Table Manners Series Lessons in Kingdom Etiquette Take Your Seat Luke

Table Manners Series Lessons in Kingdom Etiquette Take Your Seat Luke 14.1-11 Introduction: Currently we are in a four part series of sermons entitled Table Manners Lessons in Kingdom Etiquette. With Thanksgiving fast approaching we are looking at four episodes in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus instructs us about the Table Manners at the Master s table. This morning we come to Luke chapter 14 where once again Jesus is invited by one the leaders of the Pharisees to enjoy a Sabbath Day lunch. Hopefully, you are starting to recognize that Jesus liked to eat. As one theologian said, "Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal." (Robert J. Karris) While this is true, I believe that it might be more accurate to say that Jesus liked to socialize while eating. I don t think Jesus would have been a fan of fast foods or the grab and go meals we eat today. From eating with tax collectors and sinners to miraculously feeding the 5000, Jesus used meals as a platform for ministry. And from what we have seen the last couple of weeks Jesus used dinner parties to show that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Mt.4.4) It will take us two weeks to get through the lessons that Jesus will give at this Sabbath Day luncheon recorded in Luke chapter 14. So, let s begin by focusing in on the first eleven verses. Here now the Word of God: It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not? But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? And they could make no reply to this. And 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, 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, and 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. But 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. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 1

Pharisees Jesus was once again invite to lunch by one of the leaders of the Pharisees. As I have mentioned before, the Pharisees were the largest religious sect of Judaism at the time of Christ. They rose to power about 100 years before the birth of Christ and claimed dominance in every area of Jewish culture. (religious, social, and political) The Pharisees were known as the separated ones. You could summarize their theology as an elaborate system of rules and regulations by which righteousness could be earned through obedience. Simply put, Pharisaical theology was an external rule-keeping righteousness. The Pharisees were also known for their pretentious pride and by the time of Christ, the Pharisees had developed a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness. Jesus was very critical of the Pharisaical system of righteousness and contemned it throughout His ministry. Therefore, the Pharisees were persistent in seeking to destroy Jesus influence among the people. This episode in Luke 14 occurs at a Sabbath Day luncheon. By the time of Christ, Sabbath banqueting had become quite customary among the Jews. Some of these luncheons were extravagant events of excess and those who were invited would be considered as prestigious and powerful. As you read Luke chapter 14 you get the sense that this Sabbath lunch was one of those elaborate occasions. But the Pharisee s invitation was once again an attempt by the Pharisee Party to trap Jesus in some act that would cause people to look down on Him. It seems that they had put some planning into this event by purposely placing a certain man with dropsy in Jesus path as He entered into the Pharisee s house. Dropsy, or Edema, is the abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin and in the cavities of the body, which can cause severe pain. Swelling from dropsy often occurs in the lower legs and feet causing the victim to become unable to walk. Our text seems to imply that this might have been the case with this man at the entrance of the Pharisee s house. It seems like this man was strategically positioned in front of the Pharisee s home making it impossible for Jesus to miss an encounter with the man as He entered. And the text tells us that all the Pharisees who were invited to the luncheon were watching Jesus closely to see how He would react. (Lk.14.1) Jesus discerned that something was up so He asked the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not? Jesus was not asking the lawyers and Pharisees for permission but rather He was using their trap to trap the Pharisees. Jesus uses this Sabbath Day luncheon and this encounter with this man with dropsy as the climax of the Sabbath Day controversy that existed throughout His ministry. What seems on the surface to be just another miraculous healing is really far more. Please give me a few minutes to explain. I think you will be blessed. 2

