Luke 14:7-11 English Standard Version The Parable of the Wedding Feast 7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 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, 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. 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. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus is still at the house of the Pharisee who invited Him and some others to dinner. He has just healed the man with dropsy on the Sabbath (for that is the day Jesus and the others were invited over) and the Pharisees were hoping to trap Jesus by having Him heal the man which was against their customs (they would say it was against the Law), but Jesus exposed them and showed that He knew their hearts and He instead turned the tables on them and made them answer His questions, yet they remained silent and refused to answer Him in front of the people because they did not want others to know what they were thinking or plotting.
Jesus then took the opportunity to teach the people by using the setting of the feast and table set before them. Imagine you were invited to an important function such as a wedding, but they didn't have assigned seating. or, at least didn't have name cards on everyone's seat and didn't tell you ahead of time which table you were going to sit at. These people at this feast that rubbed shoulders with the Pharisees would have probably been socialites who would imagine any party would be blessed by their presence. Jesus says that it is better not to think too highly of yourself (as many of these socialites did) and to sit at a seat that denoted a lower rank or position, probably farthest away from the groom (the center of attention in this culture's weddings). This then leaves the chance for the master of the banquet to promote you and have you placed in a more honorable position for all to see. So then those who humble themselves will be exalted. However, if you were like these people who were haughty and full of themselves and took the best seat available because they imagined that they deserved it, then when someone of more importance comes in the room, it is the haughty person who will be told that he is in someone else's seat and that they will have to switch seats with someone else so that they will be humiliated in front of everyone--maybe even having to sit all the way at the foot of the table. So then everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. Jesus will speak much of humility in His last days for these are the days in which He will demonstrate such humility. Read these verses from the book of Philippians, chapter 2 and make the connection with the parable that Jesus just taught on how Jesus is the one who humbled Himself and will be highly exalted for all to see: Philippians 2:1-11 English Standard Version Christ's Example of Humility 2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Luke 14:1-6 English Standard Version Healing of a Man on the Sabbath 14 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 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?” 6 And they could not reply to these things. As mentioned several times already, Jesus is not going to stop doing what He was doing for the Pharisees and that means continuing both healing and teaching, even on the Sabbath day. This Sabbath day, He was actually invited over to the house of one of the Pharisees and He accepted the invitation. The text seems to indicate that this could have been a set-up, but it's at least a time when people would have cautioned Jesus to be more careful as the Pharisees were watching Him closely.
Jesus sees a man before Him who had dropsy (today we would refer to this as edema and give a cause). Now it is interesting that it says that Jesus responded to the layers and Pharisees, but I don't see them asking Him a question out loud. That must mean that Jesus is responding to something they are saying quietly amongst themselves, or something each of them has said in their own mind and heart but not out loud. Again, this is why I said the text indicates that this could possible have been a set-up, because He could be responding to the fact that they intentionally put this man in His path on the Sabbath to test Him in full view of them and everyone else at the event. Jesus asks them for their interpretation of the Law, if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not. They remained silent, probably because it was obvious to them that He knew something was up and they were behind it. They also probably didn't want the people to hear their answer (they believed it was a sin to heal someone on the Sabbath and any such healing must be the work of the devil and not the work of God, because even God rests on the Sabbath). When they would not answer Jesus, Jesus healed the man and sent Him on His way. Then Jesus turns back to the lawyers and Pharisees and asks them a question about which of them having a son or even an ox that fell into a well on the Sabbath day would not immediately pull their son or ox out? Jesus knows they would, and they know they would, so they refused to answer Jesus' question because for them to admit they would do such a thing would be to admit that they would be willing to do the exact thing they were trying to accuse Him of--they were hypocrites, and had been exposed before the people. This made them hate Jesus even more. Luke 13:31-35 English Standard Version Lament over Jerusalem 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” It is very strange that the Pharisees seem to be warning Jesus that Herod wants to kill Him. It was the Sadducees, not the Pharisees that were most closely allied with Herod (the Sadducees were more secular Jews where the Pharisees were the religious sect, and the Sadducees allied themselves with the political powers that be of Herod and Rome to help them gain and maintain power, wealth and influence). At some point soon, the Pharisees will get to the point of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," but right now, the Pharisees don't really like Herod or Rome for that matter.
