Luke 14:15

Blessed is he that shall eat bread, &c.— The phrase to eat bread, signifies making a meal, and this not only at a common table, but sometimes at a feast. See 2 Samuel 9:7; 2 Samuel 9:10; 2 Samuel 12:17; 2 Samuel 12:20. Proverbs 9:5. The Jews were accustomed to think of the felicity of good men in the life to come under the notion of a sumptuous entertainment; and therefore our Lord frequently accommodates himself to their habit of thinking. See Matthew 8:11. Wherefore,when Jesus mentioned the resurrection of the just, one of the guests, ravished with the delightful prospect, cried out, "Blessed is he, who,being admitted into heaven,shall enjoy the conversation of the inhabitants of that glorious place; for these spiritual repasts must regale and invigorate his mind beyond expression!" Perhaps in this exclamation, the Pharisee meant both to congratulate the felicity of his countrymen, who looked upon themselves as the children or the kingdom; and to condole the lot of the heathen, who, as he imagined, were all to be excluded from heaven. Considered in this light, the subsequent parable appears with the greatest propriety and beauty, as the best reply to such an error, and the fittest method to correct and explode it.