10 May 2024
The Parable of the Great Banquet is found in Luke 14:15-24.
Bailey notes that the verses before this passage include an admonition from Jesus that His listeners should not host banquets as part of a social exchange the way Pharisees do, but that they should invite the poor and needy who cannot repay. At that, someone mentioned how blessed it will be to eat at the Messiah's table under His reign.
The whole scene was a test. Whenever a preaching rabbi passes through town, the local leadership would host him at a banquet during which he would be tested. In this case, one of the exam committee burst out with a challenge, and Jesus was expected to reply with some established formula about keeping the Law so as to be included in the Messianic banquet.
Jesus responds outside of their expectations, referring to Isaiah 25 where Isaiah dreams of this great banquet. Unlike common Jewish racism of Jesus' day, Isaiah prophesies that God will invite the Gentiles. The Aramaic targums of this passage add extra verbiage to indicate that the Gentiles will be shamed as enemies of God. The Books of Enoch also mention this banquet and insist that angels of death will be waiting for the Gentiles. Faithful Jews would then wade through the gore to sit with the Messiah.
The Qumran documents mentioning this great banquet leave the Gentiles out completely. However, in the previous chapter of Luke, Jesus warns that some Jews would be excluded, while many Gentiles would be welcomed into a banquet with the Patriarchs.
Thus, when Jesus cites this banquet teaching, He brings it in seven stanzas. The story is cast entirely in Hebrew feudal terms.
1. A great man hosted a banquet to which prearranged invitations had already been made. He sent his servants to notify the guests it was time to come.
2. The first made the excuse of needing to examine new real estate.
3. The second said he needed to examine his new plowing teams.
4. A third was still on honeymoon.
5. The servant reports to his master, who insists that this feudal servants would be replaced with the poor and disabled.
6. The new guests were gathered, but there was still room.
7. The servants were ordered to drag in anyone in the master's domain; there will be no empty seats. The original guest list would be excluded.
The turning point is the fifth stanza. Bailey briefly mentions the logistics of this kind of thing for Ancient Near Eastern big shots, but not how the parable is based on a feudal obligation of the guests to show up when commanded by their lord. They knew in advance, and not one of them has a valid excuse.
Since there is so little arable land in that part of the world, in those days buying an agricultural plot was a very involved affair. It would take months, even years, with multiple inspections before the actual deed was executed and money changed hands. The excuse in the parable is bogus, and everyone would know it. It was an insult.
It's pretty much the same with plowing teams of oxen. They must be evenly matched or no plowing will happen. A buyer would not even bid on them without seeing how they work together. Again, it's an insulting effort to escape his feudal obligations. The third is even more rude, addressing the messenger completely outside of protocol.
The whole point is that the guests were obviously trying to shut down the banquet and humiliate their lord. The audience is left to assume that this is how it went down through the rest of the guest list. But the master's anger was quite graceful: Go and drag in everyone in his domain who was not normally worthy of his attention.
The point is that, instead of facing the risk of a major political, and possible military, response, he salvages his honor without these vassals. He turns the occasion into a blessing for those who normally have no contact with their master. It turns out he gathers into his banquet the very folks the Qumran documents would have excluded as unworthy from the Messiah's banquet. Jesus includes the lost sheep of Israel, those excluded by the elite, but who gladly listened to His teaching.
The whole point of sending his servants out again has to do with established custom. A great many people in this lord's domain would simply not believe such an offer, and so would have be convinced to come and join the festivities. It's not an image of force, but of investing the time and energy to make the hearers believe this for real.
Naturally, this final round of invitations represents the Gentiles. In the final words of this narrative, Jesus shifts the perspective back to the present. He affirms to His plural listeners that "none of those [formally] invited will be included" in His coronation banquet. Isaiah prophesied in several passages that the Gentiles would be included in the Messianic kingdom (25, 49:6, 56:6-8). The leaders of Jesus' day would not be able to shut down His coronation, but would be excluded, while those they had excluded would be welcome.
Comments
Jay DiNitto
Yeah, the main thrust of the story would be lost on Western audiences, because we can't really imagine the offense generated by not following a feudal command from your local lord. What's the big deal? It's just a party.
This document is public domain; spread the message.