LUKE 14
     Luke 14:1 "And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the
sabbath day, that they watched him."
     These religious people were all eyes seeing if they could catch Him in any transgression of the law. This invitation to
eat with the Pharisee was probably so he could watch Jesus and catch any little thing He might do so that he could
accuse Him. Jesus didn't seem to bother with all this. He knew their intentions.
     Luke 14:2 "And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy."
     This was a plot to catch Jesus, and these Pharisees were using this very sick man for their purpose. This was an
incurable disease by man's attempts. They possibly were testing to see if His healing power was a hoax, as well as trying
to make a case against Him as a breaker of the sabbath.
     Luke 14:3 "And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the
sabbath day?"
     This surely shocks these who are trying to trap Him. If they say no, they will anger the people. If they say yes, they
have fallen into their own trap. He is saying, you know the law so well, tell me whether we should leave this man in this
terrible condition or should we heal him. You interpret your law for me.
     Luke 14:4 "And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;"
     Jesus has done what their physicians or holy men had not been able to do. He is healed and released. He is released
not only from their presence, but from this dreadful disease, as well.
     Luke 14:5 "And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not
straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?"
     Jesus shows them they have more concern for lowly animals than they do for this pitiful man. By putting it this way,
how can they disagree? They know He is telling the truth.
     Luke 14:6 "And they could not answer him again to these things."
     Their trick had backfired upon them. Any answer they gave would have humiliated them. They did not answer.
     Luke 14:7  "And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the
chief rooms; saying unto them,"
     These men were trying to place themselves around the table in a place of importance. They wanted everyone to
appreciate how important they were. Jesus was watching carefully how they were acting over this seating arrangement.
     Luke 14:8 "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;" 
     Luke 14:9 "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."
     Jesus is speaking of someone who has raised himself up to where He does not belong. These Pharisees, Jewish
doctors of the law, had elevated themselves to a position far above the average man.  They felt, if there was a seat of
importance, they should be in it.  Jesus puts a story before them to make them think. The one thing they did not want to
do was to be embarrassed. Jesus tells them the embarrassment they would feel if they had to step down from their seat of
importance to allow someone else this elevated position. The way these lawyers felt about the uppermost seats in a room
was exactly opposite to Jesus' teaching. Jesus taught that the great ones of this world are the humble.
     Luke 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."
     Jesus is showing how the humble will be elevated in the end. There will be no embarrassment for Him. He has taken a
lowly seat and is bidden to come up higher. This is God's way.
     Luke 14:11 "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
     This is a direct reprimand by Jesus to these learned men of the law. It left no doubt at all who this parable was for.
     Luke 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 neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a
recompence be made thee."
     This is a lesson these self-righteous men did not want to hear. They are very selfish. Like many people of our day,
they invited people to a dinner party at their home, expecting to be invited to the next dinner party the other person had.
He is saying don't give dinners to prove your importance to your rich neighbors, relatives, and friends.
     Luke 14:13 "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:" 
     Luke 14:14 "And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at
the resurrection of the just."
     Jesus, in a way, is saying again lay up treasures in heaven.  Jesus explains, if you feed those who cannot feed you in
return, you will be rewarded of God in heaven. You will not only be in the first resurrection, but will be rewarded of
God. Remember, Jesus said, "In as much as ye done it to the least of these, you have done it also unto me".
     Luke 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."
     One of the men sitting at the table got the message and received it into himself. Perhaps this whole thing was set up
for this one man to receive the Lord. He had been there when the man with dropsy was healed. This no doubt got his
attention because the physicians and all these learned men in the law had not been able to help the poor sick man and
Jesus had healed him. He had heard Jesus use a parable to make these self-centered Pharisees realize  that it wasn't the
thing to do to try to get the best seats at the banquet. I believe he was touched by the boldness, the sincerity, and the
power of the great teacher. Perhaps, his eyes were opening, and he was looking at Jesus for the very first time as the
Messiah. The man at the table is speaking to Jesus. He has realized that the best thing a person can receive is the
kingdom of God.
     Luke 14:16 "Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:"
     Luke 14:17 "And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are
now ready."
     Jesus is spending extra time with this man, because He sees he has potential. This is really a parable about being
called to God, but Jesus is using the occasion to prove a point about how shallow most of these people at this dinner
really are.
