11 minute read
4) The Sheep and the Goats: Matthew 25:31 46 1
Scripture, Context, and Application
I. Humility and Hospitality: Luke 14:7-14
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Scripture 7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at 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 the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Literary Context In this passage, Jesus wants people to remember to stay humble. If they take the most important place at the table and exalt themselves, they could risk demonstrating an unrealistic sense of selfimportance. If they are humble, however, and take the lowest seat, they might be exalted by the host and be asked to come to a higher seat. Meals were situations that highlighted social differences in the first-century world, and ancient writers routinely addressed how to act such meals. Jesus’ warning in this passage is connected to the early Christian view of meals, where fellowship and worship often occurred. Luke, it seems, thought that incorporating stories relating to meals were especially relevant for sharing how the community should relate to each other: in brief, less arrogance, more humility.
Jesus goes into more depth in 14:8-10 about how to not sit uninvited in the place of honor. This makes sense, as there is a risk of embarrassment in doing so. However, we have seen people who have confidence and forceful behavior, grab honors and hang onto them tightly. Even so, Jesus is not telling us how to advance into the kingdom of the world, but he is revealing to us how things work in the kingdom of heaven. In 14:12-14, Jesus addresses the honor and status structures that were in the ancient world. He intends for his followers to use the parable about the marginalized as a call to help them by inviting them to a dinner banquet. He expects his listeners not only to help the poor and disabled, but also to work hard to do so. Jesus talks about not inviting those who will be able to repay your kindness to a banquet. He wishes that those who have banquets invite those who are unable to repay them, such as the poor, crippled, lame, and blind. This group of people resonates with Jesus’s mission from Luke 4:18, with the poor and the blind mentioned as recipients of Jesus’ ministry. He also states how this act of kindness will be repaid “at the resurrection of the righteous,” that is, in heaven. People who wish to be repaid in earthly splendors are not those following Jesus’ teachings. Those whose mindset is to get something in return for inviting others is not something Jesus condones.
Throughout the Bible, Jesus shows that he wants people to treat others with kindness, especially the marginalized. He also wants his followers not to be arrogant, but to show a willingness to serve others. The banquet he is attending takes place at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, whose views differed from his own, and who is an opponent. They are constantly in an argument about how to interpret the “law” or the word of God. After telling the parable, one of the guests who is presumed to be a Pharisee, states “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (14:15). This person likely makes this exclamation because he presumes he will be one of those who will be sharing in the kingdom’s banquet. Jesus responds to this with a parable that warns about assuming you will be included in the kingdom without first heeding Jesus’ teachings. Included in this parable, in 14:26-33, is a warning about the price of discipleship. To become a disciple of Jesus you must sever ties you believe to be more important than commitment to Jesus, and devote your entire life to the gospel. He makes sure those around him understand this by clearly saying in 14:33 “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all of your possessions,” which highlights the sense of sacrifice that the gospel demands.
Contemporary Application: Mother Teresa Mother Teresa was a great example of a contemporary figure who embodied the passage in Luke 14:7-14. Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, the current capital of the Republic of Macedonia. She was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries and devoted her life to helping and caring for the sick and the poor, the blind, the aged, the disabled, and lepers. In 1919, Mother Teresa’s father suddenly died. Thereafter, she became very close to her mother, Drana Bojaxhiu, a generous and compassionate woman who wanted her daughter to understand how important it is to care for the less fortunate. Even though Mother Teresa’s family did not come from wealth, they wanted to give back and help these people. To illustrate this, Drana would extend an open invitation to the city’s impoverished to dine with her family. On the day of the event, her mother stated, “My child, never eat a single mouthful unless you are sharing it with others.” When Mother Teresa asked who she was eating with, her mother responded, “Some of them are our relations, but all of them are our people.”
Mother Teresa’ s mother instilled in her daughter that giving back to people who cannot repay you should not be done out of pity but out of love and compassion. In Luke 14:13-14, Jesus wanted to invite people of the lower class, such as the blind, poor, and lame, to the banquet because he knew they would not be able to pay for the feast with physical repayment but instead, they would be repaid with salvation and eternal life. She carried these ideals with her throughout the rest of her life and convinced many others to help her in what eventually became her mission. Mother Teresa was considered one of the twentieth century’s greatest humanitarians and was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016.
Reflection Exercises 1. Participating and volunteering in your community at the soup kitchen with the Heart for Homeless Organization will help show compassion, kindness, and generosity. After the experience, write down your reflections on this experience in a journal: how did Luke’s story affect your approach to the work, and what have you learned about yourself and others?
