Luke 14

Luke 14:1

N. Healing of a Man with Dropsy (14:1-6) 14:1-3 One Sabbath day, a ruler of the Pharisees invited the Lord to his house for a meal. It was not a sincere gesture of hospitality, but rather an attempt on the part of the religious leaders to find fault with the Son of God. Jesus saw a certain man there who was afflicted with dropsy, that is, swelling caused by the accumulation of water in the tissues. The Savior read the minds of His critics by asking them pointedly whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. 14:4-6 Much as they would like to have said that it was not, they could not support their answer, and so they kept silent. Jesus therefore healed the man and let him go. To Him it was a work of mercy, and divine love never ceases its activities, even on the Sabbath (Joh_5:17). Then turning to the Jews, He reminded them that if one of their animals fell into a pit, they would certainly pull him out on the Sabbath day. It was in their own interests to do so. The animal was worth money to them. In the case of a suffering fellow man, they didn’t care, and they would have condemned the Lord Jesus for helping him. Although they could not answer the reasoning of the Savior, we can be sure that they were all the more incensed at Him.

Luke 14:7

O. Parable of the Ambitious Guest (14:7-11) As the Lord Jesus entered the Pharisee’s house, He perhaps had seen the guests maneuvering for the best places around the table. They sought the positions of eminence and honor. The fact that He too was a guest did not prevent Him from speaking out in frankness and righteousness. He warned them against this form of self-seeking. When they were invited to a meal, they should take the lower place rather than the higher. When we seek a high place for ourselves, there is always the possible shame of being demoted.

If we are truly humble before God, there is only one direction we can possibly move and that is up. Jesus taught that it is better to be advanced to a place of honor than to grasp that place and later have to relinquish it. He Himself is the living example of self-renunciation (Phi_2:5-8). He humbled Himself and God exalted Him. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled by God.

Luke 14:12

P. The Guest List God Honors (14:12-14) The ruler of the Pharisees had undoubtedly invited the local celebrities to this meal. Jesus perceived this at once. He saw that the underprivileged people in the community were not included. He therefore took occasion to enunciate one of the great principles of Christianitythat we should love those who are unlovely, and who cannot repay us. The usual way for people to act is to invite their friends, relatives, and rich neighbors, always with the hope of being repaid in kind. It does not require divine life to act in this way.

But it is positively supernatural to show kindness to the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. God reserves a special reward for those who show charity to these classes. Although such guests cannot repay us, yet God Himself promises to reward at the resurrection of the just. This is also known in the Scripture as the first resurrection, and includes the resurrection of all true believers. It takes place at the Rapture, and also, we believe, at the end of the Tribulation Period. That is, the first resurrection is not one single event, but takes place in stages.

Luke 14:15

Q. Parable of the Excuses (14:15-24) 14:15-18 One of the guests who reclined with Jesus at the meal remarked how wonderful it would be to participate in the blessings of the kingdom of God. Perhaps he was impressed by the principles of conduct which the Lord Jesus had just taught. Or perhaps it was just a general remark which he made without too much thought. At any rate, the Lord replied that wonderful as it may be to eat bread in the kingdom of God, the sad fact is that many of those who are invited make all kinds of foolish excuses for their failure to accept. He pictured God as a certain man who gave a great supper and invited many guests. When the meal was ready, he asked his servant to notify the invited guests that everything was now ready.

This reminds us of the great fact that the Lord Jesus finished the work of redemption on Calvary, and the gospel invitation goes out on the basis of that completed work. One person who had been invited excused himself because he had bought a field and he wanted to go and see it. Normally he should have gone and seen it before purchasing it. But even then, he was putting the love of material things ahead of the gracious invitation. 14:19, 20 The next one had bought five yoke of oxen, and was going to test them. He pictures those who put jobs, occupations, or business ahead of the call of God. The third one said he had married a wife, and therefore could not come. Family ties and social relationships often hinder men from accepting the gospel invitation. 14:21-23 When that servant notified his master that the invitation was being rejected right and left, the master sent him out to the city to invite the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind. Both nature and grace abhor a vacuum, said Bengel. Perhaps the first ones invited picture the leaders of the Jewish people. When they rejected the gospel, God sent it out to the common people of the city of Jerusalem. Many of these responded to the call, but still there was room in the master’s house. And so the lord said to the servant to go out into the highways and by-ways, and compel people to come in.

This doubtless pictures the gospel going out to the Gentile people. They were not to be compelled by force of arms (as has been done in the history of Christendom), but rather by force of argument. Loving persuasion was to be used in an effort to bring them in so that the master’s house might be filled. 14:24 Thus the original guest list was no longer useful when the meal was held, because those who were originally invited did not come.

