Blessed (). Happy, same word in the Beatitudes of Jesus (Mt 5:3ff.). This pious platitude whether due to ignorance or hypocrisy was called forth by Christ’s words about the resurrection. It was a common figure among the rabbis, the use of a banquet for the bliss of heaven. This man may mean that this is a prerogative of the Pharisees. He assumed complacently that he will be among the number of the blest. Jesus himself uses this same figure of the spiritual banquet for heavenly bliss (Lu 22:29).

Shall eat (). Future middle from , defective verb, from stem of the aorist () like of the old Greek.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Blessed. See on Mt 5:3.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “When one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things.” (akousas de tis ton sunanakeimenon tauta) “Then when one of those who was reclining with them heard these things,” evidently one of the large group of guests at the feast, of the neighbours, friends, kinsmen, and high-seated wealthy, the plutocrats, Luk 14:12.

2) “He said unto him,” (elpen auto) “He responded to him;” It was perhaps one of the church disciples who had been called who had heard the Lord’s sermon on the mount, in which he spoke the blessed and assuring beatitudes to and concerning members of His church, Mat 5:1-12.

3) “Blessed is he that shall eat bread,” (makarios hostis phagetai arton) “Blessed is the one who eats bread,” literally, who now feasts, at this time, Mat 6:33.

4) “In the kingdom of God.” (en te basileia tou theou) “In the kingdom of God,” in harmony with the work of God, in the “kingdom of heaven,” the church, which Jesus had already established, and the Pharisees and Sadducees sought to obstruct or destroy, Mat 5:1-3; Mat 5:20; Mat 23:12-13.

Except this guest who spoke these words of blessing may have had in mind mere feasting in the longed for restored kingdom of Israel, even as His disciples often did, Act 1:6-8. To reject Jesus Christ as the “bread of life,” offered as the true feasts for hungry souls, is to miss true feasting, happiness, with God forever, Joh 6:51-58.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk. 14:15. Blessed is he.The recompense at the resurrection of the just (Luk. 14:14) suggested to this guest a great banquet in the kingdom of the Messiah at which the faithful Israelite would sit down in company with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (cf. Luk. 13:28). He extols the greatness of the privilege. Christ warns him and the others, in the parable that follows, that the privilege will by no means be so generally recognised or embraced by the Jewish people as was commonly thought. There seems to be nothing especially vapid or affected in the exclamation of this guest. Eat bread.See on Luk. 14:1.

Luk. 14:16. A certain man.The giver of the feast represents God. A great supper.The kingdom of God, the feast of fat things in Isa. 25:6; completed in the marriage supper of the Lamb, but fully prepared when the glad tidings of the gospel were proclaimed (Alford). Bade many.I.e., the Jewish nation, especially the religiously-minded among themrulers, Pharisees, and doctors of the lawthose enjoying highest religious privileges. The invitation was given through Moses and the prophets.

Luk. 14:17. Sent his servant.As was usual in the East (cf. Mat. 22:3-4). If the servant is to be identified with any one historical person, it can only be with Christ Himself; but John the Baptist, the Apostles, and others after them, delivered a message like this. All things.All is not in the original, but may fairly be inserted, as it is implied in the sense of the passage.

Luk. 14:18. And they all.The underlying idea is that but few of the Pharisaic class responded to Christs invitation. One consent.Consent is also inserted by the translators; it might have been equally well rendered, with one voice. All are worldly-minded, though each has his different preoccupation, and expresses himself differently in asking to be excused. All, by alleging excuses, admit that they feel they are under a kind of obligation which they choose to set aside. Go and see it.Rather, go out [into the country] and see it (R.V.). I must needs go.The reply is still a courteous one, the excuse being pressure of business.

Luk. 14:19. I go to prove them.No necessity alleged, but simply the fact that he is going; he has made plans which he will not alter. Still, he feels that some excuse is needed for his conduct.

Luk. 14:20. I cannot come.Abrupt refusal, without any attempt at excuse. His I cannot is equivalent to I do not want. According to the Mosaic law (Deu. 24:5) a newly married man was free for a year from military service; but exemption from the hardships of war is a very different thing from slighting the claims of friendship. Commentators usually dwell upon the weakness of the excuses offered. So far from that the first two reasons are very plausible, and the last very strong. And why? They seem to have been purposely made as strong as such reasons ordinarily are, in order to show that no reasons of any kind will be admitted as valid by the heavenly Inviter, who enjoins us first (i.e., above all) to seek His kingdom and righteousness, and allows of no plea for neglecting that duty (Bloomfield).

Luk. 14:21. Go out quickly.No time is lost, either in the parable or in fact, in finding fresh guests. Streets and lanes of the city.The city still, among the Jews. The poor, etc.Publicans, sinners, and harlots; lost sheep of the house of Israel. The guests at the banquet correspond to those described in Luk. 14:13.

Luk. 14:22. Yet there is room.Both nature and grace abhor a vacuum (Bengel).

Luk. 14:23. Highways and hedges.Outside the city; this refers to the calling of the Gentiles. Compel them.By moral suasion: had physical force been permitted, why should those who had first refused have been left to themselves? The word compel no doubt refers, in the first instance, to the circumstances of the parable: the time was short, the banquet could not be deferred, and the master was anxious for every seat to be occupied. Of course it has its spiritual counterpart in the earnestness with which zealous servants of Christ will press the claims of the kingdom of God (cf. 2Ti. 4:2).

Luk. 14:24. For I say unto you.Here Christ speaks in His own person, half continuing the parable and half expounding it. For you is in the plural, while in the parable the master has been giving commands and directions to one of his servants.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Luk. 14:15-24

The Feast Refused.Pious sentiment is cheap, and many a man who has little other religion has his mouth full of beautiful speeches about the desireableness of heaven. Jesus seems to have detected the false ring in this seemingly devout aspiration, and therefore to have met it with this story of the refused feast, which warns the speaker and others to be sure that they are not excusing themselves from a banquet for which they profess to long.

I. The preparation of, and invitations to, the feast.The use of this emblem to denote spiritual blessings is rooted in Old-Testament prophecy (Isa. 25:6; Isa. 55:1-3). It is a great feast, both in regard of the rich and satisfying food and of the ample room. It provides enough for each, enough for all, enough for evermore; it meets all the hunger and need of the soul. The preparation of the feast, and the invitations, cover a long timethe whole past ages of Israels history, during which law, and sacrifice, and prophecy, had been aiming to make men ready for receiving the kingdom, and had been summoning them to partake of its blessings. A second invitation was given in the preaching of John the Baptist, of our Lord Himself, and of the apostles during His life. The fact of a more pressing summons being sent at the moment of readiness marks the solemn significance of the hour at which He was speaking. His coming makes all things ready, and is the critical moment to which all the ages have been tending. Present decision was called for, and not pious platitudes. We, too, have to learn the awful importance of the present moment, and to beware of losing the awakening consciousness of that in smooth generalities about any future. How we behave to Gods invitation, that peals in our ears to-day, settles how we shall fare in the future.

II. The astonishing unanimity of refusal.In ordinary life people would scramble for invitations to such a grand feast, especially if a great man gave it. But the improbability of the incident is the very point of it. They all with one consent. This is the miserable strangeness of the fate of Gods invitations to the highest good. No others are treated so. Mark the increasing rudeness of the speakers. The first pleads a must needs; the second merely states his intentionI go; the third bluntly says, I cannot, and omits the courtesy of asking to be excused. The true lesson from all three is, that innocent and right things keep men away from the gospel feast, and that, however different the objects which are preferred to it, the spirit which prefers them is the same. These excuses do not cover all the reasonswhich are excuses only, and not reasonsfor refusing the feast. But they suggest that by far the most common is some form or other of preferring the poor delights of time and sense, and they prepare the way for the stringent requirements, in Luk. 14:26, of giving up all to be a disciple. There was no real incompatibility between the true enjoyment of farm, merchandise, or wife, and accepting the invitation; nor is there any between discipleship and the fullest use and truest enjoyment of earthly good; but the incompatibility is made by our false estimate of these. Because we put them first, therefore they shut us out from the feast. Put it first, and it does not shut us out from them.

III. The needy who do not refuse.Note

1. The action of the giver of the feast. His settled purpose that some shall partake of it is not to be foiled. Gods provision shall not be wasted, and if it be refused by some foolish souls who prefer husks to bread, and leeks and garlic to manna, the tables shall not stand without guests. The Divine mercy is not to be thwarted, but, with persistent variation of direction, works on to its end undiscouraged. True, the structure of the parable required the second invitation to appear as an afterthought; but that does not detract from the wonderful representation it gives of the inexhaustible patience and unwearied, continuous invitation of the master of the feast.

2. The success of the second invitation. The recipients are still in the city. They are the same classes as Jesus had just bid His hearers ask to their feasts (Luk. 14:13). They have no farm or oxen to see after. In the historical application they represent the publicans and harlots, the outcast classes who hung on to the theocracy, but, though Jews by descent, were scouted by the class to whom Jesus was speaking. In the wider reference they are the people who know their own needs, and have found themselves to be hungry and poor, having infinite need of salvation, and nothing of their own to win it with. Yet there is room. How that hints of the boundless spaces in the festal halls, of the ample provision for all!

IV. The invitation extended and made more urgent.The vagrants who house in the fields and under the hedges are further down in misery than the poor in the city. Historically they represent the Gentiles outside the polity of Israel, and it is in accordance with the spirit of St. Lukes gospel that this transference of the offer of salvation to them should have been recorded by him. But the representation embodies the great truth of which that transference was but an exemplification; namely, the destination of the gospel for all, and its special mission to the lowest. The increase in urgency corresponds to the distance from the banquet and the degradation of the invited. First the message was a simple Come; then it was to be a Bring them in; and now it is, Constrain them. The pleading earnestness increases with the need and the sense of unfitness for so great an honour. Complacent indifference, which made sure of a right to eat bread in the kingdom, and would give up nothing for it, was left alone; but poor wretches, who could scarcely believe that the feast was meant for them, were prayed with much entreaty to receive the gift. How grand and wonderful a view of the Divine longing to bestow blessings lies in that word, given as the motive of the hosts command, that my house may be filled! God cannot be satisfied with empty spaces at His table. He does not rest till all the ample spaces are crowded with the great multitude, which no man can number, so all-embracing is His love, so strong His desire to impart the bread, enough and to spare, which He has prepared for all the hungry. Historically, the closing threat foretells the exclusion of the Israel of that day as a whole from the feast, but it does not necessarily imply that individuals who separated themselves from the mass, and changed refusal into acceptance, should be debarred access to it. No threatenings are unconditional, and no refusal need be final. Acceptance is always possible, and no refusal need be final.Maclaren.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk. 14:15-24

Luk. 14:15. Blessed is he that shall eat bread.This guest seems to have formed an erroneous idea of the nature of the kingdom of God:

1. He evidently regarded it as affording privilege, rather than as imposing obligations.
2. He thought that, as a Pharisee and an Israelite, he was sure of entrance into it.
3. He thought of that kingdom as belonging to the future, and as having little bearing upon present conduct. The sentimental guest flattered himself that he appreciated the good things of the kingdom; and Christ, knowing how apt men are to deceive themselves in such matters, went on to show him how little reliance is to be placed on the interest in things Divine which he and others took credit for.Bruce.

An Unexceptionable Remark.As a saying, the guests remark was unexceptionable. But as he uttered it, it was only a mere pious remark. He was not a true disciple of Jesus, and had probably no intention of becoming one, so he was one who would never eat bread in the kingdom of God, since he was determined not to accept the invitation to the marriage-supper of the Lamb.Hastings.

Blessed is he.The words sound like those of Balaam, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. (Num. 23:10), a wish only to be safe and happy at last, while rejecting all present invitation to turn to God and live.

Feeble Excuses.

I. The spiritual provision.It is abundant, gracious, glorious.

II. The wide invitation.There is room for many. Many must come.

III. The feeble excuses.

1. Worldliness of spirit.
2. Absorption in commercial pursuits.
3. Relative obligations.

IV. The angry host.Displeased because His generosity is not appreciated. Because He has given the strongest proof of His goodness. His displeasure is irreconcileable.Stevenson.

Excuses.They are typical excuses.

