"St. Jackanapes" <larry_jackowski@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:MPG.21161886a17e7e8798969a@news.alt.net...
Luke Chapter 14 (NASB)
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
1 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the
?1?leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, ?a?they were
watching Him closely.
2 And ?1?there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the ?1??a?lawyers and
Pharisees, saying, "?b?Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"
4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him,
and sent him away.
5 And He said to them, "?1??a?Which one of you will have a son or
an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a
Sabbath day?"
6 ?a?And they could make no reply to this.
Parable of the Guests
7 And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He
noticed how ?a?they had been picking out the places of honor at the
table, saying to them,
8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ?a?do not
?1?take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you
may have been invited by him,
9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give
your place to this man,' and then ?a?in disgrace you ?1?proceed to
occupy the last place.
10 "But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place,
so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you,
'Friend, ?a?move up higher'; then you will have honor in the sight of
all who ?1?are at the table with you.
11 "?a?For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted."
12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him,
"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or
your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may
also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
13 "But when you give a ?1?reception, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed, since they ?1?do not have the means
to repay you; for you will be repaid at ?a?the resurrection of the
righteous."
15 When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him
heard this, he said to Him, "?a?Blessed is everyone who will eat
bread in the kingdom of God!"
Parable of the Dinner
16 But He said to him, "?a?A man was giving a big dinner, and he
invited many;
17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who
had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.'
18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said
to him, 'I have bought a ?1?piece of land and I need to go out and
look at it; ?2?please consider me excused.'
19 "Another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am
going to try them out; ?1?please consider me excused.'
20 "Another one said, '?a?I have married a wife, and for that
reason I cannot come.'
21 "And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then
the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out
at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the
poor and crippled and blind and lame.'
22 "And the slave said, 'Master, what you commanded has been
done, and still there is room.'
23 "And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the highways
and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house
may be filled.
24 'For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall
taste of my dinner.' "
Discipleship Tested
25 Now ?1?large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned
and said to them,
26 "?a?If anyone comes to Me, and does not ?1?hate his own father
and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and
even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
27 "Whoever does not ?a?carry his own cross and come after Me
cannot be My disciple.
28 "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does
not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to
complete it?
29 "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to
finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
31 "Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in
battle, will not first sit down and ?a?consider whether he is strong
enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him
with twenty thousand?
32 "Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends ?1?a
delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 "So then, none of you can be My disciple who ?a?does not give
up all his own possessions.
34 "Therefore, salt is good; but ?a?if even salt has become
tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
35 "It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it
is thrown out. ?a?He who has ears to hear, ?1?let him hear."
[1]
Healing of a Man with Dropsy (14:1-6)
14:1-3 One Sabbath day, a ruler of the Pharisees invited the Lord to his
house for a meal. It was not a sincere gesture of hospitality, but rather
an attempt on the part of the religious leaders to find fault with the Son
of God. Jesus saw a certain man there who was afflicted with dropsy, that
is, swelling caused by the accumulation of water in the tissues. The
Savior read the minds of His critics by asking them pointedly whether it
was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.
14:4-6 Much as they would like to have said that it was not, they could
not support their answer, and so they kept silent. Jesus therefore healed
the man and let him go. To Him it was a work of mercy, and divine love
never ceases its activities, even on the Sabbath (John 5:17). Then turning
to the Jews, He reminded them that if one of their animals fell into a
pit, they would certainly pull him out on the Sabbath day. It was in their
own interests to do so. The animal was worth money to them. In the case of
a suffering fellow man, they didn't care, and they would have condemned
the Lord Jesus for helping him. Although they could not answer the
reasoning of the Savior, we can be sure that they were all the more
incensed at Him.
O. Parable of the Ambitious Guest (14:7-11)
As the Lord Jesus entered the Pharisee's house, He perhaps had seen the
guests maneuvering for the best places around the table. They sought the
positions of eminence and honor. The fact that He too was a guest did not
prevent Him from speaking out in frankness and righteousness. He warned
them against this form of self-seeking. When they were invited to a meal,
they should take the lower place rather than the higher. When we seek a
high place for ourselves, there is always the possible shame of being
demoted. If we are truly humble before God, there is only one direction we
can possibly move and that is up. Jesus taught that it is better to be
advanced to a place of honor than to grasp that place and later have to
relinquish it. He Himself is the living example of self-renunciation
(Phil. 2:5-8). He humbled Himself and God exalted Him. Whoever exalts
himself will be humbled by God.
