Parable of the Great Banquet Meaning in Luke 14:15-24
Short answer
In Luke 14:15-24, a man prepares a great supper and invites many guests, but each one makes an excuse. The host sends his servant out to bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind, then people from the highways and hedges, until his house is full. Read as a whole, the parable describes an invitation that can be refused and a welcome that keeps widening.
Jesus tells the story in Luke 14:15-24 as an answer to a remark made at the meal: 'Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.' The story has a host, a supper, a servant sent out first at supper time and then again into the city and the roads, and a house that gets filled. It does not give instructions for accepting an invitation, and it does not say who is saved or lost.
The Short Answer in the Text
The parable teaches that an invitation can be refused and that the host keeps the invitation open. He prepares the meal and sends the call, and the first group he invited turns it down. He then widens the list until his house is full (Luke 14:21-23).
The text does not describe a test that the later guests must pass before they sit down. It says the host brings in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind, and then people from the highways and hedges. The invitation reaches people who were not first on the list.
The excuses are the reasons the first guests give. Each guest gives a reason, and each is presented as an ordinary matter. Verse 24 states the outcome in the host's words: none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
The Remark About Eating Bread (Luke 14:15)
The parable is a reply to a remark made at the meal. In Luke 14:15, one of the guests says, 'Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.' Jesus answers that remark with the story of a great supper.
The passage sits in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14. The story is told at a meal, and its main image is a host whose food is ready.
The Invitation Goes Out (Luke 14:16-17)
A certain man made a great supper and bade many. He sent his servant at supper time to tell those who had been invited, 'Come; for all things are now ready.'
The Three Excuses (Luke 14:18-20)
The text says that they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first says he has bought a piece of ground and must go and see it. The second has bought five yoke of oxen and goes to prove them. The third has married a wife and says he cannot come (Luke 14:18-20).
Each excuse is about something the guest has: land, animals, or a marriage. The text does not say what the men felt, and it does not call any of the three reasons wrong or wicked. Each one is presented as an ordinary matter that kept a guest from the supper.
Who Is Brought In (Luke 14:21-22)
When the servant reports the refusals, the master of the house is angry. He sends the servant out into the streets and lanes of the city to bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind.
The servant returns and says, 'Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.' The work he was sent to do is finished, and the house still has space in it. The next step in the story is a wider search.
What Compel Them to Come In Can Mean (Luke 14:23)
The master then tells the servant to go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that his house may be filled. Traditions differ on how to read the word compel in this verse, and the text does not settle the question. Read the phrase within the story itself.
The host wants a full house, and the people sent for are the ones the servant finds on the highways and in the hedges. The verse ends with the reason for the search: that my house may be filled.
What the Excuses Have in Common
Each excuse is an ordinary matter stated in the text: land, oxen, a marriage. The text adds nothing more about why they refused. The excuses show how ordinary concerns can crowd out the invitation.
What the Parable Does Not Say (Luke 14:24)
The parable does not say who is saved or lost. It does not give a list of the people who will be invited in the end, and it does not say how long the invitation stays open.
Verse 24 gives the host's statement: 'For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.' Read that line as the host's words within the story. The text records no outcome for the excuse-makers beyond that verse.
The Lectionary Reading in Week 31
The Catholic weekday lectionary reads Luke 14:15-24 on Tuesday of Week 31 in Ordinary Time. This reference is reported from the Daily Gospel Exegesis episode with the same title, 'Tuesday of Week 31 in Ordinary Time - Luke 14: 15-24', which is the lectionary context in which the passage is read.
Matthew 22 and the Wedding Feast
Matthew 22 has a parable of a wedding feast with similar features. Readers often compare it with Luke 14:15-24. Traditions differ on whether the two passages are the same teaching told differently.
A Pastoral Note for Readers Who Feel Unworthy
A reader who feels unworthy of an invitation can hear one thing in this story. The host widens the list to people who were not first on it.
The passage does not promise any outcome for the reader. A pastor or priest can talk the passage through with you in person.
Next Steps with Luke 14:15-24
Read the passage once, slowly, and note which excuse sounds closest to your own week. Then write down, in your own words, what the parable means for you, and compare that with the passage.
Key Bible verses
- 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. — Luke 14:15
- Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. — Luke 14:16-17
- And 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 see it: I pray thee have me excused. — Luke 14:18
- And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. — Luke 14:19
- And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. — Luke 14:20
- So 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 the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. — Luke 14:21
- And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. — Luke 14:22
- And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. — Luke 14:23
- For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. — Luke 14:24
Frequently asked questions
What is the parable of the great banquet about?
It is about an invitation that can be refused and a welcome that keeps widening. In Luke 14:15-24, a host invites many guests, the first ones make excuses, and he sends his servant out until his house is full.
Where is the parable of the great supper in the Bible?
It is in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14, at verses 15 to 24. Matthew 22 has a parable of a wedding feast with similar features, and readers often compare the two.
What were the excuses in Luke 14?
The three excuses concern land, oxen, and marriage. The first guest has bought a piece of ground, the second has bought five yoke of oxen, and the third has married a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The text does not describe the men's motives.
What does 'compel them to come in' mean?
The text uses the phrase in Luke 14:23, where the host tells the servant to go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. Traditions differ on how to read the word compel, and the text does not settle it. Read the phrase within the story of a host who wants his house filled.
Who are the poor, maimed, halt and blind in the parable?
The text names them as the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind, whom the servant brings in from the streets and lanes of the city (Luke 14:21). Traditions differ on who these figures represent, and the text does not say.
Is this the same as the wedding feast in Matthew 22?
Matthew 22 has a parable of a wedding feast with similar features, and readers often compare it with Luke 14. Traditions differ on whether the two are the same teaching told differently.