1. Cares of wealth.
2. Pursuit of wealth.
3. Attractions of earthly ties.

II. None of them is a good reason for refusal.

III. In each case what caused refusal was nothing wrong in itself.

The Invitation Refused.The power of mental pre-occupation in producing indifference or aversion to the doctrine of the kingdom Jesus illustrates in a popular manner in the parable of the Great Supper. The forms of preoccupation therein mentioned are such as are most suited to parabolic narrationsuch, namely, as arise from the business and pleasures of ordinary life. They are not the only forms, or even the most important, or such as beset the class of men represented at the dinner-table when the parable was spoken. The pre-occupations of the wise and learned were of a more dignified and respectable character.Bruce.

Near the Kingdom, but Not In It.Christ spoke the parable to point out the difference between being invited to enter the kingdom and being in it, and to show that the invitation will only aggravate the doom of those who refuse to comply with it. He intends to teach the Jews, and through them to teach us, that those who are near the kingdom may in the end come short of itthat those who stand high in spiritual privileges may be excludedmay exclude themselvesfrom the kingdom of God.Arnot.

The Gracious Character of the Kingdom.The parable teaches that the kingdom of heaven is not for the full, but for the hungry. Everything in it is significant of grace:

1. The selection of a feast as an emblem of the blessings promised implies that they are a free gift from God.
2. The behaviour of those invited firstbeing full, they despise the Divine gift.
3. Those who are empty and destitute value it.
4. The avowed motive of the repeated invitationsthat the house may be filled.Bruce.

Luk. 14:16. A great supper.The kingdom of heaven

(1) Satisfies those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

2. It brings joys beyond compare.

3. It brings all who believe into holy fellowship with each other.

A Fit Emblem.The blessings of salvation are in Scripture fitly compared to a feast

I. Because of their rich variety and abundance.
II. Their suitableness to our spiritual wants.
III. The high satisfaction and enjoyment which they yield.
Many.I.e., the whole Jewish peopleby the Baptist, by His apostles, by His disciples, and by Himself.

Luk. 14:17. His servant.The office of summoning the world to enter the kingdom of God is one, and the commission to all those who hold it is the same; hence, but one servant is spoken of. This unity of teaching and preaching is the holy inheritance of the Church from her one Lord.

For all things are now ready.A suggestion of the splendid abundance of the feast prepared.

The Nominally Religious.It is implied that these men had tacitly, or in some other well-understood way, accepted the first invitation. They gave no intimation that they intended to declinethey gave the provider of the feast reason to expect their presence. They were, therefore, representatives of those who were nominally, but not really, the people of God. They were within the reach of privileges which they did not value, and were understood to be well-disposed towards God, until their true character was revealed by their being asked to make a decisive choice between God and the world.

Luk. 14:18-20. Worldliness of Spirit.The temper of these self-excusers is threefold; the excuses themselves are threefold; their spirit is one. The first alleges a necessityhe must go and see his land; the second not so much as this, only his own plan and purpose; the third not so much as either of these, but rudely asserts, I cannot (i.e., I will not) come. All are detained by worldliness, in however varied forms.Alford.

Innocent, but Fatal.Landoxena wife;all innocent; perhaps all needful; all certainly fatal. They loved them too much, or the gospel too little. Their love for them was perhaps not excessive; it might have been but little; but, at all events, their love for the gospel was less. Or their love for the gospel might have been great, very great; but their love of the world was greater. Still, it all came to one and the same end for God will not have a divided heart. It is the choice of the two which is presented at all times. To have married a wife was provided for in the law as a sufficient plea not to go forth to war; but the gospel is higher in its requirements. He that loveth wife or children more than Me, is not worthy of Me.Williams.

Ever-Recurring Forms of Danger.It may be observed that in describing the reception which the gospel would meet with, our Lord mentions the very things which He notices in speaking of the old world and of Sodom. He omits all mentions of their great crimes, but chooses out, for their resemblance to the last day, points innocent in themselves, but of an absorbing worldly nature. In the days of Lot, which are likened to the end of the world, they bought and sold (chap. Luk. 17:28)as here the excuse is, I have bought oxen, and I go to prove them. In the former, they planted, they buildedas here the plea is, I have bought a field; I must needs go to see it. Again, in the days of Noah and of Lot they married and gave in marriageand the gospel in the parable is rejected, because I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. The same things, therefore, are true of the days of the Son of Man, as appears from Scripture; whether we speak of Christs final coming, or of the Christian dispensation generally.Burgon.

The Thorns which choke the Word.The three excuses answer to the three things which are said to choke the Word in the parable of the Sower (Luk. 8:14)the care of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the pleasures of this life.

Different Degrees of Contumacy.One may trace here a rising scale of contumacy:

1. The first of these guests would be very glad to come, if only it were possible, if there was not a constraining necessity keeping him away.
2. The second alleges no such constraining necessity, but is simply going upon sufficient reason on another errand.
3. The third has engagements of his own, and declares outright, I cannot come.Trench.

Hindrances to Faith and Obedience.

I. The lust of the eye and the pride of life too often detain men from Christ.
II. In some cases the business and cares of life have the same effect.
III. In other cases it is the pleasure of the world that is a hindrance.

The Excuses Frivolous.These various excuses are all frivolous; they simply veil a disinclination to come to the feast. For all these persons had been informed of the coming feast, and could have chosen another day for attending to the various concerns which they now plead as excuses.

Luk. 14:18. Spiritual Possessions, Occupations, and Joys.All these excuses had been anticipated and refuted by our Lords teaching that there is another field for which we ought to sell all and buy it (Mat. 13:44)another plough to be followed (Luk. 9:62); and now He teaches that there is another marriage-feast to be preferred before all earthly nuptialsa marriage-feast in which the soul is not only a guest, but is espoused as a bride to Christ (2Co. 11:2).Wordsworth.

With one consent.One motive inspired them all: indifference towards, or dislike of, him who had invited them.

To make excuse.By so doing they acknowledge their obligation to appear at the feast. In like manner comparatively few of those who lead irreligious lives repudiate religious obligations, however poor the excuses may be which they bring forward to excuse their neglect of them.

Have me excused.Me. Whatever may be the case with others, who can and ought to come, I am obliged to ask thee to excuse me.

Luk. 14:20. A wife.Marriagethe closest and most sacred of all tieshere stands for all earthly ties; just as oxen and land stand for all worldly goods and possessions whatsoever. Surely he takes the text in too large a sense, that, because it says a man shall leave all and cleave to his wife, therefore he shall leave God. It is but the father and mother on earth, and not the Father of heaven, that for her we may forsake (Feltham).

I cannot come.The persons mentioned before excused themselves civilly. This man bluntly declares he cannot come. Some damn themselves in a rude and brutal, others in a civil, well-bred manner (Quesnel).

His language is all the more brusque because he is assured that he has a more plausible and adequate reason for refusing the invitation than others.

Luk. 14:21. Angry.The dislike or hatred which lay beneath the excuses calls forth anger on the part of the master. Cf. 2Sa. 22:27 : With the froward Thou wilt show Thyself unsavoury.

Streets and lanes.Still within the city, so that by the class here summoned we are to understand the outcast classes among the Jews, as distinguished from the Pharisees and scribes to whom the invitation was naturally first addressed, and who had as a class rejected it.

The maimed, the halt, and the blind.The maimed, whom no woman would marry (Luk. 14:20); the halt, who could not follow the plough (Luk. 14:19); the blind, who could not see fields or anything else (Luk. 14:18).Bengel.

Luk. 14:22. Yet there is room.

1. A word of encouragement to those who desire, but have not ventured to come in.
2. A summons to fresh zeal on the part of those charged with the duty of bringing in guests.

Luk. 14:23-24. Unlikely Guests.

I. The guests, brought in from the highways, and hedges, and lanes, may in the first intention, represent the spiritually-neglected Jewish populace, as opposed to the self-satisfied scribes and Pharisees.
II. The principle involved is; the kingdom and its blessings are for the hungry anywhere and everywhere; there is plenty of room, and I will have my house full.
III. The probable application is: privileged Israel self-excluded by her indifference; unprivileged heathendom rendered eligible by destitution.Bruce.

Luk. 14:23. Highways and hedges.Those in the heathen world needing, and many of them longing for, salvation.

As Luk. 14:21 is the subject of the first part of the Acts of the Apostles (chaps. 112, the conversion of the Jews), so Luk. 14:22-23 contain that of the second part (chap. 13 to the end, the conversion of the heathen).Godet.

The Need for Haste.The time was short, and the master of the house could not wait; therefore he bade his servant urge these new guests to fill the house without delay.

Compel.Use so much zeal and importunity that they may feel constrained to come in (2Ti. 4:2).

Force and Persuasion.The two kinds of compulsion are illustrated in the history of St. Paul. Saul as a persecutor compelled men and women to return to or to remain in the Jewish fold; as a servant of Christ he strove to urge and persuade his hearers to enter the Christian fold.

Timidity Overcome.The poor out casts would doubtless naturally be timid about entering the rich mans house; they would scarcely dare to accept the invitation. A friendly compulsion is necessary in their case. Those really unwilling to comethe guests first invitedare not compelled to attend the feast.

Inducements to Accept the Invitation.Inducements to persuade acceptance of the gospel invitation:

1. Your naturally miserable and perishing condition.
2. The consideration that all things are now ready.
3. That many guests have entered.
4. That yet there is room.
5. That rejection of the invitation now means exclusion from the feast of heavenly glory hereafter.

Filled.The great love of God desires a multitude of guests; not a seat that is prepared is to be allowed to remain vacant. The number of the elect is proportioned beforehand to the riches of the Divine glory, and this can only find complete reflection in a certain number of human beings. The invitation will therefore last, and consequently the history of our race will be prolonged, until that number is reached. Thus it is that the Divine decree is reconciled with human liberty. The number of those saved is, comparatively to the number of those called, small, no doubt; nevertheless, in itself, the number of the saved is great.Godet.

That my house may be filled.He has so made provision that He must have people that eat, drink, and are merry, though He should make them out of stones.Luther.

Spiritual Wretchedness not a Ground of Safety.However, let it be well observed that to be in a spiritually wretched state does not confer a favour, or imply safety. These men were saved, not because they were spiritually very low, but although they were spiritually very low; they were saved, although the chief of sinners, because Christ invited them and they came at His call. The more moral, and more privileged, who were first invited, would have been as welcome and as safe if they had come.Arnot.

Luk. 14:24. For I say unto you.In matter of form these words belong to the parable, but no doubt the look and manner of Jesus, as He put this threat in the mouth of the host whose invitation had been so indifferently treated by the guests first summoned, made those present feel that He and they were the type of persons really meant.

My supper.Our Lord half passes from the parable and speaks words which seem to express His own decision rather than that of the giver of the feast. By so doing He warns His hearers of the risk they were running in rejecting Himthey were acting like those who had excluded themselves from the feast. My supper, to which I not only invite you, but which I, as the Son, with the Father, have Myself prepared for you!

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Butlers Comments

SECTION 3

Grateful (Luk. 14:15-24)

15 When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God! 16But 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 all is now ready. 18But 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; I pray you, have me excused. 19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused, 20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21So the servant came and reported this to his master, Then the householder in anger said to his servant, Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame. 22And the servant said, Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. 23And 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. 24For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.

Luk. 14:15-20 Indifference: Jesus had spoken about the ideal banquet situation where goodness, helpfulness, humility and hospitality are sincere. It was apparent that Jesus was talking about the messianic age. Describing the kingdom of God as a banquet was a favorite expression of the Old Testament prophets (cf. Isa. 25:6-12; Isa. 65:13-16, etc.). Jewish apocryphal writings also picture the messianic age in this manner. One of the dinner guests was moved to exclaim, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!

The guest had the right subject. Jesus was indeed talking about the kingdom of Godthe messianic age. Nothing short of the rule of God in the hearts of men could produce such an ideal society. The guest at the Pharisees table was excited about the beauty of such an ideal. Jesus pictured a social order where there was no self-serving pride; a society where humility was sincere and there was no competition or exploitation of one another for positions of honor. He talked about true hospitality where love and care is given to the needy with no thought of payment or reward. Such a society is the kingdom of Godthe church (cf. Act. 2:43-47; Act. 4:32-37; Act. 6:1-6, etc.).

