A parable for those which were bidden ( ). Perfect passive participle of , to call, to invite. This parable is for the guests who were there and who had been watching Jesus.

When he marked (). Present active participle of with understood, holding the mind upon them, old verb and common.

They chose out (). Imperfect middle, were picking out for themselves.

The chief seats ( ). The first reclining places at the table. Jesus condemned the Pharisees later for this very thing (Matt 23:6; Mark 12:39; Luke 20:46). On a couch holding three the middle place was the chief one. At banquets today the name of the guests are usually placed at the plates. The place next to the host on the right was then, as now, the post of honour.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

They chose. Imperfect : were choosing. Something going on before his eyes.

The chief seats. Or couches. The Greek writers refer to the absurd contentions which sometimes arose for the chief seats at table.

Theophrastus designates one who thrusts himself into the place next the host as mikrofilotimov, one who seeks petty distinctions.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

THE AMBITIOUS GUEST PARABLE V. 7-15

1) “And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden,” (elegen de pros tous keklemenous parabolen) “Then he posed to those who had been invited a parable,” to these who had also come as a guest for the meal at the residence of the Pharisee, after He had healed the man with the dropsy and quieted the Pharisees, Luk 14:3-6.

2) “When he marked out how they chose out the chief rooms;” (epechon pos tas protoklislas ekselegonto) “Noting particularly how the chief seats they were choosing,” Php_2:3, or ambitiously picking out the first place, priority seats, the positions of greatest prominence. Luk 14:12 indicates that there were in attendance many rich and luxurious living people who desired “top billing,” See Luk 18:14; Jas 4:10.

3) “Saying unto them,” (legon pros autous) “Repeatedly or explicitly saying and pointing out to them,” to all those who were at the apparently large feast or festival, in teaching a lesson of humility in life and service, Luk 14:11; Pro 16:19; Isa 57:15; Php_2:5-8; 1Pe 5:5-6.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

7. And he spoke a parable to those who were invited. We know to what an extent ambition prevailed among the Pharisees and all the scribes. While they desired to exercise a haughty dominion over all other men, the superiority among themselves was likewise an object of emulation. It is constantly the case with men who are desirous of empty applause, that they cherish envy towards each other, every one endeavoring to draw to himself what others imagine to be due to them. Thus the Pharisees and scribes, while they were all equally disposed, in presence of the people, to glory in the title of holy order, are now disputing among themselves about the degree of honor, because every one claims for himself the highest place.

This ambition of theirs Christ exposes to ridicule by an appropriate parable. If any one sitting at another man’s table were to occupy the highest place, and were afterwards compelled to give way to a more honorable person, it would not be without shame and dishonor that he was ordered by the master of the feast to take a different place. But the same thing must happen to all who proudly give themselves out as superior to others; for God will bring upon them disgrace and contempt. It must be observed, that Christ is not now speaking of outward and civil modesty; for we often see that the haughtiest men excel in this respect, and civilly, as the phrase is, profess great modesty. But by a comparison taken from men, he describes what we ought to be inwardly before God. “Were it to happen that a guest should foolishly take possession of the highest place, and should, on that account, be put down to the lowest, he would be so completely overpowered with shame as to wish that he had never gone higher. Lest the same thing should happen to you, that God would punish your arrogance with the deepest disgrace, resolve, of your own accord, to be humble and modest.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk. 14:7. Put forth a parable.The miracle was wrought, evidently, before the feast began. From the emulation among the guests, and from the allusion in Luk. 14:12 to friends and rich neighbours, this seems to have been a formal and luxurious entertainment. The word parable is used in a wide sense; the words are to be taken literally, but suggest a great moral lesson (Luk. 14:11). Chief rooms.Rather, chief seats (R.V.); the middle places on the triclinium were counted the most honourable.

Luk. 14:8. A wedding.Rather, a marriage feast (R.V.); perhaps to avoid making the rebuke on this occasion too pointed. At a marriage, too, rules of procedure might be more carefully insisted upon. Sit not down.It need scarcely be said that the pride that apes humility violates the spirit of this teaching. There should be genuine self-abasement.

Luk. 14:9. He that bade.The person who has authority to decide such matters. Begin.This vividly suggests the reluctance and lingering with which a presumptuous guest leaves the higher and goes down to the lower place. Lowest room.The other good places having been taken possession of in the meantime.

Luk. 14:10. That when he, etc.A consequence that may follow, though not designed and led up to by the guest. Worship.Rather, glory (R.V.), as distinguished from shame (Luk. 14:9).

Luk. 14:11. Abased.Rather, humbled (R.V.). For an example of such humiliation see Isa. 14:13-15, and of such exaltation Php. 2:5-11. These words (Luk. 14:7-11) had been addressed to the guests. Christ now addresses the host.

Luk. 14:12. Call not thy friends, etc.I.e., hospitality is not to be confined to such feasts; ostentatious and interested motives are also discouraged. Returns are made by friends and rich neighbours, so that real hospitality is not manifested by such feasts. Over and above the intercourse and civilities of social life are the claims of charity; the former are presupposed as ordinarily taking place, and common-sense forbids us to suppose that Christ here condemns them. He Himself, by being present on this and similar occasions, sanctioned them.

Luk. 14:13. Call the poor.As a different and somewhat unusual phrase for call is given in Luk. 14:13, some have supposed that the one implies an ostentatious invitation and the other a more unobtrusive one. But this seems rather too far-fetched. The poor: cf. Neh. 8:10; Mat. 25:35.

Luk. 14:14. Resurrection of the just.If the phrase of the just is to be taken as having a distinct meaning (which we can scarcely doubt it has), Christ here refers to the twofold resurrection. See 1Co. 15:23; 1Th. 4:16; Rev. 20:4-5.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Luk. 14:7-14

Lessons to Guests and Hosts.The lawyers and the Pharisees at this feast scrutinised eagerly the conduct of Jesus, in order to bring home to Him the charge of Sabbath-breaking. And He, on His part, took notice of their procedure, and in due time spoke words of kindly counsel to them. We read that they watched Him, and also that He marked how they chose out the chief seats at the table. Yet there was a vast difference between their spirit and His. Their action was something like treacherous espionage, while His was like that of a father who gently reproves his childrens faults.

I. A lesson to guests: a lesson of humility (Luk. 14:7-11).We should rob these words of all their value if we took them as merely a counsel of worldly prudence: for in that case they would enforce an artificial rather than a real humility, and even make an affected humility the cloak for selfish ambition. We should rather take the words as enjoining a genuine and unaffected humility, as teaching that the only distinction that deserves a thought is that which is freely bestowed on men of a lowly and a kindly spirit. We may take the parable as setting forth a truth which experience abundantly confirmsviz., that even the most worldly and selfish of men have a sincere respect for the unworldly; that the only men whom they can bear to see preferred before themselves are those who are of a spirit so gentle, and sweet, and unselfish, as not to grasp at any such preference or distinction. Even the world meets us in very much the same spirit that we take to it. If we push men out of our way, they push back; if we plot and strive against them, they plot and strive against us: whereas if we show ourselves friendly, they are not unwilling to be our friends; if we are unaffectedly meek and pure, they honour us for virtues which they may not themselves possess. Those who are most ambitious of rule and of occupying places of distinction are often, if not generally, devoid of the qualifications needed for the post they covet, and men are glad when they see such persons authoritatively commanded to take a lower seat. While those of meek and quiet spirit are unaffectedly surprised when they are summoned to take a more honourable or conspicuous post. Yet these are precisely the men whom we all delight to honour and to see honouredthe men of whose spirit and usefulness we are most assured, and of whose capacity for any work they can be induced to take we are confident. We cheerfully give them the worship or glory they do not seek. Because they abase themselves we rejoice in their exaltation.

II. A lesson to hosts: a lesson of benevolence to the poor (Luk. 14:12-14).As the guests are warned against a pride which might lead to shame, so the host is counselled not to waste his wealth in exercising an ostentatious and interested hospitality. Again the words of Christ bear the appearance of worldly wisdom. Friends and kinsfolk and rich neighbours return the hospitality they receive: the poor cannot repay kindness shown to them, but recompense will be made at the resurrection of the just. Appeal seems to be made to a mercenary motivethat of expecting a reward in heaven for good deeds done upon earth; but in actual life it will be found that no one will busy himself with kindly deeds merely for the sake of a future reward. Consideration for others will awaken and strengthen all the better feelings of the heart, and banish the mercenary spirit. The mention of reward emphasises the fact that acts of benevolence have a high spiritual value in the sight of God, and will draw down upon him who does them the Divine favour and blessing. These words of Christ teach the same lesson as that contained in the parable of the Unjust Steward, who diligently made use of present opportunities for providing for himself shelter and comfort in the day of need.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk. 14:7-14

Luk. 14:7-14. Jesus at the Feast.

I. What He said about mens feasts.

1. A word to the guests.
2. A word to the host.

II. What He said about Gods feasts.

1. It is different as regards those invited.
2. It is different as regards Him who invites.Stock.

The Exhortation to Humility.

I. Guests ought to humble themselves, by selecting the lowest place.
II. Hosts should humble themselves, by inviting the poorest to their tables.

Luk. 14:7-11. The Lowest Seats at Feasts.This parable deserves a passing notice, if it were only to give occasion for pointing out the prominent place which the great truth that the kingdom of God is for the humble occupied in the thoughts of Jesus, as evinced by the fact of His uttering two parables to enforce it. That he who humbleth himself shall be exalted, and he who exalteth himself shall be abased is, in the view of Christ, one of the great laws in the kingdom of God. On the surface this portion of our Lords table-talk at the Sabbath feast wears the aspect of a moral advice, rather than of a parable. But through the medium of a counsel of prudence relating to ordinary social life, the Teacher of the doctrine of the kingdom communicates a lesson of true wisdom concerning the higher sphere of religion. The evangelist perceived this, and therefore he called this piece of advice a parablemost legitimately, inasmuch as a parable has for its aim to show, by an example of human action in natural life, how men should act in the sphere of spiritual life. Christ had no serious intention to give a lesson in social deportment, and the parabolic element in His words is confined to this, that instruction valid only for the religious sphere is couched in terms which seem to imply a reference to ordinary social life. Jesus reminds His fellow guests that there is a society in which humility is held in honour, and pride gets a downsetting. That He is thinking of this sacred society is apparent from His manner of expressing Himself.Bruce.

The Ambitious Guest.

I. These verses obviously enforce an important social principle applicable to our daily life.

II. They bear also on religious dutiesour life in relation to God.

III. The more directly spiritual application.In spiritual things the highest place is the most excellent and most desirable.

1. We are commanded to aim at perfection.
2. We are not to be satisfied with our present condition.
3. Christs love alone can give us a title to even the lowest room in the heavenly world.Brameld.

This Parable Teaches

I. That the law of Christ justifieth none in any rudeness or incivility.
II. That the disciples of Christ ought to have a regard to their reputation, to do nothing they may be ashamed of.
III. That it is according to the will of God that honour should be given to those to whom honour belongeth; that the more honourable persons should sit in the more honourable places.Pole.

A Higher Place.

1. Every man ought to desire a higher place.
2. There is a wrong way of getting place.
3. There is a right way of getting place.
4. As a general rule, high character will be called into the higher place.

Luk. 14:7. A parable.The use of this word, as well as the general principle laid down in Luk. 14:11, prepares us to find more than a maxim of worldly prudence in this saying of our Lord. Christ here teaches humility in the deepest sense of the word. Let each take the lowest place before God, or, as St. Paul says, esteem others as better than himself (Php. 2:3). It is God who fixes the true place of each, and His judgment is independent of ours. If we sincerely think ourselves deserving of a low place, we shall not thereby lose our true place.

Secret Dispositions Discovered.The dignity of these words appears in this, that without any appearance of profoundness or severity, they lay bare the secret disposition at the foundation of the external behaviour they condemn.Schleiermacher.

Luk. 14:8-10. Sit not down in the highest room.Cf. Pro. 25:6-7 : Put not forth thyself in the presence of the King, and stand not in the place of great men; for better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the Prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Luk. 14:9-10. Sense of Shame and Lawful Pride.It is noticeable that He who created man such as he is, here, and in Luk. 14:29, appeals to mans sense of shame (Luk. 14:9), and to his sense of pride (Luk. 14:10).

Luk. 14:9. Begin with shame.No shame attaches to him who takes a low place, but shame is felt by him who is sent down from a higher place.

Luk. 14:10. Friend.No such gracious appellation is addressed to him who had been asked to give up his place to a more honourable guest (Luk. 14:9).

This Teaching Exemplified by Christ.Now, what Christ commanded others He Himself did; for when He came into this world He reclined in the manger, and He died reclining on a cross. Neither at His birth nor at His death could He find any more lowly place.Bellarmine.

False Humility Excluded.All that false humility, by which men put themselves lowest and dispraise themselves of set purpose to be placed higher, is by the very nature of our Lords parable, excluded; for that is not bon fide to abase oneself. The exaltation at the hands of the host is not to be a subjective end to the guests, but will follow true humility.Alford.

Luk. 14:11. Spiritual Counsels.The counsels which Christ had givenBe not proud, lest thou be put to shame; be lowly, so shalt thou be exaltedare here deepened and spiritualised. They are not mere prudential maxims, therefore, but condemn the Pharisaical pride of the Jews in relation to the kingdom of God.

Luk. 14:12-14. The Highest Kind of Hospitality.Jesus, as it were, does not interfere with the hospitality we may show to relatives and friendsHe leaves it in its own place; but He commands us to manifest a kindness of a higher and more spiritual type in caring for the poor and unfortunate.

Luk. 14:12. Call not.I.e., prefer to show mercy to the poor. The paramount importance of one duty is here stated by comparing it with another, and by preferring it to the lesser, as in Mat. 9:13.

Repayment by God.The recommendation Christ here gives is rendered all the more gracious in its form by its being represented as more for our interest to show a kindness which will draw down a recompense from God than a hospitality which men will repay.

Friends, Relations, Rich Neighbours.There is a gradation in the order of persons named whom we are likely to invite to our table.

1. Our friendsfrom a delight in their society.
2. Our brethren and relationsfrom a sense of duty.
3. Our rich neighboursfrom the honour they confer on us by coming, and the hope of receiving an invitation from them in return.

Lest they also.A fear which the world does not know.Bengel.

Disinterested Kindness.Jesus certainly did not mean us to dispense with the duties of ordinary fellowship. But since there was no exercise of principle involved in it, save of reciprocity, and selfishness itself would suffice to prompt it, His object was to inculcate, over and above everything of this kind, such attentions to the helpless, and provision for them, as, from their inability to make any return, would manifest their own disinterestedness, and, like every other exercise of high religious principle, meet with a corresponding gracious recompense.Brown.

Luk. 14:13-14. Thou shalt be recompensed.

I. We may reasonably expect a recompense from heaven for such good works as we do, for which we are not recompensed on earth.
II. That Gods recompense of us, for doing our duty in obedience to His commands, is often deferred until the resurrection of the just; but then it will not fail obedient souls.

