A Place Among the Great
Proverbs 25-26
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 14:7-11
INTRODUCTION:
Many of us have seen the movie THE PASSION. For 2 hours we watched the suffering Jesus endured during the last hours of his life. We know that Jesus humbled himself to the point of torture and death. But that is not the whole story of Jesus’ time on earth.
It’s true that Jesus was mistreated and persecuted. But Jesus was also adored, honored, and exalted. On Palm Sunday, we remember a triumphal moment when Jesus receiving earthly praise and honor from the masses. People literally shouted their praises. They laid down the 1st century version of THE RED CARPET … in this case, a Green Carpet of Palm Branches.
When you read about the 3 years of Jesus’ ministry, you’ll see that Jesus had plenty of ups and downs. If they’d been taking Gallup Polls like they do now, His would have gone off the charts --- in both directions.
But whether he was being vilified or praised, Jesus never let it go to his head. Jesus was the one case where Absolute Power did not Corrupt Absolutely. In fact, Jesus Christ is the only ONE who has both Absolute Power and Perfect Humility.
The TEXT we read this morning gives us a glimpse into a fancy dinner party where Jesus was the guest of honor. In those days, it was customary for one of the prominent Pharisees to put on a banquet after the synagogue services for the “visiting preacher” (in this case, Jesus).
The truth is, these Pharisees had ulterior motives. They pretended to honor Jesus. But in reality, they were looking for ways to build their case against Him. Well, they had their purposes and Jesus had His. He used this fancy banquet as an opportunity to give a much-needed lesson about humility.
Jesus told them: When someone invites you to a feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. Luke 14:8 That sounds kind of like Emily Post’s Rules of Etiquette for a formal banquet. Jesus may have been giving them pointers on Earthly Etiquette, but His real topic was the Eternal Etiquette of Heaven.
Jesus explained that when God gives a banquet Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:11 This was similar to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 19: But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. Matthew 19:30 Jesus used the Pharisee’s bad table manners to remind them that THE FIRST WILL BE LAST.
1. The First will be Last
At First Century banquets, the basic item of furniture was the triclinium: a couch for three. A number of these couches were arranged in a U-shape around a low table. Guests reclined on their left elbows. The place of highest honor was the central position on the couch at the base of the U. The second and third places were to the left and right of that honored person.
One thing was the same back then as now: the important guests would manage to arrive “fashionably late.” That way they could make an entrance and be escorted to the place of honor while everyone looked on in envy. If someone less important had to move down so they could have the best spot, then that was so much the better! (Now if you’re thinking that we 21st century Americans are more mature than that, think about what happened last time you saw one good parking spot and several cars heading for it!)
At this particular banquet, there was evidently a noticeable … probably undignified … scramble for the places of honor. I can just picture everyone finally settling into place … Some were muttering under their breath, resentful because they weren’t high enough … Others were feeling smug because they managed to claim a good seat.
Then they all turn toward the guest of honor. They were probably expecting Jesus to say a few gracious words of appreciation to the host, or to praise for the feast set out before him.
You have to wonder how many faces turned bright red when Jesus made this unexpected … and certainly embarrassing … observation: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ’Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. Luke 14:8-9
Well, no one can accuse Jesus of being afraid to call a spade a spade. He took their little social power-games … those subtle games that everyone knows about but no one talks about … and he laid it right out on the table in front of everyone.
And … true to form … Jesus did it with a Parable. Now, the “parable” Jesus told the Pharisees is a little different from other parables. This one is more of a Proverb, or a“rule of thumb.” In fact, Jesus may have been thinking of the warning in Proverbs 25:6-7: Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among great men; it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here," than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.
This is just common sense. Nobody likes a conceited know-it-all type. In fact, people line up to watch the ones who think they are high and mighty get knocked off their pedestals. Another well-known Proverb that comes to mind is Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
The interesting thing about PRIDE is that it’s always focused on appearances. We take pride in our money, our career, our education, our talents, our social status, and our reputation. We take pride in what we drive, where we live, what we wear, how we look. All you have to do is turn on the TV to see that everyone is fascinated with outward appearance. People are learning What Not to Wear … or Oprah is giving them a big free Makeover. People are getting things lifted and reshaped and inflated and deflated with all sorts of Plastic Surgery.
