Just in time for Thanksgiving meal, Jesus tells us who to invite. Today, we encounter a dramatic story where Jesus has been invited into the home of a very prominent man. We discover at the very beginning of this chapter that Jesus was invited to a big supper with lots of guests at a prominent home. And it quickly becomes awkward and a most uncomfortable dinner.
Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” (Luke 14:7-24)
It’s a long passage, and I’d just like to show you Jesus gives three speeches. In the very beginning he speaks to all of the guests from verses 8–11… …and then in the middle he speaks to the host from verses 12–14… … and then at the end he actually speaks to one smug guest and tells the parable of the great banquet. At the end of every one of these speeches, he shows us some way in which the gospel helps us understand why it’s very reasonable to give sacrificially.
1. Jesus Honors Humility
Most of eat with paper plates and solo cups ?. Have you ever been to a dinner where there’s a seating chart? Social status was determined by the seating arrangements at a feast as described here:
? First, were you invited?
? Second, where did you sit?
? Third, did you remember to invite the host back to your house? (to forget was embarrassing)
The Patronage System
The Greco-Roman world operated on the patronage system. The patronage system went like this. In every community there were certain prominent wealthy individuals. If you wanted to improve your station in life, to move up at all, you had to make one of those people your patron. If that person was your patron, that person gave you loans, gave you gifts, opened doors for you. Then you were part of their network. Patrons had networks of favorites, and a favorite was somebody who got favors from the patron. The patron’s network of favorites meant that patron could get a lot of things done in a community, because you had all of these people who owed you. You always got breaks on things. Patrons could get a lot of things done in a community, because your favorites would grease the slides. Political favors and that kind of thing.
Our Day
What are some examples of “seats of honor” in our culture?
? Tickets on the 50 yard line,
? luxury suites,
? First class on a flight
? orchestra seats at Bass Hall
There’s something very balanced and practical about verses 8–10. What he’s actually saying there is, “I don’t want my people, my disciples, to be passionate about getting up the ladder and getting admitted into those inner circles. That should not drive your life. But if somebody invites you in, fine.”
Four Questions to Test Your Pride
Do you demand a lot of attention? Do you always have to win? Is it hard for you to admit when you’re wrong? Are you jealous of others who succeed?
The Gospel
If you go to God and say, “I deserve acceptance,” you will be rejected, because that shows you do not know what’s in your own heart. But if you go to God and say, “I deserve rejection; please forgive me,” you will get acceptance. That’s the gospel. Jesus is attracted to the needy.
2. Jesus Expects Generosity
Here is the second of Jesus’ three speeches. Here he encourages us to give generously to those who need it because there’s a future day where we’ll be paid back.
For one last time, let’s check in on Greg and Katie. Show Greg and Katie Video on Generosity – Keeping Up with the Jones
I don’t want to place a “silencer” on Jesus. I don’t know if you’d be willing to read through the book of Luke in one sitting, but if you did the thing that would immediately amaze you is the fact that Jesus talks about money more than He talks about any other single subject, except maybe Himself. Jesus talks about money relentlessly. He talks about wealth and possessions and justice and mercy with money constantly. It’s a constant emphasis throughout Luke’s gospel.
Here are some examples… Most of Luke 12 is about it. Most of Luke 11 is about it. And much of chapter 16 is about it. Back in Luke 3, when John the Baptist is asked, for example, “How do I repent?” what does he tell them? He says, “Don’t be greedy. Be content with your wages.” When the Pharisees are being denounced in Luke 16, they’re called lovers of money. When Zacchaeus’ life is completely transformed in Luke 19 by Jesus Christ, he immediately gives away 50 percent of his wealth. Eleven out of Jesus’ thirty-nine parables are directly on money. That means at least 28 percent of the time Jesus Christ opened his mouth, and maybe more, He was talking about money. We can’t put a “silencer” on Jesus.
I’m Missing Out
“…For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 12:14b)
Here’s the problem with living life the way Jesus says you ought to live. You should be pouring yourself out for people. You should be going the extra mile to be friends to people whom other people don’t want to be friends to. You should be giving a tremendous amount of your money away. You should be very involved in ministry and charity. But for some, it means you’re sometimes going to feel like, “I’m missing out. Other people have the money to do this. They go here, they do this, and I’m missing out. I’m not going to have this experience. I’m not going to go on that trip. I’m not ever going to be able to live like that. I’m missing out.”
Jesus says, “No,” because of the resurrection.
Don’t think you’re missing out at all, because your future is not an ethereal future in which we’re disembodied consciousnesses kind of floating around through all eternity. You’re going to get bodies. The future kingdom of God is a feast. What that means is in the future you’re not going to miss out on anything. You will eat in the kingdom of God. You will love. You will sing. You’ll dance. You’ll eat and you’ll sing and you’ll love in realms of power and glory and satisfaction that you cannot now imagine. We will eat and drink with the Son of Man. Are you afraid you’re going to miss out on some aspect of life because you are giving so much away, so much of your time away, so much of your money away? You will not miss out on anything. Why? Because of the resurrection. You won’t miss out on anything; go all in.
3. Insider Are Out; Outsiders Are In
This is the third and last speech Jesus gives. And Jesus’ speech is in response to a smug guest:
“When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15)
Here, He tells a story… a parable. A rich man invites his friends who give him one excuse after another. And these excuses are like cellophane – we can see right through them. No one buys land without first inspecting it. No one buys expensive equipment (which is what the oxen were) without first inspecting it (Luke 14:18). The excuses of the invited are hollow. They’re lame. Like cellophane, the host saw right through them (Luke 14:20).
Look at what keeps people from the feast for a moment. It’s not strip joints and gambling halls but it’s marriage and work. In today’s terms, they’ve been invited to box seats at the Super Bowl in Arizona… …or a week’s shopping trip in Paris (all expenses paid)… … or a week-long bear hunt in Canada… but they couldn’t find anyone to watch the field or even their home. Make no mistake, the real reason people have turned away from this feast is because don’t want to be there. They have no appetite for the things God offers.
