Luke

By Joyce Webb 2020

Chapter 14 Verses 1-24

Verse 1 Jesus was going to have a meal at the home of a Jewish church leader, a Pharisee. It was on the Sabbath day.

On the way, Jesus met a man who had dropsy. This is an old-fashioned word for what we call edema. It is the swelling—filling up of water or fluid—in the body—such as the legs, feet, –or any part of the body. The swelling can be just a little to very, very large.

Jesus said to the Jewish church leaders with him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

The Jewish church leaders would not answer.

Jesus healed the man. Then the man went away.

Verse 5 Jesus said to the leaders, Which of you, if you had an ox and it fell into a ditch, would you not pull the ox out of the ditch?

(This would be doing “work”. The leaders knew that they would save their ox. They also knew that other Jewish leaders had blamed Jesus for “working” on the Sabbath when he healed people.)

The Jewish leaders did not answer Jesus’ question.

Verse 7- 9 Jesus said to the leaders, When you are invited to a wedding, do not sit in the best seat for guests. Maybe someone more important than you will come, and the person having the wedding will ask you to move, so that this more honored guest can sit there. Then you will be embarrassed.

You should take one of the “lowest” seats, and then let the person who invited you come and ask you to seat in an “honored” seat.

Verse 11 Jesus said, Whoever lifts himself up, shall be brought down low. But the person who is humble,—- others will lift him up to honor.

Verse 12 The Jesus said to them, When you have a big dinner—do not invite your friends, or family, or rich neighbors, or important people to the dinner—-because they will invite you to their dinners.

Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the blind—-those who can not pay you back. Some day God will reward you for doing this.

(Jesus did not mean to never invite your friends and family to dinner. The point of the story—was —-to be generous to the poor and those who can not do you a favor back.

Give to those who have little. Do not only use what you have to get favor with others, or to get favor with important people.

Do good to those who have little and let God be the one to give you “favor” for doing a good thing.)

Verse 15-24 One of the leaders said, “Blessed are those who eat bread in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus told this story:

A man made a large dinner feast. He invited many people to come.

The people make excuses for not coming.

One man said he could not come because he bought some land and he had to go see about it and look it over.

One man said that he bought some oxen and he could not come because he had to go take the oxen out and see what they could do.

Another man said he could not come because he just got married and wanted to be with his wife.

The man giving the dinner was angry and said to his servant—go and get the poor, the crippled, the blind—whoever you find—and invite them to come.

The servant did that. There was still room for more people.

So the man giving the dinner said—go out on the roads and fields, and everywhere—”compel” them to come—-that means to strongly

talk them into coming.

The man said—-I want every seat filled.

The man said—None of those friends I first invited shall taste of my dinner.

(The meaning of this story—

Jesus invited the Jews—his own people—to believe in him and find salvation and forgiveness of sin. He invited them to believe in Him and God’s son. So that they would have eternal life.

The Jewish people—most of them—did not and would not—accept Jesus as God’s son. They did not believe that he was the Messiah—the promised One—to bring them salvation.

The Jewish people thought the Messiah coming to “save” them meant—someone coming to be a king or ruler to save them from the Romans ruling over them.

They never understood, that the Messiah’s coming to “save” them—meant taking their place in death punishment for their sins.

Jesus, the Messiah, came to die—as a “sacrifice” in death—to die in their place—for their sin.

When Jesus the Messiah comes to earth again—he will come as King—He will rule over the whole earth.)

Because Jesus’ “friends and family” the Jews—did not accept the invitation to believe in Jesus—-Jesus sent the disciples out to preach to Gentiles–non-Jews—to invite them to believe in Jesus—for them to “come to the dinner feast in the kingdom of God”.

The Gentiles accepted the invitation. Through the years—2000 + years now—millions have accepted the invitation to believe in Jesus. All of them will sit down at God’s “table” in heaven with Him.

God has not given up on the Jews. During the time of the Tribulation —God will have two men —special men — who will witness –preach—to the Jews for three and a half years.