In the musical The Greatest Showman, P. T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) assembles a group of social misfits and turns them into a team of incredible circus performers. One of the standout themes of the film is this hunger for acceptance. The misfits have grown accustomed to being shamed for their appearance or status in a culture where “polite” society disdains outsiders as problematic. But Barnum, a flawed and, at times, abrasive man, nevertheless sees potential in these outsiders and tells them they cannot let the elites define them.

The Greatest Showman reminds me of a parable that Jesus told in Luke 14 about a man who hosted a banquet.

Here’s the context for when Jesus told this parable. Jesus was a guest in the home of “ruler of the Pharisee,” and several of the religious elites would have been sitting in a U-shaped pattern around a table. Luke implies that Jesus was invited to this dinner party so that the Pharisees could evaluate Him, because he says “they were watching Him carefully” (Luke 14:1).

Unprompted, Jesus tells the ruler that when he has a banquet like this, he shouldn’t invite family and friends; instead, he should invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” (V. 13). Just imagine how that would have landed, as the religious leaders look at one another uncomfortably. To break the ice, one said, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 

In other words, “Why don’t we just celebrate the fact that we’ll all be included in the banquet hall in the kingdom!” Here’s where Jesus gives the parable of the great banquet.

“A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet He sent His servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.” (Luke 14:16-18, ESV)

Note that the servant announced the dinner was ready to “those who had been invited.” Kenneth Bailey explains that in that Middle Eastern culture, the host would send out the initial invite seeking an RSVP to find out how much food needs to be prepared, and those who RSVP’d would receive a follow-up message once the banquet was all ready.

So, these guys who give various excuses for not coming had already said they would be coming. Scholars note that the excuses given were incredibly lame. For instance, one says, “I need to go see the land I just bought.” But, much like today, in the ancient world, you wouldn’t purchase a piece of land before first going to see it. The second says he can’t come because he has to go examine some oxen, but that again wouldn’t make sense. No farmer would purchase oxen prior to examining the oxen.

Today, this would be like someone saying, “I know I said I could make it to your wedding and reception, but I’ve gotta go take a look at the car I just bought.” 

The last excuse, Bailey points out, is the biggest insult. He says he’s married a wife, and he can’t come. What kind of excuse is that? Did he forget he’d be married when he RSVP’d? He didn’t even ask to be excused. He basically just said, “I’m married, so I’m not coming.”

The master of the house gets angry. He’s been publicly insulted in an honor-shame culture. But here’s where Jesus drops a bomb. Instead of retaliating against those punks who just insulted him, the master tells his servant, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame,’” intentionally echoing what He’d just said a few verses earlier (v. 21). 

The image is startling. Jesus is directing this parable at these religious leaders. They were the ones who knew the Hebrew Scriptures. They knew the promises of the coming Messiah, and they claimed to be awaiting the arrival of God’s kingdom. They are like the guests who had RSVP’d to the banquet. 

But when the Messiah finally shows up and announces God’s kingdom is arriving through Him, they are unwilling to go to the party. So, what does Jesus do? Does He angrily cancel the banquet? No, He goes out to the margins of society—to prostitutes, beggars, tax collectors, and sinners. And He says, “Come to the banquet. The food is ready!”

I love this image, because it teaches us how to think of mission. Many people will reject the invitation to meet Jesus, but that should not deter us. We simply must go to the ones who are hungry for God. 

Religious hypocrites are those that make a show of devotion to God. They use lots of “God talk,” they may go to church, and they claim to be on God’s side, but they don’t actually want God. If God was to show up in the flesh, they wouldn’t recognize Him. 

Others only make only a half-hearted commitment to follow Jesus. They RSVP that they want to go to Heaven, but Jesus is such a low priority for them that the moment something “more pressing” comes along, they have plenty of excuses for ignoring Him.

What I love about this parable is that it shows the incredible grace of God. He wants people to experience His joy. Those with hearts that hunger for Him will come to His banquet. When the servant says he has invited everyone from the city and “still there is room,” it reminds me of the greatness of God’s heart for the lost. 

The master says, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled” (v. 23).

It’s like the kingdom is ever-expanding, and God wants Heaven crowded. But why does the servant have to “compel people to come in”? Here’s what I see. The invitation is going out to the marginalized, the outcasts, the misfits, to those who have always felt that they don’t belong. 

Why do they have to be compelled? Because at first they cannot believe that some great noble hosting a grand banquet would want them there. They have been convinced that they are worthless, that no one would want their company. 

Here’s the part that breaks my heart. Many people believe this today, and they struggle to believe that God could really love them this much. Grace is not easy to believe. It sounds too good to be true. The hope of the gospel will always feel unreal until you understand the depth of God’s love for you.

If you want to know how deeply God loves you, you have to understand that God is the one hanging on the cross. There we see God in the flesh laying down His life for a world that had rejected Him, spat on Him, insulted Him, and treated Him as the ultimate outsider. The Bible says Jesus became sin for us so that through the shame of the cross, we might be welcomed in. 

I don’t know about you, but when I read this parable, I want to go tell everyone I meet how much Jesus loves them! If people reject the invitation, I don’t want to be discouraged. I want to go “to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in,” that the Lord’s house may be filled.

The parable ends with Jesus giving a warning: those who were initially invited but never actually came will never taste the banquet. They were so close, but never actually entered the Kingdom of God.

Are you interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and what He’s done for you? I’d love to hear from you!