Introduction:
It’s only human nature for us to want to sit in the best seat in the house. At sporting events it’s the skybox seat, or the seat on the 50-yard line or the seat directly behind home plate, or a ringside seat at a boxing match. Those are the places that have the best view and carry the highest price. They also carry the greatest bragging potential. It impresses people when we tell them we have those seats.
This desire for the best seat in the house shows up in other places as well. Watch people in a store parking lot sometime. The best parking places are the ones closest to the front door. I’ve seen people nearly collide, competing for that one open spot near the store! Nobody wants the parking spaces out on the far end of the lot.
At a theater or a play, the best seat is the one right in the very middle where you have the best view of things. There have been times I felt like I needed to carry a tape measure with me to the movies because Sueanne would want to know, “Is this the seat in the exact middle?” That’s the best seat in the house, far enough back that you’re not straining your neck, but close enough so that you have a good view.
The Jews had “best seats” in the synagogues. Jesus made mention of it when he said of the Pharisees, “They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues.” (Matthew 23:6). As in most church buildings today, synagogues typically had a raised platform in the front where the worship leaders would sit. Visiting rabbis and other religious dignitaries were often asked to participate by reading a scripture or giving a lesson. So it was an honor to have the opportunity to sit in one of these seats up here. They were the best seats.
We also have a “best seat” in our church buildings. It’s the row on the back. I know that’s the best seat because that’s the one that fills up first.
In Mark 10, we read that two disciples of Jesus named James and John tried to get into this "best seat" thing. Jesus asked them in Mark 10:36, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And they said to Him, "Grant that we may sit in Your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left." “We want the best seats in the kingdom - the places of honor and prestige and power.” That’s a natural response -- we want the best seat.
In Luke 14, Jesus had some things to say about the best seat in the house, and that’s where I want us to spend our time this morning.
Let me set up a little of the background to this passage. According to verse 1, Jesus was invited to the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath for a meal. It was apparently one of those dinners that was attended by the religious "who’s who” of Jerusalem. Everybody who was anybody was there.
While Jesus was in the home, a man was brought to him who had a condition the Bible calls "dropsy." The man was probably invited so the Pharisees could put Jesus to the test, but Luke doesn’t actually say that. And despite their objections regarding healing on the Sabbath, Jesus cured the man, proving to the religious leaders that Jesus was a rabbi who had no regard at all for their traditions.
Then as things began to settle down and the guests made their way to the table, Jesus noticed there was some jockeying for position going on at the head table. The places of honor were quickly filling up. Most likely, the places of greatest honor in that day would be those closest to the host. So Jesus took this opportunity to teach a lesson. We pick up in verse 7 of Luke 14:
“So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: ‘When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, “Give place to this man,” and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, “Friend, go up higher.” Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’” (Luke 14:7-11)
Humble yourself and be exalted. Exalt yourself and be humbled. It’s a principle we have seen operate many times.
I heard about a young seminary graduate who came up to the pulpit, very self-confident and smug. He was immaculately dressed. He knew he had what it took. He began to deliver his first sermon to his first church but when he started to speak, the words simply wouldn’t come out. Humiliated, he burst into tears and ended up leaving the platform, obviously humbled. There were two old ladies sitting in the front row and one of them remarked to the other, "If he had come in like he went out, he would have gone out like he came in."
"For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."
Start humbly and God will move you up. Start arrogantly and God will move you down. And if you don’t believe that, take a few minutes sometime to read about what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4.
It’s obvious that what Jesus is teaching here is the opposite of nearly everything we hear today about success. And it’s not easy advice easy to follow, because according to Jesus,
1. The Best Seat in the House is the Last Seat.
Verse 10 says, "But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place….”
I think it’s fairly obvious that Jesus had more in mind here than just seating arrangements at wedding feasts. Luke tells us in verse 7 that this was a parable. And the point of the parable is -- If you force yourself into a position of honor, you will eventually find yourself humbled. But if you willingly take the last seat, you’ll be exalted. That really goes against the grain of our culture!
There is a quote which is often attributed to Vince Lombardi, but it was actually UCLA coach, Red Sanders, who once said, "Winning isn’t everything -- it’s the only thing." That philosophy has a great deal of value in the realm of sports. I doubt if Coach Moore would remain head coach at ASU for very long if he said to his players at the beginning of the season, “Guys, it’s OK with me if we end up 3-8 this year, I just want you guys to go out there are have fun!” In sports, being number one is important. It’s the driving force.
The problem, though, comes when we try to apply that philosophy to our daily lives. Being first is so important to some people that it becomes the only thing they will settle for. Nothing else is acceptable. Everything else is disgraceful. But in Mark 9:35, Jesus said, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all."
