“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Luke 14:11
Though Jesus has turned water into wine at one party, he can be quite the downer at other parties, but for all the right reasons! In Luke 14 we Jesus at a dinner party hosted by a ruling Pharisee. Alongside Jesus are various other Pharisees and leading religious leaders. This likely drew a crowd as well who gathered outside the home and hovered at the windows. This wasn’t just any party, this was a Sabbath celebration, a weekly festivity that shaped the lives of the Jews. It was at this party, that Jesus saw an opportunity to teach about what the Kingdom of God is supposed to be like.
Healing:
This is quite the scene. In the house are a lot of prestigious people, most of whom are supposed to be religious leaders who help guide the Jews in their walk with God. However, most of them take an approach of rule-keeping and enforcement. Looking a little more like religious police than shepherds of the people.
Then also in that room is Jesus, the black sheep in a room of wolves. Most of those wolves waiting to catch Jesus slipping up and teaching heresy, but they can’t do it. Even with all the radical things that Jesus does, they can’t pin him down. No doubt, as dinner goes on, debate and conversation continue around who Jesus is and what He teaches.
Outside the house though is a man with “dropsy.” He appears a bit more swollen than the typical person, likely also from a heart condition. Jesus likely saw the man in the streets prior to entering the party and noticed the man again standing in the window. Kingdom teaching opportunity ensues.
Jesus brings in the man who clearly had a health problem, a man who would never be allowed in, and asks the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” To which the leaders were left speechless, disrupting the flow of the dinner. Jesus then healed the man of his condition and said, “Wouldn’t you also break the Sabbath by saving your son or ox that had fallen in a well?”
Here, at this prestigious dinner, the Kingdom of God reached out to the lowliest person there and brought redemption.
Parables:
This is when Jesus turns to the dinner guests and continues teaching them about His Kingdom, and through very practical examples shares how they do their jobs wrong.
Practical tip #1 – Give up your places of honor.
In their culture, the seats of the table had way greater significance than how we approach it today. We might understand it best if we compare it to our wedding receptions today, but even those look so different! Today, the most significant seats are at the party table or the head of the table. Other than that we get free pickings for the most part. Yet, for them, the closer to the head of the table you were, the more honored a guest you were. Jesus’ advice to them, start by sitting at the lowliest spot, and perhaps if you deserve greater honor, then your host will bring you up higher. This is in contrast to those who immediately sit at the highest place of honor and then are moved to the end.
The tip here is about not pursuing and striving for the highest places of honor. Yes, let’s be honorable, but let us never think about deserving privileges as a result of being honorable. Let privileges come naturally as gifts from God, the real head of the table, but let us not make the pursuit of them our normal, let us humble ourselves.
Practical tip #2 – Be generous with those who cannot repay you.
Then Jesus turns to the host, He sees the prestige in the room, likely family members as well. These are all people who can repay his acts of hospitality. Jesus sees the need to correct this and even did so by bringing in the man to be healed. Jesus wants to reset the goal of hospitality within His Kingdom, and while it can include inviting friends over to fellowship, there is also a missional/systematic purpose as well for hospitality.
The invitation should go well beyond those who can simply repay your act of hospitality. Jesus gets very direct and says the invitation should be extended to the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. In essence, these are people who are rarely invited anywhere, and further cannot repay your acts of hospitality. Yet, their presence and their person are no less valuable in the Kingdom. By extending an invitation, and building fellowship with them, they are edified and dignified in their personhood, as beloved creations of God. Build community, even where it doesn’t make social sense to, take that risk, extend some love.
Jesus is presenting a Kingdom vision that is not about power nor prestige. Rather the focus of the Kingdom is on the lowly, the overlooked, and the unloved. It’s a Kingdom where all are welcome at the table, and we don’t get to be the ones who serve as the bouncer. It’s a table that may seem a little rowdy, and a little unorthodox, but a table of all those who have chosen to follow Christ, where we all sit as equals: those who have repented and believed.
Final Blessing:
So let us reconsider our practices of hospitality, and our pursuits to be seen and honored. Let us leave our doors open, find the most uncomfortable chair and make it ours. Let us honor others above ourselves, and from this place enjoy the riches of the Kingdom of God and all its glorious fellowship.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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