     Luke 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."
     This is a little bit like the silly excuses people give for not going to church. Not one of these excuses given are
something that should keep a person from church or from this make-believe dinner party of the parable here. What does
buying a piece of ground have to do with not being able to go to a dinner party?
     Luke 14:19 "And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me
excused." 
     Luke 14:20 "And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come."
     This is so much like people of today. Everything comes ahead of God. Just any little old excuse they think will get
them excused. II Timothy 3:4 explains this perfectly. The last part of verse 4 says "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of
God".
     Luke 14:21 "So that servant came, and shewed 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."
     Jesus is telling this man that the Hebrews were invited into the kingdom first. When they refused the gift of salvation
through Jesus Christ, then God threw the doors open to everyone else.
     Luke 14:22 "And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room."
     Jesus is correcting the opinion that heaven is a small place, just big enough for the Hebrews, or as some people
believe today, just big enough for 144,000 people. Heaven is a vast place big enough for every person who ever lived,
but some who are invited refuse the invitation.
     Luke 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."
     This going out to the highways and hedges in the physical means go beyond our family and friends and go to the
stranger. In the spiritual, this is speaking of going to those who are not the physical house of Israel. He is saying, if Israel
won't accept the invitation, then go to the heathen. We see here, the word "compel" which is just a little short of force.
He is saying bring them back without excuse for my house must be full. The Lord offered Christianity first to the
Hebrew; and when they rejected him, He offered it to the Gentile.
     Luke 14:24 "For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."
     God will not force himself on Israel. Since they have rejected Him, He turns to the Gentiles to fill the Father's house.
     Luke 14:25  "And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them," 
     Luke 14:26 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
     None of our family or even our own lives can be put ahead of Him. Our first love and obedience must be to God. We
cannot make gods of our family or of our selves.
     Luke 14:27 "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."
     Each of us have a cross to bear. Our cross will not fit anyone but us. Every Christian has a cross made just exactly for
the amount of growth we have. Today, we hear very little about suffering for Christ. Christianity is a way of life. Many
believers think that there are only pleasures following Jesus.  They have totally ignored Scriptures like the one above.
Pleasing the flesh is the opposite of what the Scriptures teach. Paul was told by Jesus that He would show him the great
things he would suffer for Jesus. In the book of Acts 9:16 "For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my
name's sake." In Matthew 16:24 "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me."
      Luke 14:28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost,
whether he have sufficient to finish it?"
     Luke 14:29 "Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin
to mock him,"
     Before we make a commitment to God we must first count the cost and make sure that we will be able to carry
through. It is really best not to have come to God at all, than to start with the Lord and decide it is too rough and turn
around and go the other way. The world is looking. If we fail, it doesn't just ruin us, but may even cause someone else
not to come to God.
     Luke 14:30 "Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
     You see, our weakness effects others, especially if you are the one who led them to the Lord. If we compromise, they
compromise. If we decide following Jesus is too hard and we turn our back, then they will perhaps say if we can't make
it, I know I can't; and they fall, too.
     Luke 14:31 "Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth
whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?"
     The Christian walk is a continuous battle. The flesh is warring against the spirit. The way of the world is flesh. Some
times the spirit has only us to battle all our family and friends. The flesh call is great, as Eve found out in the garden of
Eden. The battle is to the death. Either the flesh overwhelms the spirit or the spirit overwhelms the flesh. Everlasting life
is the prize of the victor if the spirit wins. Death and hell awaits if the flesh wins.
     Luke 14:32 "Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions
of peace."
     This is compromise. God will not allow compromise. This is the very happening in our churches today. The world's
music and dance are coming into the church. Compromise means defeat for the spirit and leads to death and hell.
     Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple."
     Here is Jesus' own words that those who follow Jesus must give up the things of the flesh and live in the spirit. They
must forsake all for Jesus.
     Luke 14:34  "Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?"
     Luke 14:35 "It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to
hear, let him hear."
     Unless the salt does the job it was intended to do, it is of no use to anyone and is cast out. If we Christians do not do
the job that we have been called to do, we are of no use to God; and we will be cast out. What is your job?  To do the
will of the Father.