Background

Luke chapter 14 verses 1 to 24 - It happened that when he (Jesus) went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him closely. And there in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" But they kept silent. And he took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And he said to them, "Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?" And they could make no reply to this.

And he began speaking a parable to the invited guests when he noticed how they had been picking out the places of honour at the table, saying to them, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this man,' and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. "But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher '; then you will have honour in the sight of all who are at the table with you. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." And he also went on to say to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

But he said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.' "Another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.' "Another one said, 'I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.' "And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' "And the slave said, 'Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' "And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 'For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.' "

The context for the series of parables in Luke chapter 14 is Jesus being invited to a meal at the house of an influential leader together with the supposedly important people at the time. The reason was not because of friendship but to scrutinise and test whether Jesus fits their view of acceptable behaviour (Luke chapter 14 verse 1).

The first test was a repeat of previous ones (Luke chapter 6 verses 1 to 11) as the meal was on the Sabbath, so they arranged for someone who was ill to be present. Their rules prohibited healings on the Sabbath. The man had dropsy which causes swollen limbs from fluid retention. Again, as with previous tests, the man was not in imminent danger, and therefore giving the option of delay until the next day. However, Jesus heals him immediately (chapter 14 verses 2 to 5). In his eyes, the Sabbath was no different to another day and should be a day for healing. The Sabbath has a meaning of rest, see study ‘What is Rest’.

In their eyes, Jesus failed the first test, so he embarks on telling three parables that reveal the problems with their attitude of pride and arrogance.

The first (chapter 14 verses 7 to 11) highlights those who think they are the most important and should be seen to be such. It is better to be noticed and respected by others (Proverbs 25 verses 6,7; Luke chapter 11 verses 43, 44; chapter 20 verses 45 to 47).

The next is about who to invite (verses 12 to 15). Instead of the usual friends (so that they will invite you in return) there should be consideration of those who would be excluded, ‘the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind’ (Leviticus chapter 21 verses 16 to 21).

These parables are not just lessons about character but are parables of the kingdom, they apply to how the Kingdom of God will function (verse15). Here the Kingdom is being portrayed as a wedding feast. For example, see the study ‘Sustenance’.

Jesus follows with a third parable (verses 16 to 24) where those invited give excuses and do not come, leaving the ‘Master’ inviting those who would not usually be called, those normally excluded, ‘the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind’.

The excuses of those who did not attend were worldly reasons, matters regarding land, animals and relations.

The people who did attend were compelled, not forced but encouraged.