Luke 14

16-17 To answer the man, Jesus told another parable. He told it in order to show the Jews that they were about to lose their places at God’s banquet (see Matthew 22:114 and comment).

A certain man … invited many guests. The man is God, and the guests are the Jews. God had first invited the Jews through the prophets of the Old Testament. Then He called them a final time. He sent His servant, Christ, to tell the Jews that the banquet was now ready to begin.

18-20 But all the invited guests said they could not come. They all gave different reasons. The reasons were true, not false. But they were not good reasons. In each case, the guests could have come if they had wanted to. But instead, they put other things before God’s invitation.

21-23 Therefore, since the Jews would not come to the banquet, since they would not listen to the final call of the servant, Christ, God invited the Gentiles in their place (see Matthew 21:43). He invited them “so that my house will be full” (verse 23). None are excluded from God’s banquet except those who refuse to come.

24 Then Jesus said to the Jews who were listening to the parable, “I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.” The banquet was Jesus’ banquet. It was in His honor. It was His wedding banquet (see Revelation 19:79 and comment). But the Jews had lost their chance to taste it.

The Jew who had first said, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God” (verse 15) was right. But he was at that very moment refusing the invitation. He was losing the chance to eat at that feast because he was rejecting Jesus.

Although Jesus first told this parable to the Jews at the Pharisee’s house, we must remember that this parable is written for us also. It is written for everyone, Jew or Gentile, who has been invited by Christ to His banquet. All who hear Christ’s words are invited. Christ is saying to us today: “Come to my banquet.” What is our answer? Are we also, like the Jews, putting other things first? If we are, we too will lose our chance to eat at the banquet. Friends, let us leave our worldly concerns. Let us leave our fields, our oxen, our wives (see Matthew 10:37; Mark 10:29-31 and comments). We can take care of them another day. Christ calls us now. What will our answer be?

No man can enter heaven unless God invites him. But man can refuse the invitation. No man can save himself; but man can condemn himself. Christ does not at first reject us; it is we who reject Christ. Jesus said, “… whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him (John 3:36).

As God sent Christ into the world to invite men and women to His banquet, so Christ sends us into the world to invite still others to His banquet (John 17:18). When was the last time we invited someone to Christ’s banquet?

(Matthew 5:13; 10:37; 16:24; Mark 8:34; 9:50)

25-26 See Matthew 10:37; John 12:25 and comments.

27 See Mark 8:34 and comment.

28-30 Jesus has invited us to His banquet. He has called us to follow Him. But He also gives us a warning. He reminds us that it is not easy to be a disciple. Many people quickly say to Jesus, “I will follow you,” but they don’t know what they are saying (see Matthew 8:19-20; Luke 9:57-58 and comment). They have not taken account of the difficulty and hardship of following Christ.

Jesus here gives two examples to show that we must first count the cost of being a disciple before jumping up to follow Jesus. The first example is of a man building a tower. Before he begins, he must make sure he can pay for it. Because if he begins the job, he must complete it. Otherwise, he will be ridiculed. In the same way, once we start following Jesus, there is no stopping; there is no turning back (see Matthew 8:21-22; Luke 9:61-62 and comment).

31-32 The second example is of a king about to go to war. Before he attacks, he must count his own soldiers and the enemy’s soldiers. If he doesn’t have enough soldiers to win the battle, he had better not attack!

So it is with Christ’s disciples. When we follow Christ, we are entering into battle against sin, against temptation, against Satan. Let us not go into battle with too few soldiers! Also, let us be ready to endure the hardships of battle; otherwise, we shall be defeated.

33 To be a disciple of Christ, we must not only count the cost; we must also pay it. We must be prepared happily to give everything up for Christ’s sake: wealth, comfort, family, even life itself. Otherwise, we cannot be Christ’s disciples (see Matthew 10:37; Mark 8:34; Luke 14:26-27).

34-35 See Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:50 and comments.