At first glance it would appear that Jesus tried to stifle the enthusiasm of the excited guest. Jesus told His parable of the indifferent guests directly to the man who had expressed such anticipation of the kingdom of God. The man who gave the great banquet in the parable is God the Father and Christ the Son. The servant sent to invite guests is probably John the Baptist. The guests are the Jews. This parable had primary reference to the Jewish rejection of the Messiah and His kingdom. Its principle is relevant for all ages.
By this parable Jesus says, in effect, Yes, you all admire the ideal but you are not prepared to act upon it. You think it is grand but you are too occupied with yourselves to take it seriously. The parable illustrates:

a.

the kingdom of God is a kingdom of gracethe banquet table is provided by Him.

b.

the privilege to participate is by answering the invitation of the king in the precise manner he has chosen to extend it.

c.

exclusion is due to a freely chosen refusal to answer the invitationnot to the kings discrimination.

d.

men choose to refuse because they value their own interests more precious than the kings banquet.

The guests of the parable were one (Gr. mias) in excusing themselves from the mans feast. The inference is that there was a united conspiracy to refuse to attend. The Greek word paraiteisthai means literally, beg off. They had no valid reasons they could not attend, they simply tried to find some excuse by which they might justify themselves for refusing to attend.

The first guests excuse was that he had just bought a field and must go see it. What business man would buy a field before seeing it? This man was either a liar or a fool! Furthermore, how could it be more important to go and look at a piece of ground than it could be to attend a great mans banquet? It was a deliberate choice of interest in possessions over gratitude to ones benefactor. The rich young ruler (Luk. 18:18 ff.) refused the invitation of King Jesus because he had much riches. The second guest begged-off saying he had just purchased five yoke (teams) of oxen and he had to test (Gr. dokimasai, examine) them. Imagine a man buying oxen he has not tested or examined! Another man who was either a fool or a liar. The first man said, I must go . . . the second man said, I am going . . . There is the element of insolence in the second mans reply to the invitation. Work was more important to the second man than the feast. Many today consider the work they do more important than feasting on the Bread of Life. The third guest sent his reply back, I have married a wife, and I cannot come. Someone has noted that this excuse has the least validity of all because wives like to go to social affairs! Surely the householder would have known of the recent marriage and have graciously invited the wife also. It is certainly true that the kingdom of God demands first loyalty over domestic ties (cf. Mat. 10:34-39).

Excuses, not reasons, are what these guests gave. Possessions, vocations and domestic ties are not valid reasons for refusing the invitation to participate in joyous feast of the Lord, In fact, there is no valid reason at all for refusing the invitation of God.
Yes, Jesus said to the excited man, you admire the ideal society I have been preaching and inviting you to, but you wont answer the invitation and your excuses are foolish, impertinent, rude and unacceptable.

Luk. 14:21-24 Innovation: When the servant reported to his master the three refusals the master was very angry (Gr. orgistheis, the word from which we have the English word, orgasm). The host had gone to great expense to provide this feast (God gave His priceless Son). Those first invited (the Jewish rulers and rich men) scorned the invitation and sold their birthright for a mess of pottage. The host sent his servant out to the highways and hedges (uttermost parts of the world) to compel the poor, maimed, blind and lame (spiritually) to come (probably the Gentiles). This host wants to be a benefactor to all who will allow him to do so.

The Greek word anagkason is from a root word which means necessity. It most often means to constrain by persuasion, (cf. Mat. 14:22; Mar. 6:45; Act. 28:19). Plummer insists the word could only mean persuasion in this instance since A single servant could not use force. Those who were first invited and refused were not dragged in which would have been the case had the host meant to compel attendance by force. Christ authorizes no use of force or deceit in inviting people to His feast. Persuasion (2Co. 5:11), the compelling power of truth, is the only valid means of inviting people to Gods great spiritual feast. The Christian life is a spiritual feast (cf. Rom. 14:17; 1Co. 5:6-8; 1Co. 10:1-5; Heb. 12:22-23; Mat. 5:6; etc.). The invitation to this spiritual feast may be accepted by anyone who is thirsty and hungry for what God has to offer. It may also be rejected. Those who refuse will never taste (experience) what God has prepared (peace, joy, holiness, forgiveness, life).

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (cf. Act. 13:44-52), gives the theological amplification of this parable in his great epistle to the Romans (chapters 9, 10 and 11). There he explains that the rejection of the gospel invitation by the Jews brought about the innovation of the Gentiles into Gods covenant. Paul warns the Gentiles (in Romans), to whom God turned with His invitation, they must not become scornful of it or they too will be excluded.

Jesus told another parable, in the last week of His ministry, similar to this one (cf. Mat. 22:1-14). That one He concluded by saying, For many are called but few are chosen. Many are invited, but few accept. Few are chosen because only a few are really hungry for spiritual food and are grateful enough to make the effort necessary to accept the invitation.

Appleburys Comments

The Great Supper
Scripture

Luk. 14:15-24 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many: 17 and he sent forth his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 And the servant came, and told his lord these things. 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 hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame. 22 And the servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Comments

Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.Heaven is thus represented as a great feast. The idea seems to have been suggested by the remarks Jesus had made about inviting the poor to lunch or dinner. How fortunate it will be for those who shall have the privilege of being present at that heavenly banquet. Jesus used the occasion for two things: (1) to point out the general disregard for God and His Son whom He sent to tell those who had been invited to come to the feast, and (2) to indicate that although these had slighted the invitation, others would be invited and the places at the heavenly banquet would be filled.

A certain man made a great supper.Jesus vividly set forth Gods concern for the Jewish people and their disregard for all His efforts to get them to respond to His directions for their lives as His chosen people. They had known since God constituted them a nation at Sinai that they were invited to the heavenly banquet.

he sent forth his servant.This seems to be a reference to the ministry of Jesus, a last effort to get the nation of Israel to respond to God.

And they all with one consent began to make excuse.They that were his own received him not (Joh. 1:11) is Johns way of saying that the Jews in generalnot just the Phariseeshad rejected the appeal of Jesus. On another occasion Jesus told the parable of The Wedding of the Kings Son (Mat. 22:1-14). It teaches the same general lesson about the rejected invitation.

The Jews were Gods chosen people, but, by the time Jesus came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, they had assumed an attitude of utter indifference to God that exactly fits the description of the excuse-makers of this parable. Their excuses were insulting to the one who had invited them and wholly without justification. They were not the kind to buy a piece of land or a team of oxen without knowing something about them. The excuses were ridiculous. The one who said he couldnt come because he had just married a wife was disregarding the Law of Moses (Deu. 24:5). During the first year of marriage a man was excused from military duty so that he might have time for just such occasions as described in the parables.

While the Jews in general rejected Christ, the publicans and sinners did turn to Him for forgiveness and help. This is the second invitation which was extended by Jesus.

and yet there is room.There is room in the heavenly banquet for others than the outcasts of the ancient Jewish society. So a third invitation was sent to those that might be found by the roads that let away from the crowded cities. This may suggest that the poor had found shelter along the hedges that grew by the roadside. These were compelled to come in. Jesus is still emphasizing the fact that the invitation is extended to the humble.

The great commission is suggested by the third invitation. See Mar. 16:15-16; Mat. 28:18-20. This third invitation is not limited to Gentiles, for the gospel invitation includes Jews as well as Gentiles. Whosover will, may come.

Jesus told the Jews who failed to produce the fruit of the kingdom that the kingdom would be taken from them and given to another nation that would produce the fruits of it (Mat. 21:43). That nation is composed of believers in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles (Rom. 1:16-17; Gal. 3:28). The book of Romans proves that there is no distinction between Jews who are sinners and Gentiles who sin, for all sinners are objects of Gods mercy and are in need of His grace. All are to come on the basis of faith expressed in obedience, since that is all that any sinner can offer (Rom. 3:21-25; Rom. 1:5; Rom. 6:1-4; Rom. 12:1-2).

and constrain them to come in.By what means was the servant to constrain them to come in? Certainly not physical force. In all probability, the simple appeal of good food was enough to compel the hungry to come. But many are not hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Many are like the Rich Fool who was satisfied with material things and thought nothing of food for the soul.

Since the third invitation represents the gospel invitation, we may ask what force compels one to respond to it? The gospel is the power of God to save the believer. The force of the facts of the gospelthe evidence of the resurrection of Christ who died to save the lostis sufficient to compel the earnest enquirer to believe that Jesus is the Christ (Joh. 20:30-31). The gospel of Gods love is a motivating force sufficient to lead one to repentance (Rom. 2:4). But even this force cannot reach those callous hearts that are past feeling because of long indulgence in sinful practices (Eph. 4:17-20). The gospel message about the power of the blood of Christ to wash away sin is a compelling force to the weary sinner (Heb. 9:14-15; 1Pe. 1:19). The sinner that recognizes his need for a clean conscience will be compelled to come to the Lord for cleansing (Heb. 10:22; 1Pe. 3:21).

Sinners were drawn to Christ for they saw in Him the embodiment of the message He proclaimed. Nothing less will be effective in the efforts of His followers who seek to compel others to come to Him.

that my house may be filled.This is the answer to the question about few being saved.

none of those men that were bidden.Jesus again and again pointed out the fate of those who were rejecting Him. They will not taste of His supper; they will be on the outside watching those who come from the four corners of the earth to sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(15) Blessed is he that shall eat bread . . .The form of the exclamation was obviously determined by the words which our Lord had just spoken. It may have been a more or less familiar formula among devout Jews who expected the coming of the Christ. It may have embodied some recollections of the great discourse at Capernaum (Joh. 6:26-59). On the whole it seems more natural to see in it a burst of honest, unwonted enthusiasm, kindled by sympathy with what our Lord had said, than to regard it as spoken hypocritically, with a view to drawing from His lips some heretical utterance that might ensure His condemnation.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

15. One of them Hearing that at the resurrection of the just the feast of the bountiful host will be repaid, one of the guests present, expecting that he would enjoy that higher feast also, utters an ejaculation upon the blessedness of such a lot.

Eat bread The figure under which the Jew expressed the bliss of the Messiah’s glorious kingdom.

Kingdom of God By this the Jew meant a resurrection kingdom, when Messiah should come. Our Lord shows the ejaculator, that the feast of the true Messiah is the very feast which he and his fellow-guests are rejecting.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And when one of those who sat at meat with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will eat bread within the Kingly Rule of God.” ’

Someone present overheard what Jesus had said and piously and complacently declared, “Blessed is he who will eat bread within the Kingly Rule of God.” All present there hoped to do so and would have re-echoed his sentiment. All who heard it would nod agreement. They thought that even if no one else was there, they would be. But Jesus, Who was very much aware that not all of them would be there, issued a warning in the form of a parable.

The language that the man uses, which echoes the terms used by Jesus, suggests that the man had been listening to some of Jesus preaching, and was aligning himself at least with that aspect of it, while of course interpreting it in terms of Pharisaic thinking. He wanted the prophet to realise that there were at least some who sympathised with Him. To ‘eat bread’ was shorthand for enjoying a good meal.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Great Supper.