Jesus tells the Pharisees to take a message back to Herod for Him. Jesus seems to indicate that He knows His time is short now to complete the work He needs to do before His crucifixion. He is literally just days away from that happening and says that He must remain in the area because it is necessary for Him to die there. We have already talked about this as we have studied other biblical passages from Genesis, but even the very place where Jesus was to die to make substitutionary atonement was foreshadowed. Jesus simply calls Himself a prophet here though and does not refer to Himself as "the King of the Jews," "the Prophet," "the Son of God," "the Son of Man" or any of the other titles that He could have claimed for Himself when speaking to Pilate. I find this interesting, but also think this is part of Jesus controlling the timeline as He knows that it is destined for Him to die on Passover when the lambs are being slaughtered and not a moment sooner or later. The scene then shifts and Jesus morns for Jerusalem. We know from other gospels these words were spoken by Jesus when He came into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey on what we call Palm Sunday. He desires all of them to be gathered to Him as how a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but they are not willing. Jesus then finishes by saying they will not see Him again for a long while until the time when they "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD" (they will say this on Palm Sunday, but many believe this is also prophetic about when Jesus is going to return for His second coming--that the hearts of the nation of Israel will have been changed and that they will welcome Him as their Messiah and King). While Jesus is saying His death is just around the corner, there is much that Luke is going to write in this gospel between this point and the events of Passion Week that start in chapter 19. Jesus has had His vision set on Jerusalem and the cross for some time now and we're going to see that focus intensifies as we go along, and Jesus is going to control the narrative and the timeline. The Pharisees will no longer be satisfied with getting Jesus to leave town or arresting Him, but they will make an alliance with Rome to have Jesus killed. Luke 13:22-30 English Standard Version The Narrow Door 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” Luke wants us to know that Jesus is still on His way to Jerusalem. He's going through the surrounding towns and villages when someone asks, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" Whoever this person is who asked seems to have been listening to the recent parables and come to the conclusion that God will save a remnant, but it's hard to square with teachings that say the the kingdom of God is going to take over everyone and everywhere (the last two parables and the dream in the book of Daniel about the Rock that no tool had touched destroying the kingdoms of this world and becoming a mountain that grew so large that it took over the whole world).
Jesus says that it is a narrow door (or gate) by which people must enter the kingdom of God. There is only one Way to come in, and that's through Jesus. Jesus indicates some will be "seekers" but will never find the one and only door to enter into, still others will be shut out, for at some point, Jesus indicates that the door that is now open will be closed. This is probably when judgment arrives much like with Noah. God caused all the people and animals He was going to save to go into the Ark and He closed the door tight behind them so that no one from the outside could get in and no one from the inside could get out. So then the day of salvation is not eternal and seems to come to an end when the great and terrible day of the Lord falls upon those who have not entered through the one and only narrow door. Jesus has also compared this time to those who were late to the wedding feast and the doors were closed when the wedding started and no one is going to stop the wedding ceremony and open the doors for someone who received an invitation far in advance and decided to come late to the wedding. We are to be ready for His imminent return. In all these cases where people try to come in late, the Master denies knowing them and will not grant them entry. Jesus refers to them as workers of iniquity or lawlessness. These who are left on the outside will be condemned to the place of torture that many of us call hell, but their ultimate end is the lake of fire that was meant only for the devil and his angels. However, Jesus says there will be people that do come from all over (east, west, north and south) implying that God will save people from among the Gentiles, not just the Jews and probably means that God desires to save a remnant from every people group. The kingdom of God will be a place for them to rest and be filled. Jesus then says that some of those we expect to be outsiders will inherit the kingdom while some we expect to inherit the kingdom will be left outside. Some of the ones who are last now will be first in the kingdom there and some whom we imagine to be first in the kingdom now will be last in the kingdom there. Those who are seeking earthly recognition will find it but not have any eternal reward for their actions. Those who do not seek after the praise of men can expect their Father in heaven to see their good words and proclaim them before all men (at least all those in heaven) and great is that man's reward that he will be able to put at the feed to Jesus. Luke 13:18-21 English Standard Version The Mustard Seed and the Leaven 18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” 20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” We've now transitioned topics from the last days to the faith that Jesus expects His disciples to have. This is another main topic that He covers in his last weeks and days before His crucifixion. Jesus is going to teach them by parable what the kingdom of God (the gospel) is like. He says that it is like a grain of a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. Let's stop here for a second even though there is more to that sentence in the text and come right back to it. This seed that Jesus is talking about is probably different than any mustard seed that you or I are familiar with here. This is the smallest of herb-bearing seeds, but it produces that largest of herb-bearing plants to the point that the plant it produces is often called a "tree" in other texts. I want to post a couple of pictures here for you as reference to see how small the seed is that Jesus is talking about, and how large the plant is that grows from it. That should give you some idea what Jesus is talking about here. The kingdom of God (the gospel) seems to be small and insignificant, but when it takes root and grows it produces something so large that no one can believe that it is the same thing as the seed that was planted. It will radically transform the life of the one who believes and it has the potential to change the world one person at a time from the inside-out. The book of Acts tells us that it was said of the early apostles, their faith and the gospel that their message was going to "turn the world upside down." That sounds about right as you can't believe the gospel and remain unchanged by it.