Luke 14:25

R. The Cost of True Discipleship (14:25-35) 14:25 Now great multitudes followed the Lord Jesus. Most leaders would be elated by such widespread interest. But the Lord was not looking for people who would follow Him out of curiosity, with no real heart interest. He was looking for those who were willing to live devotedly and passionately for Him, and even die for Him if necessary. And so He now began to sift the crowd by presenting to them the stringent terms of discipleship. At times the Lord Jesus wooed men to Himself, but after they began to follow Him, He winnowed them. That is what is taking place here. 14:26 First of all He told those who followed Him that in order to be true disciples, they must love Him supremely. He did not ever suggest that men should have bitter hatred in their hearts toward father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters. Rather He was emphasizing that love for Christ must be so great that all other loves are hatred by comparison (cf. Mat_10:37). No consideration of family ties must ever be allowed to deflect a disciple from a pathway of full obedience to the Lord. Actually, the most difficult part of this first term of discipleship is found in the words and his own life also. It is not only that we must love our relatives less; we must hate our own lives also! Instead of living self-centered lives, we must live Christ-centered lives. Instead of asking how every action will affect ourselves, we must be careful to assess how it will affect Christ and His glory. Considerations of personal comfort and safety must be subordinated to the great task of glorifying Christ and making Him known. The Savior’s words are absolute. He said that if we did not love Him supremely, more than our family and more than our own lives, we could not be His disciples. There is no half-way measure. 14:27 Secondly, He taught that a true disciple must bear his own cross and follow Him. The cross is not some physical infirmity or mental anguish, but is a pathway of reproach, suffering, loneliness, and even death which a person voluntarily chooses for Christ’s sake. Not all believers bear the cross. It is possible to avoid it by living a nominal Christian life. But if we determine to be all out for Christ, we will experience the same kind of satanic opposition which the Son of God knew when He was here on earth. This is the cross. The disciple must come after Christ. This means that he must live the type of life which Christ lived when He was here on eartha life of self-renunciation, humiliation, persecution, reproach, temptation, and contradiction of sinners against Himself. 14:28-30 Then the Lord Jesus used two illustrations to emphasize the necessity of counting the cost before setting out to follow Him. He likened the Christian life to a building project and then to warfare. A man intending to build a tower sits down first and counts the cost. If he doesn’t have enough to finish it, he doesn’t proceed. Otherwise when the foundation is laid, and the work must stop, the onlookers begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. So it is with disciples.

They should first count the cost, whether they really mean to abandon their lives wholeheartedly to Christ. Otherwise they might start off in a blaze of glory, and then fizzle out. If so, the onlookers will mock them for beginning well and ending ingloriously. The world has nothing but contempt for half-hearted Christians. 14:31, 32 A king going to make war against forces that are numerically superior must consider carefully whether his smaller forces have the capacity to defeat the enemy. He realizes full well that it is either absolute committal or abject surrender. And so it is in the life of Christian discipleship. There can be no halfway measures. 14:33 Verse 33 is probably one of the most unpopular verses in the entire Bible. It explicitly states that Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. There is no evading the meaning of the words. They do not say that a person must be willing to forsake all. Rather they say that he must forsake all. We must give the Lord Jesus credit for knowing what He was saying. He realized that the job would never be done in any other way. He wants men and women who esteem Him more than everything else in the world. Ryle observes: The man who does well for himself is the man who gives up everything for Christ’s sake. He makes the best of bargains; he carries the cross for a few years in this world, and in the world to come has everlasting life. He obtains the best of possessions; he carries his riches with him beyond the grave. He is rich in grace here, and he is rich in glory hereafter. And, best of all, what he obtains by faith in Christ he never loses. It is that good part which is never taken away.14:34, 35 Salt is a picture of a disciple.

There is something wholesome and commendable about a person who is living devotedly and sacrificially for the Lord. But then we read of salt that has lost its flavor. Modern table salt cannot lose its savor because it is pure salt. But in Bible lands, the salt was often mixed with various forms of impurity. Therefore it was possible for salt to be wasted away and for a residue to remain in the container. But this residue was worthless.

It could not even be used for fertilizing the land. It had to be discarded. The picture is of a disciple who starts off brilliantly, and then goes back on his vows. The disciple has one basic reason for existence; if he fails to fulfill that reason, then he is a pitiable object. We read concerning the salt that men throw it out. It does not say that God casts it out; that could never happen. But men throw it out, that is, they trample underfoot the testimony of one who began to build and was not able to finish. Kelly notes: There is shown the danger of what begins well turning out ill. What is there in the world so useless as salt when it has lost the one property for which it is valued? It is worse than useless for any other purpose. So with the disciple who ceases to be Christ’s disciple. He is not suited for the world’s purposes, and he has forsaken God’s. He has too much light or knowledge for entering into the vanities and sins of the world, and he has no enjoyment of grace and truth to keep him in the path of Christ. … Savourless salt becomes an object of contempt and judgment. The Lord Jesus closed the message on discipleship with the words He who has ears to hear, let him hear! These words imply that not everyone will have the willingness to listen to the stringent terms of discipleship. But if a person is willing to follow the Lord Jesus, no matter what the cost may be, then he should hear and follow. John Calvin once said, I gave up all for Christ, and what have I found? I have found everything in Christ. Henry Drummond commented, The entrance fee into the kingdom of heaven is nothing: the annual subscription is everything.