Single lesson
The Great Banquet
Luke 14:15–24
Jesus tells a parable about a great supper after someone speaks about feasting in God’s Kingdom. In this lesson, children will notice why Jesus tells the story and what the different responses to the invitation show.
Before you teach
At the table, someone says, “Blessed is he who will feast in God’s Kingdom!” Jesus replies with a parable about a man preparing a great supper, invited guests refusing to come, and others being brought in so the house will be filled. The lesson stays with this story and its message about responding to the invitation.
Students will be able to explain that in this parable many invited people made excuses, while others were brought in, and that Jesus warns people to respond seriously to the invitation.
Welcome: What do people do with an invitation?
5 minAsk children to name events people get invited to, such as a meal or party, and what a kind response sounds like. Then explain that in today’s passage someone talks about feasting in God’s Kingdom, and Jesus answers with a story about an invitation and how people respond to it.
Luke 14:15, Luke 14:16
Read and explain: The great supper and the excuses
8 minRead the passage aloud. Point out the order of the story: a man prepares a great supper, invited guests are told that everything is ready, and several people begin making excuses. Notice that they were invited, yet they do not come when the meal is ready.
Luke 14:16, Luke 14:17, Luke 14:18, Luke 14:19, Luke 14:20
Discuss: Who comes in, and who misses out?
7 minExplain that the master becomes angry and tells his servant to bring in people from the streets and lanes, including the poor, maimed, blind, and lame. Even after that there is still room, so the servant is sent further out. The house is meant to be filled, while the first invited guests miss the supper.
Luke 14:21, Luke 14:22, Luke 14:23, Luke 14:24
Make and respond: Invitation choices scene
7 minChildren make a simple table scene, doorway scene, or invitation card from the parable. As they work, ask them to compare two responses from the story: making excuses or coming when called. Help them connect their object to the passage by naming who invited, who refused, and who was brought in.
Luke 14:17, Luke 14:18, Luke 14:21, Luke 14:23
Closing: Say the main teaching clearly
3 minReview the setting and the ending. Someone speaks about feasting in God’s Kingdom, and Jesus answers with a parable where invited people refuse to come and others are gathered in instead. Finish by having each child say one sentence about why the excuses mattered in the story.
Luke 14:15, Luke 14:24
Questions to explore
What comment leads Jesus to tell this parable?
Look for the table conversation just before the story begins and notice the words about feasting in God’s Kingdom.
Luke 14:15
What do the first invited guests do when the servant says the meal is ready?
Read the replies carefully and notice that they all begin to make excuses instead of coming.
Luke 14:17, Luke 14:18, Luke 14:19, Luke 14:20
After the excuses, who is brought in and what does the master still want?
Trace the master’s instructions and notice both the people named and his desire for the house to be filled.
Luke 14:21, Luke 14:22, Luke 14:23
Make, think or respond
Great Banquet Invitation Scene
What you’ll need
- paper
- pencils or markers
- scissors
- glue
- craft sticks or scrap cardboard
Try it together
- Draw either a supper table, an open doorway, or an invitation from the parable.
- Add simple figures or labels for invited guests, the servant, and the people brought in later.
- Use craft sticks or cardboard to make stand-up pieces, or glue the parts into one scene.
- Ask children to point to their picture and explain which response it shows: excuse-making or coming when called.
The craft helps children retell the order of the parable and compare the refused invitation with the people who were brought in.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, shorten the discussion and let them sort spoken lines into two groups: ‘excuses’ and ‘come in’.
- For older or stronger readers, ask them to identify the statement in Luke 14:15 that leads into the parable and explain the warning in Luke 14:24 in their own words.
An optional closing prayer
Dear God, please help us listen carefully to Jesus and respond seriously to his invitation. Help us not to brush it aside with excuses. Amen.
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Luke 14
15 When one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will feast in God’s Kingdom!”
16 But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people.
17 He sent out his servant at supper time to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’
18 They all as one began to make excuses. “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.’
20 “Another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I can’t come.’
21 “That servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’
22 “The servant said, ‘Lord, it is done as you commanded, and there is still room.’
23 “The lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper. For many are called, but few are chosen. ’ ”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.