Sabbath Day Controversy Jesus performed seven Sabbath Day miracles throughout His ministry. (Mk.1.21-28, 29-31; Jn.5.1-18; Mk.3.1-6; Jn.9.1-16; Lk.13.10-17; Lk.14.1-6 listed in chronological order) It is interesting that there were seven Sabbath Day miracles because the Sabbath was on the seventh day and the Bible denotes the number seven as the number for perfection and completeness. Jesus used these Sabbath Day miracles as a means to proclaim His perfection as the Holy Son of God. Let me explain how. As I mentioned last week, the Pharisees accepted the Old Testament as inspired by God and embraced the Ten Commandments as the core of God s law. And of course you realize that the Forth Commandment states, You shall remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. (Ex.20.8, 9-11) But actually how does a person keep the Sabbath Day holy, a Pharisee would ask? Well, that s where the oral traditions that I told you about last week would come into play. The oral traditions were handed down from the Pharisee s forefathers. Remember that these traditions were manmade rules and regulations giving detailed instructions concerning things such as Sabbath day observance, religious cleanliness, diet, and the payment of tithes. These oral traditions contained minute details concerning hundreds of ceremonial observances and very rule was to be obeyed as if salvation depended on it. The oral tradition insisted that a true Jew must be a strict Sabbath keeper. For example a person was only to lift food equal in weight to a dried fig, enough wine for mixing in a goblet, milk enough for one swallow, honey enough to put upon a wound, oil enough to anoint a child, water enough to moisten an eye-salve, paper the size of a post-it, ink enough to write two letters of the alphabet, a reed enough to make a pen, and so on, and so on, endlessly. And if a person went beyond these regulations it would be considered as working on the Sabbath Day and breaking the Fourth Commandment. The Pharisee s lawyers would spent endless hours arguing whether a man on the Sabbath could or could not lift a lamp from one place in his house to another, whether a tailor committed a sin if he went out with a needle in his robe, whether a woman might pin a brooch on her robe, or if a father could lift his child on the Sabbath Day. (adapted from Bible.org #16:The Sabbath Day Controversy) So, Jesus comes on the scene performing miracles on the Sabbath Day. Where as it might be difficult for you to understand it, the Pharisees considered these miracles as work and a defilement of the Sabbath. When you read through Jesus life and ministry you will discover that at the outset Jesus Sabbath Day miracles were not challenged. (Mk.1.21-28, 29-31) But as news got out about Jesus Sabbath Day activities the Pharisees decided to keep their eye on this Radical Rabbi. So, when Jesus healed the lame man by the pool of Bethesda commanding the man to, Arise, take up you pallet and walk, the Pharisees were infuriated. (Jn.5.1-16) Jesus is commanding people to work on the Sabbath! 3

The Pharisees mindset was there was six days in which this type of work should be done. (Lk.13.14) So You can do Your healings on any other day You want but NOT on the Sabbath! All of this arise take up your pallet, rise come forward, stretch out your hand, and go wash in the pool stuff has to end! So when the Pharisees confronted Jesus about commanding the man by the pool to arise take up your pallet insisting that Jesus was commanding someone to work on the Sabbath Jesus answered, My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working. (Jn.5.17) Now Jesus reply enraged the Pharisees all the more claiming that Jesus was not just breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (Jn.5.18) And that brings us to the main point in the Sabbath Day Controversy and Jesus asking Pharisee in our text if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not. (Lk.14.3) You see Jesus identity, as the Son of God was at the heart of the Sabbath Day Controversy. Jesus performed miracles on the Sabbath not because He was a radical Rabbi fighting back against the Pharisaic establishment but because He was the Lord of the Sabbath He was the Creator of the Sabbath He was the fulfillment of the Sabbath. (Mt.12.1-8) Jesus performed these Sabbath Day miracles to show that He was the perfection of God s redemption and the completeness of God s rest. (Ex.20.8-11) As He performed these Sabbath Day miracles He was saying to the crowd, Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mt.11.28) Jesus performed these miracles to the sick, poor, crippled, blind, and lame desiring that we all would enter into His rest and redemption. (Lk.14.21-22). Jesus performed these Sabbath Day miracles to the weak to demonstrate that we all are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked desiring that we all would enter into the Sabbath rest that God has given to His people through Christ. (Rev.3.17; Heb.4.1-10) So this morning we come to Luke chapter 14 and the seventh Sabbath Day miracle. Remember, seven is perfection. And as Jesus is confronted with this man with dropsy at the entrance of the Pharisee s home He confronts the Pharisees with the main question, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not? (Lk.14.3) If they respond yes then they go against the traditions of their forefathers. If they say yes then people might think that they believe that Jesus was the Lord of the Sabbath that Jesus was equal with God. If they say no then people might perceive them as uncompassionate and uncaring and their reputation was far more valuable for that to happen. So, they kept silent. (Lk.14.4a) And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? And they could make no reply to this. (Lk.14.4b-6) 4

