Contagious Holiness 3: Table Manners

Luke 14:1–24 (ESV) — 1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, 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. 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.” 12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”

Intro

Jesus’ self description:

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45); “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10); “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking.” (Luke 7:34).

“Jesus didn’t run projects, establish ministries, create programs, or put on events. He ate meals. If you routinely share meals and you have a passion for Jesus, then you’ll be doing mission. It’s not that meals save people. People are saved through the gospel message. But meals will create natural opportunities to share that message in a context that resonates powerfully with what you’re saying.”

Chester, Tim. A Meal with Jesus (p. 89). Crossway. Kindle Edition. 

Meals are one of the few places where grace can be robustly palpable. Not only are we investing our time, money, and energy in someone, but we also sit down with them as equals, looking at their faces as image-bearers of God, and bear the weight of real relationships. As good as it can be to buy someone a meal or to provide for their other needs, a meal breaks down the hierarchy of a handout and supplants it with the impartiality of grace.

“Hospitality has always been integral to the story of God’s people. Abraham set the agenda when he offered three strangers water for their feet and food for their bodies. In so doing he entertained God himself and received afresh the promise (Gen. 18:1–18). God was Israel’s host in the Promised Land (Ps. 39:12; Lev. 25:23), and that would later shape Israel’s behavior. A welcome to strangers and provision for the needy were written into the law of Moses. Rahab is saved because of her faith expressed through hospitality ( Joshua 2; James 2:22–25). Hospitality continues to be integral to Christian conduct in the new covenant: “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Rom. 12:13); “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:9; see 1 Tim. 5:10); “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me” (Matt. 10:40; see 25:35–40); “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2). In Acts 10 God told Peter in a dream to eat from a collection of unclean food. It’s a key moment in the mission of the early church, for its prepares Peter to take the gospel to Gentiles for the first time. Peter says to those Gentiles: “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection . . .” (Acts 10:28–29).

Chester, Tim. A Meal with Jesus (pp. 89-90). Crossway. Kindle Edition. 

Jesus is walking the walk and talking the talk at the same time perfectly

Luke 14:1–6 (ESV) — 1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, 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.

They probably didn’t answer because Jesus had recently healed a woman on the Sabbath and had confronted the Pharisees’ hypocrisy - Lk. 13:10-17

This situation seems like a trap set for Jesus. Did they invite the sick man? Why were they so keen on observing him? Who invited Jesus?

If you cared about people, like you care about your Oxen or children, then you would obviously help them in their need. Your religion, which causes you to hesitate around those in need and decide not to help them, even to despise and reject them, is hypocritical, lifeless, and damning.

Matthew 23:13–15 (ESV) — 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

What if their needs were something that I cared about?

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.”

Where else do we see a picture of a wedding feast? Revelation 19:6-10. This is a parable about God’s kingdom.

Your presumption, your pride, will be your shame.

It’s as if these people have walked into a wedding reception and decided to sit down at the head table that’s set for the couple.

But, if you humble yourself - shown here by taking the lowest place at the table - then you will be exalted - Lk.14:11.

Matthew 18:4 (ESV) — 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

1 Peter 5:5 (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.”

Matthew 5:3–5 (ESV) — 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Would you rather be exalted for a moment and humbled forever, or humbled for a moment and honored forever?

Would you rather exist for 100 years at the head of the table only to have an eternity weeping with regret, or would you be humbled and spend eternity with The Father as a guest at his table?

Illustration of the two priests and the janitor: One priest walks into the sanctuary and sees the light coming through the stained glass windows falling upon the alter and falls to his knees saying, “I’m nothing. I’m nothing.” Another priest walks in and sees the same thing and also falls down, crying, “I’m nothing. I’m nothing.” Then a janitor walks in with his mop and bucket, sees the two priests at the altar praying and he is overcome and falls down as well, crying out, “I’m nothing. I’m nothing.” Then one of the priests notices the janitor and hits the other priest with his elbow and says, “look who thinks he’s nothing.”

Remember, Jesus is referring to how it is at His wedding feast. The proud do not enter, yet they presume to have a place of honor.

Take note at how Jesus is teaching here. He is observing their theology through their behavior (he noticed that they chose places of honor).

He invites them to have intimacy with him at a table (He is teaching by perfect example).