Luk. 14:13. Call the poor.What the Saviour here commends to others He has Himself fulfilled in the most illustrious manner. To the feast in the kingdom of God He has principally invited not such as were related to Him after the flesh, or those from whom He might hope for recompense again, but the poor, the blind, etc., in the spiritual sense of the words. But for that reason also He has now joy to the full in the kingdom of the Father, and a name that is above every name.Van Oosterzee.

Luk. 14:14. The Resurrection of the Just.Jesus speaks, in Joh. 5:28-29, of the general resurrection. Here He distinguishes between a first and a second resurrection (cf. chap. Luk. 20:34-36), and His teaching is further developed in the later apostolic writings (1Th. 4:16; 1Co. 15:23; Rev. 20:5-6).

Earthly and Heavenly Rewards.Let us, therefore, not be disappointed and troubled at not receiving a recompense from men on earth; rather let us be troubled when we receive it, lest we learn to look only for reward on earth, and so lose our reward in heaven.Chrysostom.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Butlers Comments

SECTION 2

Gracious (Luk. 14:7-14)

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; 9and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give place to this man, and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, Friend, go up higher; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. 13But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

Luk. 14:7-11 Humility: Luke uses the Greek word epechon to describe Jesus observation of the men at this Pharisees table choosing places of honor. The Greek word means literally, to hold upon. The Lords attention was riveted upon the ludicrous scene. They were probably pushing, shoving, elbowing and arguing about places to recline. The Jewish Talmud says that on a couch holding three persons, the middle place is considered the place of greatest honor. The place to the left is next in honor and the place to the right last. The Talmud also records just such an instance of ridiculous behavior. At a banquet of Alexander Jannaeus (Hasmonean king of the Jews 10376 B.C.) rabbi Simeon ben Shetach, in spite of the presence of some great Persian rulers, had thrust himself between the king and the queen at the dinner table. He was publicly rebuked and shamed. He tried to defend his behavior by quoting the Jewish apocryphal writing, Sir. 15:5 which says, Exalt wisdom, and she . . . shall make thee sit among princes. The audacious, arrogant man who repeatedly and presumptuously puts himself forward (chooses the place of honor) is always in danger of public humiliation because there is inevitably always someone present more deserving of being honored. And even if the host is not forced to ask the presumptuous man to step down, the guests are almost always aware of the egotists real position. By contrast the truly humble man, not concerned to show-off or greedy for attention, who takes a lower seat, will usually be asked to go up higher.

There is a fine line between the proper self-worth and sinful pride. The Greek words translated pride in the New Testament are huperephania and alazoneiais. Huperephania is literally, hyper-showing; it is arrogance, haughtiness, disdain of others, making oneself to be pre-eminent (cf. Mar. 7:22). Alazoneiais is from alazon (a vagabond or wanderer) and came to be used in the sense of braggadocio, boastfulness, and being puffed up, (cf. Jas. 4:16). Not even disciples of Jesus are immune to the temptation (cf. Luk. 9:46; Mat. 20:20-28; Luk. 22:24-27). Pride is the snare of the devil (1Ti. 3:6) and God hates pride (Pro. 8:13). It was the fundamental temptation the devil trapped Eve and Adam with in the Garden of Eden (cf. Gen. 3:5). There are four attitudes that clearly reveal a proud heart: (a) self-sufficiency; (b) self-justification; (c) self-righteousness; (d) self-importance. Pride is put to practice when men measure themselves by those they feel are inferior, in order to justify feelings of superiority (cf. 2Co. 10:12-14). On the other hand, acknowledging that God our Creator has accounted us worth the sacrifice of His Perfect Son, is not pride but the necessary admission that motivates us to enter into His covenant of salvation.

Humility in the scriptures is from the Greek word tapeinophrosune and literally means, lowliness of mind. Humility is based upon:

a.

Truth:

1.

Creator-creature relationship

2.

Kingship and divine Saviorhood of Jesus Christ

3.

Revelational nature of the Bible

b.

Trust:

1.

In the Fatherhood of God

2.

In the Substitutionary-atonement of Christ

c.

Obedience:

1.

Service to others

2.

Carrying out Gods will

The only sure cure for pride is to compare oneself with God and with His Perfect Son, Jesus Christ, and then to acknowledge the scriptural truth that the kingdom of God is not a society in which there is competition for position but a fellowship where each counts others better than self (Rom. 12:3; Rom. 12:10), and where everyone has the mind of Christ (Php. 2:5 ff.). Real humility is always spontaneous and attractive. It is false humility when we pretend we do not have a capacity that we do have. If you can do something well humility does not require you to pretend that you cannot; it only requires you to remember that you did not create the talents you have yourself, and that therefore, gratitude fits better than pride. Real humility walks the fine line between self-criticism and self-acceptance.

These Pharisees, expositors of Gods word, scholars and religious guides, were giving the distinct impression that they considered the end of learning to be self-exaltation. They were showing they believed the purpose of wisdom was to make them superior to all other men. The purpose of learning and scholarship is for service to others. It is in serving others that valuable character is formednot in self-exaltation. It is in humble service that the true dignity of the human being is manifested. It is in giving of self to the edification of others that a person reflects the glory of God and His Son (cf. Joh. 13:1 ff.). When a person humbles himself, Gods image is reflected in him and he is exalted. When a person exalts himself, the image of the devil is reflected and he is abased in the evaluation of good and honest men.

Is it possible that such grabbing at false honor could go on among modern-day rabbis and clergymen? When was the last time you heard sermons from the scriptures warning the followers of Jesus about such immodest behavior? How many conventions for preachers and church workers ever seriously consider this? A great deal is preached about sexual sin and about doctrinal error, but Jesus focused His most scathing denunciation on the egotism of the religious leaders of His day!

Luk. 14:12-14 Hospitality: But Jesus wasnt through with His host. He had another lesson to teach all present at the dinnerthe lesson of true hospitality. The true disciple of Jesus does not entertain or feed anyone with a motive that expects repayment. The good man of God is hospitable and charitable without any thought of getting anything out of it. He does his good because someone needs helpbecause he loves.

The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenia, literally, love of strangers or aliens. Jesus taught hospitality (cf. Luk. 10:30-37; Mat. 10:11-15; Luk. 10:5-12; Luk. 7:36-50). The N.T. writers exhort Christians to be hospitable (cf. 1Ti. 3:2; Tit. 1:8; 1Pe. 4:9; Heb. 13:2). Philemon and Johns epistles enjoin and exhibit hospitality. Jesus said, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends . . . lest . . . Lest emphasizes danger! There is danger in always giving dinners for friends and relatives! The danger is in asking to your feast someone who can (and will) repay you! The Lords.teaching here is revolutionary in light of modern-day practice! Obviously, Jesus is dealing mainly with motives Ones motive for inviting people to dinner is of supreme importance. This teaching of Jesus strikes hard at all of us. Which of us has ever had a banquet for the poor, maimed, lame and blind? What are our motives for giving dinnerspride? prestige? publicity? manipulation?

Clearly, there is nothing wrong with inviting your relatives or even your rich neighbors to dinner if your motives are pure. Matthew invited his fellow-publicans to dinner (Mat. 9:9-10). But, there are so many people who could use help, if we really followed this teaching we would have little time for feeding those who can take care of themselves. Hospitality and helping the needy will be a crucial issue at the judgment of mankind (cf. Mat. 25:35 ff.; Mat. 10:40; Joh. 13:20).

God cares about the poor. He enjoins us to care about them (Exo. 22:25-27; Exo. 23:11; Lev. 19:9-15; Lev. 25:6-30; Lev. 25:39-42; Lev. 39:4754; Deu. 14:28-29; Deu. 15:12-13; Deu. 16:11-14; Deu. 24:10-22; Deu. 26:12-13; Rth. 2:1-7; Neh. 8:10; Psa. 9:18; Psa. 12:5). The prophets championed the poor because rich people exploited them (Isa. 1:23; Isa. 10:1-2; Eze. 34:1-31; Amo. 2:6; Amo. 5:7; Amo. 8:6; Mic. 2:1-2; Hab. 3:14; Mal. 3:5). Jesus always helped the poor when He had the opportunity to do so. The early church was made up of mostly poor people and slaves (cf. 1Co. 1:26-29; 2Co. 8:2-15; Jas. 1:9-11; Jas. 2:1-13; Jas. 5:1-6). Paul and Barnabas were asked to remember the poor (Gal. 2:10). Opportunities are never lacking to give aid to the poor for they are always in the world (cf. Deu. 15:4-11; Joh. 12:8). The question is, shall those who have plenty avail themselves of these opportunities to help. Helping the poor will hardly ever be rewarded in this life. Jesus promises, however, that in the resurrection of the just, those who have shown compassion and mercy will be rewarded by the One who is able to give infinite compassion and mercy. It sounds illogical, and it is contrary to the worlds values, but it is true that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Act. 20:35). It is only by faith that the follower of Jesus can put these admonitions into practice in his daily life. The world will say, if you want to get ahead, entertain the rich and powerful. And it even appears, in this life, those who do so get ahead. But the follower of Jesus has his hope in the next world.

Appleburys Comments

A Lesson on Humility
Scripture

Luk. 14:7-14 And he spake a parable unto those that were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, 9 and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; and when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee. 11 For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

12 And he said to him also that had bidden him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 and thou shalt be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.

Comments

And he spake a parable.There was an implied question in the presence of the sick man. Jesus called attention to a situation which all were able to observe and pointed out a lesson which it also implied. It was the right of the host to seat the guests in places of honor, but these rude people so lacking in humility were occupying the places of honor without waiting to be assigned to them by the host.

sit not down in the chief seats.That is, do not recline on the couch reserved for the honored guest until invited to do so. To avoid the ambarrassment of being asked to move to a place of lower distinction, Jesus advised that they occupy the lower place first and wait until they were invited to occupy a place of greater honor. When the host says, Friend, move up to a place of higher honor, you will be approved in the presence of all who are reclining at the feast with you.

It is evident that Jesus had not been invited to the place of honor that was rightly His, since He is the Son of God. A good question: To what place do we invite the Lord when we have banquets?

For everyone that exalteth himself.See Mar. 10:42-45 for a similar lesson which Jesus taught the disciples. Peter says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time (1Pe. 5:6). Humility is a virtue that should have been observed in the banquet which Jesus was attending. It is essential for those who hope to attend the heavenly banquet about which Jesus had been teaching. See Mic. 6:8.

to him also that had bidden him.The lesson on humility applied not only to guests but also to the host. It is evident that the motive of the one who invited Jesus was not what it should have been. He may have been seeking to take advantage of Jesus own popularity. One poor man had been permitted to come into the house, but the guests for the most part were his rich neighbors and friends.

When thou makest a dinner or supper.Or as we would say, a luncheon or dinner, for Jesus referred to a noon meal and an evening meal. The feast was a banquet.

lest haply they also bid thee again.This was not to say that the rich man could not have his neighbors and friends as guests in his home; but this could be done from the wrong motive, for some expected to be invited into the homes of their guests.

The gospel invitation, as the parable of the Great Supper shows, is to the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blindthat is, sinners who need the cleansing power of the Lord.

and thou shalt be blessed.In the Book of Acts, Luke quotes these words of Paul, Ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive (Act. 20:35). There is a blessing in helping the needy, All of us need to help others, for in doing so we help ourselves in a way that nothing else can.

recompensed in the resurrection of the just.There will be a time when you will be paid back for what you have done for the poor. That will be in the resurrection of the just.

The resurrection, of course, is not limited to the just, but they are the ones who will be blessed in the resurrection. Paul spoke of the resurrection of the just and the unjust (Act. 24:15). Jesus said, The hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment (Joh. 5:28-29). There is one resurrection at which time both the just and unjust will be raised.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(7) And he put forth a parable.The passage has the interest of being, in conjunction with Luk. 11:43, the germ of the great invective of Mat. 23:6, and the verses that follow. (See Notes there.)

Chief rooms.Better, chief places, or chief couches; literally, the chief places to recline in after the Eastern fashion. This, again, implies the semi-public character of the feast. The host did not at first place his guests according to his own notions of fitness. They were left to struggle for precedence. What follows is hardly a parable in our modern sense of the term, but is so called as being something more than a mere precept, and as illustrated by a half-dramatic dialogue.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Parable on Humility, Luk 14:7-11.

The miracle and its discussion is over; but as the guests come to recline upon the couches at table, the dispute, discreditable, but common in those times, arises as to which shall occupy the most honourable place at table. Our Lord makes it the occasion of a lesson.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

7. A parable Truly a parable; for though at first it seems a series of precepts upon good manners, yet it contains as the concluding verse, 11, a doctrine of wisdom belonging to the divine administration.

Be humble before God, if thou wouldst attain a high place at his right hand. To those which were hidden Lesson first, Luk 14:7-11, is for the guests; lesson second, 12-14, is for the host. Like a good provider, the Lord dispenses the proper share for each.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And he spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats, saying to them,’

Jesus noted how the Scribes and Pharisees who had come for the meal at the leading Pharisee’s house carefully chose the chief seats so that their superiority would be recognised. The couches would be placed at small tables and set in a U shaped formation with the host at the bottom of the U, reclining on his left elbow at table with his feet spread outwards on the couch, which would usually hold three diners. The most honoured guest would be to his left, and the next most honoured to the right (compare Peter and John at the last supper – Joh 13:23-24). The least honoured would be on a couch furthest away from the host. This gives Jesus the opportunity to teach a lesson in humility. But behind it there is also a warning about their attitude towards God, and what their attitude should be in His service, and what in their hearts they should be seeking. Note His indirect approach. He knows that direct reference to their status seeking will only cause offence.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Warning Against Being One Of Those Who Seeks Out The Chief Seats (14:7-11).

This passage is parallel in the chiasmus with those who are to seek, not food and clothing, but the Kingly Rule of God, and to have their minds set on Heaven (Luk 12:22-34). Those described here are the opposite of that. They are concerned to have the chief seats on earth, and to exalt themselves. They seek glory on earth (how like the disciples, and the Pharisees, and how opposite to what God wants them and us to be). And in their self-conceit they think that one day in eternity God will give them the same credit.

But Jesus’ point here is that those who are truly seeking the Kingly Rule of God with all their hearts, with no thought of status, will take the humble place, and will in the final Assessment be ‘moved up higher’, while those whose eyes are fixed on obtaining honour and status for themselves will in the end discover that they have lost both. They will be told to ‘go down lower’ and will have to descend to ‘the lowest place’. Thus it is not only teaching them a lesson in humility, it is pointing them towards life under the Kingly Rule of God.

Analysis.

a ‘He spoke a parable to those who were bidden, when He marked how they chose out the chief seats, saying to them’ (Luk 14:7).

b “When you are invited by any man to a marriage feast, do not sit down in the chief seat, lest it chance that a more honourable man than you be invited by him” (Luk 14:8).

c “And he who invited you and him shall come and say to you, ‘Give this man place,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place” (Luk 14:9).

b “But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who has invited you comes, he may say to you, “Friend, go up higher.” Then you will have glory in the presence of all who sit at meat with you” (Luk 14:10).

a “For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luk 14:11).

