2BeLikeChrist Bible Commentary - Luke Chapter 14
Commentary - Luke Chapter 14
Luke 14:1
Luk 14:1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.
It is interesting to me that the Pharisees repeatedly invited Jesus into their homes for nefarious reasons and Jesus repeatedly accepted.
We saw this happen in chapter 11.
I’m not sure who the Pharisees thought they were fooling with their phony friendship, but it wasn’t Jesus.
This particular day was a Sabbath day.
Luke 14:2-6
Luk 14:2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.
Luk 14:3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
Luk 14:4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.
Luk 14:5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”
Luk 14:6 And they could not reply to these things.
Dropsy – An old name for edema.
Edema – The buildup of fluid in the body tissue.
A person with edema retains a lot of water which causes swelling.
It is typically most noticeable in the legs and arms.
Per my nurse practitioner wife, who works in nephrology, edema is commonly a result of kidney failure or heart failure.
Dropsy would have been the observable symptom of a deeper problem.
Jesus healed the man and dismissed him, knowing the Pharisees would take issue with His actions.
Jesus challenged the Pharisees with a similar question to the one He posed in Luke 6:9.
If you remember, a man with a withered hand needed healing on Sabbath.
Jesus asked, “is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” (Luke 6:9).
“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?
Accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath for miraculously healing someone seems like a stretch.
But the Jewish authorities didn’t have much to work with.
Jesus knew their hearts and challenged them before they even spoke their mind.
None of them dared answer, so Jesus proceeded to explain why none of the them had the right to accuse Him.
“Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”
The lawyers and Pharisees wouldn’t hesitate to help their child or even their animal if it was distressed on a Sabbath day.
They considered those circumstances to be an exception to the Sabbath law.
By their own practice of the Law, they were in no position to accuse Jesus for helping a distressed man on Sabbath.
The lawyers and Pharisees couldn’t argue with Jesus’ point.
They should have been thankful Jesus shut them down before they had an opportunity to open their mouths and look even more stupid.
APPLICATION:
Before accusing someone or judging someone, we need to take an introspective look at our own lives.
It is really easy to find faults in other people but harder to recognize them in ourselves.
Do the introspection before your hypocrisy is publicly revealed and you are left like the Pharisees, without an answer.
Luke 14:7-11
Luk 14:7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,
Luk 14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,
Luk 14:9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.
Luk 14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.
Luk 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Observing the guests as they filed in for the meal at the Pharisees’ house, Jesus notice how they took the best seat possible upon arrival.
At modern meals, at least in the USA, seating position isn’t usually anything of significance.
But in Jesus’ culture, where a person sat often indicated their status.
The most honored members at the party were given the best seats.
The guests at this meal honored themselves by determining themselves worthy of the best seats available.
Jesus taught them not to do this, not only to save face in this world, but to save their souls in the next.
The physical lesson:
Imagine going to a wedding and taking the best seat you could find only to be asked to vacate the seat when a more honored guest arrived.
That would be pretty embarrassing.
Instead, you ought to select the seat of least honor.
When the host of the party sees your humility, he will honor you by asking you to move to a better seat.
The spiritual lesson:
The physical lesson is useful in everyday life, but Jesus’ main intention wasn’t to teach wedding etiquette.
He recognized a pride problem with the people around the table.
God doesn’t think highly of men who think too much of themselves (Proverbs 6:16-17).
A man who exalts himself is a man who is attempting to steal honor that belongs to God.
Those who exalt themselves on earth will be humbled by God.
But those who humble themselves on earth, who realize they are lost without God, who realize they are saved only by God’s grace, God will honor in heaven.
Luke 14:12-14
Luk 14:12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
Luk 14:13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
Luk 14:14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Jesus wasn’t done teaching.
He turned to the host of this get-together and told Him the next time he hosted a meal he should do it differently.
Instead of inviting his friends, rich people, and relatives, he should invite the “poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind…”
Instead of inviting people who could pay him back for his hospitality, he should have invited people who couldn’t.