Which one of you will have a son... fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? Of course you would! Why? Because he is your son! You value your son and you should pull him out. But this man has fallen into a well of illness and pain. A well that he cannot get himself out of and you don t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? This man might not be your son but he is someone s son. The problem with you Pharisees is that you don t think this man has value. You think you re better than this man. You think you are above this man. You Pharisees are a prideful bunch! Which one of you will have... an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? Of course you would! Why? Because it s your ox! You value your ox and you should pull it out. But this man has fallen into a well of disease and disability. A well that he cannot get himself out of and you don t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? This man belongs to someone. He has value to someone. The problem with you Pharisees is that you don t think this man has value. You think you re better than this man. You think you are above this man. You Pharisees are a prideful bunch! Jesus unmasked their pride by saying, Do you really think I'm breaking the Fourth Commandment by healing this man who's drowning in the fluid in his body? But if you had a son or an ox that was drowning in a well of water on the Sabbath Day, you would pull them out because you love your son and you value your ox. But you do not love this man or value his life. You are only concerned about yourselves. You are only concerned about being right in the eyes of others. You Pharisees are a prideful bunch. And they could make no reply to this. (Lk.14.6) Their silence had set the stage for Jesus to begin speaking a parable to all the invited guests. (Lk.14.7) At first you might think that the healing on the Sabbath Day and this parable are not connected but you would be wrong. Notice, the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely (Lk.14.1) but Jesus was also watching them. (Lk.14.7) Notice that Jesus concluded that the reason why they didn t care or show compassion for the man with dropsy is because they considered themselves superior to him and then Jesus tells them a parable about pride. Remember that Sabbath Day Controversy centered on Jesus identity as the Son of God and the parable of the wedding feast is parable that centers on the Jesus humility as the Son of God. So, in the stillness of their silence Jesus does not condemn them for their pretentious pride but rather calls them to embrace the gospel by telling them a parable. 5

And 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, 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, and 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. But 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. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Lk.14.7-11) The Parable A parable is a simple story that makes a point by using earthly examples. And here Jesus uses the example of being invited to a wedding feast (what we call the wedding reception ) and gives seating chart instructions. If you ve ever hosted a wedding reception you understand the stress that is associated with making the seating chart. Everyone is concerned about how close they will be to the Head Table and who will be seated at their table. No one wants to be in the back with the riffraff. Jesus noticed how everyone at the Pharisee s house was scrambling for the special seats. Of course, we know that Pharisees loved seats of honor but now we have a house full of Pharisees! This was a fight of the fittest. Typically the table would be in a U-shape with the Head Table in the middle at the end with long rows of tables down both sides. These side tables could continue for a long way depending on how many guests had been invited. The host would sit in the middle at the Head Table and then the important the guests would sit on his right and his left and then it would begin to flow all the way down to the least important people being all the way down at the end of the side tables. The nearer you were to the host, the more honor you had. And honor was a big thing for Pharisees. The Pharisees lived in an honor or shame culture so people were desperately desirous of being elevated in the eyes of others. And the fast pass to stardom was to sit either at or close to the Head Table. So as people were fanatically picking out the places of honor at the table Jesus tells an earthly example of Kingdom etiquette that was the exact opposite of the prideful worldview of the Pharisees. He gives them essentially what amounts to an indictment of their pride and an invitation to the Kingdom. Jesus is not trying to offer these guests some dining instructions for future functions. Jesus was not teaching the guests another approach so that they might get a better seat in the future. If this were Jesus motive for telling the parable then He would be behaving like the Pharisees by just changing the rules. He would be telling them to rush to get the last seat instead of the chief seats. And that would be ridiculous. 6

