Luke 14:15–24

Parable of the Great Feast

¹⁵Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”

¹⁶Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. ¹⁷When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ ¹⁸But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

²¹“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²²After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ ²³So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. ²⁴For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’ ”