The Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24)

The Parable of the Great Banquet

 

Luke 14:15-24

 

Today’s text is the parable of the great banquet taught by Jesus. Along with this parable, Luke 14 includes several teachings of Jesus related to “feasts.” According to 14:1, Jesus visited the house of a prominent Pharisee to eat on a Sabbath. Verse 3 mentions “Pharisees and teachers of the law,” and this suggests that there was a big feast with influential guests of the town. Then, Jesus saw that the guests were competing for a more honorable seat in the table, and he said to them, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Jesus also said to the host who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” These words teach about “humility” and “mercy,” which are the most important virtues in Christian faith. What is interesting is that Jesus taught these virtues in association with feasts. If we, as a guest or as a host, want a feast to be a meaningful and joyful event, we should be humble and merciful as taught by Jesus. Considering this, we can say that we believers’ everyday life is enjoying feasts. And this daily life of feasting is practicing “the great banquet” to be held in heaven at the resurrection, and learning the etiquette of the heavenly court. Biblically saying, we are “always” sitting at the table of a feast. But, in order for this table to be happy and joyful, we should be humble and merciful. If we struggle to be higher, or seek selfish benefits, it cannot be a joyful feast. Even at the table of eating and drinking, we may feel tired, hungry, and discontent.

 

Today’s text is the parable of the great banquet. A banquet can be defined as “an elaborately prepared large formal meal for many people in celebration for something such as wedding.” A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. When the feast was all prepared, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.” But all of them alike made excuses. One said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Pease excuse me.” Another said, “I have just bought five yokes of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.” And another said, “I just go married, so I can’t come.” When the servant reported this, the master of the banquet became angry and ordered the servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” The servant did as the master said, but still there was room to be filled. Then the master told the servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”

 

We may not think that the master’s anger is acceptable. Those who rejected the invitation have their own urgent businesses, and even their own big celebration. How can we understand the master’s anger? Actually, the master’s anger is out of his love to the guests. He waited for their coming so much, and had prepared the banquet with all his strength through many years. What does the banquet celebrate? In Matthew, we can find the parable of the wedding banquet, which is similar to this parable of the great banquet. And in the parable of the wedding banquet, the king, who is the host of the wedding, prepared the banquet for his son. That is, the banquet is for celebrating the son’s wedding. In Revelation 19:7b, the sound of a great multitude shouts, “For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.” Who is the bride in the wedding? It is believed to be the Church and the believers in the church. In 2Corinthians 11:2, St, Paul says, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” In a wedding, the spotlight is given more to the bride than to the groom. The bride finishes the perfection of the wedding. While God was preparing the banquet in heaven, St. Paul prepared the bride on earth. And in Jesus’ parable, many who had been invited refused to come. In fact, they were breaking the marital engagement. They ruined the banquet. So, the host got angry.

 

A banquet is a joyful celebration. “Joy” is a glue-like connection. This parable shows us what people are joyful for. Those who rejected the invitation had different joys.  One was delighted with his new field, another with his new oxen, and the other with his new wife. They were deeply attached to their own belongings. Then, what is God’s joy? In Luke 15:10, Jesus says, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” God’s joy is one sinner who repents. For one sinner who repents, God celebrates by holding a great banquet. When God holds a wedding banquet for his son, his joy is not over his son but over those who repent and come to the banquet. Through the banquet, God is not celebrating for his son, but for the returning of the sinners. That is God’s joy. For this joy, God prepared such a great banquet, redeemed us by paying the price, and prepared a snow-white robe of righteousness by sacrificing his son. Each of us is such a great joy to God. And each of us is the one to be celebrated by God in the banquet. This is how God is connected to us.

 

In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the first question and answer are as follows: What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. In his commentary on the catechism, G. I. Williamson says, “To ‘glorify God’ does not mean ‘to make God glorious. God is already glorious ...... To ‘glorify God’ means ‘to reflect God’s glory.’” We can say the same for love and joy. “To love God” is actually “to remain in God’s love” and “To enjoy God” is “to participate in God’s joy.” Nothing can be my glory apart from God’s glory. Apart from God’s glory, the most glorious glory is still a shame. Nothing can be my joy apart from God’s joy. Apart from God’s joy, the most joyful joy is still a sorrow. Of course, we can buy a field, we can marry, and we can enjoy many things on earth. But these things cannot be true glory and joy. True glory and joy belong to God and they come only from God. And if there are glory and joy apart from God, they are false and deceiving. We should put God in the first priority, and here “the first priority” means “the first priority in terms of glory and joy,” having him like a shining sun at the very center of my soul forever (Revelation 22:5). This is how we should be connected to God.

 

When the servant is calling those who were invited, he says, “Come, for everything is now ready.” God’s banquet prepared for us has everything, and lacks nothing. And I believe this is true even now on earth.  St. Paul says in Romans 14:17-18, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.” We are already living heaven in the Holy Spirit. When we are engrossed with myself, my glory, and my benefits, we never taste heaven and never taste true joy and satisfaction. The joy of heaven is in unity as symbolized by “wedding.” In this world, we are like a widow seeking the husband in heaven. And we can taste the unity, unity with our husband Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. Anything that disrupts this unity is sin. Every day, we need to seat myself at the table of the heavenly banquet, sit beside my bridegroom Jesus, and see how much I enjoy eating and drinking together with the Lord. Truly the blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. Let us throw off all the entangling hindrances and be ready for the call of God to the Great Banquet, which is our true hope where we get perfect unity with the Lord through the wedding.