XC.
DINING WITH A PHARISEE. SABBATH HEALING
AND THREE LESSONS SUGGESTED BY THE EVENT.
(Probably Peræa.)
cLUKE XIV. 1-24.
c1 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. [The Pharisees were
an unorganized party, hence their rulers were such not by office,
but by influence. Those who were members of the Sanhedrin, or who were
distinguished among the rabbis, might fitly be spoken of as rulers among
them. The context favors the idea that Jesus was invited for the purpose
of being watched--a carrying out of the Pharisaic purpose declared at Luke
xi. 53, 54. Bountiful feasts on the Sabbath day were common among the Jews;
the food, however, was cooked the previous day in obedience to the precept
at Ex. xvi. 23.] 2 And behold, there
was before him a certain man that had the dropsy. [The phrase "let
him go" of verse 4 shows that the man was not a guest, but [492] rather
one who seems to have taken advantage of the freedom of an Oriental house
to stand among the lookers-on. He may have been there purely from his own
choice, but the evil intention with which Jesus was invited makes it highly
probable that the man's presence was no accident, but part of a deep-laid
plot to entrap Jesus.] 3 And Jesus
answering [replying to their unspoken thoughts, in which they were
assuming that he would heal the sick man] spake unto the lawyers and
Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?
4 And they held their peace. [They evidently expected Jesus to act
on the impulse, and were confused by his calm, deliberate question. If
they declared it lawful, they defeated their plot, and if they said otherwise,
they involved themselves in an argument with him in which, as experience
taught them, they would be humiliated before the people. Hence, they kept
silence, but their silence only justified him, since it was the duty of
every lawyer to pronounce this act unlawful if it had been so.] 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. [Here Jesus again
asserts that the Sabbath law did not forbid acts of mercy. See pp.
212, 213, 215. Though
silenced, the Pharisees relented not, either as to their bigotry or their
hatred.] 7 And he spake a parable unto
those that were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats
[The triclinia, or Grecian table, then in use had three sections
which were placed together so as to form a flat-bottomed letter U. The
space enclosed by the table was not occupied. It was left vacant that the
servants might enter it and attend to the wants of the guests who reclined
around the outer margin of the table. The central seat of each of these
three sections were deemed a place of honor. This struggle for precedence
was a small ambition, but many of the ambitions of our day are equally
small]; [493] saying unto them,
8 When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast [Jesus mentions
another kind of feast than the one in progress, that he may not be needlessly
personal], sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more
honorable man [Phil. ii. 3] 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.
[Because when ousted from the top he would find every place full except
the bottom.] 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. [The
words here used by our Lord teach how to avoid earthly shame and to obtain
worldly honor. But they form a parable which is intended to teach the great
spiritual truth that true humility leads to exaltation.]
11 For everyone that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. [This is one of our Lord's favorite maxims
(Luke xviii. 14; Matt. xxiii. 12). Both man and God look upon humiliation
as the just punishment of pride; but it is a pleasure to every right-minded
spirit to give joy to the humble by showing him respect and honor.]
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; for they have not wherewith to recompense
thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.
[According to the Oriental mode of speech Jesus here emphatically commands
one course of action by prohibiting a contrary course. But his prohibition
is not to be construed strictly. He does not forbid the exercise of social
hospitality, but [494] discountenances that
interested form of it which seeks a return. His teaching is positive rather
than negative, and should constrain us to live more for charity and less
for sociability. Some think that this verse teaches that there shall be
two resurrections, but the contrast is not between two times, but
rather between two parties or divisions of one resurrection. If
one has part in the resurrection of the just, he may expect recompense
for his most trivial act. But if he be resurrected among the unjust, he
need expect no reward, even for the most meritorious deeds of his whole
life.] 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. [The language of Christ
implied that God himself would feast those who feasted the poor, and this
implication accorded with the Jewish notion that the kingdom of God would
be ushered in with a great festival. Inspired by this thought, and feeling
confident that he should have been part of the festivities, this guest
exclaimed upon the anticipated blessedness.]
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. [The custom of sending a second invitation at the supper
hour is a very old one (Esth. v. 8; vi. 14), and is still observed.]
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. [These three excuses
show: 1. That the guests had made their engagements, either for business
or pleasure, without the least regard for the hour of the banquet; 2. That
they set little value upon either the friendship or the feast of the one
who had invited them. Moreover, the excuses progress in disrespect, for
the first excuse is on [495] the ground of necessity,
the second simply offers a reason, and the third is almost impudent in
its bluntness. Viewing the excuses spiritually, we note that each one contains
an element of newness--new field, new oxen, new wife. Thus the things
of the earth seem new and sweet in comparison with the gospel invitation.
Again, all the excuses are trifling, for the parable is intended to teach
that men forego their rights to heaven for trifles. Again, the "sacred
hate" of Luke xiv. 25, 26 would have eliminated all these excuses. Possibly
Paul had this parable in mind when he wrote I. Cor. vii. 29-33. The three
excuses warn us not to be hindered by 1. the love of possessions; 2. the
affairs of business; 3. Our social ties.]
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 to 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. [We have a preliminary or general invitation followed
by three special invitations. We may regard the general invitation as given
by Moses and the prophets in the ages before the feast was prepared. Then
the first special one would be given by John the Baptist and Christ to
the Jewish nation in the first stages of Christ's ministry. The second
special invitation was given by Christ, the twelve and the seventy, and
came more especially to the poor and outcast, the publicans and sinners,
because the leading men of the nation spurned the invitation. The third
invitation was begun by the apostles after the Lord's ascension and is
still borne forward by those who have come after them and includes all
nations. The three conditions of Jew, outcast and Gentiles are indicated
by the three orders of guests: 1. The honorable citizens of the city; 2.
Those who [496] frequent the streets and lanes,
but are still in and out of the city; 3. Those who live without the city
and are found upon the highways and in the hedgepaths of the vineyards
and gardens. The second and third classes are depicted as needing to be
constrained. This would be so, because they would hold themselves unworthy
of the invitation. But they were to be constrained by moral and not by
physical means (Matt. xiv. 22; II. Cor. xii. 11; Gal. ii. 14). Physical
constraint would have been contrary to all custom, as well as impossible
to one servant. Incidentally the parable shows the roominess of heaven
and the largeness of divine hospitality, so that Bengel aptly observes,
"Grace, no less than nature, abhors a vacuum."]
[FFG 492-497]
