Luke 14:7 - 11
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Why were they choosing the places of honor?
2. Should one choose the lowest place expecting to be raised?
3. When will those be humbled (or exalted)? What does it mean?
https://hartmangroupdevotionsmark.blogspot.com/2018/11/mark-1238-43-38-as-he-taught-jesus-said.html says:
ReplyDeleteConsider these six flags that our theology might be leading us away from him.
1. Self-Righteousness
The scribes were blind to their sin, and saw themselves as superior to other sinners.
2. Hypocrisy
The scribes worked hard to appear a certain way, being quick to judge and condemn others, while secretly protecting pet-sins in their own hearts.
3. Jealousy
The scribes could not stand to watch Jesus rise in power and influence.
4. Dishonesty
The scribes traded away the truth to get what they really wanted.
5. Greed
The scribes were driven not by godly desires for more of God, but by greedy desires for power, notoriety, and money.
6. Pride
A developed theology is no guarantee of spiritual life or love for Jesus, but you cannot have either without theology.
Jesus had rebuked the other theologians in the room, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24).
That marriage of knowledge and love produced humility in pride’s place, joy where jealousy once lived, honesty instead of hypocrisy, and faith stronger than any promise lust or greed might make.
https://hartmangroupdevotionsmark.blogspot.com/2018/11/mark-1238-43-38-as-he-taught-jesus-said.html continued:
ReplyDeleteMy 2 cents: Questions and findings:
1. How did the teachers of the law get this way? How do leaders avoid this?
When we see the scribes here, we see them at the end of the road they walked down. The truth is that most of us are on this same road. This happens in churches and our lives as soon as we stop emphasizing the glorification of God and start adding the glorification of what we are doing. When the church becomes the thing we do, we start to de-emphasize God. The beginning of the path starts with glorifying programs and ministries in the church and ends with becoming Pharisees / scribes. We start with good intentions. We want to glorify God through programs and volunteering (both of which are good things). But, we leave the conscious glorification of God out, and stop responding to God and what He has done for us. Small sins start creeping in, judgement starts happening, hiding and self-defense start occurring, and at this point, we are well on our way to becoming the scribes.
To prevent that, we need to stop doing all our stuff, focus on God, and then start responding to who God is and what He has done (and is doing) for us. When we become aware and our hearts swell with gratitude, we can start living as a response to Him. Doing this means that we will live in humiliation (as we consider Him), dependence, and honesty with Him and others. We will start to be looked down upon by the modern-day scribes and Pharisees and, like Jesus, we will naturally stop being impressive to others.
2. Should we give all we have to live on? Were the rich people doing anything wrong?
My opinion is that I agree with the perspective in a couple of the articles above. Jesus was not praising the widow so much as He was further condemning the system that would rob poor widows.
So, no, we should not give all we have to live on to an institution. We should definitely give all of what we are to God and be good stewards of what He has given us. That includes doing our part to support a local body and being generous in general. The rich people were not doing anything wrong, except if they were relishing the praise of the onlookers. It was a poor system because it brought worldly praise to those that could give more.
I believe the system that God designed is one that encourages us to give proportionally - to give back a portion as a thanks offering in recognition that God is the source of our life both in heaven and here.
My 2 cents: Clarification:
ReplyDeleteIn the above, I said that we need to stop doing what we are doing and start responding to who God is and what He has done. That's true. However, many of the things we have been doing we will continue to do with a different motivation.
For example, let's say we are volunteering in the church's child care. If we are doing it only out of obligation to the church, we should take pause, seek God and start living in response to Him. I think in most cases, our response to God is to continue volunteering in the church's child care - but now we will be seeking the glorification of God by making God known to kids.
Making God known is a main way on how to glorify God. Losing that perspective and purpose makes all of our actions in the name of God useless, and in many cases, makes us represent God as the scribes did. The Pharisees were all about fulfilling obligations to God. If we are about fulfilling obligations to God, we become like them and lose our way. Worse, we lead others to lose their way too.
Every action coming from us should result in the glorification of God. But, this has to be a conscience state we are in, or it doesn't work. We can't just do good works with the result of God being glorified. That's what the Pharisees tried to do. We need to glorify God with the result that good works happen that glorify God. That was the mistake of the Pharisees - they put the cart before the horse and it led them to the path of hell. Do we recognize it in ourselves?
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/14-8.htm says:
ReplyDeleteA more honourable man - A more aged man, or a man of higher rank. It is to be remarked that our Saviour did not consider the courtesies of life to be beneath his notice. His chief design here was, no doubt, to reprove the pride and ambition of the Pharisees; but, in doing it, he teaches us that religion does not violate the courtesies of life. It does not teach us to be rude, forward, pert, assuming, and despising the proprieties of refined social contact.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/14-11.htm says:
ReplyDeleteWhosoever exalteth ... - This is universal among people, and it is also the way in which God will deal with people. "Men" will perpetually endeavor to bring down those who endeavor to exalt themselves; and it is a part of God's regular plan to abase the proud, to bring down the lofty, to raise up those that be bowed down, and show "his" favors to those who are poor and needy.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-14-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteWiersbe - Experts in management tell us that most people wear an invisible sign that reads, “Please make me feel important”; if we heed that sign, we can succeed in human relations. On the other hand, if we say or do things that make others feel insignificant, we will fail. Then people will respond by becoming angry and resentful, because everybody wants to be noticed and made to feel important. In Jesus’ day, as today, there were “status symbols” that helped people enhance and protect their high standing in society. If you were invited to the “right homes” and if you were seated in the “right places,” then people would know how important you really were. The emphasis was on reputation, not character. It was more important to sit in the right places than to live the right kind of life.
