Church History:
1. The free grace and mercy of God, shining in the gospel of Christ: it appears;
In the rich provision he has made for poor souls: For their nourishment, refreshment, and entertainment A certain man made a great supper. Belief in Christ and the grace of the gospel will be food and a feast for the soul of man. It is called a supper,because in those countries supper time was the chief feasting time, when the business of the day was over. The manifestation of gospel grace to the world was the evening of the world's day; and the fruition of the fullness of that grace in heaven is reserved for the evening of our day.
In the gracious invitation given us to come and partake of this provision: A general invitation was given: He bade many. Christ invited the whole nation and people of the Jews to partake of the benefits of his gospel. There is provision enough for as many as come; it was prophesied of as a feast for all people, Isaiah 25:6. Christ in the gospel, as he keeps a good house, so he keeps an open house.
A particular memorandum given, when the supper time was at hand; the servant was sent round to put them in mind of it: Come, for all things are now ready. This is the call now given to us: "All things are now ready, now is the accepted time; it is now, and has not been long; it is now, and will not be long; it is a season of grace that will be soon over, and therefore come now; do not delay; accept the invitation; believe yourselves welcome; eat, O friends; drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved."
2. The cold reception which the grace of the gospel meets with: The invited guests declined coming. They did not say flatly and plainly that they would not come, but they all with one consent began to make excuses. One would have expected that they should all with one consent have come to a good supper, when they were so kindly invited to it: who would have refused such an invitation? Yet, on the contrary, they all found out some pretence or other to decline their attendance. This indicates the general neglect of the Jewish nation to become intimate with Christ, and accept of the offers of his grace, and the contempt they put upon the invitation. It also intimates the backwardness there is in most people to accept the gospel call.
3. The account which was brought to the master of the feast of the affront put upon him by his friends whom he had invited, who now showed how little they valued him: That servant came, and showed his lord these things, told him with surprise that he was likely to eat alone. The guests that were invited, though they had been given plenty of notice, so that they might plan accordingly, were now engaged in some other business. He made the matter neither better nor worse, but related it just as it was.
4. The master's just resentment of this affront: He was angry. Note, The ingratitude of those that slight gospel offers, and the contempt they put upon the God of heaven thereby, are a very great provocation to him, and justly so. Abused mercy turns into the greatest wrath. The doom he passed upon them was, None of the men that were invited shall taste of my supper. This was like the doom passed upon the ungrateful Israel, when they despised the pleasant land: God swore in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest. Note, Grace despised is grace forfeited, like Esau's birthright. They that will not have Christ when they may shall not have him when they would. Even those that were bidden, if they slight the invitation, shall be forbidden; when the door is shut, the foolish virgins will be denied entrance.
5. The care that was taken to furnish the table with guests, as well as meat: "Go" (he said to the servants), "go first into the streets and alleys of the city, and invite, those that will be glad to come, bring in the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame; pick up the common beggars." The servants object not that it will be a disparagement to the master and his house to have such guests at his table; for they know his mind, and they soon gather an abundance of such guests: Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded. Many of the Jews are brought in, not of the scribes and Pharisees, such as Christ was now at dinner with, who thought themselves most likely to be guests at the Messiah's table, but the publicans and sinners; these are the poor and the maimed. But yet there is room for more guests, and provision enough for them all. "Go, then, secondly, into the highways and hedges. Go out into the country, and pick up the vagrants, or those that are returning now in the evening from their work in the field, and invite them to come in, not by force of arms, but by force of arguments. Be earnest with them; for in this case it will be necessary to convince them that the invitation is sincere and not a joke; they will be shy and modest, and will hardly believe that they shall be welcome, and therefore be persistent with them and do not leave them until you have prevailed with them." This refers to the calling of the Gentiles, to whom the apostles were to turn when the Jews refused the offer, and with them the church was filled.
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