Luke 14:1

The Bible says in Luke 14:1-6, “And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 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.”

Once the issue of the Sabbath day became a reason for controversy. Jesus did not compromise. Even though He did not create the conflict, He did not run away from it. If you believe that which is true, and if you stand for that which is true, the ordinary circumstances of life from time to time will bring things your way that will cause controversy. It’s a part of life for those who believe and love the truth. It’s part of the contest between truth and error. One of the errors during the time of Christ was the legalism of the Pharisees and the degree to which they had put restrictions and heavy burdens on people in the name of religion.

The message of Jesus has always a message of freedom from sin and freedom from legalistic and ritualistic religious burdens. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Those who give religious rules and requirements that result in your loss of freedom whether on the Sabbath or any other day are of the same spirit as the self-righteous Pharisees who opposed Jesus Christ. “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free, and be entangled again in the yoke of bondage.”

The Bible says in Luke 14:7-11, “And he put forth a parable to those that were bidden, 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 honorable man than you be bidden of him; And he that bade you and him come and say to you, Give this man place; and you begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when you are bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee comes, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then you shall have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whoever exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.” The religious leaders were legalistic and became blinded by their man-made traditions. They were also very proud and competitive. They had too high of an opinion of themselves. They used religion as a means to chase after some of the more selfish pursuits of life: power and position.

Jesus saw their error. He tried to warm them about foolish human pride. “Pride goes before a fall, and a haughty spirit before destruction.” The wrong kind of pride has caused man to commit many sins that would never have been committed if only there was a little humility. Pride has caused violence and war. Pride has caused broken relationships and divorces. Pride keeps people from humbling themselves and confessing their sins. Pride will lead multitudes to hell. Unless you can humble yourself and become as a little child you shall not see the kingdom of God. Our own pride is often our worst enemy. If we really want to be exalted in a genuine and meaningful way, we must learn this lesson that Jesus taught. “For whosoever exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.”

The Bible says in Luke 14:12-15, “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 recompence 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. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” As Jesus observed these Pharisees at this dinner, He observed things that come from the selfish and ambitious nature of human beings. That’s evidently what prompted Jesus to give this advice concerning whom to invite to a feast. When the Pharisees had a feast, they invited people on the basis of hoping to receive something in return. We must be careful about our hearts and our motivation. It may be that we have many selfish sins for which we need to ask forgiveness. Always try to give hoping for nothing in return, if you want to please God with your giving.

Notice that Jesus said that anyone who gives in this way shall be rewarded “at the resurrection of the just.” He did not say that there would be a reward in this life, but that there would be a reward in the next. Beware of those who teach there will be material benefits in this life to giving. Jesus said that the rewards will come in the next.

Most people like to be invited to special occasions. If you want to hurt someone’s feelings, or even make a life-long enemy; then just leave someone’s name off an invitation list who hoped to be invited to your special occasion. Probably because people enjoy so much being invited, Jesus recommended that when you have a feast you invite “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.” The chance that a presentation of the gospel will be well received increases in such cases. Of course, Jesus also recommended “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind” be invited because He cares greatly about those less fortunate in the world, and He would like that some of your efforts go to help relieve the suffering of such as these. The outcasts of the world are more likely to believe in Jesus. The rich and the powerful are not likely at all to believe in Him.

There are those who give feasts and parties and celebrations, and who invite others to join in the festivities. But the greatest invitation of all is given by God to come and join with all the believers in the Kingdom of God. What a wonderful time that will be and how sad to miss out. Have you received your invitation and have you responded by saying “yes” to God? “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”

The Bible says in Luke 14:16-24, “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. “

Of course, this great supper that Jesus is talking about is symbolic of the future existence in the Kingdom of God. God is right now actively giving invitations to all people everywhere to come unto Him and be a part of the great future that He has planned. Notice again why some people will not make it to the Kingdom of God. They are invited, but instead of accepting the invitation, they refuse it and reject it. They always have an excuse. In the excuses that were given here, two things stand out as the basis for people not responding to God when He calls them: attachment to material possessions and personal attachments to other human beings.

You cannot serve God and mammon. You will either love the one or hate the other. You will either cling to the one or despise the other. That’s why people who have little hope in this life have the best possibility of responding positively to the message of the Gospel. “Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are saved. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.” Jesus came into the world as the Messiah of the Jewish people. On a national level they rejected Him. Now the message of the gospel is to all men everywhere, to the Jew and also to the Gentile. Some will have excuses, and most of their excuses will be tied to material things and human relationships. But for those who chose God and His Son Jesus Christ, a wonderful reception will be theirs into the presence of God forever and into the fellowship of the believers. The day will come when they will be outcasts no more.

The Bible says in Luke 14:25-27, “And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” At this particular time in the life of Christ, many people in these multitudes were actually following Him for various reasons. Without a public relations department and without purchasing any publicity, the fame of Jesus spread across the land. Some people came to hear His great teachings. Some people came to be healed just like people flock to Lourdes today. Some came to see a side-show. Of course, Jesus knew that if any of them were to become true followers of Him, they must know a very important spiritual principle: the principle of denying oneself and denying one’s own will.

First Jesus said, “If any man come to me.” There is always the possibility that someone will not. Everyone has a choice to make. Everyone must answer the question: will I come to Jesus? For those who decide: Yes, I will come to Jesus and I will be a follower of Jesus, there is something important to know. We must understand the devotion that is asked of us and the dedication that we are asked to exhibit. In order to emphasize the dedication that we need to have to Christ and to following Him, Jesus used a very strong word concerning the relative attitude that we should have to our closest relatives. Our love for those whom we love the most in this world, compared to our love for Jesus, should be as hatred. There should be no comparison. If you love anything or anyone more than Jesus, you are headed for trouble spiritually. If you love anyone or anything more than Jesus, then you will not be a true or a faithful follower of Him.

We have a high calling. We have chosen to follow a Master who makes great demands of us. He demands all of our heart and all of our love and all of our will. Anything less, is the same as giving Him nothing. Jesus also said that in order to follow Him we will have a “cross” to bear. In order to understand what it means to bear a cross for Jesus, we must understand what His cross was that He bore. What was the cross to Jesus? For one thing the cross was something that He surrendered to that He would not have experienced without having an attitude of submission to the will of the Father. When we go God’s way, things will happen to us that would not have happened had we gone our own way, and some of them will cause us sorrow and pain.

What was the cross to Jesus? It was a place of shame in the eyes of the world. Criminals were stripped naked and hung on crosses before the jeering eyes of the world. To follow Jesus means that we are taking our cross. The world looks at us and jeers and mocks us with an attitude that is very similar to how Jesus was treated when He hung on the cross. But we are willing to receive such treatment from the world because of our devotion to Him. We appreciate so very much what He did for us on the cross when He suffered for our sins that we will do whatever He asks us to do. If we do not, then we will not be following Him in this world.

It’s a wonderful thing to be a Christian. We have each been given a great challenge and a great calling. We have been asked to love Jesus so much that we offer everything we have in our hearts, our minds, and our souls so that we might follow Him. You are very important to God. Use your heart and mind to serve Him, and then you will discover the real purpose of your life. You will discover the reason you were put on this earth.

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