“The Way, The Truth The Life”

Scripture: Acts 2:1-12; Luke 14:16-24

Today is Pentecost – the day we celebrate the birth of the Church. The Living Jesus had already ascended to his heavenly home, and on this day, the Holy Spirit came into our lives.

Jesus’ time among us was intended to clarify what the faithful were to believe and how they were to live. But instead of embracing the Lord and his teaching, he was branded as a heretic – one who denied the prescribed set of religious beliefs that had lead Israel for centuries. But Jesus came, not as a fallible human being, not as one who could possibly get God’s way wrong, but as the Son of God and the Son of Man. He had many human traits – physical appearance, the emotions of love, fear and hatred, and the susceptibility for pain, disappointment, distress, birth and death. But he also had Godly qualities that can never be denied, like infinite wisdom, perfect understanding, and a total commitment to the plan that had been set in place for, and before creation.

So why did the Spirit have to come? In John 16:12-15, we read that the Spirit will “guide (us) into all truth.” – not to a new truth, but to the eternal truth of Almighty God. We read that he will “speak only what he hears” from God, just as Jesus did. But if Jesus already told us this, do we really need to “hear” it all over again? We do, and it is because of a generally ignored human trait – fallible memory! We remember some things, but as time goes on, truth begins to blur in our subconscious, and we need to be reminded of what has always been true. Hence, the vitally important work of the Holy Spirit.

Today, we celebrate remembrance of Godly truth through his great plan and Spirit.

The Lord’s great promise of eternal celebration rests with his words from his parable of “The Great Feast”, as well as from the story of Pentecost.

Read Acts 2:1-12

For Israel, Pentecost was a two-fold celebration – it was for God’s giving of the law to Moses, and a thanksgiving for the first harvest of the year. For the Church, though, it would be remembered for the violent wind that blew, for the tongues of spiritual fire that rested on each person in that upper room, and for the speaking in languages that were unknown to the one who was speaking. But more importantly, it would be the day when the power that existed through God’s Holy Spirit would not only be revealed, but revealed through the lives of the Lord’s faithful.

And that power would open the hearts of 3,000 people who would receive Jesus as Lord and Savior on that one day. Of course, there would be scoffers and doubters, but this, too, would become part of the Church. Many thousands would hear the gospel message that Peter offered that day, all would be invited to the way and life of Jesus Christ, and every one would have the chance for eternal life, but out of the entire crowd that gathered that day, only 3,000 would accept the divine invitation to eternal feasting with Almighty God in glory.

Read Luke 14:16-20

For Israel, one of the traditions that centered on the coming of Messiah was that the “chosen” would be God’s special guests at an eternal banquet. No one else would be invited, no one else would be allowed in the great hall, no one else would be admitted to the greatest celebration of all time. The feast was for family only!

As Jesus told his parable, his audience knew the protocols surrounding invitations to a banquet, whether it was one of earth or the one that Messiah would be hosting. The truth is that only those who received an invitation would be allowed to join the feast.

But for a local celebration, there was another issue at play. The date of the feast would be part of the initial invitation, which was given well in advance of the event, and when all was prepared, a second message was sent out – in essence saying that “since you have reserved this day to celebrate with me, the time has now come. I’m looking forward to seeing you soon!” You see, once you accepted the offer, it would be a great insult if you failed to show up! You were expected to clear your calendar, and not let anything interfere with your attendance.

So let’s see what Jesus was telling the Pharisees. These three men who had been invited to the master’s celebration were symbolic of Israel and all of her leadership. The three had put business and pleasure ahead of their commitment to the host. They could easily have tested their new oxen at any time, but they were saying that now was the only time that was available. The man who purchased some new property had already completed the purchase, so he could have gone to visit it later without any problem whatsoever, but he decided that now was more important than honoring the host. The one who just got married had just hosted his own banquet celebration, and he knew how important it was to show respect to both the host and the invitation – for his party, certainly, but apparently not so much for his friend’s!

The point? Israel had been “chosen”, or rather, had been invited, to the eternal banquet with their Lord God Jehovah, and by rejecting the divinity of his Son Jesus, they were refusing to come when the time was right. And an empty table at such a great feast just couldn’t be tolerated – others must be invited, even if at the last minute.

Read Luke 14:21-24

The second group to be called to the great feast were others from the town, but who hadn’t be invited the first time. And these weren’t members of polite society – not by a long shot! They were to be found in the “streets and alleys” of the town, and as we read the list of who these folks were, we discover that these are the sinners of the area, the very ones who the Pharisees and other elites knew without a doubt would never be welcomed by Messiah to celebrate at his banquet. So it was the Jewish intellectuals who were excluding “the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.”, not God! Israel’s learned men would have been appalled at the very suggestion that these should be welcome at Messiah’s table!

This is the very group over which Jesus was condemned for his sitting down with for a meal at Matthew’s house. (Matthew 9:9-13) Their condition was seen as the consequence of sin, and therefore they were unworthy to be called the people of God. But from the Lord’s perspective, these were the very ones he came to save. In this same passage, when the Pharisees call him to account for this indiscretion, he replies “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The third group that Jesus speaks about is even “worse”! These are the foreigners, the outsiders, those who are just passing through town with no connection to Jewish society. We know them as Gentiles, the ones who are the worst of the worse. At least the sinners of Israel could be forgiven if they offered the proper sacrifices at temple, but gentiles – nothing could help them. And Jesus is welcoming them to his glorious banquet? Just one more bit of evidence that this Jesus could never be Messiah!

But what does this parable have to do with Pentecost? The people who heard Peter’s sermon on that day (Acts 2:14-41) were Jews who had come from many nations. They were the people who did not come home after the Exile ended. They were the ones who had limited access to the temple and the opportunity for sacrifice. They were part of the hundreds of thousands of worshippers, perhaps even more, who had come to celebrate the works of their Jehovah God.

These were the ones who were seen as being less than righteous, less than worthy, and were looked down on by the elitists of Israel. These were the ones who Peter was testifying to, that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is, indeed, Lord and Messiah. And that all they needed to do to be forgiven was to repent, to be baptized, and that they then would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And on this Pentecost, that same proclamation is offered to each and every one of us, if only we surrender our own desires and plans, and accept the Lordship, the authority of Jesus Christ and his word for our own life. If you have never given your life to Christ before, will you pray this prayer with me today?

Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner, and I am unworthy of your mercy. But Lord, you are my only hope. Forgive me, Lord, and help me to live the life that you have created for me, that I might rejoice with you in heaven. May I truly be yours today and always. In your holy and loving name, Lord. Amen.