Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
Parallel translations
- WEB But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people.
- BSB But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests.
- 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 22:2–14The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
- Rev 22:17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
- Isa 55:1–7Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
- Luke 14:16–24Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
- Isa 25:6–7And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
- Rev 3:20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
- Zech 10:7And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
- Prov 9:1–2Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
- Song 5:1I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: 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; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
- Mark 16:15–16And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Jer 31:12–14Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
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.