P. The Guest List God Honors (14:12-14)
The ruler of the Pharisees had undoubtedly invited the local celebrities
to this meal. Jesus perceived this at once. He saw that the
underprivileged people in the community were not included. He therefore
took occasion to enunciate one of the great principles of
Christianity-that we should love those who are unlovely, and who cannot
repay us. The usual way for people to act is to invite their friends,
relatives, and rich neighbors, always with the hope of being repaid in
kind. It does not require divine life to act in this way. But it is
positively supernatural to show kindness to the poor, the maimed, the
lame, and the blind. God reserves a special reward for those who show
charity to these classes. Although such guests cannot repay us, yet God
Himself promises to reward at the resurrection of the just. This is also
known in the Scripture as the first resurrection, and includes the
resurrection of all true believers. It takes place at the Rapture, and
also, we believe, at the end of the Tribulation Period. That is, the first
resurrection is not one single event, but takes place in stages.
Q. Parable of the Excuses (14:15-24)
14:15-18 One of the guests who reclined with Jesus at the meal remarked
how wonderful it would be to participate in the blessings of the kingdom
of God. Perhaps he was impressed by the principles of conduct which the
Lord Jesus had just taught. Or perhaps it was just a general remark which
he made without too much thought. At any rate, the Lord replied that
wonderful as it may be to eat bread in the kingdom of God, the sad fact is
that many of those who are invited make all kinds of foolish excuses for
their failure to accept. He pictured God as a certain man who gave a great
supper and invited many guests. When the meal was ready, he asked his
servant to notify the invited guests that everything was now ready. This
reminds us of the great fact that the Lord Jesus finished the work of
redemption on Calvary, and the gospel invitation goes out on the basis of
that completed work. One person who had been invited excused himself
because he had bought a field and he wanted to go and see it. Normally he
should have gone and seen it before purchasing it. But even then, he was
putting the love of material things ahead of the gracious invitation.
14:19, 20 The next one had bought five yoke of oxen, and was going to test
them. He pictures those who put jobs, occupations, or business ahead of
the call of God. The third one said he had married a wife, and therefore
could not come. Family ties and social relationships often hinder men from
accepting the gospel invitation.
14:21-23 When that servant notified his master that the invitation was
being rejected right and left, the master sent him out to the city to
invite the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind. "Both nature
and grace abhor a vacuum," said Bengel. Perhaps the first ones invited
picture the leaders of the Jewish people. When they rejected the gospel,
God sent it out to the common people of the city of Jerusalem. Many of
these responded to the call, but still there was room in the master's
house. And so the lord said to the servant to go out into the highways and
by-ways, and compel people to come in. This doubtless pictures the gospel
going out to the Gentile people. They were not to be compelled by force of
arms (as has been done in the history of Christendom), but rather by force
of argument. Loving persuasion was to be used in an effort to bring them
in so that the master's house might be filled.
14:24 Thus the original guest list was no longer useful when the meal was
held, because those who were originally invited did not come.
R. The Cost of True Discipleship (14:25-35)
14:25 Now great multitudes followed the Lord Jesus. Most leaders would be
elated by such widespread interest. But the Lord was not looking for
people who would follow Him out of curiosity, with no real heart interest.
He was looking for those who were willing to live devotedly and
passionately for Him, and even die for Him if necessary. And so He now
began to sift the crowd by presenting to them the stringent terms of
discipleship. At times the Lord Jesus wooed men to Himself, but after they
began to follow Him, He winnowed them. That is what is taking place here.
14:26 First of all He told those who followed Him that in order to be true
disciples, they must love Him supremely. He did not ever suggest that men
should have bitter hatred in their hearts toward father, mother, wife,
children, brothers and sisters. Rather He was emphasizing that love for
Christ must be so great that all other loves are hatred by comparison (cf.
Matt. 10:37). No consideration of family ties must ever be allowed to
deflect a disciple from a pathway of full obedience to the Lord.
Actually, the most difficult part of this first term of discipleship is
found in the words "and his own life also." It is not only that we must
love our relatives less; we must hate our own lives also! Instead of
living self-centered lives, we must live Christ-centered lives. Instead of
asking how every action will affect ourselves, we must be careful to
assess how it will affect Christ and His glory. Considerations of personal
comfort and safety must be subordinated to the great task of glorifying
Christ and making Him known. The Savior's words are absolute. He said that
if we did not love Him supremely, more than our family and more than our
own lives, we could not be His disciples. There is no half-way measure.
14:27 Secondly, He taught that a true disciple must bear his own cross and
follow Him. The cross is not some physical infirmity or mental anguish,
but is a pathway of reproach, suffering, loneliness, and even death which
a person voluntarily chooses for Christ's sake. Not all believers bear the
cross. It is possible to avoid it by living a nominal Christian life. But
if we determine to be all out for Christ, we will experience the same kind
of satanic opposition which the Son of God knew when He was here on earth.
This is the cross. The disciple must come after Christ. This means that he
must live the type of life which Christ lived when He was here on earth-a
life of self-renunciation, humiliation, persecution, reproach, temptation,
and contradiction of sinners against Himself.
