Humility, Honor, Love, and an Invitation: Luke 14:7-24

While reading the gospels, and while seeing how Jesus interacted with various people in many unique circumstances, I am amazed that Jesus is able to deal with each situation uniquely. Perhaps this is simply because the unique events are the ones that are remembered in a sea of regular, or unspectacular, healings. Perhaps it is also true that Jesus reused many of His illustrations and parables, but instead of simply reusing them word-for-word, He would adapt them to the groups He was speaking to.

I am also amazed that Jesus taught directly to what He saw going on around Him, whether it was because He was that observant, or because the Holy Spirit shared the thoughts of the crowd or the thoughts of certain people in the crowd with Him.

With all this in mind, we may be tempted to discount something Jesus says because it appears that it was only for one person in one specific instance. While I won’t speak for every case that the gospels include, there may be some such statements, but even statements that are for specific people in specific circumstances carry a theme, and that theme is something we can use when thinking about what Jesus might say to someone living today.

Our passage for this episode contains one example of a statement and illustration that we might be tempted to think was only for a specific person or group, but it also contains a powerful theme that is timeless. Let’s read what happens from the gospel of Luke, chapter 14, using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 7, Luke tells us:

⁷ Then Jesus noticed how the guests always chose the places of honor. So he used this illustration when he spoke to them: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t take the place of honor. Maybe someone more important than you was invited. ⁹ Then your host would say to you, ‘Give this person your place.’ Embarrassed, you would have to take the place of least honor. ¹⁰ So when you’re invited, take the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move to a more honorable place.’ Then all the other guests will see how you are honored. ¹¹ Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.”

Let’s pause briefly here because Jesus just spoke into a specific situation, but then He directly shared a big picture principle: “Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.”

Continuing reading in verse 12, Luke goes on to say:

¹² Then he told the man who had invited him, “When you invite people for lunch or dinner, don’t invite only your friends, family, other relatives, or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they will return the favor. ¹³ Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ Then you will be blessed because they don’t have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God’s approval come back to life.”

While there are several things I could bring out from this response Jesus gives, I will hold back and simply say that while this statement sounds like a specific instruction for a specific person, it also contains a theme that is much more timeless. The clue to seeing evidence of a theme here is that Jesus pushes the focus forward onto the resurrection of God’s people.

This means that Jesus could speak something similar to almost anyone living at any point prior to the resurrection of God’s people, because the theme in Jesus’ statement would be just as applicable. The powerful theme I see included here is that we are to show grace, kindness, and love towards those who cannot repay us back. While we shouldn’t neglect our friends, family, or other relatives, we should be extra intentional about including those who might not be able to pay us back or return the favor.

Jesus implies here that we will be paid back for our kindness at some point in the future. Our kindness will be repaid either in this life, by the people we chose to help, or in the next life by God who saw this kindness and is happy to repay it with kindness + interest.

Luke then tells us in verse 15 that:

¹⁵ One of those eating with him heard this. So he said to Jesus, “The person who will be at the banquet in God’s kingdom is blessed.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “A man gave a large banquet and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come! Everything is ready now.’

¹⁸ “Everyone asked to be excused. The first said to him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I bought five pairs of oxen, and I’m on my way to see how well they plow. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I recently got married, and that’s why I can’t come.’

²¹ “The servant went back to report this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry. He told his servant, ‘Run to every street and alley in the city! Bring back the poor, the handicapped, the blind, and the lame.’

²² “The servant said, ‘Sir, what you’ve ordered has been done. But there is still room for more people.’

²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go to the roads and paths! Urge the people to come to my house. I want it to be full. ²⁴ I can guarantee that none of those invited earlier will taste any food at my banquet.’”

What is amazing to me most about this parable is the statement that prompts it, especially when you contrast it with what happens in the parable itself.

Someone sitting near Jesus makes a general statement that those who are included in the banquet in God’s kingdom are really blessed. It is worth noting that Jesus does not deny the man’s statement. Instead, He draws our attention onto a sobering reality that those who are God’s first choice to be included seem to value their invitation the least. The parable ends with the man, who represents God the Father, filling the banquet hall so full of other people that those who had rejected the invitation wouldn’t even be able to fit if they decided to come later – or at the very least, there would be no food left for them.

This illustration comes directly as a response to talking about the banquet in God’s kingdom, so it is not difficult to conclude that the banquet in Jesus’ illustration refers to the banquet in God’s kingdom. What is the most challenging theme for us – or at least for me – to wrap my head around is the idea of someone rejecting this incredible invitation. Was Jesus talking about those in the Jewish nation rejecting the invitation, while Christians are safe because they were “invited” second? Or is this illustration less about nationality and more about the state of our hearts and us choosing to put everything else aside when God calls us home to Him?

I am inclined to believe more along the lines of the second idea, because I can see people living today, even people who call themselves Christians, who seem to have taken their relationship with God for granted. These “convenience Christians” believe in a once saved, then-you-can-never-be-lost-no-matter-what-you-do-or-decide form of being saved, and they are almost indistinguishable from someone who truly doesn’t know God. I picture these people as taking their relationship with God for granted, and taking one’s relationship with God for granted is how someone guarantees that they will miss out on God’s banquet feast.

As we come to the close of another podcast episode, let me leave you with a set of challenges related to this key idea:

Intentionally value your relationship with God today. While I am positive your relationship with Him will be 100 times better in heaven, this shouldn’t be an excuse for us to neglect God today. If we ignore or neglect Him today, we might miss the point when He invites us to His banquet thinking that we still have time left. Instead, take each day and value the time that you spend in prayer and study with Him. This way, you will be in tune with what He is up to in the world around you.

Speaking of taking time each day to spend in prayer and study, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself so that you can learn firsthand from God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. While commentaries, pastors, or even the occasional podcaster can prompt ideas, nothing and no one can replace the value of personal, regular time in prayer and Bible study. If you depend on others, you can only learn as much as they have learned – which may be less than what God really wants to teach you.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or neglect the mission and place God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!