Luke 14:15-24
Parable of the Great Banquet
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.’”
When Jesus teaches us about the Great Banquet, we learn that “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”...
In Jesus' teaching everyone is too busy or doing something and cannot come to the Great Feast...Most of the invited guests had excuses for not coming to the Great Banquet...Jesus taught, “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests...At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’...“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.’...“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out...Please excuse me.’...“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’...“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.’...“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’...“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...I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”...
We are busy and sometimes miss God...We sometimes think we do not have time for Him, we are doing other things...It seems earthly things keep us from God...These earthly things of ours are obstacles to God...Ravi Zacharias says, "I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put Him...We have kept Him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on Him in prayer, we wonder where He is...He is exactly where we left Him.”...