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TL;DR:
Jesus’ parable of the Great Banquet stresses God’s desire for a full house. While the originally invited guests made excuses, the master sent his servant out to bring in the poor, the overlooked, and even those far outside town—urging them to come until every seat was filled. Sadly, many churches today have grown passive, assuming people will come “if they want to.” Jesus’ call to us is to act with loving persistence—“compelling” people to come, especially those who doubt they are welcome.
What does Luke 14:12–24 mean for us today?
Commentary on Luke 14
14 12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'
22 "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"
Luke 14:12–24, New International Version (NIV), 2011.
Both our children, Matthew and Rachele, were asking about food. I looked at my watch. It was about noon. Just ahead on the right, I saw the familiar red-and-white roof of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. So we stopped there.
As we sat eating at a table inside, I found myself reading the end of the cardboard box our chicken had come in. "Colonel Sanders has 5,000 restaurants," it said. Five thousand? Why, we Nazarenes have that many churches in the U.S. Yet, I wondered: Is the Church of the Nazarene as well known as the Colonel’s chicken?
There are, of course, valid reasons Colonel Sanders’ company was able to attract customers to its restaurants. Those reasons include a distinctive product, an aggressive marketing strategy, an ability to meet a felt need, and well-placed, highly visible facilities.
Is there any reason the Church of the Nazarene shouldn’t be as well known as the Colonel? In fact, in the parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14, Jesus seems to be saying to us that we, as His servants, ought to possess a sense of urgency and act with loving persuasiveness that exceeds anything this world is used to seeing.
The passionate wish of the Master is to have an absolutely full house. In Jesus’ parable, the host told his servant to keep searching and persuading until his banquet hall was completely filled. If those who were invited first did not respond, they were to keep looking until they found enough people who would respond.
From this parable, we can conclude that it grieves Jesus even more than it grieves us to see empty seats in church sanctuaries. Sometimes, I’m not sure it really grieves us at all. For example, not long ago, the Sunday school leader in a small American church told me: "Well, the people in this town know the church is here. They can come if they want to. They know the doors are open."
Sadly, repeated excuses and rejection seemed to have caused that little church to retreat from its commitment to carrying out Christ’s command. They were not like the host preparing the banquet in Jesus’ parable. That host did not give up when invitees said they were too busy to come.
How tragic that God’s people have given up inviting people to the banquet! Jesus said we must be prepared to compel. In fact, some loving persistence may be needed to overcome people’s doubts about whether our invitation is sincere. People who are poor, disadvantaged, or members of minority groups may be especially wary of our invitations and outreach efforts. Still, Jesus said, "Compel them!" or, as the Complete Jewish Bible puts it, "Insistently persuade them."
After we'd been in Florence, Italy, for a couple of years, we put a new sign in front of the church building. In addition to giving a schedule of services, we added the phrase, "Ingresso Libero" (literally, "Free admission," but conveying the idea that everyone is welcome).
A few weeks later, I was doing some door-to-door canvassing in the neighborhood. At one door, a young woman said, "I walked past your church building the other day and noticed your new sign. I didn’t realize outsiders were welcome at your services. I’d like to visit someday."
That evening, I wondered how many others in the neighborhood thought that the "banquets" inside our little building were closed to outsiders. I asked the Holy Spirit to help me get on with the "compelling" in the Peretola/Piazza Puccini neighborhoods of Florence, Italy. Missionary stories from Italy
Why did the Colonel make such an impact on the United States with 5,000 restaurants? Did he have something working in his favor that we do not have? I don’t think so. Perhaps we have not been persistent enough in inviting people.
Note: This reflection is not meant to suggest that we should emulate the advertising and promotional gimmicks of fast-food outlets. The point is simply that we have something far better to offer, and we should do our best to make it known.
While most English translations use the word "compel," others render the concept as "make them come," "tell them they must come," "drag them in," and "insistently persuade people."
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
I wrote this devotional blog post while Barbara and I were serving as missionaries in Italy. It is one of a series of 52 brief devotionals written for The Standard, a weekly Faith Connections take-home curriculum piece for adult Sunday school classes produced by The Foundry.
Words from more than a century ago on filling empty seats in church buildings
"If God is at work week by week raising men from the dead, there will always be people coming to see how it is done. You cannot find an empty church that has conversion for its leading feature.
"Do you want to know how to fill empty chapels? Here is the answer: Get your Lazarus."
Jesus’ words in Luke 14:12–24 are about the nature of God’s kingdom and the attitudes expected of its participants. The passage calls us to humility and selfless generosity. There is also a lesson about not allowing worldly concerns to take priority over the concerns of God’s kingdom. The passage makes clear the welcoming nature of God’s grace. That means we must invite everyone, especially those marginalized by society, to become citizens of the kingdom of God.