Jesus Teaches The Parable of the Large Banquet

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Wednesday August 28, 2024}

Luke 14:15-24

Father, make the gospel my number one priority in life. I want the forgiveness of my sin through Jesus Christ to be of greatest importance to me. I also want the sharing of the gospel to also be of highest priority. Please work in my heart so that these things are true for me. Amen.
Father, Jesus was a guest in the home of a leader of the Pharisees.  He had just spoken about humility and, specifically, how the humble will sit closest to Him at the wedding feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. One of the Pharisees at the table rightfully stated that anyone who will dine at that feast is blessed.
Jesus acknowledged the truth of that Pharisee’s comment by making a follow-up point. While it is true that those who will sit at that table are blessed, many people will decline the invitation and not be present at that feast. Jesus told the story of a man who wanted to hold a great banquet for many people. When everything was prepared, he sent his servant out into the community to invite the influential in society to come and dine with him.
However, those whom he invited made excuses not to come. One said that he had to attend to a real estate transaction. Another had recently purchased oxen and wanted to try them out. A third said that he had just been married and he wanted to be with his wife. While each of these excuses represent a valid activity for someone to be engaged in , the excuses share one theme in common: I am too busy to dine with you. Each of the three individuals mentioned considered the merits of the invitation and concluded that dining with the man who was throwing the feast was not a priority for them.
Father, in the context of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there are many who decline the invitation to receive Jesus as their savior and to come to the wedding feast of the Lamb. Whatever activity they are engaged in during this life is more important to them than the gospel. They are too busy to consider their eternal destiny. Hell is populated not just with people who deliberately rejected the gospel, but also by those who simply never got around to considering the gospel before they unexpectantly died.
In Luke 16:13, Jesus instructs us that we cannot serve two masters. Either we serve Him, or we serve our rebellion from Him. It is a binary choice. Father, those who are too busy to consider the gospel are making a choice to serve their rebellion from You. The excuse that we are too busy for the gospel is really a statement that consideration of the gospel, and our eternal destiny, is not a priority for us.
Back to the story, the servant reported to the man throwing the feast that none of the influential people wanted to come. The man became angry and gave his servant a new instruction. He told him to go out and find the poor , the crippled , the blind , and the lame and to invite them to the feast. The people who most appreciate the invitation from this man are those who are in most need of kindness and mercy.
Father, who is that prioritizes the gospel above all other things in life? It is the man or woman who fully understands their need for a savior. It is the man or woman who is broken. It is the humble man or woman who longs to receive Your love.
The servant brought to the feast many of the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. However, there was still room for more at the man’s table. He sent the servant back out to compel people to come.
We learn two wonderful truths from this additional detail:

1. You, Father, don’t want there to be any empty seats in Your Kingdom. You want heaven to be full of believers in Jesus Christ.
2. You love people so much that You will put pressure on them to receive the gospel until they finally do. How do you put pressure on people to receive the gospel? Through hardship, breaking people’s rebellion from You so that they cry out to You for forgiveness and deliverance. Suffering in a rebellious person’s life could be considered an invitation to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb spoken of in Revelation.

What becomes of those who are too busy to consider the gospel? They are not invited to attend the banquet Christ will hold for all believers in the Kingdom of God. Instead, they will feed on regret throughout eternity that they never set aside a moment to consider the gospel during their lifetime. Amen.