‘But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many, and he sent out his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.' ” '
So Jesus spoke to them in a warning parable. The parable was about a man who made a great supper and invited many of those whom he thought were suitable. It was normal in those days, on such an occasion, first to issue the invitations in a general way without necessarily naming the exact date, and then to send a message to inform the guests once the feast was set up and ready. They in general had no calendars and diaries by which to remind themselves of such invitations. The Midrash on Lamentations 4:2 says, ‘none of them would attend a banquet unless he was invited twice'. In view of the parallel two expeditions of the servant at the end in order to bring in the lowly we may possibly see this twofold invitation as referring to John followed by Jesus, or Jesus followed by the missions of the Apostles.
So the man followed tradition and sent his servant out to call the guests. He did what courtesy demanded. It was clearly quite an exclusive supper for only one messenger was needed.
The whole parable was probably based on an actual incident that had taken place in the past and was well known. A rich tax-collector, Bar Ma‘jan, had arranged a banquet for city councillors, but, when they would not come, despising him for what he was, he gave orders that the poor should come and eat of it so that the food should not be wasted. Jesus, always on the look out for a good illustration, has taken up this tale and expanded on it, and given it a deeper meaning.
What did the supper signify? The Messianic banquet was such a feature of belief in those days that we have little difficulty in seeing it as indicating the hope of salvation, and the need to come under the Kingly Rule of God where that salvation was worked out. Jesus would have associated this invitation with His proclaiming that ‘the Kingly Rule of God is at hand' (Mark 1:15). For that was why He had come (Luke 4:43; Luke 8:1; Luke 9:2).
But who are these first invitees? Certainly they would include those present at the feast. The parable was told for them. But we must not limit it to them. The idea is not so much to identify a class of people as a type of people, those who would outwardly have professed that they would welcome the invitation, but in their hearts were not willing to do so. This went beyond the Scribes and the Pharisees. It represented all who gave the appearance of being ‘friends' of God, but in fact were not so, as indicated by their refusal to respond to Jesus. But it certainly included many of the Scribes and Pharisees as well (compare Luke 11:52). As with all His parables Jesus left it open for men to apply as they would. Those who were guided by the Spirit would come through to the truth.
And finally we must ask, who is the servant? We need look no further than the prophecy Isaiah. Isaiah speaks constantly of the Servant of the Lord Who will come to restore Israel and Judah, and bring back His people to Him. In the short run, as indicated by the twofold invitation and the twofold outreach of Luke 14:21-23, Jesus may have had John the Baptiser and Himself in mind. In the longer run this would include Jesus, the Apostles and the early church. Jesus certainly saw Himself as the Servant (Luke 22:27; Luke 22:37; Mark 10:45). And Acts 13:47 expands the idea to the proclaimers of the Good News. But in the end it is ‘the Servant of the Lord' Who is in mind. Those who had eyes to see would recognise Who was meant.