Jesus was teaching about being humble instead of being prideful. Jesus taught on humility because humility is at the heart of the gospel. These Pharisees had to understand and embrace Kingdom principles and not man-made rules. The Pharisees had developed a pride-centered culture cloaked in religious garb and their actions showed their heart. The problem is that a prideful of heart is contrary to the heart of God. Have you ever noticed how many times Jesus taught on humility? From the beginning of His teaching ministry with His first Beatitude Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. (Mt.5.3) To Jesus saying, Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. (Mt.20.27) To Jesus telling His disciple that the greatest among you shall be your servant. (Mt.23.11) Humility was a main point in Jesus teaching and conduct throughout His ministry. Why? Well, it wasn t because Jesus was some tie-die hippie saying, hey man just be humble. He wasn t some cowboy singing about being humble and kind. No, Jesus taught humility because humility is the heart and character of God. From the opening words of the Bible we are confronted with an Almighty God who comes down and hovers over the surface of the waters. We are presented with an Almighty God who forms man out of the dirt with His own hands and breathes into man the breathe of life with His own lips. We see an Almighty God who comes down and seeks for fallen humanity so that He might save them from their own ruin. So by the time we get through three short chapters in Genesis we already understand that our God, the God of creation, the One and Only God, humbles Himself, and comes down. The One who has every right and reason to perch Himself high, is the One who continually comes down. And of course the ultimate display of His character was seen in sending His Son to redeem us from the curse of our failure. Jesus is telling the Pharisees, who thought they had it right, that they were wrong. He gives them seating chart instructions and tells them to take the last seat. Take the last seat and see how gracious and kind the One at the Head Table really is. Stop your scrambling and seeking for significance and take your seat. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (IPt.5.6-7) For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Is.57.15) Conclusion: Pride is arguably the most deadly and evil of all sins because it s at the root of all other sins. Pride was Satan s sin, when he said, I will make myself like the Most High. (Is.14.14) Pride was the bait Satan used to tempt Eve, assuring her that if she ate of the forbidden fruit, she would be like God (Gen.3.1-6). 7

The boastful pride of life is seen in those who arrogantly assert that they know better than God and that they don t need God in their life. (IJn.2.16; Eph.2.12) And maybe that describes the way you have been living. But God has come down and has spoke to your heart today saying, Humble yourself, surrender your life to Christ. If God has come down to you today then you can pray with me in just a minute and make a clear confession to God. For the Christian, we would do well to remember the words of the great American pastor and theologian, Jonathan Edwards who said, We must view humility as one of the most essential things that characterizes true Christianity. Our perspective of humility is radically changed when we ponder and meditate on the greatest example of humility in history: Jesus Christ. By the very act of leaving heaven, coming to earth, and taking the form of man, Jesus demonstrated complete and perfect humility. Throughout his life on earth, Jesus demonstrated a spirit of profound humility, saying that He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mt.20.28) On His last night with the disciples, he took a towel and basin and washed their dirty feet (Jn.13.1 11), instructing them to follow his example of servanthood with one another (Jn.13.12 17). Christ is the humility of God embodied in bodily form, the radiance of the Father s glory and the exact representation of His nature; He is the earthly manifestation of Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in the garb of meekness and gentleness, to save us from our pride. (adapted from a quote of Andrew Murray, the South- African Dutch Reformed missionary) Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil.2.5-8) Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Phil.2.3-4) Christians must constantly seek the Spirit of God to enable us to battle pride and to grow in humility. Even Church leaders are admonished to watch over their hearts so that they don t become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. (ITim.3.6) And once you think you ve attained any measure of humility, you must be on guard against being proud of your humility! We definitely need to pray! 8