It is not hard for any of us to imagine how this took place in Luke 14:1. The Bible says He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees.
WHY DID HE GO THERE?
Remember the Son of God became flesh as we are, and the Bible says He went into the Chief Pharisees house “…To eat bread on the sabbath day…”
The Lord knows exactly how we feel in these human bodies. Look at Hebrews 4:15, we read, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
For almost thirty-three years, He lived in one of the same kind of bodies we live in each day. He knows:
• The pain we suffer
• The temptations we suffer
• The hunger we suffer
And the Bible says he went into the Pharisee’s house to eat bread.
But while He was receiving this nourishment, the Bible says, “…they watched him.”
WHAT DID HE DO?
Look at verses 2-6, we read, “And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things.”
This man had the DROPSY. Some might be saying WHAT IS THE DROPSY? It is an abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in the body.
This man most likely was very swollen, and it was obvious that this was his condition when the Lord saw him.
But before the Lord healed him, He asked the lawyers and Pharisees a question in verse 3, “IS IT LAWFUL TO HEAL ON THE SABBATH DAY?”
The Bible says, “AND THEY HELD THEIR PEACE.” These were the intellects of this day and time. They did not answer because they were dumb.
So the Lord asked them another sensible question in verse 5, “Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?”
But they could not answer that simple question.
WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH THESE PEOPLE?
The same thing that is wrong with many people. These lawyers and Pharisees had a lot to say behind his back, as they planned how they could wipe Him from the face of the earth.
They listened to him, not because they were seeking the truth, but to try and gather ammunition to later destroy Him!
At this time they did not have anything to say, but later on, when they felt they had their ammunition, you could not shut them up.
Some people seem to have the biggest mouth in town, and they stay in trouble because of their big mouth.
But it is always interesting, when these find themselves in trouble, how some of them get themselves out of these jams.
Illus: Did you hear about the boy that was known to have a big mouth who worked in the produce section of the market? A man came in and said he wanted to buy half a head of lettuce. The boy told him that they only sold whole heads of lettuce, but the man replied that he did not need a whole head, but only a half head.
The boy said he would go ask his manager about the matter. The boy walked into the back room and said, "There's some stupid guy out there who wants to buy only a half a head of lettuce."
As he finished saying this, he turned around to find the man standing right behind him, so he added, "And this gentleman wants to buy the other half."
But you can mark it down, those who have big mouths generally stay in big trouble.
They would not say a word when the Lord asked them two questions, but you can mark it down, when it was convenient, they most likely had a lot to say when it came to conniving and stabbing him behind His back!
They watched the Lord when He entered and performed this healing, and both times He asked them questions they would not answer Him.
But their silence caused Him to tell a parable. Look at -
I. THE SITUATION
Evidently this supper was filled with a bunch of “snobs” from what the Lord says in this parable.
Look at verse 7, we read, “And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden,”
The scene here is a very formal banquet it seems. But the tables did not have “Place Cards” telling people where to sit. They could choose to sit wherever they wanted to sit.
It is because of this CHOICE that the Lord tells us this parable.
Evidently, when the dinner bell rang, everyone made every effort to get the best seat in the house.
Illus: You can tell a great deal about people outside of church. That is, if you observe them you can learn a great deal about:
• The way they drive on the highways
• The way they treat a waitress
• The way they treat a cashier
• The way they conduct business
• The way they use offensive language
• The way they treat the elderly
Sometime people are angels in church, but they are demons in the world in which they live.
Evidently the Lord saw something in this crowd that He was not very pleased with, about the way they were conducting themselves.
As they were pushing and shoving for the best seat in the house, the Lord said this to them, verses 7b - 11, “…when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
• The Word of God teaches us that we are to treat others the way we would like them to treat us
• But also the Word of God teaches that what we SOW we shall also REAP!
Illus: Did you hear about a rat that looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package to see what food it might contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a rat trap. Retreating to the farmyard, the rat proclaimed the warning; "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"
• The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
• The rat turned to the pig and told him, "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!" "I am so very sorry Mr. Rat," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."
• The rat then went to see the cow and told the cow of the rat trap in the house. The cow said, “Mr. Rat, I am so sorry, but I have so much to do I do not have time to be concerned about your problems.”
So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's rat trap alone.
That very night, a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was an enormous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral, that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and you think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.
These who were rushing for the best seat could care less about anyone but themselves.
We have looked at THE SITUATION, but let us look at -
II. THE SHAME
The Lord is ever ready to receive us at his table. As far as we can tell from the gospel accounts, Jesus never refused a dinner invitation!
But in looking at why the Lord tells this parable, we need to consider some questions, such as:
• In this particular instance, does Jesus lecture his host on who he should or shouldn't invite to dinner?
• Did the host of the supper want to impress his neighbors with the honor of hosting the "miracle worker" from Galilee?
We do not know the reason He invited the Lord. But the message in this parable reveals some things about the guest, not necessarily about the host.
WHAT DOES IT TELL US ABOUT THE GUEST?
The Word of God says in Proverbs 25:6-7, “Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.”
The Lord is telling this parable for the same reason these two verses in Proverbs teach.
Jesus’ parable shows us the paradox of the kingdom: the last shall be first, and the first last.
So often in this life, those who have forcefully pushed and shoved their way at the top are in the key positions in this life. They have shoved and pushed themselves into the SPOTLIGHT OF ATTENTION!
• One day when we get to heaven, we are going to be surprised because the folks who are now at the end shall be at the front of the line
• And those who are now at the front shall be at the end of the line
Pride makes us hostile to others and alienates us from God.
Humility frees the heart to love and serve others generously. without prejudice, conceit, or favoritism.
Jesus probes our hearts in this parable, for example:
• Do you show favor and generosity only to those who will repay you in kindness?
• What about those who do not have the means to repay you - the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged?
True generosity springs from a heart full of mercy and compassion. We cannot out give God in his generosity towards us.
Do you give freely as Jesus gives without expectation for personal gain or reward?
Our prayer should be, "Lord, fill me with gratitude for your boundless love and mercy towards me. Purify my love for others that I may seek their good, rather than my own benefit or gain. Free me to love others as you love."
Look at verses 12-14 in this parable, we read, “Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
The Lord is telling these guests not to make a mad dash for the best seat in the house, without consideration of others.
Why? Because the host might have someone else in mind to sit there. And if this is the case, it could prove to be a SHAMEFUL SITUATION. Why?
• Because he is going to ask you to get up and go to the back
• But if you sit in the back, and he asks you to get up and come to the front, it will be a time of REJOICING
Those who are filled with PRIDE are always pushing and shoving, wanting all the attention.
Generally people who are humble do not feel any need to demand attention.
Illus: On his way to a reception in his honor, Ulysses S. Grant got caught in a rainstorm. He shared his umbrella with a stranger going to the same reception, a stranger who did not recognize Grant. "I have never seen Grant," he said, "but I have always thought that he was a very much overrated man." "That's my view, also," said Grant.
(Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
But the proud will not leave anything to chance, they will push and shove and do whatever it takes to get to the top.
Conclusion:
The Lesson is simple in this parable. When it comes to EXALTING, this is the job of the Lord Jesus. And the ones He exalts are the ones who have learned and practiced humility.
I. THE SITUATION
II. THE SHAME