14:28-30 Then the Lord Jesus used two illustrations to emphasize the
necessity of counting the cost before setting out to follow Him. He
likened the Christian life to a building project and then to warfare. A
man intending to build a tower sits down first and counts the cost. If he
doesn't have enough to finish it, he doesn't proceed. Otherwise when the
foundation is laid, and the work must stop, the onlookers begin to mock
him, saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish." So it
is with disciples. They should first count the cost, whether they really
mean to abandon their lives wholeheartedly to Christ. Otherwise they might
start off in a blaze of glory, and then fizzle out. If so, the onlookers
will mock them for beginning well and ending ingloriously. The world has
nothing but contempt for half-hearted Christians.
14:31, 32 A king going to make war against forces that are numerically
superior must consider carefully whether his smaller forces have the
capacity to defeat the enemy. He realizes full well that it is either
absolute committal or abject surrender. And so it is in the life of
Christian discipleship. There can be no halfway measures.
14:33 Verse 33 is probably one of the most unpopular verses in the entire
Bible. It explicitly states that "Whoever of you does not forsake all that
he has cannot be My disciple." There is no evading the meaning of the
words. They do not say that a person must be willing to forsake all.
Rather they say that he must forsake all. We must give the Lord Jesus
credit for knowing what He was saying. He realized that the job would
never be done in any other way. He wants men and women who esteem Him more
than everything else in the world. Ryle observes:
The man who does well for himself is the man who gives up everything for
Christ's sake. He makes the best of bargains; he carries the cross for a
few years in this world, and in the world to come has everlasting life. He
obtains the best of possessions; he carries his riches with him beyond the
grave. He is rich in grace here, and he is rich in glory hereafter. And,
best of all, what he obtains by faith in Christ he never loses. It is
"that good part which is never taken away."? 45
14:34, 35 Salt is a picture of a disciple. There is something wholesome
and commendable about a person who is living devotedly and sacrificially
for the Lord. But then we read of salt that has lost its flavor. Modern
table salt cannot lose its savor because it is pure salt. But in Bible
lands, the salt was often mixed with various forms of impurity. Therefore
it was possible for salt to be wasted away and for a residue to remain in
the container. But this residue was worthless. It could not even be used
for fertilizing the land. It had to be discarded.
The picture is of a disciple who starts off brilliantly, and then goes
back on his vows. The disciple has one basic reason for existence; if he
fails to fulfill that reason, then he is a pitiable object. We read
concerning the salt that "men throw it out." It does not say that God
casts it out; that could never happen. But men throw it out, that is, they
trample underfoot the testimony of one who began to build and was not able
to finish. Kelly notes:
There is shown the danger of what begins well turning out ill. What is
there in the world so useless as salt when it has lost the one property
for which it is valued? It is worse than useless for any other purpose. So
with the disciple who ceases to be Christ's disciple. He is not suited for
the world's purposes, and he has forsaken God's. He has too much light or
knowledge for entering into the vanities and sins of the world, and he has
no enjoyment of grace and truth to keep him in the path of Christ. ...
Savourless salt becomes an object of contempt and judgment.? 46
The Lord Jesus closed the message on discipleship with the words "He who
has ears to hear, let him hear!" These words imply that not everyone will
have the willingness to listen to the stringent terms of discipleship. But
if a person is willing to follow the Lord Jesus, no matter what the cost
may be, then he should hear and follow.
John Calvin once said, "I gave up all for Christ, and what have I found? I
have found everything in Christ." Henry Drummond commented, "The entrance
fee into the kingdom of heaven is nothing: the annual subscription is
everything."
[2]
Luke 14:1 I must confess that if a Pharisee had asked me to come to dinner
for the purpose of spying on me, I would have refused. The Pharisee was
watching for something that would discredit our Lord. This first verse
provides the atmosphere, tone, and color of the situation. It was the
prelude before the dinner that produced the tenseness.[3]
Luke 14:2 A trap was laid to ensnare the Lord. I believe this man was
deliberately planted to motivate our Lord to break the Sabbath by healing
him. Notice what He did. The Lord asked the question first, and they were
afraid to answer Him.[4]
Luke 14:3-5 If their ox or donkey fell into something, they would rescue
it. In other words, if any of those rascals had had a flat tire on the
Sabbath, they would have fixed it, and the Lord knew it. "That's the
reason I'm fixing up this fellow here-he's in trouble."[5]
Luke 14:7 This scene is as rich as it can be. In that day they did not
have place cards at the table. Place cards must have been originated by
some hostess who wanted to preserve her furniture! Without place cards at
the table, there was a mad rush to get to the best seats. At the table in
that day there were four chief places. When the cook said, "Soup's on,"
everyone made a beeline for the table. In that day couches rather than
chairs were used so that the guests reclined at the table. There were
three places to recline on each side; the center place was the seat of
honor which made four chief places. At the head table there would be seats
one, two and three on one side; seat number two, the center seat, would be
the place of honor. Around on the other side would be seats four, five,
and six, with number five as the seat of honor. Around on the other side
are seats seven, eight, and nine, with seat number eight the seat of
honor. On the fourth side of the table number eleven would be the seat of
honor.
