By Peter Amsterdam
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Jesus told the parable of the great banquet while partaking of a Sabbath meal at the house of a prominent Pharisee. During the meal, He told those present: “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13–14).
Upon hearing this, someone at the table responded: “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15). In saying this, the person at the table was opening the door for Jesus to explain His views about what was known as the “messianic banquet”—the Jewish understanding of what would occur at the end of time. The book of Isaiah speaks about this banquet:
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken (Isaiah 25:6–8).
While this passage refers to all people being at the feast and all people having their tears wiped away, by Jesus’ time the common understanding among the Jewish people was that these verses excluded Gentiles (non-Jews). Jesus, however, had a different view of who would sit at the “messianic table.” Rather than responding as would have been expected, by saying something about keeping the Mosaic law and how the law keepers would sit with the Messiah at the banquet, Jesus told them a story.
A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.” But they all alike began to make excuses.
The first said to him, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.” And another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.” And another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”
So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.”
And the servant said, “Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.” And the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet” (Luke 14:16–24).
In those days, when someone was hosting a banquet, an initial invitation would be given informing those invited as to the day of the feast. At the time of this invitation, those invited would say whether they could come or not, and when agreeing to come they were making a commitment. This commitment was important, as the host would prepare for the banquet and butcher animals accordingly to feed all the guests. When the banquet was prepared, the host would send his servant around the village announcing to the guests, “Please come, everything is ready.”1
The banquet in Jesus’ story is a large one, and the host knows how many have accepted the invitation and has prepared accordingly. At the appointed time, the servant goes and informs them that it’s time to come. Up until this point, everything is seen as proceeding as normal, but then the listeners are jolted by the shocking statement that those who were invited to the feast refuse to honor the invitation—they all alike began to make excuses.
Everyone listening to the story understood that the refusal to come was a deliberate insult to the host. He was being publicly shamed in the eyes of his village. The excuses given for not honoring their commitment are lame and unacceptable.
The first guest’s excuse is “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it.” Those listening to the parable know that this is a bold-faced lie. Buying property sight unseen was unheard of. The excuse given to the servant of the host is intended to be an insult, though at least the first guest asks to be excused.
Another guest gives the excuse that he has “bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them.” This is another lame excuse, as before purchasing a team of oxen, the buyer would go to the seller’s land, yoke the oxen together, and do some plowing. This second excuse is also a fabrication and is insulting.
The third guest says he has married a wife and therefore he can’t come. He doesn’t even bother to ask to be excused; he simply states that he can’t come, which would be extremely rude and offensive in the culture of the day.
When the master of the house recognizes that the guests’ intent is to shame and humiliate him, he justifiably becomes angry. Under the circumstances, he could respond with verbal insults or even threaten some action to punish those who have publicly attacked his personal honor. However, though he is angry, he responds with grace instead of vengeance.
While those originally invited were the host’s peers, who would have been expected to reciprocate by inviting the host for a similar meal sometime in the future, the host decides to invite those who could never reciprocate—the poor, maimed, blind, and lame. Jesus makes reference here to the outcasts within Israel, the common people who were gladly receiving His message.
The master of the house breaks away from the social norm. He doesn’t limit his guests to those with power, means, and privilege; instead, he includes anyone who will come to his table. Following his master’s orders, the servant goes to the streets and lanes of the town to find those normally considered to have lower social status, those who were looked on as outcasts. The servant not only invites them to the banquet, but he brings them as well.
Having done so, he tells the host that the banquet is not yet full, there is still room for others. The master then instructs him to go beyond the town to find outsiders, who are not members of the community, and to compel them to come to the feast. The idea of “compelling” these folks doesn’t mean that they are being forced to attend. Because of social customs, these outsiders must refuse the unexpected invitation, especially if they are of lower social status than the host. They are not relatives or even neighbors of the host; they are outsiders, and there is no way they can reciprocate, so according to society’s rules, they must refuse. Knowing this, the servant must take each one by the arm and gently guide him along, in order to demonstrate that the invitation is genuine.2
What was the message Jesus was conveying to the original listeners? His focus was the spurned invitations to the banquet by one group, and invitations extended to others unexpectedly. The excuses given by the invited guests all have to do with being preoccupied with the everyday business of life and relations. They excluded themselves by their choice not to attend. They spurned the host and his invitation, giving reasons related to possessions and family, reflecting some of the reasons that people have refused God’s invitation throughout history.
The question put forth in the parable is “Who will be present at the banquet?” Jesus’ answer was unexpected. The common Jewish belief was that anyone born of a Jewish mother was automatically going to be attending the “messianic banquet” by right of being Jewish. Jesus was making the point that in reality, attendance at the banquet is based on one’s response to God’s invitation.
As Klyne Snodgrass wrote: “The point of these texts and of the parable of the Banquet can be summarized with a statement and a question: God is giving a party. Are you going to come?”3
Jesus taught this concept through His words and actions throughout the Gospels, as He ate with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:10–12). He said: “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:11–12).
Attending the banquet depends on responding to the invitation. Many people throughout the world may take it for granted that they will be in attendance at the banquet, thinking that they have the right beliefs, belong to the right group, do charitable works, or are favorably looked upon by others. However, Jesus’ teaching in this parable and elsewhere points out that those who expect to be there aren’t necessarily included, and many who don’t expect it are (Matthew 7:21). We don’t attend the banquet on our terms; we must accept the invitation and attend, not letting the cares of this life distract us.
Coming to the banquet, eating delicious food, drinking excellent wine, and fellowshipping with the other guests are concepts that convey joy and happiness and acceptance. In a sense, as Christians, our role is similar to that of the servant in this parable, as we go out into our community and invite others to Jesus’ table (Mark 16:15). Our message should be one of invitation to the joy and gift of eternal salvation Jesus freely offers and of sharing His love for all.
Often, those who are full of the cares and concerns of this life pay little attention to the invitation; nevertheless, we should do our best to make sure they understand they are invited. Our focus should not be restricted to the socially acceptable, the educated and wealthy, or those who can in some way reciprocate. The invitation is to all, including the social outcasts, the marginalized, the disadvantaged, and those we may be uncomfortable with.
The message of the kingdom is grace. There is nothing anyone can do to merit the invitation to the banquet. We are simply invited and must only accept. It is through grace that we are saved. But each one must make the decision to receive grace and to come to the party.
Originally published December 2017. Adapted and republished October 2024. Read by Jerry Paladino.
1 Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 313.
2 Kenneth E. Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1980), 108.
3 Klyne Snodgrass, Stories with Intent (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2008), 314.
