And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
The verse gives the third guest's answer when the servant announces the supper is ready, that his recent marriage keeps him from coming. His cannot come is no true inability, for his wife could have come with him, but a cover for having no desire to come and preferring his own enjoyment and company. With buying ground and proving oxen it is one of the trifling excuses by which those first bidden lightly refuse and insult the master, and for that refusal none of them shall taste of his supper. The supper refused is the gospel invitation with its gracious provisions through God's Son, including righteousness, justification by faith, access to the Father, the Spirit's comfort, and eternal life freely spread for all. Marriage itself is not at fault or condemned, but even the dearest earthly tie must not turn the heart from Christ and hinder answering His call, for each soul has individual responsibility to obey God whatever spouse or family may do.
Words and Parable Setting
The third guest answers the servant's announcement that the feast is ready by saying his recent marriage keeps him from coming to the great supper. His refusal places him among those first bidden who are excluded and cannot share in the feast, showing how ordinary personal and temporal concerns are put above the call to the gospel feast and the eternal interests it represents. His excuse stands with buying land and proving oxen as one given with one consent by those first bidden, and their refusal angers the master of the house so that he sends his servant quickly into the streets and lanes of the city for the poor and maimed and halt and blind, and then into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that his house may be filled, declaring that none of those first bidden shall taste of his supper. The same refusal answers the remark about eating bread in the kingdom of God, and the invitation to come is the call to receive what is ready. Refusing to come in this way is contempt for the highest good and leaves spiritual needs unmet, while such influence may keep others from accepting the invitation.
The "cannot come" is no real inability, for marriage was no obstacle since his wife could have been welcomed too and both should have come at once. The claim concealed that he did not care and did not want to come, preferring his own plans for enjoyment and other company to the host's invitation. The excuse reveals a mind absorbed in earthly interests and indifference to the offered feast. Letting earthly concerns so distract from earnest preparation for Christ's invitation and wedding feast leaves a person unready when probation closes and the door is shut.
Together with buying ground and proving oxen, marrying a wife belongs to another class who with one consent refuse the invitation, not with flat refusal but with frivolous, foolish and trifling excuses that make light of the call. The excuse turns from the heavenly entertainment prepared for special benefit to slight inducements thought to serve self better, disobeys the call, and insults the master of the house who in great condescension gave the gracious invitation, stirring his anger and placing the excuser among those bidden who shall not taste of the supper. The supper is the provisions of grace God has provided through His only begotten Son, and the excuse means very much to everyone who has had the light of truth and been invited to partake. Merely accepting the privileges of the gospel supper is not enough, for all who come must put on the righteousness of Christ, the wedding garment, stripping off miserable inherited and cultivated traits of character that dishonor God, lest Christ be ashamed of them like builders who lay a foundation without counting the cost. The excuse is trivial like those about merchandise and oxen, yet it refuses the supper, and Jesus declares that not one that was bidden and refused shall taste of His supper, so the invitation must be carefully accepted and not refused.
Those who refused the king's invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb would not taste it, while the invitation went out to all classes and anyone who received it could be a guest. When the bidden refuse, others must be sought in the highways and hedges and compelled to come that His house may be filled, and the compelling is not force on the intellect but the Holy Spirit of God working with the human agent, coming in where the heart is opened to Jesus Christ and abiding there as power to overcome. Such trifling refusal exposes laziness and slothfulness in the enterprise of everlasting life, doing the work for heaven by halves, working by odd spells but neglecting it when anything diverts attention, fostering self-justification in a wrong course and easing conscience with resolves to be diligent at some future time. Rejecting the invitation in this way leaves a person unready without the wedding garment which is the righteousness of Christ, because self-righteousness is insufficient and only thorough preparation avails in the great judgment before us, and the door is shut so that admittance sought too late is lost, with the slothful failing to bear fruit, condemned out of their own mouth, and by remaining unready keeping others in the same unreadiness by their influence.
Christ gave the parable of the great supper while He was a guest at a dinner or feast in the house of a chief Pharisee, where He controlled the table talk to give precious lessons adapted to the needs of His hearers, showing how the king's invitation was treated. The invitation the guest answers is "Come, for all things are now ready," given by Christ Himself to all who will come, and applied to receiving Christ and sharing the gospel with others. The parable pictures the gospel as a plain and simple feast, a costly banquet prepared by the love of Christ for the world and made accessible to all as a free gift. The indifferent refusal of that call fails to express love for the fallen race, so workers must lift up Christ altogether lovely and reveal only His love in giving the invitation, clothed with the mind of Christ and subdued into conformity to His holy character, spreading the unsearchable riches of Christ in all their abundance and calling attention to the board of provisions, without putting difficult subjects and controversial theories first that will not lead men to the supper.
Nature of the Refusal
The excuse is not open defiance but a frivolous turning aside, letting marriage absorb the attention and keep the bidden guest from coming. In doing so it disobeys the call, treats the gracious invitation lightly, and insults the master of the house who gave it in great condescension. That slight stirs his anger against those who make light of mercy’s invitation. The same refusal is contempt for the invitation, despising the highest good offered and leaving spiritual needs unmet, while its influence may hold others back from accepting. It belongs with the other refusals, after which the invitation is carried to others that the house may be filled.