The invitation:

v. 15. And when one of them that sat at meat with Him heard these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

v. 16. Then said He unto him, A certain man made a great supper and bade many;

v. 17. and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

One of the guests at the feast of the Pharisee was deeply impressed by the words of Christ, and especially by His allusion to the happiness which would be the lot of those that would be included in the resurrection of the just. The consummation of such glory filled him with a deep and ardent longing for the blessings which might be expected up in heaven. His remark may have been due mainly to the enthusiasm of the moment, but it served to call forth a very beautiful parable from the Lord. Blessed is he that eats bread in the kingdom of God, in the time of the fulfillment of the Church of Christ in heaven, where all those that have been accounted righteous will eat of the eternal pleasures and drink of the water of life, world without end. Jesus, in answering upon this exclamation, addressed Himself primarily to the speaker, but also to all the rest that were gathered about the tables. A certain man, a man of means and influence, as the story shows, made a great feast, prepared a supper of unusual magnitude. Great this feast was, as well on account of the abundance of refreshing foods as on account of the fact that it was intended for many guests. In accordance with the elaborate plans of the host, many were invited; the first invitation went out to a great number of people. When the time of the feast had come, the master of the house sent out his own servant, trusted and faithful, to give the customary second reminder or repetition of the first invitation. It was an urgent call: Come, for now are ready all things! The guests were asked to come to the feast prepared for them, and at once, for everything was now in readiness for them.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Luk 14:15. Blessed is he that shall eat bread, &c. The phrase to eat bread, signifies making a meal, and this not only at a common table, but sometimes at a feast. See 2Sa 9:7; 2Sa 9:10; 2Sa 12:17; 2Sa 12:20. Pro 9:5. The Jews were accustomed to think of the felicity of good men in the life to come under the notion of a sumptuous entertainment; and therefore our Lord frequently accommodates himself to their habit of thinking. See Mat 8:11. Wherefore,when Jesus mentioned the resurrection of the just, one of the guests, ravished with the delightful prospect, cried out, “Blessed is he, who,being admitted into heaven,shall enjoy the conversation of the inhabitants of that glorious place; for these spiritual repasts must regale and invigorate his mind beyond expression!” Perhaps in this exclamation, the Pharisee meant both to congratulate the felicity of his countrymen, who looked upon themselves as the children or the kingdom; and to condole the lot of the heathen, who, as he imagined, were all to be excluded from heaven. Considered in this light, the subsequent parable appears with the greatest propriety and beauty, as the best reply to such an error, and the fittest method to correct and explode it.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Luk 14:15 . To the idea of the is very naturally linked in the case of this fellow-guest the thought of the future eating ( , future ) with the patriarchs of the nation (Mat 8:11 ; Luk 13:28 f.; Bertholdt, Christol . 39) in the (millennial) Messianic kingdom about to be set up. This transporting prospect, in which his mistaken security is manifested, compels his exclamation.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

2. The Parable of the Great Supper (Luk 14:15-24)

(Luk 14:16-24, Gospel for the 2d Sunday after Trinity)

15And when one of them that sat [reclined] at meat [at table] with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.16Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade [invited] many:17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden [invited], Come;for all things are now ready. 18And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and seeit: I pray thee have me excused. 19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen,and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20And another said, I havemarried a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. 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 hither the poor, and themaimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22And the servant said, Lord [or, Sir], it is doneas thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house maybe filled. 24For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden [invited] shall taste of my supper.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk 14:15. One of them that reclined at table with Him.Since, besides Jesus and His apostles, no poor had been invited, this was without doubt one of the rich friends of the Pharisaic host, whose remark gave the Saviour occasion for delivering the Parable of the Great Supper. The peculiar exclamation, and the exact connection of the following Parable with it, and with all that precedes, speak for the originality of the whole representation in the most decided manner. (Olshausen.) That the form of the exclamation in and of itself does not allow an inference of Pharisaical and carnal confidence in reference to future participation in the kingdom of God (Lange), must unquestionably be conceded. The exclamation is intelligible enough. . is, 2Sa 9:7-10, used of entertaining at a royal table. The various reading for is certainly spurious, see De Wette, ad loc., and is to be taken as Future. But the question is still difficult respecting the disposition in which, and the purpose for which, this remark was uttered on this occasion. If we had met this man in another circle, and if the Saviour had answered him in another way, we could then suppose that here the holy temper of Jesus had communicated itself to this guest, and, with Bengel, explain, Audiens eoque tactus. But in the way in which the remark appears in this connection, the exclamation seems to sound more pious than it really was, and not even to have an equal value with the enthusiasm of the Macarizing woman, Luk 11:27. We find therein a somewhat unlucky attempt, by an edifying turn, to make an end to a discourse which contained nothing flattering for the host, and might perhaps soon pass over to yet sharper rebuke of the guests. With worldly courteousness he seeks, therefore, to go to the help of the Pharisee who had invited him, and to draw off the threatening storm. The parable, however, shows that the Saviour did not by any means let Himself be brought off His course by an interjectional utterance; since He, in other words, answers him to this effect: What advantage can it be that thou, with all thy seeming enthusiasm, praisest the happiness of them that sit at table in the kingdom of God, if thou, and those like thee, although you are invited, yet actually refuse to come!

Luk 14:16. A certain man.Upon the distinction in connection of this parable with that of the Royal Wedding, see Lange on Mat 22:2-14. On the comparison it appears that the latter, which is portrayed in much stronger colors, belongs to a later period of the public life of the Saviour, when the opposition between Him and His enemies had declared itself yet much more strongly.

A great supper.The occasion for the representation of the kingdom of Heaven under this image, was given the Saviour spontaneously by the remark of His fellow-guest, and by the feast of the Pharisee. In other places also, e. g., Mat 8:11-12, He makes use of the same imagery. Great this may be named, as well on account of the abundance of the refreshing viands, as on account of its being intended to be celebrated by many. The first invitation here designated was that through the prophets of the Old Testament generally; while by the we can understand no others than the Jewish nation in general. Although the Saviour does not expressly add this, yet it results from the nature of the case that we have to understand this first preliminary invitation as unconditionally accepted by those invited.

Luk 14:17. And sent his servant. stands here by no means collectively for all the servants (Heubner), but has reference very definitely to one servant, the vocator (Grotius), who, according to Oriental usage, repeats the invitation so soon as the feast is prepared, not in order to inquire again whether the guests will come, but in order to make known to them when they should appear. The here-indicated time coincides with the fulness of time, Gal 4:4, while the servant can be no other than the Messiah, the of Isaiah. He makes known to Israel that the blessings of the kingdom of Heaven, from this instant on, are attainable for them, and that in such wise, that they have nothing else to do than to come, to take, and to eat.

Luk 14:18. , some supply , others, , , , . The first, doubtless, deserves the preference, although in any case what is meant is self-evident. The motives which they adduce are indeed different; but in this they all agree, that they take back again the word that they have given.Make excuse.Beg off, deprecari. Those invited acknowledge themselves the necessity of an excuse in some manner plausible, and thereby indirectly establish the fact that they were under obligation to appear.

Bought a piece of ground.Whoever finds it unreasonable that the yet unviewed field was already bought, need not hesitate to conceive the matter thus: that the purchase was not yet unconditionally concluded, and that at this very moment it depended on the viewing whether he should become definitive possessor of it.Must needs.In courteous-wise the invited guest will give the servant to understand that to his great sorrow it is entirely impossible for him to do otherwise. He begs that he may be held excused, that is, That he may stand to him in the relation of a person released from his promise.

Luk 14:19. Five yoke of oxen.To this invited guest, as to the first, earthly possession stands in the way of becoming a participant of the saving benefits of the kingdom of Heaven. We regard it as somewhat forced to view in this invited guest the love of dominion as intimated, typified in the swinging of the whip over his team of oxen. No, the first and second are so far in line with one another as this, that with both, earthly possession, as with the third sensual pleasure, becomes the stone of stumbling. But if there yet exists a distinction between the first and second, it is probably this, that the man with the field is yet seeking to acquire the earthly good, while the man with the oxen is thinking of still increasing that which is already gained. The first is the man of business,5 whose only concern is to bring what he has just bought into good order; the other is the independent man, who will see himself hindered by nobody; who says to one, Go, and he goeth, and to the other, Come, and he cometh, into whom something of the refractory nature of his oxen has passed over, and who has no mind to be incommoded by anybody. His tone is less urbane than that of the first; he does not beg permission to go, is not merely minded to do this, but is already at that moment actually going. I am going even now. So says he, already on the point to start, and has only just time to add: I beg thee, while he already desires to be with his oxen.

Luk 14:20. I have married a wife.The third excuse appears to be the most legitimate, on which account, therefore, it is delivered in the tone of self-confidence which does not even account an excuse as necessary. According to the Mosaic Law, Deu 24:5, the newly-married man was free for a year from military service, and it therefore appeared that it could not be demanded from this man that he should leave his young wife. If, however, one would believe on this ground that his excuse was valid, then holds good the cutting remark, than which nothing can be better: Very often do exegetical pedants weary themselves to make reasonable that which in the Gospels is designated as foolish. (Lange.) At all events the invitation to the feast had been already accepted before the celebration of the marriage, and so the marriage set him free, it is true, from the burden of military service, but not from the enjoyment of social intercourse. In case of need he might have brought his young wife also with him; and if she did not wish this, then here, also, the saying, Mat 10:37, held good. Very rightly says Stier: Of hindering by the state of marriage generally (I have married!) there is no mention, but of the first heated wedding delight, as the type of all carnal pleasure. No wonder that the vocator accuses to his Lord this self-excuser no less than the two others.

Luk 14:21. Into the streets and lanes.The second class of the invited must still be sought out within the city. From this appears, that we have here to understand Jews, not proselytes from among the heathen (Lisco). The Saviour has the publicans and sinners in His mind, comp. Luk 7:29; Mat 21:32, the poorest part of the nation, the same whom the Pharisee, Luk 14:12-14, should have invited to his festal board. From this it becomes at the same time evident that by the first invited, Luk 14:17, who begin to excuse themselves , not the people of Israel, but the representatives of the Theocracy, the Pharisees and scribes, the of John were spoken of, to whom, by Divine order, and of right, the invitation had been officially given, and who for their very office sake were under obligation to take due notice thereof. From these who were now invited in their place, no excuses, as from the first, were to be feared; the blind had no field to view, the lame could not go along behind his oxen, the maimed had no wife who would have hindered him from coming; only the feeling of poverty could have held them back; but this feeling also vanishes, since they must be in a friendly way led in by the servant.

Luk 14:22. Sir, it is done.We must agree with Meyer when he draws attention to the fact that the servant had by no means, according to the ordinary explanations, again gone subsequently to the second command, and now had again returned. No, the servant, rejected by the former invited guests, has, of himself, done what the lord here bids him, so that he can at once reply to this command: It is done, &c. Strikingly does this also apply to Jesus, who, before His return to the Father, has already fulfilled this counsel of God known to Him. According to this explanation the parable is then also the faithful reflection of the reality, and says in other words the same which Luk 7:29-30 expresses. Very delicate is the trait that not the lord the servant, but on the other hand the servant brings the lord to take note of the room yet remaining. So great was the feast that, although many had excused themselves, and not a few had been brought in, there was still abundant room for others. Even so in striking manner a strong impulse of delivering love for the salvation of publicans and sinners is brought to manifestation in the Go out quickly, which is omitted with the following command, Luk 14:23, because the labor of grace among the , &c., of Israel was limited to a very brief time; while on the other hand the vocation of the Gentiles was to extend itself over many centuries.

Luk 14:23. Into the highways and hedges.Here indeed the longers for salvation and the wretched among the heathen, are indicated; Mat 22:9; Eph 2:12. Spes mendicorum parietes. Bengel.

Compel them to come in.The use is well known which has been made of this expression, to justify the compulsion of heretics. There is scarcely however any need of remark that none other than the moral compulsion of love is justified. So did Jesus also compel His disciples to go into the ship, Mat 14:22; Mar 6:45, certainly not with physical force; Peter also compelled the Gentiles, Gal 2:14, to , exclusively by the power of his example. Not the way and method in which Saul was zealous for Judaism, but that in which Paul was zealous for Christianity, must be the type for the servant of God who will accomplish the compelle intrare in His spirit. The house must be filled, with such as are not dragged or carried in, but such as are by the power of love moved voluntarily to enter in.

Luk 14:24. For I say unto you.It is a question whether we have hereto understand the words of the lord of the servant (Bengel, Grotius, Olshausen, De Wette, Meyer), or whether we have before us the words of the Lord Jesus Himself (Kuinoel, Paulus, Stier, &c). For the first view this speaks, that Jesus in the parable is not represented as Lord, but as servant, Luk 14:17, and that the in His mouth sounds somewhat hard; but in favor of the other there are, the solemn tone of the assurance and the , since in the parable itself there is not found the slightest intimation of the presence of several servants, to whom this word could be addressed. We, for our part, choose the latter; and, far from regarding the form of the parable as having in the slightest degree lost anything by this transition from the image to that which it denotes, since the parable undoubtedly can without difficulty be regarded as concluded in Luk 14:23, this change of the speaker is to us a beauty the more. Suddenly, we might almost say involuntarily, the Saviour betrays His design, and expresses without concealment His self-consciousness, as it lay at the bottom of the parable. In view of the calling of the Gentiles, there opens before His spirit the noblest prospect; so much the more painfully, on the other hand, does Israels reprobacy touch Him, so that He suddenly lets fall the veil which hitherto concealed the truth in the words of the parable. Unfaithful ones, will He say, My supper it is whereto ye are invited; I, who invited you, was at the same time He in honor of whom it has been given; but ye will through your own folly receive no place thereat! It is as though the truth had become to the Saviour too mighty for Him to conceal it longer in figurative speech. Thus at the same time is the whole discourse at the table concluded in worthy-wise, with a self-testimony of Jesus; and in view of the slight echo which this must have found in a circle like this, it may not surprise us if we meet Him immediately after again on His journey.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The comparison of the Kingdom of God with a is very especially fitted to set forth the peculiar nature of this kingdom, on its most attractive side. It is a kingdom of the most perfect satisfaction, of the most blessed joy, of the most noble society. So much more unpardonable and senseless, therefore, the behavior of the first invited.