It is understandable that one of these old Pharisees could not move as
fast as some of the younger Pharisees. When the cook called, "Soup's on,"
the old Pharisee, who had moved as close as possible to the dining area,
ran for seat number two. One of the younger Pharisees got there before he
did; so he turned the corner fast and tried to reach number five seat. He
was too late again because someone was already sitting there. Quickly he
tried for seat number eight, but he did not make it to that seat in time
either. He turned the corner and made a dive for seat number eleven and
made it. It was the lowest seat, but still a seat of honor. He reclined
there out of breath.
Can you imagine what a hilarious picture it must have been to see these
men running as fast as they could for the seats of honor? Now our Lord
will correct their manners.
[6]
Luke 14:12-14 Our Lord is setting forth another great principle. Most of
us have the same guests over to dinner one time, and the next time we go
to one of their homes, and so it goes week after week. It is sort of a
round-robin situation. The Lord is condemning that practice. There is
nothing wrong with having your group in once in a while, but have you ever
thought about doing something for those who have nothing? They cannot pay
you back; they will not be able to invite you to dinner next week. Do a
few things where you will be the giver with no thought of ever being paid
back.
[7]
Luke 14:1 Whether issued by Pharisee or publican, friend or foe, Jesus
never turned down an invitation. At this particular meal, He will speak
very pointedly to five groups of people. And what He will say will be
shockingly honest. In verses 2-6, He will speak to the Pharisees about
their pseudo-spirituality. In verses 7-11, He will talk to the guests
surrounding Him about their miserable manners and methodology. In verses
12-14, He will correct the host who invited Him concerning his wrong
motives for hospitality. In verses 15-24, He will reply to the man who
interrupted Him regarding his mistaken assumption of his destiny. In
verses 25-34, He will address the crowd about their need to think
carefully.
Whether in relation to parenting, vocation, or ministry, every one of us
comes to a certain point when we have the opportunity to choose to do what
Jesus did so naturally and so beautifully-to care more about others doing
well than about what they think of us. All too often, we shy away from
speaking truth because we want others to like us. Not so Jesus, for in the
chapter before us, He'll say things that, although hard to hear, were
needful not only for His listeners, but for us..
[8]
The Pharisees: False Piety (Luke 14:1-6)
Instead of bringing them to repentance, Jesus' severe denunciation of the
Pharisees and scribes (Luke 11:39-52) only provoked them to retaliation,
and they plotted against Him. The Pharisee who invited Jesus to his home
for dinner also invited a man afflicted with dropsy. This is a painful
disease in which, because of kidney trouble, a heart ailment, or liver
disease, the tissues fill with water. How heartless of the Pharisees to
"use" this man as a tool to accomplish their wicked plan, but if we do not
love the Lord, neither will we love our neighbor. Their heartless
treatment of the man was far worse than our Lord's "lawless" behavior on
the Sabbath.
This afflicted man would not have been invited to such an important dinner
were it not that the Pharisees wanted to use him as "bait" to catch Jesus.
They knew that Jesus could not be in the presence of human suffering very
long without doing something about it. If He ignored the afflicted man,
then He was without compassion; but if He healed him, then He was openly
violating the Sabbath and they could accuse Him. They put the dropsied man
right in front of the Master so He could not avoid him, and then they
waited for the trap to spring.
Keep in mind that Jesus had already "violated" their Sabbath traditions on
at least seven different occasions. On the Sabbath Day, He had cast out a
demon (Luke 4:31-37), healed a fever (Luke 4:38-39), allowed His disciples
to pluck grain (Luke 6:1-5), healed a lame man (John 5:1-9), healed a man
with a paralyzed hand (Luke 6:6-10), delivered a crippled woman who was
afflicted by a demon (Luke 13:10-17), and healed a man born blind (John
9). Why our Lord's enemies thought that one more bit of evidence was
necessary, we do not know, but we do know that their whole scheme
backfired.
When Jesus asked what their convictions were about the Sabbath Day, He
used on them the weapon they had forged for Him. To begin with, they
couldn't heal anybody on any day, and everybody knew it. But even more, if
the Pharisees said that nobody should be healed on the Sabbath, the people
would consider them heartless; if they gave permission for healing, their
associates would consider them lawless. The dilemma was now theirs, not
the Lord's, and they needed a way to escape. As they did on more than one
occasion, the scribes and Pharisees evaded the issue by saying nothing.