Jesus emphasizes that this small seed becomes a tree large enough for the birds to nest in. What's that all about? Well, Jesus is specifically talking about the Gentile nations of the world finding refuge, peace, and security in the gospel. I'm not sure their reason for coming and wanting to find rest there. Some may be coming to believe, others may be coming because they recognize that it leads to a more peaceful life, still others may be coming looking for God to materially bless them if they are living in obedience. We saw all these responses to the Law in the Old Testament and shows us the ways in which the world may react to the gospel and the New Covenant or New Testament. There were some people from around the world that came to the Temple to learn about God for intellectual reasons, others sought God's favor or answers to questions that the could not get answered any other way, still others were looking for military success, but few came looking for atonement. Those who did come to the LORD by way of His altar though found a peace which surpasses all understanding as they came by the one and only way by faith and through the blood of substitutionary atonement that pointed forward to the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus then adds and additional example, this also is in all the cross-references, that the kingdom of God (that is the gospel) is like a woman that puts a little bit of leaven into a large amount of dough and the leaven works its way through all of the dough to leaven it. This is a strange teaching for the Jews to hear as this idea of leaven working its way into unleavened dough and changing it so that all the dough becomes leavened is typically used as a picture of sin and how we are totally corrupted by even a little sin. Those who take this interpretation of the passage focus on the fact that the woman "hid" the leaven in the flour, meaning the flour was meant to be unleavened, but this woman put a little leaven in the flour that no one would see or detect, but it was enough to ruin all of it. Both interpretations have their strong points, but I am more in favor of the first interpretation that God is the one who hid the totality of the gospel from us in the Old Testament, but it has been working its transformative work and this small seed of the gospel is enough to change the whole world. That is not to say that everyone will believe the gospel, for there are some that imagine that in the end all people will be saved, and I only see a remnant of people saved, but everyone that God intends to save is affected by the gospel and is radically transformed from the inside out and made into something new and you can never go back to the old way, just like once the flour is leavened, you never go back to make it unleavened again. This makes the most sense to me in parallel with the parable of the mustard seed as we have to take what we do know and understand to help us understand that which is unclear. The other argument doesn't sound right to me and I hope that's the Holy Spirit helping to lead me in all truth as Jesus promised He would. Luke 13:10-17 English Standard Version A Woman with a Disabling Spirit 10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him. What does Luke point out right away in this passage? Notice that once again, it's the Sabbath and there is going to be some conflict that arises because of a healing/miracle that Jesus will do. I'm not sure if the person was planted in the crowd by the Pharisees this time, but Jesus if so, Jesus doesn't wait for them and calls the woman over to Himself because He wants everyone to see what He's about to do. Jesus want to draw attention to the fact that He is the Lord of the Sabbath and the King of Kings and Lord of Lord, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, that even the demons must be subject to--the Lord of All Creation. She had not been able to straighten herself and was bent over for 18 years. We would never think to attribute such a condition to a demon today. We would look for a medical reason and try to heal it with medicine or surgery, but the text is clear here that this infirmity was caused by a spirit that afflicted her and interfered with the normal function of her physical body. However, Jesus doesn't speak directly to the demon as He normally would but instead tells the woman "You are free from your disability." Those are great words because I can tell you from personal experience that a disability can feel like you are imprisoned by it sometimes. Jesus came to set the captives free and those weren't specifically those who were in jail or prison cells like we would normally think of, but those who were in bondage to sin and death and the curse of sin and the Law. Jesus did not simply speak to her to heal her, but He reached out to her and laid His hands on her. This upset the ruler of the synagogue where Jesus had been teaching. To be invited to teach was an honor, but the traditions of the Pharisees did not differentiate between the Son of God doing a miracle to heal someone on the Sabbath (which was the day that belonged to Him anyways) and a physician practicing normal medicine on that day (and Jesus' answer tells us that even that isn't necessarily a bad thing because Jesus seems to tell us that it's never the wrong time to do good for someone when it is within your power to do so).
