The Great Banquet (Kerith)
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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 one 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 compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
1.The Context
Intro: KB was invited to a Royal Banquet. Invited by the Queen to attend a Royal Garden Party in 1980. I couldn’t be bothered going. Got another invitation in 2016 in recognition of services to Chaplaincy – Couldn’t be bothered. I’m joking; you don’t turn down those sort of invites. In fact, prior to the Garden Party invites I rec’d a phone call asking, would you be likely to accept.
It is not wise to refuse an invite from the King. These people refuse an invite from the King of Kings, the master of the banquet, giving lame duck excuses. So, the master invites the unlikely to fill his banqueting table. The context to our reading today – Luke 14:15-24
Luke 14:1 ‘One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.’
Jesus is having a meal at the invite of a well-known Pharisee. He noticed guests enjoying places of honour at the meal [v7]. Jesus makes a controversial comment to his host: ‘When you give a dinner and prepare a guest list, don't invite the good and the great v12 nor friends and family - they will want to pay you back and reciprocate. No, invite the poor, the disabled and you’ll be blessed.’
S’one sitting near JC said, ‘Blessed are those who eat the feast in the Kingdom of God.’ Possibly spoken with haughty attitude! v15 That led to JC telling a story, the parable of the Great Banquet. In this metaphor, the master of the house is God, and the great banquet is the kingdom.
Let us hear the Parable now…
Many of Jesus stories were uncomfortable, taking a swipe at the religious. This is another one, it is a warning; the parable is told, not to commend the guest, but to challenge his apathy, warning those who think they are "in the kingdom of God" - may actually be left "out".
2. A Parable: The Great Banquet.
The Invitation - 2a Save the Date.
Two invitations are sent out, v16, 17. The first invite is ‘Save the Date.’
In those days when there were no fridges, nor stock of meat and preserved foods. The master would have to get all the food in and made ready. So ‘Save the date’ is saying it is soon, the butcher is butchering, the fresh fruit and veg is being harvested.
2b Now is the time
The messenger delivers the 2nd invite, the day before saying, ‘It is now…. It’s ready.’ v17 Jesus is saying the Kingdom is now, it is ‘at hand,’ Matt 3:2, 4:17.
This parable is a warning for the religious and those of us who are familiar with church and may have settled into a cosy community of fellowship of nice people. Perhaps you have not faced the challenge to repent and believe in the risen Jesus. You can say the right things, going to church, living a good life, doing good and throw £10 in the offering. But you may be rejecting the invitation to come to the banquet. This is a warning for those who like the form of religion but the message has not touched your heart.
2c The excuses
Then the excuses start! They are not saying I will never come, just not right now - does that sound familiar, like someone you know or some people here? They are acceptable excuses but feeble. You've got fields and possessions and family issues. I have something else on. [eg Stan]. Life is busy. So not right now. Tim Keller calls it misplaced priorities. There's nothing wrong with buying a field, buying an ox or a tractor, or getting married. If our focus is so fixed on things of this world, we are in danger of missing out, “not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet” (v24).
If today’s equivalent of the field, the ox and the marriage, let’s say, the house and the family and then there’s the football. If they are more important to us, they become our idols. The servant reported the excuses to the master, and he became angry.
3. The Inclusion
3a The Empty Table.
God’s table has space for more, and He is compelling the “unlikely” to fill His house. After the invitation is not taken up by the Jews in the parable, the invitation is opened up to society’s poor and disabled, the unlikely - “unclean” from a Pharisee perspective. Under God’s curse (John 9:1-2, 34). Jesus reached out to all; tax collectors and sinners such is the extent of God’s grace (Matt 9:10-11). Luke 14:22 still there is room at the table.
The master in the parable sends the servant out with an invitation for everyone to come. God is not satisfied with even a partially full banquet hall; he wants every place at the table to be filled. The salvation was for the Gentiles too (Acts 1:8). “Jeru, Judea, Samaria, ends of earth.”
3b A Warning: Comfortable religion
From the context, we learn that the invited guests in the story are the Jewish nation. When Jesus came preaching that “the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17), He was rejected. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11).