2. In addition to the Buffalo City Mission’s efforts to bring food to those in need, Meals on Wheels is a food-delivery program that helps pay for more than 2.2 million nutritious meals to
low-income and disabled individuals. You can show your support by registering to become a volunteer through the Meals on Wheels website. When you sign up you can then contact the center manager directly to find a day you can volunteer. After the experience, write down your reflections on this experience in a journal: how did Luke’s story affect your approach to the work, and what have you learned about yourself and others?
Dig Deeper
Brown, Jeannine K. “Commentary on Luke 14:1, 7-14.” Working Preacher from Luther Seminary. August 10, 2010. www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-commonlectionary/ordinary-22-3/commentary-on-luke-141-7-14.
Hooper, Jodi. “2. Honor at the Banquet (Luke 14:7-11).” June 10, 2012. bible.org/seriespage/2honor-banquet-luke-147-11.
Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Gospel of Luke. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991.
“Mother Teresa.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, February 24, 2020. www.biography.com/religious-figure/mother-teresa.
Powell, Mark Allan. Fortress Introduction to the Gospels. 2nd ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2019.
Scripture 1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ 4For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”
6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Literary Context This parable details a confrontation between a judge and a widow seeking justice. Twice the reader learns that the judge has no respect for God or others, and he initially refuses the widow’s demand for justice. It is clear, then, that this story does not view him favorably, a point reinforced in the Hebrew Bible, which insists that widows be treated justly and with compassion (Deuteronomy 24:17, 19) because of their socially vulnerable status. The widow, however, is undeterred, and although she was without male support, repeatedly appears before the judge to make her case. Eventually, the judge relents and grants her the justice she deserves. In the end, it appears that the widow is a more accurate representation of Jesus’ ministry. With this story Luke highlights a major theme in his gospel: that Jesus’ mission helps those whom society treats as marginalized, powerless, and disposable. In God’s kingdom, the socially vulnerable are welcomed and prioritized.
The interpretation that frames this story (vv. 1, 6-8) transforms the parable into a lesson about the prayer: if a disrespectful judge can finally be persuaded to do the right thing, to grant the widow justice who repeatedly demands it, then of course God, who cares passionately about all people, will vindicate those seeking justice through persistent prayer. Unlike the judge, God listens to the cries of the sufferers and will answer their prayers. With this frame, Luke returns to his belief in the power of prayer, an important motif in his gospel.
Contemporary Application: The Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s reflected the persistent demand for justice of Luke’s widow. This movement was a decades-long struggle by African Americans and their like-minded allies to end institutionalized racial discrimination, disenfranchisement, and racial segregation in the United States. Just like the widow, African Americans demanded justice for the wrongs that had been done to them, and insisted that justice and righteousness should roll down like an everflowing stream (Amos 5:24). And just as the judge eventually assented to the widow’s demands, so too did the United States’ government pass the Civil Rights Act (1964), which outlawed racial discrimination, and the Voting Rights Act (1965), which banned the discriminatory practices that prevented African Americans from having their voices heard at the ballot box.
In Luke’s story, Jesus highlights the power of prayer in the realization of justice. So too, the Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. framed their actions in biblical terms, as a righteous cause that could be achieved through prayer and faithfulness in God. Having the courage to dismantle the social structures that produce injustice is one of the lasting legacies of the Civil Rights Era and can be used as a model for our own commitment to ending practices that prevent people from enjoying the fullness of life.
Reflection Exercises 1. Make a prayer journal and write down what you’re hoping for, what you’re asking God for, and what you need from him. Then take notes on ideas from your church’s meetings, and during the week, write out how you are applying those ideas into your daily life.
2. What would make your experience at school better? What changes could be made to create an environment where all students have the same opportunities to flourish? Create a list (e.g., more nutritious lunches, improved technological resources, the formation of student clubs centered on social justice) and start a petition to make positive change at your school. Submit your petition to the principal or make your views heard at a school board meeting. If your ideas are initially rejected, what will you do?
Dig Deeper
Hultgren, Arland J. The Parables of Jesus: a Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.
Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Gospel of Luke. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Reid, Barbara E. “Beyond Petty Pursuits and Wearisome Widows: Three Lukan Parables.” Interpretation 56 (2002): 284-294.
Wright, N. T. Luke for Everyone. 2nd ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2004.
