Note 1 at Lk. 14:16: This parable is nearly identical to the parable that Matthew recorded in Matthew 22:1-10, and might possibly be the same parable with just a few details missing. The man who made the supper symbolizes God who has invited "whosoever will" to come to Him. The parable teaches that it is not God who fails to offer salvation to everyone, but rather it is the invited guests who reject God's offer.

These people's excuses were feeble, just as the excuses are of those who don't accept God's offer of salvation. Therefore, the Lord's Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be furnished with "undesirables" from the world's point of view (1 Cor. 1:26-29), not because God rejects the upper class, but because they reject Him. Those who have an abundance of this world's possessions don't tend to recognize their need for God as much as those who are without (Mk. 4:19; 1 Tim. 6:9-10).

Jesus' parable could also be applied to the Jewish nation. God had offered salvation to the Jews but they, as a whole, had refused Him. Therefore, the Lord would send His servants to the Gentiles to fill His kingdom (see note 5 at Lk. 13:28, p. 284).