Jesus points out the hypocrisy of these traditions and rules that say that it is okay to lose a donkey or ox so that it can go get water to drink, but freeing a woman who is much more valuable than any livestock because she is human, and a child of Abraham at that, is somehow immoral to them? Notice the different reactions to this. There are a group of people referred to as His enemies who were put to shame and become angry. They cannot see the good thing that has happened and they refuse to glorify God for what has happened. Everyone else though sees the miracle that has happened and they celebrate the freedom this woman has received, rejoicing and glorying in the things that had been done by Him--things that only God can do. The may not quite made that connection, but they knew it was something to be celebrated. Different people can see the same miracle and respond to it differently because they have different things going on in their hearts. It is not for lack of evidence that the religious leaders did not believe, but they had hard hearts and had made up their mind that this person could not be the Son of God, He was not the Messiah, and they would not cede authority to Him for they loved their power and position. The more He made it clear that He was the rightful Lord of Heaven and Earth and the King of the Jews, the more they hated Him and would move from trying to discredit Him to trying to arrest Him to trying to kill Him. We are at a tipping point where they are concerned that Jesus is going to stir up the people during a religious feast/festival again and one where Jews from the whole world will be in Jerusalem. This was supposed to be their time to shine as religious leaders (in their minds, it was really for glory to be brought to God, but they had made it all about themselves) and they did not want to share any of the spotlight with Jesus. So there is going to be even more and more tension and we will see division in how people respond because of the condition of their hearts. We'll see this unfold over the next several chapters. Luke 13:6-9 English Standard Version The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree 6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” We're still talking about the coming judgment, but now instead of talking about how individuals will be judged, Jesus switches things up and talks about what condition the nation of Israel will be in when He returns as king. Do they imagine somehow they will escape judgment as a nation because they are the people of God? We know that this was their expectation, but Jesus takes the symbol of the fig tree that represents Israel and says that they are like a fig tree that was planted in a vineyard that when it was time for harvest, it was fruitless.
Jesus has had three years of earthly ministry, so it's no mistake that the harvester (that is Jesus) in this parable tells the vinedresser (that is God the Father) about three years that he has come seeking fruit on this fig tree (that is the nation of Israel) and found none. What does the vinedresser do? The vinedresser commands that nothing be done to it this year (judgment is not to come upon the nation of Israel at this time, even though they deserve it right now), but that next year, the vinedresser would dig around it and put manure around the tree to fertilize it and encourage it to grow (this is probably talking about the fulfillment of the gospel, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Jewish people as a whole at Pentecost, and the birth of the Church out of what was the nation of Israel, for the gospel went to the Jews first, and then to the Gentiles after that). The vinedresser said that if the tree representing the nation of Israel still remained unfruitful after all this time and energy, then the harvester could cut it down. We see that God will save a remnant from the nation of Israel as well as from among the nations. He has not given up on them, which is what this parable tells us. While Jesus may portray Himself as the one calling for their judgment here, we know that He's going to cry over the coming judgment of Jerusalem when He enters the city in just a short period of time. Jesus gets no pleasure out of the judgment that He must execute. He has been patient for these three years when they had all the evidence they needed. Some will believe after the Resurrection when all is made clear to them by the Father, but many continue to love their old wine in their old wineskins because it is comfortable to them and tastes better to them and they don't want the "new wine" of the New Covenant when they think the "old wine" of the Old Covenant is good enough. We see that it is not just Jesus that had a heart for the salvation of Israel but so did the apostles and even Paul who was the apostle to the Gentiles desired much like Moses did that he would be accursed so that all of Israel might be saved. God refused Paul's request just like He refused Moses' request for the guilty cannot give themselves to save the guilty, only the innocent can give themselves to save the guilty, but that's exactly what Jesus was going to do to save not only the nation of Israel, but all those, even from among the Gentile nations, who would come to Him by faith and be "in Christ" instead of "in Adam." Those who are "in Christ" must be alive and fruitful. We see that here and we see that in the epistles of the New Testament. Jesus also comes across another fig tree that we read about in the book of Matthew and other places that has lots of leaves and has the appearance of being alive, but has no fruit, nor even the bud to show that fruit was forming. Jesus curses this fig tree and it withers up and dies as a symbol of what will eventually happen not only to the nation of Israel but all those who appear to have a form of godliness, but they have no genuine faith in the finished work of Jesus and therefore there is no real fruit of the Holy Spirit and the work of the gospel in their lives . The disciples were astonished when they saw this (see Matthew 21 and Mark 11) and Jesus tells them that they too will do even greater things if they have even a mustard-seed sized faith. Jesus also uses the fig tree as an example of being able to understand the times and know that the return of Christ is imminent in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21--we'll hopefully get to that passage soon). So then we too would be wise to learn these lessons from the fig tree, even though we may not be a part of ethnic Israel if we claim to be the people of God. Those who claim to be part of God's chosen people, even if we claim that choice is through adoption, must be alive and fruitful when Jesus comes to inspect us and collect a harvest from us. Those who are without fruit, even if they have the appearance of being spiritually alive are as good as spiritually dead (see those in Matthew 7 that point to their works that would sound impressive to most and Jesus replies with "I never knew you.") Examine yourselves as we are encouraged to do in the book of 1 John to make sure that your faith is genuine and know for certain that you have eternal life. Figure it out today because you are not guaranteed tomorrow. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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