Luke 14: 1-14 (Oct 26-Nov 1)

[vaneckb]

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house
of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in
front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 Jesus asked the
Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath
or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he
healed him and sent him away. 5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has
a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not
immediately pull him out?” 6 And they had nothing to say. 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the
host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man
your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important
place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when
your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better
place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow
guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exalted.” 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a
luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or
relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back
and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed.
Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection
of the righteous.”

[vaneckb]

There were a number of interesting points of discussion on
this passage that came up during our small group. I'll try to organize our
discussion and my thoughts as they both tend to jump around a lot. The
paretheses are usually my thoughts or answeres to my own questions, I'd like to
hear your thoughts on those, so don't take the fact that I mentioned something
as an excuse not to write something yourself.

Vs 1-2: Jesus was being watched by the Pharisees while at dinner. Why were they
watching him? Was this a trap? (Not unlikely considering how the Pharisees have
been acting) Is that why the man with dropsy was there? (If not, what is he
doing there? The Pharisees would not usually associate with a sick man)

Vs 3-6: Jesus heals the man despite it being the Sabbath
(the Pharisees considered healing on the Sabbath to be a sin, probably they
considered it working), but why did they remain silent when Jesus asked if it
was lawful? (trying to trick him into doing something wrong?) What is the point
Jesus is trying to illustrate about the Sabbath? (consider Mt 12: 3-8) How does
this point relate to our world, doctors, nurses, other jobs that have to work
on Sundays? Or is Jesus an exception to this rule? (would that be saying Jesus
was an exception to the law, or else that the way he healed was somehow an
exception?) As a side note I think it’s hilarious that the Pharisees just say
nothing, that’s how I often feel when I pray stupid stuff to God, “but God
this, but God that, yeah but………… well I………" (arguing with God never seems to
work out so well, he always turns out to be right, which makes a lot of sense, given that his is God.)

Vs 7-11: He who exalts himself will be humbled, and
vice-versa. Seats? Why did the guests care about seats? (to the Jewish culture
of the day, your seating was of utmost importance. It indicated your exact
social standing. The most important people sat next to the host, and the less
important you were the further away you got to sit. It is important to keep in
mind the context of GOD when reading this section. In the world it is quite
often the one who exalts himself that the world also exalts, so what exactly is
meant by the humble being exalted (consider what really matters, what will
matter to you once you die, how you looked in the eyes of man, or how you
looked in the eyes of God. God knows what I am really like inside, he knows
exactly who gave me the strength and abilities to do things, and he knows my
heart, whether I seek to give him the credit or take it for myself. In the end
it won’t matter how exalted I am here on earth, what will matter is how God
sees me. [This is something I try to remind myself of constantly and yet I
still forget it often] The next session illustrates this well)

Vs 12-14: Invite the sick and the weak, not those who
will repay you. Is this saying you should not do things for or with your
friends and relatives? Are you only allowed to give to the poor, sick, lame and
blind? (consider the question of reward. As discussed earlier I think it comes
down to why you do something. If you seek a reward on earth, if your goal of
your friendships is what you can get back from them, then that will be your
reward and you will not receive an eternal reward, but if you help because you
love that person and because you love God, then your reward is eternal, “to be
repaid at the resurrection of the righteous) In the end of what worth are the
things of this world. The greatest reward I can imagine is to simply hear God
say to me: “well done”