“A man was spreading a grand evening meal, and he invited many. He sent his slave out . . . to say to the invited ones, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I bought a field and need to go out and see it; I ask you, have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I bought five yoke of cattle and am going to examine them; I ask you, have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I just got married, and for this reason I cannot come.’”​—Luke 14:16-20.

Those are weak excuses! A man normally examines a field or livestock before the purchase, so it is not urgent to look at them afterward. The third man is not preparing to marry. He is already married, so that should not prevent him from accepting an important invitation. On hearing these excuses, the master angrily tells his slave:

What Jesus has just related well illustrates how Jehovah God had Jesus Christ extend an invitation to individuals to be in line for the Kingdom of the heavens. The Jews, especially the religious leaders, were the first to be invited. In the main, they rejected the invitation throughout Jesus’ ministry. But the invitation would not stop with them. Jesus clearly is suggesting that in the future a second invitation would be extended to lowly ones of the Jewish nation and to proselytes. Thereafter, there would be a third and final invitation to people whom the Jews viewed as unsuitable before God.​—Acts 10:28-48.