None of those first bidden men who with one consent refuse shall taste of the supper, and the guest who pleads marriage is left excluded and unable to share in it. The supper is the provisions of grace provided through the only begotten Son, extended through a lifetime and onward into eternity, and the excuse means much to everyone who has had the light of truth and been invited to partake. Merely accepting its privileges is not enough, for all who come must put on the righteousness of Christ as the wedding garment, stripping off inherited and cultivated traits that dishonor God. The call refused is “Come, for all things are now ready,” answered with trivial reasons like merchandise, oxen, and marriage, yet Jesus declares that not one bidden who refused shall taste of His supper. When the bidden refuse, the servant is sent quickly into the streets and lanes of the city for the poor, maimed, halt and blind, and then into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that the house may be filled. That compelling is not force upon the intellect but the Holy Spirit working with the human agent where the heart is opened to Christ. Those who slight the invitation by putting personal circumstances ahead of it, including fear of neighbors’ disapproval and demands of work even to Sabbath work, will not share in Christ’s feast.
The excuse reveals a mind absorbed in earthly interests and indifferent to the feast, concealing that the guest did not care to come but preferred his own plans for enjoyment and other company. Marriage was no real hindrance, since his wife could have been welcomed too, yet he claimed he could not come. Like buying ground and proving oxen, the plea is frivolous and foolish, showing a heart engrossed in earthly and selfish concerns that displace the gospel call. It represents those who put worldly concerns and pursuits ahead of God, neglect Scripture and prayer, and value temporary things, merchandise, property, business, pleasures, homes and social ties more than eternal life and the sacrifice that offered grace and truth. In this way an earthly and household relationship is placed ahead of obedience to the heavenly call and the eternal riches offered.
The refusal chooses convenient visible things of this life over the gracious invitation and eternal inheritance through Christ, so that those who refuse will not share His glory and the invitation passes to others. It rejects God’s promises and chooses to remain bound to Satan’s chariot and yoke of bondage, valuing temporal interest above the eternal weight of glory and letting the business and affairs of this life engross attention, time, mind and affections. Satan presents to every mind the same temptations he presented to Christ in the wilderness, carrying men away with delusion to look on things temporal and lose sight of things spiritual and eternal, until Christ must break the spell of infatuation and bring eternity back into view lest heaven be lost out of reckoning. It is contempt for the highest good that leaves spiritual needs unmet, and by influence may keep others from accepting. Many reject the heavenly blessings and light because they do not feel their need, even when eternal interests are at stake. Others turn from the heavenly entertainment to slight inducements they think will serve themselves better, exposing laziness and sloth in the enterprise of everlasting life, working by odd spells, doing heaven’s work by halves, easing conscience with resolves for future diligence, and remaining without the wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness and unready when the door is shut. Such refusal chooses living for self rather than for God, without seeking to know Him or obey His commandments, and those who persist are classed with unbelievers, unfit to live in His presence, to whom heaven itself would be undesirable.
Refusing the invitation displays a person’s relation to God by the fruit seen in spirit, words and actions. It shows failure to recognize obligation and dependence on God and duty to advance His work, with family wealth in danger of becoming a hindrance to salvation unless met by persistent faithful appeals pointing to Christ. Ordinary personal and temporal concerns become trifling excuses beside the greatness of the call, yet minds absorbed in earthly matters place them above eternal things. Such persons fail to recognize that they are bought with a price and that obedience and whole-hearted service are required, not discerning the great blessing brought by Christ’s coming and call.
Meaning of the Supper
The supper is the provisions of grace provided through the only begotten Son, the gospel invitation with its righteousness and justification by faith, its promises and access to the Father, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the assurance of eternal life, and the blessings of the kingdom. It illustrates spiritual blessings by a temporal feast and shows the condescension of God in earnestly inviting all to come, with Christ Himself giving the call, Come, for all things are now ready, to all who will come. Those first bidden, including the Jews who expected the kingdom's blessings for themselves, make excuses such as marrying a wife and with one consent refuse, so none of those men will taste of the supper and the invitation is then extended to those they despised, including the Gentiles. It is a banquet of truth that Christ Himself has prepared, and the medical missionaries' work in offering salvation is its last call, which personal concerns may cause an invited person to refuse.
The feast is pictured as plain and simple, yet a costly banquet prepared by the love of Christ for the world and made accessible to all as a free gift. It was prepared at infinite cost, even with His precious life, and is bountifully spread with unsearchable riches in all their abundance for everyone willing to be God's guest. The board of provisions is to be spread before men by lifting up Christ altogether lovely and revealing only His love, without putting difficult subjects and controversial theories first that will not lead men to the supper. The command to carry this urgent present invitation to all parts of the world means going to large cities and towns, along highways and hedges, to retired country places and dark parts of the earth, and reaching people where they are, including those who do not know the truth and those enslaved by intemperate habits that destroy soul and body. Sanitariums are one means for this work, where such ones learn a better way of living and are brought under Bible truth while angels impress unbelieving hearts, and heavenly intelligences cooperate with human agents distributed rather than gathered in one center, so many are won to Christ.
The supper represents an invitation extended throughout a lifetime and onward into eternity, embracing present privileges of service and future blessedness. The invited guests who refused with the marriage excuse and other excuses would not taste the supper, and afterward messengers were sent to invite other classes, including people who had not heard the truth. In the parable the guests do not openly refuse but are absorbed by other concerns and offer frivolous excuses that insult the host, neglecting the invitation and privileges of service in the present and risking their share in future blessedness. Accepting truth nominally and merely accepting the privileges of the gospel supper is not enough without practicing the truth, for those who respond in practice put on Christ's righteousness and serve faithfully and bring others so the house may be full, while those who refuse the invitation of mercy are accountable for neglected opportunities.