And he is instructing them with compelling and conversational truth (His aim is to instruct, rebuke, and make the truth plain).

Helpful terms: Invite and Challenge — the closer people are drawn to you, the more gospel challenge you can apply. You cannot write the hard checks until you have capital invested in the account. All invite and no challenge can create intimacy, yet neglects the hard and necessary truths needed for repentance. All challenge and no invite often creates separation. It is truth disconnected from mercy. It is often unable to build the foundation necessary for intimacy upon which the hard questions are respected.

Table Manners in God’s Kingdom

Luke 14:12–24 (ESV) — 12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”

The Lord God has given us a great banquet. We should be overwhelmingly thankful.

Radical Grace Example — Just pick a meal and give thanks for it.

This parable is teaching us how to be like the Lord and exposing how unlike him we are. Quid pro quo

The Lord has lavished grace upon the world, and yet so many turn away for other pursuits. This is similar to last week’s look at the soils.

Tim Chester comments that:

“We see again God’s grace to us. We’re the poor, the blind, the crippled, and the lame, urged inside to join God’s great banquet. We are: the spiritually poor—with nothing to offer for our salvation; the spiritually crippled—made powerless by sin; the spiritually blind—unable to see the truth about Jesus; the spiritually lame—unable to come to God on our own. Extending Leviticus 21:17-23, most Jewish authorities said no one who was blind, crippled, or lame could enter the temple. How amazing it was, then, that after Jesus cleansed the temple, “the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them” (Matt. 21:14). Documents from Qumran show that the Essenes sect interpreted Leviticus 21 to mean that the poor, the blind, the crippled, and the lame wouldn’t participate in the messianic banquet.1 How significant, then, that in Jesus’s message, they’re the very ones who are included.”

Chester, Tim. A Meal with Jesus (p. 79). Crossway. Kindle Edition. 

The excuses are lame… why buys without inspection?

Application:

Francis Schaeffer says: Don’t start with a big program. Don’t suddenly think you can add to your church budget and begin. Start personally and start in your home. I dare you. I dare you in the name of Jesus Christ. Do what I am going to suggest. Begin by opening your home for community. . . . You don’t need a big program. You don’t have to convince your session or board. All you have to do is open your home and begin. And there is no place in God’s world where there are no people who will come and share a home as long as it is a real home.23

Chester, Tim. A Meal with Jesus (pp. 92-93). Crossway. Kindle Edition. 

“It may be a surprise, given my emphasis on meals, but I loathe church lunches—those potluck suppers in draughty church halls. They’re institutionalized hospitality. Don’t start a hospitality ministry in your church: open your home.”

Chester, Tim. A Meal with Jesus (pp. 91-92). Crossway. Kindle Edition. 

“Too Scary When we invite people into our homes, we’re putting ourselves on display. How will they evaluate our cooking, cleaning, decor, or parenting? Craving other people’s approval or fearing their censure is what the Bible calls “the fear of man.” The Bible’s antidote is “the fear of the Lord.” When God’s opinion is what matters most—the God who smiles on us in his grace—then we’re liberated to serve others out of love, rather than to gain their good opinion.24”

Chester, Tim. A Meal with Jesus (p. 94). Crossway. Kindle Edition. 

One major takeaway from Jesus’ example is how he models the reality of the Kingdom while he is teaching about it. He not only speaks of grace (symbolized in feasting), but displays grace by feasting with hypocrites, sinners, and the sick.

I feel that much of what the church does is examine the teachings of Jesus to the neglect of the practice of Jesus. We call ourselves a family, but it doesn’t often feel like family. I have intimacy with my family. I can rest with my family and not feel that I need to put on a facade of myself.

We talk a lot about grace and we take communion at the table of the Lord, and yet it doesn’t feel like the restful and deep content of sitting down to feast with friends.

How can we learn from this to repent? How can we as a church move and put into practice what we love from Jesus’ teaching?

Challenge:

In this time of isolation and loneliness, would you commit to calling or texting at least two people from our church today. Do it right after you watch online or you get back home. Let’s really embody what it means to be the family of God and make sure that we are caring for the wellbeing and spiritual health of our members.

Pick a time this week to share a meal with someone. COVID might cause you to be creative (last week we sat with some neighbors in our carport in lawn chairs).