Note how in ‘a’ He marked out how men chose the chief seats, and in the parallel points out that such people will be humbled. In ‘b’ the man is advised not to take the highest place, and in the parallel he chooses the lowest place. In ‘c’ the central emphasis is on the shame of being removed from the highest place.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jesus Teaches on Humility In Luk 14:7-11 Jesus took the opportunity to teach the people who were with Him at house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees about humility and benevolence. Jesus saw in crowds of people, not the splendor of men and their outward appearance, but their inner heart. The emphasis of this passage is found within the context of its narrative material where Jesus is teaching us how to enter into the narrow gate that leads to Heaven by keeping our hearts pure. Humility is a virtue that leads us towards a pure heart.

Illustration While attending Seminary, on the first day of a new class the professor announced that tomorrow, when everyone finds a seat, it would become their assigned seat for the rest of the semester. So the next day before class, many people were packed around the door waiting to rush in and get the best seats in the room. After the earlier class dismissed, those students scurried for the best seats in the front of the class. The Lord had impressed upon my heart to wait until the dust settles and then to quietly select a seat.

Scripture Reference – Note Pro 25:6-7.

Pro 25:6-7, “Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.”

Luk 14:11 Comments – In his book The Call Rick Joyner says, “Do not boast in your strengths, but in your weaknesses. If you will openly talk more about your failures in order to help others, I will be able to more openly display your victories, ‘For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.’” [232]

[232] Rick Joyner, The Call (Charlotte, North Carolina: Morning Star Publications, 1999), 220.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

A parable teaching humility:

v. 7. And He put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when He marked how they chose out the chief rooms, saying unto them,

v. 8. When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him,

v. 9. and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

v. 10. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that, when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

v. 11. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The eyes of Jesus were always observing the manner in which people behaved under various conditions of life, for He drew lessons from everything. At the ordinary feasts of the Jews there was a good deal of informality, but at the wedding-suppers the question of rank was very important. Jesus had noticed upon this occasion that the guests all made an attempt to take the sofas of honor, the first pillows, at the head of the table. And so He teaches them a lesson concerning the higher sphere of morality and religion. At a wedding-feast the guests should not strive for the most honored seats, for it might easily happen that one to whom greater respect is due on account of his rank or station is among those invited. And what a humiliation it would be then if the host would openly request the forward guest to give up his place to the guest of honor, while the other shamefacedly and with ill grace would have to move to the last place! The Lord therefore advises the opposite method, to choose the lowest place, for then it might well happen that the humble guest would be invited in the presence of the assembled guests to move farther to the head of the table, thus receiving honor before all that reclined with him at the tables. It was not a mere question of prudence and good form which Jesus here broached, but it was a rebuke of the presumption and pride of the guests. Incidentally, it illustrates a rule which finds its application in the kingdom of God: Every one that exalts himself will be humbled, and He that humbles himself will be exalted. He that exalts himself, places himself above his neighbor, boasts of his own merit and worthiness before God, he will be humbled, will be excluded from the kingdom of God. But he that humbles himself before God, and consequently places himself also below his neighbor as a willing servant to minister unto his needs as occasion offers, he will be exalted, he will receive honor in the kingdom of God. For such humility expresses the true disposition of a disciple, it is an evidence of a repentance which is conscious of its own unworthiness, and of faith, which glories only in the cross of Jesus and finds comfort only in His mercy.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Luk 14:7. Chief rooms; Chief places: , chief seats, and so where the word room occurs: from this circumstance, and from what is said Luk 14:12 it appears that this was a great entertainment, to which many were invited. Very probably therefore the meeting was concerted, and the company chosen, with a view to ensnare Jesus,as we observed on Luk 14:1. So that his being invited was a matter, not of accident, but of design.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Luk 14:7-11 . On the special propriety of this table conversation (in opposition to Gfrrer, Heil. Sage , I. p. 265, de Wette, Schenkel, Eichthal), comp. on Luk 11:38 f. Here, again, the circumstance especially which had just occurred with the dropsical man had prepared a point of view widely different from that of customary politeness.

] “sumtam a moribus externis, spectantem interna,” Bengel. The moral significance of this figurative apophthegm ( ) may be seen at Luk 14:11 .

] attendens, comp. on Act 3:5 , and see Valckenaer.

.] See on Mat 23:6 ; Lightfoot, p. 836.

Luk 14:8 . ] not generally: to an entertainment, but: to a wedding, in respect of which, however, a special purpose is not to be assumed (Bengel thinks that “civilitatis causa” Jesus did not name a feast in general); but the typical representation of the future establishment of the kingdom as a wedding celebration obviously suggested the expression (Mat 22 ).

Luk 14:9 . . ] not: who invited thyself also (Bornemann), which would lay upon an unfounded emphasis, so much as: qui te et ilium vocavit (Vulgate), the impartial host who must be just to both.

] future, not dependent on (comp. on Mat 5:25 ), but an independent clause begins with

] the shame of the initial movement of taking possession of the last place in which he now must acquiesce, [174] after his previously assumed is here made prominent.

Luk 14:10 . ] 1 aor. imperative middle , which tense occurs also in Josephus, Bell . vii. 6. 4 ( ); Fritzsche, ad Marc . p. 641, takes it as future , formed after the analogy of and (Luk 17:8 ). But these forms come from the future forms and , and hence are not analogous to the one before us.

] corresponds to the , Luk 14:8 , and denotes the purpose of the . . . The result is then specified by .

] The host occupies the position where the higher place is ( =hither). Comp. moreover, Pro 25:7 .

Luk 14:11 . Comp. Mat 23:12 . A general law of retribution, but with an intentional application to the Messianic retribution. Comp. Erubin , f. xiii. 2 : “Qui semet ipsum deprimit; eum S. B. exaltat; et qui se ipsum exaltat, eum S. B. deprimit.”

[174] For the intervening places are already rightly arranged, and not to be changed. “Qui semel cedere jubetur, longe removetur,” Bengel.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

DISCOURSE: 1538
THE AMBITIOUS GUEST

Luk 14:7-10. And he put forth a parable to those which 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 honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shall thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

THE Christian is not prohibited from occasionally joining in carnal festivity; but he should carefully watch his own spirit and conduct when he ventures upon such dangerous ground, and should improve his intercourse with worldly company for the spiritual edification of himself and others. Our blessed Lord was sometimes present at feasts; but his conversation at those seasons was always pious and instructive. The things which occurred never failed to furnish him with abundant matter for useful observation. Having noticed at a wedding the indecent ambition of the guests, he animadverted on their conduct in the parable before us

I.

The principle here inculcated

Our Lord did not intend these words merely as a maxim for the regulating of our conduct in one particular, but as a parable that should be applied to the whole of our deportment in social life. The scope of the text, whether as originally delivered by Solomon, or as quoted and applied by our Lord, is to recommend humility [Note: Compare Pro 25:6-7. with ver. 11.]. But to enter fully into its meaning, we must analyse, as it were, the principle here inculcated; which implies,

1.

A deep sense of our own unworthiness

[If we stand high in our own estimation, we cannot but expect a degree of homage from others, and shall be ready to claim precedence among our equals; but if we have an humiliating sense of our own extreme vileness, we shall readily concede pre-eminence to others, and take the lowest place, as that which properly belongs to us. Such a disposition cannot but spring from self-knowledge; nor can it fail of operating in this manner [Note: Php 2:3.].]

2.

An utter contempt of worldly distinctions

[While we love that honour which cometh of man, we cannot but aspire after it, when it comes within our reach. But we are taught to be dead, yea crucified to the world [Note: Gal 6:14.]; and, this once obtained, we shall despise the baubles that are so much the objects of rivalship and contention.]

3.

A readiness to give honour to whom honour is due

[Though religion teaches us an indifference to mans applause, it does not warrant us to level the established orders of society. God requires us to honour those that are in authority, as well as to serve and honour him [Note: Rom 13:7.]. While therefore a sense of duty will keep us from coveting human distinctions for ourselves, it will induce us cheerfully to pay to others the tribute due to their rank and station.]

Excellent however as this principle is, it needs to be limited by prudence, and exercised with care
[Though this principle can never operate to too great an extent, it may exert itself in a very absurd manner. There are certain decencies in society that ought not to be violated, as would be the case if the great and noble should literally take the lowest place among those who are of very inferior rank: besides, it is possible that we may be actuated by pride, while we thus put on an appearance of humility. We need therefore take heed both to our hearts and ways, that in obeying this precept we act with sincerity and discretion.]
Having endeavoured to explain the principle, we shall point out,

II.

Its importance in human life

Humility is to the graces of a Christian what holiness is to the attributes of the Deity, the beauty and perfection of them all

1.

It conduces in the highest degree to the comfort of mankind

[Nothing tends more to the happiness of our own minds. What a source of vexation and anguish is pride! With what envy are they beheld, to whom precedence has been given! What indignation do they excite, who overlook our superior claims [Note: This idea will be fully understood by those who have ever mixed in public assemblies.]! A slight, whether real or supposed, will often fill us with rancour as much as the most serious injury could have done: but let humility possess our minds, and this source of uneasiness is destroyed. If we be willing to give honour to others, and be indifferent to it ourselves, and especially if we count ourselves unworthy of it, we shall feel no pain at seeing others preferred before us.

Nor does any thing more tend to the peace and comfort of society. What is it but pride that makes every neighbourhood a scene of contention [Note: Jam 3:14-16.]? What is it but pride that creates such factions in a state? What is it but pride that involves nations in war and desolation [Note: Jam 4:1.]? Even the Church of God itself is often torn and distracted by this fatal principle. Let humility once gain a proper ascendant in the hearts of men, and universal harmony will reign. Surely the importance of this principle cannot be too highly rated, or expressed in too energetic terms.]

2.

It is that whereby men most eminently adorn the Gospel

[The avowed scope of the Gospel is to improve the principles and practice of mankind; and they who receive the truth, are expected to excel in every thing that is amiable and praiseworthy. How unseemly did the ambition of the sons of Zebedee appear [Note: Mat 20:20-28.]! The ungodly themselves do not hesitate to pronounce them hypocrites who, while they profess religion, are under the dominion of pride and ambition. On the other hand, humility irresistibly commends itself to all. Who does not admire the concessions made by Abraham to his nephew Lot [Note: Gen 13:9.]? Who does not adore the condescension of our Lord in washing his disciples feet [Note: Joh 13:4-5.]? Even those who are most elated with pride themselves, are constrained to applaud humility in others; and though nothing but the grace of God can induce any to embrace the Gospel, a suitable deportment in its professors will often silence the cavils, and disarm the prejudices, of those who ignorantly reject it [Note: 1Pe 2:13-15.].]

This subject will naturally lead us to contemplate,
1.

The folly of sin

[There is really as much folly, as there is sinfulness, in sin. In how many instances do men attain by integrity and humility, what others in vain seek for by dishonesty and arrogance! This is well illustrated in the parable before us. Let us then simply endeavour to glorify God by a holy conversation, and leave our temporal advancement to his all-wise disposal.]

2.

The excellence of religion

[Religion does not merely impose rules for our conduct towards God, but should regulate every disposition of our minds, and every action of our lives. Where it has its full influence, it gives a polish which is but poorly mimicked by the refinements of modern politeness: it will not indeed convert a clown into a courtier; but it will teach every one to act as becomes his station. Let us then exhibit in our respective spheres that simplicity of mind and manners, that, while it adorns the Gospel, shall disarm the malice of our enemies, and, if possible, conciliate their esteem [Note: Rom 12:10. 1Pe 5:5.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

And he put forth a parable to those which 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 honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Reader! what a lovely quality is grace, which truly makes men great, in making them humble; and induceth the very reverse of nature, which, by the fall, hath made all mankind proud, when, by reason of sin, it ought to have made all humble. In the unequal pattern of the Lord Jesus, we are made to see what true humbleness is. He who was Lord of all, became servant to all; and in the same hour, when he knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, actually stooped down, and did wash the feet of poor fishermen. See Joh 13:3-5 . Reader! do not, if possible, ever lose sight of this. Was there ever an instance of the kind known among the great ones of the earth? And let me ask, was there ever an instance of real greatness like this, of unequalled humility? Did ever the Son of God in our nature look more lovely, more blessed, and call forth the affections of his people in a more awakened manner than upon this occasion? Oh! for grace to copy what none can ever equal! Precious Jesus! let me never forget this scene, but gladly take the lowest room in recollection of thee! And, Reader! let such a precept, backed by such an example, have its due weight with both our hearts: and let us be comforted with this assurance, Jesus, who thus stooped then, will be gracious now. Lord! the lower thou wilt come down to our wants, the higher thou wilt be exalted to our love and praise. See Phi 2:5-11 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 4

Christ’s Texts As a Preacher

Christ’s way of getting texts Christ’s private expositions who was their preacher? an appeal to all.

Text: “When he marked.” Luk 14:7

Where did Jesus Christ get his texts? We have what we call our textbook, and we go to it in order that we may find passages for the purposes of exposition and application. Where did Jesus Christ, pre-eminently the preacher, get his texts? His sermons were always new, always bright with a light above the brightness of the sun, often tender with a pathos which made his hearers’ hearts burn within them. He got some of his texts from the Old Testament, we know. Those texts are given. He was familiar with Moses, with the Psalms, and with the prophets, with the whole ancient Scriptures, and in every line of those venerable writings he found some trace and token of himself. Was there any other book which he read? If so, I should like to know its name, and to have it in my keeping. There was one great book which he read every day; out of that open volume he brought many texts, most startling and most suggestive. That book is not in the British Museum, nor is it in the Bodleian, nor was it burnt in some of the ancient libraries. It is all men’s book, to be had without money and without price. It is written in the largest capitals; the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein; and my purpose in the discourse of this morning is to accompany you in listening to Jesus Christ as he takes some of his texts out of that voluminous and ever-open book.

Let us begin with Luke, chapter 14, Luk 14:7 : “And he put forth a parable to them which were bidden, when he marked how they….” The book of daily life was Christ’s great textbook. What every man did gave him a subject; every word he heard started a novel theme. We poor preachers of this nineteenth century often cannot find a text, and say to one another, “What have you been preaching about? I wish I could get hold of another subject or two.” Poor professional dunderheads! and the great book of life, joy, sorrow, tragedy, comedy, is open night and day. Jesus Christ put forth a parable, not after he had been shutting himself up for a fortnight, and reading the classic literature of immemorial time, but when he marked how they …. Keep your eyes open if you would preach well keep your eyes open upon the moving panorama immediately in front of you, omit nothing, see every line and every hue, and hold your ear open to catch every tone, loud and sweet, low and full of sighing, and all the meaning of the masonry of God. Jesus Christ was, in this sense of the term, pre-eminently an extemporaneous speaker, not an extemporaneous thinker. There is no occasion for all your elaborate preparation of words if you have had an elaborate preparation of yourself. Herein the preacher would do well, not so much to prepare his sermon as to prepare himself, his life, his manhood, his soul. As for the words, let him rule over them, call them like servants to do his behest, and order them to express his regal will.

