[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 18th of September, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church. Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]
I’ve mentioned before how Jesus used parables to explain concepts to the people that they would otherwise have trouble understanding. He took advantage of this practice quite often. In fact, leading up to our scripture reading today, Jesus had been traveling through the cities and villages healing the people and teaching them, relating the kingdom of heaven to them through parables.
It was during this time that He told us to try our best to follow the narrow way, using part of the wedding feast that some of us learned about in our first movie night. Once the Master of the house has locked the door, there’s no getting in. Instead, the Master will say, “Get away from Me, for I don’t know you.” The people would have gotten the point without further explanation.
All this leads up to the exchange we’ll look at today. Jesus is back in Jerusalem now and has been invited to a dinner party at, of all places, the home of a Pharisee. Now remember that the Pharisees constantly tried to trap Jesus, to catch Him doing something wrong.
Please listen and follow along to how Jesus interacted with the host of this dinner and with the other Pharisees and scribes in attendance. The Apostle Luke recorded this for us in chapter 14 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 14, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…
1 One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching Him closely. 2 There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?” 4 When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. 5 Then He turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your ox falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” 6 Again they could not answer.7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, He gave them this advice: 8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”12 Then He turned to His host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” He said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
--Luke 14:1-14 (NLT)
Let us pray… Father God, thank You for ensuring that even now, nearly 2000 years after Your Son walked this earth, we still have His teachings to learn from. We may need a little help understanding the parables that Jesus used to reach the people, but we have His words and we have His examples and You give us insight and understanding into them all. Thank You, gracious God, for saving all that is in our Bible for us! Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to read and study Your word as we should. Forgive us when we don’t take the time seek Your guidance and insight. Please help us better understand the lessons in our Bible. And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who carry out his evil works. Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.
Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day. Remind us to be more humble, not only before our fellow man but especially before You. This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Prolific writer and philosopher John Ruskin once said, "I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men have a feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them."
Inventor Samuel Morse was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn't know what to do. Morse responded, "More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding."
Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: "I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me."
Throughout human history, many great people have shown true humility, giving all the credit for their successes and accomplishments to God. Inventors, athletes, diplomats, physicians, innovators, and so many others humbled themselves before God and before man and did great things. Some, like Ruskin and Morse, are famous for what they did, but many others we’ll never even know about.
And then we have the flip side: the proud. They take personal credit for everything, even for stuff they had no hand in. They might get away with it for a while, but eventually it will catch up with them, either in this life or the next.
The first six verses of our scripture reading may not seem to pertain to the subject of humility, but I think they do. This dinner party was on the Sabbath, the holy day of rest. We can find numerous instances in the Gospel accounts where the Pharisees accused Jesus, and sometimes His disciples, too, of breaking the Sabbath law by “working”. Many of those were when He healed someone, often outside the Temple, on the Sabbath. Once was even for the silly reason of His disciples plucking a few handfuls of grain to eat as they walked along between villages.
And yet, here was a Pharisee hosting a dinner on the Sabbath, one attended by other Pharisees and their scribes, the legal experts. Anyone who has ever hosted a dinner, for even a few guests, knows how much work goes into it. Whether the host does it or not, someone is having to do a lot of work to get it all ready and served.
So here were all these men, who frequently accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath, enjoying the labors of someone breaking the Sabbath on their behalf! Hypocrites all! Jesus even point this out when He asks, “If your son or your ox falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” Of course they would! And of course they refused to answer.
These men were not at all humble, not in the least. Jesus watched as they scurried around, each one trying to take one of the seats of honor nearest the head of the table. So He spoke up and gave them a very good reason why they should choose one of the least desirable seats, at the foot of the table. They won’t be embarrassed if asked to vacate their seat for someone of higher esteem, and instead may be honored by being told to move up closer to the host. This is excellent advice! I wonder how many took it.
Then Jesus offers a little insightful advice to the host. Rather than inviting all his well-off friends and those in positions of rank and authority who would simply repay the favor at some point or another, he should invite those people who could never repay him, who are barely able to feed themselves, let alone put on a lavish feast. Doing so will result in a reward from God in the next life.
And these are great, practical lessons for us as well. We should never seek to be honored, but to honor God in all we do. We should not act out of an expectation of being rewarded, but out of love and in service to God. We should be humble now, in this life, so that we will be exalted by God in the next.
As I mentioned in our invocation, the call to exercise humility is given frequently in our Bible. The Apostle Peter echoes Jesus' instruction to be humble when he quotes King Solomon as I did in our invocation, in chapter 5 of his 1st letter to the early church, the last part of verse 5 and verse 6…
but gives grace to the humble.”5c “God opposes the proud6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor.
--1 Peter 5:5c-6 (NLT)
The Apostle James, the brother of Jesus, also encourages humility, in verse 10 of chapter 4 of his letter to the early church, when he says…
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.
--James 4:10 (NLT)
Be humble now and exalted later. Perhaps the Apostle Paul says it best, in the 2nd chapter of his letter to the Philippians, verses 3 through 11...
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though He was God,
He did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges;
He took the humble form of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When He appeared in human form,
8 He humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor
and gave Him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.
--Philippians 2:3-11 (NLT)
Most of this was in our congregational reading earlier. The part I added encourages us not to be selfish or to spend time and effort trying to impress other people. Instead, we should be humble, considering the interests and needs of others as much if not more than our own.
Jesus gave us many examples of humility through His parables and teachings. But the greatest example He gave was through how He lived His life while on this earth. Even though He was still God while in human form, He gave up His equality with God, He gave up all His divine privileges. Instead, He took on the form of a slave, a servant, and was born as any human is born. He humbled Himself in obedience to God the Father. He died a criminal’s death upon that cruel cross, even though He was guilty of no crime, of no sin.
And then God raised Him from the dead and elevated Him to the place of highest honor: God’s own right hand. At the name of Jesus when He returns, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every voice will proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. All to the glory of God, our heavenly Father. This is humility, and its reward.
So family, be humble now, and be exalted by God when we stand before Him. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Almighty God, thank You for lifting Jesus to the place of highest honor. His is the name above all names, our Lord and Savior. Thank You, Father, for showing us how Your Son lived His mortal life so that we can learn from His example. Father, too often we hesitate to put the needs of others ahead of our own wants and needs. Sometimes we let pride get in our way of doing what is right. Sometimes we’re too proud to get in there and do the dirty work that is needed to accomplish Your will. Forgive us, Father, our moments of pride, our lapses in humility. Forgive us when we seek credit for what we’ve done rather than give You all the credit that You so rightly deserve. Please, loving Father, help us remember what You have told us in Your word. Remind us that our true reward awaits us after this earthly life has ended. Help us be humbly patient in this life. And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.
Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…
Lord Jesus, so many times during Your ministry You emphasized the importance of being humble. And not only that, but You also exemplified humility in how You lived Your own life on this earth. Thank You, Lord, for giving us so many great examples to live by. Please, Lord, help us be more humble in all we do. Please help us defer any expectation of reward until we stand before our Father God. Forgive us when we hesitate to give God credit for what He allows us to do, for what He accomplishes through us. Remind us that we are nothing, we could do nothing, if not for God. And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another. Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through. Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer. This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior. Amen.
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