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Luke 14: HG Bishop Youssef

Introduction

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  • In Chapters 12 and 13, we saw that the Lord was using references to food and meals in His teachings and parables. This trend started after the banquet of Pharisees that He was invited to attend in the Pharisee's house (Chapter 12)
  • In Chapter 14, the Lord will continue this trend after another meal in the home of a leading Pharisee ("one of the rulers")
  • He concludes the trend with the Parable of the Great Feast in Chapter 14
  • References to food and meals in the teaching of Christ remind us with the Heavenly Food - the bread and wine that become the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist; the food we are called to humbly eat at the altar; the Lord's banquet.

Outline

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  • 1-6: A Man Healed on the Sabbath
  • 7-14: Take the Lowly Place
  • 15-24: The Parable of the Great Supper
  • 25-33: Leaving All to Follow Christ
  • 34-35: Tasteless Salt is Worthless

A Man Healed on the Sabbath

03:18

1 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. 2 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. 5 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?” 6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

  • The Lord and the Pharisees
    • Despite all the disputes with the Pharisees, the Lord didn't give up on them
    • He continued to associate with them - not to be like them, or to join them, but that He may win them
  • Sabbath Meals
    • This is a normal thing... but what's not normal is that "they watched Him closely"
  • Dropsy
    • Dropsy is a sickness when fluids gather throughout the body and cause swelling
    • Why would a man with Dropsy be invited to the Pharisee's house? Because this whole meal was arranged in order to test the Lord and see what He would do on the Sabbath
    • They were trying to provoke Him that they may accuse Him
    • This miracle is remarkable because Dropsy affects the man's appearance... so when he is healed, it is immediately visible and obvious to everyone present
  • An Opportunity to Teach the Pharisees
    • The Lord could have rejected their invitation, knowing their intention
    • "Jesus, answering..." - there was no question, but His answer is to their intentions
    • Two Questions
      • Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
      • Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a put, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?
    • They could not answer
      • If it's allowed to save animals on the Sabbath, how much more right is it to heal people created in the image of God
      • If they say to let the donkey or ox die, they are heartless and wicked
      • If they say to save the donkey or ox, then they prove they are hypocrites

Take the Lowly Place

12:30

7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 8 “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; 9 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. 10 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. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

12 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. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

  • Seating Arrangement
    • Formal banquets like this adopted Greek Symposium traditions where they would sit around a table and each person's seating was based on their status
    • The Lord noticed that people were assuming for themselves the best places and spoke to them a parable
  • Parable
    • This teaching doesn't sound like a parable, but sounds like regular advice... Why did St Luke call it a parable?
    • Parables have a spiritual message through a real-life situation known to all
    • A wedding feast was the most important social occasions in Jewish life (and until now)
  • Etiquette Teaching
    • Not the main point
    • The Lord reminds the Pharisees of the shame that comes with self-exaltation
  • Spiritual Message
    • 17:30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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