Luke 14,1-24
Healing of a Man on the Sabbath
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.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
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.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
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 am going 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.’”
Hello everyone, I am Kiki. The Chinese name of our second phase of the program is “读经大讲堂”. The English name is “Bible Study.”
We will adopt a relaxed and enjoyable learning mode to take you into a new learning world. Each time, I will make a personal summary and analysis from the perspective of a learner, and then Sister Ingrid will help me conduct in-depth learning and discussion with everybody.
I hope that such an interesting and interactive process can bring a new knowledge experience to you all. The following is my interview with Sister Ingrid on related issues. Today is the 40th lecture on the Gospel of Luke.
Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment section for discussion!
2. My summary of the 40th study of Luke:
Well, everybody! Firstly, here is my personal study summary for today.
Jesus went to eat at a Pharisee’s house on the Sabbath. A sick man was there. Jesus asked, “Is it okay to heal on the Sabbath?”
The leaders said nothing. Jesus healed the man and said, “If your son or ox fell into a well on the Sabbath, you would pull him out right away.” They could not answer.
Then Jesus saw guests fighting for the best seats. He said, “When you are invited, sit in the lowest place. Then the host may say, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Everyone who puts himself first will be humbled, but the humble person will be honored.”
Jesus told the host, “Don’t just invite rich friends who can invite you back. Invite the poor and the sick. God will reward you later.”
One guest said, “Blessed are those who eat in God’s kingdom.”
So Jesus told a story: A man gave a big banquet, but the invited guests made excuses. One bought a field, one bought oxen, and one got married. The master was angry. He said, “Go and bring in the poor, the blind, and the lame from the streets.” Then he said, “None of those first invited will taste my banquet.”
The lesson: Don’t make excuses when God invites you.
Now let Sister Ingrid give a further summary.
3. Sister Ingrid’s comment on my study summary:
Hello everybody, when we see what happened in the scene with the sick man, we have to look at the healing of the woman with a disabling spirit in the synagogue on a Sabbath.
Jesus told them that it is allowed to heal, because everybody gives water to his animals on a Sabbath, and if they do not recognize this, they are only hypocrites.
Now Jesus wants to know if they have learned what he told them. They remained silent. He goes a step further and says that if a son or an ox falls into a well, everybody would pull him out on a Sabbath.
The religious leaders around him could not say anything, because he was right. If they would act for an animal on a Sabbath, they would certainly save their son on a Sabbath.
The next scene leads us to a wedding party. At a wedding party there are always seats of honor near the bridegroom and seats that are far away from him.
The guests of this party, as Kiki mentioned, wanted to sit in the best seats. But Jesus says to sit in the seats that are farther away; it will be an honor when the host comes and says, “Please move up higher.”
Jesus concludes with a life rule: Do not exalt yourself, because you will be humbled; humble yourself, and you will be exalted.
Jesus gives another piece of advice: do not invite rich people to your parties, because they will invite you too, and you will not receive a reward in heaven. Invite the poor so that you will receive a reward in heaven.
A man in the audience becomes emotional and says: “Blessed are those who eat bread in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus answers with the parable of a great banquet: Someone gave a banquet and invited many people, but they all had excuses for not coming. Some had oxen, some had bought a field, and some had just married.
Nothing is wrong with working in agriculture or marrying, but here something is very wrong: they preferred to stay focused on earthly things instead of going to the kingdom of God and participating in his banquet.
Then the master of the banquet became angry. He sent his servants to the streets and lanes, and later to the highways and hedges, to invite many poor and marginalized people.
Then the master concludes that those who were invited but refused the invitation will never taste his banquet.
4. Q list part: based on Luke 40th study:
Okay. Based on the above Bible study content, now let me ask Sister Ingrid some related questions.
We hope the following questions can be helpful to our brothers and sisters who have just become Christians.
- Why were the Pharisees watching Jesus closely?
They wanted to find a reason to accuse him. - What sickness did the man have?
The man had dropsy. - What question did Jesus ask the religious leaders before healing the man?
He asked them if it was allowed to heal on the Sabbath. - What example did Jesus give about a son or an ox falling into a well?
When a son or an ox falls into a well, everyone will pull him or it out, even if it is the Sabbath. - In the wedding story, what happens to people who take the best seats for themselves?
It can happen that the host comes and tells them to take a lower place. - Where should you sit if you are invited to a wedding feast?
When you arrive, take a lower seat so that the host may invite you to move higher. - In the great banquet story, who did the master invite first?
The people of Israel were the first who were invited. - What three excuses did the first guests give?
One had bought a field, one had bought oxen, and one had just married. - Who did the master invite after the first guests refused?
Everyone else. His servants went to the streets, lanes, highways, and hedges to bring in all kinds of poor and disabled people. - What did the master say about those who made excuses?
They will never taste the banquet he had prepared for them.