Jesus healed the man and let him go, knowing that the Pharisee's house was
not the safest place for him. Instead of providing evidence against Jesus,
the man provided evidence against the Pharisees, for he was "exhibit A" of
the healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord knew too much about this legalistic crowd to let them escape. He
knew that on the Sabbath Day they would deliver their farm animals from
danger, so why not permit Him to deliver a man who was made in the
likeness of God? Seemingly, they were suggesting that animals were more
important than people. (It is tragic that some people even today have more
love for their pets than they do for their family members, their
neighbors, or even for a lost world.)
Jesus exposed the false piety of the Pharisees and the scribes. They
claimed to be defending God's Sabbath laws, when in reality they were
denying God by the way they abused people and accused the Saviour. There
is a big difference between protecting God's truth and promoting man's
traditions.
The Guests: False Popularity (Luke 14:7-11)
Experts in management tell us that most people wear an invisible sign that
reads, "Please make me feel important"; if we heed that sign, we can
succeed in human relations. On the other hand, if we say or do things that
make others feel insignificant, we will fail. Then people will respond by
becoming angry and resentful, because everybody wants to be noticed and
made to feel important.
In Jesus' day, as today, there were "status symbols" that helped people
enhance and protect their high standing in society. If you were invited to
the "right homes" and if you were seated in the "right places," then
people would know how important you really were. The emphasis was on
reputation, not character. It was more important to sit in the right
places than to live the right kind of life.
In New Testament times, the closer you sat to the host, the higher you
stood on the social ladder and the more attention (and invitations) you
would receive from others. Naturally, many people rushed to the "head
table" when the doors were opened because they wanted to be important.
This kind of attitude betrays a false view of success. "Try not to become
a man of success," said Albert Einstein, "but try to become a man of
value." While there may be some exceptions, it is usually true that
valuable people are eventually recognized and appropriately honored.
Success that comes only from self-promotion is temporary, and you may be
embarrassed as you are asked to move down (Prov. 25:6-7).
When Jesus advised the guests to take the lowest places, He was not giving
them a "gimmick" that guaranteed promotion. The false humility that takes
the lowest place is just as hateful to God as the pride that takes the
highest place. God is not impressed by our status in society or in the
church. He is not influenced by what people say or think about us, because
He sees the thoughts and motives of the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). God still
humbles the proud and exalts the humble (James 4:6).
British essayist Francis Bacon compared fame to a river that easily
carried "things light and swollen" but that drowned "things weighty and
solid." It is interesting to scan old editions of encyclopedias and see
how many "famous people" are "forgotten people" today.
Humility is a fundamental grace in the Christian life, and yet it is
elusive; if you know you have it, you have lost it! It has well been said
that humility is not thinking meanly of ourselves; it is simply not
thinking of ourselves at all. Jesus is the greatest example of humility,
and we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to imitate Him
(Phil. 2:1-16).
The Host: False Hospitality (Luke 14:12-14)
Jesus knew that the host had invited his guests for two reasons: (1) to
pay them back because they had invited him to past feasts, or (2) to put
them under his debt so that they would invite him to future feasts. Such
hospitality was not an expression of love and grace but rather an evidence
of pride and selfishness. He was "buying" recognition.
Jesus does not prohibit us from entertaining family and friends, but He
warns us against entertaining only family and friends exclusively and
habitually. That kind of "fellowship" quickly degenerates into a "mutual
admiration society" in which each one tries to outdo the others and no one
dares to break the cycle. Sad to say, too much church social life fits
this description.
Our motive for sharing must be the praise of God and not the applause of
men, the eternal reward in heaven and not the temporary recognition on
earth. A pastor friend of mine used to remind me, "You can't get your
reward twice!" and he was right (see Matt. 6:1-18). On the day of
judgment, many who today are first in the eyes of men will be last in
God's eyes, and many who are last in the eyes of men will be first in the
eyes of God (Luke 13:30).
In our Lord's time, it was not considered proper to ask poor people and
handicapped people to public banquets. (The women were not invited
either!) But Jesus commanded us to put these needy people at the top of
our guest list because they cannot pay us back. If our hearts are right,
God will see to it that we are properly rewarded, though getting a reward
must not be the motive for our generosity. When we serve others from
unselfish hearts, we are laying up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20) and
becoming "rich toward God" (Luke 12:21).
Our modern world is very competitive, and it is easy for God's people to
become more concerned about profit and loss than they are about sacrifice
and service. "What will I get out of it?" may easily become life's most
important question (Matt. 19:27ff). We must strive to maintain the
unselfish attitude that Jesus had and share what we have with others.