2. In a striking way there is depicted to us, in the image of the householder, the reciprocal relation which exists between the Divine wrath and the Divine love. The freer, more unrestricted and more urgent the invitation was, to so much the more vehement anger is the love from which it sprung moved; but this anger leads again to new and yet more intensified revelation of love, which at any price will see its glorious goal attained. He has therefore so made provision that He must have people that eat, drink, and are merry, though He should make them out of stones. Luther.

3. The representation of the Saviour as a servant who invites to the feast of the kingdom of Heaven, is at the same time, considered in the light of the Old Testament, one of the most beautiful testimonies of Jesus to Himself, comp. Pro 9:1-5; Isa 55:1-2.

4. The vocation to the Kingdom of God appears here as one meant in earnest; the anger of the householder would otherwise be incomprehensible: as an urgent one; no means must be left untried that the house may be filled: but for that reason, at the same time, as one, the inexcusable rejection of which prepares for the stubborn refusers unutterable misery. It remains a decretum irrevocabile, that such shall not taste of the Supper.

5. This parable contains an important instruction for all messengers of the Gospel. They have, with all the urgency of love, to invite, without excluding a single one who does not exclude himself. They have to prepare themselves for manifold opposition; but also in all to direct themselves after the commandment of their Lord. If they are repelled, they can with confidence complain of it to Him, and never are they to give themselves over to the thought that there is for any one no more room; and if they are only conscious that in the urgency of their love they avail themselves of no impure means, they have little occasion to fear going too far in this, comp. Luk 24:29; Act 16:5; 2Ti 4:2.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

To declare blessed and to be blessed are two very different things.One can scarcely utter a great truth, without himself being of the truth.Happy is he that eats bread in the Kingdom of God; he finds, 1. Full satisfaction; 2. joy; 3. society.The great feast in the kingdom of Heaven: 1. Hospitably prepared; 2. urgently offered; 3. unthankfully rejected; 4. now as ever standing open.Many are called but few are chosen.The course of the history of the Kingdom of God, 1. Before; 2. during; 3. after, the appearance of Jesus.Many that are first shall be last, and many that are last shall be first.The vocation to the Kingdom of Heaven: 1. A comprehensive; 2. an actual; 3. an urgent; 4. a strongly-binding, vocation.The sweet message of the New Covenant: 1. Already all things are prepared; 2. already all things are prepared; 3. all things are now prepared; 4. already all things are prepared for him that will only come.The art of excusing ones self: 1. An old art, Gen 3:7-13; Genesis 2. a universal art; 3. a good-for-nothing art.The excuses: 1. Their outward differences; 2. their inward agreement.The excuses: 1. Abundant in number; 2. nothing in value; 3. pernicious in results.The more or less courteous form, in which we withdraw ourselves from the fulfilment of our vocation, changes nothing whatever in the essence of the matter.I cannot, an euphemism for, To tell the truth, I will not.The anger of love, love in anger, comp. Rev 6:16.Yet there is room! This saying: 1. A judgment upon those who should have come but would not come; 2. an attractive voice for those who indeed long, but do not venture, to come; 3. a rousing voice for the servants never to give up their invitation, but rather to extend it as widely as possible.Yet there is room: 1. In the visible church; 2. in the invisible fellowship of the saints in the many mansions of the Father, Joh 14:2.The prerogative of the servant who can ever say: Lord, it is done as Thou hast commanded.The vengeance of the householder who sees his first invitation rejected: 1. The guests whom he calls; 2. the entertainment which he offers; 3. the number which he will see brought together.The mournful consequences of not accepting the joyful message: 1. One robs himself of the most glorious privilege; 2. draws on himself the anger of the Lord; 3. sees others go in his place.The command of the householder, the ground of all domestic and foreign missions.Whoever has once stubbornly shut himself out, remains shut out.Compelle intrare; use and abuse of this word, degree and limit of the constraint of love.

Starke:Hedinger:Wishing and commanding accomplish nothing in religion; doing and fulfilling is the will of God, Mat 7:21.Canstein:The vocation of God is so general, that as well the reprobate as the elect are included therein.Gods Supper has its fixed hour; at that hour must those invited come.Quesnel:Too much leisure and too much business are both dangerous to the attainment of salvation.The holy bond of marriage, which should be a help to salvation, is often a hindrance to the same.Servants of God and Jesus always go on in their office with God for a counsellor.What is despised, foolish, and vulgar before men, on that God confers the greatest honor.Nova Bibl. Tub.:From the apostasy of the Jews, life has come to the Gentiles, Romans 11.Canstein:God will finally in His turn despise those that have despised Him.

Heubner:The immeasurable love of God, and the scornful ingratitude of the world.The loss of the time of grace brings everlasting loss.Man has no one to accuse but himself, if he is not saved.The Divine call to salvation.The truth: God earnestly wills our salvation.Lisco:Love of the world a hindrance to salvation for many that are called to the kingdom of God.Arndt:Earthlymindedness: 1. As to its nature; 2. as to its relation to the kingdom of God; 3. as to its blindness; 4. as to its punishment.Zimmermann:Christianity, the religion of the poor, for: 1. It makes the poor rich; 2. the spiritually sick well; 3. the spiritually blind to see.Drseke:Yet there is room. This is a summons, a. to the poor that they take comfort; b. to the faithful that they gather themselves together; c. to the sinners, that they be converted; d. to the good, that they distinguish themselves (!!!); e. to the despised, that they rise up; f. for the late born, that they believe themselves not neglected.Ahlfeld:The Great Supper of the Lord: 1. Wherein it consists; 2. how the Lord invites thereto; 3. the excuses; 4. the bitter fruit of the excuses.Burk:The straightforward behavior of a faithful and honest servant of God, who invites to the kingdom of heaven.Fuchs:Come, for all things are ready! 1. The entertainment; 2. the entertainer; 3. the entertained.Petri:What should move us to come when God calls: 1. The greatness of His grace; 2. the earnestness of His invitation.Uhle:The cheerful and the stern side of Christianity.Krummacher:Why not to Christ? (Sabb. Glocke, V. 2.)

This Pericope is exceedingly well adapted also for preparation for the celebration of the Holy Communion, in particular,also for ordination and installation sermons of Ministers of the Gospel.Finally also for missionary occasions.

Footnotes:

[5][Dr. Van Oosterzee has added this English phrase to the German original; and as our language affords the best term for this character, it would seem that our race is most exposed to the temptation here described.C. C. S.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

Ver. 15. Blessed is he, &c. ] This man seems to have “tasted of the good word of God, and of the powers of the world to come,”Heb 6:5Heb 6:5 . Happy he, if he fed heartily thereon. This, saith Luther, is sancta crapula.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

15 24. ] Parable of the Great Supper . One of the guests takes this literally, and imagines the great feast to which the Jews looked forward to be meant. He spoke as a Jew , and probably with an idea that, as such, his admission to this feast was sure and certain . Our Lord answers him by the parable following, which shewed him that true as his assertion was, (and He does not deny it,) the blessedness would not be practically so generally acknowledged nor entered into.

The Parable, whatever analogy it may bear with that in Mat 22:1 ff., is wholly different from that in many essential points .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

15. ] is a well-known future, contracted from : see reff.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 14:15-24 . The great feast ( cf. Mat 22:1-14 ), very naturally introduced by the pious reflection of a guest whose religious sentiment had been touched by the allusion to the resurrection-felicity of the just. Like many other pious observations of the conventional type it did not amount to much, and was no guarantee of genuine godliness in the speaker. The parable expresses this truth in concrete form, setting forth that many care less for the Kingdom of God and its blessings than they seem to care, and teaching that these will be offered to those who do care indeed.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 14:15-24

15When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ 19Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ 20Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24’For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.'”

Luk 14:15 “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God” This was obviously a heartfelt outburst, but Jesusrecognizes in it the Jewish self-righteous attitude that expected to be blessed. This entire context involves the Jews’ expectation of God’s love (Israel’s chosenness, cf. Joh 8:31-59).

“eat bread in the kingdom of God” It is obvious that this was a Pharisee speaking because they expected a physical after-life (see Special Topic at Luk 5:17). The Messianic banquet is a very common metaphor in Scripture to describe personal, joyful fellowship with God in heaven (cf. Luk 13:29; Psa 23:5; Isa 25:6-9; Mat 8:11-12; Mat 26:29; Rev 19:9). One must realize the social bond and intimate fellowship involved in eating together in the Mediterranean world.

Luk 14:16-24 This is a parallel to Mat 22:2-14, although the details differ (in Matthew it is a wedding feast).

Luk 14:17 It seems to have been the custom in Palestine of Jesus’ day for formal invitations to a banquet to be sent early, and on the day of the dinner (or feast) the servants were sent to tell the guests that all was ready (table set, food hot), to come now.

Luk 14:18 “‘But they all alike began to make excuses” The excuses were:

1. bought a piece of land

2. bought oxen

3. just got married

Although these things are not improper actions, they show an attitude of false priorities, lack of commitment, and a sense of personal rejection or belittling of the host.

Luk 14:21 These social meals were very expensive. Preparations were made based on those invited, who were expected to be there. There was also the loss of respect to the host who had graciously invited them.

The host’s first thought was to invite the needy of the community (cf. Luk 14:21). This list has OT Messianic implications. When this was still not enough, even the travelers and aliens who were passing by were invited (cf. Luk 14:23). This second category may be a way to refer to “Gentiles” (see Kenneth Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes, pp. 100-103).

Luk 14:23 Maybe this is an answer to the question of how many will be saved in Luk 13:23. God’s house will be filled (i.e., Gentiles and foreigners will be invited and will rush to Jesus for salvation).

Luk 14:24 “none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner” This is a summary word by Jesus. It obviously refers to national Israel (cf. Luk 14:15; Romans 9-11). The Gentiles had been included; Israel had failed to fulfill her missionary mandate of Gen 12:3 (cf. Exo 19:5-6; Eph 2:11-13). Now the host (God) closes the door!!

Throughout her history Israel had rebelled against YHWH (cf. Acts 7); only a faith remnant was truly right with God. Salvation has always been an act of grace and mercy from God. However, God wanted a righteous, separate people to be witnesses of His character to a fallen world (cf. Eze 36:22). It is this desire for personal righteousness that confused Israel (and still confuses legalists). The righteousness was the result, the evidence of a personal faith relationship with God, not the basis of that relationship!

Oh, the tragedy in time and eternity of legalism and self-righteousness!

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

in. Greek. en. App-104.

the kingdom of God. See App-114.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

15-24.] Parable of the Great Supper. One of the guests takes this literally, and imagines the great feast to which the Jews looked forward to be meant. He spoke as a Jew, and probably with an idea that, as such, his admission to this feast was sure and certain. Our Lord answers him by the parable following, which shewed him that true as his assertion was, (and He does not deny it,) the blessedness would not be practically so generally acknowledged nor entered into.

