Messianic Banquet
of the Dead Sea Scrolls
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Jackson
Snyder
With the Story of One Really Shitty Church
October
11, 2001
Luke 14: 15-24
Mat 22:1-14
Snyder
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The Divine Conspiracy - Dallas Willard
Fried Chicken Banquet
One thing the Church is known for is its
banquets. I've heard them called pitch-ins, carry-ins, pot-lucks, and now
"covered-dish." One fellow in
a church always brought a bucket of Colonel Sander's because, as he always
reminded the group, "Preachers always like fried chicken." Fried
chicken is almost always the centerpiece of the church banquet or after-church
buffet. And fried chicken is the reason why there are so many fat
preachers.
One big fat preacher I know came to preach a
revival at my church. The church ladies
put together a pitch-in dinner for him, and his preacher’s plate was stacked up
with home fried chicken. In front of
everyone his wife got on him about being so fat. He blustered, “I’m only fat because I am
trying to follow scripture perfectly.
Haven’t you ever read 1 Cor 9:26-27? It says, ‘I’m not beating the air when I
fight: but I buffet΄ my body, and bring it into bondage’? I take that literally and buffet΄
my body as often as I can.” Of course,
the scripture doesn’t say buffet΄ but buffet. Buffet means beat, not eat.
Since we moved south years ago, we learned
how to eat Southern Fried Chicken. In
fact, if the
Church banquets, the
combination of eating and worshiping, is endemic to our Judeo-Messiahian
heritage, going way back to the Passover meal (Exo
12:1-14). Yahweh decreed the Passover to
be a “feast for all time, and many Jews and Messiahians observe it, reliving
their protection from the death angel in
Yahshua and the Dead Sea Scrolls
By James Charlesworth / Random House, Inc
In opposition to the popularistic simplifications of the many would-be scholarly books now on the market, this volume is a brilliant example of the best of international scholarship on
Yahshua and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Messianic Rule
By Yahshua' time there was a popular myth: when
the Messiah arrived on earth, he would throw a great banquet for those who had
faithfully awaited him. The banquet
story is actually found in The Dead Sea Scrolls, which is the greatest
archaeological find of all time. In them
is a little book called The Messianic Rule. Dating to only a
generation or two before his birth, Yahshua / Yahshua was certainly
familiar with The Dead Sea Scrolls and The
Messianic Rule. Here's an excerpt
from that text. Listen carefully and see if it rings a bell with you:
This is the rule for all the congregation
of
Note the setting for
this text is the "last days."
There are some important characters mentioned here – the Messiah, the
Messiah’s brothers, the Priest and the congregation or community. Also mentioned is
the common table, unfermented wine and bread.
There are also actions: orderly seating, a spoken blessing, a hand
extended over the bread. Of course, the implication is that eating will take place.
There is an uncanny similarity here with the
later institution of the Lord’s Supper.
Yahshua certainly would fit in the role of the Priest, and Yahshua’
brothers James, Jude, Simon and the rest were Yahshua’ successors in ruling the
Messianic Assembly in
Yahshua came on the scene to fulfill the
priestly role in The Dead Sea Scrolls. He died as the last Passover sacrifice,
offering his own body as the perfect fulfillment of the slaughter of bulls,
goats and sheep. These animals, after
they were sacrificed, were eaten.
Likewise, Yahshua’ flesh and blood is also offered up and eaten and drunk
for the remission of sin in the token form of bread and wine. Yahshua is a priest forever after the order of
Melchizedek (Heb 5:6). It’s the priest’ function
to remit sin, and the Priest sacrificed himself to
function properly.
As for the role of Messiah in the
banquet story, Yahshua / Yahshua will soon make his public appearance as King
and Messiah with vast armies to subdue and rule the world, putting an end
to all evil and restoring the earth to
Yahshua "Buffets" Everywhere
Mealtime always brings important moments in
the Scripture, especially in the life of Yahshua / Yahshua. He ate his way across
But because of some of the company with whom
he ate, Yahshua was called a drunkard, a glutton, a low-life and a liar. The
company he kept ruined his reputation.
