Parables at the Table

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Jesus Christ was the most masterful teacher the world has ever known. His teachings were perfectly crafted to His listeners and their situations.

B. The parables taught in Luke 14:1-24 are examples of this aspect of our Lord. Let us consider them here.

II. SETTING -- LUKE 14:1-6

A. Jesus entered the house of a Pharisee on a Sabbath to eat bread.

1. This particular Pharisee was one of their leaders, which means that he was likely a member of the Sanhedrin. This is the council that would later decide to demand the crucifixion of Jesus.

2. Notice that Jesus associated with people from every walk of life, from the lowest of sinners (Matt. 9:10-11) to the highest ranking members of Jewish society.

3. The Pharisees were watching Him closely. Typically, they were looking for a reason to accuse Him of sin, such as healing on the Sabbath, which they considered to be a violation (Luke 6:1-11)

B. Knowing that the Pharisees were watching Him, Jesus put them to silence by His words and deeds.

1. When Jesus asked them whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, they were silent. The question confounded them because healing was an indisputably good and miraculous feat. How could they declare that it was unlawful under any circumstances?

2. Jesus pressed the question when before their eyes He healed a man who suffered from dropsy. How could they accuse a Man who demonstrated the great power of God?

3. He exposed their hypocrisy with a question that showed how they themselves would be willing to work on the Sabbath to save a son or an ox. Why then should He not have mercy on the sick by healing on a Sabbath?

III. THE PARABLE OF THE AMBITIOUS GUEST -- LUKE 14:7-14

A. The Lord was prompted to give this parable because the guests were seeking places of honor at the table.

1. Apparently, all of the guests were attempting to honor themselves. This was typical among the Pharisees (Matt. 23:6).

2. Although the text does not say, we can safely assume that Jesus, who is the Lord of heaven and earth, was seated in the lowest place at the table.

B. The Lord's first lesson teaches a paradox: be humble in order to be exalted.

1. This lesson is called a parable in verse 7, but it is presented as direct instruction. Rather than taking a place of honor and risking the humiliation of being told to move down, Jesus taught them to take the last place so that they might be told to move up and thus receive honor.

2. The lesson is summarized in verse 11: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

3. This lesson is common in the word of God (Matt. 23:12; Luke 18:14; Jas. 4:10; 1Pet. 5:6).

4. The ultimate demonstration of this is in Christ Himself, who "humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name" (Phil. 2:8-9).

C. The Lord's second lesson teaches about motives: seek rewards from God rather than from men.

1. The Lord's first lesson applied to the guests, but this lesson was directed toward the host.

2. A man might give a dinner or offer some other benefit to others so that they might return the favor and do the same for him. Jesus rejected this self-serving, worldly motivation.

3. Instead, the Lord said to invite those persons who could not repay. In this way, the reward for such a gesture would be given not by men but by God "at the resurrection of the righteous."

4. Further study on this theme can be found in Matthew 6:1-18.

IV. THE PARABLE OF THE GREAT SUPPER -- LUKE 14:15-24

A. This parable was prompted by the comment of one of the dinner guests.

1. When this guest heard Christ's words, he said, "Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

2. His statement was true, but the difficulty is found in convincing men to accept the invitation to come into the kingdom. The Lord demonstrated this with His next parable.

B. In the parable, a man gave a grand banquet, but his invited guests excused themselves from coming. Therefore, he invited many others to fill his house.

1. The excuses given by the invited guests were insufficient. The guests simply did not value the opportunity to come to the feast, so they created excuses for themselves.

2. The master was angry, for his invited guests had insulted him by refusing his gracious gesture and despising his considerable effort to honor them.

3. Therefore, the master sent his slave to invite "the poor and crippled and blind and lame" (v. 21).

a. Notice that these are exactly the same persons whom Jesus said to invite in verse 13.

b. These guests had nothing to offer, but they did have the good sense to value the invitation to the feast. They accepted the invitation rather than making excuses like the others.

4. When there was yet more room at the banquet, the master commanded his slave to bring guests from "the highways and along the hedges...so that my house may be filled" (v. 23).

5. The final word of the master is a judgment on those who were first invited.

a. He said, "For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner" (v. 24).

b. This judgment was determined not by the master but by the invited guests. They chose to refuse the invitation and miss the dinner.

C. Consider the lessons from this parable concerning the kingdom of God.

1. For the Pharisees who were in the presence of Jesus, the parable corrected their false understanding of the kingdom of God.

a. The Pharisees believed that their entrance to the kingdom was guaranteed because of their elite standing among the Jews. They did not see that by rejecting Jesus they were refusing to accept the invitation into the kingdom.

b. The Pharisees also believed that the sinners in their society could never enter the kingdom. However, many of the sinners, tax-gatherers, and harlots (represented by the poor, crippled, blind, and lame in the parable) believed in Jesus and thus accepted the invitation into the kingdom.

c. Not only did many sinners from among the Jews gain entrance into the kingdom through Jesus, but later many from among the Gentiles did as well (represented by those from the highways and along the hedges in the parable).

2. For all people, the parable teaches not to make excuses for refusing an invitation into God's kingdom.

a. Many excuses are made by those who refuse to obey the gospel of Christ and thus gain entrance into the kingdom. They say, "I'll wait," "I'm too busy," "I'll find another way," or some other excuse.

b. However, no excuse will be accepted. Just as the master in the parable was angered by his guests' insufficient excuses, so also with the Lord be angered (2Thess. 1:8), for He made the invitation at immeasurable cost to Himself (Mark 10:45; 1Pet. 1:18-19).

3. Another lesson is that man seals his own judgment by the way he responds to Christ's invitation.

a. Just as those who refused the invitation of the master chose not to attend the dinner, so also those who reject Christ judge themselves to be unworthy of the kingdom.

i. This self-judgment is made when one rejects the word of God concerning Christ.

ii. Consider the words of Paul and Barnabas to the Jews at Antioch of Pisidia: "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles."

b. Just as those who excused themselves from the dinner would never taste of it, so also those who reject Christ will never have a place in His kingdom.

i. There will not be a second chance. In John 8:21, Jesus said, "I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come."

ii. The time to accept an invitation into the kingdom is now. Again, Jesus said, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24).

V. CONCLUSION

A. Today, we are the listeners of Christ's words, and His lessons are still perfectly crafted to suit our needs.

B. Therefore, let us learn from our Lord the lessons of humility, pure spiritual motives, and acceptance of Christ and His invitation into the kingdom of God.