Luke 14 Bible study

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The Gospel of Luke Chapter 14:1-35 Healing on the Sabbath 14:1 Now one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely.

Despite the opposition of the Pharisees, Jesus regularly accepted their invitations to dinner, and I suspect that this was not so much to enjoy their cuisine as to challenge their unbelief and patiently instruct them in the hope that they might come to repentance (2 Tim. 2:24-26). As usual, the host and his other Pharisee guests were watching Jesus closely for an opportunity to criticize and denounce him.

14:2-4 There right in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. So Jesus asked the experts in religious law and the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent.

So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away.

Jesus did not disappoint them, he gave them a reason to criticize him—but it was also his opportunity to instruct them. A man with dropsy (today called Edema, fluid retention in the interstitium, located beneath the skin and in the cavities of the body—this condition can sometimes be the result of pulmonary heart disease, but there are a number of other types and causes of the condition). Jesus was aware that the Pharisees were looking for an opportunity to accuse him of doing wrong, and some commentators have supposed that the sick man was brought in deliberately in the hope that Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus’ question has to do with their understanding of Sabbath law—a question they refused to answer. Jesus would not be put off from healing the man simply because of opposition, for this is what he came into the world to do (1 John 3:8). Laying his hands on the man, he healed him, and sent him home—no doubt to spare him harm from the controversy which was about to rage over him.

14:5-6 Then he said to them, "Which of you, if you have a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?" But they could not reply to this.

Jesus asks the Pharisees directly whether in their definition of what was and was not lawful to do on the Sabbath day they allowed themselves to rescue an ox or donkey (probably preferable reading to ‘son’ in NET, ESV etc., especially when compared with Matt. 12:11-12, where the comparison is

between people and animals) which fell into a pit on the Sabbath day. Would they leave the animal there in distress overnight? They could not answer; for to do so would be to admit their own hypocrisy.

The Humble shall be Exalted 14:7 Then when Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. He said to them.

Observing the grand and pompous way in which the invited guests took the best places to sit at the table, Jesus told this parable.

14:8-10 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. So the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your place.' Then, ashamed, you will begin to move to the least important place. But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host approaches he will say to you, 'Friend, move up here to a better place.'

Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you.

When invited by anyone to a wedding feast do not sit down in the best place; for if someone who is considered more important than you comes, you may be asked by the host to give way to this person and so assume a more lowly place—a most embarrassing occurrence. Instead, when you are invited go and sit at the lower end of the table so that when the host comes and asks you come and sit higher up the table you will be honored in front of all the other guests. Jesus is here reminding them of the wisdom of Proverbs 25:6-7.

14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Those who regard themselves as more important than others will be humbled, for the greatest is as nothing before God. On the other hand, those who humble themselves (who have a modest opinion of themselves and behave accordingly) will be exalted; for the least is regarded by God in the same measure as the great (Rom. 12:3, Isa. 57:15; Psalm 138:6 and Prov. 15:33).

14:12-14 He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you host a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Jesus takes the parable one step further in his private advice to his host. Rather than expect admiration and gain status—or a return invitation—because of his lavish dinner parties, he should be more concerned about seeking the commendation of God, who cares for the poor. So the next time he invites anyone to dine with him, he should demonstrate true piety by asking the poor, disabled, the lame and blind; those who are in need (remember that in those days such people had no means of generating an income. Although these people could not repay him, his reward of blessing at the resurrection of the righteous would be great.

The Invitation 14:15 When one of those at the meal with Jesus heard this, he said to him, "Blessed is everyone who will feast in the kingdom of God!"

This is the third feast-themed section in the chapter, and this provides the clue elements of each section need to be read together. In the first section, Jesus healed the man with dropsy, demonstrating that the kingdom of God had come near to the people. In the second section, Jesus spoke of the welcome that should be given to the poor and lame in view of the fact that this kingdom would soon appear (‘repaid at the resurrection of the righteous’). The third section also deals with participation in and the appearance of the kingdom of God. Jesus was still at the Pharisee’s house, and had just given his advice about inviting the poor for a meal, when one who had overheard this said to Jesus that those who will sit at the banqueting table in the Kingdom of God will be blessed indeed. No doubt this was seen as a reference to the eschatological kingdom, the end time, or time of resurrection, when many Jews expected that God would dwell among his people. In the following parable, Jesus does not restrict himself to dealing with the end of time. There will be a time when God dwells among his people, the parable deals with how entry to that kingdom is achieved.

14:16 But Jesus said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests.

The parable is similar to that found in Matthew 22:1-14, only it omits the ideas of royalty and of ultimate sanction. Although the parable omits the words ‘the kingdom of heaven is like’, the sense of these words is present, being understood by the context. A man (not a king, as in Matthew) gave a great supper (the reason is not mentioned, in Matthew it is for his son’s wedding) and invited many guests.

14:17 At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, because everything is now ready.'

