Heaven is not R.S.V.P.

Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon and a pagan, had something God does not: perfect attendance.

Celebrating we don’t know what, Belshazzar “made a great feast for a thousand of his lords” and on his last night he “drank wine in the presence of the thousand” (Daniel 5:1, NKJV).

Amazing. The king invited 1,000 officials and 1,000 guests showed up. Not one invitation came back, “Sorry, I can’t make it.” Not one no show.

God does not fare so well

Jesus tells two parables in which God prepares a feast and, like Belshazzar, invites many, but more than a few don’t come.

The occasion of one parable is a banquet in a Pharisee’s house where Jesus is a guest and He responds to a remark about the blessing of dining at “the feast in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15). Invitations to this feast had been sent and now, when it is time to appear, many don’t.

“I just bought a field and need to check it out,” says one. Another declines, “I just got married.” And so the table has empty seats.

Jesus tells the other parable in the midst of increasing provocation during the week before His crucifixion. In this parable, a king summons subjects to the marriage feast for his son and again, many “made light of it and went their ways” (Matthew 22:5).

We don’t have to imagine how kings like Belshazzar would have responded to such slight; Daniel recorded two occasions.

• Three of his friends refused to worship an image that Nebuchadnezzar built and the king sentenced them to death by incineration (Daniel 3).
• Daniel himself was sent to die in the lion’s den when he defied a decree forbidding everyone to petition anyone except King Darius—in other words, stop praying (Daniel 6).

No wonder King Belshazzar had 100 percent attendance at his feast.

Slights sting God, too

Is God any less offended when we dismiss His overtures?

Jesus said the host was angry and the king was furious. Intent on having a full house, both summoned the most unlikely to their feasts and dismissed the original guests. “Not one who was invited will get a taste of my banquet,” vowed the host (Luke 14:24). “Those who were invited were not worthy,” fumed the king (Matthew 22:8).

Etiquette says, Show up!

These guests neglected an important rule of etiquette: “When you are invited, go.” Jesus pointed this out when He noticed how those at the Pharisee’s table chose the best seats and He chastised their pride, saying “when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place.” Jesus was addressing their behavior at the banquet, but He also reminded them of the importance of heeding the summons in the first place.

It seems Jesus, as we would say, was preaching to the choir because these respected elders of Israel had honored the Pharisee, just like the lords who attended Belshazzar’s feast. But would they be at the feast in the kingdom of God? The man’s outburst, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” assumes they will (Luke 14:15). The parable suggests, not necessarily. It is not enough to be summoned; you must also show up.

A few reasons why the parable guests—and those listening to Jesus—miss out come to mind.

• It’s just an invitation. They received the call as “Come if you please, or not.  No questions, no obligation. The honor, if you come, is mine; the choice is yours.”
• Another time. This wasn’t the first gracious overture; they thought there would be another occasion, another day to accept. Today they could pass.
• Life got in the way. Between the day the invitation arrived and the day of the banquet, their lives had changed. They likely received the save-the-date enthusiastically—pleased the king and host thought so much of them—but one meanwhile had bought a field and another a yoke of oxen that needed attending. Another was a newlywed. What they had was more important than the king’s affairs. Now, attendance was an inconvenience more than an honor.

The similarity of soil and guests

All of this has me thinking about how the Gospel comes across in our generation, and how it is received. I think we often perceive God’s call to His kingdom much like the guests in the parables: It’s an R.S.V.P. invitation; we decide its suitability; we can decline and God will understand.

This is strikingly similar to the soil in another parable, where Jesus says seed is sown but cares of the world spring up like weeds and choke it (Mark 4:19). The guests have their invitations, the soil has seed, but neither yield their due. We proclaim the Gospel, yet little comes of it in the lives of so many hearers. Perhaps it is because we cushion it as an invitation.

What if we were to understand these statements of Jesus are commands?

 "Come, you who are weary and burdened."  Matthew 11:28

 "Come, you who are thirsty, and drink." John 7:37

 "Come to me, you who seek life, that you may have it." John 5:40

If these are directives, then the urgency of statements like these becomes clear.

 "We beseech that you receive not the grace of God in vain" (2 Corinthians 6:1) 

 "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). 

 "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven" (Hebrews 12:25).

Escape? Escape what? Certainly the anger of the host and the wrath of the king. The banquet host denied the rude invitees entrance; the king destroyed the spiteful subjects (Matthew 22:7).

A command to obey, not an invitation to weigh

The parables teach us that God’s summons to His kingdom is a command to obey, not an invitation to weigh.

The officials of Babylon knew better than to disrespect the king. They were wiser than many today because they anticipated the significance of what Jesus said, “When you are invited, go.”

Belshazzar said, “Come to my feast” and a thousand lords obeyed.

Jesus says, “Come to me.”

Will you?