Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:
(Luke 14:1) And it came to pass as He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath Day, that they watched Him.
In the last chapter Jesus was teaching in the cities and villages on His way to Jerusalem. In one of those cities or villages, He accepted the invitation of one of the chief Pharisees to dine at his house. It seems that if not the host, at least many of his guests watched Jesus, probably hoping to catch Him in something they could use against Him as was their usual M.O.
(2) And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.
There among the guests was a man who had a disease that caused severe swelling and he was in front of Jesus. He didn't approach Jesus; Jesus just saw him there before Him.
(3) And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath Day?"
Jesus "answered" the scribes and Pharisees. Possibly He knew they had planted this ill man before Him to test whether or not He would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus asked them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.
(4) And they held their peace. And He took and healed him and let him go;
The scribes and Pharisees did not answer Jesus, and He did indeed heal the man.
(5) And answered them, saying, "Which of you shall have a donkey or an ox fallen into a pit and will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath Day?"
Jesus asked the scribes and Pharisees which of them who had a donkey or an ox fall into a pit would not immediately pull the animal out on the Sabbath. That was considered work according to their strict interpretation of the law, yet they would certainly do that anyway to rescue their animal. How much more should a person be rescued from his disease on the Sabbath, as in the eyes of the Lord, His people are worth much more than animals:
"...you are of more value than many sparrows." - Matthew 10:31
"Of how much more value...is a man than a sheep?" - Matthew 12:12
"...how much more are you better than the birds?" - Luke 12:24
"...let (man) have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." - Genesis 1:26
(6) And they could not answer Him to these things.
Once again the scribes and Pharisees had nothing to say to Jesus.
(7) And He put forth a parable to those who were invited when He noticed how they chose the chief places, saying to them,
Jesus noticed how all the invited guests sought the best seats closest to the head of the table and He put forth a parable to them.
(8) "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding, do not sit down in the highest place, lest a more honorable man than you be invited by him, (9) And he who invited you and him comes and says to you, 'Give this man place,' and you begin with shame to take the lowest place."
Jesus told them that whenever they were invited to a wedding or any kind of feast, one should not sit down at the highest place. It could be there was someone invited whom the host considered deserving of more honor and he would ask that one to give up his seat for the more honorable man. Then that first man would feel ashamed as he had to get up and take the lowest seat at the table.
(10) "But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher;' then you will have glory in the presence of them who sit at the meal with you."
Instead, Jesus said, one ought to seek the lowest place at the table. Then when the host might ask that one to move up closer to the head of the table, he would feel honor and esteem rather than embarrassment in front of the other guests.
(11) "For whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."
Jesus concluded with the moral of His parable, that whoever exalted himself would be humbled and the one who humbled himself would be exalted.
(12) Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you make a dinner or a supper, do not call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back and you will be repaid.
Jesus then spoke to the host of the meal, telling him that whenever he made a dinner or a supper, he shouldn't make it for his friends and family and rich neighbors only, not that there should never be an occasion to have a dinner for close friends and family. However, when he made a feast for no particular reason, he should not invite only those who would in turn repay him with an invitation to a dinner.
(13) "But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, (14) And you shall be blessed for they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."
Rather, Jesus told the host, he should invite the poor and disabled, those who could never repay him, and for that he would be blessed by God and be among the resurrection of the saints. As Jesus said in Luke 6:33-34, "...if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks have you? For sinners also do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks have you? For sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much back."
(15) And when one of them who sat at the meal with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God."
It seems there was one guest who sat at the meal with Jesus who seemed to understand the spiritual meaning of what Jesus had said and recognized that one would be blessed to dine in the kingdom of God.
(16) Then He said to him, "A certain man made a great supper and invited many."
It appears Jesus turned His attention to the man who had spoken and began another parable. He told of a man who had made a big feast and invited many to it.
(17) "And sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'"
The man sent his servant out to tell all the invited guests to come to supper as everything was ready for them.
(18) "And they all with one accord began to make excuse. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it; I pray you have me excused.'"
