He Makes a Dinner Party Awkward

Seventeenth after Trinity

September 27, 2015

Gospel: Luke 14:1-11 (KJV)

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.

2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.

3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?

4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;

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?

6 And they could not answer him again to these things.

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.

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;

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.

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.

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

* Verse 5. The original probably has “son” not “ass.” ESV: “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” Sometimes these words may be interchangeable.

There’s that guest who makes Thanksgiving dinner awkward. The lone Republican who tells all the Democrats that Obama is the worst President ever. The lone theological liberal who tells all the believers that Jesus never claimed to be God’s Son.

You wonder, “Why did I ever invite him?” The Pharisee who invited Jesus to Sabbath dinner may have asked himself that question.

The Gospel puts before us two stories - one, an event of  Sabbath healing by Jesus, the other, a parable about a wedding banquet.

1. Sabbath Healing

1.1 Sabbath Dinner. Some families still have the custom of Sunday dinner, when they have a special meal and sometimes invite guests. The Jews had a similar custom on their Sabbath. Jesus was a guest a one of these dinners.

The host was a chief or ruler among the Pharisees, perhaps a member of the Sanhedrin that governed Jewish affairs though under the oversight of the occupying Roman government. He was an important man in his community and probably wealthy. It was an honor to get an invitation to dinner to his home.

The Pharisees and ecclesiastical lawyers watched Jesus closely.  Sometimes you keep a close eye on someone because you devoted. You may remember the way Nancy watched Ronald Reagan when he spoke. But sometimes you keep an eye on a person because you are suspicious as a store detective watches someone suspected of shoplifting. The other guests at the dinner were not devoted to Jesus. They listened carefully to his words and watched carefully what he did, because they suspected him of not following Moses and the Law.

1.2. Sabbath Issue. A man with dropsy was at this dinner. Dropsy is  edema, or an accumulation of fluid is soft tissues, especially in the legs, as happens with heart failure.  The Pharisees and lawyers may have brought him there just to see what Jesus would do. Jesus put them on the spot by asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?”

The issue was the fourth commandment: “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all the work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” The Pharisees were very concerned about the Sabbath, and on a number of occasions they had conflicts with Jesus about sabbath keeping.

Jesus did not reject the fourth commandment. Jesus rested on the sabbath and went to synagogue. But the rabbis had many traditions about keeping the sabbath. One of the rules was that medical attention could be given only if the condition were life-threatening. Other conditions could wait a day.

The Pharisees and lawyers did not answer Jesus’ question. They had lost enough arguments with Jesus to be wary about how they responded. When they did not answer, Jesus took the man and healed him. The swelling went away as did its cause. The man was well, and Jesus sent him away.

This was the third time in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus faced controversy about healing on the sabbath. He healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue on the sabbath, and the scribes and Pharisees “were filled with fury and discussed what they might do to Jesus” (6:6-10). On another sabbath a woman was bent over and could not straighten up because of demon oppression and Jesus set her free. The ruler of the synagogue became indignant and said, “There are six days when work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed” (Luke 13:10-17).

1.3. Sabbath Question. Though they did not react on this occasion, Jesus knew how they felt and so asked another question. The King James text says, “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?” The modern translations, which are based on older manuscripts, say “a son or an ox.” Those of us with sons know the words “son” and “ass” canbe interchangeable, but here Jesus is asking a son and an ox. “If your son fell in a pit, what would you do? If you believed his life was not in danger, would you leave him there till the next day?” Of course, the answer is “no.” Jesus then asks, “Well, what about your ox?” Would you leave him there till the next day?” No, it’s not just a son they would deliver. Anyone who owns an ox is going to take a chance on losing his ox by leaving him stuck in a pit.

So the question is, “If you would get a son or an ox out of a pit on the sabbath, why would you object to a man with dropsy getting healed on the sabbath?” The real issue is mercy.

The Pharisees and lawyers don’t understand God who is merciful. They don’t understand that God gave man the sabbath in mercy for his physical and spiritual welfare - to keep him from being a slave to work and to give him a day for worship.. God the Father has sent his Son into the world on a mission of mercy to deliver us sinners from bondage to sin and all the miseries sin causes. The rabbis with their rules worked against the real purpose of the sabbath. As Jesus said on other occasions, the Pharisees and lawyers needed to learn what God meant when he said, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”

We as believers are called to show mercy because we have received mercy. We must guard against the harsh, legalistic, self-righteous, unmerciful spirit of the Pharisees.

2. Wedding Feast

2.1. Chief Places. Jesus had watched as people came into the Pharisee’s home for the sabbath dinner and found places to sit. He noticed that they chose the “chief rooms” or most important places to sit.  

There are protocols for formal occasions. If you have a formal meal in your home, the host sits at the head of the table, and if  you have a special guest, that person sits on the right of the host. It’s the place of honor.

The Pharisees and lawyers were very concerned about honor, respect, and recognition and very sensitive to slights. So, when they came into their host’s home, they took the most important place available. It was probably like watching a game of musical chairs, as each tried to secure the best places, or since, people ate reclining, the more important couches.

2.2. So Jesus told them a story. He said, “If you get an invitation to a wedding feast, don’t take a place of honor. Somebody more important than you may come in after you. Then the host may have to come to you, and ask you to vacate your place and give it up to the person who ranks higher than you.

Have you ever gone to a ball game or concert, seen an empty seat that is better than yours, and sat down, hoping that the person who bought the seat will not come? You think you’re safe, when an usher taps you on the shoulder, tells you you are in someone else’s seat, so you’ll have to move. So you have to get up and red-faced parade past a bunch of other patrons to your lowly seat.

Jesus warns the other guests this could happen to them at a wedding feast. So a better strategy is to  take the lowest place. Then, when the host notices where you are sitting, he may come to you and say, “Friend, move up.” The worst that can happen is that you won’t be embarrassed by being asked to move down. But you may find that you will be honored among the guests when they see the host move you to a more important place.

Is this just a piece of social strategy that Jesus dispenses about how to avoid the possibility of embarrassment and increase the likelihood of honor? No. Jesus makes clear the point of his story: “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Jesus exposes their pride for the ugly thing it is, and points them and us to the way of true honor. The way to honor is by humility.

Jesus’ own disciples, James and John, asked him that, they might sit on his right and left in his glory. When the other disciples heard what they asked, the got angry because James and John were trying to get the best seats in the kingdom. But Jesus said,

You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Our humility is grounded in Christ. The eternal Son humbled  himself, became one of us, made himself a servant, and obeyed the Father unto death. For Christ the path to glory was humility, suffering, and death.

Humility is not a strategy. It is the response of us sinners who are redeemed from sin and misery by Christ. Our identity is not based not on what others think of us but on who we are in Christ. We know we are secure in Christ and destined for eternal glory.

Those filled with pride are like the Pharisees, concerned for recognition and hardened toward others suffering the misery of fellow sinners. Those who humble themselves and take their place before God as sinners redeemed by Christ’s merits not their own merits, will be merciful and show mercy. Pride and mercy are incompatible. Humility and mercy are perfect partners.

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:5,6).