Luke 14
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Luke 14:1-
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “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. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Pray
Introduction
Introduction
Presuppositions
A future banquet in God's Kingdom
A resurrection of the righteous
Eating together in a meaningful way... the meal represents a value.
Outline
Outline
1-14 Dinner with a Pharisee
Re-framing Sabbath
Those who exalt themselves will be humbled and the reverse
Do good to those who cannot repay you because you have a future reward
15-24 The Parable of the Great Banquet
The surprising guest at God's banquet
25-35 The Cost of Being a Disciple
Understanding the cost of discipleship
Summary of Verse 1-14
Summary of Verse 1-14
Jesus has been invited over for dinner on the Sabbath to the house of a prominent Pharisee
There is a man who has an ailment and Jesus heals him.
Jesus challenges the Pharisees concept of Sabbath and what is permissible
Jesus addresses the seating arrangements which reflects a heart condition: pride or humility.
Jesus addresses party invitations and the social construct of repayment. The use of influence for kindness vs the use of influence for the sake of future repayment.
There were three upper-class groups in Jesus day: the religious leadership, the wealthy business people, and Roman leadership (political).
There were three upper-class groups in Jesus day: the religious leadership, the wealthy business people, and Roman leadership (political).
Essentially, this was a dinner party of the elite. They had their protocol, values, and pecking order.
Earthly Meal —> Heavenly Banquet
Earthly Meal —> Heavenly Banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
Summary of vs 15-24
A parable
A banquet
Many invited guests
Invited guests have excuses of why they cannot attend
The owner invites the poor and disabled to attend
The Surprise Element: The invited guests decline to attend and the societal outcast are welcomed in.
This parable is told in the context of a banquet of social elites.
Jesus' audience is religious but misguided. Jesus is teaching people who have religious priorities. They care about spiritual things.
We can relate to these lessons whether we are religious or not because we all participate in subcultures. And we derive our identity from that subculture. It could be an ethnic identity. It could be a political identity. It could be hobby of fitness or crafting or food. It could be an identity of rebellion against another subculture. How do you know what subculture you are a part of? Your Instagram feed... Your discretionary spending...
How do you know what subculture you are a part of? Your Instagram feed... Your discretionary spending...
The Cost of Discipleship
The Cost of Discipleship
:25-35
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Application
Application
We can relate to these lessons whether we are religious or not because we all participate in subcultures. And we derive our identity from that subculture. It could be an ethnic identity. It could be a political identity. It could be hobby of fitness or crafting or food. It could be an identity of rebellion against another subculture. How do you know what subculture you are a part of? Your Instagram feed... Your discretionary spending...
Recognize that our culture communicates power dynamics, code of conduct, values and many of these things are different from God Kingdom. (Wealth, beauty, influence, purpose, reward)
What does this look like in our ministry box? Who are our elites? (self, home owners, politicians, developers)
There is a lot of individualism in our neighborhood. Many (millennials) don't derive their identity based on what is local. We have local residents who are somewhat excarnate. They are detached from what is around them. They themselves are elite unto themselves. They have gone outside of their local community to find identity. Their relationship with their neighborhood is to demand usefulness. There is very little civic spirit. Obviously, the internet has made this possible. No longer does it matter if my neighbors are not interested in the things I'm interested in. I can just look down at my phone and find camaraderie in my subculture.
Less and less meaning or identity is derived from the neighborhood. Less and less meaning is attached to our bodies. Michael Frost calls it excarnation.
Whereas Jesus Christ was God incarnate and his church was called to an incarnational lifestyle, today we find ourselves drifting toward excarnation—the defleshing of our faith. We have been moving through a disembodying process that has left us feeling rootless and disengaged, connected to our world more and more through screens rather then face to face.
This is an important observation because we are still prone to make the errors that Jesus is trying to correct but concept of a cultural elite has changed, the pecking orders have changed, the code of conduct has changed.
Are we a party of one? Are we elite unto ourselves? Have we become so individualistic that our subculture is just us? I think that is what our culture celebrates when it talks about self-expression. I can jump out of my world to momentarily appreciate your self-expression and then jump back into my world. Social media is a huge contributor to this way of thinking. We look at how many friends we have or we look at how many likes we get. Notice, we aren't collectively earning likes or friends. Are you proud of your group size? No. You are proud of you.
In traditional cultures the heroic narrative is self-sacrifice. You are your duties, and your self-worth depends on the honor that is bestowed upon you by your community for discharging them. In Western cultures the new heroic narrative is self-assertion. You are your individual dreams and desires, and your self-worth depends on the dignity you bestow on yourself, because you have asserted your dreams and desires regardless of the opposition you may have had from the community. - Tim Keller, Making Sense of God
The framework for the Kingdom is a community... being together for a meal. Jesus saying if you want to be a follower of me and express the values of my Kingdom then you need to let go of your self-expression and become a member of a community... for a meal... and then be lowly and humble for that meal.
For those of us swept up in self-expression and autonomy there are two steps (maybe three) involved in application whereas the Pharisees needed to take one step.
Pre-step: recognize the intent of God to place your soul in a physical body.
We have to take one step to abandon self-expression and being a party of one. This gets us back into community.
This gets us back into community. Then we need to be humble and invite the humble to the party.
Then we need to be humble and invite the humble to the party.
For those who are poor or disabled... Maybe you feel like an outsider or a second class citizen. We are sorry. Please forgive us for not making you feel more welcome. We have been so wrapped up in ourselves that we have not given you a seat at the table. But God does...
God invites you to be a party guest at his feast. He has arranged the meal and scheduled it. He has invited you through his son Jesus Christ.
Because these things are so challenging Jesus says, "You need to count the cost." Jesus isn't trying discourage you from following him because it is difficult. No he wants you to set out with determination and resolve. He wants you to know from the very outset that this calling is the most costly decision you will make. Being a follower of Jesus will not just effect your Sunday mornings and a little bit of your thoughts throughout the week. No. Being a follower of Jesus is a comprehensive decision that effects every corner of your life.