He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”

Luke 14:12-24

Christ had gone to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees to eat.  While there, he healed a man with dropsy and used that as an opportunity to point out to the Pharisees that their position on the Sabbath was mistaken (Lk. 14:1-6).  Noticing how all the guests were trying to get the best spots at the tables, he then shared a parable about humility (Lk. 14:7-11).

Immediately after giving that parable, he told his host that he ought to invite people who cannot repay him when he invites people over to his house to eat.  Christians should not take that to mean that Jesus is commanding that we can never have friends over and that we must always instead invite underprivileged people into our homes to eat with them.  He is simply emphasizing that while it is important to show hospitality to your friends and loved ones, we must also not neglect showing hospitality to the less fortunate (cf. Heb. 13:2; Matt. 25:35; 1 Pet. 4:9).  By doing so, we “will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Someone at the dinner, probably hearing Jesus say that and being confident that he would be a part of that wonderful event and be in God’s kingdom in heaven, said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”  Seeing another teaching opportunity, Jesus told them another parable about a man who gave a great banquet and invited many.  When everything was ready and he had sent his servant to inform his guests, the guests began to make excuses as to why they could not come.  One had bought a field and had to examine it.  Another had bought five yoke of oxen and had to examine them.  Another had just married, and so could not come.  When the servant told all of this to his master, his master became angry and directed the servant to go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city to bring in the underprivileged.  Having done that, the servant told his master there was still room at the banquet, at which point the master told him to go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come to the banquet and fill the house.  The master was determined, as he told the servant, that none of those whom he had originally invited would taste his banquet.

I believe the banquet symbolizes God’s kingdom, just as many of the other parables focused on the kingdom too.  Scripture often describes the blessings found in God’s kingdom as similar to a great banquet (cf. Matt. 8:11; Rev. 19:9).  The church is presently God’s kingdom, as we see that Christians are called into his kingdom (1 Thess. 2:12).  In eternity, the kingdom will be heaven after Christ gives his kingdom back to his Father (1 Cor. 15:24; cf. 2 Pet. 1:11).  

Who actually comes to the banquet might surprise us.  Many are invited, but choose not to come while making excuses.  Yet many did come…those whom society considered to have no value, those with no homes outside the city living on the highways and in the hedges.  Perhaps Christ was hinting to the self-righteous Jews that God’s kingdom would not just be for them, but for the Gentiles too…especially after the Jews as a whole rejected the gospel (cf. Matt. 21:43).  He could have been subtly suggesting to the self-righteous Pharisees that the tax collectors and prostitutes upon whom they looked down would get into God’s kingdom before them (cf. Matt. 21:31-32).

What about you and me?  We make excuses often for not serving Jesus as we should…and yet we still expect to go to heaven.  What’s wrong with that picture?

There are a lot of very religious people who follow their own dogmas and doctrines rather than Scripture alone…and they expect to go to heaven.  What’s wrong with that picture?

In the end, Christians who are continually faithful to God’s revealed will in Scripture will go to heaven.  The ones most likely to fit that description are the humble, the ones society looks down on, and yet choose to be ever faithful and obedient (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26).  Does that describe you and me?

Many will not accept the invitation and make excuses.  Perhaps excuses having to do with their business or family, like in the parable.  It’s noteworthy that it’s not inherently sinful to give attention to one’s family or business…but God’s kingdom and righteousness must still come first (Matt. 6:33; Lk. 10:38-42).

Is it first in your life, dear reader?