The Parable, whatever analogy it may bear with that in Mat 22:1 ff., is wholly different from that in many essential points.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 14:15. , having heard) and having been touched thereby. [However one feels inclined to suspect, that something of a worldly character crept into His thoughts concerning the kingdom of GOD.-V. g.]-, blessed) Alluding to the , blessed, in Luk 14:14. Often this epithet includes in its signification the idea of something that is rare and uncommon. Comp. Luk 14:24. It is not enough to pronounce godly men blessed; but each must exert himself for his part to the best of his ability. Comp. the following verses: also ch. Luk 13:23-24.-) shall eat.-) Many read ; but the reading is better established, especially as there is joined to it the verb , which is more appropriate to , than : comp. Luk 14:1 [ ].[146] However at that time it seems to have been the , prandium, breakfast or luncheon, the early meal: see note on Luk 14:12. On that account it is worthy of the greater attention that in the parable set before them in Luk 14:16, it is a , cna, supper (our late dinner), which is specified.[147]

[146] All the oldest authorities have . None but inferior uncial MSS. .-E. and T.

[147] No doubt alluding to the coming marriage supper, at the end of the day of the present last dispensation; 1Co 10:11, at the end, Rev 19:9.-E. and T.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

the Slighted Invitation

Luk 14:15-24

In this parable the Master anticipated that the Jewish magistrates and leaders would repudiate His invitations, and that they would therefore be extended to the less likely masses to be found in the streets and lanes of the city, and to the Gentiles in the out-lying world. What a prevision is here of the suitableness of the gospel to all the world, and of the ultimate inclusion of all mankind under one roof, Joh 14:1-2.

The excuses were obviously trumped up and invalid. Men see fields before buying them; try oxen before purchase; and can take their wives where they go themselves, if they wish to do so. They who are acute enough for this world are often slow and careless about the next, though that is the only world which really matters.

If thou art poor, maimed, blind or lame, there is room for thee at Gods table; and for thee a great spoil shall be divided, Isa 33:23.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Chapter 10

The Great Supper

Our Lord Jesus is in the house of one of the chief Pharisees. He had performed a great miracle on the sabbath day, healing a man of the dropsy. The Pharisees and religious legalists, of course, were terribly offended by that act of mercy (Luk 14:1-6). Then, the Master gave out a parable declaring his method of grace and salvation (Luk 14:7-11). In Luk 14:12-14, he very pointedly applied the parable, speaking directly to the Pharisee who had invited him to dinner, exposing that mans hypocrisy. There was at least one man in the crowd who heard and understood what the Saviour was saying. When he heard the Saviours words, that man said to the Master, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God (Luk 14:15). It is in response to that mans assertion that our Lord spoke the parable recorded in Luk 14:16-24.[2] This is a parable full of instruction. May God the Holy Spirit now teach us its meaning and apply it to our hearts.

[2] Though there are clearly points of similarity between this and the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22, these are two distinct parables, spoken on two separate occasions.

A Great Supper

Then said he unto him to the man who had declared, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. A certain man made a great supper. This is not the Lords Supper, which had not yet been established. And this is not the marriage supper of the Lamb, which will take place at the end of time. This great supper is the gospel feast of the boundless grace of God set before poor, needy, hungry sinners in the preaching of the gospel.

It is called a supper, because it is made in the end of the world, in the last days. It is called a great supper, because he who made the supper is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. It is a great supper, a feast of fat things, of wine upon lees well refined. This great, gospel feast is a supper provided by the great God, spread at great cost (the precious blood of Christ), a supper with great provisions of mercy, love, and grace, a supper for great sinners with great needs, a supper for a great multitude, and a supper that is to last a great time, until the end of time.

And bade many. Certainly, the reference here is to the Jews, the many physical descendants of Abraham, to whom alone God sent the gospel throughout the Old Testament. By the law and the Prophets, by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus himself, and by the Apostles, the people of Israel were bidden to the supper and refused to come, refused to believe God. But we dare not limit the parables message to the Jews. This word from God our Saviour is to be applied to all who are privileged to hear the gospel of the grace of God. The King of Heaven has made a great supper and bids you and me come to the supper.

The Servant

And sent his servant at supper time. The servant here may refer to John the Baptist, or to the Lord Jesus, to the Apostles of Christ, or to the Spirit of God[3]. Certainly, the servant is representative of every servant of God who is sent forth to preach the gospel of the grace of God to perishing sinners. To say to them that were bidden, come. Gospel preachers are Gods servants, sent forth into the world to call sinners to the table of grace, to call sinners to Christ.

[3] A. W. Pink wrote, In Luk 14:16 we read, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. By comparing carefully what follows here with Mat 22:2-10 several important distinctions will be observed. We take it that these passages are two independent accounts of the same parable, differing in detail according to the distinctive purpose and design of the Holy Spirit in each Gospel. Matthews account in harmony with the Spirits presentation there of Christ as the Son of David, the King of the Jews says, A certain king made a marriage for his son. Lukes account where the Spirit presents Christ as the Son of man says, A certain man made a great supper and bade many. Mat 22:3 says, And sent forth his servants; Luk 14:17 says, And sent his servant. Now what we wish particularly to call attention to is, that all through Matthews account it is servants, whereas in Luke it is always servant. The class of readers for whom we are writing are those that believe unreservedly, in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, and such will readily acknowledge that there must be some reason for this change from the plural number in Matthew to the singular one in Luke. We believe the reason is a weighty one and that attention to this variation reveals an important truth. We believe that the servants in Matthew, speaking generally, are all who go forth preaching the Gospel, but that the Servant in Luke 14 is the Holy Spirit himself. This is not incongruous, or derogatory to the Holy Spirit, for God the Son, in the days of his earthly ministry, was the Servant of Jehovah (Isa 42:1). It will be observed that in Matthew 22 the servants are sent forth to do three things: first, to call to the wedding (Luk 14:3); second, to tell those which are bidden … all things are ready; come unto the marriage (Luk 14:4); third, to bid to the marriage (Luk 14:9); and these three are the things which those who minister the Gospel today are now doing. In Luke 14 the Servant is also sent forth to do three things: first, he is to say to them that were bidden, Come: for all things are now ready (Luk 14:17); second, he is to bring in the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind (Luk 14:21); third, he is to compel them to come in (Luk 14:25), and the last two of these the Holy Spirit alone can do!

In the above scripture we see that the Servant, the Holy Spirit, compels certain ones to come into the supper and herein is seen his sovereignty, his omnipotency, his divine sufficiency. The clear implication from this word compel is, that those whom the Holy Spirit does bring in are not willing of themselves to come.

All Gods servants proclaim a feast of Gods providing for all things are now ready. For all who come to the feast, for all who trust him, there is in the Lord Jesus Christ a righteousness ready to wear, pardon freely bestowed, a redemption fully accomplished, and a full and perfect everlasting salvation. There is in Christ a sonship for sinners in union with him. But this is one wedding feast at which no gifts are accepted. Everything is freely provided!

Excuses for Unbelief

And they all with one consent began to make excuse. Unbelievable as it may appear, all who are called to Christ make excuses not to come. And all who are called make the same excuses. All who are called of God by the gospel to life and salvation in Christ, all who are called to believe on the Son of God, all who are bidden to follow Christ, have (in their own minds) completely reasonable excuses for disobedience. Rather than praying to God for mercy, they say, I pray thee have me excused!

The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it. What fool would buy a piece of ground, and then go see it? He bought a piece of ground from a man without seeing it. What confidence he must have had in that man. But he has no confidence in God! The second was worse. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. He bought five yoke of oxen without knowing whether they could bear a yoke or pull a cart, taking a mans word for it. Men will do that; but none will believe God! The excuse made by the third man is the worst of the three. I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Had he said, I will not come, he would at least have told the truth.

It is not only mans impotence that keeps him from Christ, but also his will. He has no will to trust the Son of God. It is true that no man can come to Christ, except as God gives him grace to come (Joh 6:44). Yet, none will come (Joh 5:40). That is a matter of personal, deliberate choice and responsibility for which all will be held accountable in the Day of Judgment (Pro 1:23-33).

He who has married a wife is doubly responsible to come to the feast. He is responsible for himself and his wife. If his wife will not come, he is a fool to let her keep him away. They that have wives must be as though they had none. We must not allow carnal unions, sentiments, and affections to keep us from following Christ. Adam paid a very high price for hearkening to the voice of his wife. Our Lord requires that we forsake husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, as well as houses and lands, if we would be his disciples.

The Servants Report

So that servant came and showed his Lord these things. Gospel preachers watch over the souls of men as those who give account (Heb 13:7; Heb 13:17).

Then the master of the house being angry. Multitudes think it is a light thing to trample the blood of Christ under their feet, but that will not always be the case. God Almighty will soon make all men see how offensive unbelief is to him (Pro 1:23-33; Pro 29:1).

And said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city; and bring in hither the poor. We preach the gospel to the poor, those who have no bread for their souls, those who have no righteous garments, but only filthy rags, those who have no money to buy, no means to pay their debt. That is to say, the gospel of Gods free grace in Christ is good news to those who are poor in spirit.

And the maimed. Grace is for the needy, poor, impotent, helpless sinners, without strength, without hope, without life, without help. And the halt. Christ saves the lost, those who are halting because they do not know where to go for grace and mercy and help, and do not know the way. Sinners are not only poor, lost, and ignorant, but cripple too, being maimed by a terrible fall. And the blind. Yes, the Lord God bids us go out and call poor, maimed, halt, blind sinners to the feast of grace, the blind who cannot see, the halt who cannot come, and the poor who have nothing to bring!

Plenty Of Room

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded; and yet there is room. There is plenty of room in the house of grace and plenty of bread for hungry sinners. In Revelation 4 John saw twenty-four seats around the throne of God. Each of these seats were filled with the twenty-four elders sitting before the throne. They were all clothed with white garments, and they all wore crowns of pure gold on their heads. The twenty-four elders represent the whole church of God. As the twelve patriarchs represent the whole church of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles represent the whole church of the New testament, these twenty-four elders represent all of Gods elect, the whole church of God, the Israel of God (Rev 21:12-14). I call your attention to this because it must be clearly understood that every seat around the throne is filled. Not one of Gods elect will be missing in that great day when Christ presents his redeemed ones in glory. Every chosen sinner, every soul for whom Christ shed his blood at Calvary, every sinner called by the efficacious, irresistible grace and power of God the Holy Spirit will be seated before the Triune Jehovah in eternal glory.

Having said that as plainly as I know how, it must be understood and declared by all who preach the gospel that there is plenty of room at the table of grace for any and all who come to Christ. Whosoever will, let him come!

Compel Them

Still, we are aware that none to whom we preach the gospel will come to Christ until compelled by the irresistible grace of God the Holy Spirit in effectual calling. We read in Luk 14:23 And the Lord said unto the servant go out into the highways and hedges: and compel them to come in. None but God the Spirit can effectually compel lost sinners to come to the Saviour. Yet, this command in this parable must be applied to gospel preachers, too. Yes, we are to compel, persuade, and force sinners by the persuasive preaching of the gospel to come to Christ (2Co 4:18 to 2Co 6:2).

This shows us, as John Gill rightly observed, the nature of the gospel ministry, which is to persuade Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem; and the power that attends it by the Divine Spirit; the case and condition of souls, who are generally bashful and backward, judging themselves unworthy; as also the earnest desire, and great liberality of Christ, the Master of the feast.

That my house may be filled. And filled it shall be! Gods house shall be filled with chosen, redeemed sinners, as a sheepfold filled with a flock of sheep. And each one shall be filled with grace and glory. And so all Israel shall be saved.

For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper. There is an infinite, boundless provision of grace in Christ for all who want it (Isa 55:1; Mat 11:28-30; Joh 6:37; Joh 7:37). Christ is the Bread on the table. All who are hungry are welcome to eat. Christ is the Water of Life. All who are thirsty are welcome to drink. If you perish in your sins, if you go to hell, if you will not come to the bounteous feast of grace, you will have no one to blame but yourself. Then your lands and oxen and relations will be fuel for the fires of your everlasting torment. May God the Holy Spirit sweetly force you to come to the Lord Jesus!

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

kingdom

See note, (See Scofield “Mat 6:33”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Blessed: Luk 12:37, Luk 13:29, Luk 22:30, Mat 8:11, Mat 25:10, Joh 6:27-59; Rev 19:9

Reciprocal: Exo 18:12 – eat bread 2Sa 9:10 – shall eat bread Mat 22:3 – sent Luk 6:20 – for Luk 13:28 – the kingdom Luk 22:16 – until Rom 14:17 – kingdom Rev 20:6 – Blessed

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

EATING BREAD IN THE KINGDOM

Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.

