Deurpost

TEXT: Luke 14:1-24
PREACHER: Marc La Porte
DATE: November 1, 2009

Setting the Stage (Luke 14:1-6)

• Our story starts with Jesus being invited over for dinner at the home of a leader of the Pharisees;
  • Now, it was not uncommon in these days to be invited to someone’s home after the service in the synagogue on the Sabbath, as hospitality was an important aspect of the Jewish life;
  • And although it seems maybe obvious they were trying to trap Jesus (catch Him on some theological flaw in His teaching – as they always were), it also shows that Jesus was still associating with them, still showing them a godly example, and was obviously never caught off guard;
• Now there was a man there with swollen arms and legs (who was probably invited to the Pharisee’s house as bait);
  • If Jesus ignored the man He was without compassion, but if He healed him He was openly violating the Sabbath and they could accuse Him;
  • Remember that Jesus had “violated” their Sabbath traditions already on at least six occasions, in all of these placing human need above ceremonial traditions;
• Can you imagine the picture? Jesus enters the home of the Pharisee, sees the sick man present at the dinner table, and thinks to Himself: ‘OK, so that’s why you invited Me’, but instead of waiting to see what the Pharisees and the experts in religious law are up to, Jesus takes the initiative with a question and shifts the burden of proof to the opposition by asking them if it’s OK to heal on the Sabbath (smart cookie);
  • It shows that “attack is the best form of defense”;
• While everyone is speechless by this quick and sudden action, Jesus heals the man and sends him away, turns to the Pharisee and the religious experts and ask them a second great question;
  • He pulls out a law from Deuteronomy 22:4 which says, “If you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet!”
    • I love it! Shows us that we should know our Bible!
  • Jesus’ logic is simple and can’t be disputed;
    • If it is all right to help animals on the Sabbath, how much more is it right to heal people who are made in God’s image?
  • And again they are completely silent (because they know Jesus is right);
    • The legalism of the Pharisees is really an expression of their pride. What can be more proud than setting man’s traditions above the law of God?
• But, all of this was Jesus’ way to set the stage for what’s to come next, where Jesus in two parables is going to address three things:
  • False popularity;
  • False hospitality;
  • False security;

False Popularity: The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Luke 14:7-11)

• Jesus moves from addressing the religious leaders specifically to all the dinner guests, as He noticed how people strategically placed themselves so as to be in the best places (the places of most honor);
  • Now in those days, the seating arrangement at a dinner showed a real ‘pecking order.’ The most honored person sat in a particular seat, the next most honored person in another seat, and so on down the line, and the closer a person was to the host, the greater was that guest’s position of honor;
• And so He tells them the parable of the wedding feast, that was designed to get them to think about spiritual realities in relation to the kingdom message He had been preaching;
  • He first tells them what not to do, and that is to take the highest place on your own initiative;
    • In other words, don’t try to advance by self-promotion or lobbying, don’t try to raise your social status whether by being with the right people, dressing for success, or driving the right car;
    • Remember where Judas was sitting during the last supper? Right next to Jesus;
    • “Don’t demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great. It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table than to be sent away in public disgrace” (Proverbs 25:6-7)
  • Then He tells them what to do: take a lower place, and let God move you up;
    • When we are at the lower place, we aren’t there just to be noticed so we can go up higher. Nor are we miserable there, and letting everyone know by our facial expressions that we really don’t belong there;
    • Jesus isn’t merely teaching good manners, but a lifestyle that “with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3);
    • Instead, we joyfully embrace the lower place; We aren’t filled with such a high opinion of ourselves that we think we don’t “belong” there;
      • To truly humble yourself is to get your eyes off yourself, and to start living an others-centered life;
      • When we seek to take honor to ourselves, we will always be humbled – if not on earth, then for all of eternity;
      • We may choose the low place, and act meek and humble, so that others may notice how humble we are. This is a subtle form of spiritual pride that is very dangerous;
    • Jesus had the right to teach on this subject, because He fulfilled it perfectly;
      • He is the ultimate example of someone who deserved the highest seat, but took the lowest seat, and was “moved up” to the highest seat;

False Hospitality: The Parable of the Great Banquet, Part 1 (Luke 14:12-14)