People often host events to curry favor with others.
Cocktail parties and invite only dinners are used to bring important people together for the purpose of networking.
The meal may cost the host a great sum of money but in return they win the favor of influential people.
The host knows the friendship of those influential people will give them a return on their investment.
This Pharisee was supposed to be the model of a godly man.
Jesus told him a truly godly man would invite those who promised no future return.
A goldy man would use his blessings to feed people in need.
Jesus was the ultimate example of the godly man.
He sacrificed Himself for people who couldn’t offer Him anything He didn’t already have.
APPLICATION:
How do we apply this principle?
It’s easy for us to get caught up in ourselves.
We have goals, ambitions, and dreams.
We have a tendency to only make decisions that are advantageous to us, things that further our goals.
Here, Jesus teaches us that godliness is found outside of ourselves.
We are like Jesus when we sacrifice for the good of others.
Jesus assured His host, although there was no physical reward for meeting the needs of the sick and poor, those actions would not go unrewarded by God.
Caring for the world’s downcast is not a lucrative business, physically speaking.
But God didn’t put us here to store up treasures on the earth.
Mat 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
APPLICATION:
Notice what Jesus did upon arriving for this meal.
He corrected the actions of the guests.
He corrected the actions of the host.
That was about the least tactful thing He could have done.
Imagine how you would be perceived if you were invited to a meal and as soon as dinner was served, you started telling your tablemates all the things wrong with them.
While there is a place for tact when dealing with unbelievers, some Christians seem to worship at the idle of tact.
They might say, “Jesus would never want us to be untactful.”
Or, “We should avoid being untactful because it will turn people off to the gospel.”
Again, while there is a place for tact, there is also a place for the bold proclamation of truths pertaining to life and death.
Luke 14:15-20
Luk 14:15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Luk 14:16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
Luk 14:17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
Luk 14:18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’
Luk 14:19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’
Luk 14:20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
The man in verse 15 probably held the common misconception that the Kingdom of God would be some kind of earthly kingdom.
He looked forward to the happiness and prosperity of the kingdom he imagined.
He may have said this thinking there would be no need to feed the poor when God’s Kingdom arrived.
No one would need to invite the poor to dinner when the prosperity of the Kingdom poured into Israel.
In response, Jesus told another parable.
A man planned a great banquet and sent out a bunch of invitations.
When the time for the banquet arrived, the man sent his servant to summon all the invitees.
“Come, for everything is now ready.”
This practice was probably pretty normal for that time period.
Invitations were sent out early.
A servant was later sent to call those who had accepted the invitation.
Keep in mind, there were no cell phones, email, or even fax machines.
But all the invitees made excuses for why they couldn’t come:
“I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.”
“I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.”
“I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”
These three men had accepted the initial invitation, but when the time came, they asked to be excused.
Luke 14:21-24
Luk 14:21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
Luk 14:22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
Luk 14:23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luk 14:24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
When the host heard everyone was skipping out on his feast, he was angry.
Rightfully so!
He had spent time preparing a meal only to have his hospitality snubbed.
The man instructed his servant to go into the streets and bring the poor, crippled, blind, and lame to his table.
Certainly, they would appreciate the hospitality.
He then sent the servant to go to the “highways and hedges” and invite anyone he could find to fill the banquet table.
Jesus concluded the parable with a warning, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.”
What did Jesus intend to communicate with this parable?
This parable was taught in response to the man in verse 15 who said, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.”
We don’t know specifics as to the man’s identity.
But it seems likely he was another Pharisee or a religious leader of some kind (based on Jesus’ comments in verse 12).
This man expressed joy for all of those who were to be part of the Kingdom of God, no doubt including himself in that number.
Jesus’ response was essentially, “Don’t be so sure you will eat bread in the Kingdom of God.”
“Don’t be so sure you’ll be in the number of the blessed, because although many have been invited, few will come.”