Luk 14:15

That was the chance remark of a bystander who had heard our Lord speaking of the reward that belongs to the resurrection of the just.

The resurrection of the just! The glory that belongs to the risen life, worth possessing, worth struggling after! Yes, blessed is he that shall taste of that heavenly bread, that shall enjoy that holy fellowship! It is all that we mean by heaven, all that we dare to look forward to when the pilgrimage is over, something far exceeding hope or thought. Yes, fortunate is the man that reaches that place of heavenly bliss!

It is in reply to that natural exclamation that our Lord tells the storythe parable of the Great Supper. The story might be called The acceptance and rejection of an invitation, and in it we notice three facts of importance

(1) The joy and happiness that belong to the heavenly state.

(2) Why so many are indifferent to it.

(3) Why others accept it.

Rev. Canon Walpole.

Illustration

The future belongs to the strenuous, the wrestlers, the watchers, not to the idlers, and those who take no trouble. But though so many are too tired and distracted with the interests of their business or pleasures to give any heed to the invitation to that best of blessings, the Great Supper, there are others who make every effort to get there; the maimed and lame, who can only walk with difficulty; the blind, who require to be led; the poor, who have nothing but shabby clothes to go inthese all clamour to be taken in. It is far more difficult for them in some ways to get there, but their great needs have made them sure that God meant to satisfy them. They have had too little of the prosaic realities of life to be killed by them. Their sufferings have only sharpened their imagination. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of God.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

5

Jesus had just spoken of the future reward for one giving a dinner to the poor. This fellow guest thought it was to be in the form of another meal in the kingdom of God, meaning a spiritual feast in heaven. With such an idea in view, he pronounced a blessing on whomsoever would have that privilege.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

THE verses before us contain one of our Lord’s most instructive parables. It was spoken in consequence of a remark made by one who was sitting at meat with Him in a Pharisee’s house. “Blessed,” said this man, “is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”-The object of this remark we are left to conjecture. It is far from unlikely that he who made it was one of that class of people who wish to go to heaven, and like to hear good things talked of, but never get any further. Our Lord takes occasion to remind him and all the company, by means of the parable of the great supper, that men may have the kingdom of God offered to them, and yet may wilfully neglect it, and be lost forever.

We are taught, firstly, in this parable, that God has made a great provision for the salvation of men’s souls. This is the meaning of the words, “a certain man made a great supper, and bade many.” This is the Gospel.

The Gospel contains a full supply of everything that sinners need in order to be saved. We are all naturally starving, empty, helpless, and ready to perish. Forgiveness of all sin, and peace with God,-justification of the person, and sanctification of the heart,-grace by the way and glory in the end,-are the gracious provision which God has prepared for the wants of our souls. There is nothing that sin-laden hearts can wish, or weary consciences require, which is not spread before men in rich abundance in Christ. Christ, in one word, is the sum and substance of the “great supper.” “I am the bread of life,” He declares,-“he that cometh unto me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”-“My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”-“He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life.” (Joh 6:35, Joh 6:55-56.)

We are taught, secondly, in this parable, that the offers and invitations of the Gospel are most broad and liberal. We read that he who made the supper “sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come: for all things are now ready.”

There is nothing wanting on God’s part for the salvation of man. If man is not saved, the fault is not on God’s side. The Father is ready to receive all who come to Him by Christ. The Son is ready to cleanse all from their sins who apply to Him by faith. The Spirit is ready to come to all who ask for Him. There is an infinite willingness in God to save man, if man is only willing to be saved.

There is the fullest warrant for sinners to draw near to God by Christ. The word “Come,” is addressed to all without exception.-Are men laboring and heavy-laden? “Come unto me,” says Jesus, “and I will give you rest.” (Mat 11:28.)-Are men thirsting? “If any man thirst,” says Jesus, “let him come unto me and drink.” (Joh 7:37.)-Are men poor and hungry? “Come,” says Jesus, “buy wine and milk without money and without price.”-(Isa 55:1.) No man shall ever be able to say that he had no encouragement to seek salvation. That word of the Lord shall silence every objector,-“Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” (Joh 6:37.)

We are taught, thirdly, in this parable, that many who receive Gospel invitations refuse to accept them. We read that when the servant announced that all things were ready, those who were invited “all with one consent began to make excuse.” One had one trivial excuse, and another had another. In one point only all were agreed. They would not come.

We have in this part of the parable a vivid picture of the reception which the Gospel is continually meeting with wherever it is proclaimed. Thousands are continually doing what the parable describes. They are invited to come to Christ, and they will not come.-It is not ignorance of religion that ruins most men’s souls. It is want of will to use knowledge, or love of this present world.-It is not open profligacy that fills hell. It is excessive attention to things which in themselves are lawful.-It is not avowed dislike to the Gospel which is so much to be feared. It is that procrastinating, excuse-making spirit, which is always ready with a reason why Christ cannot be served to-day.-Let the words of our Lord on this subject sink down into our hearts. Infidelity and immorality, no doubt, slay their thousands. But decent, plausible, smooth-spoken excuses slay their tens of thousands. No excuse can justify a man in refusing God’s invitation, and not coming to Christ.

We are taught, lastly, in this parable, that God earnestly desires the salvation of souls, and would have all means used to procure acceptance for His Gospel. We read that when those who were first invited to the supper refused the invitation, “the master of the house said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” We read that when this was done, and there was yet room, “the lord said unto his servant, Go out into the high ways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

The meaning of these words can admit of little dispute. They surely justify us in asserting the exceeding love and compassion of God towards sinners. His long-suffering is inexhaustible. If some will not receive the truth, He will have others invited in their stead. His pity for the lost is no feigned and imaginary thing. He is infinitely willing to save souls.-Above all, the words justify every preacher and teacher of the Gospel in employing all possible means to awaken sinners, and turn them from their sins. If they will not come to us in public, we must visit them in private. If they will not attend our preaching in the congregation, we must be ready to preach from house to house.

We must even not be ashamed to use a gentle violence. We must be instant in season, out of season. (2Ti 4:2.) We must deal with many an unconverted man, as one half-asleep, half out of his mind, and not fully conscious of the state he is in. We must press the Gospel on his notice again and again. We must cry aloud and spare not. We must deal with him as we would with a man about to commit suicide. We must try to snatch him as a brand from the burning. We must say, “I cannot,-I will not,-I dare not let you go on ruining your own soul.” The men of the world may not understand such earnest dealing. They may sneer at all zeal and fervor in religion as fanaticism. But the “man of God,” who desires to do the work of an evangelist, will heed little what the world says. He will remember the words of our parable. He will “compel men to come in.”

Let us leave this parable with serious self-inquiry. It ought to speak to us in the present day. To us this invitation of the Gospel is addressed as well as to the Jews. To us the Lord is saying constantly, “Come unto the supper,-Come unto me.”-Have we accepted His invitation? Or are we practically saying, “I cannot come.” If we die without having come to Christ, we had better never have been born.

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Notes-

v15.-[Blessed is he that shall eat bread, &c.] The motive of this remark, and the real character of him who made it, we are left to conjecture.

Gill thinks it likely that the man was a Jew, who was imbued with the gross notions which were commonly held about feasting and banqueting in the kingdom of Messiah. He shows, from Rabbinical writers, that “the Jews suppose, that God will then make a splendid feast, in which, beside bread, which they call the bread of the kingdom, there will be great variety of flesh, fish, and fowl, plenty of generous wine, and all sorts of delicious fruit. Particularly they speak of a great ox, which they suppose to be the Behemoth in Job, which will then be prepared;-and of Leviathan, and his mate, which will there be dressed;-and of a large fowl, called Ziz, of mountain bigness;-and of old wine, kept from the creation of the world;-and of fruits of the garden of Eden, which will then be served up.” I have given this quotation at length, as an instructive instance of the rubbish contained in Rabbinical writers.

I am myself unable to see, what some think, that this man was a believer, or even a pious-minded person. To me his remark appears nothing better than the indolent, vague wish of a man who thinks it proper to say something religious when religion is spoken of in his company. This is well worked out by Stier. The whole tone of the parable which the remark called forth, appears to me irreconcilable with the idea that the remark was to be praised.

v16.-[A certain man made a great supper.] There is a great similarity between this parable and the one reported by Matthew. (Mat 22:2.) Yet it is clear that the two parables are distinct, and were spoken on different occasions.

The primary object of the parable, no doubt, is to show the wickedness and unbelief of the Jews, and the calling of the Gentiles in their stead. The Jews had the first offer of Christ. When they rejected it, they were cut off, and the offer was made to the Gentiles Yet the parable is evidently meant to apply to the history of the Gospel offer, and the reception it meets with, in every age of the Church.

v17.-[All things are now ready…Supper time.] These expressions denote the completion of the whole work of redemption, which was announced to the Jews and Gentiles, after Christ rose again. Then, and not till then, could it be said literally, “all things are ready.”

v18.-[Began to make excuse, &c.] The various excuses which those who were invited made, are types of the various worldly reasons with which men excuse themselves from closing with the offer of Christ’s Gospel. Let it be noted, that all the things mentioned were in themselves innocent and lawful.

[Bought…and I must needs go and see.] Stella sees in this expression an intentional illustration of the folly of worldly men. They are spending their time, and thoughts, and strength on things of which they do not know the real worth. If the man had been wise, he says “he would first have seen the land, and afterwards bought it.”

v20.-[I have married a wife, &c.] The Roman Catholic writers do not fail to draw from this expression arguments in favour of the unmarried estate. Yet they can make nothing of it. By parity of reasoning, we might prove that buying oxen, or land, is more sinful than hoarding up money and not spending it. They overlook the beautiful point of this part of the parable, which is this. It is not so much the open breach of God’s law, as an excessive attention to lawful and innocent things which ruins many men’s souls. Few truths are so completely overlooked.

v21.-[Showed his Lord.] This seems to teach the duty of a minister. He must report to his Master in heaven, what success he meets with.

[Being angry.] It is evident that this expression must not be strained into a proof that God is liable to the passion of anger, as the giver of a feast, whose feast is despised. Yet the words are meant to teach us that unbelief and rejection of the Gospel are very provoking to God. And there is a sense, we must never forget, in which “God is angry with the wicked every day.”

[The poor…maimed…halt…blind.] These words describe Primarily the Gentiles, who were just in this miserable condition as compared to the Jews. Secondly, they describe all sinners to whom the Gospel is offered, who feel their sins, and acknowledge their own spiritual need and poverty.

v22.-[Yet there is room.] This expression seems to show that there is more willingness on God’s part to save sinners, than there is on the part of sinners to be saved, and more grace to be given, than there are hearts willing to receive it.

Bengel remarks, “neither nature nor grace can endure a vacuum, or empty space.”

v23.-[Compel them to come in.] This expression must be carefully interpreted. It does not sanction any literal compulsion, or force, in pressing the Gospel on men’s acceptance. Least of all does it sanction the least approach to intolerance or persecution of men because of their religious opinions.

Bishop Pearce says, “Compel them by arguments, not by force. The nature of the parable shows this plainly. It was a feast to which they were invited.”

The word translated “compel,” is only used nine times in the New Testament. In four of the places it is rendered “constrain.” Mat 14:22; Mar 6:45; Act 28:19; Gal 6:12. It is evident from these passages, that the word does not necessarily imply any employment of force and violence.

Alford’s idea that in the words “compel them to come in,” there is possibly “an allusion to infant-baptism,” appears to me exceedingly improbable.

v24.-[None…bidden…shall taste, &c.] This expression primarily applies to the Jews. Rejecting Christ’s Gospel they were cut off for a season, until it shall please God to graft them in again. (Rom 11:23.) Secondarily it illustrates a mournful truth about those who reject the Gospel among ourselves. They are sometimes let alone, and given over to a reprobate mind. To refuse truth brings down on man God’s heaviest displeasure. Our Lord’s words about Chorazin and Bethsaida should often be studied.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Luk 14:15. One of them, etc. The company this one was in and the parable which his remark called forth, oppose the view that he sympathized with our Lord. Some think it was merely an attempt at a diversion; since our Lords remarks were unpleasantly telling. It is more probable that the man, hearing of the resurrection of the just, at once thought of the great feast (the millennial feast) which the Jews expected would follow, and thus spoke with the common Jewish idea that his admission to that feast was a certainty.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

One of them that sat at meat with our Saviour in the Pharisee’s house, hearing Christ speak of being recompensed at the resurrection of the just, repeated that known saying among the Rabbins, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God: that is, who shall be partakers of the joys of heaven. Here upon Christ utters the parable of the marriage supper, recorded here by St. Luke, with small variation from that which was delivered by St. Matthew, Mat 22:1-14

The first intention of our Saviour in that parable seems to be this, to set forth that gracious offer of mercy and salvation which was made by the preaching of the gospel unto the Jews, and to declare God’s purpose of receiving the Gentiles into the fold of Christ, upon the Jews despising and rejecting that inestimable favor. But besides this, it has an aspect upon us Christans, who have embraced the doctrine of the gospel.

