Compel Them To Come To Jesus
In Luke 14, Jesus delivered the “Parable of the Great Supper” to a group of Pharisees who invited Him to one of their feasts. With the subject of feasts at hand, our Lord took the opportunity to tell them of a much greater feast, prepared by a certain man of obvious wealth for a number of privileged people. His story depicted the foolish excuses and ultimate rejection of those ungrateful guests. The master of the house, obviously insulted by their refusal, decided to offer his bountiful bestowments to a people far less privileged. He commanded his servant to go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in; urge them to come in, earnestly persuade them to join him in this great festivity.
This parable is a reflection of Israel’s rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s gracious provision for His much loved people. How tragic for the Jews to reject this privileged invitation, and how glorious for the Gentiles (that’s you and me) to be summoned in their stead. We are the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind that God has mercifully extended His gracious invitation to come and dine. But the invitation will not last forever; God’s house must be filled, and when it is filled, the trumpet will sound and the feast will begin.
Dear friend, God has a Great Supper planned for all those who come to Christ in faith – the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is being prepared for the Bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7-9). It will be a glorious event, one we will remember for all eternity. And we, the servants of the Lord God, need to do our part to compel our family, friends and neighbors to come to the Lord Jesus Christ, the sum and substance of this Great Supper. Oh, they may not listen to us at first; they may find such an offer too hard to believe. They may be encumbered with earthly endeavors, bound by the shackles of sin, clinging to the tenants of another faith, or blinded by the lies of the Devil. But let us not be deterred from our heavenly mission. We who know the Lord are well aware of the awful consequences of rejection, so let’s compel them, urge them and earnestly persuade them to come to Jesus.