This great dinner is different from the wedding feast in Matt. 22:2-14, which was for the reward of the kingdom. This great dinner is for God's full salvation. God, as the "certain man," prepared His full salvation as a great dinner and sent the first apostles as His slaves to invite the Jews (vv. 16-17). But because they were occupied by their riches, such as land, cattle, or a wife, they refused His invitation (vv. 18-20). Then God sent the apostles to invite the people on the streets — the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Because of their poverty and misery, they accepted God's invitation (vv. 21-22a). Yet God's salvation still had room for more; so He sent His slaves to go out farther, to the Gentile world, signified by the roads and hedges, to compel the Gentiles to come in and fill up the house of His salvation (vv. 22-23; Acts 13:46-48; Rom. 11:25).

This refers to the resurrection of life (John 5:29; Rev. 20:4-6), at which time God will reward the saints (Rev. 11:18) at the Lord's coming back (1 Cor. 4:5).

These are the people whom God invited to His salvation (v. 21).

Some MSS read, son.

A disease that causes the body to swell because of the forming of fluid in the cavities and tissues. This signifies the abnormal inner function of life that causes spiritual death before God.

With an evil intention to accuse Him (Mark 3:2).

The Lord's word here and that in v. 31 indicate that to make a career of following the Lord, we must give to it all we have and all we can do; otherwise, we will be a failure, becoming the tasteless salt and being thrown out of the glorious realm into a sphere of shame (vv. 34-35).

The aim of the cross is not suffering but the termination of the person. The believers in Christ have been crucified (terminated) with Him (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6). After being organically united with Him through faith, they should remain on the cross, keeping their old man under the termination of the cross (cf. Rom. 6:3; Col. 2:20-21). This is to carry their own cross. Christ first carried the cross and then was crucified (John 19:17-18). But the believers in Him are first crucified and then carry the cross that they may remain in the termination of their old man, thus experiencing and enjoying Christ as their life and life supply.

In vv. 26-33 the Lord unveiled to the crowds who went along with Him (v. 25) the cost of following Him. To receive salvation is to be saved (Luke 13:23); to follow the Lord is to enjoy Him as the blessing of God's salvation. This requires us to renounce all, even our life, and to carry our own cross (vv. 26-27, 33).

For vv. 34-35, see notes in Matt. 5:13 and note Mark 9:50¹.

The believers in Christ are the salt of the earth used by God to kill and eliminate the earth's corruption. Their taste depends on their renouncing of earthly things. The more they renounce the things of earth, the more powerful will be their taste. They will lose their taste by not being willing to renounce all the things of the present life. If this happens, they will be fit neither for the land, signifying the church as God's farm (1 Cor. 3:9), which issues in the coming kingdom (Rev. 11:15), nor for the manure pile, signifying hell, the filthy place in the universe (Rev. 21:8; 22:15). They will be thrown out from the kingdom of God, especially from the glory of the kingdom in the millennium (see note Matt. 8:12²). They are saved from eternal perdition, but because they have failed to renounce the earthly things, they lose their function in the kingdom of God, thus being unfit for the coming kingdom and needing to be put aside for discipline (see note Luke 17:32¹).