Words of Jesus Part 37

Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him.

What an intense burden our savior had to carry all the time, to have someone follow Him around, not to seek His salvation, healing or friendship but to find fault. Reminds me of some of the modern day news media.

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

Dropsy is a disease that is an unnatural collection of water in certain parts of the body.

Luke 14:3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?
4 But they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go.
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a well, and will not straightway draw him up on a sabbath day?
6 And they could not answer again unto these things.

Actually in my own mind, I would consider it splendid that someone was set free from a disease on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath was made for man to rest and refresh himself spiritually. What greater rest could there be than to be free from pain or suffering on the Sabbath day. The poor Pharisees missed so much when all they sought to do was find fault instead of realizing who was walking among them. Are we going to make the same mistake and miss getting to know the one who died for our sins and ushered in a plan of salvation so that we would be "born again" by the spirit of God and have eternal life?

Luke 14:7 And he spake a parable unto those that were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them,
8 When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him,
9 and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place.
10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee.
11 For everyone that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

By assuming that we may deserve to have the best exalted seats, we might be embarrassed later to discover the seats were reserved for dignitaries of much higher standing than we. It is better to assume ourselves unworthy than to think ourselves worth more honor than the others present.

Luke 14:12 And he said to him also that had bidden him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee.
13 But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 and thou shalt be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.

How many of us only give to those who can give back to us to have dinner parties for those who do the same for us? We should strive to give to the ones who cannot return the favor.

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.
16 But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many:
17 and he sent forth his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee have me excused.
19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused.
20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
21 And the servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame.
22 And the servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room.
23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.

The first ones called to receive the message of the kingdom of God were the Jewish people but they refused. The message of the gospel of salvation was then given to the Gentiles who were considered, the poor, the scum of the earth and those who were unworthy to inherit the kingdom of God.

Luke 14:25 Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them,
26 If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Choosing to follow Christ may cost us our jobs, our families, our friends and our upstanding with the community. It may bring division and trouble yet to choose Christ in the long run will not only save our own souls but later the souls of many others who may not have heard the gospel if we had ignored the call to follow Jesus Christ. It would be no profit to gain the whole approval of the world, increase in riches, and live a good life only to lose not only our souls but those that are influenced by our walk.

The bible teaches us to love one another, not hate. The word hate in the above passage does not mean hate as we think of it. It means that we choose the Lord over and above what our families, children and friends think about it. We choose Jesus even if it means our friends forsake and persecute us for our decision.

Luke 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have wherewith to complete it?
29 Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him,
30 saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

To make a commitment to Jesus Christ we must consider whether we can take up our cross and follow Him no matter what. No matter what the cost, no matter who forsakes us and no matter what anyone thinks. It is what God thinks that matters. In the parable of the sower, we read of the part that was about the sower sowing seed among the thorns and the thorns choking the word and it does not bring forth any fruit. Some may mock and laugh at those that start out to follow Christ and then the believer has to choose whether to follow the Lord anyway or back off their new found faith to please his or her friends, thereby returning to the sinful life Jesus Christ saved them from.

Luke 14:31 Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace.
33 So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Nothing must come first ahead of our commitment to God. A soldier cannot fight a war successfully if his mind is on his family at home in the midst of the battle.

Luke 14:34 Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

If we cannot stand for God no matter who may persecute, criticize or forsake us, we are as salt that has no flavor. We must pray for holy boldness not to fear man but only God.

Words of Jesus Part 38

Words of Jesus Index