When all had been prepared he sent out his messenger to tell those who were invited to come for he was ready to receive them. John the Baptist could be regarded as the first herald who was sent to invite the people to repent, preparing the way for the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 3:4-6); although we must remember that the previous prophets also issued the same invitation (Isa. 55:1) 14:18-19 But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.' Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.'

Without exception everyone began to make excuses why they could not come. The first two are examples of those who think more of making money than about the need of their souls.

14:20 Another said, 'I just got married, and I cannot come.'

Another thought more of his wife that he did of keeping an engagement with God. The excuse is ludicrous, he could have brought his wife with him if he really wanted to go.

14:21-22 So the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious and said to his slave, 'Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the

poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.' Then the slave said, 'Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.'

Here is the link to Jesus’ earlier advice; just as he told the Pharisee to care for the poor and needy rather than live sumptuously, so he indicates that God has equal regard for the poor. Those refused admission to the company of high society will not be excluded from the highest society of all.

Fellowship with God is available to all ,the invitation is an open one. As the messenger returned to his master and told him the response of those who had been initially invited, the master became angry; but rather than withdraw his invitation he showed his generosity by extending it to all. This time he sent his messenger into the streets and lanes of the city to invite the poor, disabled, lame, and blind to come to the banquet. As we see from the verse 22, their response was far more positive—they came, but there was still room.

John the Baptist gave the invitation to the Jews, Jesus Christ came to them inviting them to believe and receive Him as their Messiah, Saviour but they rejected His invitation (John 1:11). So the Gospel Message, the invitation to enter in to the Kingdom of God went out to every nation (John 1:12 and Matt. 12:18-21).

14:23 So the master said to his slave, 'Go out to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled

The truly universal scope of God’s invitation is now seen, even those outside the city are invited.

Luke will go on to show through his two-volume work that God has care for the Jews, and for those on the margins of Jewish society, but also for those entirely outside it, as the Gentiles are admitted to the kingdom of God. Perhaps this ending of the parable provides a link to what happens in Acts.

The universal nature of God’s invitation is mirrored in Isaiah (Isa. 55:1) and is an indispensable part of the gospel (whosoever - John 3:16). Yet the other point of the parable is this – in order to be ready to sit with God a the eschatological banquet, we must first heed his invitation. That invitation is given through Jesus. We must be in the kingdom now, by responding to Christ, if we are to be in the kingdom hereafter—this was clearly Jesus’ view of eschatology, a kingdom that exists now, and is shown in our lives, but which will be fully revealed at the end.

14:24 For I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet!'

Although the warning may be applied to those Jews who originally heard Jesus’ message and yet rejected it, the application of this verse is far more broad. The parable teaches that it is not our nationality or religious or social background which decides our eternal future, but our acceptance or rejection of the invitation of God as given in and through Jesus Christ. As the man in the parable invited people to come to the feast, God’s invitation, given in the person of Jesus, is ‘come unto me’ (Matt. 11:28)

Counting the Cost 14:25-26 Now large crowds were accompanying Jesus, and turning to them he said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

By this time there was a large crowd following Jesus; knowing their hearts, Jesus took the opportunity to challenge their commitment to Him. It is one thing to follow the crowd, it is quite

another to become a disciple of Jesus. In order to be his disciple, Jesus says we must love him more than we love for mother, father, brother, or sister, or even ourselves. Jesus Christ must have first place in our hearts and lives. If He does not hold this place then we cannot truly be His disciples.

14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

In addition, whoever is not prepared to bear the cross of reproach, suffering, persecution, and rejection for Jesus Christ’s sake cannot be His disciple.

14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn't sit down first and compute the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

If a man or woman were about to start a costly project, such as building a house, they would not rush blindly in to the undertaking. Rather they would sit down and decide whether the project were affordable. In the same way, a commitment to Christ is costly, and a person must examine their hearts to see whether they will follow it through.

14:29-30 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, all who see it will begin to make fun of him. They will say, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish!'

If the work of building a new house is started, and the foundation is laid, and then it is discovered that there are insufficient funds to complete the project, then everyone will mock the builder. everyone will laugh, saying "he started but he was not able to finish". A similar thought applies to those who begin to follow Christ but who—perhaps because of persecution or family pressures—fall away.

14:31-32 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot succeed, he will send a representative while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace.

Similarly, no ruler takes his country to war against another nation without first carefully weighing up his chances of success. If success seems unlikely then negotiation would be a more suitable course of action.

14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions

In the same way whoever makes the decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ must first ask themselves if they are truly prepared to forsake all of their previous life to be his disciple.

14:34-35 Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored? It is of no value for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. The one who has ears to hear had better listen!"

In context, Jesus is talking here about those who begin to follow him, but who choose not to continue. They are like salt which has lost its flavor, and so is not even fit to use either on the land or in the compost heap, but is thrown out as worthless dust. Any follower of Jesus Christ who loses his fervency and commitment to the Lord is not "worth his salt". Jesus’ words “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” indicate the seriousness with which he regarded this subject of backsliding. © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2015. Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org