It’s poetic justice that he ends his earthly mission with a supper
featuring wine, promising later a great end-time banquet in which all
these companions of all these dinners would have to sit at a
common table, whether they liked the company or not. As for me, I’ll be thrilled to be at
table. And I won’t complain no matter
where I sit!
Son’s Wedding Invitation List
In today's banquet text, Yahshua is back in
The Pharisees at the table are listening closely. Yahshua was speaking of the resurrection of the dead, and that was the Pharisees’ pet doctrine. One of these guys was so enthralled that he blurted out, "Blessed is he who'll eat that feast!" Yahshua realized that the outburst hadn’t come from faith, but from the emotion religious brainwashing. You can become brainwashed when you put your hope in teachings you’ve heard all your life but never checked out yourself with serious study. But Yahshua seizes upon this opportunity to teach the truth of resurrection by using his own radical rendition of the banquet story.
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their True Meaning for Judaism and
Messiahianity
By Lawrence H. Schiffman / Random House, Inc
Dead Sea Scrolls expert Lawrence H. Schiffman shifts attention away from the sensationalism surrounding who has control of the scrolls by focusing on how these texts shed light on the history of Judaism and early
Messiahianity.
The Interpretation of the Banquet Story
There is deep meaning in Yahshua' re-telling,
for Yahshua himself is throwing the banquet. The slave who was sent out with
many invitations is a true disciple, like you and me, completely
dedicated to doing the will of our Master. The invited guests are all those
good, upstanding religious folk who are highly respected and publicly pious;
those who say “yes” just to get you gone. They have no real intention to
attend and their word is not their bond.
The banquet represents The World Tomorrow, reserved for those who
have overcome in The World Today. When the banquet is ready, Yahshua
invites those chosen a second time, as was customary in those days. To
accept the first invitation but to reject the second was one of the
greatest tests of friendship, because not showing up when expected
indicated a deep disrespect. It's like calling
in an RSVP for an expensive shindig, promising to bring the ham, then just not showing up.
Every one here who accepted the first
invitation rejects the second. There are plenty of serious excuses. Getting
married, for instance, even exempted men from the draft in those days. Yet
not even marriage is an adequate excuse for breaking one's word.
When the slave reports this, the Master gets
mad, and tells the slave to invite the unlovely, the diseased, the unkempt, the
ignorant, the lame, the poor, the homeless, and the blind, the stinken -- the low class, instead. The Pharisees called
poor people “sinners” in those days much like some folks call others
"trash" today. But this story informs us that the common folk have an
uncommon place at the Messiah's banquet table in the
Before the table is full, Yahshua bids his
disciples to go even outside the city, to the roads of the country, to compel
people to "Come and Dine."
These new invitees represent people outside Judaism -- Gentiles and
foreigners like us -- maybe even space aliens -- who didn't naturally belong
there. Indeed, the last shall be first and the first last at this banquet.
The table is full when Yahshua says it is --
whether there are seats left or not. And not one of those religious, upper
crust folks would attend, even though they were the first invited, because
they were too busy with trivial pursuits and too dishonest to be real. They
will not get to dine upon the dainties and delicacies that the Master prepared
for them -- people they wouldn't even approve of will take their places.
And, since they won’t share the table, they'll not share the
Yahshua' story must have been a showstopper. One of these guys probably sneezed his dentures clear across the room in anger. To think, Yahshua dared to tell these holy, high-class preachers that sinners and rabble, harlots and traitors, Gentiles and foreigners, "town trash" and “black birds” would sit in their place at a function to which some had devoted their entire lives. Not one Pharisee would get to sit! He said it all right to their faces! If I were a Pharisee, I'd have thrown him right out, because he would have been talking to me.
Total Commitment
It's an easy mental jump from then to
today. Many folks have taken Messiah up on his first invitation -- an
invitation to Yahweh’s grace. Everyone wants grace – favor – attention -- many
think they're going to be saved because they went up to an altar rail or were
baptized or “paid the preacher.” Folks
come to church and to dinner because maybe they're seeking truth or assurance
in their lives, that’s true. And some find truth. But there are other reasons for coming. Religious habit. Religious hobby. Religious pastime. Religious hatred. Some come to tear down rather than build
up. Some are involved in what they
consider religious work, but it is really their own work wrapped in a chittlin’ of religion. Even great people who are busy,
busy, busy with church-work can be off-track or distracted when it comes to the
heavenly calling on their lives. Then
again, some just come to eat.
Chicken Little and Porky Pig were
Messiahian roommates and big eaters. They checked the newspapers to see when
local churches had pitch-in dinners before they went so they could eat free. Chicky gleefully read one advertisement for the
Until the actual Kingdom Banquet takes
place, all those who have responded to the first invitation must be totally
committed to show up at the end. You will have a choice and unless you
remain ready, prepared and in expectation, you may make the wrong one. In the meantime, we who are committed are
like slaves who are engaged in passing out invitations. But often, when it comes down to action,
we're dining when we should be doing; feasting when we should be fasting; too
caught up in our own me-ality to get on board with
Yahweh's reality for The World Tomorrow. We are often
too embarrassed to promote Yahshua Messiah by inviting others to his table, but
we seldom have problems promoting anything else. To tell the truth, for the
most part, aren’t we just ashamed of Yahshua; ashamed of being
religious? Let’s be honest about
it. Thank goodness we are always very
resourceful when it comes to making excuses. In the meantime, souls slip away;
and as sands from the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.
A Radical Revision Necessary
After Yahshua told this story, he preached a
radical message directed to his followers --
Luke 14:26-27 "If anyone comes to me
and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers
and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who
does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
This teaching is so
unacceptable to modern people that Bible teachers tell us Yahshua isn't serious,
but using hyperbole to make a point. They say he is merely
exaggerating. But whether you interpret this literally or not, it makes its
sharp, stinging point without the need of explanation. The question is, how does the story of the banquet and a teaching
about hating others speak to our hearts? What does it say for those who
actually do make the choice of attending the banquet? What must they have done to get there? Who must they have hated? How does this set here at home? It doesn’t set well with our concept of
cultural Messiahianity, where the livin’ is easy and
everything comes naturally. Yet both
story and teaching call for radical revision of either the words or our
lives.
Commitment
This church is something of an exception,
but very seldom have I encountered people in the churches I’ve served who
actually invited others. No matter how I
asked, cajoled, preached or threatened, there was seldom anyone motivated
through my work to become an invitation slave. But sometimes the Father raises someone up,
often an unusual kind of person. Sometimes
it’s the kind of person who actually hates mother and father. One church I served was located in a bad
suburban area that featured drugs and youth gangs.
One Sunday morning a miracle happened. A 13-year old girl walked into the service
from the neighborhood and sat down in a pew.
Some of the church people began to whisper about her. I found out that this young lady was a member
of a “trashy” family, that her father made and sold drugs, that her mother was
a prostitute, that her many siblings all had different and unknown
fathers. Though tender in years, she
was not carnally innocent. She had
been sexually victimized and used in drug experiments by her mother’s
live-in. This young lady started coming
to church every Sunday. I asked her why,
and she said, “It’s quiet here. I can sit and think.” Soon she took part in praying with the
congregation.
Then over the next six months, this girl
personally brought in over two dozen visitors – mostly teenagers – including
family members, gang members and an ethnically diverse crowd. We baptized many of these kids. We trained youth leaders and formed a youth
group in the church. The first night of
the group we had 35 youth from the neighborhood. At the next event, we held a banquet
featuring a well-known youth speaker and every urchin and gang members in the
neighborhood came – nearly 80! The Holy
Spirit was moving mightily in that meeting, and many of these kids left in
tears of repentance. Of course, the
devil was also moving. Who do you
think the devil would use in a situation like that?
It wasn’t long before the church board and
some members took action. They didn’t
want to see themselves in mission. They
didn’t care what the Father wanted for the church. They only thought of themselves. The church wasn’t quiet enough anymore. These kids were not family members. They did not come from the right kind of
families. There was not enough money for
everybody, for programs and utility bills and pizzas and chairs. Besides, these neighborhood kids were
dangerous to their own kids and grandkids.
They were even marking up the floor with their tennis shoes!
How do you think this story ended? How would it have ended had this happened
here? Think.