For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
For I say unto you, That none of those men which wore bidden shall taste of my supper. Our Lord here appears to throw off the veil of the parable, and proclaim the Supper His Own, intimating that when transferred and transformed into its final glorious form, and the refusers themselves would give all for another opportunity, He will not allow one of them to taste of it.
Remarks:
(1) Some of the richest of our Lord's teachings were quite incidental-drawn forth by casual circumstances occurring in His daily course, Thus, having accepted the invitation of this Pharisee to dine on the Sabbath day, the presence of a dropsical person, whom He resolves to cure, gives occasion to some important teaching on the right observance of that holy day. Then, observing the eagerness of the guests to occupy the places of honour at the table, He instructs them on the subject of Humility. Further, from the quality of the guests-apparently "brethren, kinsmen, rich neighbours" - He takes occasion to inculcate hospitality of a diviner sort, compassionate provision for the wants of those who could make no return, looking to the time when a return of another kind would be made them-when "the merciful should obtain mercy." 'Blessed lot that will be'-exclaims one of the guests, fired for the moment, at the thought of a Feast in the kingdom above-`Happy they who shall have the honour of sitting down to it!' Happy indeed, replies the Great Teacher and loving Redeemer; but the present despisers of it shall not be the future partakers of it.
Thus did His heavenly wisdom stream forth at every opening, however incidental. "Grace was poured into His lips," and was ready to pour out again whenever it would not be as pearls cast before swine. And should not His disciples strive to copy Him in this? "The lips of the righteous feed many" (Proverbs 10:21). There is a certain advantage in set discourses, to which the hearers set themselves to listen, expecting something lengthened, formal, solid. But the wisdom that comes out unexpectedly and casually has a freshness and charm special to itself. And it impresses the hearer, far more than all set discoursing, with the conviction that it is the genuine and spontaneous expression of the speakers present judgment and feeling. And when it comes as "line upon line, line upon line; precept upon precept, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:10), its weight is all the greater. (Compare Deuteronomy 6:7.)
(2) The punishment attached to pride, and the reward promised to humility, make themselves good even in the ordinary workings of human society. When a man insists on thrusting himself, as Lord Bacon somewhere expresses it, into the center of things, there is a kind of social instinct that leads others to resist and take him down; but when one gives place to others, he not only disarms every disposition to take advantage of it, but is usually made to go before his neighbours. Thus, in the ordinary working of the social system, the great principles of the divine administration are revealed; on a small scale, indeed, and often without the smallest reference, on the part of men, to the divine will, but just on that account all the more strikingly manifesting and illustrating a moral government.
(3) It is a mistake in religion, alike common and fatal, to regard heaven as a state of simple happiness-mere bliss; higher and more refined than anything conceivable now, but not essentially dependent upon present character. If one thing is clearer than another in the Scripture view of the future state, it is that, in point of moral and religious character, it will be but the perfection and development of the present state, both in the righteous and the wicked; and all the conclusions, even of Natural Theology, confirm that view of it. In vain, therefore, do worldlings, living without God and minding only earthly things, exclaim, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God! Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! The best of heaven's bliss is but getting face to face with Him whom not having seen we love, in whom, though now we see him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
But if we have never felt any of this love to Him and joy in Him, are we capable of heaven? To be "forever with the Lord," is transport, even in prospect, to such as have tasted that He is gracious, experienced the blessedness of reconciliation, learned to cry, Abba, Father, walk daily in the light of His countenance, and live to please Him. In such as these, it is but a change of sphere, and the new life perfected; it is but the bursting of the flower, the ripening of the fruit. Amidst all its novelties, the children of God will find themselves at home in heaven-its company congenial, its services familiar, its bliss not strange. But if so, how is it possible that those who disrelished its language, its exercises, its fellowship here, should have any capacity for it, and, wanting this, be admitted to it? No, "none of those men who were bidden" - but only insulted Him who prepared the feast by slighting His invitation - "shall taste of His Supper." "Be not deceived: God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
(4) How often is it found that while the Gospel is slighted by the classes who enjoy the greatest advantages, who might be expected the most to appreciate it, and whom one would most gladly see brought under its power, it is embraced by those to whom it has last of all been presented, and-judging as we are apt to do-the least likely to value it. Thus it ever is, that there are last which come to be first, and first last.
(5) The call addressed to those in the highways and hedges is a glorious directory to the preachers of the Gospel. If such are invited and expected to come straight to the feast, all preparation is out of the question; and all misgivings on their own part, or obstructions on the part of others, on the ground of want of preparation, must be met with one answer-`The invitation found us in that condition, and required immediate compliance.' If this great Gospel truth is not clearly apprehended, and by the preacher himself felt as the sole ground of his own standing in Christ, he cannot urge it upon others, and still less so deal with them as to "compel them to come in." But having gotten over all his own scruples on that one principle, that the invitations of the Gospel are to sinners as such-to sinners just as they are-he can and will then effectually meet all difficulties and scruples of earnest, anxious souls; and as he cries to them --
`Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love, and power: He is able, He is willing, ask no more' -
He shall hear of one and another falling down before the cross, and saying:
`Just as I am-without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me,' And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee - O Lamb of God! I come. `Just as I am-and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot, To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot
- O Lamb of God! I come.'