All the invited guests began making excuses as to why they couldn't attend. One man said he had bought some land and had to go see it, and asked to be excused from his invitation.
(19) "And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen and I am going to test them; I pray you have me excused.'"
Another man said he had just bought oxen and was going to test them and he also asked to be excused.
(20) "And another said, 'I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.'"
Another used the excuse that he had just married and could not come to the supper.
(21) "So that servant came and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'"
The servant went back to his master and reported all the excuses to him. The master was angry and told his servant to go into the streets of the city and bring in all the poor and disabled. This is a picture of Father God who prepared His merciful gift of salvation and invited His chosen people to receive it. However, they all rejected it, so He offered His gift to those of a lower station, the Gentiles. He said to go quickly; the time was short, as it indeed is with us all as we never know when our time will be up.
(22) "And the servant said, 'Lord, it is done as you have commanded and still there is room.'"
The servant did as his master had told him and there was still room at the table. The servant could be a symbol of Jesus who came to do His Father's will. He brought those who would receive Him and there was still room for more.
(23) "And the lord said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.'"
The master of the house told his servant to go out further, into the highways and the hedges that were planted to border the fields. This is a picture of the great commission of Christ to "go therefore and teach all nations" (Matthew 28:19). "Compel them to come," or earnestly press them, accepting no excuses of their poor and lowly state or feelings of unworthiness; "come as you are," to quote a hymn and Christ's sentiment. God wants His kingdom filled with all His children.
(24) "'For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper.'"
The master of the house said that none of the men he had originally invited would taste of his supper, as will be the fate of those who reject Christ and His salvation.
(25) And there went great multitudes with Him, and He turned and said to them, (26) "If any man comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
There was a great multitude of people following Jesus and He turned His attention to them and began to tell them what it really meant to be a true follower or disciple of Him. Merely following Him out of curiosity or just desiring to hear Him teach was not enough to be a true disciple of Jesus. He must be the most important thing in their lives to be disciples. The original word translated as "hate," that is "miseo," in this sense means to loves less. Obviously, Jesus doesn't want His followers to hate their family and friends; He taught us to love. However, we must put Jesus before our family and friends. As He said in Luke 12:51-53, He came to bring division and would divide families, those who accepted Him from those who rejected Him. He also expects us to deny ourselves and our egos and die to self.
(27) "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."
Jesus also told them in order to be His disciple they must be willing to take upon themselves all the trials and persecutions that come with following Him. When the world objects, if they relinquish and fall away, they are not true followers of Christ.
(28) "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has sufficient to finish it?"
Jesus asked which of them, if they intended to build a tower, would not first sit down and figure the cost to determine if he had enough to finish the job once he started it. Likewise, if a man intended to be a disciple of Christ, he should first consider the difficulties he would encounter and determine if he had the strength and faith to endure.
(29) "Lest haply, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who behold it begin to mock him, (30) Saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'"
If a man began building a tower without first considering the cost, he might wind up laying the foundation and not be able to finish, and those who saw the empty foundation may begin to mock him. Likewise, one certainly would be a poor witness for Christ if he professed to be a disciple and fell away at the first sign of difficulty.
(31) "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?"
Jesus also asked what king would decide to make war against a king with a much larger army without first planning a strategy to defeat him.
(32) "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends an ambassador and desires conditions of peace."
If a king did act so rashly, he might find himself surrendering before he even started.
(33) "So likewise, whoever he be of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."
Jesus's point to those who were following Him was that they must consider the costs of being a true disciple, whether or not they could forsake family and deny themselves and bear the difficulties that would surely come with discipleship.
(34) "Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what shall it be seasoned? (35) It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Jesus concluded by stating that salt was good, but if it lost its saltiness, how could it then be salted? It couldn't; it was not fit for land or even a dunghill, but only to be thrown out. Salt was used as a preservative and for flavoring. It killed bacteria and prevented rapid rotting of meats. Likewise, a disciple of Christ was salt for a decaying world. Salt brings flavor and purpose to lives that are empty and hopeless. But a "disciple" of Christ that is not salt is useless to God and His kingdom on earth. Jesus asked that those who heard His words really understand them.
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