That doesn’t sound much like a winning formula, does it? You probably wouldn’t find it listed in the “Ten Most Important Habits of Successful People.” Our culture says, “Go for first!” Our Lord says, “Go for last.” Both of them are telling us how to get to the top, but the difference is the means by which we get there.
Sammy Morris was a Christian from Africa who came to the United States to go to school. The road he chose for himself was a tough one, but he never let it stop him from making progress. When he arrived at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, the school’s president asked him what room he wanted. Sammy said simply, "If there is a room nobody wants, give it to me." Later the president commented, "I turned away with my eyes full of tears. I was asking myself whether I was willing to take what nobody else wanted."
Jesus said, “Sit down at the lowest place.” The best seat in the house, according to Jesus, is the last seat. Also,
2. The Best Seat in the House is the Least Desired Seat
We don’t find Jesus making a comment about competition for the seats with less honor associated - they were the ones left when they had all been picked over. This teaching really is different than the way we think, isn’t it?
An admirer once asked the famous orchestra conductor Leonard Bernstein what was the most difficult instrument to play. He said, "Second fiddle.” He said, “I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm or second French horn or second flute, now that’s a problem. And yet if no one plays second, we have no harmony."
It’s true. Nobody wants the last seat. We deserve more attention. We deserve to be noticed.
Have you ever been to the store and maybe you wanted some tomatoes. Never mind the fact that they’re priced higher than you want to pay. You go to the bin and there you found just a few bruised, shriveled up specimens -- nothing at all like what Park was handing out this summer! Obviously, the bin has already been picked over. You’ll probably leave without buying anything, because you think “I’m not going to eat those!”
And that attitude isn’t a problem when it involves shopping for vegetables, but in other contexts, it amounts to arrogance. The attitude that says, "I’m not going to do that. I’m too good for that!"
During the American Revolution, the story is told of a group of new recruits busy repairing a break in a rampart. The work was really too heavy for the size of group working on it. Their commander was shouting instructions, but was making no attempt to help them. An officer in civilian clothes rode past and he asked why the leader of the group wasn’t helping the others. He replied with great dignity, "Sir, I am a Corporal!" The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers himself. When the job was finished, he turned to the corporal and said "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this, and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again." The officer in plain clothes was General Washington.
Most people think like that corporal. They don’t want to humble themselves. They don’t want to get their hands dirty doing that kind of work. Like the guests at the wedding feast Jesus is describing, they would rather emphasize their rank over others and be noticed for it. They want to push themselves as high as they can, even if it means stepping on others to do it. It’s the law of the jungle. It’s survival of the fittest. It’s eat or be eaten. But it’s not what Jesus is teaching here.
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4).
3. The Best Seat in the House is the Learning Seat.
Most of us would rather take a shortcut to the top. The trouble with that is that, if we do that, we avoid all of life’s lessons along the way. We want the graduating tassel without the necessary hassle. We don’t want anything to do with a trip that starts at the bottom and works its way up through the school of hard knocks.
I heard about a Christian organization that always asks newly hired people to clean the toilets for two weeks. It doesn’t matter what their qualifications are or what they’re hired to do. That’s the first job they get. And if they won’t do it, then they don’t get a position.
Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s Restaurant, illustrates the value of humility in his book, WELL DONE: THE COMMON GUY’S GUIDE TO EVERYDAY SUCCESS. He writes, "I got my MBA long before my G.E.D." (Dave, of course, never graduated from high school.) He continues, "I even have a photograph of me in my MBA graduation outfit -- a snazzy knee-length work apron. I guarantee you that I’m the only founder among America’s big companies whose picture in the corporate annual report shows him wielding a mop and a plastic bucket. That wasn’t a gag. It was a case of leading by example. At Wendy’s, MBA does not mean Master of Business Administration. It means Mop Bucket Attitude.”
O, if we could find more of that MBA attitude in the church! And you don’t necessarily have to wield a physical mop to show that you have it. There are plenty of other things that will get you your MBA.
There’s a widow or divorcee over there with five little kids. She’s going nuts trying to be both mom and dad. Want to get your spiritual MBA? Go over there and help her with one or two of the kids. You older saints who already have your kids raised, I’m talking to you, too! I know the tendency is for you to say, "I raised mine. Let them raise theirs! I’m retired." You may be retired from your job, but you’re not retired from the Lord’s work. Go spend some Saturdays with one of those kids. Be a mentor to him/her.
Or there’s an elderly person who can’t get around anymore. He’s lonely and feeling overwhelmed. Want to get your MBA? Go over and spend the day with him. Talk with him, or just let him talk. Do that once or twice a month.
