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Jesus Heals a Sick Man
1One Sabbath, Jesus was having dinner in the home of an important Pharisee, and everyone was carefully watching Jesus. 2All of a sudden a man with swollen legs stood up in front of him. 3Jesus turned and asked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath?” 4But they did not say a word.
Jesus took hold of the man. Then he healed him and sent him away. 5 Afterwards, Jesus asked the people, “If your son or ox falls into a well, wouldn't you pull him out at once, even on the Sabbath?” 6There was nothing they could say.
How To Be a Guest
7Jesus saw how the guests had tried to take the best seats. So he told them:
8 When you are invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the best place. Someone more important may have been invited. 9Then the one who invited you will come and say, “Give your place to this other guest!” You will be embarrassed and will have to sit in the worst place.
10When you are invited to be a guest, go and sit in the worst place. Then the one who invited you may come and say, “My friend, take a better seat!” You will then be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.
Reflect
Once again we see Jesus having dinner at the house of one of the Pharisees. Although not all the Pharisees were hostile to him (think of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus), on this occasion they were watching him carefully, ready to spring on him if they caught him breaking the law.
Jesus knew what they were thinking (compare John 2:25). And so this time he took the initiative and confronted them with two questions. None of them dared answer. Notice how in this whole narrative of Jesus going to the cross, he is always in control. Nobody ever manipulates him.
When he saw how the guests were behaving at the dinner, Jesus may have had in mind Proverbs 25:6-7:
Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles. (NIV)
In Canada today we don’t pay a lot of attention to who sits where at a dinner. But it’s not hard to think of other situations where it counts a lot. I think immediately of playing in an orchestra or singing in a choir, when the best performers are positioned in the front. I can remember one occasion when we all took our seats for the first rehearsal and the conductor beckoned to some people in the back and asked them to come forward and change places with people who had chosen to sit in the front. Ouch, for those who were relegated to the back! I know, because I was one of them. I can’t read this parable without thinking of that.
The theme of sudden reversals runs all through this section of Luke. The Pharisees who just assumed that they had reserved seats at the final banquet were in for a shock. Will only a few be saved? Maybe, but it may not be the people you think. There will be some surprises in heaven.
Respond
Lord Jesus, you know how much these words go against our own instincts, how much we like to hear words of affirmation or praise, and how difficult it is to let other people sit in the best seats. Yet you were born in a stable and died on a cross. Please forgive us for our pride, and teach us to live like you. Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.