Luke 14:15-24

Butler's Comments

SECTION 3

Grateful (Luke 14:15-24)

15 When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God! 16But he said to him, 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 all is now ready.-' 18But 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; I pray you, have me excused.-' 19And another said, -I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused,-' 20And another said, -I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.-' 21So the servant came and reported this to his master, Then the householder in anger said to his servant, -Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.-' 22And the servant said, -Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.-' 23And 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. 24For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.-'

Luke 14:15-20 Indifference: Jesus had spoken about the ideal banquet situation where goodness, helpfulness, humility and hospitality are sincere. It was apparent that Jesus was talking about the messianic age. Describing the kingdom of God as a banquet was a favorite expression of the Old Testament prophets (cf. Isaiah 25:6-12; Isaiah 65:13-16, etc.). Jewish apocryphal writings also picture the messianic age in this manner. One of the dinner guests was moved to exclaim, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!

The guest had the right subject. Jesus was indeed talking about the kingdom of Godthe messianic age. Nothing short of the rule of God in the hearts of men could produce such an ideal society. The guest at the Pharisee's table was excited about the beauty of such an ideal. Jesus pictured a social order where there was no self-serving pride; a society where humility was sincere and there was no competition or exploitation of one another for positions of honor. He talked about true hospitality where love and care is given to the needy with no thought of payment or reward. Such a society is the kingdom of Godthe church (cf. Acts 2:43-47; Acts 4:32-37; Acts 6:1-6, etc.).

At first glance it would appear that Jesus tried to stifle the enthusiasm of the excited guest. Jesus told His parable of the indifferent guests directly to the man who had expressed such anticipation of the kingdom of God. The man who gave the great banquet in the parable is God the Father and Christ the Son. The servant sent to invite guests is probably John the Baptist. The guests are the Jews. This parable had primary reference to the Jewish rejection of the Messiah and His kingdom. Its principle is relevant for all ages.
By this parable Jesus says, in effect, Yes, you all admire the ideal but you are not prepared to act upon it. You think it is grand but you are too occupied with yourselves to take it seriously. The parable illustrates:

a.

the kingdom of God is a kingdom of gracethe banquet table is provided by Him.

b.

the privilege to participate is by answering the invitation of the king in the precise manner he has chosen to extend it.

c.

exclusion is due to a freely chosen refusal to answer the invitationnot to the king's discrimination.

d.

men choose to refuse because they value their own interests more precious than the king's banquet.

The guests of the parable were one (Gr. mias) in excusing themselves from the man's feast. The inference is that there was a united conspiracy to refuse to attend. The Greek word paraiteisthai means literally, beg off. They had no valid reasons they could not attend, they simply tried to find some excuse by which they might justify themselves for refusing to attend.

The first guest's excuse was that he had just bought a field and must go see it. What business man would buy a field before seeing it? This man was either a liar or a fool! Furthermore, how could it be more important to go and look at a piece of ground than it could be to attend a great man's banquet? It was a deliberate choice of interest in possessions over gratitude to one's benefactor. The rich young ruler (Luke 18:18 ff.) refused the invitation of King Jesus because he had much riches. The second guest begged-off saying he had just purchased five yoke (teams) of oxen and he had to test (Gr. dokimasai, examine) them. Imagine a man buying oxen he has not tested or examined! Another man who was either a fool or a liar. The first man said, I must go. the second man said, I am going. There is the element of insolence in the second man's reply to the invitation. Work was more important to the second man than the feast. Many today consider the work they do more important than feasting on the Bread of Life. The third guest sent his reply back, I have married a wife, and I cannot come. Someone has noted that this excuse has the least validity of all because wives like to go to social affairs! Surely the householder would have known of the recent marriage and have graciously invited the wife also. It is certainly true that the kingdom of God demands first loyalty over domestic ties (cf. Matthew 10:34-39).

Excuses, not reasons, are what these guests gave. Possessions, vocations and domestic ties are not valid reasons for refusing the invitation to participate in joyous feast of the Lord, In fact, there is no valid reason at all for refusing the invitation of God.
Yes, Jesus said to the excited man, you admire the ideal society I have been preaching and inviting you to, but you won-'t answer the invitation and your excuses are foolish, impertinent, rude and unacceptable.

Luke 14:21-24 Innovation: When the servant reported to his master the three refusals the master was very angry (Gr. orgistheis, the word from which we have the English word, orgasm). The host had gone to great expense to provide this feast (God gave His priceless Son). Those first invited (the Jewish rulers and rich men) scorned the invitation and sold their birthright for a mess of pottage. The host sent his servant out to the highways and hedges (uttermost parts of the world) to compel the poor, maimed, blind and lame (spiritually) to come (probably the Gentiles). This host wants to be a benefactor to all who will allow him to do so.

The Greek word anagkason is from a root word which means necessity. It most often means to constrain by persuasion, (cf. Matthew 14:22; Mark 6:45; Acts 28:19). Plummer insists the word could only mean persuasion in this instance since A single servant could not use force. Those who were first invited and refused were not dragged in which would have been the case had the host meant to compel attendance by force. Christ authorizes no use of force or deceit in inviting people to His feast. Persuasion (2 Corinthians 5:11), the compelling power of truth, is the only valid means of inviting people to God's great spiritual feast. The Christian life is a spiritual feast (cf. Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-5; Hebrews 12:22-23; Matthew 5:6; etc.). The invitation to this spiritual feast may be accepted by anyone who is thirsty and hungry for what God has to offer. It may also be rejected. Those who refuse will never taste (experience) what God has prepared (peace, joy, holiness, forgiveness, life).

