A Seat At the Table for Everyone
Luke 14 attempts to answer the question that all of the feasts in Scripture lead us towards: Who will be present at that great feast, the one in the coming kingdom where God and man are reunited together? Who will sit at that table?
-
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers[a] or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant[b] to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you,[c] none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
More Than a Meal
Scripture contains messages about the importance of God’s people eating and feasting together. The Old Testament is full of meals and feasts to remember God’s provision and love. When Scripture describes the coming kingdom where God and man are reunited, it is described as a feast and banquet. But, repeatedly, there is this idea that our meals are more than just eating and gathering. There is a spiritual significance where we realize that something had to die so that we could live.
It should be no surprise that Jesus is constantly seen eating and dining with people. In his book A Meal with Jesus, Tim Chester points out that meals are crucial to Jesus’ ministry. He shares that the New Testament completes the sentence, “The Son of Man came…” three times:
Not to be served, but to serve, and give his life a ransom (Mark 10:45)
To seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10)
Eating and drinking (Luke 7:34)
Chester points out that the first two are statements of purpose, explaining why Jesus came, and the third one is a statement of method, explaining how Jesus came. He then shows how, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses meals to communicate grace, community, and hope. Today, we will look at one of those meals specifically.
“He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:12-14
In this culture, as in ours, meals were highly important social gatherings. They were a place where shame and honor were assigned, part of organizing society. However, in Leviticus 21, we find that the Law prohibited those with disabilities from these forms of community. They were considered unclean and kept in a spot of dishonor, outside the city and away from feasts such as this.
“When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to Him, ‘Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’” Luke 14:15
This guy probably meant well- either changing the subject from the uncomfortable idea of inviting people, as Jesus mentioned in verse 12, to a banquet or expecting a generic positive affirmation like an “Amen!” back.
But Jesus has different plans, and He doesn’t respond to this man directly but through the teaching of a parable. So, let’s take a look at the first part:
“But He said to him, ‘A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’” Luke 14:16-20
Common to this period, one invitation announced the date far in advance, and then a secondary invite let them know the feast was ready. It’s still the same today: there’s the pre-arranged “We’re eating dinner at 5” that’s sent early, and then the “Come in here, it’s ready” that rings throughout the house.
But what we see is that those who were invited and presumably said they would be there are now distracted by their possessions and families. They made excuses about not being able to come. While none of their excuses are bad, they communicate that they have taken priority over this feast. They have let the joy that could be found from these other things overtake the joy of feasting at this banquet.
“So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” Luke 14:21-24
Angered by these rejections and the message communicated in their shame & honor culture, the master resends the servant. He goes first to the streets and lanes of the city for the poor, crippled, blind, and lame and then outside the city to the highways and hedges to ensure that the banquet table is full.
This parable concludes in verse 24, and as they are stories with purpose, we see the purpose here. Look how the language shifts back from the third person story to the second person you, addressing those at the table and, by extension, us.
He says, “I tell you, none of those that are too busy to come to the feast will taste it, even if they believe that they would.” But the flip side of that is also true: those that respond and come, even those that you wouldn’t expect or seem unworthy, will taste it.
Who Will Be At The Feast?
This parable attempts to answer the question that all of the feasts and meals in Scripture are leading us towards—who will be present at that great feast, the one in the coming kingdom where God and man are reunited and eat in peace, rest, and fulfillment? Who will sit at that table?
Jesus gives us a shocking answer. It isn’t those that assume that they will be there.
He’s saying that no one should take this invitation for granted based on being an Israelite, as the original audience would have understood it, or in our day, taking this invitation for granted based on making a decision at a young age or belonging to the right group, going to the proper church or school, even doing good religious things like charity. Those are the ones that miss it in this parable, treating an invitation to this meal as a box to check once and then spending their lives based on other things, like their own busyness, possessions, and families.
No, those present at this great feast will be those who receive the invitation, see how compelling it is, and respond in a way that completely reorders their lives around it. Their possessions, families, and work are no longer reasons to miss the banquet, but they must be stewarded well to ensure they do not.
