REASONS OR EXCUSES?

REASONS OR EXCUSES?

Luke 14:16-22

16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

21 So that servant came, and shewed 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.

22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

          In Jesus’ day, when a host gave a banquet, the guests would be told of the day but not the exact time. The host needed to know just how many people would be attending so that sufficient food could be prepared. Then, at about mealtime, the host sent his servants to announce that the banquet was ready and that they should come to the feast. In other words, each of the guests had already agreed to attend the feast but they insulted the host by offering first one feeble excuse after another.

          The word “excuse” in verse 18 is the Greek word paraiteomai and means “to beg off, decline, shun or reject.” The first excuse was that the man had to “go and see” a piece of property that he had already bought. In those days, buying property was a long process and there would have been many opportunities to see the land already. The second man claimed that he had to “prove” or literally “test drive” ten plow oxen. It is not reasonable to assume he had not already tested them prior to purchase. The third man claimed a marriage exemption!

Deut 24:5

5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.

This parable was the text of the last sermon D. L. Moody preached, "Excuses." It was given on November 23, 1899 in the Civic Auditorium in Kansas City, and Moody was a sick man as he preached. "I must have souls in Kansas City," he told the students at his school in Chicago. "Never, never have I wanted so much to lead men and women to Christ as I do this time!"

There was a throbbing in his chest, and he had to hold to the organ to keep from falling, but Moody bravely preached the Gospel; and some fifty people responded to trust Christ. The next day, Moody left for home, and a month later he died. Up to the very end, Moody was "compelling them to come in."

(from The Bible Exposition Commentary.)

Dear Lord, let me not insult you with feeble excuses. Let me faithfully invite others to the gospel feast. AMEN