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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.” ~ Luke 14:7-14
The Lord Jesus is at lunch at the home of a Pharisee. This lunch began as the Lord Jesus healed the man who had a severe swelling issue in his body. The religious leaders were looking for a way to discredit the Lord Jesus, but there is no prohibition in the Bible against healing on the Sabbath.
Having unmasked the pride of the religious leaders, the Lord Jesus speaks in v.8 which reads, "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." The Lord Jesus is zeroing in on the problem of the human heart that has been infiltrated by the one who turned from God before time began. It was pride that inaugurated sin.
There are always “status symbols” that help us enhance and protect our standing in society. If we are invited to the “right luncheon” and to the “right places,” then people would know how important we really are. There is always the temptation to place more emphasis on our reputation, rather than our character. For most, it was more important to sit in the right places than to live the right kind of life.
In New Testament times, the closer you sat to the host, the higher you stood on the social ladder and the more attention you would receive from others. Naturally, many people rushed to the head table when the doors were opened because they wanted to appear important.
Success that comes only from self-promotion is temporary, and is in danger of embarrassment because we may be asked to move to a different table for all to see.
When the Lord Jesus advised the guests to take the lowest places, He was not giving them a formula that guaranteed promotion. There is a false humility that takes the lowest place and it is just as spiteful to God as the pride that takes the highest place. God is not impressed by our status in this world. He is not influenced by what people say or think about us, because He sees and knows all. God has been known to humble the proud and exalt the humble. In both cases, He does us a favor.
In biblical times, it was not considered proper to ask the poor and the down and outers to public banquets. But the Lord Jesus implores us to put such at the head table because they are not in a position to pay us back.
In an effort to get prominence before God most think to elevate themselves. We are elevated in the eyes of God as we embrace humility, as indicated in v.9-11. Taking the last place is one way to embrace humility. The Bible is replete with this message: Humble yourself and God will lift you up.
And then in v.12, the Lord Jesus turns to the 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."
This is rare in our world because it is a spiritual reality. The Lord Jesus wasn't a drop-in guest, this luncheon was all set up to trap Him. Yet, He was there to give those who wanted to do Him harm, grace and mercy.
In v.13-14 we read, "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."
Being a blessing to those who cannot bless in return reveals the base motivation in the soul of a man. When we humble ourselves, it will be evident that we have the kind of heart that has entered the kingdom.
The humble will benefit at the resurrection after we have admitted that we are unworthy of God's kindness. Such kindness finds safety in the heart of the believer who has passed from the darkness into the light of the Lord. In the light, we are no better than the lowest of the low. And, it is God who is both the humbler and the exalter at the same time.
Humility is most often accessed through humiliating circumstances. No one is naturally humble. For most, humility comes only by wounds suffered from foolish falls. We are resistant to humiliation, yet we needn’t be. There’s a communion that comes with it, if we have the eyes to see it. There’s a nearness of God that, at first, may feel like death, but is working to get death out of us.
The sweet part is, in humiliation, we can sense his humiliation for us. There’s a mystery here that brings us near the cross and we share in his sufferings. As Henri Nouwen wrote, “A pruned branch does not look beautiful, but during harvest time it produces much fruit.”