People sometimes come to me and say, "I want to do something in the church” and I admire that attitude. We need more of it. But is it necessary to come to me to find something to do? Look around you. What needs "mopping?" Figure it out and go do it. If you can’t find anything, maybe you’re not looking low enough! Sometimes it looks like there is nothing to do in the church because we only want to do things that get recognized by others. And if we do that, are we any different than those jockeying for seats in Luke 14?
The best seat in the house is the learning seat. Go get your spiritual MBA! But it’s also important to realize that,
4. The Best Seat in the House is not The Lazy Seat.
In all that I’ve been saying, it might be tempting to someone to say, "Well, Jesus is saying that climbing the ladder of success is not what I’m supposed to do, then I’ll just settle back and sit on the bottom and never aspire to be any more than I already am.”
That kind of laziness is not what Jesus is teaching here. He isn’t condemning progress or moving up. Rather, he’s teaching against our natural tendencies toward arrogance and making out like we’re more than we really are.
Paul said in Romans 12:3, "I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment…"
There is nothing wrong with working hard to move up. Just let others do the promoting. Don’t do it yourself. Let your works speak well of you, not your mouth. The idea is that the host of the party sees your hard and humble work, comes to you, and says, what Jesus said in verse 10: "Friend, move up higher."
No, Jesus isn’t condoning laziness here. This isn’t a verse for slackers.
Remember the parable of the talents? Remember the one talent man, who was afraid to take any risks and went out and buried his talents in the ground? ("Oh, if I invest it, something might happen and I would lose it”)
Matthew 25:26-27 says, "You wicked, lazy slave…you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest."
God wants us to get a return on what we’ve been given. This passage in Luke isn’t condoning laziness or lack on initiative. It’s speaking of our means of progress. If you want to go to the top, then head for the bottom!
5. The Best Seat in the House is the Lord’s Seat.
Luke doesn’t mention it here, but where do you suppose Jesus was sitting as he was telling this parable? I guarantee you he wasn’t in the middle of those men pushing each other to get the best seats. That wasn’t His way! It will make a difference if we keep Jesus in mind.
Years ago, there was a Scottish man, a successful businessman, who had one son. He was very proud of this boy. Outwardly, the boy was well-mannered, well-educated, and respected -- at least he was until he left home. Once away from his father’s guidance, he turned his back on his upbringing. He indulged in every kind of excess he could think of, sowing his "wild oats" with all the gusto he could muster -- until one day he was arrested for embezzlement. At the trial he was found guilty. All through the proceedings, and even up through the jury foreman’s reading of the verdict, the young man appeared essentially unconcerned, arrogant, and nonchalant. No one was going to humiliate him!
When the verdict was brought in, the judge told the young man to stand for the sentence. He arrogantly stood, still looking cocky and proud. With a haughty glance, he looked around the courtroom. That’s when he saw his dad, whom he hadn’t seen for several years. The elderly man had stood up and moved to the front.
When the younger man looked at his dad, he saw a man who had once stood with head and shoulders erect. Now those same shoulders were bowed low with sorrow and shame as he stood to receive, as though it were for himself, his son’s sentence from the judge. At the sight of his father, humiliated because of his disgraceful conduct, the son finally began to weep bitterly and for the first time repented of his crime.
For the Christian, that’s what happens when, in our arrogance and self-importance, we suddenly get a glimpse of Jesus, the Son of God, who takes the humiliation we should be feeling ourselves, upon Himself. That picture, more than any other, lets the air out of our arrogance.
Philippians 2:5-8 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
We take the humble seat as the best seat in the house because it’s our Lord’s seat! He showed us the way by willingly heading to the bottom of society’s ladder, to the place of a criminal, to death on a cross, falsely accused before all who watched, though he did nothing wrong. And He did it on our behalf. Because He humbled Himself, God has now exalted Him.
Conclusion:
John Brodie, former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was once asked why a million-dollar player like him should have to hold the ball for field goals and extra points after the touchdown. "Well," said Brodie, "if I didn’t, it would fall over."
Brodie wouldn’t take the bait. He wouldn’t exalt himself, though the opportunity was obvious. I think that humility has something to do with his greatness.
I don’t care which image you leave here with this morning that makes a bigger impression: The C.E.O. with a mop and bucket in his hand… The quarterback on his hands and knees holding the ball for the kicker… The African student, willing to take the room no one else wanted… The Lord of Glory submitting himself to cruel and vulgar men to be put to death for our redemption.
Just don’t be among those who fight for the first seat. Head for the last seat in the house. Let God move you up!
