Excuses
“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. And they all with one [consent] began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and 1 must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, 1 have bought five yoke of oxen, and 1 go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant. Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel [them] to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” (Luke 14:16-24)
The man who made the great supper:
The man that made the supper and invited the guests was Christ. He sent out the invitation to a number of chosen ones. When excuses were made He sent His servant to the hedges and highways to bring people to come to the supper.
The ones that were bidden:
Under the figures of the barren fig tree and the great supper He foretold the doom about to fall upon the impenitent nation. Those who had scornfully rejected the invitation to the gospel feast heard His warning words: “I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of My supper.” (Luke 14:24) {DA p.495} Paul and Barnabas had said to the Jews “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). The Jews were given the chance to accept Jesus as their Saviour. However they rejected the light that he offered them and thus they sealed their own doom.
And the first said:
“The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and 1 must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.” In putting his property before service for Christ, this man exalted a matter of minor importance above that which was of far greater importance. (Manuscript Releases Vol.19 p.246}
And another said:
“And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.” This man represents those whose minds are completely engrossed in caring for their earthly possessions, that they cannot appreciate the goodness and mercy of Christ in conferring upon them the honor of being invited guests at the great supper. {Manuscript Releases Vol.19 p.246}
And another said:
“And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” The sin of this man was not in marrying, but in marrying one who divorced his mind from the higher and more important interests of life. Never should a man allow wife and home to draw his thoughts away from Christ, or to lead him to refuse to accept the gracious invitations of the gospel. {Manuscript Releases Vol.19 p.246}
The man who said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come,” represents a large class. Many there are who allow their wives or their husbands to prevent them from heeding the call of God. The husband says, “I cannot obey my convictions of duty while my wife is opposed to it. Her influence would make it exceedingly hard for me to do so.” The wife hears the gracious call, “Come; for all things are now ready,” and she says, ” ‘I pray thee have me excused.’ My husband refuses the invitation of mercy. He says that his business stands in the way. I must go with my husband, and therefore I cannot come.” The children’s hearts are impressed. They desire to come. But they love their father and mother, and since these do not heed the gospel call, the children think that they cannot be expected to come. They too say, “Have me excused.” {COL 224.2}
Bring hither the poor, the maimed, the lame, the halt and the blind.
The host turned from those who despised his bounty, and invited a class who were not full, who were not in possession of houses and lands. He invited those who were poor and hungry, and who would appreciate the bounties provided.” The publicans and the harlots,” Christ said, “go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matt. 21:31). However wretched may be the specimens of humanity that men spurn and turn aside from, they are not too low, too wretched, for the notice and love of God. Christ longs to have care-worn, weary, oppressed human beings come to Him. He longs to give them the light and joy and peace that are to be found nowhere else. The veriest sinners are the objects of His deep, earnest pity and love. He sends His Holy Spirit to yearn over them with tenderness, seeking to draw them to Himself. (COL 225.3}
Go out in the highways and hedges and compel them to come in.
The servant who brought in the poor and the blind reported to his master, “It is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” Here Christ pointed to the work of the gospel outside the pale of Judaism, in the highways and byways of the world. (COL p.226}
When the invitation was rejected, the messengers were sent to call in people whom the Jews despised and regarded as a curse in the earth, the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind. The call was to go to the high-ways and by-ways, and to reach the poor and outcast. These are not so filled with self-righteousness that they cannot appreciate the divine favour. {Bible Echo, October 28, 1895 par. 7}
But “see that ye refuse not Him that speaketh” (Heb. 12:25). Jesus said, “None of those men which were bidden shall taste of My supper.” They had rejected the invitation, and none of them were to be invited again. In rejecting Christ, the Jews were hardening their hearts, and giving themselves into the power of Satan so that it would be impossible for them to accept His grace. So it is now. If the love of God is not appreciated and does not become an abiding principle to soften and subdue the soul, we are utterly lost. The Lord can give no greater manifestation of His love than He has given. If the love of Jesus does not subdue the heart, there are no means by which we can be reached. {Christ Object Lessons p.236}
Every time you refuse to listen to the message of mercy, you strengthen yourself in unbelief. Every time you fail to open the door of your heart to Christ, you become more and more unwilling to listen to the voice of Him that speaketh. You diminish your chance of responding to the last appeal of mercy. Let it not be written of you, as of ancient Israel, “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone” (Hosea 4:17). Let not Christ weep over you as He wept over Jerusalem, saying, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Luke 13:34, 35). {Christ Object Lessons p.237}
We are living in a time when the last message of mercy, the last invitation, is sounding to the children of men. The command, “Go out into the highways and hedges,” is reaching its final fulfilment. To every soul Christ’s invitation will be given. The messengers are saying, “Come; for all things are now ready.” Heavenly angels are still working in co-operation with human agencies. The Holy Spirit is presenting every inducement to constrain you to come. Christ is watching for some sign that will betoken the removing of the bolts and the opening of the door of your heart for His entrance. Angels are waiting to bear the tidings to heaven that another lost sinner has been found. The hosts of heaven are waiting, ready to strike their harps and to sing a song of rejoicing that another soul has accepted the invitation to the gospel feast. {Christ Object Lessons p.237}
Don’t make any excuses. ACCEPT JESUS NOW.
You will never know when will be your last chance. Do not make the same mistake that the Jews in the time of Jesus made.