The Jews: False Security (Luke 14:15-24)
When Jesus mentioned "the resurrection of the just," one of the guests
became excited and said, "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the
kingdom of God!" The Jewish people pictured their future kingdom as a
great feast with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets as the honored
guests (Luke 13:28; see Isa. 25:6). This anonymous guest was confident
that he would one day be at the "kingdom feast" with them! Jesus responded
by telling him a parable that revealed the sad consequences of false
confidence.
In Jesus' day when you invited guests to a dinner, you told them the day
but not the exact hour of the meal. A host had to know how many guests
were coming so he could butcher the right amount of animals and prepare
sufficient food. Just before the feast was to begin, the host sent his
servants to each of the guests to tell them the banquet was ready and they
should come (see Es. 5:8; 6:14). In other words, each of the guests in
this parable had already agreed to attend the banquet. The host expected
them to be there.
But instead of eagerly coming to the feast, all of the guests insulted the
host by refusing to attend, and they all gave very feeble excuses to
defend their change in plans.
The first guest begged off because he had to "go and see" a piece of real
estate he had purchased. In the East, the purchasing of property is often
a long and complicated process, and the man would have had many
opportunities to examine the land he was buying. Anybody who purchases
land that he has never examined is certainly taking a chance. Since most
banquets were held in the evening, the man had little daylight left even
for a cursory investigation.
The second man had also made a purchase-ten oxen that he was anxious to
prove. Again, who would purchase that many animals without first testing
them? Not many customers in our modern world would buy a used car that
they had not taken out for a "test drive." Furthermore, how could this man
really put these oxen to the test when it was so late in the day? His
statement "I go to prove them!" suggests that he was already on his way to
the farm when the servant came with the final call to the dinner.
The third guest really had no excuse at all. Since they involved so much
elaborate preparation, Jewish weddings were never surprises, so this man
knew well in advance that he was taking a wife. That being the case, he
should not have agreed to attend the feast in the first place. Since only
Jewish men were invited to banquets, the host did not expect the wife to
come anyway. Having a new wife could have kept the man from the
battlefield (Deut. 24:5) but not from the festive board.
Of course, these were only excuses. I think it was Billy Sunday who
defined an excuse as "the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie." The person
who is good at excuses is usually not good at anything else. These three
guests actually expected to get another invitation in the future, but that
invitation never came.
Having prepared a great dinner for many guests, the host did not want all
that food to go to waste, so he sent his servant out to gather a crowd and
bring them to the banquet hall. What kind of men would be found in the
streets and lanes of the city or in the highways and hedges? The outcasts,
the loiterers, the homeless, the undesireables, the kind of people that
Jesus came to save (Luke 15:1-2; 19:10). There might even be some Gentiles
in the crowd!
These men may have had only one reason for refusing the kind invitation:
they were unprepared to attend such a fine dinner. So, the servant
constrained them to accept (see 2 Cor. 5:20). They had no excuses. The
poor could not afford to buy oxen; the blind could not go to examine real
estate; and the poor, maimed, lame, and blind were usually not given in
marriage. This crowd would be hungry and lonely and only too happy to
accept an invitation to a free banquet.
Not only did the host get other people to take the places assigned to the
invited guests, but he also shut the door so that the excuse-makers could
not change their minds and come in (see Luke 13:22-30). In fact, the host
was angry. We rarely think of God expressing judicial anger against those
who reject His gracious invitations, but verses like Isaiah 55:6 and
Proverbs 1:24-33 give a solemn warning that we not treat His calls
lightly.
This parable had a special message for the proud Jewish people who were so
sure they would "eat bread in the kingdom of God." Within a few short
years, the Gospel would be rejected by the official religious leaders, and
the message would go out to the Samaritans (Acts 8) and then to the
Gentiles (Acts 10; 13ff).
But the message of this parable applies to all lost sinners today. God
still says, "All things are now ready. Come!" Nothing more need be done
for the salvation of your soul, for Jesus Christ finished the work of
redemption when He died for you on the cross and arose from the dead. The
feast has been spread, the invitation is free, and you are invited to
come.
People today make the same mistake that the people in the parable made:
they delay in responding to the invitation because they settle for second
best. There is certainly nothing wrong with owning a farm, examining
purchases, or spending an evening with your wife. But if these good things
keep you from enjoying the best things, then they become bad things. The
excuse-makers were actually successful people in the eyes of their
friends, but they were failures in the eyes of Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is a feast, not a funeral, and all are invited to come.
Each of us as believers must herald abroad the message, "Come, for all
things are now ready!" God wants to see His house filled, and "yet there
is room." He wants us to go home (Mark 5:19), go into the streets and
lanes (Luke 14:21), go into the highways and hedges (Luke 14:23), and go
into all the world (Mark 16:15) with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This parable was the text of the last sermon D.L. Moody preached,
"Excuses." It was given on November 23, 1899 in the Civic Auditorium in
Kansas City, and Moody was a sick man as he preached. "I must have souls
in Kansas City," he told the students at his school in Chicago. "Never,
never have I wanted so much to lead men and women to Christ as I do this
time!"
