Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord Will Save His People

A Story About a Big Banquet^(A)

¹⁵ One of those ·at the table [^Lreclining; see 5:29] with Jesus heard these things and said to him, “·Blessed [Happy] are the people who will ·share in the meal [^Leat bread] in God’s kingdom [^Can allusion to the messianic banquet at the end of time; see 13:29; Is. 25:6–8].”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “A man gave a ·big [great] banquet and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time to eat, the man sent his ·servant [slave] to tell the guests [^Cwho had accepted the invitation], ‘Come. Everything is ready.’

¹⁸ “But all the guests [one after another; or in a similar manner] began to make excuses [^Ca great offense in that culture]. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go look at it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I have just bought five ·pairs [^Lyoke] of oxen; I must go and try them. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ A third person said, ‘I just got married; I can’t come [^Cwhile newly married men were exempt from certain duties (Deut. 24:5), that is not a valid excuse for offending the host].’ ²¹ So the ·servant [slave] returned and told his master what had happened. Then the master [^Lof the household] became angry and said, ‘Go at once into the ·streets [squares] and ·alleys [lanes] of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² ·Later [^LAnd] the ·servant [slave] said to him, ‘Master, I did what you commanded, but we still have room.’ ²³ The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and ·country lanes [hedgerows], and ·urge [compel] the people there to come so my house will be full [^Cthose outside the city may refer to the Gentiles, who will come into the kingdom (see Acts 10—11)]. ²⁴ [^LFor] I tell you, none of ·those [^Lthose men; ^Creferring to the three who refused] whom I invited first will ·eat with me [^Ltaste my banquet/dinner].’”