Luc. 14:16-24.
And he said unto him, There was a man that made a great supper, and invited many. And sent forth his servant at the hour of supper, to say unto them that were bidden: Come, for everything is ready. And they all began to excuse themselves one by one. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and must go out and see it: I pray thee, excuse me. And the other said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go now to see them; I pray thee, excuse me. And the third said: I have taken a wife; therefore I cannot come. And the servant came and told his master again. And the master of the house was wroth, and said unto his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, and the crippled, and the lame, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, that which thou hast commanded is done; but there is yet room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and by the fences, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. But I tell you that none of the men who are invited will taste my supper.
The likeness is in itself bad and small, therefore it is to be extended and deleted according to the art of speech. First, he calls this teaching of his "supper," namely, the gospel, because it will be the last teaching in the world and no new one is to be expected. Whoever despises and misses it will not be able to be saved. After this, the Lord's Supper is for those who are weary, hungry, and thirsty from the labor and heat they have endured throughout the day, and desire a good supper and repletion, that they may sleep and rest comfortably; that is, for those who have labored under sin, law, and fear of death, and have striven to find righteousness, and yet cannot.
Secondly, he calls it "large," since it is certainly quite large according to all kinds of size. For size, as the mathematicians teach, is found in length, breadth, and thickness [long, broad, thick]. The length is that this supper lasts without interruption until the end of the world, since the gospel always remains and is taught. The breadth is that the gospel is spread throughout the whole world: "Their sound has gone out into all the earth"; item (Marc. 16, 15.): "Go into all the earth." The depth
*) Cf. Erl. A. opp. var. arg. VII, 418 sqq. D. Red.
or thickness is itself the power and strength of this supper or the power of the gospel, which is Christ himself, namely, the food of infinite power. For this reason, everything is great. The length is infinite, the width is infinite, the depth and thickness is infinite. In addition, the author, or the one who makes this supper, is also infinite, namely, God Himself or Christ, and, which is the greatest, He who in infinite love and kindness grants everything to all. Likewise, the servants are great, since the angels and all creatures also serve the Gospel. Likewise, the intentions and effects are also great, since we eat to the end that we may live forever, free from eternal death, eternal sin, eternal law etc. So this supper is very great in all respects.
3 Now fie on you, our original sin, the grievous obstinate blindness, that all this is despised. If a lowly citizen made a free supper, either for an hour or of three dishes, or just to satisfy the bodily hunger and thirst for a day, the whole world would certainly come (if it could be present), even many of the rich: but to this supper no one comes, even if he is invited, yes, hardly a few come compelled and driven. But what is the comparison of this miserable and cur-
What is the difference between this eternal, infinite, most blessed supper, which hardly lasts a moment, and the eternal, infinite, most blessed supper? O our terrible blindness and dullness!
4. follows: "And invited many to it." This actually refers to the people of Israel, to whom Christ was promised, and who were invited by many prophets to Christ, who was to come, as to the future supper. And just at the hour of the supper he sent his servant, John the Baptist, to say to those invited, "Come, all is ready." But they despised him, but under a great pretense, namely, that they were waiting for a completely carnal kingdom of the Messiah) Therefore they think it is worthwhile that they rather serve the plows, oxen and women, that is, seek the worldly things from their Messiah. And this is what several of the people did, namely, the princes and nobles, the priests and the rich. For the princes were occupied in the care of the oxen, that is, in the government of the state of Moses. For the rulers are called oxen, Ps. 22:13: "Fat oxen have compassed me about." The priests were engaged in agriculture; since the harvest indicates the ministry of the Word, as Christ says, He will send laborers into His harvest. The spouses were the rich, who, with Christ, had the
They were looking for their household. Summa, with the future Christ each one sought his own: the priests their righteousness, the princes and rulers their majesty and dignity, the rich their wealth and glory. Therefore they do not hear Christ, nor his servant.
For this reason John the Baptist was sent only to the least of Israel. For this supper belonged only to those who were oppressed and miserable among this people; as Christ also says elsewhere (Matth. 11, 5.): "To the poor the gospel is preached." And here: "Go forth soon into the streets and gazes of the city; and bring in the poor, the weak, the blind, and the lame." Finally, so comes the King Christ Himself, poor and righteous; so says Paul 1 Cor. 1:26, 27: Not many noble, rich, powerful etc.; but the foolish, weak, and base, God has chosen.
6th Now when these are thus invited, and the supper is not yet perfect, the servant is sent out of the city into the highways, that is, to the Gentiles who were without law, who are also thus invited themselves, and the people of the Jews are condemned that they should not taste the supper. This threat is terrible enough, yet it is fulfilled; as we see before our eyes.