Eusebius of Caesarea, Fragments on Luke

The first who were deemed worthy of the call, and these were they of the circumcision, on the pretext of being occupied with better things, insulted the call; for as if having fields in their own readings, and as if possessing ploughing oxen in the prophets, and as if cohabiting with a certain wisdom as with a wife, they scorned the grace of the gospel; but those after them 24.576 called from the foreign nations, who before were deaf and blind in their minds, readily obeyed; wherefore they will also obtain the blessing. One might think this to be the same parable as that in Matthew, in which there is a king making a wedding feast for his son, and sending servants to call those who were invited. But he who pays attention to the reading not superficially would, by applying his mind, find this one to be entirely different from that one. For the one in Matthew, first of all, compared what was said to the kingdom of heaven; but this is not said here. And there he likened the one calling to a king, but here he introduces a mere man; and there the king was preparing a wedding feast for his son, but here simply a supper; and there many are sent, but here only one is sent out for the call; and there some who made light of it did not come, and the rest both insulted and killed the servants; but here they only make an excuse of being busy, declining the call; there again the king sends an army against those who had killed his servants; but here the man, being angry at the refusal of those who were invited, does nothing of the sort, but commands his own servant to bring in the poor and maimed and blind. But the king who calls them to the wedding of his son, using several servants as ministers, does not bring in the poor and maimed, nor the blind and lame; since it was not fitting for such to be present at the call to a royal wedding; and when many had been called, the king punishes the one dressed in a garment unworthy of a wedding. But the most important point of all is that the parable in Matthew was spoken inside the temple, as the Savior was speaking to the chief priests and elders of the people; whereas the one in Luke presents a mere supper in Galilee in the house of a certain ruler of the Pharisees, with the Savior dining with him. Luke, at any rate, prefaces the present parable with these things: that He went into the house of a certain Pharisee to eat on the Sabbath; and they were watching Him. Then having gone on, how he healed a man with dropsy, and how he taught not to seek the first places at suppers, nor to call those who will call you in return, but those who are not able to repay, he adds, that one of those reclining with him, having heard these things, said, 'Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!' And He said to him: 'A certain man made a great supper.' Thus Luke recorded that the aforementioned parable was spoken by the Savior to the one who said, 'Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God'; so that one must by all means confess this one to be different from the first. But since this one also is not foreign to the kingdom of heaven, about which our whole discourse is concerned, let us see what it means and what is signified through it. One of those who were reclining 24.577 with the Savior in the Pharisee's house and dining with him, moved by His words, declares blessed the one who will be deemed worthy to eat bread in the kingdom of God. And I think he said this because the Savior said to the one who had invited him: 'When you make a breakfast, do not call the rich, but the poor, and you will be blessed,' To this man, therefore, he says: 'A certain man made a great supper,' and what follows. They all with one accord began to make excuses. They did not come to the rational banquet, being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and of matter rather than of God; for a wife is an example of love of pleasure; and a field and yoke of oxen, of the love of money. He says, then, that many have been called to the great supper and to the rational banquet of the holy and divine Scriptures throughout the whole world, but not all attain the grace; for they are deprived of it

