THE PARABLE OF THE GREAT SUPPER (LUKE 14:15-24)!

In this parable the focus is on the call to a banquet meal and the various possible responses that may be given to the invitation. According to Brad H. Young1 “only one response is acceptable in the case of the banquet. The whole story stresses the open invitation to the outcasts…Jesus employs humor and irony to teach His message concerning the kingdom of heaven and the divine initiative that calls all the people to come to His banquet.”

There is urgency for the hour and shows that the ones who are called don’t recognize the significance of the time . The humor here is in the made-up excuses by those invited, in saying that they have other things going on and as such that they can’t make it! The irony is that the poor and needy, who are considered outcasts, are the ones enjoying the great feast! “ The beggars and the homeless feast at the great banquet while the respected members of the community exclude themselves with their worthless excuses.”2

So we see that each individual, whether a member of high society or an outcast, such as a beggar or homeless and all those in between these two groups of the spectrum , are given the opportunity to make his or her decision. So in this parable we see the invitation to the proper reply and stresses the urgency of proclaiming that the time of the banquet is now! So we see that the invitation of the gospel to come to Jesus is now; a response to say yes to Him is necessary and it is given to all men and women!

NOTES

1 Brad H Young, The Parables, ( Peabody: Hendrickson Pub., 2004),171
2 Ibid., 171. T