• Do not ask is actually ‘do not habitually ask.’ It isn’t wrong to ever invite your friends, your brothers, and so on, but it is wrong to only invite such people;
• We can show pride not only as the guest, but also as a host – and we do so through our ‘guest list’;
  • Do we associate only with people who can ‘advance’ us or give something to us?
  • Or are we willing to be ‘givers’ in relationship also?
  • It is easy for us to limit our ‘guest list’ to a few comfortable, easy people, instead of reaching out to others;
• Jesus is telling us to not associate with people on a ‘what’s in it for me?’ basis;
  • That is self-centered living;
  • We are called to follow Jesus, and He showed others-centered living;

False Security: The Parable of the Great Banquet, Part 2 (Luke 14:15-24)

• Jewish people pictured their future kingdom as a great feast with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the prophets as honored guests;
  • This person was assuming that he and the other people present would all be present in the kingdom;
    • Jesus took the opportunity to use the feast motif to explain that many of the people there would not be present in God’s kingdom. In their places would be many outcasts and Gentiles;
  • “In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.” (Isaiah 25:6)
• In those days when a great feast was organized there were two invitations:
  • First, the date of the banquet was announced long before;
    • A host had to know how many guests were coming so that he could butcher the right amount of animals and prepare sufficient food;
  • Second, just before the feast was to begin, the host sent his servants to each of the invited guests to tell them that the banquet was ready;
    • The invited guests had already agreed to attend; they were expected;
• Central to this parable are the excuses that are offered for not accepting the second invitation, and thereby insulting the host;
  • The excuses are different, but really all the same;
    • They are fashioned for convenience, and are clung to in desperation;
  • The first two excuses have to do with material things – and are each pretty lame;
    • What kind of fool first buys a piece of land, and then goes to check it?
    • If you have already bought ten oxen, what is the use of testing them after you have already bought them?
      • When we buy something new, we are almost always preoccupied by it;
      • Preoccupation with the things of the world is a common excuse for not following Jesus;
  • The third excuse has to do with a man who puts his family before the Lord;
    • The best thing we can show to our family is that they are not first in our lives, but that the Lord is;
    • Jewish weddings were never surprises;
    • Having a new wife could have kept the man from the battlefield (Deut 24:5), but not from a banquet;
  • These excuse makers condemn themselves;
    • The excuses seemed good to those who gave them, but they were inadequate for refusing Jesus’ kingdom offer;
    • Nothing was so important as accepting His offer of the kingdom, for one’s entire destiny rests on his response to that offer;
    • Their excuses are only a thin veil hiding the fact that they do not want to come;
    • There is no rational reason why someone would not want to be part of this feast;
    • They just don’t want to;
  • The three invited guests expected to be re-invited in the future, but that invitation would never come;
  • If those first invited to the feast refuse, there will still be a feast – the master will not give a feast in vain!
  • Jesus responds to the man’s exclamation “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!” by saying: “You admire the Messianic Banquet; are you ready to receive the invitation to come? Will you make excuses?”
• You might wonder why in this parable the master instructs the servant to “urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full”;
  • It reflects in the first place the urgent desire of the master to have an absolutely full house;
  • Secondly, these wanderers and outcasts would need to be convinced that they were really welcome;
  • Urge, yes – but in love;
• This parable is also told in Matthew 22:1-14 and you can read this in your own time, but I want to highlight one thing from this and that’s that the king is checking the guests if they’re wearing the proper wedding clothes, and are otherwise thrown out;
  • We too, need to be wearing the proper wedding clothes;
  • “I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:10)
  • “And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
  • “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

Conclusion

• The first thing is that all but the last section basically talks about the same thing:
  • They were displaying self-centered living rather than others-centered living;
    • The Pharisees were acting proud by putting their traditions above the law and love of God;
    • The dinner guests were acting proud by thinking they were more important than the guests of honor;
    • The host of the banquet was acting proud by inviting only guests that would make him look important;
  • Instead, we need to be like Jesus: humble;
    • “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:3-11)
      • Why? “to the glory of God the Father.”
• Secondly, the parable of the great banquet gives solemn warning that we should not treat God’s call lightly;
  • The excuse makers in this parable accepted the initial invitation, but then when push came to shove and they really needed to make the decision to come they backed out;
  • When you would read the remainder of Luke 14, you will see it is about the cost of discipleship, where Jesus says for instance: “If you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?” (Luke 14:27-28)
  • What are your excuses? And have you counted the cost and know you can finish it?