To sit at the feast the guest must put on the wedding garment He has provided, the robe of His righteousness, spotless as the pure white lily, the richest gift that can be bestowed on mortal man, to be secured by giving the whole attention to it. All who come must strip off miserable inherited and cultivated traits of character that dishonor God, for self-righteousness is insufficient and only thorough preparation avails in the great judgment before us. Treating God's directions as unnecessary and turning from the heavenly entertainment prepared for special benefit to slight inducements thought to serve self better exposes laziness in the enterprise of everlasting life, doing heaven's work by halves and easing conscience with resolves to be diligent at some future time. Those who remain absorbed in the pleasures and concerns of this world and unready when probation closes will find the door shut with admittance sought too late lost, condemned out of their own mouth and by influence keeping others unready, with judgment falling as surely as on Egypt when Hebrews neglected the blood and preparations.
History and Final Call
The first ones invited who make this excuse are the Jews, who expected the blessings of the kingdom for themselves, and the refusal belongs not to them alone but to every nation under heaven. Their refusal with one consent, pleading marriage and home ties alongside buying ground and proving oxen, angers the master of the house, so that none of those first invited shall taste of his supper. The servant is then sent quickly into the streets and lanes of the city to bring in the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind, and afterward into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that the house may be filled. In this the invitation passes to people they despised, including the Gentiles and those whom society excludes, and the same refusal marks religious teachers who follow in the course of the Jewish rulers.
The parable is the last call to the gospel feast, the last invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is the message of Christ's soon coming to be given to the world. That call must be given now with no time to lose, carried to thousands of places that have not yet heard it, and those who have not yet given the message, especially young men, are called to proclaim and sound it. Taking it up through earnest, consecrated, willing and unselfish evangelistic labor such as the canvassing work brings great blessing and gives a greatly needed warning in a life-and-death question of salvation. The excuse of marriage stands in this parable as part of its warning about refusing that final call now being given and to be carried to the world.
The lesson reaches to the close of probation, and those who turn from the heavenly entertainment to slight inducements they think will serve themselves better expose laziness in the enterprise of everlasting life. They do heaven's work by halves, working by odd spells but neglecting it when anything diverts attention, fostering self-justification and easing conscience with resolves to be diligent at some future time. Marriage is a flimsy plea, for it need not prevent coming, since both husband and wife should come at once, and letting earthly concerns hinder earnest preparation leaves a person unready without the wedding garment which is the righteousness of Christ. Those who receive the warning and offer of salvation but reject them will find the door shut with no second invitation or later opportunity after probation closes, and the parable does not support theories that pervert and misapply it.
The supper's final invitation is given through medical missionary work that cares for the poor and for suffering souls ready to perish. That long-neglected work was offered to the church in Battle Creek and to those all through America, but they did not choose to accept it. It was therefore placed in the hands of those willing to carry it forward, with medical missionaries giving the last call in their place and Doctor Kellogg moved to carry it forward.
Near the close of earth's history the special gospel call first bids the highly favored people to come to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and their refusal, including this excuse, is rejection of that message. The invitation then goes to the poorer class — the poor, the halt, the maimed, the blind — who are not exalted by ambitious projects and may come if they accept, and when there is still room it goes further to the most degraded and helpless in the byways, highways and hedges, who are to be compelled to come in that the house may be filled. That command to go into the highways and byways means reaching people where they are, including those enslaved by intemperate habits that destroy soul and body, with sanitariums as one means where they learn a better way of living and are brought under Bible truth while angels impress unbelieving hearts and many are won to Christ. The same mercy and warning must be carried to men and women of all classes, even to the terribly degraded white and colored people of the South, whose gathering into churches, sanitariums and schools through faithful unselfish work was neglected to the condemnation of the churches.
The Jewish priests and elders professed to look eagerly for the promised Messiah, waiting with anxious expectancy for the call to go in immediately and proclaiming the great events when the King of the Jews should conquer their enemies and set up His kingdom. Yet they applied to His first advent the prophecies relating to His second coming, and when He came they knew Him not. Many convicted to accept the gospel feast hesitated to receive it from fear of provoking the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. That refusal means not seeing peril and being unwilling to make candid investigation of the Scriptures, and closing the eyes against evidence prepares for continued opposition, the first step making the second easier, showing hatred for the principles of Christ's character just as the Jews hated them.
Marriage and Loyalty to God
Marriage in itself is not sinful and is not condemned, and the home is not at fault in itself. The fault lies in allowing marriage and home to turn the mind from Christ and life's higher interests, so that they hinder responding to Christ's call, serving God, and accepting the invitation to the supper of the Lamb. Even the dearest earthly relationship must not divert affections from God or keep a person from accepting the invitation of mercy. No earthly tie, marriage relation, or other excuse removes the claim of that gracious invitation to the gospel feast provided at infinite cost.
A spouse's opposition to the truth does not excuse a husband from obeying God, nor does it excuse a wife, and a parent's refusal does not excuse children who feel drawn to accept the truth. Husband and wife each stand under individual responsibility to God, and no earthly tie should stand between a person and God. The wife's identity cannot be submerged in her husband, for she is God's property by creation and redemption and belongs to Jesus Christ, so she cannot give her soul into her husband's keeping; if her husband refuses to come that is no reason for her not to come, and the same holds for the husband if the wife refuses. Since Jesus Christ has married His church as His bride to Himself, loyalty to Him requires forsaking father, mother, sisters, brethren, and husband or wife if need be, practicing religious principles in faith even when loyalty brings conflict with close relatives and the wish to avoid division at home. To present frivolous excuses and refuse the bidding after the Holy Spirit convicts the heart, and to turn away to please husband, relatives, or children, brings sin and spiritual loss with eternal consequences, and it is not safe to neglect the invitation.