“Many will reject the invitation when the time comes.”
Who do the invitees and the poor, crippled, blind, and lame represent?
2 possible interpretations, one specific and one more general.
Specific:
The Invitees:
The invitees represented those who were invited to the Kingdom of God.
How were they invited?
Through the Old Testament Law and prophets.
The Old Testament Law, which was given to the people by Moses and the prophets who followed Moses, spoke of a coming Kingdom of God.
This information was specifically revealed to the Jews.
Those who were thought to know the Old Testament scriptures the best were the Jewish religious leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, lawyers, etc).
They were the invitees.
They knew the Kingdom was coming.
God told them ahead of time through His prophets (invitation).
All they needed to do was wait for God’s servant to arrive and tell them the feast was ready.
But that servant had come (remember John the Baptist) and the religious leaders had rejected his invitation (Matthew 3 and Luke 3).
Jesus offered them the same invitation, but they continued to refused.
The opportunity to “eat bread in the Kingdom of Heaven” was available and they were snubbing it.
The poor, crippled, blind, and lame in the streets and lanes (verse 21).
These less-fortunate ones represented the common Jewish people, perhaps the lowest class of Jewish society (publicans, sinners, handicapped, etc.).
These were the ones oppressed by the religious leaders, oppressed not only monetarily but also spiritually (Matthew 23:4).
Throughout the gospels, we see that Jesus was more readily accepted by common Jews, especially the poor and those who were physically sick.
It was these less-fortunate ones who would accept the invitation to be a part of the Kingdom of God.
They would come to the banquet.
This truth was already playing out and would continue to play out as Jesus’ ministry continued.
The people from the highways and hedges (verse 22).
This second group is meant to represent the Gentiles (non-Jews).
Jesus introduced the Kingdom of God to the Jews, but it was God’s intention to eventually invite all nations to be a part of His Kingdom (see Acts 10 and beyond).
The New Testament writings go on to tell us how the majority of the Jews rejected Jesus and His preaching, but many of the Gentiles accepted it.
The Gentiles were not among the original invitees, but when the opportunity was offered to them, they would come and “eat bread in the Kingdom of God.”
General Interpretation:
The general interpretation is not significantly different than the first.
Rather than viewing the invitees as the Jewish religious leaders specifically, this view interprets the entire Jewish nation as the invitees.
The Jews were invited by the Law and the prophets but the vast majority of them rejected their Messiah and their chance to be a part of the Kingdom.
Paul makes mention of this in Romans 9-11, where speaking generally, he said the whole of the Jewish nation had rejected God.
They received an invitation but refused it.
In the general interpretation, the poor, crippled, blind, lame, the people from the streets, lanes, highways, and hedges all represent the Gentiles (verses 21-22).
They were not initially invited, but when they were offorded the opportunity, they came.
This parable reveals that Jesus’ rejection by the Jews, including His murder, was not a surprise to God.
This fact is revealed throughout the gospels and we know God designed His plan having foreknowledge of how the Jews would respond to Jesus.
If you are reading the Bible for the first time, you may find it odd that Jesus was killed.
Did God fail?
Did evil people mess up God’s plan?
No!
The more familiar you become with the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, you’ll realize the events of Jesus’ life went exactly as God planned.
Jesus’ death was foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
Jesus’ death was necessary to show that God was just and to justify all human beings who had sinned (Romans 3:26).
Jesus’ death and resurrection was a picture of the transformation Christians experience (Romans 6:5).
It was not a mistake.
It was the climactic point of a tapestry of events woven by God through all of human history.
Luke 14:25-27
Luk 14:25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,
Luk 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Here we see another rather “tactless” (by the world’s standards) statement from Jesus.
Crowds of people were following Him.
He turned around and said, “If you don’t hate your parents, wife, and children, you aren’t worthy of being my follower!
Ouch!
Was Jesus trying to run people off?
You would think He would lead into that discussion a bit more gently.
But sometimes Jesus just said what needed to be said.
