Luke 14:1- 24 comments: the marriage supper

14:1 ¶  And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2  And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3  And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4  And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5  And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6  And they could not answer him again to these things.

Dropsy is the old name for any excessive swelling caused by an accumulation of water. We would be more specific today, for instance, saying the person had edema due to congestive heart failure. Dropsy expresses itself mostly in swelling of the lower legs and feet after having been on them all day. Here, Jesus taught the importance of mercy and compassion over a rigid following of religious obligation. In a similar vein, James wrote;

James 2:13  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Jesus used this analogy before in 13:15 saying that if you would help your animal on the Sabbath why would it be wrong to help a person. His reference to assisting a beast goes back to Old Testament expressions of mercy and compassion toward animals belonging to oneself or others.

Exodus 23:5  If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

Proverbs 12:10  A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

The Pharisee would show compassion for his beast, why not a fellow Jew? There really was nothing they could say against that.

A certain man or a certain woman are two phrases in the Bible that speak a profound truth. God has used countless anonymous people throughout history to further His plan of the redemption of mankind, the great reconciliation. Their names are not recorded but they provided an important step in the journey. Most of us are like that. I have accomplished nothing important in life. I will be quickly forgotten. In a short time after I die, it will be as if I never existed. But I want to imagine it being said in eternity, “Once, there was a certain man who wrote a blog about the Bible that encouraged others to read it even if they disagreed with him and just wanted to prove he was wrong.”

    14:7 ¶  And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8  When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9  And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10  But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11  For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 12  Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13  But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14  And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

A similar sentiment to verses 7 through 11 is expressed in Proverbs.

Proverbs 25:6 ¶  Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: 7  For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Humility, rather than seeking preeminence, is appreciated by God. Peter wrote;

1Peter 5:5 ¶  Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

James expressed a similar sentiment when talking about exalting a social class as so many working-class conservatives in America do in their worship of the very wealthy.

James 2:1 ¶  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7  Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

A very important principle is expressed in verse 14. In the ancient Greek and Roman world charity was a political act. You gave to someone who could do you some good. You sponsored something, gave to a temple, had something built in your name, or distributed bread to the poor, but whatever you did you expected a return on your investment; some preference, some prayer, some acknowledgment of your importance, or support politically.

In fact, in Graeco-Roman culture the poor were never singled out as the object of charity. Philanthropy had to do with your own family or to help someone who deserved to be helped. Greek or Roman moralists never preached that people with money should help people without unless, as I said, there was some benefit involved or some great value in the recipient. An important thing that Jesus will teach later is that your neighbor includes any stranger, even of a different ethnic group or religion than yourself, that you come across in desperate need.

 The highest level of Christian giving is to give to someone who cannot possibly benefit you and may not even know you were their benefactor. You will expect acknowledgment in heaven, not here on earth.

Matthew 6:1 ¶  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

In addition, verses 12 and 13 set up a prophetic passage on a specific feast in the next verses.

    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  Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17  And sent 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 piece of ground, and I must needs go 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  So that servant came, and shewed 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 the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22  And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23  And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24  For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Here, Christ again admonishes the people whom God created out of the Gentiles in Ur of the Chaldees of old. They’ve made many excuses and those who have will have their invitation to have a meal at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb rescinded.

Revelation 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Matthew gives a more complete rendition of this lesson when Jesus is teaching in the temple indicting the nation of Israel for their historical disobedience and violence against God’s prophets. Matthew introduces a figure who some say is the Antichrist, the Beast of Revelation himself, although this may simply be a representation of the tares, the phonies, in the church. The Gentiles again will play a part in spreading the gospel of the kingdom as the nation of Israel refuses to stop making excuses and follow their Messiah.

Matthew 22:1 ¶  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3  And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14  For many are called, but few are chosen.