Luke 14 Devotional

Room Left at the Banquet

“The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’”Luke 14:21 (BSB)

At a leading Pharisee's Sabbath meal, everyone watches Jesus closely, and he watches them too (14:1, 14:7). Seeing guests choose the places of honor, he tells them to take the lowest seat instead, because self-promotion ends in humiliation while the humble are honored (14:7-11). He tells his host to invite people who cannot repay him (14:12-14).

Then he tells of a man who prepares a great banquet. When everything is ready, the invited guests send excuses about a field, some oxen, and a new marriage (14:17-20). So the master sends his servant out for the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, and then to the roads and hedges, because room remains and he wants his house full (14:21-23). The host is determined to fill his table with people who could never earn a seat. Jesus is clear that following him costs everything (14:33), but the feast itself is pure invitation. You do not need to be worthy to come, only willing to stop making excuses.

To think about: What excuses tend to keep you from accepting God's invitation to draw near, even when you know the table is ready?