Parable of the Great Banquet

Jesus' Parable of the Great Banquet (described in Luke 14:15-24) is an important and powerful analogy and explanation of the Gospel message and the Kingdom of Heaven. The parable describes a man who is preparing a great banquet and has invited guests to come to attend the event. However, several of the invited guests make excuses in order to relieve themselves of the obligation of attending the event by mentioning other obligations. When the man sees that his invited guests are not coming, he invites the "poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame" to attend the event. When he realises that he still has room for more, he invites those from "the roads and country lanes" to come to the event. The man then says, "I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet." 
The parable is an analogy to the rejection of Jesus and his message by his fellow brethren and those that he initially came to minister unto. When Jesus realised that "his own" would not receive him and his message, he invited everyone else to be his disciple and receive his message. The parable is a reminder that those who reject Jesus and his message will not be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is willing to invite those from outside his brotherhood to receive his message and into the Kingdom of Heaven.