Feasts are times of joyful celebration. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord has promised a great one for all believers when Jesus Christ returns to reign on His eternal throne on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem.
6 And in this mountain
The Lord of hosts will make for all people
A feast of choice pieces,
A feast of wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 25:6-8 (NKJV)
Isaiah might have been living in a mostly-faithless land, but God gave him this uplifting vision of the future to share with his contemporaries as well as with us today. A great feast will be given when the Kingdom of God arrives, spreading out over the whole earth upon Christ’s return. A veil of suffering which covers many people will be destroyed, bringing a lightness and gaiety to all who enter God’s banquet. Tears will be wiped away and the scourge of death removed, once and for all. What a great time this will be! Centuries after Isaiah, Jesus would tell His disciples that even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be seen at the celebratory feast.
Yet, many people will choose to skip this great banquet, rejecting their invitation. Jesus spoke of this in multiple parables. He also spoke of people being invited to the great supper, yet giving flimsy excuses for not attending.
In Luke 14, Jesus shares some of the excuses people use for rejecting His invitation, and they border on the comedic. One person talks of having just purchased a piece of property and needing to go see it. Usually that is done prior to the purchase! Another person says they bought five yoke of oxen, and need to go test them. Again, not the usual procedure to use when purchasing something – the testing usually comes before the purchase. A third person sends regrets because he had just gotten married. Could he not bring his wife along to such an important event? She is invited, too!
Like anyone who has made a great sacrifice to offer a gift of love, God is hurt when His generous offer is rejected. But the Holy Spirit is a gentleman and will not force anyone to accept Christ or to attend His banquet who does not wish to be there. We all have complete freedom of choice to accept or reject God’s offer of forgiveness through the cross of Christ, no matter how foolish or flimsy our own excuses may be.
For those who do choose to attend, this great banquet celebrating Christ’s return and global reign will be an unworldly experience. The tears, pain, suffering, and losses of this life will soon be forgotten. A new day will have come, and we will be surrounded by and enclosed in the holiness and love of Christ Himself.
The Book of Revelation also refers to this kingdom banquet, using the symbolism of a marriage between Christ, the Holy Lamb of God, and His pure bride, the Church. We are each made pure through faith, thoroughly cleansed by His blood on the cross and resurrection from the dead. We have been eternally joined to Him.
The apostle John writes in the book of Revelation:
9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ Revelation 19:9a (NKJV)
We are all invited by God to attend this great supper. The only question is, will we choose to be there?
Reflection
The pain of suffering, loss, and death has touched us all at one time or another. This is not the life that God wants for us. Christ came the first time to restore us to a holy relationship with the Father, with abundant life. Jesus will come a second time to fulfill His promise of a world without tears or injustice, establishing an eternal, joyful kingdom which will begin with a great and wonderful banquet. Let’s choose to be there!
Lord, thank You for inviting me to the great banquet celebrating Your kingdom that will come upon the whole earth. I do want to be there, and joyfully accept Your invitation offered to me by faith through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We thank You, praise You, and worship You. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a beautiful day walking with the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 