What sermons our Saviour would have if he stood here now! He would mark how that man came in and tried to occupy two seats all to himself a cunning fellow, a man who has great skill in spreading his coat out and looking big, so as to deceive a whole staff of stewards. What a sermon he would have evoked on selfishness, on want of nobleness and dignity of temper, how the Lord would have shown him how to make himself half the size, so as to accommodate some poor weak person who has struggled miles to be here, and is obliged to stand. I have been enabled to count the number of pews from the front of the pulpit where the man is. I paused there. My Lord keener, truer would have founded a sermon on the ill-behaviour. He would have spoken about us all. He would have known who came here through mere curiosity, who was thinking about finery and amusement, who was shop-keeping even in the church, buying and selling tomorrow in advance; and upon every one of us, preacher and hearers, he would have founded a discourse. Do you wonder now at his graphic, vivid talk? Do you wonder now whence he got his accent? Can you marvel any longer to what he was indebted for his emphasis, his clearness, his directness of speech, his practical exhortation? He put forth a parable when he marked how they did the marketing, dressed themselves, trained or mistrained their families, went to church for evil purposes, spake hard words about one another, took the disennobling, instead of the elevating, view of their neighbours’ work and conversation. The hearers gave that preacher his text, and what they gave he took and sent back again in flame or in blessing. Observe, “when he marked” when he marked how Beaconsfield went into the Berlin Congress with the island of Cyprus in his pocket; when he marked how ecclesiastical livings are bought and sold in the auction-room; when he marked how his church is broken up into a hundred contending sections; when he marked how envious one preacher is of another, and how anxious to pluck at least one feather out of his cap; when he marked how eloquent men are in gossip and how dumb in prayer then he opened his mouth in parables which were judgments, and in allegories which filled their guilty hearers with fear.

Now let us listen to him again. In Matthew, chapter 13, Mat 13:2 and Mat 13:3 : “When great multitudes came to him” what did he do? Mark the divinity of the Man. See where his mastery lay. “He” I would that every ear might catch this “He spake many things.” It is in such little out-of-the-way touches as these that I see what he was. How to handle a multitude? With one string, with one idea, with one little mean method of attack? No, no. Seeing the multitudinous spectacle, he delivered a multitudinous address. A multitude cannot all be like one man trained, cultured, critical, right up to the highest point of intellectual perception and moral sympathy. Where you have an almost infinite number of persons, you have a corresponding number of conditions, circumstances, tastes. That speaker is the Divine one who speaks many things, who has not one little drop of dew to let fall upon a host, but a great shower of rich rain, so that every soul may have its own baptism and go home with its own blessing.

A marvellous chapter is that 13th of Matthew. What parables are in it the sower, the woman with the leaven, the tares sown among the wheat, the pearl of great price, and many others. Why so many parables? That everybody might have something. You are sitting there, a well-trained scholar, and you want a continuous, concatenated discourse, culminating in some dazzling and convincing climax. The man next you has hardly put off his shop apron, and his hands still have the shop dust on them, and he wants something to be going on with. And the little child to whom life is a dream, a wonder, a mystery, a dance, half begun yet nearly ended wants an anecdote, a story, and you say, “Pooh, pooh, nothing but anecdotes; just a string of anecdotes from beginning to end;” and you don’t like anecdotes, and you like logic strong, persistent, inexorable, relentless logic. The man next you cannot spell logic, and if he could spell it he could hardly pronounce it, and if he could pronounce it he could not define it, and he wants a figure of speech, a little story, a bright parable, truth in a blossom, a gospel in a flower; he could understand that. So when Jesus saw great multitudes come to him, he spake many things; the scholar had a portion of meat, and so had the illiterate, and the little child had its cut of living bread, and the poor creature who was too feeble to lift the water to her lips has it lifted by the hand that gave it. When shall we understand this, and honour this kind of ministry, and when shall we believe that every man had his ministry in the church; the great thinker, and the great parabolist, the man who can tell an anecdote before you have time to object to it, and apply the moral so that you waken up to find that he has been meaning you all the time? I believe that a multitudinous humanity requires a multitudinous tuition, and into the church I welcome every man who can speak one word for his Master; somebody, somewhere, wants that particular word. God bless us, every one.

Now let us be present upon another occasion. You will find the circumstance in the 5th chapter of the gospel by Matthew: “When his disciples came unto him, he opened his mouth and taught them.” How different from every other discourse. He was then speaking to the church. A poor rude church it was just then; still, it was the nucleus of the visible kingdom of God upon the earth, and the only church which Jesus Christ could then have addressed. “When his disciples came to him, he opened his mouth and taught them, saying” then came the beatitudes, the exposition of eternal laws, the application of great moral truths, calls to luminousness of character, diligence of service, nobility of temper, non-resistance of evil to the perfectness of God’s purity. No parable, no story, no anecdote, criticism, doctrine, history, dogma, great principle, solid law, exposition of righteousness, talk that went to the church’s soul; and that is the basis of all doctrine and ethics in the church to this day, and shall be to the end of time.

There ought to be seasons when the church only comes together. Then we should have the richer talk; then we might be led into the inner places, where the mysteries are most sacred and most tender; then we should drink the old, old wine of God. When can this be arranged? There be many charmers that address the ear and call us otherwhere; alas! there ought to be found time when Christians should come together as Christians to read the. small print, to read between the lines, to read the richer, deeper mysteries of the Divine kingdom.

When the disciples came to him he opened his mouth and taught them. It was shepherdly talk, and that leads me to offer this suggestion to you. There is pastoral preaching as well as pastoral visitation. There are some persons who are never content unless the pastor is always visiting them. Personally, I should allow them to enjoy their discontentment; they like it, they would be unhappy if they had nothing to grumble about. There is pastoral preaching, rich revelation of Divine truth, high, elevating treatment of Christian mysteries, and he is the pastor to me who does not come to drink, and smoke, and gossip, and show his littleness, but who, out of a rich experience, meets me with God’s word at every turn and twist and phase of my life, and speaks the something to me that I just then want. See him when he is largest and noblest, catch him in the moods of his inspiration, and do not drag him down to make a hassock of him in the drawing-room. Know you that there is pastoral preaching, talk to the disciples alone, quiet, beauteous, sympathetic, luminous talk, that makes the brain rejoice in a new light, and the heart glow with a more ardent love. May we have more and more such preaching.

Let us be present upon another occasion to find how Jesus got his texts. You will find the incident in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, Mat 13:3 : “They came unto him privately” and how he changed his tone. I can see it was the same speaker, but the tone was dropped to the occasion. It is in these modulations of voice that I see what my Lord really was. He comes to me where I am; if I am standing outside alone, when he is passing out of the church, and I say to him, “There was one thing I did not quite understand about the sower and the seed,” he will take me to the house and talk to me as earnestly as if I were a thousand men, and as quietly as if I were a bruised reed. Christ is not God to me because of some cunning application of Greek syntax: I do not outwit the Unitarian by some knowledge of Greek punctuation of which he is ignorant: it is not a question of Greek conjugation, and declension, and parsing it is in these things, his out-of-the-way traits, these secret characteristics, these personal kindnesses, these marvellous reaches over my whole life, that I find what he is, venerable as eternity, new as the young morning, the ancient of days and the child of Bethlehem.

There are many things that are to be spoken privately about the kingdom of heaven. Herein is the great delicacy and the great difficulty of Christian teaching. You cannot proclaim everything on the house-top. How misunderstood we are when we venture in the pulpit to relate our deepest experience. I dare hardly pray in public. Some earnest and, no doubt, in his own sphere, which I never penetrated, intelligent soul wrote to me from the West of England on a post-card, to know if I really was the bad man I depicted myself in my prayers, for it had quite grieved him. Do I pray here in secret? Am I speaking about one man? Do I not try to be, as it were, your priest and intercessor, gathering up into one broad public address our inmost desires, and confessing our inmost sin? When the minister speaks in public prayer do not ten thousand hearts speak in his voice? Ah me! it is so sad that there are persons who will belittle every occasion, and will not rise to the grandeur and the dignity of the circumstances. Some things must be spoken privately, to the confidential ear, to the one listening heart: we have much of sorrow to tell, and difficulty and doubt, and secret encounter, and it is good to be enabled now and then in private to tell the story, the inner tale, to show what the heart is in its solitude, in its secret realisations of the mystery of life, the mystery of sin, and the mystery of grace. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written of that private household talk. I would there were more of it then the household fire would never go out, the household table would never be barren of a feast, Let us be present upon one more occasion. “Then drew near to him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him,” we read in the 15th chapter of Luke. What was the discourse? In the 5th of Matthew we had the disciples coming to him, and he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness;” and now the congregation changes, and the sermon changes. What spake he when the publicans and sinners came for to hear him? Three parables that shall be read and spoken with tears wherever this gospel is preached. About the one lost sheep, about the one lost piece of money, about the one lost prodigal. The chapter that holds the tale of the prodigal son is a chapter the ink of which shall never be dry, the music of which shall never fade. But my object is now not to analyse these parables, but to direct attention to the method of this man’s ministry to show you where and how he got his subjects. Methinks he would sit on the sea-shore or on the mountain-side or in the synagogue, and not know what he was going to preach till he saw the congregation he had to deal with. His disciples came to him and he said, “Blessed.” Then drew near to him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him, and he spake three parables about loss and gain, and these parables set forth his gospel and the spirit of its ministry.

What say you to this Man? Give him his due: I like every man to have the palm who honestly wins it. What think you about him? He was but a peasant, he had never been to school, he had no certificate and no prizes and no rabbinical endorsement. He was but carpenter and carpenter’s son: you would not expect much from him. His disciples came unto him, and he delivered a great doctrinal discourse which doctors might have heard and wondered at. When great multitudes came unto him, he spake unto them many things, so that every one in the mass might have something. When the disciples could not quite understand what he said, they came unto him privately, and he sat down in the house and went over all the truth with them, and drove it into their thick heads. When the publicans and sinners came, what did he? He spoke three parables, which he might at the moment have plucked from heaven itself, so beauteous, so musical, so pathetic, so infinitely vivid and true to the life. A few days ago I tried to show you this in particular about that young prodigal. We said: “Now we shall find out what. Jesus Christ really is: he may be able to describe a virtuous man, for he knew nothing about the ways of vice, but how will he describe a rake? We shall have the laugh over him there when he comes to describe a roue , a rake, a spendthrift, a prodigal, a villain. He will make a poor villain, a knock-kneed villain. He will never be able to find the colours that suit a villain.” I charge you to tell me, after reading the parable of the prodigal son, if he has not drawn him to the life. Whence hath this Man this wisdom! He who was without sin, on whose fair brow there was no wrinkle wrought by remorse, in whose voice there was no tone or sob of personal penitence, a Man whose feet had never been in the ways of evil for his own purpose, how came he to give you line by line in neutral distance, in blood tints at the front, with eyes that had prodigality in every look how came he to draw that picture? Give him the credit that is due to him, do not begrudge him; he needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man.

Now the great practical application of this is, that you will find in Jesus Christ’s talk, whoever you are, just what you want, just what you most need. What are you? A cunning, long-headed old thinker? Go to Jesus Christ. I have seen such go to him: I have seen how they marvelled as he spoke unto them. Once a deputation of that sort went to wait upon him. They got up a nice little case about a woman and seven husbands “And the seven husbands died, and last of all the woman died also” and the Sadducees wanted to know whose wife she would be in the resurrection. The disciples would have shown their folly over that question. Jesus heard their tale out, and he was a, magnificent listener, and when they were done, he said: “Ye do err: you are wrong fundamentally. You do not know your own Scriptures, for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.” And so these long-headed, cunning thinkers came back with their heads a long way down in their necks. They went in, tolerably young men, under fifty: they came out about five hundred years of age. He was a wonderful talker!

What are you? “I am a poor woman who has got all wrong somehow.” Go and see him: he knows all the sins, and if you behave aright he will say, “Thy sins which are many” he does not conceal them “are all forgiven thee. Begin again, and summer will dawn in thy poor winterbound soul.”

What are you? “A thief half-damned.” What, just going into hell? “Yes.” Say, “Lord, remember me,” and though the affairs of eternity are on his brain, he will not forget thee.

What are you? Just a poor little lad, just a wee little lassie, only a little child? Toddle up to him. Go, thread your way through the big folks as they are standing there, and put out a finger, and he will see it and you will be in his arms next moment, and that lift will bring you nearer heaven than ever you will be again on earth.

What are you? “A poor suffering creature, a poor woman with a secret sorrow, with a heavy affliction: my very heart oozing out of me, and nobody to speak to. I live in one of these lanes off Holborn. I just came in here to spend an hour: I did not know much what else to do. My very heart is leaking away, I have no joy in life, I have tried all physicians and curatives and restoratives, and here I am just as bad as ever, perhaps worse.” Go to him. I saw a dear old mother go to him in just such a plight as you. She said I heard her say it just under her breath as women sometimes speak “If I may but touch the hem of his garment I shall be made whole.” I saw the poor creature wriggling her way through the crowd, and when she thought nobody was looking, she just touched the hem of his garment and she stood upright like a tree of the Lord’s right hand planting.

Go. I will go too. I need him, as you do, every day. Sometimes as a Judge, often as a Comforter, always as a Teacher, and the more I need him, the more he is.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

Ver. 7. When he marked ] Ministers, though they may not be time servers, yet they must be time observers, and sharply reprove what they meet with amiss in their people.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

7 24. ] SAYINGS OF OUR LORD AT THIS SABBATH FEAST.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

7 11. ] It does not appear that the foregoing miracle gave occasion to this saying; so that it is no objection to it, that it has no connexion with it. Our Lord, as was His practice, founds His instructions on what He saw happening before Him.

As Trench remarks (Par. in loc.), it is probable this was a splendid entertainment, and the guests distinguished persons ( Luk 14:12 ).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

7. ] ., see Mat 23:6 , the middle place in the triclinium, which was the most honourable. At a large feast there would be many of these.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 14:7-11 . Take the lowest seat . Here begins the table talk of Jesus, consisting of three discourses. The first addressed to the guests in general is really a parable teaching the lesson of humility pointed in Luk 14:11 . “Through the medium of a counsel of prudence relating to ordinary social life He communicates a lesson of true wisdom concerning the higher sphere of religion” ( The Parabolic Teaching of Christ ).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Luk 14:7 . , observing. Euthy. renders: , blaming, in itself a legitimate meaning but not compatible with . The practice observed choosing the chief places was characteristic of Pharisees (Mat 23:6 ), but it is a vice to which all are prone.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 14:7-11

7And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, 8″When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. 10But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luk 14:7 This account is unique to Luke’s Gospel. Jesus was not the only guest at this meal. In the first century Palestinian setting, weddings and meals were a community event. Some were invited to eat (cf. Luk 14:12-14), but many others came to stand around and listen, even participate in the dinner conversation.

