Luke 14:15-24 Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Large Banquet
15 When one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 Then he told him, “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
18 “But without exception[a] they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
20 “And another said, ‘I just got married, and therefore I’m unable to come.’
21 “So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’
22 “‘Master,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’
23 “Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy my banquet.’”
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Praying, thinking, pondering, meditating about the synoptic gospels reminds us that at the very heart of the Christian faith is a life- changing message of joy.
That’s why I like this parable so much.
Jesus uses a powerful metaphor to describe life with Him in the kingdom of God: a great banquet.
In Jesus’ day, banquets often celebrated important events in the community.
In fact, Jesus’ first miracle took place at a wedding banquet.
To spare this family from social embarrassment when their wine had run out early, Jesus turned several 50 gallon jugs of water into wine (John 2:1-11).
In Luke 14, Jesus tells a story about a wealthy man who is hosting an enormous banquet for his friends.
They all accept the initial invitation, the day of the banquet comes and they are told the food is ready, they make ridiculous excuses, flat rejecting the host’s generosity. The angry frustrated host opens his table to whoever wants to come.
This becomes a picture of the kingdom we are invited to enjoy.
Sometimes this parable is summed up in a way like this:
“God is throwing a party. Are you coming?”
I love that!
This sounds like good news to me!
except, am I even .000001% willing to see that life in Jesus is better and more delightful than anything this world offers?
Am I ready to unbuckle myself from everything worldly and run to the feast?
How the Parable of the Banquet Should Mess With Our Imagination
Studying the Parable(s) of the Banquet, there’s a fairly obvious question we can ask – why is the Kingdom of God described as a banquet in the first place?
It’s a good biblical theme, with roots in Isaiah 25, and a banquet is a picture of fellowship and acceptance, which speaks of God’s grace.
However, all that said, I wonder if we need to embrace the picture in order to give us a more powerful vision of what God’s Kingdom is.
It’s been said people find it easier to envision hell than heaven, and that’s a shame, because surely it’s better to focus our imaginations on the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, both in the future and right here and right now.
So why not take some quality time to envision, picture, how, why God’s image of a indescribably sumptuous banquet should easily capture our imaginations.
Because God’s great banquet isn’t quiet.
God’s great banquet isn’t serious and dull.
There’ll be laughing and singing and dancing.
There’ll undeniably be joy and hope and tears of gratitude.
For those who have been hungry there will be food to eat, and not just rationed portions but an all-you-can-eat perfectly prepared buffet you smell as soon as you walk through the door, cuisine from France and Italy, Japan and China and India and Pakistan, the very best English fish and chips you’ll have ever eaten.
For those of us who are heart-broken, there’s the chance to sit with someone in the kitchen and talk it through, but when we’re ready there’ll be music we can dance to without any guilt.
Those who’ve been down on their luck are still invited in, even if they’re wearing an old pair of trainers and jeans from Oxfam, and the angels on the door may even dig out a tuxedo or a Ralph Lauren evening dress for you.
And for those who are ashamed, who feel like they don’t deserve to be there, who feel like their sins and their past are too shameful for them to even step over the threshold, Jesus himself heads straight for them, he takes their coat and pours their drink because they need to know that the King of Kings who hosts this party wrote their name on the welcome list himself.
Simply because he loves them and wants them to be there, he wants them all to be there so much that he willingly went to the cross to make 100% sure the door to this great banquet could be thrown open to all who want to come.
Eating together, sharing a meal together, is how the Bible shows acceptance and fellowship, and that’s why the central ritual in Christianity isn’t a hymn or sermon, it’s a a simple meal of bread and wine that ultimately reminds us of what Savior Christ did for us that day, and of God’s great love for his people.
The realization of that can change lives: Zacchaeus is a tax collector hated by all, but one meal with Jesus and he’s giving away a fortune to make amends; a woman gatecrashes a party just to anoint Jesus’s feet, and he ends up telling her that she’ll be fondly remembered forever for the truly beautiful thing she did.
Parties with Jesus aren’t about a table of vol au vents and a few glasses of wine, they are all an opportunity for grace, and when you end up partying with Jesus…
Psalm 23:5-6Authorized (King James) Version
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 34:8 Authorized (King James) Version
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
…Life is going to change forever.
In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit
Praying ….
Psalm 16 English Standard Version
You Will Not Abandon My Soul
A Miktam[a] of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.[b]
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 