LUKE LESSON 37

     We will begin this lesson in Luke 14:1 "And it came to pass, as
he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on
the sabbath day, that they watched him."

     These religious people were all eyes seeing if they could catch
Him in any transgression of the law. This invitation to eat with the
Pharisee was probably so he could watch Jesus and catch any little
thing He might do so that he could accuse Him. Jesus didn't seem to
bother with all this, He knew their intentions, but didn't care.

     Luke 14:2 "And, behold, there was a certain man before him which
had the dropsy."

     This was a plot to catch Jesus, and these Pharisees was using
this very sick man for their purpose. This was an incurable disease by
man's attempts. They possibly were testing to see if His healing
powers was a hoax, as well as trying to work up a case against Him as
a breaker of the sabbath.

     Luke 14:3 "And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and
Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?"

     This surely shocks these who are trying to trap Him. Now if they
say no, they will incite the anger of the people. If they say yes,
they have fallen into their own trap. He is saying, you know the law
so well, tell me whether we should leave this man in this terrible
condition or should we heal him. You interpret your law for me. They
are dumb-founded, they cannot speak.

     Luke 14:4 "And they held their peace. And he took [him], and
healed him, and let him go;"

     Jesus has done what their physicians or holy men had not been
able to do. He is healed and released. He is released not only from
their presence, but from this dreadful disease, as well.

     Luke 14:5 "And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an
ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out
on the sabbath day?"

     Jesus shows them lowly animals that they have more concern for
than they do for this pitiful man. Put it this way, how can they
protest? They know He is telling the truth.

     Luke 14:6 "And they could not answer him again to these things."

     Their trick had backfired upon them. Any answer they gave would
have humiliated them. They did not answer.

     Luke 14:7  "And he put forth a parable to those which were
bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto
them,"
     We see, here, these men were trying to place themselves around
this table in a place of importance. They wanted everyone to
appreciate how important they were. Jesus was watching carefully how
they were acting over this seating arrangement.

     Luke 14:8 "When thou art bidden of any [man] to a wedding, sit
not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be
bidden of him;"  Luke 14:9 "And he that bade thee and him come and say
to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the
lowest room."

     We see, here, Jesus is speaking of someone who has exalted
himself up to where He does not belong. These Pharisees, Jewish
doctors of the law, had elevated themselves to a position far above
the average man.  They felt, if there was a seat of importance, they
should be in it.  Jesus puts a story before them to make them think.
The one thing they did not want to do was to be embarrassed. Jesus
tells them the embarrassment they would feel if they had to step down
from their seat of importance to allow someone else this elevated
position. The way these lawyers felt about the uppermost seats in a
room was exactly apposite to Jesus' teaching. Jesus taught that the
great of this world are the humble.

     Luke 14:10 "But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the
lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee,
Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of
them that sit at meat with thee."

     Jesus is showing how the humble will be elevated in the end.
There will be no embarrassment for Him. He has taken a lowly seat and
is bidden to come up higher. This is God's way.

     Luke 14:11 "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and
he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

     This is a direct reprimand by Jesus to these learned men of the
law. It left no doubt at all who this parable was for.

     Luke 14:12  "Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou
makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren,
neither thy kinsmen, nor [thy] rich neighbours; lest they also bid
thee again, and a recompence be made thee."

     Here is a lesson these self-righteous men did not want to hear.
They also was very selfish. Like many people of our day, they invited
people to a dinner party at their home, expecting to be invited to the
next dinner party the other person had. He is saying don't give
dinners to prove your importance to your rich neighbors, relatives,
and friends.

     Luke 14:13 "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the
maimed, the lame, the blind:"  Luke 14:14 "And thou shalt be blessed;
for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the
resurrection of the just."
     Jesus, in a sense, here, is saying again lay up treasures in
heaven.  Jesus explains, if you feed those who cannot feed you in
return, you will be rewarded of God in heaven. You will not only be in
the first resurrection, but will be rewarded of God. Remember, Jesus
said, "In as much as ye done it to the least of these, you have done
it also unto me".

     Luke 14:15  "And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard
these things, he said unto him, Blessed [is] he that shall eat bread
in the kingdom of God."

     One of the men sitting at the table got the message and received
it into Himself. Perhaps this whole thing was set up for this one man
to receive the Lord. He had been there when the man with dropsy was
healed. This undoubtedly got his attention because the physicians and
all these learned men in the law had not been able to help the poor
sick man and Jesus had healed him. He had heard Jesus use a parable to
make these self-centered Pharisees realize  that it wasn't the thing
to do to try to get the uppermost seats at the banquet. I believe he
was touched by the boldness, the sincerity, and the power of the great
teacher. Perhaps, his eyes were opening, and he was looking at Jesus
for the very first time as the Messiah. In verse 15, the man at the
table is speaking to Jesus. He has realized that the best thing a
person can receive is the kingdom of God. This does not tell us who
this man is, but that this day he came in contact with the Saviour of
the world and received Jesus into his heart. This statement he made
("Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God"} was a
spontaneous statement from a heart filled to overflowing.


























                      Luke 37 Questions

1.  What was the Pharisees' purpose inviting Jesus to eat with them?
2.  What illness did the man have that was before Jesus?
3.  Who had probably put him there? Why?
4.  Who did Jesus ask, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath"?
5.  What did they answer?
6.  What did Jesus do for the sick man?
7.  What example did Jesus give them to show that is was right to
    heal on the Sabbath?
8.  Why did their plan backfire on them?
9.  What did Jesus notice about their seating arrangement?
10. In the example Jesus gave, how was the proud man embarrassed at
    the wedding?
11. The truly great in this world are the ________.
12. How will the lowly be elevated in the end?
13. Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be _________.
14. Who did Jesus tell them not to invite to dinner?
15. If you invite the poor to dinner, what reward do you get?
16. People of our day usually expect what from you if they invite you
    to have dinner with them?
17. What were 3 kinds of people that Jesus said to invite to dinner?
18. Who received this message of Jesus?
19. Who did he say was blessed?
20. What had he noticed when Jesus healed the man with dropsy?
21. What 3 specific things impressed him about Jesus?
22. What do you think happened to this man at the feast?