are kind of, if you look at these excuses, they're kind of acceptable, I guess, in human terms. He bought a piece of land, he's got to go look at it. You didn't look at it before you bought it, you know. So it is just an excuse, we see. And it's the kind of excuse, I think, that men and women, myself included, we can experience this with God's invitation to us, to the great banquet to come. Yeah, I got, Father, yeah, I'm coming. I'll come, leave the door open. I just, I just, I'm just saying I don't want to come yet. I'm not saying I don't want to come at all. I just don't want to come yet, you know. I have these other priorities here, this land. Again, these are the type of excuses men and women apply this to your lives. What does land represent? Well, we can legitimately say that it's good and it's right to procure investments, physical investments, in this life for your future, for your physical future. That's acceptable. But what physical investments are you prioritizing more than your spiritual investments? You see, that's the point here. It's not that these things are necessarily bad in and of themselves. It's a, it's a priority issue. We can put so much time, effort into physical investments than we would ever put into spiritual investments. And that's where we need to really take account of our lives. Where are we in this? Second excuse here, five oxen, a five yoke of oxen. Again, that's ten. He needs to go try them out. Is there any rancher that has ever lived in the entirety of ranching who has ever bought ten ox without trying them out first?

No, you know, okay, go try them out. You should have done that before you bought them. I don't know, you know. It's an excuse. What does the oxen represent today? monetary means, maybe? Are we placing employment and physical needs, you know, doing the things, doing the work to take care of physical needs, making compromises then to us putting the spiritual investment, you know, the spiritual time, putting in as a priority, the spiritual work that needs to be done. Man, and you got to really think this through. Satan loves it when we're trapped in the cycle of work, exhaustion, and stress and sleep, you know, boys, this cycle, whatever it may be.

You can add your own particular examples of cycle that you're in just to get through life, just to put food on the plate. It's just enough just to get it all done. And again, we have to do that. We have to put food on the table. We have to put clothes on our back. That's not the point.

Where is the priority in our spiritual work? Making time for God, setting aside, clocking in for God each and every day. You know, we clock into work. We would never miss work, but we do make compromises to miss clocking in with God. That's the point that's being made here. And I'll tell you, if you clock in with God each and every day, you will find the physical clocking in and out becomes easier. No doubt. God wants to remove some of that stress and that burden from you as you make Him a priority. On the strength of Scripture, I can state that God will free you up in different ways, unexpected, if you put Him as the priority.

So those are the first two excuses. The third and final one comes to us here in verse 20. This is perhaps the only valid one here. Verse 20, I've gotten married. You know, okay, and she won't let me come. You know, that's what he's saying. I would come, but she won't let me. You know, I'm joking a little bit. There's no excuse that's valid, you know, in not putting God first. But there was in this Old Testament time a picture when you did first get married, there was some considerations where, for example, you didn't have to serve in military service for a year. That's not this, you know. This is just attending a banquet, you know. I can't come. I married a wife. Well, why don't you bring the wife with you? Right? So it's another excuse. What is this representative of today?

Perhaps the priority of family, our physical family, over the God family. That's a big one, you know. God asked us to uplift, prioritize, care for, love our physical families. God gave them to us, absolutely, but not at the expense of God and that family, God's family.

And again, you will find as you uplift your familial relationship with God, that he will ease burdens that are happening in your life in the physical, familial relationships, whatever they might be. Put things in the right order and God will give you relief as you're seeking to do that. Again, test God on these things. If you put him as priority, he will bless you to encourage you to put things in proper order of importance and he'll relieve you in some of these other areas. So, built into all these excuses is the undertone, I believe, that we can fall foul of and that is, I am going to put you priority, God, just not now. I'm going to do it next year. Things are going to be different next year. I'll be able to have more balance in my priorities and what happens next year. It's still, there's something else that throws it out of balance. So, start today to put God first. And if it's helpful to imagine your seat there at this great banquet, it's reserved for you. Your name tag is on it. Boy, you want to secure that seat. And so, you want to remove some of these ugly characteristics that were prevalent in those who, unfortunately, in the end, are removed from sitting at that table.

Don't allow these these pitfalls to come into your experience. Don't allow those pressing issues to oversee your pressing issues with God here. Because we see that those are removed from their seat. Beginning in verse 21. Verse 21, so the servant came and reported these things to his master. They rejected the invitation. And then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly to the streets, the lanes, I mean quickly, of the city. Bring in here the poor, the maim, the lame, and the blind. Go out quickly. If they're not accepting this invitation, they don't need to have that seat reserved for someone who will accept it.