The man who pleads marriage stands for a large class who let husband or wife keep them from obeying God, with husbands blaming an opposing wife, wives blaming an unbelieving husband and his business, and impressed children following their parents in saying they cannot be expected to come. All refuse because they fear division in the family circle and suppose that disobeying God will secure the peace and prosperity of the home. That hope is a delusion, for refusal to obey does not bring lasting peace or prosperity but leads to the natural harvest of sin and selfishness. Such refusal from family selfishness shows contempt for Christ's invitation, sows selfishness that reaps selfishness, rejects the only love that can give purity and steadfastness to human love, and loses not only heaven but the true enjoyment of home itself for which heaven was sacrificed.
Accepting Christ's call changes a person's thoughts and life, requiring devotion to Christ above other attachments and willingness to bear the cross. It calls for whole-hearted, fearless, thoroughly converted disciples who do and dare wherever He leads, rather than half-converted, half-hearted and fruitless attempts to unite with Christ without denying self and to serve Christ and self at the same time, which His cause does not need. Business, family, or social relations cannot excuse neglecting God's law and the fourth commandment, and concern about neighbors' disapproval and the demands of work, including Sabbath work, are likewise excuses for rejecting the invitation that will not withstand judgment. Attachment to home, family, wealth, and the pleasures of this life must not keep people from responding to Christ's invitation, taking the Lord's side, keeping all His commandments, doing the work of warning the world, and advancing His work in recognition of obligation and dependence on God. Those who slight the invitation to Christ's feast will not share in it, and wealth must not become a hindrance to salvation or character development.
Giving the Invitation
When those first invited refuse with excuses such as marriage, the master declares they shall not taste of the supper and sends his servant quickly into the streets and lanes of the city for the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind, and then into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that his house may be filled. The supper invitation is thus extended throughout a lifetime and onward into eternity to other classes, including people who had not heard the truth and whom society excludes. Near the close of earth's history this special gospel call first bids the highly favored people to come to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and upon their refusal goes to the poorer class not exalted by ambitious projects who may come if they accept, and when there is still room goes further to the most degraded and helpless in the byways to be compelled to come in. Accepting truth nominally while failing to live it is not enough, for those who respond in practice put on Christ's righteousness and serve faithfully, while those who refuse the invitation of mercy are accountable for neglected opportunities.
To compel them to come is not to force the intellect or to shackle them, but for the Holy Spirit to work with the human agent where the heart is opened to Jesus Christ and abides there as power to overcome. The drawing is done by clear steady light let to shine, bringing people to Christ rather than coercing them. This compelling belongs to faithful voices who feel their responsibility and work with every means in their power, in contrast to thousands who ought to give the testing message yet hide their talents and make no use of their powers to draw souls, becoming unfaithful slothful servants called to account. The refusal itself comes because the devil works with attractive allurements to persuade men to close their ears, and because those bidden answer with trivial, frivolous excuses, jesting and contempt, in absolute rejection of the kindness and love of a long-forbearing God.
God's workmen are to carry this present urgent invitation to rich and poor alike, to large cities, towns, highways, hedges, dark parts of the earth and retired country places, opening the Scriptures to people who have made homes in retired places and putting heart into proclaiming truth to those who know it not. They must not pass by wealthy moneyed men to whom the Lord has entrusted His goods, but go out after them into the highways and hedges, take hold of them with persevering determined effort, bring them in and seat them at Christ's table where Christ Himself will serve them. Though first-bidden ones refuse, wealthy men holding the Lord's money will be moved by the Spirit to open doors for advancement of truth in large cities and to use entrusted means to prepare the way of the Lord. Workers must not stay gathered in one center but be distributed to do this calling work, even those without a central education doing good work in the vineyard, aided by heavenly intelligences waiting to cooperate, by angels ministering to heirs of salvation giving grace and power and efficiency, and by the Spirit going before to impress hearts. The invitation is a banquet of truth Christ Himself prepared at the cost of His precious life, a bountiful repast where He will seat guests and serve them, to be proclaimed widely and extended to all classes.
In giving it workers must lift up Christ altogether lovely and reveal only His love, clothed with the mind of Christ and subdued into conformity to His holy character. They are to spread the unsearchable riches of Christ in all abundance and call attention to the board of provisions and the bountifully spread table where finite fallen men in need of pardon and peace may make peace with God. The banquet is plain and simple yet costly, prepared by Christ's love and made accessible as a free gift, and is to be presented as the great and wonderful offering in simplicity and love in the way Christ told His disciples, without putting difficult subjects and controversial theories first that will not lead men to the supper.
Churches in every locality have work to seek people nearby and farther away and invite them to come so God's house may be full, with active concern for those needing sympathy and help without distinctions of territory, class or status. This includes strangers, outcasts and those weak in moral power, feeding the hungry, sheltering the poor and meeting physical needs to open the way for Christ, and urging them to come rather than accepting personal circumstances as reasons not to come. People's excuses for refusing when the message reaches them must not lead others to stand apart from efforts to reach those who may believe and join in saving others, but the work of sharing the message must continue wherever there is an opening.
The marriage excuse warns against laziness in the enterprise of everlasting life, doing heaven's work by halves and easing conscience with future resolves. Believers must not plead ease and pleasures of this life, wanting to enjoy pleasant homes and society of family and friends while letting others do the work of warning the world, for that pattern belongs to professed Christians wanting an easier life without self-denial or restraint who plead to be excused from duty and turn toward worldly self-indulgence. Instead they must be earnest and self-sacrificing in setting truth before the world, girding on the armor with cheerfulness, hope and faith and engaging valiantly like soldiers to share the victory and receive the eternal reward, including canvassing work, lest their influence keep others unready and all be condemned out of their own mouth. The parable so pressed is a present message calling for a work in human hearts and reformation of character giving close connection with God, with refusal leading to judgment.
