by Joshua Lin
If you care about God, you will care about the things He cares about. So what are some of the things that God wants us to pay attention to? Thankfully, the life and parables of Jesus are rich with resources to help answer that question. Let us take a look at four lessons Jesus teaches us in Luke 14 at a meal hosted by a Pharisee (an order of Jewish religious elite, some of whom were opposed to Jesus and his teaching).
1. Prioritize the Spirit of God’s commandments (v1-6)
At the start of Luke 14, a man with a lethal condition appears in front of Jesus during the meal on the Sabbath day. Knowing the Sabbath is a designated day of rest, some of Jesus’ religious opponents watch him, waiting to see what he will do. If Jesus does not heal the man, the man would die soon. If Jesus heals the man, he could be implicated for “violating God’s commandment” to honor the Sabbath by refraining from work.
What does Jesus do? He takes hold of the man, heals him, and then sends him away (v4).
In healing the man, Jesus showed that God’s intent for the Sabbath goes beyond resting from work. Rather, the Sabbath was fundamentally meant to help preserve rest and life for His people; it was a purposeful commandment based in a relationship between God and the Israelites. Acts such as healing or, as Jesus proposes, saving one’s child or livestock from accidents match the spirit of God’s commandment. This however was in opposition to the legalistic mindset of the Pharisees who were ready to consider healing on the Sabbath a form of forbidden work if that would help their case against Jesus.
Notice that Jesus lays his hands on this man to heal him – Jesus is not fazed by his medical condition. And whether or not this man was a plant from Jesus’ religious opponents, the man is sent away healed.
How do you think about God’s commandments? Do you see the spirit of what God is accomplishing through them? Let us not follow them legalistically for the sake of tradition like the Pharisees here. Let us be intentional about asking God to help us obey His commandments faithfully without relying on our own wisdom. As is said in Proverbs, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV) The Pharisees’ vision of God had narrowed to focus on what the Sabbath kept from them; rather than the spirit of what God meant it to accomplish for them.
2. Humble Yourself (v7-11)
During the meal, Jesus notices some guests seeking out places of honor at the table. Using a parable, Jesus makes a concise point about humility. Setting up a hypothetical wedding feast scenario, Jesus exhorts the honor-seeking guests to find the lowest seat at the feast first, instead of assuming they belong in a seat of honor. The lesson ends with Jesus concluding that “...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11 ESV) Jesus contrasts the goodness of a humble attitude with that of a self-honoring one. The one who humbles himself sees himself as no more worthy of honor than can be presumed, and with an active eye towards the interests of others.
This parable provides a good point of reflection on how well we prioritize humility. It is tough to put others' interests above our own, not to mention, humbling ourselves to take the lowest seat at the table. That said, at the end of the day, we ought to remember that all we have and all we can do is by the grace of God! When in lack of humility, we can learn from Jesus’ “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8 ESV) How amazing is our God; that we need look no further than Him to see humility embodied and the beauty of it all despite the difficulty in achieving it.
3. Do the Unrepayable (v12-14)
Beyond addressing these honor-seeking guests, Jesus also confronts one individual in particular. Jesus had been invited to eat at the house of a prominent Pharisee along with other Pharisees. Though Jesus is a guest at this meal; he directly rebukes the host. The host is told to consider who they invite to feasts in light of how they [the host] will ultimately be repaid. Rather than inviting friends who may repay him via similar future feasts, Jesus tells the host to give banquets to the poor and crippled. For though he may not receive repayment in this world, in listening to Jesus, he will surely receive eternal repayment from God in the resurrection. This parable presents a different way for us to think about our motivations and what kind of rewards are truly important.
But how can we live in a way such that we prioritize receiving repayment from God? It can be tempting to adopt a transactional mode of thinking and living life, doing things only when we can see some concrete benefit in return. Let us remember that these things, while nice, cannot bring lasting satisfaction and ultimately will not be ours to keep after we die. Conversely, while God’s repayment is paid out after we move on from this life, we can trust it will be secure, long-lasting, and ultimately worth it. As we are encouraged elsewhere in the Bible, we can “...lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20 ESV)
4. Accept God’s invitations (v15-24)
After hearing Jesus rebuke the host, a guest jumps into the conversation with a proclamation of “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”. The passage does not say exactly what this guest’s intention was but, given the context, there is a possibility they responded with a general, “feel-good” statement aiming to defuse tension in the room following Jesus' statements to the host on who should have been invited. Regardless, we see that Jesus has another parable lined up to refute the comment made.
In this parable, those invited to a great banquet excuse themselves from it upon receiving word that the banquet is completely prepared and ready for them to attend. Hearing these excuses, the host brings in many others to enjoy the banquet. Those who were initially invited to the banquet are consequently excluded from it for good by the host.
Now, how does this parable address the one guest’s statement that “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God”? To be clear, I believe Jesus would agree with such a statement, so then why does Jesus tell this parable? Based on the context of Jesus’ meal with the Pharisees, I believe Jesus wants those around him to know that entry to the kingdom of God may not be as straightforward as they might assume. In the parable, it is precisely the invited who are left out. The Pharisees, in this light, may very well be those invited to the kingdom of God, given their knowledge of the Old Testament and history as the people of God. Still, despite their knowledge, they spurn Jesus and, consequently, the kingdom of heaven. In the end, the kingdom of God ultimately goes to those who were not invited! This is good news for those Gentiles (non-Jews) and those who conventionally may have been thought of as lower in society. Entry to the kingdom of God is for everyone!
Putting the kingdom of God alongside a great banquet, Jesus portrays the kingdom of God as a joyous, abundant celebration. However, despite its jubilant nature, there are still those who are invited and turn down the invitation. The reasons given entail “the necessity to inspect a field that isn’t going anywhere”, “freshly purchased oxen”, and “a wife that has just been wed”.
The silliness of these excuses to me is comparable to having a friend turn down an invitation to your birthday party because they have just purchased some apples and need to take some time to try one. It is almost as if these tasks are super time-sensitive and somehow more worth than going to the great banquet.
In light of what invitees are denying by making excuses, it is hard not to shake our heads in disappointment. That said, besides the direct application of the parable to the Pharisees and the Gentiles, we are pushed to think about how many times we may deny invitations from God to prioritize his cares. This parable gives us room to reflect on how well we really prioritize the kingdom of God; it is worth reflecting on how we see the kingdom of God. Do we believe it is as amazing as a great banquet - one worth dropping all of our daily to-dos to attend? If we sense that God may be inviting us to take part in something he is doing, whether it involves caring for a person, or completing some task, how do we perceive it? As in the parable here, unlike the guests who make excuses to decline God’s invitation, let us view these invitations as an opportunity to joyfully participate in something God has fully prepared for us, knowing that He will help us do whatever is required of us.