What are those Christological implications? Based on what has been uncovered to this point in our contextual analysis of the parable of the great banquet, we can make some analogies to the overall mission of the Messiah (the Christ). As has been well-documented in relation to the community practice in relation to feasts and celebrations, well before the day of the banquet, the presumptive host would send a representative into the community, with invitations to attend the banquet, in the hopes of acquiring responses from the invitees that would confirm their desire to participate as planned guests at the banquet on offer. Does this not correspond quite well with the presumptive mission of Jesus as the Messiah? Is this not especially so when the master of the parable is presumed to be the God of Israel and the servant is presumed as His messiah?
The God of Israel, who is planning a great banquet that will mark His rule in this world (this works on more than one level because He is active as the Messiah, making Him both master and servant), sends His servant into the community, proclaiming the advent of that kingdom rule, in the hopes that those who hear will confirm their participation in the coming celebration. The invited guests, who are all that have been created in the image of God, and that confirm their participation in the banquet, are acknowledging the rule of God through His messiah. Having accepted the invitation, they now live in expectation of the time at which they will be in attendance at that banquet, and prepare themselves accordingly. All that have been invited to that great, eschatological banquet---understanding the honor that is attached to the invitation---are called upon to demonstrate allegiance to the rule of God of which it speaks, by embracing the responsibilities of His covenants and attempting to embody and imitate that which is going to be put on display by the messiah. Jesus presents the definitive picture, through His words and actions, of what is expected of those that look forward to attending the banquet, acting out the principles of the messianic banquet (that we see before and during the parable) for all the world to see.
We have also made mention of the fact that this a two-step process, with the first step being the invitation, and the second step being the call to the banquet for those invited at the time that the meal is prepared. The second step is quite important, as accepting the invitation really only matters if one confirms that to which one has obligated oneself. Just as God sends His messiah into the world to offer the invitations, confirming that a banquet is going to take place at some point in the future, that same messiah will come again at the time appointed by God, to gather those that indicated that they were going to be people of the messianic banquet (that accepted invitations), and therefore participants in the kingdom age. What will remain to be seen, at that point in time, is whether or not those that confirmed their participation at the time that the invitation was extended, have prepared themselves accordingly in expectation of the call to attend and then present themselves at the banquet, or if excuses will be on offer because other plans, programs, and concerns (idols?) have taken priority. In that light, one could almost say that the invitation to the messianic banquet has been extended, and for those that have confirmed their attendance, the call to attend comes every single day.
For the people of God (Israel and the renewed Israel), we can see that this concept can be applied multiple times. Because the messiah is the “anointed one,” Israel has seen numerous messiahs. In accordance with that, it can be said that God expected each one of those anointed individuals to point His people, and all peoples through the example of His people, to His rightful and coming rule. In a sense then, invitations to a messianic banquet have been on offer since the striking of the covenant with Abraham, as it represents the kingdom and rule of God. When we make this historically and linguistically grounded consideration of multiple messiahs, then specifically, we can see that this was to be one of the functions of the kingship, and especially those whose anointings are recorded in the Scripture. The kings of Israel (and Judah) were to be a reminder of the rule of God, and a vessel for that purpose, as they functioned within the expectations created by the Abrahamic covenant.
Jesus, as the quintessential Messiah, stands within this long tradition, with this messianic banquet and its associated rule of God adding yet another dimension to the nature of His role as the King of Israel. He then functions for renewed Israel (those who live under the covenant marker of the Lordship of God through Jesus as Messiah) in the same way, reminding the people of God of what is to come. Just as the messianic banquet was, in a way, always on offer through the anointed ones of Israel, pointing to the time to come when their God would finally act personally to inaugurate the kingdom, with this action taken through the coming of Jesus, it is now on offer and pointing to the time to come when that same Jesus will return in order to host the banquet that marks the consummation of that kingdom. The church at Laodicea, unfortunately, had lost sight of these things.
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