the role of the lukan parables in terms of the purpose of luke's gospel

symposia give the background for understanding the parable. Just as the story of the tax
collector Bar Ma’yan is very different from the parable, so ancient symposia is also very
different from the parable.
5-2. The Analysis of the Parable
Jesus, as I have noted previously, often makes use of an exclamation as the occasion for
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further teaching (9:57; 11:45; 12:13; 13:1).230F The exclamation of one of the dinner guests,
here as elsewhere, gives rise to the occasion for the parable. His declaration in v. 15 to some
extent seems to expose his conviction that he will participate in the eschatological banquet.
Jesus then begins to tell the parable of a man who gives a great banquet to which many
people are invited. Even though the Greek term, could signify either the main meal
of the evening or a banquet, in the parable is a standing figure for the
messianic banquet as metaphorical significance which is based on the Old Testament and
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Jewish tradition.231F To address the wrong conviction of the anonymous guest, Jesus might
intend to show that the time for the banquet has arrived and is not just a future event, and
people must immediately accept the invitation. Since the food for the banquet is now ready,
the host sends his servant to summon the invited guests to the banquet. Instead of “it” in v. 17,
various modern versions prefer to read it as “all”, that is to say, “all or everything is ready”
(KJV, RSV, NEB, NIV, NRSV). Given the fact that the term does not appear in other very
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important ancient witnesses (P75, B, א), it may be right to read it as “it is ready”.232F The term
lays special emphasis on the time, that is, “now” as the arrival of the banquet, and
indicates that table fellowship with the earthly Jesus prefigures the eschatological banquet. In
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this regard, the eschatological banquet is now ready. Now is the day of salvation.233F The
parable assumes a double invitation, and this practice is attested in both Jewish and Roman
8. Opinions are divided as to whether this could either be part of the tradition or a redactional advice. Given the
preceding texts on the level of narrative, it is most likely to be an original part of this narrative. See Marshall,
Luke, 587; Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke, 1052, 1054; B.H. Young, Jesus and his Jewish Parables:
Rediscovering the Roots of Jesus’ Teaching (New York: Paulist Press, 1989), 169.
9. Psalm 23:5; Isaiah 25:6-9; 2 Esdras 2:37-41; 1 Enoch 62:14; 2 Enoch 42:5; 2 Bar. 29:1-8. Bailey takes Isaiah
25:6-9 of them as even more informative thing. Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes: More Lucan Parables, Their
Culture and Style, 89.
10. Hultgren insists to read it as “it is ready,” presenting three reasons: “ancient witnesses, the Matthean parallel
and the fact that the shorter reading is to be preferred.” Hultgren, Parables, 332.
11. Nolland, Luke, 775; Jeremias, Parables, 180; Linnemann, Parables of Jesus, 92; Bailey, Through Peasant
Eyes: More Lucan Parables, Their Culture and Style, 95; Forbes, The God of Old: The Role of the Lukan
Parables in the Purpose of Luke’s Gospel, 98.
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