πρῶτοι τῆς κλήσεως ἠξιωμένοι, οὗτοι δ' ἦσαν οἱ ἐκ τῆς περιτομῆς, προφάσει τῆς περὶ τὸ κρεῖττον ἀσχολίας τὴν κλῆσιν ὕβρισαν· ὡς γὰρ ἔχοντες ἀγροὺς τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀναγνώσματα, καὶ ὡς βόας ἀροτῆρας κεκτημένοι τοὺς προφήτας, καὶ ὡς ἂν σοφίᾳ τινὶ οἷα γυναικὶ συμβιοῦντες, τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἐξηυτέλισαν χάριν· οἱ δὲ μετ' ἐκείνους 24.576 ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐθνῶν κληθέντες, οἱ πρὶν τὰς διανοίας κωφοὶ καὶ τυφλοὶ, προθύμως ὑπήκουσαν· διὸ καὶ τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τεύξονται. ∆όξειεν ἄν τις τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι παραβολὴν τῇ παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ, ἐν ᾗ βασιλεύς ἐστι γάμους ποιῶν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ δούλους ἀποστέλλων καλέσαι τοὺς κεκλημένους. Ὁ δὲ μὴ παρέργως προσέχων τῇ ἀναγνώσει εὕροι ἂν ἐπιστήσας τὸν νοῦν παντάπασιν ἠλλοτριωμένην ταύτην ἐκείνης. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ πρῶτον ἁπάντων τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν παρέβαλε τὰ λεγόμενα· τοῦτο δ' ἐνταῦθα οὐ λέλεκται. Κἀκεῖ μὲν ἀφωμοίου τὸν κλήτορα βασιλεῖ, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον εἰσάγει· κἀκεῖ μὲν γάμους τῷ υἱῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐτέλει, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἁπλῶς δεῖπνον· κἀκεῖ μὲν πολλοὶ ἀποστέλλονται, ἐνταῦθα δὲ εἷς μόνος ἐπὶ τὴν κλῆσιν ἐκπέμπεται· κἀκεῖ οἱ μὲν ἀμελήσαντες οὐκ ἀπήντων, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ καὶ τοὺς δούλους ὕβρισαν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ μόνον σκήπτονται ἀσχολίαν, παραιτούμενοι τὴν κλῆσιν· ἐκεῖ πάλιν ὁ βασιλεὺς στράτευμα κινεῖ κατὰ τῶν ἀνῃρηκότων τοὺς αὑτοῦ δούλους· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὀργισθεὶς ἐπὶ τῇ παραιτήσει τῶν κεκλημένων, οὐδὲν μὲν τοιοῦτον ποιεῖ, τῷ δ' ἑαυτοῦ δούλῳ προστάττει πτωχοὺς καὶ ἀναπήρους καὶ τυφλοὺς εἰσαγαγεῖν. Ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς γάμους τοῦ υἱοῦ συγκαλῶν βασιλεὺς, δούλοις πλείοσιν ὑπηρέταις χρώμενος, οὐ πτωχοὺς καὶ ἀναπήρους, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τυφλοὺς καὶ χωλοὺς εἰσάγει· ἐπειδὴ μηδ' ἔπρεπεν ἐπικλήσει γάμου βασιλικοῦ τοιούτους παρεῖναι· κληθέντων δὲ πολλῶν, τὸν ἀνάξια γάμου ἐνδεδυμένον ὁ βασιλεὺς τιμωρεῖται. Τὸ δὲ πάντων κεφαλαιωδέστατον, ὅτι ἡ μὲν παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ παραβολὴ ἔνδον ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ λέλεκτο, πρὸς τοὺς ἀρχιερέας καὶ πρεσβυτέρους τοῦ λαοῦ διαλεγομένου τοῦ Σωτῆρος· ἡ δὲ παρὰ τῷ Λουκᾷ ἐπὶ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐν οἰκίᾳ τινὸς ἄρχοντος Φαρισαίου ψιλὸν δεῖπνον κατασκευάζει, ἑστιωμένου παρ' αὐτῷ τοῦ Σωτῆρος. Προλέγει γοῦν τῆς προκειμένης παραβολῆς ὁ Λουκᾶς ταῦτα· ὅτι εἰσῆλθεν εἰς οἶκόν τινος Φαρισαίου ἑστιαθῆναι ἐν Σαββάτῳ· οἱ δὲ παρετηροῦντο αὐτόν. Εἶτα διελθὼν, ὡς ὑδρωπικὸν ἐθεράπευσε, καὶ ὡς ἐδίδαξε μὴ τὰς πρωτοκλισίας ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις μεταδιώκειν, μηδὲ καλεῖν τοὺς ἀντικαλέσοντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀντιδοῦναι μὴ δυναμένους, ἐπιφέρει, ὅτι ἀκούσας τις τῶν συνανακειμένων ταῦτα εἶπε, Μακάριος ὅστις φάγεται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ! Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα. Οὕτω δ' ὁ Λουκᾶς τὴν προτεθεῖσαν παραβολὴν ἀνέγραψεν εἰρῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος πρὸς τὸν εἰρηκότα, Μακάριος ὅστις φάγεται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὥστε ἐξ ἅπαντος ὁμολογεῖν ἑτέραν εἶναι ταύτην παρὰ τὴν πρώτην. Ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἀλλοτρία τυγχάνει οὐδ' αὕτη τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, περὶ ἧς ἡμῖν ὁ πᾶς ἐνέστηκε λόγος, ἴδωμεν τί βούλεται καὶ τὰ διὰ ταύτην δηλούμενα. Τῶν συνα 24.577 νακειμένων τις τῷ Σωτῆρι ἐν τῇ τοῦ Φαρισαίου οἰκίᾳ καὶ συνεστιωμένων, ἐκ τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων κινηθεὶς, μακαρίζει τὸν καταξιωθησόμενον φαγεῖν ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οἶμαι δ' αὐτὸν τοῦτο εἰρηκέναι διὰ τὸ φάναι τὸν Σωτῆρα τῷ κεκληκότι αὐτόν· Ὅταν ποιῇς ἄριστον, μὴ πλουσίους κάλει, ἀλλὰ πτωχοὺς, καὶ μακάριος ἔσῃ, Πρὸς τοῦτον οὖν φησιν· Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἤρξαντο ἀπὸ μιᾶς παραιτεῖσθαι πάντες. Ἐπὶ τὸ λογικὸν συμπόσιον οὐκ ἀπήντησαν, φιλήδονοι μᾶλλον ὄντες ἢ φιλόθεοι, καὶ τῆς ὕλης ἢ τοῦ Θεοῦ· φιληδονίας μὲν γὰρ δεῖγμα γυνή· ἀγρὸς δὲ καὶ ζεύγη τῆς φιλοχρημοσύνης. Πολλοὺς μὲν οὖν κεκλῆσθαί φησι ἐπὶ τὸ μέγα δεῖπνον καὶ τὸ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης λογικὸν συμπόσιον τῶν ἱερῶν καὶ θείων Γραφῶν, μὴ μὴν τοὺς πάντας τῆς χάριτος ἐπιτυγχάνειν· ἀποστερεῖσθαι γὰρ αὐτῆς