And I almost equate this anger here. Representative of the master, the Christ here, who sent out these invitations to these men and women, and they rejected it. There is an angry there, an anger there. I almost equate this. I don't know if those of you who have had family, and if you've been a parent, and if you've instructed your daughter or son in a way that you know will give them blessings. Trust me, son. Trust me, daughter. Do this, and it will bring blessings in your life. Trust me, I know the other way. It will not bring you blessings. Don't go that way. Choose this way. And then, when they don't choose it, and you long for them to choose that way, and you love them, it's almost like, oh, you almost get so angry because you know they're going down the wrong way. And you want to protect them, and you want to love them, and you don't want difficulty in their life. So, it's almost like, oh, it's so difficult because you want them to move toward life and move toward blessings. And it is. It's just, man, I can relate to this emotion here. When the Master, Jesus Christ through God the Father, chose since the beginning of the foundation of the world to have certain of those invited to this precious, awesome banquet, and they're rejecting it. They're rejecting it. So, he says, go quickly. Invite the poor, the maim, the lame, and the blind. Isn't that, we read about that earlier, that you don't invite your rich neighbors, you know, and those kind, you invite the maim, the lame, and the blind, and the poor here. And remove the smug, the selfish, and the complacent.

What is representative of the character of maim, lame, blind, and poor? What makes them, what's representative of the character that they may have more of a proclivity to have a good quality? What I think it is, is a quality that may be more present in poor, maim, lame, and blind, is a quality that of gratitude, that when they receive that invitation to come into this great marriage banquet, they would have such a heart of gratitude. They would say of themselves, I don't deserve this. Why me? I don't deserve to sit at that table. Look how beautiful it is. Oh, I'm blown over by the grace and the mercy, and I'm so thankful.

So you see, that's the qualities we need to secure our seat at this table. They would have never imagined they would be included on such a guest list, right? They understood how precious this invitation was, so no doubt they would never have thought to reject it.

These invitations now, they have this opportunity. And again, speaking, God looks down from heaven. This is the great banquet to come prophetically to a group he's chosen at the expense of the death of his son. And he looks down and they reject it, and he says, can you believe it? Can you believe it?

So those who did not have access to the invitation are brought in, and those who did have access to the invitation reject it. And this is what I long to tell our young people. You have an opportunity at this first invitation, and it is precious. Don't reject it. Boy, life's going to hit you at 100 miles an hour. We know it hit us when we were in our late teens and early 20s and on.

Make sure you have your priorities straight. This is a precious invitation, and often, us men and women who have been in this walk for a long time, when we've come close to losing it, but God was gracious to us and we still have an opportunity to sit at that table, oh man, now we live lives. We don't ever want to get close to losing it again. You know, that's where we are, and that's where we need to remind ourselves. So the first that we're invited are being rejected here. God wants to fill up these chairs, this banquet hall, so the servant goes out to the streets and the alleys here and invites those who would have never thought they would be invited.

You see this example all throughout Scripture. I'll just give one quick reference. We won't turn there. The woman at the well, the woman at the well who was steeped in sin, she would think forgiveness could never be extended to her. She had five ex-husbands, she was living with someone at that time, and Christ comes, sits next to her, offers to quench her thirst for eternity, and she is so blown away. At first, she tries to push back, you know, but then when she realized what Christ was offering her, she's so blown away. Not only does she accept it, she goes out and finds everybody she could find and wants to bring them to Christ. So she became such a profitable servant. So those who are blown away by the gracious invitation often become the best servants of God. Because they say, I'm not deserving to be here. God has given me grace. Let me tell you about this and come with me. You see, you see this all throughout Scripture. This is what Jesus Christ is offering to those. Now the servant goes out to the hedges there, and those, so he could transfer those, release them from the bondage of the world and sin, that they would be let in here.

So that his house would be full, it says there. Verse 23, he goes out again to the highways and hedges so that my house is full. God wants his house full. Will you be in it? Will you be at this banquet table? Will you accept it? Or will you reject it and make excuses? And then, this is the invitation to you. Let's not lose it. And just know, though, it is not a trivial acceptance to this invitation. It is an invitation to come and to reduce yourself and lift others up. And when, as you're reducing yourself, you're going to be asked to make sacrifices, you're going to be asked to put on some of this lowly character that is needed to secure your place there. And to put everything, put yourself second and put God first. But as you do this, just know that in the end, you will be raised up in that resurrection of the just. And God and Jesus Christ are going to share everything that they have with us. We can't outgive God. But for today, think low. We're to put ourselves low and lift others up. And if you're already in a low posture, you're in a good place. This is a great encouragement. This is the ones to whom the servant is sent to bring in. I'll tell you, don't get so low that you don't see your value in God. God comes and lives in you. That's your value. So yes, be lowly of mind, but be strong and know that you're a representative of God. So you can actually stand up straight in your shoulders so you can go do a work for God with that humble spirit. So as we begin to conclude here, as the parable ends here in verse 23, we have this servant sent out to compel those to come in. I love that word, to compel those that come in. So secure your place at this table. I want to use this parable today to compel you to secure your seat at this table so that you may compel others. You are God has made you worthy of this invitation by applying the sacrifice of Son. So accept it and make it priority in your life. And I want to compel you today, may we all come to this banquet. All things are now ready. Come to the great marriage supper.