But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
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:
- 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,
- 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 certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son,
- Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
- Isa 55:1–7“Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
- Luke 14:16–24But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people.
- Isa 25:6–7In this mountain, Yahweh of Armies will make all peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast of choice wines, of choice meat full of marrow, of well refined choice wines.
- Rev 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.
- Zech 10:7Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their heart will rejoice as through wine; yes, their children will see it, and rejoice. Their heart will be glad in Yahweh.
- Prov 9:1–2Wisdom has built her house. She has carved out her seven pillars.
- Song 5:1I have come into 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, friends! Drink, yes, drink abundantly, beloved.
- Mark 16:15–16He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.
- Jer 31:12–14They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to 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.
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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.