14:21–24 This parable is a prophecy of the extension of the gospel to those the Pharisees thought unworthy. The “poor and crippled and blind and lame” (v. 21) represent the despised Jews who were not able to observe the traditional laws of ritual purity (sometimes called “the people of the land”), while those outside the city along the “highways and hedges” (v. 23) represent the Gentiles. The parable concludes with a warning to the elite of Israel who reject the Messiah that they will not be given a second chance.