Great Banquet

A gospel-blues reflection inspired by the parable of The Great Banquet (Matthew 22:1–14; Luke 14:15–24). The table is ready. The invitation is open. Some refuse. Others come in from the roads. This song sits with the quiet weight of that moment— mercy offered, seats waiting, the door still open.

Scripture: Matthew 22:1–14

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ²“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹²He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Lyrics

Verse 1
The King set the table, long and wide,
Yeah, the King set the table, long and wide,
Said, “Come on in, my children, everything’s ready inside.”

Verse 2
Sent out the servants, knockin’ door to door,
Yeah, sent out the servants, knockin’ door to door,
But they said, “I bought some land, Lord, can’t come no more.”

Refrain
Oh, the food stay warm and the wine stay sweet,
Yeah, the food stay warm and the wine stay sweet,
But the seats stay empty when the proud won’t meet.

Verse 3
One said, “Got a business,” one said, “Got a wife,”
Yeah, one said, “Got a business,” one said, “Got a life,”
They traded heaven’s invitation for the dust of daily strife.

Verse 4
The King got angry, but His mercy ran deep,
Yeah, the King got angry, but His mercy ran deep,
Said, “Go to the highways, where the lost ones sleep.”

Refrain
Bring the broken, bring the blind,
Bring the weary, bring the kind,
There’s a seat at the table for the last in line.

Verse 5
Poor folks came shufflin’, coats torn thin,
Yeah, poor folks came shufflin’, let the beggars in,
Every chair got filled by the ones counted out by men.

Verse 6
But one man sat quiet, didn’t dress for the call,
Yeah, one man sat quiet, didn’t dress for the call,
Had the seat, had the supper, but he didn’t heed it all.

Verse 7
The King said softly, but His word stood fast,
“Friend, how you get here, holdin’ to the past?”
Many get the call, but few will last.

Final Refrain
Oh, the table is ready, the door stays wide,
Yeah, the table is ready, the door stays wide,
But you gotta come humble if you wanna step inside.

Outro (slow, spoken blues)
Many are called…
Few choose to come.
The feast is mercy—
But you don’t walk in numb.

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