“they had been picking out the places of honor” One would have to be acquainted with the Orient to understand the confusion in the seating arrangement at all their social events. The right people had to be in the right place (i.e., social and religious elite) before the meal could begin. Luk 14:7-14 deal with a lesson, not in proper etiquette or procedures, but in humility (cf. Luk 14:11; Luk 18:14; Mat 23:12; Jas 4:6; 1Pe 5:5; Job 22:29; Pro 29:23). The opposite of humility is addressed in Luk 11:43; Luk 20:46; Mat 23:1-12; Mar 12:38-40.

Luk 14:9 “and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place” The only place to recline that was left by this time was at the end of the table. This role reversal (common in Jesus’ teachings) is also emphasized in Luk 13:30.

Luk 14:11 The NASB Study Bible (p. 1491) makes a good comment here, “a basic principle repeated often in the Bible (see Luk 11:43; Luk 18:14; Luk 20:46; 2Ch 7:14-15; Pro 3:34; Pro 25:6-7; Mat 18:4; Mat 23:12; Jas 4:10; 1Pe 5:6).”

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

to. Greek. pros. App-104. Not the same word as in Luk 14:8.

bidden = invited or called. Greek. kaleo

chose out = were picking out. Going on before His eyes.

chief rooms = first couches. Greek protoklisia. Same as “highest room”, Luk 14:8. Compare Luk 20:46. Mat 23:6.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

7-24.] SAYINGS OF OUR LORD AT THIS SABBATH FEAST.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 14:7. And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms;

This parable was by far the best part of the entertainment of the day:

Luk 14:7-9. Saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be hidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

For, of course, the next room is full, and the next, and the only vacant seat, when the feast has begun, will probably be in the very lowest room of the house.

Luk 14:10. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

Note that our Saviour was not just then talking to his disciples, or else he would have given more spiritual reasons for his advice; but, speaking to the people who were gathered as guests at the Pharisees house, he appealed to them with an argument suitable to themselves. We may, however, extract the marrow from this bone. Let us not covet the highest place; let us not desire honour among men. In the Church of God the way upward is downward. He that will do the lowest work shall have the highest honour. Our Master washed his disciples feet, and we are never more honoured than when we are permitted to imitate his example.

Luk 14:11. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

There is a conspiracy of heaven and earth and hell to put down proud men, neither good nor bad, the highest nor the lowest, can endure those who are self-exalted; but if you are willing to take your right place, which is probably the lowest, you shall soon find honour in the midst of your brethren.

Luk 14:12. 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 neighbor; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.

Our Saviour, you see, keeps to one line of instruction. It was a feast, so he used the feast to teach another lesson. It is always well, when mens minds are running in a certain direction, to make use of that particular current. When a feast is uppermost in the minds of men, it is no use starting another subject. So the Saviour rides upon the back of the banquet, making it to be his steed. Note his advice to his host: Try to avoid doing that for which you will be recompensed. If you are rewarded for it the transaction is over; but if not, then it stands recorded in the book of God, and it will be recompensed to you in the great day of account.

Luk 14:13-14. 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.

It should be your ambition to have something set down to your credit at the resurrection of the just. If you do someone a kindness with a view to gaining gratitude, you will probably be disappointed; and even if you should succeed, what is the gratitude worth? You have burned your firework, you have seen the brief blaze, and there is an end of it. But if you get no present return for your holy charity, so much the better for you.

Luk 14:15-16. 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. Then said he unto him,

As if to prove what a privilege it is to be permitted to eat bread there, and that the persons who appear most likely to do so will never taste of it and that the most unlikely persons will be brought into it, Jesus said unto him,

Luk 14:16-17. 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.

They had accepted the invitation, so they were pledged to be present but, in the meantime, they had changed their minds with regard to their intended host, and they were unwilling to grace his feast.

Luk 14:18. 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.

Yet it was supper time, and people do not generally go to see pieces of ground at night; and if the man had bought the land he ought to have seen it before he bought it. People do not generally buy land without looking at it. A bad excuse is worse than none; and this is one of those excuses which will not hold water for a minute.

Luk 14:19. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

He pretended that he had bought five yoke of oxen without proving them, and that he wanted to prove them after he had bought them, when, of course, he could not cancel the bargain: a likely story! But, when men want to make an excuse, and they have no truth to raw as the raw material, they can always make one out of a lie.

Luk 14:20. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

This man did not ask to be excused; he had married a wife, so that settled the matter, of course he could not go to the feast.

Luk 14:21. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things.

Every true servant of Christ should go to his Lord, and tell him what reception his Masters message has had. After service, we sometimes have an enquirers meeting; but after every sermon there ought to be a meeting of the servant with his Lord to tell the result of the errand on which he has been sent. Sometimes, as in this case, it will be a very painful meeting, as the servant tells how his Masters message has been despised, and his invitation rejected.

Luk 14:21. When the master of the house being angry

Notice what the Lord does even when he is angry, he just invents some new way of showing mercy to men: The master of the house being angry

Luk 14:21. 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.

Happy anger that explodes in blessing! The justly angry master turns away from the bidden ones who had insulted him, and sends for those who had not hitherto been bidden, that they might come to the feast.

Luk 14:22. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

They fetched in all the poor people, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind whom they could find, it was a great gathering, and a strange gathering, yet there was still room for more guests at the banquet.

Luk 14:23. 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.

Bring in highway-men and hedge-birds, those that have no place whereon to lay their heads; fetch them in by force if necessary, that my house may be filled.

Luk 14:24. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

They were invited, yet they would not come; but others shall come, and fill the tables, and the great feast shall be furnished with guests. No provisions of mercy will ever be wasted. If you who are the sons and daughters of godly parents, or you who are the regular hearers of the Word, will not have Christ, then others shall. If you hear, but hear in vain, then the rank outsiders shall be brought in, and they shall feed upon the blessed provisions of the infinite mercy of God, and God shall be glorified; but terrible will be your doom when the great Giver of the gospel feast says concerning you and those like you, None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Luk 14:7. , a parable) Taken from external manners, but having regard to internal principles.- [when He marked] directing His attention to the fact[142]) Attention in conversation and social intercourse is a most wholesome (profitable) habit.

[142] In Vulg. intendens. Supply , fixing His attention on the circumstance, observing.-ED. and TRANSL.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Lessons for Guests and Hosts

Luk 14:7-14

The word rooms should be seats, r.v. We must, of course, guard against a false humility, which chooses a low seat in the hope of being invited forward. Let us seek it, because we are absolutely careless of prominence except as it gives us wider opportunity. The unconscious humility and meekness of a little child are very dear to Christ. Dwell on your own defects and on the excellencies of others till you realize that you are the least of all saints! Php 3:8.

Our Lords words about invitations to our houses strike at the root of much of the so-called hospitality of modern society. Did not our Lord intend His words to be interpreted literally? They are imperative in their tone. He probably meant what He said. Some of us get so much thanks down here that there will be very little left to come to us at the resurrection of the just, when we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive our rewards, 2Co 5:10.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Chapter 8

Take The Lowest Room

Our Lord Jesus is not here giving us a lesson about the excellence of behaving with humility before men and moral virtue. This is obvious for three reasons:

He is addressing a band of lost, self-righteous religious Pharisees.

That which he says here simply is not true with regard to earthly things. In this world, if you want to get ahead, you must push your way ahead. If you want the highest seat, you must take it. If you are willing to settle for the lowest place, you are sure to get it. Everyone around you will gladly accommodate your wish.

In his Sermon on the Mount (Mat 6:1-8), our Saviour taught us plainly that we must never attempt, in any way, to show our religion, to show godliness, or to show spirituality and devotion to God by any outward action. Let us adorn the gospel (Tit 2:10) by our behaviour, always. But we must never make a show of godliness.

Believers, men and women who live for and seek the glory of God must never behave as proud worldlings do. Let it ever be ours to seek the glory of our God, the good of men, and the welfare of our brethren, each preferring the other better than himself, each submitting to the other, each promoting the other, and each serving the other. But we do not attempt to act religious or make a show of godliness before men.

Christs Example

Clearly, our Lord teaches us by the parable in these verses, throughout the scriptures, and by his own example that we ought to be and always behave as truly humble people. One passage will be sufficient to show this: Php 2:1-11.

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Php 2:1-11).

Here in Luk 14:7-11 our Master teaches humility in two ways. First, he tells those who are bidden to a wedding to sit down in the lowest room. Second, he declares a great principle, which frequently fell from his lips: Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The Key

The key to this parable is found in Pro 25:6-7. Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen. The Lord must have had this passage in mind when he spoke this parable. He is the King to whose wedding feast sinners are bidden, before whom we must come in humility.

The shame and confusion of face which in this parable is represented as the lot of mortified pride does not always follow it in this world. Self-assertion, self-assumption, forwardness, and boasting, do not always entail a disgraceful fall upon the person who behaves arrogantly. The meek do not as yet inherit the earth, though they assuredly will. David said of the ungodly, with their mouth they speak proudly (Psa 17:10), and speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous (Psa 31:18).

Men who are ambitious and self-seeking at times attain to the height of their ambition, provided, of course, that they have other qualities, such as prudence, cleverness, and perseverance. But a day is coming when the words of Christ with which the parable concludes (Luk 14:11), will be verified in the case of every man. He is the King before whom all pride displays itself, and before whom it will be abased.

And there is the greater reason that he should do so, for when he had the highest place in the universe next to the eternal Father, he abased himself, and took the lowest place, even the place of the cross of death (2Co 8:9), in order to save and exalt forever all who humble themselves before him. The Judge at that day will remember and humble every act of pride, just as he will remember and reward those who humble themselves before him. He will bring every idle word into judgment, and make manifest the secrets of all hearts.

Gods Work

Yet, this humility is so contrary to our nature that we can never attain it. We can never perform it. We must be humbled by our God, or we will never humble ourselves before God. A humble man is a humbled man. We will never bow before the throne of grace until God himself bows us by his grace. Oh, may God graciously humble us here rather than hereafter! It may be very bitter to have our pride mortified now, but it will be indescribably more bitter to have it mortified before men and angels, and before the presence of the great King and Judge of all the earth.

To know our own sinfulness and weakness and to know our need of Christ is the very beginning of salvation. This thing called salvation begins with the conviction of sin. Abraham, and Moses, and Job, and David, and Daniel, and Paul were all truly humbled men. They were men who knew themselves sinners before the thrice holy Lord God; sinners chosen, redeemed, called, forgiven, justified, and accepted in Christ.

Humility

What is humility? One word describes it. The root of humility is right knowledge. It is wrought in us by the revelation of Christ to us in that day when the Fountain of redemption is opened to us (Zec 12:10; Zec 13:1). The man who really knows himself and his own heart, who knows God and his infinite majesty and holiness, who knows Christ and the price with which he has been redeemed, that man is a humbled man. He counts himself, like Jacob, unworthy of the least of all Gods mercies. He says of himself, like Job, I am vile. He cries, like Paul, I am chief of sinners (Gen 32:10; Job 40:4; 1Ti 1:15). He considers anything good enough for him, and indescribably better than he deserves. In lowliness of mind he esteems his brethren better than himself (Php 2:3).

Ignorance, nothing but sheer ignorance, ignorance of self, of God, and of Christ is the cause of all pride. From that miserable self-ignorance we should daily pray to be delivered. He is the wise man who knows himself; and he who knows himself will find nothing within to make him proud and everything to humble him.

But our Lord does not here set humility before these Pharisees as a virtue to be cultivated. Rather, he is here exposing and rebuking the pride of that self-righteousness and unbelief that keeps sinners from trusting him.

Context

Look at the context in which this parable is given. Our Lord has just healed a poor, despised, needy man of the dropsy on the sabbath day, thereby condemning the Pharisees who used him to bait a trap, by which they hoped to destroy our Lords credibility as Gods prophet (Luk 14:1-6). Then, notice that the opening word of Luk 14:7 is a conjunction And. When the Pharisees could not answer him, we read, And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms (Luk 14:7).

Then, after giving this parable, the Lord declares to the proud Pharisee who had invited him to dinner that true humility, true goodness serves those who can give nothing in return, from whom no benefit can be derived (Luk 14:12-14). Obviously, he was not teaching this work monger how to earn Gods blessing in the resurrection. Rather, he is teaching this man and us how God dispenses his favour freely! The gospel of Christ is likened to an invitation to a great feast. And the Lord God, our great Saviour graciously calls the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, those who cannot recompense him, to his banqueting table.

One man in the crowd understood exactly what the Master was saying. Look at Luk 14:15. 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.

Then, our Lord continues his instruction. Remember, he is still in the Pharisees house. He is still talking about how men are to behave when they are invited to a wedding feast. Specifically, the Lord Jesus is here telling us how poor sinners must come to Gods great wedding feast.

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 showed 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 (Luk 14:16-24).

The Message

The purpose of our Lord Jesus in this parable is to teach us how sinners seeking mercy must come to God. Here is the message of the parable. We must come to God, we must come to Christ as humble, worthless, doomed, damned, helpless, bankrupt sinners, taking our place in the dust before him. We must bow before him in shame, taking the lowest seat in the dust before the throne of grace. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

This is a mystery that natural men do not understand. This is something no man will ever understand until he is born of God and taught by his Spirit (1Co 2:7-14). In the natural world the way up is up, but in the spiritual world the way up is down. He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. In the natural world, to live is to live, but in the spiritual world the way to live is to die. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it (Mat 10:39). In the natural world men find satisfaction in their own strength, but Paul declared, when I am weak, then 1 am strong (2Co 12:10). The greatest thing God can do for a person (whatever the cost) is to show him in heart and soul the vanity of all things in this world (Ecc 1:2; Ecc 1:14), and to turn his interest, affection, love, and concern from the world to Christ (Mat 5:3-12).

To be full is to be emptied of self. To be wise is to become a fool for Christs sake. To be clothed we must be stripped. To be rich we must be made poor (Pro 16:18-19; Mat 5:3; Mat 11:29; Jas 4:6). Would you come to God and obtain the mercy and grace that he alone can give? Come to Christ. Come, taking the only ground he gives, as a poor sinner with nothing to give, trusting Christ alone for everything (1Jn 1:7-10). Let us ever come to God just as we came to him in the beginning. As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him (Col 2:6).

Naught have I gotten, but what I received.

Grace hath bestowed it, since I have believed.

Boasting excluded, pride I abase

Im only a sinner, saved by grace!

James M. Gray

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

put: Jdg 14:12, Pro 8:1, Eze 17:2, Mat 13:34

they: Luk 11:43, Luk 20:46, Mat 23:6, Mar 12:38, Mar 12:39, Act 8:18, Act 8:19, Phi 2:3, 3Jo 1:9

Reciprocal: Mat 20:26 – it Luk 9:46 – General

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Humility and Exaltation

Luk 14:7-24

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

1. The Lord Jesus had a right to teach humility. Christ Jesus was very God of very God, dwelling in light unapproachable, and yet He humbled Himself, and was found in fashion as a man.

