The Parable of the “Great Supper” / “The Wedding Feast”
The Parable of the “Great Supper” or “The Marriage Feast” (Luke)
as compared to
“The Wedding Feast” when Christ returns to claim His Bride (Revelation)
The Parable of the “Great Supper” or “The Marriage Feast” as told by Jesus in the book of Luke offers a brief glimpse of what God intended to be the experience of man in his relationship with God, from which man fell.
Introduction:
Luke 14:13-14 (Jesus speaking)
13But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Luke 14:15-20 (Jesus speaking in verses 16-20)
15And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
16Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
18And 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.
19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
Luke 14:21-22 (Jesus speaking)
21So 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.
22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
Luke 14:23-24 (Jesus speaking)
23And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Luke 14:33 (Jesus speaking)
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Notice: Service, love and devotion must come first!
The Ascension of Jesus after His Crucifixion, from Earth to Heaven
Acts 1:1-5 (Jesus speaking from the word “wait” in verse 4 to the end)
1The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts 1:6-8 (Jesus speaking in verses 7 and 8)
6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:9-11
9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10And while they looked stedfastly toward Heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven.
His Second Coming is going to be just as real as His First Coming.
Revelation 19: THE WEDDING FEAST
This chapter offers a beautiful picture of the Wedding Feast, when Christ returns to claim His Bride. God is praised in Heaven for judging the great whore and avenging the blood of his saints.
Revelation 19:1-10 (“I” in verse one is John)
1And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in Heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servant at her hand.
3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Revelation 19:10-15
10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
11And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14And the armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Revelation 19:16-18
16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of Heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Revelation 19:19-21
19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
A Flashback:
Just before the crucifixion, the disciples asked Jesus, “What shall be the sign of Thy Coming?”
Matthew 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Our Lord replied in
Matthew 24:29, 30 (Jesus speaking)
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from Heaven, and the powers of the Heavens shall be shaken:
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory.
In a vital sense the rejoicing in Heaven of Revelation 19 tells us about the final triumph of good over evil:
Christ over The Antichrist,
God over Satan and
the Holy Spirit over the spirit of evil.
Jesus came as the suffering Savior, God incarnate, who died on the cross for our sins. He will return visibly as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS at His coronation.
The first time Jesus stood before Pilate; the second time Pilate will stand before Him. He came then as a Servant and He will come as a Sovereign.
For the Christian the Second Coming of Christ is the most anticipated event in human history. It is the ultimate fulfillment of our Lord’s promise to return. Once He returns, there will be no further need to debate His claims or the validity of the Christian message. KING Jesus will come in person and that will set the record straight.
This chapter contains the greatest event for this earth: The Second Coming of Christ.
What He began at Calvary is NOW nearing completion.
I’m glad that John tells us there will be many people in Heaven; it is not God’s will that any should perish. Have you invited Jesus into your heart? He will come in to “dine” with you, to reveal Truth to you, to redeem your soul for all eternity if you invite Him in by asking Him to forgive you of your sins.
The “Hallelujah Chorus” is a reminder that as the redeemed, blood-bought, we’ll be praising God
for redemption,
for retribution,
for God’s judging the corrupt earth,
for relationships unto our Heavenly Father
and Christ reigning as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS!
When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, He gave us His Holy Spirit and promised and guaranteed us a future inheritance, so as believers, we are to prepare for that blessed day. We are to be beautiful before the Lord, obedient to His Word, the Bible.
Ephesians 5:26, 27
26that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27That He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
When we were saved/redeemed, we received a new inner beauty. When we study His Word, He uses it as a “cleansing cream” to sanctify and wash us.
You cannot read the Word of God without being conscious of the fact that He has A PLAN and A PROGRAM for this earth and that He is following it very carefully.
In Matthew 22:1-14, below, Jesus spoke of the “Parable of the Marriage Feast” of the King’s son. At this festive occasion the King sent out servants to invite people to come to this blessed event. They would not come, so again he sent forth other servants, saying, “I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fatlings are killed and all things are ready. Come unto the marriage.”
Those invited made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm and another to his merchandise. You remember the following Scripture where they took the servants, treated them roughly and slew them. Jesus said in
Matthew 22:1-4 (Jesus speaking)
1And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
2The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
4Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
Matthew 22:5-7 (Jesus speaking)
5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully and slew them.
7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Matthew 22:8-10 (Jesus speaking)
8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
Matthew 22:11-14 (Jesus speaking)
11And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13Then said the king to his servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14For many are called, but few are chosen.
The wedding garment symbolized “clothed in His righteousness, God’s righteousness”. Not having on a wedding garment symbolized no confession of one’s sin, a personal choice every human being makes.
Have you made plans to live eternally in the presence of Jesus Christ?
Each person, each soul must prepare for ETERNITY. The Bible teaches that Jesus’ blood washes away sin. Revelation 1:5b, states Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Thereby God GIVES US the righteousness of God. We only need to ask for forgiveness of our sin and God answers that prayer immediately when sincerely prayed. Have you done that? Do it today. Ask Him.
Revelation 4:1 introduces a scene by telling us that John “saw a door was opened in Heaven”. In Revelation 4:1, he was invited into Heaven and he was shown “things which shall be hereafter”. He was shown many things, including the scenes of the Tribulation Period.
In Revelation Chapter 19 The Tribulation has been concluded and Christ is returning to the earth on a white horse. The Scripture that says that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years suggests that a promise of God given a thousand years ago is as though it were given yesterday. God is faithful.
2 Peter 3:8
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
This world has known nothing but wars since it rejected God and His Son. During World War I the total number of war-related deaths was 40 million. It is estimated that the total number of deaths caused by World War II was 60 million. Most of the wars have been unrighteous wars.
When Christ comes, His war will consist of only one battle. This will be the first righteous war in the history of mankind. The best judge on earth cannot know all the facts of a given situation because he is limited by human frailty. Jesus Christ is not limited.
He who knows the end from the beginning will be a Righteous Judge for His all-seeing eye will reveal all truth about every individual and nation.
Let’s review a few Scriptures in Revelation 19.
Revelation 19:11, 12
11And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
God is so great and Divine that it would only seem natural that some aspects of His nature are incomprehensible to our finite minds.
Revelation 19:13
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.
A thought: I don’t know but I wonder, could it be a reference to the fact that His garments were sprinkled with blood on Calvary’s cross so that we may wear robes of righteousness?
Revelation 19:14-16
14And the armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he might smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Notice the clothing of the army, “fine linen, white and clean.” Military men are issued fatigue uniforms for battle, not only for camouflage, but also because war is so dirty that light colored clothes would be seriously soiled.
Look above at verses 11-16 of Revelation. In these passages the hopes and dreams of every believer are finally and fully realized. The rejected Savior will return in triumph as the rightful King of all the world and we are to be coming with Him!
As the scene unfolds, Heaven opens to reveal the Christ and to release the Army of the Redeemed. They are clothed in white and the victory is won without any military help from The Faithful.
This army has no weapons, no swords, no shields, no armor. They are merely clothed in the righteousness of the saints. They have not come with Him to fight but to watch, not to assist, but to celebrate.
He alone will win the battle by the power of His spoken WORD. The Savior returns from Heaven with His Bride at His side. The days of the church of conflict, rejection and persecution are over! She, the redeemed, returns to earth, to Jerusalem, victorious with her Warrior KING.
The destiny of the true believer is now fully clarified. Our hope includes:
rapture,
return
and reign!
In the rapture we go to Heaven.
In the return we come back to earth.
In the Millennium we reign with Christ for 1,000 years.
“Come Lord Jesus!”
Revelation 22: 16-21
16I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