Here’s the good news: This invite comes to everyone. It isn’t reserved for a specific ethnicity, nationality, social class, or gender. It isn’t reserved for those who are good, powerful, or successful. The seat at the table isn’t based on our merit, and it’s free…for us.
But it was not entirely free. On the cross, Jesus Christ, the great host of our banquet, provided the payment needed to cancel our sins and provide our seat at the table. His love for us made Him a dishonored outcast. He was killed as a criminal so that all who were outcasts would be welcomed in as honored families.
At that feast in eternity, we’re promised that every tribe, tongue, and language will be there. That men and women together will be there. That the poor, the outcast, and the lonely will be there. We’re invited too.
To all of us, sinners who feel weak and all of us struggling, weary, and exhausted. We all have a past that we think would make us unworthy of having a seat at the table, and we have counted on our goodness, efforts, and successes to try and earn a seat at the table. Hear the great truth from this parable: God has joyfully and graciously invited you to His table.
Because God invited us to His table, even in our unworthiness, we are freed to imitate Christ in this parable as we joyfully and graciously feast with others, even in our shared unworthiness, at our table.
How can we approach meals?
1) We feast joyfully.
In its simplicity, this is a parable about feasting and throwing a party. The food is prepared, the house is ready, the invitations are sent, and people are brought into this joyful feast. Yet, people miss it because they believe that they can find greater joy in the things of this world.
Meals are a place of joy throughout the gospels, whether in a parable like this one or the Parable of the Prodigal Son or the actual meals that Jesus ate, like that of Matthew the Tax Collector. They have spiritual significance because they reflect the reality of the gospel that we already have in Christ and a foretaste of the coming kingdom where God and man are reunited and eat in peace, rest, and fulfillment.
This is how Isaiah 25 describes that meal:
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isiah 25:6-9
Can you imagine the joy and gladness that will be at this meal? We will be reunited with each other and reunited with our savior; death will be swallowed up forever, tears will be wiped away, reproach will be taken away.
How can you bring joy to the tables you sit at? Perhaps you can outdo one another in showing honor by telling others what you are thankful for about them. Maybe it’s seeking out that area of conflict that appears each year, a stressful time for those cooking, a difficult family member, a chaotic plan, and entering into it with joyful service. Feast with this inward joy because you have been invited to God’s table.
2) We feast graciously.
We see this in the parable’s repeated invitations. After the first round is snubbed, we see the servant going into the streets and beyond, indicating that the invitation would extend past the city into non-Jewish participants. Invitations are given out not based on merit but on the host's gracious love.
How can you bring grace to the tables you sit at? Eating with your family, or even just with a certain person in your family, is a place to communicate the graciousness of the gospel. How can you ensure that no one who joins your table feels unworthy or unwelcome but instead feels loved and that they belong? I’m not saying that you have to approve of everything this person is doing or has done, and you may need to sidestep a conversation with a quick, “Well, I think we might disagree on this; why don’t we discuss something different?” But you can do these things in ways that can graciously communicate warmth. (READ: How to Love in Disagreements)
The idea that meals are gospel opportunities is something that Chester specifically opened my eyes to in Meal with Jesus. Meals are missional because they create natural opportunities to share the gospel's message amid the ordinary. Missions do not have to be extraordinary endeavors. It can begin with the hospitality needed to welcome others to your table, where we all come as equals in our shared hunger, where everyone can glimpse the beauty of the gospel.
Cross-culturally, hospitality over meals remains an incredible way to show honor. Perhaps your next step is to both receive and show this with internationals in your city who have been relocated through World Relief. At our tables, we can graciously ensure that no one is left alone and that those who feel unwelcome by society are welcomed into our world.
Feast with this outward grace because you have been invited to God’s table. God has joyfully and graciously invited you to His table. Our great host has prepared the meal and gotten the house ready. Even in all our unworthiness, we still receive an invite to this joyful feast.
Related Articles
Choosing a Grateful Heart by Bro. Chris Carter
How to Love Well Those You Disagree With by Rev. Jacky Gatliff
How Can I Help Others by Bro. Chris Carter
