The Lowest Place
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Don’t allow the academics scare you
Radical Hospitality
Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.
And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.
And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.
Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”
And they could not answer Him regarding these things.
Jesus is in the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath.
But there was a man with dropsy. This is when you have fluid build up can it causes your legs and arms to swell. This man had abnormal swelling in his body.
Jesus healed the man right in front of the religious Pharisees inside of there own home.
Jesus asked the question is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?
The NIV/ NLT translates that verse “child” some manuscripts have “child” there : 5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”
Jesus says if your son fall into a well would you not rescue him?
The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?
“You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.
This kind of hospitality applies to enemies as well.
“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
Matthew 12:11–12 (NKJV)
Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
I love that at Toni Bristols wedding they had had the feet washing sermony. if you continue washing feet your marriage will last.
It is lawful to have radical hospitality on any day!
Jesus is an invited guest of a leader of the Pharisees, and you have experts of the law there. Jesus knew that performing this miracle would offend the people in the room. He knew the Pharisees well enough that he can flip there hypocrisy on there heads.
This is what radical hospitality looks like.
You do it not because it fits but because its Gods will for you to do it!
The Christian should offer his brethren simple and unpretentious hospitality.
Basil of Caesarea
unpretentious- Your not trying to impress others with your hospitality. You’re not trying to show up others.
Jesus had no one in that room to impress they where even upset about the form of hospitality he showed.
Who practices hospitality entertains God Himself.
Anonymous
Hospitality is threefold: for one’s family, this of necessity; for strangers, this of courtesy; for the poor, this is charity.
Thomas Fuller
See hospitality is Martha and Mary combined.
-Marys at the feet of Christ worshiping and Martha is serving you need both.
How do we receive hospitality?
Luke 14:7–11 (NKJV)
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:
“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;
and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.
But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus was very observant. He noticed how every one scrambled to find the best seating in the Pharisees house.
Looking around Jesus noticed how the guest picked the places of honor.
They picked the best places or first seats.
The first seats was reserved for those based on rank, reputation, and age.
The closer the guest where to the host the greater position of honor.
Its not that the other seats are dishonorable its just that this seat is the honorable seat.
See the other seats are always available but the honorable seat is up to the host to choose who can sit there.
Theres a different between humility and humiliation.
Humility is a choice. I make a choice to be humble.
Humiliation is imposed on you. Forced on you.
Humiliated is God humbling you.
Just because God humiliates you doesn’t mean that you have humility.
Humiliation happens because of the lack of humility.
This humiliation is a sense of shame resulting from exposure of one’s weaknesses or sins.
One can feel humiliated when they’ve been exposed.
When Adam and Eve they sinned against God, what happened nakedness and exposure.
You can’t fake Christianity, you can fake allot of things but not a walk with God.
You can fake it if you want to but you will get exposed.
When we receive hospitality we have the mind set of humility.
God has given us His Son and we receive Him with humility. We are not looking for the best seat we go to the lowly seat and let God call us up!
What ever station in life we have we receive it with humility and wait for the Host to call us up!
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.
Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;
Christ came so the low will be exalted and the proud will be brought low.
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
As a guest this is how you receive hospitality. In all humility.
Its the same way with God and the same way with the church.
In the Body of Christ when someone is serving you we receive that service with all humility.
If you refuse the body serving you essentially you say you don’t need grace. You’re to good for grace.
Also when we fail to allow others to serve us we fail to serve that person.
How to be hospitable?
Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
When it speaks about “do not ask your friends” it isn’t saying don’t have your friends over for lunch or for a banquet. But its a idiom of speech signifying “not so much “friends or neighbors”. Like he is saying stop continually inviting them over.
Like your time and investment can go to those who need it and who I will exalt.
Lets think this way, reaching hospitality loving
We came up with the mothers room because we wanted to be hospitable
We started teen night because we wanted to be hospitable
We have free Bible college for all because we wanted to be hospitable.
We’re not pressed for cash and lusting after resources because we want to be hospitable.
Verses on Hospitality
Le. 19:33-34 .
‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him.
The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
Let brotherly love continue.
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.
Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.