Parable Friday: The Great Banquet and the Cost of Discipleship Luke 14:15–35

Sunday Dinner at the Kalis's

Sunday dinner was always a big deal at 658 Monroe Avenue.

• Mom would cook a big leg of lamb or other roast in the oven wihile we went to church.

• We would invite newcomers or those without a place to eat to our table and it was always full.

• Dad would carve the roast and give the blessing.

• Donnie would whisper soto voce "and don't let the meat get cold.

  
  

At least two couple met there and fell in love; more fell in love with Jesus! What a banquet!

“Come; for all things are now ready.” — Luke 14:17

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother… yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” — Luke 14:26

The Setting

Jesus told this story while dining in the house of a Pharisee. Around the table sat men proud of their religion but unmoved by compassion. When someone exclaimed, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Jesus responded with a parable that turned their comfort into conviction.

The Parable at a Banquet

A certain man prepared a great supper and invited many. The table was ready, the feast abundant. But when the servant went out to say, “Come, for all things are now ready,” the invited guests began to make excuses.

One had bought land and needed to see it. Another had purchased oxen and wanted to test them. A third had married a wife and begged to be excused.

So the master, grieved but resolute, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind.

”When even that was not enough to fill the house, he said again, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

The invitation went out to those the world overlooked — and they came with joy. Yet many of the “first invited” never tasted of that supper.

Reflection: Grace That Costs Something

The story doesn’t end with the banquet. Luke tells us that as great crowds began to follow, Jesus turned and said hard words:“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children… yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

The call of grace is free — but the walk of discipleship is costly. To “hate” in this context means to love Christ above all else. The feast is ready, but to take your seat you must leave your old life behind.

Many today want the blessing of the banquet without the burden of the cross. But Jesus joins the two together. The invitation is open to all, yet every guest must come clothed in repentance and willing obedience. Grace calls; repentance opens the door.

John the Baptist began his preaching with one word — “Repent.”Jesus began His ministry the same way — “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Every disciple’s journey begins on that road.

Application

At our own small table here in RPH, three or four of us gather to remember the Lord’s Supper. Around the world, millions gather likewise — some in grand cathedrals, others in humble homes.

Wherever the bread is broken in Jesus’ name, the banquet begins.

But before we come, we count the cost. We ask ourselves: Have I answered His call with my whole heart? Am I following Jesus out of gratitude, or out of habit?

He still calls through this parable: “Come, for all things are now ready.”The feast is grace — the price is surrender.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for the open invitation to Your table — for grace that welcomes all who will come.Save us from excuses, and from the false gospel that costs us nothing.Teach us to take up our cross daily, to put You above every other love, and to follow wherever You lead. Bless those who gather at Your table today — here at RPH and across the world.Fill Your house, O Lord, until the last seat is taken and the joy of heaven begins. In Your name we pray,Amen.

“Our Parable Friday turns from invitation to commitment. The banquet is ready — but only those willing to count the cost can truly follow the Master.”“

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ALL THINGS ARE READY

“All things are ready,” come to the feast!

Come, for the table now is spread;

Ye famishing, ye weary, come,

And thou shalt be richly fed.

Refrain

Hear the invitation,

Come, “whosoever will”;

Praise God for full salvation

For “whosoever will.”

“All things are ready,” come to the feast!

Come, for the door is open wide;

A place of honor is reserved

For you at the Master’s side.

“All things are ready,” come to the feast!

Come, while He waits to welcome thee;

Delay not while this day is thine,

Tomorrow may never be.

“All things are ready,” come to the feast!

Leave ev’ry care and worldly strife;

Come, feast upon the love of God,

And drink everlasting life.

Charles H. Gabriel, 1895;

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7:37