Here note, 1. That the gospel for its freeness and fullness, for its varieties and delicacies, is like a marriage supper:

1. It does create the same religion between Christ and believers, that marriage does between husband and wife.

2. It entitles to the same privileges that a conjugal relation does; to the same endearing love and tenderness, to the same care, protection, to the same honor, to the same happiness.

3. It obliges to the like duties, namely, unspotted love and fidelity, cheerful obedience to his commands, reverence to his person, submission to his authority.

4. It produces the same effects; as the effect of marriage is increase of children, so the fruit of the gospel is bringing many sons to God.

Note, 2. That gospel invitations are mightily disesteemed; they made light of the invitation, and offered frivolous excuses for their refusal of it.

Note, 3. That the preference which the world has in men’s esteem, is a great cause of the gospel contempt; one had purchased a piece of ground, another had bought five yoke of oxen.

Note, 4. The deplorable sadness of their condition who refuse, upon any pretence whatever, to comply with the gospel tender of reconciliation and mercy: The king was wroth, pronounced them unworthy of his favor, and resolved they should not taste of his supper; but sends forth his servants to invite others to his supper.

Note, 5. The notion under which the Gentiles are set forth unto us, such as were in lanes, streets, and highways; that is, a rude, rustic, and barbarous people; whom the Jews despised, yea, whom they held accursed; yet even these are called accepted, while the Jews, the first intended guests, are excluded by means of their own contempt.

Note, lastly, the means used to bring in the Gentiles to the gospel supper: Go and compel them to come in; not by violence, but persuasion; by argumentation, not compulsion: the plain and persuasive, the powerful and efficacious preaching of the word, with the motions and influences of the Holy Spirit, are the compulsions here intended: not external force, not temporal punishment, nor outward violence. “No man ought by force and violence to be compelled to the profession of the true faith,” says Tertullian.

Observe here, how vainly these words are brought to prove, that men may be compelled by the secular arm to embrace the Christian faith.

This appears,

1. From the nature of a banquet, to which none are compelled by force, but by persuasion only.

2. From the scope of the parable, which respects the calling of the Gentiles, who believed by the great power of God.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Luk 14:15. When one of them that sat at meat heard these things, being touched therewith, he said, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God Blessed is the man who shall live in the time of the Messiah, and share the entertainments he will prepare for his people, when these virtues of humility, condescension, and charity shall flourish in all their glory. To eat bread, is a well-known Hebrew phrase for sharing in a repast, whether it be at a common meal or at a sumptuous feast. The word bread is not understood as suggesting either the scantiness or the meanness of the fare. The kingdom of God, here, does not signify the kingdom of heaven in the highest sense, but only the kingdom of the Messiah, of which the carnal Jew here speaks, according to the received sense of his nation, as of a glorious temporal kingdom, in which the Jews should lord it over the Gentile world, enjoy their wealth and be provided with all temporal blessings and delights, in which they placed their happiness. Whitby. Thus also Dr. Campbell, who assigns the following reasons for understanding the expression in the same light: 1st, This way of speaking of the happiness of the Messiahs administration suits entirely the hopes and wishes which seem to have been long entertained by the nation concerning it. 2d, The parable which, in answer to the remark, was spoken by our Lord, is on all hands understood to represent the Christian dispensation. 3d, The obvious intention of that parable is, to suggest the prejudices which, from notions of secular felicity and grandeur, the nation in general entertained on that subject; in consequence of which prejudices, what in prospect they fancied so blessed a period, would, when present, be exceedingly neglected and despised; and, in this view, nothing could be more apposite, whereas there appears no appositeness in the parable on the other interpretation; that is, on understanding the kingdom of God, in the preceding remark, as signifying the kingdom of future glory.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

4 th. Luk 14:15-24.

The conversation which follows belongs to a later time in the feast. Jesus had been depicting the just seated at the Messiah’s banquet, and receiving a superabundant equivalent for the least works of love which they have performed here below. This saying awakes in the heart of one of the guests a sweet anticipation of heavenly joys; or perhaps he seizes it as an occasion for laying a snare for Jesus, and leading Him to utter some heresy on the subject. The severe tendency of the following parable might favour this second interpretation. In any case, the enumeration of Luk 14:21 (comp. Luk 14:13) proves the close connection between those two parts of the conversation.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

THE MARRIAGE SUPPER

Luk 14:15-24. And a certain one of those sitting along with Him, hearing these things, said to Him, Happy is every one who eats bread in the kingdom of God! Jesus and His disciples preached the kingdom of God all the time, in contradistinction to the law and the prophets of the old dispensation. While the precepts of the latter were extensively formal, ritualistic, and symbolic, the doctrines of the former were purely spiritual, appertaining to experimental salvation and practical godliness. This man at the table who thus responded to Jesus was evidently wrought upon by the Holy Spirit, and favorably disposed with reference to the preaching of Jesus, having come to the conclusion that it is very nice and desirable to enjoy a place in the kingdom of God.

And He said to him, A certain man made a great supper, and called many. This is the gospel call given to all, from Abel down to the latest posterity, whether by the written Word or the Holy Ghost, who is practically the incarnate Word, being the Spirit of Jesus. And he sent his servant at the hour of the feast to say to those who had been called, Come, because all things are now ready. This refers to the epoch of our Saviors coming into the world, when He sent John the Baptist to invite the people, who had been called by all the prophets of all ages, to come at once to the supper. O what a pity that the high priests and Pharisees did not lead the way! In that case all Israel would have followed, as a flock of sheep will follow their leaders. Hence the awful responsibility they incurred by rejecting the Savior. The prophets, patriarchs, martyrs, and saints, under the leadership of the Holy Ghost, in the good providence of God, had labored four thousand years to get everything ready. A strange influence at that time had settled down upon all nations, impressing them that the Christ of Jewish prophecy was at hand. The polytheistic idolatries had expended their forces, and were everywhere waning. The profound philosophy of Greece and Rome, the mythology of Egypt, and the deep, metaphysical lore of India, had all exhausted their resources, and signally failed to expound the important problems of mans origin and destination, and satisfy the longings of the immortal soul. The whole Gentile world was ripe for the Messianic advent. If the Jews had received their own Christ (as they certainly would have done if their preachers and ruling elders had led the way), turned evangelist under the Great Commission, and peregrinated the whole world, the nations would have fallen in line with paradoxical unanimity, inundated the world with the glory of God and actually have brought on the millennium in the early centuries of the Christian era.

They all, from one accord, began to make excuses. The first said to him [i. e., John the Baptist], I have purchased a farm, and I have need, having gone out, to see it; I entreat thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I go to prove them; I entreat thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and on this account I am not able to go. This catalogue of excuses belongs primarily to the high priests and Pharisees, who led the way in the rejection of Jesus; but secondarily to all the people in the world, in all ages, who hear the gospel and decline its overtures of mercy and grace. They all have their excuses. Examine these three. Does a man go to see a farm after he has bought it or before? Does he not test the oxen before he makes the purchase? And as to the man who had married a wife, why not take her along to the wedding supper, a place to which young brides are very fond of going? The solution of this matter is plain and simple. The very inconsistency of these answers shows falsehood on the front, as well as preposterous nonsense. Now, while these three excuses are ostensibly destitute of truth and sense, yet they are as good as any sinner can make for rejecting the kingdom of God and staying with the devil, under the liability of dropping into hell every moment. These excuses are a fair sample of the very best which the most intelligent sinner can make for staying away from God and rejecting salvation.

And the servant coming, proclaimed these things to his lord. Then the landlord, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and lead hither the poor, maimed, blind, and halt. City here means Jerusalem, including all the cities of Israel and intervening territory. When the rulers rejected Christ, the proclamation was carried to the common people, and especially to the thousands of poor invalids which Jesus healed. O what a flood of converts to His ministry came by way of His physical philanthropy! In connection with the personal ministry of Jesus, the twelve apostles, the seventy evangelists, and many others whose names are in the book of life, and the three thousand converted in the morning of Pentecost and the five thousand in the afternoon, and the swelling tide of gospel grace and sanctifying fire which rolled in heavenly billows from the Pentecostal scene of Mount Zion in all directions, inundating the whole country, we find a wonderful influx into the kingdom, consisting almost exclusively of the poor and the unfortunate, as the leading clerk and popular rulers had already rejected Him, and actually put Him to death.

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as you commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said to the servant, Go out into the roads and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. This is the call of the Gentiles, when the apostles, pursuant to the Great Commission, divided up the whole world among them James the First, at an early day, being decapitated by Herod Agrippa in Jerusalem; James the Less suffering martyrdom in Jerusalem, at a later date, by precipitation from a pinnacle of the temple; Matthew, taking Ethiopia; Mark, Egypt; Matthias, Abyssinia; Thomas, India; Jude, Tartary; Andrew, Armenia; Philip, Syria; Paul, Asia Minor and Europe; Peter, Rome; John, Lydia; Simon Zelotes, the British Islands, all of these pushing the battle in their various fields, like cyclones of fire, till bloody death set them free, thus booming the whole world with a gospel earthquake, everywhere shaking down the time- honored temples of idolatry, and flooding the nations with heavenly light.

For I say unto you, that no one of these men who have been called shall taste of my supper. This is the death-knell of the high priests, Pharisees, and leading officials, who received the first invitation and obstinately rejected it, even imputing the miracles of Jesus to the devil, thus grieving away the Holy Spirit, crossing the dead-line, wrapped in the black delusions of diabolical intrigue, and sealing their doom in endless woe. Beware how you reject the offers of gospel grace, lest you fall into this black catalogue of irretrievable reprobacy! You see, in the above quotation, we are commanded to go out and compel them to come in. The persecutors who have murdered Gods saints by millions were always fond of quoting this, claiming that Jesus had sent them out to compel the heretics to come in, thus making it an apology for wholesale murder. It does not mean physical compulsion, as they construed it, from the simple fact that the gospel is not a physical transaction, but purely spiritual, simply involving the conclusion that we are to do everything in our power, by prayer, appeal, exhortation, argument, tears of sympathy, and deeds of mercy, to bring people to Jesus and get them saved. You also find in the above Scripture the statement, The Lord being angry. N.B. It is impossible for God to be angry in the human sense, as He has no evil tempers nor passions to arouse. The anger of God is simply holy indignation against everything wrong. In this sense, Paul says (Eph 5:26), Be ye angry, and sin not; i.e., indulge freely the holy indignation which the Holy Spirit has given you against all evil, compromising with no sin, in thought, word, or deed, nor anything whatever out of harmony with Gods sweet will.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

The parable of the great banquet 14:15-24

Jesus continued to use the meal in the Pharisee’s house to teach about the messianic banquet and the kingdom to come. He had taught the importance of humbling oneself to participate (Luk 14:7-11) and had justified that requirement (Luk 14:12-14). Now He invited His hearers to humble themselves so they could participate and warned those who rejected His invitation of their fate.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The fellow guest who voiced this comment appears to have understood that Jesus had been talking about the kingdom and not just about social propriety. Alternatively his or her comment may have been simply a pious reference to the kingdom, but this seems unlikely. The speaker seems to have assumed that he or she would be one of the blessed referred to. The speaker may have intended to correct Jesus’ implication that some of those present might not participate (Luk 14:13-14; cf. Luk 13:28-29). Jesus used the comment as an opportunity to clarify who would participate. A similar though obviously different parable occurs in Mat 22:1-14.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)