Luke 14:7-11 (3)

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-Let me encourage you to...

…turn to Luke 14 in your Bibles...

…and to follow along...

…as we work our way through our text this morning.

Lord-Willing, we’re going to be looking at Verses 7-11.

And what we have in those verses...

…is an illustration of a familiar biblical principle...

…that’s fairly similar to the one...

…that Jesus had given back in Chapter 13:30.

Luke 13:30 (ESV)

30 ...some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

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Well, here too we see...

…Jesus warning of an abrupt reversal...

…of the way men tend to think...

…about their relationship with God.

And it exposes the root cause of...

…the separation that exists between them...

And it reveals the way (the only way)...

…that that relationship...

…can ever be restored.

-So, some important stuff, both:

Concerning our Salvation

The way we are to live our lives.

Let’s read it together...

…and ask for the Lord’s help:

Luke 14:7–11 (ESV)

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.”

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Pray

-If you would, look back up with me at Verse 1...

…and let’s be reminded of...

…what we looked at last week...

…because… what we’re reading about today...

…is taking place during that same event.

Remember what it was:

Luke 14:1 (ESV)

1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees...

So, this is going to be the setting...

…for what takes place...

…throughout the majority of Chapter 14.

Last week this had happened:

Luke 14:1–6 (ESV)

1 ...they were watching him carefully.

2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.

3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.

5 And he said to them, “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?”

6 And they could not reply to these things.

So now… with the man being safely dismissed...

Luke tells us, this:

Luke 14:7 (ESV)

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited...

So notice that the direct audience has shifted.

Before, he had addressed...

…The Scribes and Pharisees specifically.

Later on, he will specifically address his host...

…and even later on he’ll address...

...one of the guests by themselves.

But here, he is speaking to the entire dinner party.

Here’s why:

Luke 14:7 (ESV)

7 ...he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor...

Now, this a largely foreign concept...

…to most of us today.

Most of us, myself included...

…have lost almost all understanding...

…of the more historic aspects of dinner/table etiquette.

(i.e., how you should dress, where you should sit, etc.)

All we know now, is....

Chew with your mouth closed

Say please and thank you

But, it appears to me, that...

…the laxity that we have concerning dining...

...is something of a novelty...

…(historically speaking).

This commentator explains:

Luke 12–24 for You (Jesus’ Guide to Table Manners)

Banquets in the ancient world were oftentimes an occasion to publicly display the social status of the guests.

The most important people were seated closest to the host; a seat far away from the host was an indication that you were a person of relatively little significance.

And we see that idea...

…being assumed throughout the NT:

For example: (Scribes and Pharisees)

Matthew 23:5–7 (ESV)

5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues

7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

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What are they wanting more than anything?

The praise of men

And what motivates them to do that?

The fear of man

And what is the root sin behind that?

Pride!

And what is the greatest remedy for that?

The fear of the Lord!

-Now, let’s make this personal...

…before we move on.

Because I imagine that for most of us (myself included)...

This shameless volleying for...

…a position closest to the center of the table...

…seems so embarrassingly ridiculous...

…that we have a hard time relating to it.

But, consider the way...

…that Mike McKinley contextualizes it...

…for our own era:

In our day and age, we are not usually very anxious about where we are seated at a dinner party. And we may even be tempted to look down on the people in Jesus’ day who were so blatantly fighting for public recognition.

But we have our own ways of demonstrating favor and honor, from the number of “likes” and followers we receive on social media to the subtle way that our physical appearance and job and car and neighborhood slot us into a social pecking order.

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of those things, but we run into spiritual danger when our hearts begin to crave the honor from others that attends them. — Mike McKinley

Those are wise words of warning, brethren.

And they directly reflect...

…the wisdom of inspired scripture:

Notice how Paul’s words in Philippians 2...

…command the very OPPOSITE:

Philippians 2:3 (ESV)

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

This may not be the American way...

But it is the Christian way!

-Alright, look at Verse 8.

Jesus responds to it, like this:

(And notice the escalation of circumstance)

Luke 14:8–9 (ESV)

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,

(The seating arrangements at a wedding feast...

…would have been even more stringent...

…than at a Sabbath Dinner)

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.

So, what’s just happened...

…in this hypothetical scenario?

