The result: V. 21. So that servant came, and showed 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. V. 22. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. V. 23. 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. V. 24. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
The servant was obliged to bring his master the news of the rejection of the invitations. The latter naturally became angry over such behavior, but immediately thought of a plan by which he might procure guests for his feast in a short time. The servant was to lose no time in going out, both on the broad streets and on the narrow lanes of the city, and to bring into the house of the master the poor and the weak, or crippled, and the blind and the halt.
The servant had not anticipated his master's command, but now hurriedly fulfilled it, returning with the report that the instructions had been carried out to the letter, but that there was still room.
Then, as a last resort, the master sent the servant out to the country, along the highways and hedges, on the main roads, as well as on the footpaths running through the fields, alongside the hedges. Whomever he should find there, he should invite urgently, compellingly, since the poor people might not want to consider the fact of their having been invited seriously. The object of the master was frankly to fill his house. But so far as the first guests were concerned, the solemn declaration is made that not one of them would so much as taste of the feast which had been prepared with such care.
The meaning of the parable in the light of New Testament fulfillment is clear. The master of the house is God Himself, the almighty, but also gracious and merciful Lord.
"The preaching of Christ is the great, glorious supper, to which He asks guests in order to sanctify them through His Baptism, comfort and strengthen them through the Sacrament of His body and blood; that they should be in need of nothing, that there be a great plenty and every one be satisfied." 81)
The food to be provided was thus the Gospel with all its glories, yea, Christ Himself, complete justification, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. When Jesus came into the world, the hour of the great supper had come, Gal. 4, 4. 5. He Himself is the Servant of the Lord in the most exclusive sense, Is. 42, 1; 49,6; 52,13; 53,11. Personally, through His herald John the Baptist, and through the apostles He repeated the invitation which had been issued through the prophets, that the time had come to which all the patriarchs and prophets had looked forward, that the kingdom of God had come near them.
Christ went to the children of the house of Israel, for them His personal ministry was intended; they were the chosen people of God, Rom. 3, 2; 9, 5. To them and to their children the promise was published first. And so Christ journeyed back and forth through the length and breadth of the country of the Jews, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. And the apostles followed up His work, proclaiming the Gospel to the Jews first.
But Israel as a whole wanted nothing of the glorious news pertaining to their salvation, they refused the invitation. Their minds were centered in earthly things, they expected a temporal kingdom of the Messiah. And their leaders, having a show of sanctity, used this as a cloak for their covetousness and their seeking for pleasure. They despised and rejected the Gospel of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Then God in His anger turned from them. Jesus sought the poor and unknown among the Jewish people, those that were spiritually sick, halt, and blind. He called the publicans and sinners to Him and assured them that salvation was theirs. Poor fishermen, former publicans, reformed sinners, were the members of Christ's flock, 1 Cor. 1, 26-28.
And finally Jesus, through His apostles and other messengers, brought the invitation of God out into the world of the Gentiles, that were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, Eph. 2, 12. From all nations of the world the Lord is calling men to His great supper, that they may receive the fulness of His goodness and mercy. He is calling urgently and pleadingly; His call is sincere and powerful. He prepares the way for the preaching of the Gospel by the proclamation of the Law, that the sinner may learn to know his helplessness and rely upon the righteousness of the Redeemer all alone.
"That is what it means to compel, if we fear the wrath of God and desire help from Him. If that has been accomplished through preaching, and the hearts are broken and terrified, then preaching is continued in the words: Dear person, do not despair, though thou art a sinner and hast such a terrible condemnation upon thee; rather do this: thou art baptized, now hear the Gospel. There thou wilt learn that Jesus Christ died for thy sake and has made satisfaction for thy sins on the cross." 82)
The merciful call of God is effective through the Gospel: that is the way in which a person comes to the great supper. Christ calls and pleads; the table is set; the full redemption is obtained; God is merciful to men for Christ's sake. But if a person does not come and does not want to come, then it is his own fault. The Lord has called, and He sincerely offers to all men the riches of His grace. Those that despise His call will be excluded, by their own fault, from the joys of salvation, from the eternal supper of bliss in heaven.