But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests.
Parallel translations
- WEB But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people.
- KJV Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
- NKJV Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,
- NASB But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
- NLT Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells of a man who prepared a great supper and invited many. God graciously invites many to the feast of His kingdom.
Overview
The great supper pictures the salvation God offers through Christ. The wide invitation reflects God's generous call extended to many. The parable will turn on how the invited respond to this gracious summons.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 22:2–14“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
- Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
- Isa 55:1–7“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
- Luke 14:16–24But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests.
- Isa 25:6–7On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.
- Rev 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
- Zech 10:7Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
- Prov 9:1–2Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars.
- Song 5:1I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.
- Mark 16:15–16And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Jer 31:12–14They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 14:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.