There was a throbbing in his chest, and he had to hold to the organ to
keep from falling, but Moody bravely preached the Gospel; and some fifty
people responded to trust Christ. The next day, Moody left for home, and a
month later he died. Up to the very end, Moody was "compelling them to
come in."
[9]
The Multitudes: False Expectancy (Luke 14:25-35)
When Jesus left the Pharisee's house, great crowds followed Him, but He
was not impressed by their enthusiasm. He knew that most of those in the
crowd were not the least bit interested in spiritual things. Some wanted
only to see miracles, others heard that He fed the hungry, and a few hoped
He would overthrow Rome and establish David's promised kingdom. They were
expecting the wrong things.
Jesus turned to the multitude and preached a sermon that deliberately
thinned out the ranks. He made it clear that, when it comes to personal
discipleship, He is more interested in quality than quantity. In the
matter of saving lost souls, He wants His house to be filled (Luke 14:23);
but in the matter of personal discipleship, He wants only those who are
willing to pay the price.
A "disciple" is a learner, one who attaches himself or herself to a
teacher in order to learn a trade or a subject. Perhaps our nearest modern
equivalent is "apprentice," one who learns by watching and by doing. The
word disciple was the most common name for the followers of Jesus Christ
and is used 264 times in the Gospels and the Book of Acts.
Jesus seems to make a distinction between salvation and discipleship.
Salvation is open to all who will come by faith, while discipleship is for
believers willing to pay a price. Salvation means coming to the cross and
trusting Jesus Christ, while discipleship means carrying the cross and
following Jesus Christ. Jesus wants as many sinners saved as possible
("that My house may be filled"), but He cautions us not to take
discipleship lightly; and in the three parables He gave, He made it clear
that there is a price to pay.
To begin with, we must love Christ supremely, even more than we love our
own flesh and blood (Luke 14:26-27). The word hate does not suggest
positive antagonism but rather "to love less" (see Gen. 29:30-31; Mal.
1:2-3; and Matt. 10:37). Our love for Christ must be so strong that all
other love is like hatred in comparison. In fact, we must hate our own
lives and be willing to bear the cross after Him.
What does it mean to "carry the cross"? It means daily identification with
Christ in shame, suffering, and surrender to God's will. It means death to
self, to our own plans and ambitions, and a willingness to serve Him as He
directs (John 12:23-28). A "cross" is something we willingly accept from
God as part of His will for our lives. The Christian who called his noisy
neighbors the "cross" he had to bear certainly did not understand the
meaning of dying to self.
Jesus gave three parables to explain why He makes such costly demands on
His followers: the man building a tower, the king fighting a war, and the
salt losing its flavor. The usual interpretation is that believers are
represented by the man building the tower and the king fighting the war,
and we had better "count the cost" before we start, lest we start and not
be able to finish. But I agree with Campbell Morgan that the builder and
the king represent not the believer but Jesus Christ. He is the One who
must "count the cost" to see whether we are the kind of material He can
use to build the church and battle the enemy. He cannot get the job done
with halfhearted followers who will not pay the price.
As I write this chapter, I can look up and see on my library shelves
hundreds of volumes of Christian biographies and autobiographies, the
stories of godly men and women who made great contributions to the
building of the church and the battle against the enemy. They were willing
to pay the price, and God blessed them and used them. They were people
with "salt" in their character.
Jesus had already told His disciples that they were "the salt of the
earth" (Matt. 5:13). When the sinner trusts Jesus Christ as Saviour, a
miracle takes place and "clay" is turned into "salt." Salt was a valued
item in that day; in fact, part of a soldier's pay was given in salt. (The
words salt and salary are related; hence, the saying, "He's not worth his
salt.")
Salt is a preservative, and God's people in this world are helping to
retard the growth of evil and decay. Salt is also a purifying agent, an
antiseptic that makes things cleaner. It may sting when it touches the
wound, but it helps to kill infection. Salt gives flavor to things and,
most of all, makes people thirsty. By our character and conduct, we ought
to make others thirsty for the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that He
alone can give.
Our modern salt is pure and does not lose its flavor, but the salt in
Jesus' day was impure and could lose its flavor, especially if it came in
contact with earth. Once the saltiness was gone, there was no way to
restore it, and the salt was thrown out into the street to be walked on.
When a disciple loses his Christian character, he is "good for nothing"
and will eventually be "walked on" by others and bring disgrace to Christ.
Discipleship is serious business. If we are not true disciples, then Jesus
cannot build the tower and fight the war. "There is always an if in
connection with discipleship," wrote Oswald Chambers, "and it implies that
we need not [be disciples] unless we like. There is never any compulsion;
Jesus does not coerce us. There is only one way of being a disciple, and
that is by being devoted to Jesus."
