Luke 14:15–24 (NKJV)

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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 here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”

This passage supports and clarifies yesterday’s parable of the good and bad seed from Matthew 13. While the kingdom will ultimately encompass everything, there will be many people who will not “taste my supper.”

And they were invited! That’s so sad.

The kingdom of heaven is everything Jesus is king of. That’s not just people, places and things; it’s all of creation plus heavenly realms beyond our imagination.

But what about the timing? Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of heaven. It started small. It grew to encompass everything. But when?

 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. — Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)

Notice that Jesus doesn’t task the disciples with expanding the kingdom. That’s already been taken care of. His proclamation of all authority means that His kingdom is now complete. There’s nothing left outside of His authority in heaven and on earth.

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” — Abraham Kuyper

The leaven has spread through the whole lump.

All the weekly study guides, which include all five devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies