The Parable of the Great banquet

1. The Parable ofthe Great Banquet - 12th
September2016
“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you
will be blessed.” (Luke 14:13).
The Parable of the Great Banquetisfoundin Luke 14:15-24. It is similartothe Parable of the Wedding
Feastwe can findin Matthew 22:1-14, but withsome significantdifferences.The storyinLuke’sGospel
was toldat a dinnerthatJesusattended.Jesushadjusthealedamanwithdropsyandtaught a brief
lessononservingothers. We canlearnthat justbefore the above parable of the greatbanquet, Jesus
statesthat those whoserve others“will be repaidatthe resurrectionof the righteous aswe canread in
Luke 14:13-14, “But whenyou give a banquet,invite the poor,the crippled,the lame,the blind, 14
and
you will be blessed.Althoughthey cannot repay you,you will be repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous.” Atthe weddingthatJesusattendedwe canlearnof a questionthata personwhowasthere
askedJesus.We can readthisin Luke 14:15, “Whenone of thoseat the table withhim heard this,he
saidto Jesus, “Blessedis the one who will eat at the feast inthe kingdomofGod”. Itis In reply, that
Jesustellsthe Parable of the GreatBanquet.
In the parable,a manplanneda large banquetandsentoutinvitations.Whenthe banquetwasready,
he senthisservantto contact each of the invitedguests,tellingthemthatall wasreadyand the meal
was aboutto start as we can read from Luke 14:16-17, Jesus replied:“A certain manwas preparinga
great banquet andinvitedmany guests. 17
At the time ofthe banquethe sent his servant to tell those
who hadbeen invited, ‘Come, for everythingis now ready”. But one afteranotherthe guestsmade
excusesfornotcoming as we can read from Luke 14:18-20. “But they all alike beganto make excuses.
The firstsaid,‘I have just boughta field,andI mustgo and see it. Please excuse me.’19
“Anothersaid,‘I
have just boughtfiveyoke ofoxen, andI’m on my way to try them out.Please excuse me.’20
“Still
another said,‘I justgot married, so I can’t come.’
Whenthe masterof the house heardthese flimsyexcuses,he wasangry.He toldhisservantto forget
the guestlistand go intothe back streetsandalleywaysof the townandinvite “the poor,the crippled,
the blindandthe lame”We can read thisfro Luke 14:16-17,“The servant came back andreported this
to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry andordered his servant, ‘Goout quicklyinto
the streets and alleysofthe town andbringin the poor, the crippled,the blindandthe lame.’ The
servantdidas he was told.He broughtin the down-and-outtownspeople,andstillthere wasroomin
the banquethall.Sothe mastersenthisservanton a broadersearch: We can readthisfrom Luke 14:22-
23, “Sir,’the servant said,‘what youordered hasbeen done, but there isstill room.’ 23
“Thenthe
master told hisservant, ‘Goout to the roads andcountry lanesand compel them to come in,so that
my house will be full. 24
Itell you, not one ofthose who were invitedwill get a taste ofmy banquet.’”
The master of the house isGod, and the great banquetisthe kingdom of Heaven,ametaphorthatwas
suggestedbythe one whospoke at the table.The invitedguestspicture the Jewishnation.The kingdom
was preparedforthem,butwhenJesuscame preachingthat“the kingdomof heavenisnear” as we can
readfrom Matthew 4:17,“From that time on Jesus beganto preach, “Repent, for the kingdomof
heaven hascome near” – they rejected Him.We canunderstandthisclearlywhenwe read John1:11,
“He came to that which was hisown,but his own didnot receive him”.The excusesforskippingthe
banquetare laughablybad.Noone buyslandwithoutseeingitfirst,andthe same can be saidfor buying
oxen.Andwhat,exactly,wouldkeepanewlymarriedcouple fromattendingasocial event?All three
excusesinthe parable reveal insincerityonthe partof those invited.The interpretationisthatthe Jews

2. of Jesus’dayhadno validexcuse forspurningJesus’message.Infact,theyhadeveryreasontoaccept
Him as theirMessiah…whowaspromisedtothemrepeatedlythroughthe scriptures.
The detail inthe parable that whenthe ‘invitedguests’didnotcome, the invitationisopenedupto
society’smaimedanddowntroddenisimportant.These werethe typesof peoplethatthe Pharisees
considered“unacceptable orunclean”and intheirthinkingthattheywere underGod’scurse.We can
observe theirthinkingwhenwe read asstatedin John9:1-2, As he went along,he sawa man blind
from birth.2
His disciplesaskedhim, “Rabbi,whosinned,thisman or his parents,that he was born
blind?” Jesus,however,taughtthatthe kingdomwasavailable evento sinnerswhocome toHimfor
salvation.Inthe Gospelswe canlearn that Jesus’ involvementwithtax collectorsandsinnersbrought
condemnationfromthe Phariseeswhenwe read Matthew9:10-11, “WhileJesuswashavingdinner at
Matthew’s house,manytax collectors andsinnerscame andate with him andhis disciples. 11
When
the Pharisees sawthis, they asked hisdisciples,“Whydoesyour teacher eat withtax collectors and
sinners?”
The fact that the masterinthe parable sendsthe servantfarafieldtopersuade everyone tocome
indicatesthatthe offerof salvationwouldbe extended notonlyforthe Jews,but tothe Gentilesand“to
the endsof the earth”We can learnthisfrom Acts 1:8, “Butyou will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you;and you will be my witnessesin Jerusalem,and in all Judeaand Samaria,andto the
ends ofthe earth.”.We can learnin the parable thatthe masterwas not satisfiedwithapartiallyfull
banquethall;he wantseveryplace atthe table to be filled.JohnMacArthur’scommentonthisfactis
that “God ismore willingtosave sinnersthansinnersare tobe saved.”
Those whoignoredthe invitationtothe banquetchose theirownpunishment—theymissedout.The
masterrespectstheirchoice bymakingitpermanent:theywouldnot“taste of mybanquet.”Soit will be
withGod’sjudgmentonthose whochoose torejectChrist:theywill have theirchoice confirmed,and
theywill nevertaste the joysof heaven. We canlearnfrom Luke 14:24, “ I tell you,not one of those who
were invitedwill get a taste ofmy banquet.’ The message of the Parable of the Great Banquetcouldbe
statedthis way:“The tragedyof the Jewishrejectionof Christhasopenedthe doorof salvationtothe
Gentiles.The blessingsof the kingdomare availabletoall whowill come toChristbyfaith.”