The verse gives the third guest's answer when the servant announces the supper is ready, that his recent marriage keeps him from coming. His cannot come is no true inability, for his wife could have come with him, but a cover for having no desire to come and preferring his own enjoyment and company. With buying ground and proving oxen it is one of the trifling excuses by which those first bidden lightly refuse and insult the master, and for that refusal none of them shall taste of his supper. The supper refused is the gospel invitation with its gracious provisions through God's Son, including righteousness, justification by faith, access to the Father, the Spirit's comfort, and eternal life freely spread for all. Marriage itself is not at fault or condemned, but even the dearest earthly tie must not turn the heart from Christ and hinder answering His call, for each soul has individual responsibility to obey God whatever spouse or family may do.
Words and Parable Setting
The third guest answers the servant's announcement that the feast is ready by saying his recent marriage keeps him from coming to the great supper. His refusal places him among those first bidden who are excluded and cannot share in the feast, showing how ordinary personal and temporal concerns are put above the call to the gospel feast and the eternal interests it represents. His excuse stands with buying land and proving oxen as one given with one consent by those first bidden, and their refusal angers the master of the house so that he sends his servant quickly into the streets and lanes of the city for the poor and maimed and halt and blind, and then into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that his house may be filled, declaring that none of those first bidden shall taste of his supper. The same refusal answers the remark about eating bread in the kingdom of God, and the invitation to come is the call to receive what is ready. Refusing to come in this way is contempt for the highest good and leaves spiritual needs unmet, while such influence may keep others from accepting the invitation.
The "cannot come" is no real inability, for marriage was no obstacle since his wife could have been welcomed too and both should have come at once. The claim concealed that he did not care and did not want to come, preferring his own plans for enjoyment and other company to the host's invitation. The excuse reveals a mind absorbed in earthly interests and indifference to the offered feast. Letting earthly concerns so distract from earnest preparation for Christ's invitation and wedding feast leaves a person unready when probation closes and the door is shut.
Together with buying ground and proving oxen, marrying a wife belongs to another class who with one consent refuse the invitation, not with flat refusal but with frivolous, foolish and trifling excuses that make light of the call. The excuse turns from the heavenly entertainment prepared for special benefit to slight inducements thought to serve self better, disobeys the call, and insults the master of the house who in great condescension gave the gracious invitation, stirring his anger and placing the excuser among those bidden who shall not taste of the supper. The supper is the provisions of grace God has provided through His only begotten Son, and the excuse means very much to everyone who has had the light of truth and been invited to partake. Merely accepting the privileges of the gospel supper is not enough, for all who come must put on the righteousness of Christ, the wedding garment, stripping off miserable inherited and cultivated traits of character that dishonor God, lest Christ be ashamed of them like builders who lay a foundation without counting the cost. The excuse is trivial like those about merchandise and oxen, yet it refuses the supper, and Jesus declares that not one that was bidden and refused shall taste of His supper, so the invitation must be carefully accepted and not refused.
Those who refused the king's invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb would not taste it, while the invitation went out to all classes and anyone who received it could be a guest. When the bidden refuse, others must be sought in the highways and hedges and compelled to come that His house may be filled, and the compelling is not force on the intellect but the Holy Spirit of God working with the human agent, coming in where the heart is opened to Jesus Christ and abiding there as power to overcome. Such trifling refusal exposes laziness and slothfulness in the enterprise of everlasting life, doing the work for heaven by halves, working by odd spells but neglecting it when anything diverts attention, fostering self-justification in a wrong course and easing conscience with resolves to be diligent at some future time. Rejecting the invitation in this way leaves a person unready without the wedding garment which is the righteousness of Christ, because self-righteousness is insufficient and only thorough preparation avails in the great judgment before us, and the door is shut so that admittance sought too late is lost, with the slothful failing to bear fruit, condemned out of their own mouth, and by remaining unready keeping others in the same unreadiness by their influence.
Christ gave the parable of the great supper while He was a guest at a dinner or feast in the house of a chief Pharisee, where He controlled the table talk to give precious lessons adapted to the needs of His hearers, showing how the king's invitation was treated. The invitation the guest answers is "Come, for all things are now ready," given by Christ Himself to all who will come, and applied to receiving Christ and sharing the gospel with others. The parable pictures the gospel as a plain and simple feast, a costly banquet prepared by the love of Christ for the world and made accessible to all as a free gift. The indifferent refusal of that call fails to express love for the fallen race, so workers must lift up Christ altogether lovely and reveal only His love in giving the invitation, clothed with the mind of Christ and subdued into conformity to His holy character, spreading the unsearchable riches of Christ in all their abundance and calling attention to the board of provisions, without putting difficult subjects and controversial theories first that will not lead men to the supper.
Nature of the Refusal
The excuse is not open defiance but a frivolous turning aside, letting marriage absorb the attention and keep the bidden guest from coming. In doing so it disobeys the call, treats the gracious invitation lightly, and insults the master of the house who gave it in great condescension. That slight stirs his anger against those who make light of mercy’s invitation. The same refusal is contempt for the invitation, despising the highest good offered and leaving spiritual needs unmet, while its influence may hold others back from accepting. It belongs with the other refusals, after which the invitation is carried to others that the house may be filled.