In what sense, were people to “hate” their family?
1Jn 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
How do we reconcile God’s instructions not to hate others while applying Jesus’ words that we must hate?
How do we interpret the “hate”?
It should be understood in the way Matthew records Jesus’ words.
Mat 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
The devotion of a disciple to Jesus must be so deep, that if required to make the choice between Jesus and family, the disciple would choose Jesus so quickly it would look to the world as if they hated their family.
Jesus must be loved supremely.
APPLICATION:
Jesus didn’t teach that it was ok to be a half-hearted Christian.
He was looking for devotees.
We shouldn’t present the Christian life as a small commitment.
Or as an addition to the life a person is already living.
Christianity is a radical realignment of a person’s affections.
Jesus was making His followers aware of the potential hardships associated with being His disciples.
The gospel message has divided thousands of families since it was first preached in Galilee.
Many people have had to make the decision to save their souls at the 49 expense of their family.
If those following Jesus were not prepared to make this sacrifice, they were not worthy of Jesus.
It is important to point out that loving your family is not wrong, however, placing your family as a higher priority than Jesus is definitely wrong.
Not all of our choices in life are black and white.
Choices are not always a decision between what is right and what is wrong.
Some of them are a decision between what is good and what is better.
It is good to love your family.
But if the love of family and the love of Christ conflict, the love of Christ is better.
Surrendering your family to follow Christ may be one of the hardest sacrifices anyone can make.
Being around family is a very high priority for most people.
Some people live in the same location their whole lives, not because they love it, but because moving would require living away from family.
People turn down career promotions to stay around family.
People choose universities to attend based on their proximity to family members.
Family affects people’s lives in big ways.
When I moved away from home to pursue mission work with my wife, it wasn't the fear of a new location that made me hesitant, it wasn't the danger of not having the best health care in the world, and it wasn’t the fear of change.
The thing that tempted me most to stay was family. I didn’t want to leave my family (both immediate family and church family).
It would mean missing the birth of my first nephew.
Missing out on family traditions and holidays.
Not being able to see people I loved.
Luckily for me, I have video chat and Facebook Messenger and my family is supportive of me.
But for many, following Christ means being cut off from family completely.
Rejection.
No updates.
No pictures.
No holidays.
You can see why someone would want to go back.
To leave off following Christ to restore their family harmony.
You can see how someone could be tempted to dial back their devotion.
Be a bit less committed.
Be a bit less convicted.
But Jesus’ words are unmistakably clear.
A person who does that is not a disciple.
This was a very bold statement.
Imagine if someone you hardly knew told you you needed to love them more than your own family in order to go to heaven.
A statement like that would turn a lot of people off immediately.
Jesus was, and still is, looking for people who are ready to give serious commitment.
APPLICATION:
It is very common for people to water down the commitment required in the Christian life when trying to “get someone saved.”
It doesn’t do a person any good to begin walking with Jesus as a disciple only to quickly quit when they learn what it is really going to cost them.
We need to be up front with people (as Jesus was).
If we were, our churches would probably be stronger.
They would be filled with people who are ready to give 100% of themselves to Jesus, instead of Sunday-morning-only-Christians who are only interested in giving 10%.
APPLICATION:
Do you love Jesus more than anything?
This is a serious question we all need to consider.
Based on Jesus’ words in Luke 14 and Matthew 10, how many professing “Christians” do you think Jesus will look at on the Judgement Day and say, “You are not worthy of me because you loved your family more than me”?
Am I one of those people?
Luke 14:27
Luk 14:27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Jesus was going to sacrifice Himself on the cross for all men, but each individual disciple would be required to make sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus was going to give up His life to complete God’s plan.
Each disciple was asked to give up their life to become a servant of God.
Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
1Co 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Christians belong to God and must use their lives to serve Him.
That service is not always easy.
The struggles Christians encounter in God’s service are here figuratively referred to as a “cross.”
A Christian must be willing to endure the hardships of being a servant.
