Luke 14:15-20 15When one of those reclining at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is whoever will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16But he said to him, “A man gave a great feast and invited many 17sent his servant at the time for the banquet to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, because it is ready.’ 18But they began from one to all to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I have necessity going to see it. I ask you, consider me excused.’ 19And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I going to examine them. I ask you, consider me excused.’ 20And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and on account of that I cannot come.’
The meal at the Pharisee’s home (verse 1) was an opportunity for teaching. Jesus reached out to the Pharisees and gave them opportunity to believe in him. The Pharisees were the elite religious group of sincere seekers of righteousness, but in their seeking, they had become misdirected by their efforts to be holy. They had become insulated from others around them and put up walls of “separation,” which is what the word Pharisees means. As the dialogue continues, one of them was listening closely. His statement in verse 15 shows he understood to some degree that the kingdom of God would be amazing and selective. Only certain people would be able to enter into it. Pharisees believed in resurrection, so the mention of it in verse 14 perked this one’s imagination. The Jews believed that there would be a great feast when the Messiah came. John picks up on that them in Revelation 19:6-9. The Pharisee’s question is eschatological in nature and assumes God’s kingdom as the future promise of resurrection. But for Jesus, God’s kingdom was coming in power in the present through his ministry.
In response, Jesus told another story about a banquet, which fit the setting of this meal that appeared to have quite a crowd and was a big deal. The story has two parts. The first part begins the story with an invitation. This banquet was not an ordinary meal but a great feast that could feed many people. The host sent out many invitations, expecting many people to come it. A feast like this was a big deal, with much planning, cooking, and decorating. Everything was ready for the celebration, and so word was sent out to the invitees to come (verse 17).
Each part of the story has a surprise. The surprise of the first part comes in verse 18 when all those who received the invitation begin to offer excuses for why they cannot come. We might expect one or two who could not come, but everyone had an excuse. Three excuses are given as examples. Each one is rather weak. The first person said he had just bought a field. It is a weak excuse because a field is not going anywhere. Perhaps this person had to plow and plant the field, but surely it could wait a day. The second person bought five oxen and needed to inspect them. Again, this is weak because the oxen would be there the next day. Those who are married could see the strength of the third excuse about the man just marrying a wife. But again, with deeper consideration, this excuse also turns out to be weak because the wife will be waiting the next day.
These three excuses show a lack of priority. The banquet was not important enough for these people and others who were invited to attend. People can always find a reason for not participating in the work of God’s kingdom. More significantly, people can come up with reasons for not choosing to believe in Jesus. The invitation has gone out, but those who had received it did not come. In the context of Jesus’ ministry, the invitation had gone out to the Jews, and in particular, the Pharisees reclining at the meal with Jesus. They had heard the good news and witnessed the miraculous healing of a man with edema. They had no excuse for not believing. Jesus was clearly giving them an opportunity to put their trust in him. God’s kingdom is not just some future experience in the afterlife but is something to be experienced now. The choice we make to heed to invitation, repent, and believe will impact our final destiny.
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