Certainly Christ had a right to teach humility, because He practiced it, and lived it. Christ said that an invited guest should take the lowest seat, lest one more noble than he should enter, and he should be asked to pass down to the lowest seat.

Christ even went so far as to say that one, in giving a dinner or a feast, should call in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind-those who could not recompense him for his hospitality. In all of this, may those of us who name Christ’s Name follow in His steps.

2. The Lord Jesus was deservedly exalted. The way of the Cross is the path to the crown. Humility is the stepping-stone to exaltation. Resurrection follows death and decay. Exaltation follows self-negation. The way to get up is to get down. The way to save the life is to lose it. The way to eternal riches is through temporal poverty.

We who would reign with Christ must pass with Him through His suffering. We who would partake of His riches, must share with Him in His poverty. We who would enter into His glorification, must first pass with Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

I. CHOOSING THE CHIEF ROOMS (Luk 14:7)

1. Christ’s all-observing eye. The Lord Jesus was the most practical of preachers. He spoke frequently by parables, and His parables were usually based upon things which He saw around Him,-things which were familiar to all.

In our verse, we read that Christ marked how the ones who were bidden to a feast, chose out the chief rooms. There was nothing that was covered to the vision of the Lord. He knew what was in man. He saw how they chose out that which gave them honor and prestige.

2. The unchanging nature of the human heart. We are sure that the attitude of those guests of old is that of the guests of today. Paul truly said; “All seek their own,” and exhorted; “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Is it not far better to remember the words spoken by God, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not”?

“Ego” is the big “I” that rules the human heart. We are forever saying, that we must, first of all, be true to ourselves. Nebuchadnezzar was cursed of God, because he took honor to himself, and gave not honor to God.

The human heart has never changed. What Christ saw of yore, He still sees in hearts that are not dominated by the Spirit of God.

II. A WARNING WORD (Luk 14:8-9)

As we ponder these words of the Master, we cannot help but believe that He had a far-flung meaning to His words. He was not speaking merely of the then prevalent method of self-exaltation and self-seeking on great feast days. He was looking down through the centuries to a wedding feast, to be set in the skies.

1. Christ had in view the wedding of the Lamb. We read in Revelation that the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and His Wife hath made Herself ready. We also read; “Blessed are they which are called unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.”

2. Christ had in view the placing of the heavenly wedding guests. There are too many who have entirely forgotten that there will be distinctions in the placing of those who gather around the Lamb at the great Marriage Feast in Heaven. Many who have been first down here, will be last up there; and many who have been last, will be first.

The forty-fifth Psalm describes various groups in connection with the King. There is the Queen standing at His right hand, dressed in the gold of Ophir, there are the daughters, and the rich of the people; there is the King’s daughter. All of these have honor and joy, but not all are equally placed.

III. THE LAW OF EXALTATION (Luk 14:11)

1. Our text reveals one of God’s great paradoxes: “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” These words suggest that the way to get up is to get down. This is the very thing which the parable likewise suggests. For, the host of the wedding says unto the one who took the lowest room, “Friend, go up higher”; while the one who took the highest room, is filled with shame as he is forced to retreat to the lowest room.

Is it not true that death is the way to life? Is it not necessary for the grain of wheat to fall in the ground and die, before it can spring forth into life, and unto a marvelously enlarged fruitfulness?

2. Our text is enforced by Christ as our example. Jesus Christ was a Man delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God; a Man taken, and by wicked hands crucified and slain; therefore, Jesus Christ was exalted to the right hand of the Father.

Jesus Christ, being found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death on the Cross: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name.”

IV. THE REALM OF REWARDS AND THE GRATUITIES OF GRACE (Luk 14:12-14)

The Lord Jesus, in the verse now before us, is giving an interpretation of the meaning of humility as the pathway to exaltation. Christ said, “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 recompense be made thee.” We call this:-

1. A warning against serving for pay. It may be all right to invite our friends and rich neighbors, knowing that they will return the compliments, and invite us again: but we may not expect any reward in Heaven for so doing. “Verily, we have our reward.”

2. Serving for love. The Lord Jesus, alter advising against making a dinner to those who could again bid us, and give us a recompense, told us, “When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed.”

It is not difficult to catch the meaning of the Master’s words. He means that a service rendered where an earthly reward and return is unsought or impossible, shall be a basis for reward in the coming days.

It is necessary for us, therefore, to examine the basis upon which we operate. We need to weigh well the motive which prompts our service. There are some who serve that they may be seen of men. There are others who are seeking, everyone, their own gain from their own quarter. They live for earthly things.

V. THE GREATEST FEAST OF ALL (Luk 14:15-16)

As Christ spoke the words which we have been considering, one who sat at meat with Him, said, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.” The Lord may have marveled because this man grasped the deeper meaning of His words, and looked down through the centuries to that blessed hour when the Kingdom of God should be established, and the King’s feast made known. The Lord Jesus immediately turned the attention of the group gathered around Him to the coming great supper. He said, “A certain man made a great supper, and bade many.”

1. Let us consider the host. The “certain man” is none other than God, the Father. Is it not remarkable when we think that He shall yet prepare a table before us? This vision is not farfetched.

Have you not read how Jesus, in parable, said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain King, which made a marriage for His Son”? Christ is the Son; the Father is the certain King.

2. Let us consider the guests. Those who were first bidden, and are first mentioned, did not come to the supper. Then, the Lord said unto 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.”

What does this all suggest? Every man is a sinner-undone, unclean, and unworthy of a place at the Marriage of the Lamb. Even to the rich of earth, God says, “Miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” All men are needy; all men are lost; all men are suppliants for grace. There is no human who dares to lift up his head in pride when he comes into the presence of the great God.

VI. THE FOLLY OF THOSE WHO MAKE EXCUSE (Luk 14:18-20)

1. The invitation spurned. Here is one of the strange things which confront us in every age. God is not willing that any should perish. God has written over the door, “Whosoever will may come.” God has prepared a sacrifice, and has sent forth His heralders to every nation, and to every creature; and yet men with one consent begin to make excuse.

2. The excuses proffered. One put five yoke of oxen; another put a visitation to a piece of ground; and another put marital relationships as an excuse for refusing the invitation to God’s great Supper.

Saddest of all the Lord said, “None of those men which were bidden shall taste of My Supper.” God’s Spirit will not always call upon men. “He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” The time will come when God will shut the door.

AN ILLUSTRATION

It is said that a young man from college approached a great London preacher asking him for the privilege, of filling his pulpit. As the youth was a member of his church, as well as the son of one of the parishioners, he said, “I will be glad for you to take our midweek prayermeeting service.” The young theologue said, “I am not a prayermeeting preacher, but the best preacher in college. I want the main Sunday service.”

The pastor granted the request, and, after introducing the young man on the following Sunday morning, sat down to hear the wonderful sermon which he was promised by the youth, The college lad arose, dressed in the height of fashion; his hair was well combed, his necktie was well placed. He tried to find his text, but could not. He endeavored to speak, but his words all left him. Embarrassed and ashamed, with drooping head, he left the platform.

As the young man went down, the pastor is reputed to have said, “Young man, if you had gone up the way you are coming down, you might have come down the way you went up.”

What the preacher meant was: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

8

Chief rooms means the same as highest rooms, the expression used in this verse. More honorable means from a social standpoint, not in the sense of character.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

LET us learn from these verses the value of humility. This is a lesson which our Lord teaches in two ways. Firstly, He advises those who are bidden to a wedding to “sit down in the lowest room.” Secondly, He backs up His advice by declaring a great principle, which frequently fell from His lips:-“Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Humility may well be called the queen of the Christian graces. To know our own sinfulness and weakness, and to feel our need of Christ, is the very beginning of saving religion.-It is a grace which has always been the distinguishing feature in the character of the holiest saints in every age. Abraham, and Moses, and Job, and David, and Daniel, and Paul, were all eminently humble men.-Above all, it is a grace within the reach of every true Christian. All have not money to give away. All have not time and opportunities for working directly for Christ. All have not gifts of speech, and tact, and knowledge, in order to do good in the world. But all converted men should labor to adorn the doctrine they profess by humility. If they can do nothing else, they can strive to be humble.

Would we know the root and spring of humility? One word describes it. The root of humility is right knowledge. The man who really knows himself and his own heart,-who knows God and His infinite majesty and holiness,-who knows Christ, and the price at which he was redeemed,-that man will never be a proud man. He will count himself, like Jacob, unworthy of the least of all God’s mercies. He will say of himself, like Job, “I am vile.” He will cry, like Paul, “I am chief of sinners.” (Gen 32:10; Job 40:4; 1Ti 1:15.) He will think anything good enough for him. In lowliness of mind he will esteem every one else to be better than himself. (Php 2:3.) Ignorance-nothing but sheer ignorance-ignorance of self, of God, and of Christ, is the real secret of pride. From that miserable self-ignorance may we daily pray to be delivered! He is the wise man who knows himself;-and he who knows himself, will find nothing within to make him proud.

Let us learn, secondly, from these verses, the duty of caring for the poor. Our Lord teaches this lesson in a peculiar manner. He tells the Pharisee who invited Him to his feast, that, when he made “a dinner or a supper,” he ought not to “call his friends,” or kinsmen, or rich neighbors. On the contrary, He says, “When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.”

The precept contained in these words must evidently be interpreted with considerable limitation. It is certain that our Lord did not intend to forbid men showing any hospitality to their relatives and friends. It is certain that He did not mean to encourage a useless and profuse expenditure of money in giving to the poor. To interpret the passage in this manner would make it contradict other plain Scriptures. Such interpretations cannot possibly be correct.

But when we have said this, we must not forget that the passage contains a deep and important lesson. We must be careful that we do not limit and qualify that lesson till we have pared it down and refined it into nothing at all. The lesson of the passage is plain and distinct. The Lord Jesus would have us care for our poorer brethren, and help them according to our power. He would have us know that it is a solemn duty never to neglect the poor, but to aid them and relieve them in their time of need.

Let the lesson of this passage sink down deeply into our hearts. “The poor shall never cease out of the land.” (Deu 15:11.) A little help conferred upon the poor judiciously and in season, will often add immensely to their happiness, and take away immensely from their cares, and promote good feeling between class and class in society. This help it is the will of Christ that all His people who have the means should be willing and ready to bestow. That stingy, calculating spirit, which leads some people to talk of “the workhouse,” and condemn all charity to the poor, is exceedingly opposed to the mind of Christ. It is not for nothing that our Lord declares that He will say to the wicked in the day of judgment, “I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat;-I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink.”-It is not for nothing that Paul writes to the Galatians, “They would that I should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.” (Mat 25:42. Gal 2:10.)

Let us learn, lastly, from these verses, the great importance of looking forward to the resurrection of the dead. This lesson stands out in a striking manner in the language used by our Lord on the subject of showing charity to the poor. He says to the Pharisee who entertained Him, “The poor cannot recompense thee;-thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”

There is a resurrection after death. Let this never be forgotten. The life that we live here in the flesh is not all. The visible world around us is not the only world with which we have to do. All is not over when the last breath is drawn, and men and women are carried to their long home in the grave. The trumpet shall one day sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. All that are in the graves shall hear Christ’s voice and come forth: they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. This is one of the great foundation truths of the Christian religion. Let us cling to it firmly, and never let it go.

Let us strive to live like men who believe in a resurrection and a life to come, and desire to be always ready for another world. So living, we shall look forward to death with calmness. We shall feel that there remains some better portion for us beyond the grave.-So living, we shall take patiently all that we have to bear in this world. Trials, losses, disappointments, ingratitude, will affect us little. We shall not look for our reward here. We shall feel that all will be rectified one day, and that the Judge of all the earth will do right. (Gen 18:25.)

But how can we bear the thought of a resurrection? What shall enable us to look forward to a world to come without alarm? Nothing can do it, but faith in Christ. Believing on Him, we have nothing to fear. Our sins will not appear against us. The demands of God’s law will be found completely satisfied. We shall stand firm in the great day, and none shall lay anything to our charge. (Rom 8:33.) Worldly men like Felix, may well tremble when they think of a resurrection. But believers, like Paul, may rejoice.

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Notes-

v7.-[He marked.] The Greek word so rendered is only used five times in the New Testament. It means literally “gave attention,” or “observed.” It is elsewhere translated “gave heed.” (Act 3:5.)

[The chief rooms.] The Greek word so rendered does not literally mean “rooms,” or “chambers,” as if our Lord meant that the guests chose the best apartments in the house. It signifies the “best seats,” or reclining places at table. Major gives a quotation, showing that “the most honourable station at an entertainment among the Romans, was the middle part of the middle couch, each couch holding three.”

v9.-[Give this man place…lowest room.] It should be observed in this verse, that it is the same Greek word which is translated “place” and “room.” The sentence should either have been translated, “give this man place,” and “take the lowest place,”-or “give this man room,” and “take the lowest room.”

[Begin.] This shows the tardiness, and reluctance, and unwillingness with which the move would be made.

v10.-[Go and sit down in the lowest room.] The following quotation from Paley is worth reading. “Some of the passages in the Gospels about humility, especially the Lord’s advice to the guests at an entertainment, seem to extend His rules to what we call manners, which was both regular in point of consistency, and not so much beneath the dignity of our Lord’s mission, as may at first sight be supposed; for bad manners are bad morals.” (Paley’s Evidences. Part 2. chap. 2. 1.)

[Worship.] The Greek word so translated means literally “glory,” or “honor.” Our translation is unfortunate. It must however be remembered that the meaning of words changes with time. The word “worship” did not mean exclusively religious worship, when the last revision of the Bible took place in England. The sense in which the word is here used, still lingers amongst us in the epithet “worshipful,” applied to “mayors,” and “worship” to magistrates. In the marriage service of the Church of England, the word also occurs in the sense of “honor.”

v11.-[Whosoever exalteth himself, &c.] Let it be noted that hardly any saying of our Lord’s is so frequently repeated as this sentence about humility.

v12.-[Call not thy friends, &c.] This is a remarkable direction. There are few sayings of our Lord’s in which we are so plainly required by the equity of interpretation, to put a qualified sense on his command. Just as it is impossible to put a literal construction on His saying, “if any man come after me and hate not his father, &c., he cannot be my disciple,” so it is impossible to put a literal sense on His words here.

Poole remarks, “Many things are delivered in Scripture, in the form of an universal and absolute prohibition, which must not be so understood, amongst which this is one instance. None must think that our Saviour doth here absolutely or universally forbid an invitation of brethren, kinsmen, rich neighbours, friends, to dine with us. There was nothing more ordinarily practised among the Jews, and Christ Himself was at divers meals. But Christ teacheth us here, (1.) That inviting friends is no act of charity. It was a lawful act of humanity and civility, and of a good tendency to procure unity and friendship amongst neighbours and friends, but no such act of charity as they could expect a heavenly reward for. (2.) That such feastings ought not to be upheld in prejudice to our duty in relieving the poor, that is, they ought not to be maintained in such excesses and immoderate degrees, as by them to disable us from that relief of the poor, which God requireth of us as our duty.”