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (cf. Acts 13:44-52), gives the theological amplification of this parable in his great epistle to the Romans (Chapter s 9, 10 and 11). There he explains that the rejection of the gospel invitation by the Jews brought about the innovation of the Gentiles into God's covenant. Paul warns the Gentiles (in Romans), to whom God turned with His invitation, they must not become scornful of it or they too will be excluded.

Jesus told another parable, in the last week of His ministry, similar to this one (cf. Matthew 22:1-14). That one He concluded by saying, For many are called but few are chosen. Many are invited, but few accept. Few are chosen because only a few are really hungry for spiritual food and are grateful enough to make the effort necessary to accept the invitation.

Applebury's Comments

The Great Supper
Scripture

Luke 14:15-24 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many: 17 and he sent forth his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 And the servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame. 22 And the servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Comments

Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.Heaven is thus represented as a great feast. The idea seems to have been suggested by the remarks Jesus had made about inviting the poor to lunch or dinner. How fortunate it will be for those who shall have the privilege of being present at that heavenly banquet. Jesus used the occasion for two things: (1) to point out the general disregard for God and His Son whom He sent to tell those who had been invited to come to the feast, and (2) to indicate that although these had slighted the invitation, others would be invited and the places at the heavenly banquet would be filled.

A certain man made a great supper.Jesus vividly set forth God's concern for the Jewish people and their disregard for all His efforts to get them to respond to His directions for their lives as His chosen people. They had known since God constituted them a nation at Sinai that they were invited to the heavenly banquet.

he sent forth his servant.This seems to be a reference to the ministry of Jesus, a last effort to get the nation of Israel to respond to God.

And they all with one consent began to make excuse.They that were his own received him not (John 1:11) is John's way of saying that the Jews in generalnot just the Phariseeshad rejected the appeal of Jesus. On another occasion Jesus told the parable of The Wedding of the King's Son (Matthew 22:1-14). It teaches the same general lesson about the rejected invitation.

The Jews were God's chosen people, but, by the time Jesus came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, they had assumed an attitude of utter indifference to God that exactly fits the description of the excuse-makers of this parable. Their excuses were insulting to the one who had invited them and wholly without justification. They were not the kind to buy a piece of land or a team of oxen without knowing something about them. The excuses were ridiculous. The one who said he couldn-'t come because he had just married a wife was disregarding the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 24:5). During the first year of marriage a man was excused from military duty so that he might have time for just such occasions as described in the parables.

While the Jews in general rejected Christ, the publicans and sinners did turn to Him for forgiveness and help. This is the second invitation which was extended by Jesus.

and yet there is room.There is room in the heavenly banquet for others than the outcasts of the ancient Jewish society. So a third invitation was sent to those that might be found by the roads that let away from the crowded cities. This may suggest that the poor had found shelter along the hedges that grew by the roadside. These were compelled to come in. Jesus is still emphasizing the fact that the invitation is extended to the humble.

The great commission is suggested by the third invitation. See Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:18-20. This third invitation is not limited to Gentiles, for the gospel invitation includes Jews as well as Gentiles. Whosover will, may come.

Jesus told the Jews who failed to produce the fruit of the kingdom that the kingdom would be taken from them and given to another nation that would produce the fruits of it (Matthew 21:43). That nation is composed of believers in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles (Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 3:28). The book of Romans proves that there is no distinction between Jews who are sinners and Gentiles who sin, for all sinners are objects of God's mercy and are in need of His grace. All are to come on the basis of faith expressed in obedience, since that is all that any sinner can offer (Romans 3:21-25; Romans 1:5; Romans 6:1-4; Romans 12:1-2).

and constrain them to come in.By what means was the servant to constrain them to come in? Certainly not physical force. In all probability, the simple appeal of good food was enough to compel the hungry to come. But many are not hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Many are like the Rich Fool who was satisfied with material things and thought nothing of food for the soul.

Since the third invitation represents the gospel invitation, we may ask what force compels one to respond to it? The gospel is the power of God to save the believer. The force of the facts of the gospelthe evidence of the resurrection of Christ who died to save the lostis sufficient to compel the earnest enquirer to believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 20:30-31). The gospel of God's love is a motivating force sufficient to lead one to repentance (Romans 2:4). But even this force cannot reach those callous hearts that are past feeling because of long indulgence in sinful practices (Ephesians 4:17-20). The gospel message about the power of the blood of Christ to wash away sin is a compelling force to the weary sinner (Hebrews 9:14-15; 1 Peter 1:19). The sinner that recognizes his need for a clean conscience will be compelled to come to the Lord for cleansing (Hebrews 10:22; 1 Peter 3:21).

Sinners were drawn to Christ for they saw in Him the embodiment of the message He proclaimed. Nothing less will be effective in the efforts of His followers who seek to compel others to come to Him.

that my house may be filled.This is the answer to the question about few being saved.

none of those men that were bidden.Jesus again and again pointed out the fate of those who were rejecting Him. They will not taste of His supper; they will be on the outside watching those who come from the four corners of the earth to sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.