All three excuses in the parable reveal that the Jews of Jesus’ day had no valid reason for rejecting him. In fact, they had every reason to accept Him as their Messiah. KB speaking with the CEO of CMJ on 1 July 2026 and he said, things are changing, there is growth of Messianic Jews in Israel. New believers studying the Bible and trusting in Jesus as their Messiah. He said there were 40,000 in the Messianic Church in Israel today.
However, this parable is a warning for us would be messengers. This is a warning for those who are sitting comfortably. Maybe we are reluctant to go, so we sit and wait for the meal, glad we made it to the banquet. There should be a longing within us, the born-again believer, a longing that those who have not heard of this good news would hear it.
3c The Compelling - who is missing from the table?
Many are missing from the table, many of your friends and family, neighbours and work colleagues. The good news from this parable is for those who are not religious.
Most of the people I met as a Hospital Chaplain said as I introduced myself to them, ‘I’m not religious.’ We are messengers with this invitation to come. The invitation is to come and deny yourself, take up your cross and receive the marvellous banquet in the presence of our saviour.
Notice the word ‘compel,’ v23. That is directed at the messengers, at us. Jesus writes himself into the story in v24 – ‘my banquet.’ The church is sent to the "streets and alleys" to invite hurting, broken, and impoverished people so that the table will be full [metaphorically].
Messengers to the England World Cup Squad like Eberechi Eze, Mark Guehi, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Ivan Toney. They have been nicknamed the Bible Brothers because they are sharing the Good News with their sporting colleagues.
The Lord wants us to invite those who are not aware of him. Perhaps through your testimony, saying, ‘I have met Jesus you must meet him too.’ Matthew/Levi did when he met Jesus he had a party for all his friends neighbours to meet Jesus. That's what it's about: meeting Jesus. It's not about do you believe in the six day creation or the young earth or evolution. No, the message and the mission - I have met Jesus you must meet him to. That is the story of the servant who met Jesus and then went out and invited others to the banquet. Andrew found his brother Peter - he said I've found the Messiah John 1:41-51.
In John 4:29, that was what Philip did when he met Jesus. He went to his friend Nathaniel and said, ‘Come and see.’
We need to rediscover ways of saying – ‘come and see.’
Come and see may be to an event like next week’s BBQ or to the Interview b/n Dan and KB next Friday. Places where the Lord Jesus Christ will be lifted up.
Notice the poor and the disabled [cripled, blind and lame] are specifically mentioned by Jesus. I am intrigued by that. Why does Jesus highlight those two groups? What about the sports clubs, the pubs, the gyms, the joggers and bloggers, clubbers and the mums and toddlers groups, the gardeners and allotment tenants? Are they excluded? Absolutely not – all are included.
However, there is something about brokenness and being vulnerable in poverty and through disability that brings a person to being open to the love and compassion of the Lord Jesus. [Story of Diana being visited in Hospital by the Chaplain].
That love and compassion of Jesus for the poor and disabled will be delivered by Christians both sharing and being the good news. Your testimony of, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ and your acts of kindness could meet both a spiritual and physical need in your friend.
What may ‘come and see’ look like for the poor and disabled? How may the love and compassion of JC be revealed thro you? Not through patronising but by drawing alongside. Not by dumping a ‘Good News’ message and disappearing but by caring and sharing. So what, I would advise? Pray about it first. Talk to God about people and then talk to the people about God.
Finally, what about the rich and all those clubs and pub people I mentioned? The Good News is for them too. I’m thinking of the first beatitude, ‘Blessed are the Poor in Spirit.’ If they are poor in spirit, then they are ready to consider Jesus. Poor in spirit means they know there is more to life than this. That is the question of a poor in spirit person. This parable says, compel them to come in. Yes, come into church where they will hear the gospel message. Church, where the word is opened week by week. Compel them all, let them know there is an invitation for them too. God's mercy is deep and wide. Remember your banners before you today - it’s what what you are about: ‘Helping people find their way back to God. Through communities growing in their love for God and their love for people.’
Whether they are poor, disabled or poor in spirit, let them know that their brokenness is the stuff God will use to reveal his ever-presence at the time of trouble and to bring them to the banquet.
There are invites to be taken out - We need to go and do it, take the invite to highways and byways. There is a lot of scope to reimagine and be creative in taking His invite out.
End with the story of Pete McGowan