None of those first bidden men who with one consent refuse shall taste of the supper, and the guest who pleads marriage is left excluded and unable to share in it. The supper is the provisions of grace provided through the only begotten Son, extended through a lifetime and onward into eternity, and the excuse means much to everyone who has had the light of truth and been invited to partake. Merely accepting its privileges is not enough, for all who come must put on the righteousness of Christ as the wedding garment, stripping off inherited and cultivated traits that dishonor God. The call refused is “Come, for all things are now ready,” answered with trivial reasons like merchandise, oxen, and marriage, yet Jesus declares that not one bidden who refused shall taste of His supper. When the bidden refuse, the servant is sent quickly into the streets and lanes of the city for the poor, maimed, halt and blind, and then into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that the house may be filled. That compelling is not force upon the intellect but the Holy Spirit working with the human agent where the heart is opened to Christ. Those who slight the invitation by putting personal circumstances ahead of it, including fear of neighbors’ disapproval and demands of work even to Sabbath work, will not share in Christ’s feast.
The excuse reveals a mind absorbed in earthly interests and indifferent to the feast, concealing that the guest did not care to come but preferred his own plans for enjoyment and other company. Marriage was no real hindrance, since his wife could have been welcomed too, yet he claimed he could not come. Like buying ground and proving oxen, the plea is frivolous and foolish, showing a heart engrossed in earthly and selfish concerns that displace the gospel call. It represents those who put worldly concerns and pursuits ahead of God, neglect Scripture and prayer, and value temporary things, merchandise, property, business, pleasures, homes and social ties more than eternal life and the sacrifice that offered grace and truth. In this way an earthly and household relationship is placed ahead of obedience to the heavenly call and the eternal riches offered.
The refusal chooses convenient visible things of this life over the gracious invitation and eternal inheritance through Christ, so that those who refuse will not share His glory and the invitation passes to others. It rejects God’s promises and chooses to remain bound to Satan’s chariot and yoke of bondage, valuing temporal interest above the eternal weight of glory and letting the business and affairs of this life engross attention, time, mind and affections. Satan presents to every mind the same temptations he presented to Christ in the wilderness, carrying men away with delusion to look on things temporal and lose sight of things spiritual and eternal, until Christ must break the spell of infatuation and bring eternity back into view lest heaven be lost out of reckoning. It is contempt for the highest good that leaves spiritual needs unmet, and by influence may keep others from accepting. Many reject the heavenly blessings and light because they do not feel their need, even when eternal interests are at stake. Others turn from the heavenly entertainment to slight inducements they think will serve themselves better, exposing laziness and sloth in the enterprise of everlasting life, working by odd spells, doing heaven’s work by halves, easing conscience with resolves for future diligence, and remaining without the wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness and unready when the door is shut. Such refusal chooses living for self rather than for God, without seeking to know Him or obey His commandments, and those who persist are classed with unbelievers, unfit to live in His presence, to whom heaven itself would be undesirable.
Refusing the invitation displays a person’s relation to God by the fruit seen in spirit, words and actions. It shows failure to recognize obligation and dependence on God and duty to advance His work, with family wealth in danger of becoming a hindrance to salvation unless met by persistent faithful appeals pointing to Christ. Ordinary personal and temporal concerns become trifling excuses beside the greatness of the call, yet minds absorbed in earthly matters place them above eternal things. Such persons fail to recognize that they are bought with a price and that obedience and whole-hearted service are required, not discerning the great blessing brought by Christ’s coming and call.
Meaning of the Supper
The supper is the provisions of grace provided through the only begotten Son, the gospel invitation with its righteousness and justification by faith, its promises and access to the Father, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the assurance of eternal life, and the blessings of the kingdom. It illustrates spiritual blessings by a temporal feast and shows the condescension of God in earnestly inviting all to come, with Christ Himself giving the call, Come, for all things are now ready, to all who will come. Those first bidden, including the Jews who expected the kingdom's blessings for themselves, make excuses such as marrying a wife and with one consent refuse, so none of those men will taste of the supper and the invitation is then extended to those they despised, including the Gentiles. It is a banquet of truth that Christ Himself has prepared, and the medical missionaries' work in offering salvation is its last call, which personal concerns may cause an invited person to refuse.
The feast is pictured as plain and simple, yet a costly banquet prepared by the love of Christ for the world and made accessible to all as a free gift. It was prepared at infinite cost, even with His precious life, and is bountifully spread with unsearchable riches in all their abundance for everyone willing to be God's guest. The board of provisions is to be spread before men by lifting up Christ altogether lovely and revealing only His love, without putting difficult subjects and controversial theories first that will not lead men to the supper. The command to carry this urgent present invitation to all parts of the world means going to large cities and towns, along highways and hedges, to retired country places and dark parts of the earth, and reaching people where they are, including those who do not know the truth and those enslaved by intemperate habits that destroy soul and body. Sanitariums are one means for this work, where such ones learn a better way of living and are brought under Bible truth while angels impress unbelieving hearts, and heavenly intelligences cooperate with human agents distributed rather than gathered in one center, so many are won to Christ.
The supper represents an invitation extended throughout a lifetime and onward into eternity, embracing present privileges of service and future blessedness. The invited guests who refused with the marriage excuse and other excuses would not taste the supper, and afterward messengers were sent to invite other classes, including people who had not heard the truth. In the parable the guests do not openly refuse but are absorbed by other concerns and offer frivolous excuses that insult the host, neglecting the invitation and privileges of service in the present and risking their share in future blessedness. Accepting truth nominally and merely accepting the privileges of the gospel supper is not enough without practicing the truth, for those who respond in practice put on Christ's righteousness and serve faithfully and bring others so the house may be full, while those who refuse the invitation of mercy are accountable for neglected opportunities.