The evil consequences of an excessively literal interpretation of this passage, may be seen in the well-meant but grossly abused charities to the poor, which were so prevalent in this country before the Reformation, and which are still to be seen in Roman Catholic countries on the Continent at the present day. It is notorious that profuse charity to the poor, given indiscriminately, and without inquiry, does no real good, fosters idleness, rears up a class of professional mendicants, promotes dissolute and profligate habits among beggars, and enormously increases the very evil which it is meant to relieve.

Such instances of literal obedience to our Lord’s command in this passage, as Cornelius Lapide quotes in his Commentary, are melancholy instances of useless and mischievous kindness. He tells us how Louis of France used daily to feed a hundred and twenty poor people, and how Hedwig, Duchess of Poland, used daily to feed nine hundred poor people! The slightest knowledge of human nature will tell us that such liberality would certainly be grossly abused, and could never have been meant by our Lord. The words of Paul are distinct and unmistakeable, “If any man will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2Th 3:10.)

We must beware however in England that we do not go into the other extreme. There is a disposition in some quarters to discourage all charity and almsgiving whatsoever. There are many who say that to give relief checks exertion, and makes the poor do nothing for themselves. Such arguments no doubt have a grain of truth in them, and certainly save men’s pockets. But we must be careful that we do not carry them too far. In a densely peopled country like England, there always will be many cases of real poverty and distress, which rich people ought to consider and relieve. Relief should of course be given judiciously, and after due enquiry. But to say that nothing should ever be given to a poor person, under any circumstances, excepting what the law allows, is evidently contrary to the mind of Christ, and flatly contradictory to the spirit of the passage before us.

v14.-[Thou shalt be recompensed.] This expression is worthy of notice. It confirms the doctrine of a reward according to works, though not on account of works, in the judgment day.

The similarity between the Lord’s language in this place, and that used in the description of the judgment day, in the 25th chapter of Matthew, ought to be observed. It seems to contradict the opinion which some hold, that in Matthew our Lord is speaking only of the judgment of the heathen who never heard the Gospel. Some arguments by which this view is maintained, would apply to the passage before us. Yet here it is plain, that our Lord is speaking of His own hearers and disciples. It appears more probable that both here and in Matthew our Lord speaks of the general judgment, and that the importance of works as an evidence of faith, is the truth which He desires to impress on our minds.

[The resurrection of the just.] This expression is remarkable. I cannot think that our Lord used it in deference to an opinion common among the Jews, that resurrection was the special privilege of the righteous. It seems to me far more probable that our Lord refers to the first resurrection, spoken of in the 20th chapter of Revelation. It is hard to put any other sense on the expression than this, that there is a resurrection of which none but the just shall be partakers,-a resurrection which shall be the peculiar privilege of the righteous, and shall precede that of the wicked.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Luk 14:7. A parable, in the widest sense, since the language is to be taken literally, though made the basis of a general moral lesson (Luk 14:11).

Them that were hidden. The invited guests, evidently numerous, were now arriving.

The chief places. We supply at table to avoid ambiguity. The coveted places (comp. Mat 23:6,) were at the middle table, joining the two side tables. At a large feast this table would be long, and the places numerous.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

It was observed before, that our blessed Saviour dined publicly on the sabbath day with several Pharisees and lawyers: that which is here worthy of our notice is this; how holy and suitable our Lord’s discourse was to the solemnity of that day; may it be the matter of our imitation! It is not unlawful for friends to dine together on the Lord’s day, provided their discourse be suitable to the day, such as our Lord’s here; for observing how the company then at the table did affect precedency, and taking place one of another; he that before their eyes had cured a man of a bodily dropsy, attempts to cure the person that dined with him of the tympany of pride.

Where note, that it is not the taking, but the affecting of the highest places and uppermost rooms, that our Saviour condemns. There may and ought to be a precedency amongst persons; it is according to the will of God, that honor be given to whom honor is due; and that the most honorable person should sit in the most honorable places: for grace gives a man no exteriour preference: it makes a man glorious indeed, but it is glorious within.

Note farther, the way our Saviour directs persons to, in order to their attaning real honor, both from God and men, namely, by being little in our own eyes, and in lowliness of mind, esteeming others better than ourselves; as God will abase, and men will despise, the proud and haughty, so God will exalt, and men will honor, the humble person: Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Luk 14:7-11. And he put forth a parable The ensuing discourse is so termed, because several parts of it are not to be understood literally. To those which were bidden From this circumstance, that the guests were bidden, and from what is said, Luk 14:12, it appears that this was a great entertainment, to which many were invited: which renders it still more probable that the meeting was concerted, and the company chosen with a view to insnare Jesus. When he marked how they chose out the chief rooms , the chief seats. The pride of the Pharisees discovered itself in the anxiety which each of them had manifested to get the chief places at table. Jesus had taken notice of it, and now showed them both the evil and the folly of their behaviour, by its consequences. He mentioned this in particular, that pride exposes a man to many affronts, every one being desirous to mortify a vain person; whereas humility is the surest way to respect. The general scope of what our Lord here says is, (not only at a marriage-feast, but on every occasion,) He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

2 d. Luk 14:7-11.

Here is the point at which the guests seat themselves at table. The recommendation contained in this passage is not, as has often been thought, a counsel of worldly prudence. Holtzmann ascribes this meaning, if not to the Lord, at least to Luke. But the very term parable (Luk 14:7) and the adage of Luk 14:11 protest against this supposition, and admit of our giving to the saying no other than a religious sense and a spiritual application; comp. Luk 18:14. In a winning and appropriate form Jesus gives the guests a lesson in humility, in the deepest sense of the word. Every one ought in heart to take, and ever take again, the last place before God, or as St. Paul says, Php 2:3, to regard others as better than himself. The judgment of God will perhaps be different; but in this way we run no other risk than that of being exalted. , fixing His attention on that habitual way of acting among the Pharisees (Luk 20:46). Ewald and Holtzmann darken counsel about the word wedding (Luk 14:8), which does not suit a simple repast like this. But Jesus in this verse is not speaking of the present repast, but of a supposed feast.

The proper reading is , not this verb has no middleor , which has only a few authorities.

In the lowest place (Luk 14:10), because in the interval all the intermediate seats had been occupied. The expression, thou shalt have glory, would be puerile, if it did not open up a glimpse of a heavenly reality.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

HUMILITY AND PRIDE

Luk 14:7-11. But He spoke a parable to those who had been invited [i.e., called to the feast in the house of this Pharisaical ruler], warning them how they were accustomed to select the first couches, saying to them, When you may be invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down on the first couch, lest some one may be more honorable than you, having been called by him, and the one having called you and him, having come, shall say to you, Give place to this one, and then, with shame, you will begin to take the last place. But when you may be called, going, sit down in the last place, in order that when the one having called you may come, he shall say to you, Friend, come up higher; then there shall be glory to thee in the presence of all those sitting at the table with you. Because every one exalting himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. In those days they had couches, much after the order of a modern sofa, on which they reclined at the table, leaning over on the left side quite an accommodation for gluttons, who were in the habit of eating a long time, as was customary at their festivals, meanwhile interspersing social confabulation freely, either with other. The Greeks and Romans were celebrated for simultaneous literary edification while eating, having some one standing in their midst and reading aloud the poems of Homer, Virgil, or some other poet, or the orations of Demosthenes, Lysias, Cicero, or Cato, or some other first-class literary production. Certain positions about the table were held in preference; e.g., the sides where they had the best couches, and edibles and potables most abundant and convenient. At this festival they were well accommodated in the way of literary edification, having with them the Prophet of Galilee, to preach the living Word and teach them the deep truths of the kingdom. John Wesley pronounces pride the great mother-sin, whose diabolical posterity is innumerable, swarming round in the form of envy, jealousy, revenge, bigotry, sectarianism, partisan strife, etc.; while the theologians of all ages concur in the recognition of humility as the primary and most important Christian grace, shining out so brightly in the character of Jesus, and in all ages the most beautiful diadem that has ever shone on the brow of Gods saints and martyrs. More vices are traceable to pride than any other sin; and more virtues to humility than any other grace. If we can keep truly humble, we will never fall, as perfect humility puts us down on the Lords bottom plane, from which there is no failing. Pride must do some climbing before you can fall. In this attitude, the final perseverance of the saints is a cardinal truth, very full of comfort. Pride is an awful impediment to the prosecution of study and the cultivation of the intellect, as a proud person feels that he knows it already; while humility, realizing its own ignorance, will always be an assiduous student.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

14:7 {2} And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

(2) The reward of pride is dishonour, and the reward of true modesty is glory.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The parable of the seats at the wedding feast 14:7-11

Jesus next gave the assembled guests a lesson on the importance of humility. By identifying this teaching as a parable (Luk 14:7) Luke informed his readers that the lesson has importance in people’s relationship to God, not just interpersonal relations. Jesus gave the parable originally to correct the pride of the Pharisees.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Customarily people reclined on low couches for important meals, such as this one, resting on their left sides. Where a person lay around the table indicated his status. In the typical U-shape arrangement, the closer one was to the host, who reclined at the center or bottom of the U, the higher was his status. Jesus’ fellow guests had tried to get the places closest to their host that implied their own importance.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

7

Chapter 22

THE ETHICS OF THE GOSPEL.

WHATEVER of truth there may be in the charge of “other-worldliness,” as brought against the modern exponents of Christianity, such a charge could not even be whispered against its Divine Founder. It is just possible that the Church had been gazing too steadfastly up into heaven, and that she had not been studying the science of the “Humanities” as zealously as she ought, and as she has done since; but Jesus did not allow even heavenly things to obliterate or to blur the lines of earthly duty. We might have supposed that coming down from heaven, and familiar with its secrets, He would have much to say about the New World, its position in space, its society and manner of life. But no; Jesus says little about the life which is to come; it is the life which now is that engrosses His attention, and almost monopolizes His speech. Life with Him was not in the future tense; it was one living present, real, earnest, but fugitive. Indeed, that future was but the present projected over into eternity. And so Jesus, founding the kingdom of God on earth, and summoning all men into it, if he did not bring commandments written and lithographed, like Moses, yet He did lay down principles and rules of conduct, marking out, in all departments of human life, the straight and white lines of duty, the eternal “ought.” It is true that Jesus Himself did not originate much in this department of Christian ethics, and probably for most of His sayings we can find a synonym struck from the pages of earlier, and perhaps heathen moralists; but in the wide realm of Right there can be no new law. Principles may be evolved, interpreted; they cannot be created. Right, like Truth, holds the “eternal years”; and through the millenniums before Christ, as through the millenniums after, Conscience, that “ethical intellect” which speaks to all men if they will but draw near to her Sinai and listen, spoke to some in clear, authoritative tones. But if Jesus did no more, He gathered up the “broken lights” of earth, the intermittent flashes which had played on the horizon before, into one steady electric beam, which lights up our human life outward to its farthest reach, and onward to its farthest goal.

In the mind of Jesus conduct was the outward and visible expression of some inner invisible force. As our earth moves round its elliptic in obedience to the subtle attractions of other outlying worlds, so the orbits of human lives, whether symmetrical or eccentric, are determined mainly by the two forces, Character and Circumstance. Conduct is character in motion; for men do what they themselves are, i.e. as far as circumstances will allow. And it is just at this point the ethical teaching of Jesus begins. He recognizes the imperium in imperio, that hidden world of thought, feeling, sentiment, and desire which, itself invisible, is the mould in which things visible are cast. And so Jesus, in His influence upon men, worked outward from within. He sought, not reform, but regeneration, molding the life by changing the character, for, to use His own figure, how could the thorn produce grapes, or the thistle figs?

And so when Jesus was asked, “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” He gave an answer which at first sight seemed to ignore the question entirely. He said no word about “doing,” but threw the questioner back upon “being,” asking what was written in the law: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself”. {Luk 10:27} And as Jesus here makes Love the condition of eternal life, its sine qua non, so He makes it the one all-embracing duty, the fulfilling of the law. If a man love God supremely, and his neighbor as himself, he cannot do more; for all other commandments are included in these, the subsections of the greater law. Jesus thus sought to create a new force, hiding it within the heart, as the mainspring of duty, providing for that duty both aim and inspiration. We call it a “new” force, and such it was practically; for though it was, in a way, embedded in their law, it was mainly as a dead letter, so much so that when Jesus bade His disciples to “love one another” He called it a “new commandment.” Here, then, we find what is at once the rule of conduct and its motive. In the new system of ethics, as taught and enforced by Jesus, and illustrated by His life, the Law of Love was to be supreme. It was to be to the moral world what gravitation is to the natural, a silent but mighty and all-pervasive force, throwing its spell upon the isolated actions of the common day, giving impulse and direction to the whole current of life, ruling alike the little eddies of thought and the wider sweeps of benevolent activities. To Jesus “the soul of improvement was the improvement of the soul.” He laid His hand upon the hearts innermost shrine, building up that unseen temple four-square, like the city of the Apocalypse, and lighting up all its windows with the warm, iridescent light of love.

With this, then, as the foundation-tone, running through all the spaces and along all the lines of life, the thoughts, desires, words, and acts must all harmonize with love; and if they do not, if they strike a note that is foreign to its key-note, it breaks the harmony at once, throwing jars and discords into the tousle. Such a breach of the harmonic law would be called a mistake, but when it is a breach of Christs moral law it is more than a mistake, it is a wrong.

Before passing to the outer life Jesus pauses, in this Gospel, to correct certain dissonances of mind and soul, of thought and feeling, which put us in a wrong attitude towards our fellows. First of all, He forbids us to sit in judgment upon others. He says, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned”. {Luk 6:37} This does not mean that we close our eyes with a voluntary blindness, working our way through life like moles; nor does it mean that we keep our opinions in a state of flux, not allowing them to crystallize into thought, or to harden into the leaden alphabets of human speech. There is within us all a moral sense, a miniature Sinai, and we can no more suppress its thunders or sheath its lightnings than we can hush the breakers of the shore into silence, or suppress the play of the Northern Lights. But in that unconscious judgment we pass upon the actions of others, with our condemnation of the wrong, we pass our sentence upon the wrong-doer, mentally ejecting him from the courtesies and sympathies of life, and if we allow him to live at all, compelling him to live apart, as a moral incurable. And so, with our hatred of the sin, we learn to hate the sinner, and calling from him both our charities and our hopes, we hurl him down into some little Gehenna of our own. But it is exactly this feeling, this kind of judgment, the Law of Love condemns. We may “hate the sin, and yet the sinner love,” keeping him still within the circle of our sympathies and our hopes. It is not meet that we should be merciless who have ourselves experienced so much mercy; nor is it for us to hale others off to prison, or ruthlessly to exact the uttermost farthing, when we ourselves at the very best are erring and unfaithful servants, standing so much and so often in need of forgiveness.

