Pursuing Jesus: “Come”—a call for the wanted
In Aotearoa this past week, we celebrated Waitangi Day. Maybe you watched the coverage, or perhaps you were there in person, witnessing the powhiri—the welcoming ceremony on the marae. At its heart is the karanga, the powerful call of welcome: “Haere mai!”—Come! It is the invitation, “Enter, we want you here!”
There’s something deeply moving about an invitation. I see it all the time. Last year, I officiated my 50th wedding as a pastor. That’s 50 times I’ve watched a bride and groom gaze out at the people they love, overwhelmed with gratitude, conveying to them, “You came. We wanted you here.”
Even at home, the call to come echoes. We live in a two-story house, and my mother-in-law lives downstairs. Every afternoon, my kids wander down to hang out with Nana. And when dinner’s ready, I call out from the kitchen: Come to the table! It’s time to eat. If they don’t come to the table, I know that some hanger will soon follow.
Why do we call to people? Because we want them to be with us.
Because we have something to share. And because if they don’t come, they miss out on what’s waiting for them.
Jesus’ Invitation
We’re diving into the second part of our Pursuing Jesus series, anchored in Matthew 4:19. Jesus’ first words to His disciples were simple:
“Come, follow me, and I will show you how...”
That first word is everything: Come. Jesus’ call is a karanga, a wedding invitation, a summons to the table.
He calls us because He wants us near. He calls because He has something for us. But, like every invitation, we have a choice.
The Parable of the Great Feast
In Luke 14:15-24, Jesus tells a parable about a great feast:
Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”
Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”
For us to understand what Jesus is teaching we need to understand how Jesus is teaching here. He is using a parable — a story of metaphor, a picture to see, where something familiar is placed next to a deep truth. The banquet, in this case, is set beside the picture of the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom That is Like a Banquet
Think about your meals this week. Maybe it was a smoothie on the way out the door. Or a sandwich smashed down between meetings, a quick bite on the go. Or perhaps a My Food Bag dinner. That’s not what Jesus is talking about. The Kingdom isn’t like a packed lunch. It’s a feast—lavish, overflowing, full of joy. But how often do we see life with God as meager rations rather than a celebration?
Jesus is trying to get us to see the reality He sees:
Life in the Kingdom is abundance. It’s where the best things are laid out for us in fullness.
Who Will Come?
The feast is ready. The invitations go out. And here’s the crucial bit: an invitation is only powerful if it’s accepted. The choice is ours.
Jesus’ story takes a surprising turn. The invitees—people you’d expect to say yes—turn it down. Their reasons sound valid. Work. Family. Other commitments. But in the end, they miss the feast.
Have you ever invited someone to something meaningful, only to hear a half-hearted excuse? You feel the sting of rejection. Jesus shows us something radical: The Kingdom is so good that everything else pales in comparison. And yet, people still say no.
The Party Goes On
Here’s the stunning thing: the host doesn’t plead with those who rejected the invitation. He simply invites others—the outsiders, the overlooked, the ones who never expected to be included. This is the heart of God: Even when rejected, He keeps inviting.
It’s crucial to notice this—God never forces anyone in. The Kingdom doesn’t work by coercion but by invitation.
Dallas Willard puts it this way:
“ The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of love and understanding and maturity… It will never be a kingdom of people who are knocked on the head or rewired to become religious robots. It is a kingdom of God’s creatures whom He made to learn and grow freely.”
God, in all His power, won’t force you into His Kingdom. He only invites. But don’t mistake invitation for being passive or limp, because in the end, when the banquet happens, the seats fill up and who missed out? Those who refused.
What are the Truths Inside This Parable?
This parable presents us with a few important truths:
The Kingdom of God is abundant, not stingy.
The feast is ready, and the invitations have gone out.
The choice is ours to make.
God will not coerce us—He will only invite.
If we say no, the party goes on without us.
Will You Say Yes?
At the very end of the Bible, Revelation 22:17 gives one final call: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Let anyone who hears this say, ‘Come.’ Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.”
Who gets the feast? Who drinks deeply? Those who come.
Following Jesus isn’t a theoretical exercise. It’s an apprenticeship—walking in proximity to the Master, learning His ways. But you can’t do that from a distance. If you don’t come close, you miss what’s being offered.
Jesus stands at the door to the Kingdom that is like a grand banquet— it’s bursting with life, the buzz of noise and the scent of good food and He is lovingly calling:
Come, I want you here.
Let’s go in together.
The invitation is open. The table is set. The feast is prepared.
What will you do with the invitation?
What excuses might be standing in the way of your yes?
What step could you take today to respond?