To sit at the feast the guest must put on the wedding garment He has provided, the robe of His righteousness, spotless as the pure white lily, the richest gift that can be bestowed on mortal man, to be secured by giving the whole attention to it. All who come must strip off miserable inherited and cultivated traits of character that dishonor God, for self-righteousness is insufficient and only thorough preparation avails in the great judgment before us. Treating God's directions as unnecessary and turning from the heavenly entertainment prepared for special benefit to slight inducements thought to serve self better exposes laziness in the enterprise of everlasting life, doing heaven's work by halves and easing conscience with resolves to be diligent at some future time. Those who remain absorbed in the pleasures and concerns of this world and unready when probation closes will find the door shut with admittance sought too late lost, condemned out of their own mouth and by influence keeping others unready, with judgment falling as surely as on Egypt when Hebrews neglected the blood and preparations.
History and Final Call
The first ones invited who make this excuse are the Jews, who expected the blessings of the kingdom for themselves, and the refusal belongs not to them alone but to every nation under heaven. Their refusal with one consent, pleading marriage and home ties alongside buying ground and proving oxen, angers the master of the house, so that none of those first invited shall taste of his supper. The servant is then sent quickly into the streets and lanes of the city to bring in the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind, and afterward into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that the house may be filled. In this the invitation passes to people they despised, including the Gentiles and those whom society excludes, and the same refusal marks religious teachers who follow in the course of the Jewish rulers.
The parable is the last call to the gospel feast, the last invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is the message of Christ's soon coming to be given to the world. That call must be given now with no time to lose, carried to thousands of places that have not yet heard it, and those who have not yet given the message, especially young men, are called to proclaim and sound it. Taking it up through earnest, consecrated, willing and unselfish evangelistic labor such as the canvassing work brings great blessing and gives a greatly needed warning in a life-and-death question of salvation. The excuse of marriage stands in this parable as part of its warning about refusing that final call now being given and to be carried to the world.
The lesson reaches to the close of probation, and those who turn from the heavenly entertainment to slight inducements they think will serve themselves better expose laziness in the enterprise of everlasting life. They do heaven's work by halves, working by odd spells but neglecting it when anything diverts attention, fostering self-justification and easing conscience with resolves to be diligent at some future time. Marriage is a flimsy plea, for it need not prevent coming, since both husband and wife should come at once, and letting earthly concerns hinder earnest preparation leaves a person unready without the wedding garment which is the righteousness of Christ. Those who receive the warning and offer of salvation but reject them will find the door shut with no second invitation or later opportunity after probation closes, and the parable does not support theories that pervert and misapply it.
The supper's final invitation is given through medical missionary work that cares for the poor and for suffering souls ready to perish. That long-neglected work was offered to the church in Battle Creek and to those all through America, but they did not choose to accept it. It was therefore placed in the hands of those willing to carry it forward, with medical missionaries giving the last call in their place and Doctor Kellogg moved to carry it forward.
Near the close of earth's history the special gospel call first bids the highly favored people to come to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and their refusal, including this excuse, is rejection of that message. The invitation then goes to the poorer class — the poor, the halt, the maimed, the blind — who are not exalted by ambitious projects and may come if they accept, and when there is still room it goes further to the most degraded and helpless in the byways, highways and hedges, who are to be compelled to come in that the house may be filled. That command to go into the highways and byways means reaching people where they are, including those enslaved by intemperate habits that destroy soul and body, with sanitariums as one means where they learn a better way of living and are brought under Bible truth while angels impress unbelieving hearts and many are won to Christ. The same mercy and warning must be carried to men and women of all classes, even to the terribly degraded white and colored people of the South, whose gathering into churches, sanitariums and schools through faithful unselfish work was neglected to the condemnation of the churches.
The Jewish priests and elders professed to look eagerly for the promised Messiah, waiting with anxious expectancy for the call to go in immediately and proclaiming the great events when the King of the Jews should conquer their enemies and set up His kingdom. Yet they applied to His first advent the prophecies relating to His second coming, and when He came they knew Him not. Many convicted to accept the gospel feast hesitated to receive it from fear of provoking the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. That refusal means not seeing peril and being unwilling to make candid investigation of the Scriptures, and closing the eyes against evidence prepares for continued opposition, the first step making the second easier, showing hatred for the principles of Christ's character just as the Jews hated them.
Marriage and Loyalty to God
Marriage in itself is not sinful and is not condemned, and the home is not at fault in itself. The fault lies in allowing marriage and home to turn the mind from Christ and life's higher interests, so that they hinder responding to Christ's call, serving God, and accepting the invitation to the supper of the Lamb. Even the dearest earthly relationship must not divert affections from God or keep a person from accepting the invitation of mercy. No earthly tie, marriage relation, or other excuse removes the claim of that gracious invitation to the gospel feast provided at infinite cost.
A spouse's opposition to the truth does not excuse a husband from obeying God, nor does it excuse a wife, and a parent's refusal does not excuse children who feel drawn to accept the truth. Husband and wife each stand under individual responsibility to God, and no earthly tie should stand between a person and God. The wife's identity cannot be submerged in her husband, for she is God's property by creation and redemption and belongs to Jesus Christ, so she cannot give her soul into her husband's keeping; if her husband refuses to come that is no reason for her not to come, and the same holds for the husband if the wife refuses. Since Jesus Christ has married His church as His bride to Himself, loyalty to Him requires forsaking father, mother, sisters, brethren, and husband or wife if need be, practicing religious principles in faith even when loyalty brings conflict with close relatives and the wish to avoid division at home. To present frivolous excuses and refuse the bidding after the Holy Spirit convicts the heart, and to turn away to please husband, relatives, or children, brings sin and spiritual loss with eternal consequences, and it is not safe to neglect the invitation.
