When nobodies become somebodies

Have you ever made an excuse for not attending an event you really didn’t want to attend? No doubt you have… we all have at some point. In Jesus’ Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14), most of the “somebodies” who had been invited to a huge feast made excuses for not attending. Of course the host was angry, and probably really hurt too! Who wouldn’t be? So the master told his servant to go and invite some folks who would truly appreciate the invitation - the poor, crippled, lame, and blind - those that the “somebodies” (Pharisees) would consider “nobodies.”

Think about the people being invited now… these are folks who never get invited to an event like this; they are the outcasts, the unimportant, the unworthy, the nobodies. But this master wants them at his banquet!

But even after many of these folks accepted the invite, there were still seats available; so the master sent his servant out into the streets to “compel” more to come in. This would be a banquet very much worth attending! He wanted his house to be full!

The truth is that we are all nobodies without Jesus Christ; we are poor in spirt, lame and crippled in life, and blind to the truth. But in Christ we are somebodies. You may think you are an unworthy, unremarkable, unlovable, nobody; but the great news is that God wants to welcome you into His house. He offers you a seat at His table. He loves you and wants a relationship with you. …He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9b

Would you humbly accept His gracious invitation? Jesus wanted His listeners to know that God’s arms are open wide, not to arrogant, puffed up, prideful people, like the Pharisees; but to lowly, unworthy, humble people, like the poor, crippled, blind and lame who may have believed they really didn’t matter. But everybody matters to God! Would you open your eyes to people around you who may think they don’t matter? Would you invest in them and invite them to Christ? Invite them to worship with you at Watermark? For so much more, including the intro narrative to this parable, listen to The Parables, When Nobodies Become Somebodies.