We left Jesus talking about His ‘second coming’ to various crowds, and how to prepare for that (see Part 1).
It is now the day of the Sabbath, and Jesus is once again invited to dine at a Pharisee’s house. (It appears that this is the most favored way the Pharisees try to shake Him down).
As Jesus enters the Pharisee’s house, He sees that one of the dinner guests is suffering from ‘dropsy’ (edema). Christ turns to the other guests (which include more Pharisees and Scribes) and says:
“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Lk. 14:3 NASB
I love the way Jesus baits them prior to correcting their twisted beliefs. Recall that He had previously faced down the Pharisees in the Temple over this very thing, when He cured the man with the ‘withered hand’ (Lk. 6:6).
No one makes a peep. Jesus heals the man right on the spot. He turns to the others again and interrogates them:
“Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” Lk. 14:4 NLT
Silence.
Sitting down for dinner, Jesus watches the guests jockeying amongst themselves for the highest places of honor. He addresses this by way of a parable, (Lk. 14:7 – 10.), to give them the understanding that when invited to a feast, he / she should wait until everyone else sits down first. Then, perhaps they will be upgraded by the host to a seat of higher honor, rather than sitting first and be downgraded for sitting in a seat meant for another.
Jesus then ties this into the hierarchy in heaven:
“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Lk. 14:11 NLT
Amazing! Jesus is still trying to help the Pharisees and scribes (even though He knows they want to kill Him), to straighten them up so that they may receive His salvation.
Then He singled out His dinner host – saying that he should refrain from inviting well-to-do family and friends over to his house for dinner, (because Jesus knows that he does that only to cull favor from them in the future). He offers him an alternative:
“Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” Lk. 14:13, 14. NLT
(There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need. Dt. 15:11 NLT)
At that point, a dinner guest cries out:
“What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!” Lk. 14:15 NLT
The guest was obviously (but incorrectly) including himself in that group. Jesus responds with a parable (Lk. 14:14 – 23.) about a man who was throwing a grandiose dinner party. However, all the invited made excuses for not attending, because they were preoccupied with their worldly affairs.
The host reacts by gathering the poor, crippled and blind from off the streets, and fed them. Jesus’ primary message in the parable is contained in the host’s disposition towards the no-shows:
“For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.” Lk. 14:24 NLT
Jesus is implying that none of the people that He is dining with will have access to the Kingdom of God because they refused His invitation.
(God’s promise still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news – that God has prepared this rest – has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. Heb. 4:1, 2. NLT)
He left the dinner quickly but was swiftly surrounded by another large crowd. He continues to teach how to prepare the way for a heavenly journey:
“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 [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] – cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple. Lk. 14:26, 27. AMP
“In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Lk. 14:33 CSB
(For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt. Heb. 6:4 – 6. CSB)
Jesus does not mean for you to actually hate your family. He is saying that He must come first before anything else in your life. Your commitment to Him must be 100%.
The Son of God never deviates from His Father’s plan. He keeps gathering these sinners to Himself to give them a chance for redemption. Of course, that ruffles the Pharisees’ feathers. So, He addresses them through another parable – this one about a man with 100 sheep. He loses one of them, and then drops everything and searches until he finds it. When he does, he is filled with joy.
Christ reveals the heavenly application:
“In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” Lk. 15:7 NLT
Jesus is pointing out to the Pharisees that the focus of their so-called ministry is greatly misguided. He drives His point home with the parable of the Prodigal Son – wherein the younger of two sons asks his father to give him his inheritance in present time, instead of having to wait for his father’s death.
He takes the money and runs off, living the high life, until his funds are depleted. Starving and humbled, he returns to his father expecting a rebuke as he utters his mortification:
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ Lk. 15:21 CSB
Instead of delivering a rebuke, the father was ebullient. He throws a great feast to celebrate his son’s return and declares:
‘…this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ Lk. 15:25 NLT
(“No one is righteous – not even one. Rm. 3:10 NLT)
(But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. Rm. 2:4, 5. NLT)
The prodigal son’s older brother was angry with his father, thinking that his righteousness (read: self-righteousness) warranted a feast as well.
Jesus is using this parable to demonstrate the self-righteous pouting of the scribes and Pharisees. (They felt He was snubbing their supposed righteousness by keeping His focus on the souls of the outcasts).
Moreover, He told them to put the Kingdom of God above their love of money, and to serve Him. They react by trying to ridicule Jesus. He’s not having it:
“You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors, is detestable in the sight of God.” Lk. 16:15 NLT
(Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? Jas. 4:4)
(The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. Is. 8:11 – 13. NLT)
Jesus follows this with blasting them with the veracity and authority of God’s word:
“Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s laws to disappear.” Lk. 16:16, 17. NLT
Christ is confirming that in no uncertain terms that the only way to get to Heaven is through His Son.
Finally, Jesus revisits the Pharisees’ love for money, by delivering one more parable. In it, there was one man living a very opulent life. There came a beggar at his gate, but he refused to come to the beggar’s aid.
After they both die, the rich man finds himself in hell. He could see the beggar far off in the distance, living with Abraham in heaven. The rich man pleads with Abraham to send the beggar to him with a drink of water. Abraham replies:
“…there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.” Lk. 16:26 NLT
(This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. Jas. 5:3)
Christ is unveiling to us that your thoughts and actions determine your final destination – written in stone for all eternity.
The rich man appeals to Abraham again, this time to send the beggar to his living brothers, to warn them, so that they will not suffer a similar fate. Abraham told him that they already had their heavenly invite, but they refused – just like the Pharisees are doing now.
So, the question remains: Are you afraid or jubilant over the Second Coming?
Goodnight and God bless.