If we tell Jesus that we want to take up our cross and follow Him as His
disciples, then He wants us to know exactly what we are getting into. He
wants no false expectancy, no illusions, no bargains. He wants to use us
as stones for building His church, soldiers for battling His enemies, and
salt for bettering His world; and He is looking for quality.
After all, He was on His way to Jerusalem when He spoke these words, and
look what happened to Him there! He does not ask us to do anything for Him
that He has not already done for us.
To some, Jesus says, "You cannot be My disciples!" Why? Because they will
not forsake all for Him, bear shame and reproach for Him, and let their
love for Him control them.
And they are the losers.
Will you be His disciple?
[10]
Literary Typing
Mackie Literary Genre Coding of the New Testament
Luke 1:80-24:53
Gospel, Gospel Narrative
Luke 14:1-14
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Miracle Story: Controversial Miracle
Luke 14:5
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Miracle Story: Controversial Miracle, Legal
Saying
Luke 14:7-11
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Miracle Story: Controversial Miracle, Parable
Luke 14:12-14
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Miracle Story: Controversial Miracle,
Discipleship Saying
Luke 14:15-35
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Pronouncement Story: Inquiry
Luke 14:16-24
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Pronouncement Story: Inquiry, Parable
Luke 14:26-27
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Pronouncement Story: Inquiry, Discipleship
Saying
Luke 14:28-33
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Pronouncement Story: Inquiry, Discipleship
Saying
Luke 14:34-35
Gospel, Gospel Narrative, Pronouncement Story: Inquiry, Discipleship
Saying
Luke 14:35 (b)
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The very ideas Jesus conveyed at the table here in chapter 14 are the same
ones He speaks to my heart at the table of Communion.
As He did with the Pharisees, Jesus deals with my pseudo-spirituality.
When I take the bread and drink the cup, all the dials get set back to
zero, and my faith becomes miraculously and mystically simple. The
Pharisee within me dissipates when I'm at the Lord's table..
As He did with the guests, Jesus reminds me that I put Him on the Cross; I
broke His body; He died for me. Therefore, when I'm at the Lord's table, I
have no desire to be in a position of honor or prominence. Instead, I want
to lose my identity and blend into a oneness with the body of Christ, a
oneness with Jesus.
As He did with the host, Jesus zeroes in on my motives. People who want to
grow intellectually or who want to be noticed in ministry oftentimes will
ignore the Lord's table because they think it doesn't benefit them. Not so
the early church. They saw Communion as essential, for it is through
Communion that they remembered Jesus.
As He did with the man who brought up the subject of the kingdom, Jesus
reminds me of my destiny-that because His body was broken and His blood
shed, I'm going to heaven.
And as He did with the crowd, Jesus causes me to think clearly regarding
the price He paid for my sin, and the cost of discipleship.
Simple theology, heartfelt humility, motivational purity, a reminder of
destiny, and a call to think clearly are found at His table-be it in the
home of a Pharisee or at Communion presently.
Come and dine!
[11]
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1 I.e. members of the Sanhedrin
a Mark 3:2
1 Lit behold
1 I.e. experts in Mosaic Law
a Matt 22:35
b Matt 12:2; Luke 13:14
1 Lit Whose son of you...will fall
a Matt 12:11; Luke 13:15
a Matt 22:46; Luke 20:40
a Matt 23:6
a Prov 25:6, 7
1 Lit recline at
a Luke 3:8
1 Lit begin
a Prov 25:6, 7
1 Lit recline at the table
a 2 Sam 22:28; Prov 29:23; Matt 23:12; Luke 1:52; 18:14; James 4:10
1 Or banquet
1 Or are unable to
a John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Rev 20:4, 5
a Rev 19:9
a Matt 22:2-14; Luke 14:16-24
1 Or field
2 Lit I request you
1 Lit I request you
a Deut 24:5; 1 Cor 7:33
1 Lit many
a Matt 10:37
1 I.e. by comparison of his love for Me
a Matt 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23
a Prov 20:18
1 Or an embassy
a Phil 3:7; Heb 11:26
a Matt 5:13; Mark 9:50
a Matt 11:15
1 Or hear! Or listen!
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Lk 14:1-35). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
? 45 (14:33) Ryle, Gospels, St. Luke, II:86.
? 46 (14:34,35) Kelly, Luke, p. 249.
[2]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary
: Old and New Testaments (Lk 14:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:308). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[4]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:308). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[5]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:308). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[6]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:308-309). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson.
[7]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:309). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[8]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (369).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[9]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An
exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt.
(Lk 14:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
[10]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An
exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt.
(Lk 14:25). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
[11]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (371).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
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