Luke 14
Luke 14:1-6
Could someone please explain to me why it would be wrong to heal someone
on the Sabbath? Why would it be wrong to
take a life that was broken and make it whole again just because it was Sunday
(okay, Saturday is the Sabbath for the Jews.
I’m just trying to make it relevant)?
Exodus 20:8-11 says “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and
do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it
you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your
female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them,
and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and
made it holy”. The argument came from the interpretation of
the word work. What constituted work? As stated earlier, the Jews actually
interpreted this in a variety of ways, one of which stated that offering
medical assistance to a person on the Sabbath was considered work. But Jesus points out that the Jews created no
law against helping an animal on the Sabbath.
So He simply wants to know if an animal is more valuable than a
person. Of course they knew the answer,
but to give that answer was to admit Jesus was right.
Luke 14:7-11
The closer a person sat to the host, the greater was their position of
honor. I can’t help but wonder where the
man with dropsy was seated (dropsy is a condition of excess fluid and swelling
possibly caused by a form of cancer, liver problems, or kidney issues). I would think he naturally was seated at the
far end of the table. But Jesus had just
made him the person of interest in the group.
He points to the man and draws attention to the man the rest of the
group had probably chosen to ignore.
This demonstrates an endearing characteristic of Jesus. It is the humble who catch the eye of our
Savior, not the proud.
Luke 14:12-14
If Jesus were speaking this to today’s church, what would He say? I think He would wonder why the Church so
often caters to the saved but ignores the lost.
Why do you suppose many churches plan and organize fundraisers, or plan
events that will hopefully convince people to attend the church? When is the last time you’ve heard of a
church giving back to a community with no strings attached? It concerns me when a church consistently
plans for ways to make money off of the community, but seldom looks for ways to
give back to the community. People were
aghast when our youth group once gave away free gas at a local station. Each driver was given $10.00 of gas with no
strings attached. I was surprised that
some people felt it did not benefit the church in any way; throwing money away,
and possibly helping those who did not need any help. But is this not the heart of what Jesus is
saying here?
Luke 14:15-24
One of the men gathered for this meal assumed that everyone around the
table would be present in the Kingdom of God.
This man was either a Pharisee or a friend of the Pharisee who hosted
this meal. Jesus takes his comment as an
opportunity to shed a little light on what it means to be a part of the Kingdom
of God. The implication here is that
Jesus had come as the servant in His story to call the Jews to the
banquet. Yet those initially invited
gave excuses why they could not come. In
their eyes, they were legitimate excuses, but not in the eyes of the One who
prepared the feast. The parable of a
banquet at a banquet becomes an opportunity for Jesus to reinforce what He had
been already saying. Because it was the
official stance of the religious leaders to reject the message Jesus was
proclaiming, they would find themselves replaced by the sick (people deemed
unworthy by the Pharisees) and by the Gentiles (those supposedly outside of
God’s grace). The lesson is that a
person enters the Kingdom of God on God’s terms, not on man-made rules and
regulations. A person would be wise not
to assume they will get to heaven. The
only way to be sure is through Jesus; a point these men would not believe.
Luke 14:25-27
As Jesus left the banquet, a large number of people followed Him. In response, Jesus points out two important
attitudes that must be found in a true disciple; priorities and sacrifice. A person must make obedience to Jesus their
highest priority (not literally hate
their family), and understand that the old person must die; the old way of
living must end, and the public will see evidence that they are indeed a
disciple of Jesus.
Luke 14:28-33
Jesus gives two illustrations to help these followers understand the
cost of discipleship. Don’t begin until
you count the cost. Wow, this is a
teaching of Jesus you don’t hear mentioned very often. To become a Christian involves
sacrifice. There are certain things a
person will have to surrender; certain things they will have to put down, but
also certain things they will need to pick up.
To give up everything you own means that you are willing to surrender
all that you are and all that you own for the service of Jesus. However, many people who agreed to become a
Christian refuse to become a disciple.
Far too many individuals spend their life as a Christian never truly
surrendered to Jesus. He receives what
time, talent, and tithe they can spare. I
will not go so far as to claim these types of Christians are not saved, but one
has to wonder what will become of the individual who never truly calls Jesus
Lord. If they lose their saltiness (Luke
14:34-25) what use are they to the Kingdom of God? Do they really think Jesus doesn’t notice that
they are trying to hitch a free ride to heaven?
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