2Ti 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
It's easy for us to look at this statement and to understand exactly what Jesus is saying because we are on the far side of the cross, but imagine how shocking these words would have been to the Apostles, who had yet to fully understand the sacrifices Jesus was going to make.
They thought they were establishing a Kingdom.
They had no idea how a cross factored into that plan.
Luke 14:28-32
Luk 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
Luk 14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Luk 14:31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Jesus wanted the people following Him to consider the cost of what they were doing.
The road to the Kingdom of God was not going to be as easy as many of them assumed.
Jesus reiterated the importance of them counting the cost by giving two illustrations.
Building a Tower:
Jesus asked them which one of them would set to work building a tower without calculating the build cost.
We don’t know what kind of tower this refers to, perhaps a watchtower in a vineyard (Mat 21:33), but the specifics of the structure aren’t essential to understand the principle.
A person with a brain doesn’t start a building project without making sure they have enough cash/resources to finish the project.
What good is a half-built house? Or half of a boat?
A person who fails to count the cost of building a tower may get the foundation laid, only to realize they don’t have enough money to complete construction.
People will walk by and mock the half-finished project.
They will think the builder foolish for not counting the cost.
Most men have enough common sense to count the cost when it comes to construction, but what about spiritual commitments?
Many men, who would never fail to count the cost of building a new house, will begin a spiritual journey without considering the sacrifices they will have to make.
APPLICATION:
How can someone accurately count the cost if they are unaware of the complete picture of what it means to be a disciple?
As teachers, we need to be up-front with people about the cost of being a Christian.
It does no good to sugar-coat the gospel message.
A King Going to War:
The second illustration is one of a king preparing for battle.
Before charging headlong into battle, a reasonable king will assess the strength of his army, the strength of the enemy’s army, and calculate his chances of winning.
If the king realizes he has no chance of winning against the enemy force, instead of fighting a battle he cannot win, he will send a representative to the enemy king and ask to negotiate peace.
If the king had skipped the initial evaluation of military strength, he would have started a fight he couldn’t win, and the outcome would have been devastating.
Again, Jesus was reinforcing the principle that His followers needed to evaluate what they were getting themselves into before they committed to the journey.
Luke 14:33
Luk 14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Jesus’ two illustrations led up to this conclusion.
A person must be willing to renounce their loyalty to anything or anyone other than Christ.
A person’s service to God might cost them a relationship, a possession, their health, or even their life.
Loss of any of those things is a possibility.
This is the cost that must be counted.
Before anyone becomes a disciple, they need to ask themselves if they are ready to give up anything and everything to see their commitment through to the end.
Luke 14:34-35
Luk 14:34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
Luk 14:35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
As the chapter concludes, another illustration is recorded.
Jesus compared His disciples to salt.
“Salt is good…”
Yes, salt is good for a lot of things.
Taste.
Preserving food.
The body needs it for health.
We put salt on our food because it has a very distinct taste many of us like (especially me).
Salt is meant to influence our taste buds.
I believe, Jesus was telling His followers they needed to have an influencing effect on the world.
They were to shine the light of the gospel into dark places and impact people trapped in sin.
In Matthew 5, Jesus coupled His illustration about salt with one about light and how light is designed to shine through the darkness.
Mat 5:14-15 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
But what if all the salt in my saltshaker losses its taste?
The salt crystals would be nothing more than little grains of tasteless nothingness.
It wouldn’t be valuable for anything.
In the same way, a person who claims to be a follower of Christ, but isn’t affecting the world in any meaningful way, who isn’t shining the light, isn’t fulfilling their responsibility.
They aren’t good for anything, just like tasteless salt.
Jesus concluded with a statement He used elsewhere in the gospels, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This was a call for people to consider His words.
Jesus didn’t explain His illustration about the salt because, evidently, He wanted people to devote themselves to finding the spiritual meaning.
Those who were truly curious would apply themselves and those who weren’t wouldn’t.