The man has rushed in...

...to get the most dignified seat possible...

…then all the other seats filled up like wise...

…so, when someone who ACTUALLY WAS...

…highly honored by the host...

(Someone much more “distinguished” came in...)

…the host was forced to ask him...

…to give up his seat...

…and the only seat left...

…was the seat that nobody wanted...

The seat at the very end of the table...

The seat farthest away from the bride and groom.

-So, what’s Jesus’ warning to them?

It’s essentially this:

Proverbs 11:2 (ESV)

2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace...

Proverbs 16:18 (ESV)

18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

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The pride that causes you or I to strive for...

greater advancement...

greater recognition...

…is the very pride that will...

Expose us for who we really are

End up bringing upon us...

Shame

Dishonor.

This is a universal principle for humanity...

But, this is an even more precise promise...

For the Church!

Why?

Hebrews 12:6 (ESV)

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Hebrews 12:8 (ESV)

8 If you are left without discipline . . . then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

If the Lord DOESN’T regularly...

…bring our proud ambitions...

…down upon our own heads...

…then, you and I ought to be worried!

But, when he’s constantly reminding us...

…that we don’t even deserve to be at the table...

…let alone at the head of it...

When he’s constantly, and even painfully...

…humbling us, and reminding us...

…of our need of grace...

Then we can be assured, that...

He loves us!

Is treating us as his sons!

-Brethren, this is the way of God’s Kingdom.

It is not like the kingdoms of this world.

Remember what Jesus said in:

Luke 22:25–27 (ESV)

25 . . . “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.

26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

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And Guys, this principle is especially true for...

Gospel Ministers

Those who aspire to it.

This Conference Speaker/Social Media Influencer Paradigm...

…is largely motivated by two things...

…that God hates the most:

Pride!

Greed!

And I believe it has produced...

…more rotten fruit...

…than we could ever imagine.

PLEASE don’t get into ministry...

…if you want to be rich and famous.

Get into ministry, if you want to...

Serve God

Serve Others

Expend yourself

Die and be forgotten.

That’s the kind of Gospel ministers...

…that the church DESPERATELY needs.

-Alright, look at Verse 10.

Luke 14:10 (ESV)

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.

So, this is the exact opposite, right?

The hypothetical man...

Assumed a low posture/position to begin with...

And ended up being elevated to a better seat...

Without humiliating himself to do so!

And again, this calls to mind...

…the wisdom of the proverbs:

Proverbs 25:6–7 (ESV)

6 Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great,

7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble...

This is basic biblical wisdom.

And it shows up all over the place:

Proverbs 18:12 (ESV)

12 Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 29:23 (ESV)

23 One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

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-Now, let’s be clear about something, here.

It would be easy to...

…read something very WRONG into...

…what Jesus is saying in Verse 10.

Let me read you two short commentaries...

…to illustrate what I mean:

(I couldn’t choose between them)

The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Chapter 14)

Jesus is not offering a self-serving strategy for achieving recognition by feigning self-deprecation.

He is advocating genuine humility that waits for eschatological vindication in dependence on God’s gracious gift.

Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (B. The Journey Continues (13:22–17:10))

Jesus did not have such a cunning program in mind, for such clever and false self-humiliation is still diseased with the root problem of trying to advance oneself above others.

Those who try to advance themselves in a clever or a blatant way will be humbled, but those who are genuinely humble before God will be exalted by him.

He’s teaching them...

…the fundamental guiding principle...

…for life in the Kingdom of God.

It’s summarized succinctly in Verse 11:

Luke 14:11 (ESV)

11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Brethren, this is THE principle...

…of how God relates and responds to men.

This is the Normative relationship that exists.

And it is ALL OVER the Word of God...

Psalm 18:27 (ESV)

27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.

Proverbs 3:34 (ESV)

34 Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.

Luke 1:50–52 (ESV)

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

James 4:6 (ESV)

6 ...Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:10 (ESV)

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:5–7 (ESV)

5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

This is the Relationship.

And here is where it is...

…the MOST important:

Luke 18:9–14 (ESV)

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

That… is the penultimate illustration of Verse 11.

Luke 14:11 (ESV)

11 ...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

But, this... is the ULTIMATE:

Philippians 2:3–11 (ESV)

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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