But there is another “judging” that the command of Christ condemns, and that is the hasty and the false judgments we pass on the motives and lives of others. How apt we are to depreciate the worth of others who do not happen to belong to our circle! We look so intently for their faults and foibles that we become blind to their excellences. We forget that there is some good in every person, some that we can see if we only look, and we may be always sure that there is some we cannot see. We should not prejudge. We should not form our opinion upon an ex parte statement. We should not leave the heart too open to the flying germs of rumor, and we should discount heavily any damaging, disparaging statement. We should not allow ourselves to draw too many inferences, for he who is given to drawing inferences draws largely on his imagination. We should think slowly in our judgment of others, for he who leaps to conclusions generally takes his leap in the dark. We should learn to wait for the second thoughts, for they are often truer than the first. Nor is it wise to use too much “the spur of the moment”; it is a sharp weapon, and is apt to cut both ways. We should not interpret others motives by our own feelings, nor should we “suppose” too much. Above all, we should be charitable, judging of others as we judge ourselves. Perhaps the beam that is in a brothers eye is but the magnified mote that is in our own. It is better to learn the art of appreciating than that of depreciating; for though the one is easy, and the other difficult, yet he who looks for the good, and exalts the good, will make the very wilderness to blossom and be glad; while he who depreciates everything outside his own little self impoverishes life, and makes the very garden of the Lord one arid, barren desert.

Again, Jesus condemns pride, as being a direct contravention of His Law of Love. Love rejoices in the possessions and gifts of others, nor would she care to add to her own if it must be at the cost of theirs. Love is an equalizer, leveling up the inequalities the accidents of life have made, and preferring to stand on some lower level with her fellows than to sit solitary on some lofty and cold Olympus. Pride, on the other hand, is a repelling, separating force. Scorning those who occupy the lower places, she is contented only on her Olympian summit, where she keeps herself warm with the fires of her self-adulation. The proud heart is the loveless heart, one huge inflation; if she carries others at all, it is only as a steadying ballast; she will not hesitate to throw them over and throw them down, as mere dust or sand, if their fall will help her to rise. Pride like the eagle, builds her nest on high, bringing forth whole broods of loveless, preying passions, hatreds, jealousies, and hypocrisies. Pride sees no brotherhood in man; humanity to her means no more than so many serfs to wait upon her pleasure, or so many victims for her sacrifice! And how Jesus loved to prick these bubbles of airy nothings, showing up these vanities as the very essence of selfishness! He did not spare His words, even though they stung, when “He marked how they chose out the chief seats” at the friendly supper; {Luk 14:7} and one of His bitter “woes” He hurled at the Pharisees just because “they loved the chief seats in the synagogues,” worshipping Self, when they pretended to worship God, so: making the house of God itself an arena for the sport and play of their proud ambitions. “He that is least among you all,” He said, when rebuking the disciples lust for preeminence, “the same is great.” And such is Heavens law: humility is the cardinal virtue, the “strait” and low gate which opens into the very heart of the kingdom. Humility is the one and the only way of heavenly preferments and eternal promotions; for in the life to come there will be strange contrasts and inversions, as he that exalted himself is now humbled, and he that humbled himself is now exalted. {Luk 14:11}

Tracing now the lines of duty as they run across the outer life, we find them following the same directions. As the golden-milestone of the Forum marked the center of the empire, towards which its roads converged, and from which all distances were measured, so in the Christian commonwealth Jesus makes Love the capital, the central, controlling power; while at the focal point of all the duties He sets up His Golden Rule, which gives direction to all the paths of human conduct: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise”. {Luk 6:30} In this general law we have what we might call the ethical compass, for it embraces within its circle the “whole duty of man” towards his fellow; and it only needs an adjusted conscience, like the delicately poised needle, and the line of the “ought” can be read off at once, even in those uncertain latitudes where no specific law is found. Are we in doubt as to what course of conduct to pursue, as to the kind of treatment we should accord to our fellow? We can always find the via recta by a short mental transposition. We have only to put ourselves in his place, and to imagine our relative positions reversed, and from the “would” of our supposed desires and hopes we read the “ought” of present duty. The Golden Rule is thus a practical exposition of the Second Commandment, investing our neighbor with the same luminous Atmosphere we throw about ourselves, the atmosphere of a benevolent, beneficent love.

But beyond this general law Jesus gives us a prescript as to the treatment of enemies. He says, “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you. To him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other: and from him that taketh away thy cloak withhold not thy coat also”. {Luk 6:27-29} In considering these injunctions we must bear in mind that the word “enemy” in its New Testament meaning had not the wide and general signification it has today. It then stood in antithesis to the word “neighbor” as in Mat 5:43; and as the word “neighbor” to the Jew included those, and those only, who were of the Hebrew race and faith, the word “enemy” referred to those outside, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. To the Hebrew mind it stood as a synonym for “Gentile.” In these words, then, we find, not a general and universal law, but the special instructions as to their course of conduct in dealing with the Gentiles, to whom they would shortly be sent. No matter what their treatment, they must bear it with an uncomplaining patience. Stripped, beaten, they must not resist, much less retaliate; they must not allow any vindictive feelings to possess them, nor must they take in their own hot hand the sword of a “sweet revenge.” Nay, they must even bear a good-will towards their enemies, repaying their hate with love, their spite and enmity with prayers, and their curses with sincerest benedictions.

It will be observed that no mention is made of repentance or of restitution: without waiting for these, or even expecting them, they must be prepared to forgive and prepared to love their enemies, even while they are shamefully treating them. And what else, under the circumstances, could they have done? If they appealed to the secular power it would simply have been an appeal to a heathen court, from enemies to enemies. And as to waiting for repentance, their “enemies” are only treating them as enemies, aliens and foreigners, wronging them, it is true, but ignorantly, and not through any personal malice. They must forgive just for the same reason that Jesus forgave His Roman murderers, “for they know not what they do.”

We cannot, therefore, take these injunctions, which evidently had a special and temporary application, as the literal rule of conduct towards those who are unfriendly or hostile to us. This, however, is plain, that even our enemies, whose enmity is directly personal rather than sectional or racial, are not to be excluded from the Law of Love. We must bear them neither hatred nor resentment; we must guard our hearts sacredly from all malevolent, vindictive feelings. We must not be our own avenger, taking vengeance upon our adversaries, as we let loose the barking Cerberus to track and run them down. All such feelings are contrary to the Law of Love, and so are contraband, entirely foreign to the heart that calls itself Christian. But with all this we are not to meet all sorts of injuries and wrongs without protest or resistance. We cannot condone a wrong without being accomplices in the wrong. To defend our property and life is just as much our duty as it was the wisdom and the duty of those to whom Jesus spoke to offer an uncomplaining cheek to the Gentile smiter. Not to do this is to encourage crime, and to put a premium upon evil. Nor is it inconsistent with a true love to seek to punish, by lawful means, the wrong-doer. Justice here is the highest type of mercy, and pains and penalties have a remedial virtue, taming the passions which had grown too wild, or straightening the conscience that had become warped.

And so Jesus, speaking of the “offences,” the occasions of stumbling that would come, said, “If thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive.” {Luk 17:3} It is not the patient, silent acquiescence now. No, we must rebuke the brother who has sinned against us and wronged us. And if this is vain, we must tell it to the Church, as St. Matthew completes the injunction; {Mat 18:17} and if the offender will not hear the Church, he must be cast out, ejected from their fellowship, and becoming to their thought as a heathen or a publican. The wrong, though it is a brother who does it, must not be glossed over with the enamel of an euphemism; nor must it be hushed up, veiled by a guilty silence. It must be brought to the light of day, it must be rebuked and punished; nor must it be forgiven until it is repented of. Let there be, however, a genuine repentance, and there must be on our part the prompt and complete forgiveness of the wrong. We must set it back out of our sight, amongst the forgotten things. And if the wrong be repeated, if the repentance be repeated, the forgiveness must be repeated too, not only for seven times seven offenses, but for seventy times seven. Nor is it left to our option whether we forgive or no; it is a duty, absolute and imperative; we must forgive, as we ourselves hope to be forgiven.

Again, Jesus treats of the true use of wealth. He Himself assumed a voluntary poverty. Silver and gold had He none; indeed, the only coin that we read He handled was the borrowed Roman penny, with Caesars inscription upon it. But while Jesus Himself preferred poverty, choosing to live on the outflowing charities of those who felt it both a privilege and an honor to minister to Him of their substance, yet He did not condemn wealth. It was not a wrong per se. In the Old Testament it had been regarded as a sign of Heavens special favor, and amongst the rich Jesus Himself found some of His warmest, truest friends-friends who came nobly to the front when some who had made louder professions had ignominiously fled. Nor did Jesus require the renunciation of wealth as the condition of discipleship. He did not advocate that fictitious egalite of the Commune. He sought rather to level up than to level down. It is true He did say to the ruler, “Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor”; but this was an exceptional case, and probably it was put before him as a test command, like the command to Abraham that he should sacrifice his son-which was not intended to he carried out literally, but only as far as the intention, the will. There was no such demand made from Nicodemus, and when Zacchaeus testified that it had been his practice (the present tense would indicate a retrospective rather than a prospective rule) to give one-half of his income to the poor, Jesus does not find fault with his division, and demand the other half; He commends him, and passes him up, right over the excommunication of the rabbis, among the true sons of Abraham. Jesus did not pose as an assessor; He left men to divide their own inheritance. It was enough for Him if He could put within the soul this new force, the “moral dynamic” of love to God and man; then the outward relations would shape themselves, regulated as by some automatic action.

But with all this, Jesus recognized the peculiar temptations and dangers of wealth. He saw how riches tend to engross and monopolize the thought, diverting it from higher things, and so He classed riches with cares, pleasures, which choke the Word of life, and make it unfruitful. He saw how wealth tended to selfishness; that it acted as an astringent, closing up the valves of the heart, and thus shutting down the outflow of its sympathies. And so Jesus, whenever He spoke of wealth, spoke in words of warning: “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” He said, when He saw how the rich ruler set wealth before faith and hope. And singularly enough, the only times Jesus, in His parables, lifts up the curtain of doom it is to tell of “certain rich” men-the one, whose soul swung selfishly between his banquets and his barns, and who, alas! had laid up no treasures in heaven; and the other, who exchanged his purple and fine linen for the folds of enveloping flames, and the sumptuous fare of earth for eternal want, the eternal hunger and thirst of the after-retribution!

What, then, is the true use of wealth? And how may we so hold it that it shall prove a blessing, and not a bane? In the first place, we must hold it in our hand, and not lay it up in the heart. We must possess it; it must not possess us. We may give our thought, moderately, to it, but our affections must not be allowed to center upon it. We read that the Pharisees “were lovers of money,” {Luk 16:14} and that argentic passion was the root of all their evils. The love of money, like an opiate, little by little, steals over the whole frame, deadening the sensibility, perverting the judgment, and weakening the will, producing a kind of intoxication, in which the better reason is lost, and the confused speech can only articulate, with Shylock, “My ducats, my ducats!” the true way of holding wealth is to hold it in trust, recognizing Gods ownership and our stewardship. Bank it up, give it no outlet, and your wealth becomes a stagnant pool, breeding malaria and burning fevers; but open the channel, give it an outlet, and it will bring life and music to a thousand lower vales, increasing the happiness of others, and increasing your own the more. And so Jesus strikes in with His frequent imperative, “Give”-“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom”. {Luk 6:38} And this is the true use of wealth, its consecration to the needs of humanity. And may we not say that here is its truest pleasure? He who has learned the art of generous giving, who makes his life one large-hearted benevolence, living for others and not for himself, has acquired an art that is beautiful and Divine, an art that turns the deserts into gardens of the Lord and that peoples the sky overhead with unseen singing Ariels. Giving and living are heavenly synonyms, and tie who giveth most liveth best.

But not from the words of Jesus alone do we read off the lines of our duty. He is in His own Person a Polar Star, to whom all the meridians of our round life turn, and from whom they emanate. His life is thus our law, His example our pattern. Do we wish to learn what are the duties of children to their parents? The thirty silent years of Nazareth speak in answer. They show us how the Boy Jesus is in subjection to His parents, giving to them a perfect obedience, a perfect trust, and a perfect love. They show us the Divine Youth, still shut in within that narrow circle, ministering to that circle, by hard-manual toil becoming the stay of that fatherless home. Do we wish to learn our duties to the State? See how Jesus walked in a land across which the Roman eagle had cast its shadow! He did not preach a crusade against the barbarian invaders, tie recognized in their presence and power the ordination of God-that they had been sent to chastise a lapsed Israel. And so Jesus spoke no word of denunciation, no fiery word, which might have proved the spark of a revolution. He took Himself away from the multitudes when they would by force make Him King. He spoke in respectful terms of the powers that were; He even justified the payment of tribute to Caesar, acknowledging his lordship, while at the same time He spoke of the higher tribute to the great Over-Lord, even God. When upon His trial for life or death, before a Roman tribunal, He even stayed to apologize for Pilates weakness, casting the heavier sin back on the hierarchy that had bought Him and delivered Him up; while upon the cross, amid its untold agonies, though His lips were glued by a fearful thirst, He opened them to breathe a last prayer for His Roman executioners: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

But was Jesus, then, an alien from His kinsmen according to the flesh? Was patriotism to Him an unknown force? Did He know nothing of love of country, that inspiration which has turned common men into heroes and martyrs, that love which oceans cannot quench, nor distance weaken, which throws an auroral brightness around the most sterile shores, and which makes the emigrant sick with a strange “Heimweh?” Did the Son of man, the ideal Man, know nothing at all of this? He did know it, and know it well. He identified Himself thoroughly with His people; He placed Himself under the law, observing its rites and ceremonies. After the Childhood exile in Egypt, He scarcely passed out of the sacred bounds; no storms of rough persecution could dislodge the heavenly Dove, or send Him wheeling off from His native hills. And if He did not preach rebellion, He did preach that righteousness which gives to a nation its truest wealth and widest liberty. He did denounce the Pharisaic shams, the hollow hypocrisies, which had eaten away the nations heart and strength. And how He loved Jerusalem, forgetting His own triumph in the vision of her humiliation, and weeping for the desolations which were coming sure and fast! This, the Holy City, was the center to which He ever returned, and to which He gave His last bequest-His cross and His grave. Nay, when the cross is taken down, and the grave is vacant, He lingers to give His Apostles their commission; and when He bids them, “Go ye out into all the world,” He adds, “beginning at Jerusalem.” The Son of man is the Son of David still, and within His deep love for humanity at large was a peculiar love for His “own,” as the ark itself was enshrined within the Holy of Holies.

And so we might traverse the whole ethical domain, and we should find no duty which is not enforced or suggested by the words or the life of the great Teacher. As Dr. Dorner says, “There is only one morality; the original of it is in God; the copy of it is in the Man of God.” Happy is he who see this Polar Star, whose light shines clear and calm above the rush of human years and the ebbs and flows of human life! Happier still is he who shapes his course by it, who reads off all his bearings from its light! He who builds his life after the Divine model, reading the Christ-life into his own, will build up another city of God on earth, foursquare and compact together, a city of peace, because a city of righteousness and a city of love.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary