Luke 14:15-24 What Excuses Are Keeping You From Jesus?

September 2, 2026

The Ten Signposts of the Bible

CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. Moses. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

People make many excuses for not trusting Jesus. See if you’ve heard any of these, or maybe you’ve used them yourself:

I am just not ready.
I need to sow my wild oats first.
I’m a good person.
I have too much going on right now.
The church is full of hypocrites.
I have some questions about the Bible that need to be answered first.
I am not sure Jesus is the only way.  What about all those who sincerely believe in other religions?
I really need to clean up my act before Jesus will accept me.

You can probably think of many more excuses people use to avoid seriously considering who Jesus is and what he has done for us. In today’s passage, Jesus adds a few more. Let’s see what we can learn from how he responds to what held people back in his day. 

After Jesus pointed out the pride of those who try to sit at the seats of honor and the need to show humility, it seems one guest got a bit defensive. He blurted out, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15). He was defending the Pharisaical ways and highlighting that they would be enjoying the great banquet in God’s kingdom in heaven. He may also have been implying that Jesus, the friend of sinners, would not be eating with them. 

So Jesus told another parable, the third one of the dinner. This one has been called “The Parable of the Great Banquet” (Luke 15:15–24). This is the story of a man who planned a great banquet and invited many people. In keeping with the custom of the day, two invitations were sent. The first invitation was basically a “save the date” and RSVP, so the host knew how many people to prepare for. The second invitation let people know the food was ready, so it was time for everyone to gather. 

Jesus said, “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’” (Luke 14:17). But after being invited to the great feast and expressing their desire to come, they all began to make their excuses (Luke 14:18). 

Excuse #1
The first person to offer an excuse said, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused” (Luke 14:18). It is highly unlikely that anyone would buy a field without seeing it first. For whatever reason, the person’s excuse amounted to a statement: “I don’t want to come to the banquet.”

Excuse #2
The second excuse involved another purchase. The person said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused” (Luke 14:19). Again, there is a major flaw in the reason given: the man had already made a significant investment. A yoke of oxen is two oxen. Who would buy ten oxen without first examining them? This person had no desire to go to the banquet. 

Excuse #3
The third excuse was personal: “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” (Luke 14:20). The man certainly would have known before now if his marriage date conflicted with the date of the banquet. The flimsy excuse demonstrated that the man simply did not want to attend the banquet. 

Here’s how Jesus wrapped up the story:

Luke 14:21–24

So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ 

When studying the Bible to discern its meaning, an important first step is considering how the original readers would have understood the passage. In this case, Jesus was reminding the Jews that God had invited them to the kingdom banquet and chosen them to be the light in the world. But when he sent his Son, they were full of excuses and continued to reject him. Therefore, God was opening his banquet to the peoples of the world, the very ones the Jews considered unclean and unworthy. The religious leaders did not receive this teaching well and were all the more ready to get rid of him. 

After determining how the first listeners would have understood the passage, we must then ask how that truth applies to our world today. That brings us back to the all-too-familiar excuses for not accepting Jesus: I’m just not ready. I have too much going on right now. The church is full of hypocrites. I have some questions about the Bible that need to be answered first. Again, you have heard these cop-outs for not considering who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Or maybe these are the excuses you are using in your own faith journey.

And there is, I believe, a third level of application for believers. We will be at the banquet, but are we living our lives as honored guests? Are we following hard after Jesus every day? 

C. S. Lewis said, “The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self–all your wishes and precautions–to Christ . . . We are trying to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life... We are all trying to let our mind and heart go their own way—centered on money or pleasure or ambition—and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us you could not do.”^[1]

Read and reflect on Luke 14:15–24: What excuse, distraction, or priority could most easily keep you from responding fully to Jesus—not just in salvation, but in daily discipleship? 

Talking to God: What are you going to do about the excuses and distractions? 

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