Luke 14:16-24
The Parable
“Then He said to him, ‘A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, “Come, for all things are now ready.” But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.” And another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.” Still another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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 here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.” And the servant said, “Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.” Then the master said to the servant, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.”’”
Lesson
There are two ways in which this parable may be applied, either to the Jews and the church.
The first is that the Jews were God’s people; He had given them the privilege of being his sons, and had entrusted them with the Old Testament. They knew his will, and the Christ came from them. But when Christ came, they rejected Him. With Israel being found unworthy, the kingdom is given to the church. The second application is to us in the church; we need to be prepared for our salvation, and not let the things of the world draw us away from the Lord.
The reasons which the men had for not coming to the feast on the surface may seem to be solid. The first two asked to be excused for reasons of business. But the parable is about coming to the feast, the marriage supper of the lamb, which is attended by those who prepared themselves for eternity. These men who asked to be excused, it indicates those who always let the cares of the world encroach and crowd out the Lord. They always have something more pressing to do, and so neglect to prepare their souls for eternity.
The last said he couldn’t come, for he had married a wife (the implication being, he had just married her, and so wanted to go on his honeymoon). Under the law, there were provisions for this, that he was exempted from battle for a year, Deut 20:7 and Deut 24:5, but again, this isn’t a one time thing, but a failure to prepare for eternity by letting earthly pleasures get in the way.
As to those who were compelled to come to the feast, they were not brought in against their will; it simply means that there is always room for more in the church, and that even if one rejects the gospel at first, keep trying with them.