Luke 14:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This Supper is offered each day, inviting us all to the Kingdom that God has established for humanity since before the world's creation (Matthew 25:34). Yet, many do not embrace it: some are distracted by the allure of knowledge, others by material desires, while still others are drawn to fleshly pleasures. However, through His mercy, God extends this Kingdom to other sinners who, though capable of understanding, are spiritually blind and unable to fulfill His will. They are marginalized, lacking the glory of heaven, and wounded, as they do not recognize a life free from blame. To these lost souls who roam the broad paths of sin, the Heavenly Father sends His Son, who took on the form of a servant in the flesh, extending an invitation to the feast.

But whom can we suppose these to be who refused to come for the reason just mentioned, but the rulers of the Jews, whom throughout the sacred history we find to have been often reproved for these things?

Now John when he said, all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, (1 John 2:16.) began from the point where the Gospel ended. The lust of the flesh, I have married a wife; the lust of the eyes, I have bought fire yoke of oxen; the pride of life, I have bought a farm. But proceeding from a part to the whole, the five senses have been spoken of under the eyes alone, which hold the chief place among the five senses. Because though properly the sight belongs to the eyes, we are in the habit of ascribing the act of seeing to all the five senses.

But he says, I cannot come, because that the human mind when it is degenerating to worldly pleasures, is feeble in attending to the things of God.

Or marriage is not blamed; but purity is held up to greater honour, since the unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and spirit, but she that is married careth for the things of the world. (1 Cor. 7:34.)

For I assure you that none of those invited will partake of my feast. This is in reference to those who disregarded and dismissed the invitation, specifically the proclamation of the Gospel. Thus, this statement emphasizes that many receive the call, yet few are selected, as expressed in the similar passage in Matthew 22:14. These words, however, are noted as uncertain in some versions and are not present in numerous Greek editions we have access to, including Mattei's New Testament, where they appear only as manuscript variants. They are also omitted from the translations of Bishop Cassian and St. Alexius of Moscow, as well as from Euthymius Zigabenus, leading us to exclude them here.

Or else, they who have bought a piece of ground and reject or refuse the supper, are they who have taken other doctrines of divinity, but have despised the word which they possessed. But he who has bought five yoke of oxen is he who neglects his intellectual nature, and follows the things of sense, therefore he cannot comprehend a spiritual nature. But he who has married a wife is he who is joined to the flesh, a lover of pleasure rather than of God. (1 Tim. 3:4.)

Our Lord had just before taught us to prepare our feasts for those who cannot repay, seeing that we shall have our reward at the resurrection of the just. Some one then, supposing the resurrection of the just to be one and the same with the kingdom of God, commends the above-mentioned recompense; for it follows, When one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

Our Lord, our gentle Savior, understood that unless a person relinquishes all worldly attachments, their mind cannot truly contemplate the cross. He instructed others to forsake every familiarity that occupies the mind and to descend from the cross of these attachments. When a man approached Him, proclaiming, “I will follow You, Lord,” he added that he wished to first set in order those matters “which are in my house” (Luke 9:61). Our beloved Jesus, knowing that the allure of those possessions would lead his heart back to them, and recognizing the many legitimate distractions that might keep him bound there, responded firmly: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Or he made a great supper, as having prepared for us the full enjoyment of eternal sweetness. He bade many, but few came, because sometimes they who themselves are subject to him by faith, by their lives oppose his eternal banquet. And this is generally the difference between the delights of the body and the soul, that fleshly delights when not possessed provoke a longing desire for them, but when possessed and devoured, the eater soon turns from satiety to loathing; spiritual delights, on the other hand, when not possessed are loathed, when possessed the more desired. But heavenly mercy recalls those despised delights to the eyes of our memory, and in order that we should drive away our disgust, bids us to the feast. Hence it follows, And he sent his servant, &c.

But because some receive this bread by faith merely, as if by smelling, but its sweetness they loathe to really touch with their mouths, our Lord by the following parable condemns the dulness of those men to be unworthy of the heavenly banquet. For it follows, But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many.

Would a farmer plant seeds without the expectation of a bountiful harvest? Who would set sail if they had no faith in the vessel and its captain? Who would seek healing from an ailment without trust in the healer? Who could delve into any craft if they lacked confidence in the artist? If we were to strip away faith from these aspects, what would remain of this splendid world? A desolate wasteland of despair, a tomb that suffocates us! Thus, if the elements of earth, water, air, and our fellow human beings require our trust for our benefit, why do we withhold our faith from God? You have neighbors and friends; even without seeing their innermost thoughts, you believe in them. Why deny God the trust you freely offer to those who are inherently like you?

The Lord issued this judgment particularly for those Jews who were summoned by the holy prophets, whom the God-Man also called to believe in Him. However, since they did not place their faith in Him, they were deemed unworthy of His Church, His sacred mysteries, and His divine kingdom. He states that not one among those who have been called, nor those who disregard the invitation, will be graced with My heavenly gifts. Furthermore, this judgment extends to all individuals called to faith in Christ but who fail to embrace it, or who, after accepting it, forsake it through rejection or sinful actions that contradict their faith.

Despite such criticisms, at the end of His teaching, the Lord highlighted the singular reward for virtuous living, which is the recompense found in the resurrection of the righteous. One of those present at the Pharisee's feast could not help but exclaim, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God,” perhaps envisioning himself sharing in this joy—not among the least. The Lord then made it evident that it is futile for anyone to believe they can achieve these blessings without effort. Rather, those who believe they can gain them easily may fall into deception. The Kingdom of God demands a readiness to forego material wealth, let alone worldly indulgences.

The message of Christ, as stated in Luke 14:14, "It shall be recompensed unto thee in the resurrection of the just," conveyed to His listeners—who did not differentiate between the first and second coming of the Messiah—what they understood as "in the kingdom of the Messiah, in the kingdom of God." One individual reclining at the table remarked, "Blessed is he who tastes bread in the kingdom of God!" This person appeared to be reflecting on Christ's teachings, imagining himself joyfully partaking in the Messianic feast. However, Jesus responded, "Blessed indeed; but only many are called, but few are chosen." This encapsulates the meaning of the parable concerning those invited to the banquet.

In the conclusion of this parable, the Lord declared that “None of those who were called shall eat my supper,” emphasizing that while many were invited, only a select few were chosen (see Matthew 20:16, Matthew 22:14).

The Saviour transformed a casual remark into an opportunity for profound teaching. He shared a parable to illustrate that "the eating of bread in the kingdom of heaven" entails conditions that those confident of participating would be unwilling to acknowledge (Luke 14:7-24). He told of a man who extended numerous invitations to an extravagant banquet; however, when the time arrived, everyone declined. One guest was preoccupied with his household and needed to inspect a newly acquired piece of land. Another had just purchased a pair of oxen and felt compelled to try them out. A third had recently married and was too occupied with family obligations to attend.

‘None of those invited’ etc.: they (in the multitude) were unfit to partake in the kingdom of the Messiah and would face rejection. While many, or perhaps even all, received the invitation, only a select few were chosen (cf. note on Matt. 22:14).