(Personally, I don’t see the point. You get one thing lifted, then whatever’s next to it will look extra saggy. People can fight with gravity all they want, but gravity will always win!)
Anyway, the point is that people tend to focus on outward appearance. Even when we are trying to be humble, we focus on trying to LOOK humble. Most of us have figured out that people will like us more if we ACT humble.
If we’re honest, we know this is a big game Church People play. We know that Christians are supposed to be humble. So we learn how to talk humble and walk humble and dress humble and pray humble. All the while, the truth is, we want people to PRAISE us for our HUMILITY! We want people to notice us and say, “Wow, what a humble person!” We’re proud of being humble!
Well, we’re never going to impress God with that kind of humility. God’s focus is ALWAYS on the heart. Proverbs 29:23 says A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor. God is looking at the inward spirit. He looks for a truly humble heart.
And when God sees a truly humble heart, He will exalt that person. That’s why Jesus told the Pharisees at the dinner table: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:11 In other words, in God’s Kingdom, the First will be Last and the LAST WILL BE FIRST.
2. The Last will be First
Jesus went on to tell the Pharisees at the dinner party what true humility looks like. He showed them that true humility was the exact opposite of the elite, fashionable, exclusive dinner party he was addressing.
Jesus looked around at the upper-crust, fashionable dinner guests, then he turned to the host and said: "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Luke 14:12-14
That’s what true humility looks like. It means doing good to others simply because THEY need it, with no thought to yourself at all!
If you want to check your own humility rating, look at how you treat the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. How do you treat the people who can do nothing FOR you? Are they nothing TO you? Or do you see their true value the way God sees them?
Look at the attitude Jesus had toward all of us. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death --- even death on a cross! Philippians 2:5-8
Notice the opening verse: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Is that really possible? Can we have the same kind of humility as Jesus Christ? Let me tell you one example of a man who obeyed that verse.
CONCLUSION:
During World War II, a Catholic Priest named Maximillian Kolbe was put in a Nazi concentration camp for his faith. On May 28, 1941, he was transferred to the infamous camp at Auschwitz. During his time there, he shared his rations of food with those who were hungry. He encouraged the prisoners to forgive their tormentors and to over come evil with good.
The doctor who treated patients in Kolbe’s block said Kolbe would not let himself be treated before any other prisoners in that block. Here’s how the doctor described Kolbe: From my observations, the virtues in the Servant of God were no momentary impulse such as are often found in men, they sprang from a habitual practice, deeply woven into his personality.
One day a man in Kolbe’s block escaped. When they could not find the escapee, the Nazi commandant selected 10 men who would die in the starvation cell in place of the one that had escaped.
A polish sergeant named Francis Gajowniczek was selected as one of the 10. He begged to be spared because he feared his family could not survive without him.
Maximillian Kolbe stepped forward and said, “I am a Catholic Priest from Poland; I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children.” The commandant stood in shocked silence for a moment, then he motioned for Kolbe to take the place of the doomed man.
Every day the guards removed the bodies of those who had died in the starvation cell. But instead of the usual sounds of suffering, they heard Kolbe and the others singing hymns and praying. When Kolbe could no longer speak due to hunger, he would whisper his prayers. After two weeks, the cell had to be cleared out for more prisoners. Only four prisoners were left, and Kolbe was one of them. The guards injected each with a lethal injection. On August 14, 1941 Kolbe paid the ultimate price.
Kolbe viewed others as more important than himself. His attitude was that of his Master, who humbled himself and became obedient to death.
Most of us will not be called on to make that ultimate sacrifice. But we are called to make daily sacrifices of our time and energy. We are asked to give of ourselves to others every day … without expecting anything in return. That is true humility. And that is the person who is honored by God … both in this life and in the life to come.
