The Invitation and the Cost: Saying Yes to Jesus (Luke 14:15-35)
Imagine being invited to a big celebration—a beautiful feast prepared just for you. The food is ready, the seats are set, and the host is waiting. That’s the picture Jesus painted when He told a story about God’s kingdom. But this story comes with a twist, and it carries a message we all need to hear: the invitation is open, but saying “yes” means giving our whole hearts.
A Banquet with Empty Seats
Jesus told a story about a man who planned a great banquet. He invited many guests, but when everything was ready, they started making excuses. One said he had just bought a field. Another had new oxen to try out. A third said he had just gotten married.
In today’s words, they were all too busy.
So the host got upset—not because he needed them to eat his food, but because they didn’t value the invitation. So he sent his servant to find others—the poor, the sick, the outcasts. He even sent them to the roads and country lanes to invite strangers.
Jesus’ point was clear: God’s invitation is for everyone, but not everyone will accept it. Some will walk away, distracted by their own plans. Others—often the ones left out by society—will come in with joy.
Following Jesus Means Putting Him First
After the parable, Jesus turned to the large crowds that were following Him. He said something surprising: “If you want to follow Me, you must love Me more than your family, your plans, even your own life.”
That doesn’t mean we should stop loving our families or taking care of responsibilities. But it does mean that Jesus must come first.
He gave two examples to make His point:
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A person who wants to build a tower but doesn’t plan ahead. If they run out of money halfway through, the project ends in failure.
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A king who faces a stronger enemy. If he doesn’t think it through, he’ll lose the battle.
In both examples, the message is simple: Don’t start something serious unless you’re ready to finish it.
Following Jesus isn’t a light decision. It means choosing to trust Him completely, even when it’s hard.
Be Like Salt That Makes a Difference
Jesus ended with a final picture: salt.
Salt is useful—it adds flavor and preserves food. But if it loses its taste, it’s not good for anything.
In the same way, Jesus wants His followers to live in a way that makes a difference. If we claim to follow Him but don’t truly live like it, our faith loses its strength.
Final Thought: Come to the Table, and Bring Your Whole Heart
Jesus offers an invitation to everyone—to come, to belong, to find life in Him. It’s a gift, not something we earn. But it also comes with a challenge: we can’t just accept it halfway.
To follow Jesus means trusting Him fully, giving Him first place in our lives, and walking with Him every day.
So, will you say yes to the invitation? And if you do—will you bring your whole heart?
Luke 14:15-35 (WEB)
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.’ ”25 Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. 27 Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross and come after me, can’t be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation and isn’t able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy and asks for conditions of peace. 33 So therefore, whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.34 “Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”