The Talmud formulates it in this manner: That the worthiest lies down first, on his left side, with his feet stretching back. If there are two ‘cushions’ (divans), the next worthiest reclines above him, at his left hand; if there are three cushions, the third worthiest lies below him who had lain down first (at his right), so that the chief person is in the middle (between the worthiest guest at his left and the less worthy one at his right hand). The water before eating is first handed to the worthiest, and so in regard to the washing after meat. But if a very large number are present, you begin after dinner with the least worthy, till you come to the last five, when the worthiest in the company washes his hands, and the other four after him. The guests being thus arranged, the head of the house, or the chief person at table, speaks the blessing, and then cuts the bread. By some it was not deemed etiquette to begin eating till after he who had said the prayer had done so, but this does not seem to have been the rule among the Palestinian Jews. Then, generally, the bread was dipped into salt, or something salted, etiquette demanding that where there were two they should wait one for the other, but not where there were three or more.
Mattoon - When We Exalt Ourselves....
1. A Problem with Pride is Demonstrated
2. A Passion for Prestige is Displayed
3. We are Pre-occupied and Neglect the Needs of Others
We are focused on selfish needs.
4. We Puff Up the Estimation of Ourselves
5. We get Pigheaded and Principles of Wisdom are Rejected
6. We Put Off or Turn Off other People
Our arrogance repulses people and makes them sick. If you are not careful, you make yourself a target to be destroyed.
7. We Produce Hindrances to Being Used of God
8. We Position Ourselves for Demotion or Embarrassment
Our arrogance leads to a fall and shame. Solomon warned about this.
Proverbs 25:6-7... Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: [7] For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
9. Our Peace is Rare as we Struggle or Compete with Others
We are in constant "struggle or competition" mode with other people, always trying to get our own way.
10. Proper Actions are Neglected
In our quest to exalt ourselves, we tend to be rude, unreasonable, rebellious, and resistant toward the counsel of others.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-14-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteMacArthur - Jesus was not merely advising the Pharisees on the proper etiquette for being a successful hypocrite. In reality, His words were designed to picture those who, in a display of spiritual pride and self-righteous arrogance, clamor for the chief places in the kingdom of God (cf. Mark 10:35–40), only to be sent by God, the host of heaven’s banquet, to the remotest place in His domain. One such status seeker was the Pharisee in a “parable [Jesus told] to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). He considered himself superior to the despised tax collector, haughtily declaring, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get” (Lk 18:11–12). But in just such a reversal of positions as Jesus spoke of, the humble, repentant tax collector, not the proud Pharisee, entered the kingdom of salvation (Lk 18:14).
But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place - Now to a scheming mind this might sound like Jesus is telling the guests to seek out the lowest seats with a hidden agenda. In other words, Jesus is not promoting a selfish conniving scheme as to how one could end up in the first seat by first choosing the worst seat. For a man to do that, he would still be operating out of pride, which is the very thing Jesus is confronting! Rather, the point is, “Every one before God ought to feel that the lowest place is the proper place for him”
Wiersbe - When Jesus advised the guests to take the lowest places, He was not giving them a “gimmick” that guaranteed promotion. The false humility that takes the lowest place is just as hateful to God as the pride that takes the highest place. God is not impressed by our status in society or in the church. He is not influenced by what people say or think about us, because He sees the thoughts and motives of the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). God still humbles the proud and exalts the humble (James 4:6).
It has well been said that humility is not thinking meanly of ourselves. It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all. Jesus is the greatest example of humility, and we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to imitate His example.
Biblical humility is a recognition that apart from Christ, I can do nothing (John 15:5), and so I do not trust in myself, but in the Lord. Biblical humility is always accompanied by a growing awareness of the depths of my own sinfulness, along with a growing appreciation for the abundant grace of God shown to me in Christ.
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. Why were they choosing the places of honor?
It was partially cultural, partially something we all do. They were very aware of a pecking order among people, i.e. how much honor they had. It was quite a game trying to pick the appropriate seat for yourself at a dinner. And, why wouldn't we try to increase our honor a little by picking a little better seat?
2. Should one choose the lowest place expecting to be raised?
I think there's a fundamental misunderstanding as to what Jesus is saying. I think on one hand, Jesus is making fun of them. For us who belong to His kingdom, we need to understand something first: Honor (and leadership) works backwards in His kingdom. The truly great (like Jesus) belong at the back of the line, as the least honorable. We keep looking at this through the world's lens and get this mixed up all the time.
We don't choose the lowest seat hoping to be raised to a higher seat. We choose the lowest seat because we belong there (which is also where Jesus chooses to sit). The more we are aware of our "last-ness", the more Jesus can use us in His ministry.
3. When will those be humbled (or exalted)? What does it mean?
(Continuing from the last question) We need to understand what being humbled and exalted mean. It means the opposite of what the world thinks. We need to keep this in mind before we can understand passages such as this.
When God humbles us, it's His merciful judgement. It's only when we are in a humble state that we can be with Him. When we are in an "exalted" state (that is, receiving worldly honor), God needs to humble us to bring us back in line, so that we can be of use to Him. What it means to be exalted is to be used by God. God needs to bring us to a humble state before He can exalt us.
On a side note, I would suggest that this humbling and exalting is a natural cycle for us. God humbles us; we submit to Him; God exalts us by using us; our worldly brains see the results of the working of God and we become exalted in our own mind; God humbles us; rinse and repeat. Perhaps we wouldn't get so exalted in our own minds if we properly feared God and His correction. But, I think this is beyond our ability.