The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 ”‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” (Luke 14:15-24)
We like eating! Jesus was partial to a good feed also, as we can see here. And He used 'dining' illustrations in a number of parables. For the whole point of a parable is to use a natural situation to illustrate a spiritual principle, and what better illustration can you get than food. Specially for me!
The parable itself can be viewed as a picture of the Jews, the invited guests, rejecting Jesus, while the gentiles from the roads and country lanes would eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.
This interpretation, while containing a large element of truth, is not the whole story.
There is an extra dimension here, and that relates to the difference in reaction to the kingdom between the rich and the poor. In a natural sense, a feast would logically be more attractive to those who did not have enough to eat rather than the well fed, who could afford to feast any time.
In the spiritual, Jesus was primarily referring to the Pharisees who were gorging themselves on the fatty, high calorie foods of Old Testament Law! They had it all! They had no need of the 'feast of salvation'.
Others too, were so involved in worldly pursuits that they did not have the time or inclination to seek spiritual enlightenment. A danger that faces us all! The reality is, the more money we get, the more possessions we have, the more effort we need to put in to look after them, and the more precious they become to us. It is ironic that prosperity preaching ultimately turns people away from God. Either they don't get rich and so become disillusioned and fall away, or they get rich and then become worldly orientated, and again fall away. Simply false teaching.
Listen instead to Jesus:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:25-6)
A similar theme is emphasised in the parable The Rich Ruler.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! (Luke 18:22-4)
Jesus summed up the situation succinctly when He said;
29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luke 13:29-30)
Mary, when singing under the power of the Holy Spirit, understood this principle too.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:53)
The reality is, the kingdom of God is of more appeal to the 'have nots' than the 'haves'. These are the ones who attended the feast.
Jesus was straightforward about it too;
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:19-24)
What are your priorities in life?
(Continued next week)
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