The man who pleads marriage stands for a large class who let husband or wife keep them from obeying God, with husbands blaming an opposing wife, wives blaming an unbelieving husband and his business, and impressed children following their parents in saying they cannot be expected to come. All refuse because they fear division in the family circle and suppose that disobeying God will secure the peace and prosperity of the home. That hope is a delusion, for refusal to obey does not bring lasting peace or prosperity but leads to the natural harvest of sin and selfishness. Such refusal from family selfishness shows contempt for Christ's invitation, sows selfishness that reaps selfishness, rejects the only love that can give purity and steadfastness to human love, and loses not only heaven but the true enjoyment of home itself for which heaven was sacrificed.
Accepting Christ's call changes a person's thoughts and life, requiring devotion to Christ above other attachments and willingness to bear the cross. It calls for whole-hearted, fearless, thoroughly converted disciples who do and dare wherever He leads, rather than half-converted, half-hearted and fruitless attempts to unite with Christ without denying self and to serve Christ and self at the same time, which His cause does not need. Business, family, or social relations cannot excuse neglecting God's law and the fourth commandment, and concern about neighbors' disapproval and the demands of work, including Sabbath work, are likewise excuses for rejecting the invitation that will not withstand judgment. Attachment to home, family, wealth, and the pleasures of this life must not keep people from responding to Christ's invitation, taking the Lord's side, keeping all His commandments, doing the work of warning the world, and advancing His work in recognition of obligation and dependence on God. Those who slight the invitation to Christ's feast will not share in it, and wealth must not become a hindrance to salvation or character development.
Giving the Invitation
When those first invited refuse with excuses such as marriage, the master declares they shall not taste of the supper and sends his servant quickly into the streets and lanes of the city for the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind, and then into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in that his house may be filled. The supper invitation is thus extended throughout a lifetime and onward into eternity to other classes, including people who had not heard the truth and whom society excludes. Near the close of earth's history this special gospel call first bids the highly favored people to come to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and upon their refusal goes to the poorer class not exalted by ambitious projects who may come if they accept, and when there is still room goes further to the most degraded and helpless in the byways to be compelled to come in. Accepting truth nominally while failing to live it is not enough, for those who respond in practice put on Christ's righteousness and serve faithfully, while those who refuse the invitation of mercy are accountable for neglected opportunities.
To compel them to come is not to force the intellect or to shackle them, but for the Holy Spirit to work with the human agent where the heart is opened to Jesus Christ and abides there as power to overcome. The drawing is done by clear steady light let to shine, bringing people to Christ rather than coercing them. This compelling belongs to faithful voices who feel their responsibility and work with every means in their power, in contrast to thousands who ought to give the testing message yet hide their talents and make no use of their powers to draw souls, becoming unfaithful slothful servants called to account. The refusal itself comes because the devil works with attractive allurements to persuade men to close their ears, and because those bidden answer with trivial, frivolous excuses, jesting and contempt, in absolute rejection of the kindness and love of a long-forbearing God.
God's workmen are to carry this present urgent invitation to rich and poor alike, to large cities, towns, highways, hedges, dark parts of the earth and retired country places, opening the Scriptures to people who have made homes in retired places and putting heart into proclaiming truth to those who know it not. They must not pass by wealthy moneyed men to whom the Lord has entrusted His goods, but go out after them into the highways and hedges, take hold of them with persevering determined effort, bring them in and seat them at Christ's table where Christ Himself will serve them. Though first-bidden ones refuse, wealthy men holding the Lord's money will be moved by the Spirit to open doors for advancement of truth in large cities and to use entrusted means to prepare the way of the Lord. Workers must not stay gathered in one center but be distributed to do this calling work, even those without a central education doing good work in the vineyard, aided by heavenly intelligences waiting to cooperate, by angels ministering to heirs of salvation giving grace and power and efficiency, and by the Spirit going before to impress hearts. The invitation is a banquet of truth Christ Himself prepared at the cost of His precious life, a bountiful repast where He will seat guests and serve them, to be proclaimed widely and extended to all classes.
In giving it workers must lift up Christ altogether lovely and reveal only His love, clothed with the mind of Christ and subdued into conformity to His holy character. They are to spread the unsearchable riches of Christ in all abundance and call attention to the board of provisions and the bountifully spread table where finite fallen men in need of pardon and peace may make peace with God. The banquet is plain and simple yet costly, prepared by Christ's love and made accessible as a free gift, and is to be presented as the great and wonderful offering in simplicity and love in the way Christ told His disciples, without putting difficult subjects and controversial theories first that will not lead men to the supper.
Churches in every locality have work to seek people nearby and farther away and invite them to come so God's house may be full, with active concern for those needing sympathy and help without distinctions of territory, class or status. This includes strangers, outcasts and those weak in moral power, feeding the hungry, sheltering the poor and meeting physical needs to open the way for Christ, and urging them to come rather than accepting personal circumstances as reasons not to come. People's excuses for refusing when the message reaches them must not lead others to stand apart from efforts to reach those who may believe and join in saving others, but the work of sharing the message must continue wherever there is an opening.
The marriage excuse warns against laziness in the enterprise of everlasting life, doing heaven's work by halves and easing conscience with future resolves. Believers must not plead ease and pleasures of this life, wanting to enjoy pleasant homes and society of family and friends while letting others do the work of warning the world, for that pattern belongs to professed Christians wanting an easier life without self-denial or restraint who plead to be excused from duty and turn toward worldly self-indulgence. Instead they must be earnest and self-sacrificing in setting truth before the world, girding on the armor with cheerfulness, hope and faith and engaging valiantly like soldiers to share the victory and receive the eternal reward, including canvassing work, lest their influence keep others unready and all be condemned out of their own mouth. The parable so pressed is a present message calling for a work in human hearts and reformation of character giving close connection with God, with refusal leading to judgment.