Wednesday, July 31, 2024

The Parables of Jesus Series

Tonight’s Study – Session 28: The Parable of The Great Supper

Introduction: The Parable of The Great Supper was told by Jesus at a dinner He attended. Jesus had just healed a man with dropsy and taught a lesson on serving others. Jesus then says that those who serve others “will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14). At the mention of the resurrection, someone at the table with Jesus said, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15) In reply, Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Supper.

The Parable of The Great Supper is only found in the Gospel of Luke.

Let’s take a look at Our Passage Where this Parable is Found

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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 here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’” (Luke 14:15-24)

What was the Context for this Parable?

Luke 14:7-14

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:7-14)

Let’s Break Down the Parable of The Great Supper Verse by Verse

Verse 15

The man who had eaten at the table with Jesus and others made the statement, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” probably held the view that only the Jews would be invited to the heavenly feast. Perhaps this was an idle or pious saying, made without much serious reflection. Christ replied with a parable that pictures the inclusion of the Gentiles.

Verse 16

-a great supper – This parable is similar to the Parable of the Wedding Feast found in Matthew 22:1-14, and making the same point, is nonetheless distinct. That parable was told on a different occasion, and some key details differ.

-invited many – Apparently no one declined the invitation. The man evidently had every reason to expect that all who were invited would attend.

Verse 17

Guests for a wedding, which could last for a week, were preinvited and given a general idea of the time. When all the preparations were finally ready, the pre-invited guests were notified that the event would commence. The pre-invited guests refer to the people of Israel, who by the Old Testament had been told to be ready for the arrival of the Messiah.

Proverbs 9:5 speaks of God’s Great Supper call – “Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed.

Isaiah 55:1-3 also speaks of God’s Great Supper call – “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David.

Verses 18-20: Excuses

All the excuses made were insincere. One doesn’t purchase property without seeing it first. And since the purchase was already complete, there was no urgency. The land would still be there after the banquet. Likewise (v.19), one does not purchase oxen without seeing them. The man who had married (v.20) would have been excused from business travel or serving in the military (Deuteronomy 24:5), but there was no legitimate reason for newlyweds to avoid such a social engagement.

Again, all three excuses in the parable reveal insincerity on the part of those invited. The interpretation is that the Jews of Jesus’ day had no valid excuse for spurning Jesus’ message; in fact, they had every reason to accept Him as their Messiah.

Verse 21

The poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind were the people the Pharisees tended to regard as unclean and unworthy. But the fact is, no one is clean and worthy before God.

But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’s are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; (Romans 3;10)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

The Bible teaches that the kingdom was available even to those considered “unclean” and “unworthy” (Acts 10). Jesus’ involvement with tax collectors and sinners brought condemnation from the Pharisees, yet it showed the extent of God’s grace (Matt. 9:10-11). The fact that the master in the parable sends the servant far afield to persuade everyone to come indicates that the offer of salvation would be extended to the Gentiles and “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Verse 22

The master is not satisfied with a partially full banquet hall; he wants every place at the table to be filled. “God is more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved.” (Dr. John MacArthur Jr., Pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California)

Verse 23

The master sends his servant out into the highways and hedges. This represents the Gentile regions. Other words, all people were to be invited to the Great Supper. All are compelled to come, but not by force or violence, but by earnest persuasion.

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6b)

Verse 24

Those who ignored the invitation to the banquet chose their own punishment – they missed out. The master respects their choice by making it permanent: “that none of these men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” So, it will be with God’s judgment on those who choose to reject Christ: they will have their choice confirmed, and they will never taste the joys of heaven.

Conclusion: The basic message of what Jesus is teaching in the Parable of the Great Supper is that the tragedy of the Jewish rejection of Christ as Messiah has opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles. The blessings of the kingdom are available to all who come to Christ by faith. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13) and will sit at the table of the Great Supper, both Jew and Gentile.

Next Week, Session 29: The Parable of Building a Tower and a King Making War