Jesus advised against inviting friends and family to meals solely for the purpose of being invited back and receiving repayment. Instead, he recommended inviting the poor, crippled, lame and blind, as this act of charity cannot be repaid but will be rewarded in heaven. Several analyses of Jesus' words noted that true charity is done without thought of earthly reward, but to help those in need and glorify God. Christians have a duty to care for the physical and spiritual needs of the poor.

1. JESUS WAS GIVING HOSTING ADVICE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
LUKR 14:12-14 12 Then Jesus saidto his host,
“Whenyou give a luncheonor dinner, do not invite
your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives,
or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may inviteyou
back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a
banquet, invitethe poor, the crippled, the lame, the
blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they
cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the righteous.”
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Moderation;Disinterestedness;Patience
Luke 14:12-14
W. Clarkson
We find in these words of our Lord -
I. THE CORRECTIONOF A COMMON FAULT. Jesus Christ did not,
indeed, intend to condemn outright all family or socialgatherings ofa festive

2. character. He had already sanctionedthese by his own presence. The
idiomatic language, "do not, but," signifies, not a positive interdiction of the
one thing, but the superiority of the other. Yet may we not find here a
correctionof social, festive extravagance;the expenditure of an undue
measure of our resources onmutual indulgences? It is a very easyand a very
common thing for hospitality to pass into extravagance, andeven into selfish
indulgence. Those who invite neighbours to their house in the full expectation
of being invited in return may seemto themselves to be open-handed and
generous, whenthey are only pursuing a systemof well-understoodmutual
ministry to the lowertastes and gratifications. And it is a fact that both then
and now, both there and here, men are under a greattemptation to expend
upon mere enjoyment of this kind a degree of time and of income which
seriouslycripples and enfeebles them. Thus that is given to display and
indulgence which might be reservedfor benevolence andfor piety; thus life is
lowered, and its whole service is reduced; thus we fail to reach the stature to
which we might attain, and to render to our Masterand his cause the service
we might bring. In the matter of indulgence, direct or (as here) indirect, while
we should keepawayfrom asceticism, it is of still greaterconsequencethat we
do not approacha faulty and incapacitating selfishness.
II. AN INVITATION TO A NOBLE HABIT. "Callthe poor... and thou shalt
be blessed;for they cannotrecompense thee." An actof disinterestedkindness
carries its blessing with it.
1. It is an intrinsically excellent thing. "To do goodand to communicate" is
honourable and admirable; and to do this with no thought of return from
those who are benefited, is an act of peculiar and exceptionalworth. It takes
very high rank in the scale ofspiritual nobleness.
2. It allies us with the highest and the best in all the universe; with the noblest
men and womenthat ever lived in any land or age;with the angels ofGod

3. (Hebrews 1:14); with our Divine Exemplar (Mark 10:45); with the eternal
Father himself (Matthew 5:45).
3. It leaves a benign and elevating influence on our own spirit. Every man is
something the better, is so much the worthier and more Christ-like, for every
humblest deed of disinterestedbenevolence.
III. THE PROMISE OF A PURE REWARD. If the idea of recompense is
admitted, everything turns upon the characterofthe reward, so far as the
virtue of the action is concerned. To do something for an immediate and
sensible reward is unmeritorious; to act in the hope of some pure and distant
recompense is an estimable because a spiritual procedure. Our life is, then,
basedupon faith, upon hope, and especiallyupon patience. To do goodand to
be content to wait for our recompense until "the resurrection of the just,"
when we shall reap the approval of the Divine Masterand the gratitude of
those whom we have served below, - this is conduct which our Lord approves;
it bears the best mark it can bear - that of his Divine benediction. - C.

4. Biblical Illustrator
Call the poor.
Luke 14:12-14
The Church's duty to the poor
J. Parker, D. D.
A recent advertisementon our city walls struck me as singularly suggestive;it
containedthe words, "Godand the poor." Such a conjunction of words is
most remarkable:the highest and the lowest, He who owns all things, and they
who own nothing: it is a conjunction of extremes, and though it lookedvery
extraordinary on a placard, yet if you examine the Old and New Testaments
the idea will be discoveredalmostmore frequently than any other.
I. THE RELATION OF GOD TO THE POOR. There is a strange mingling of
terror and tenderness in God's language in relation to the poor; terror
towards their oppressors tenderness towards themselves.Takethe former
(Proverbs 17:5; Isaiah10:2; Jeremiah 22:13;Amos 5:11; etc.). Such are some
of the sentencesoffire in which God speaks ofthe oppressorof the poor. We
now turn from terror to tenderness. We shall hear how God speaks ofthe
poor themselves. The lips that spoke in fire now quiver with messagessetto
music (Isaiah 58:6, 7). There is an extract which I must give from God's
ancient legislation, and as I read you will be able to say whether everAct of
Parliament was so beautiful (Deuteronomy 24:19-21). And why this beneficial
arrangement? A memorial act; to keepthe doers in grateful remembrance of
God's mighty interposition on their behalf. When men draw their gratitude
from their memory, their hand will be opened in perpetual benefaction.
II. THE RELATION OF THE POOR TO THE CHURCH. "The poor ye have
always with you." For what purpose? As a perpetual appeal to our deepest
sympathy; as an abiding memorial of our Saviour's own condition while upon
earth; as an excitement to our most practicalgratitude. The poor are given

5. into the charge of the Church, with the most loving commendation Of Christ
their companion and Saviour.
1. The poor require physical blessing. Christ helped man's bodily nature. The
Church devotes itself more to the spirit than to the flesh. This is right: yet we
are in danger of forgetting that Christianity has a mission to the body as well
as to the soul. The body is the entrance to the soul And is there no reward?
Will the Lord who remembers the poor forgetthe poet's benefactor? Truly
not! (Psalm41:1).
2. The poor require physical blessing; but still more do they require spiritual
blessing. The harvest is great, the labourers are few. Do you inquire as to
recompense? It is infinite! "Theycannot recompense thee, but thou shalt be
recompensedat the resurrectionof the just." And yet they can recompense
thee! Every look of the gleaming eye is a recompense!Every tone of
thankfulness is a repayment. God is not unrighteous to forgetour work of
faith. If we do goodunto "one of the leastof His brethren," Christ will receive
the goodas though offeredto Himself. Terrible is the recompense ofthe
wicked!"Whoso stoppethhis ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry
himself, but shall not be heard." Much is being said about Charity. .They have
carved her image in marble; they have enclosedherin gorgeouslycoloured
glass;they have placed on her lofty brow the wreath of immortal amaranth;
poesyhas turned her name into rhythm, and music has chanted her praise. All
this is well. All this is beautiful. It is all next to the best thing; but still the best
thing is to incorporate charity in the daily life, to breathe it as our native air,
and to express it in all the actions of our hand. "Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus." "Ifthou wilt be perfect, go and sellthat thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." You will then
be one with God! "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosenthe
poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath
promised to them that love Him?" Then do not contemn the poor. "He that
giveth, let him do it with simplicity."

6. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Christian beneficence
W. Cadman, M. A.
I. THE DUTY OF A CHRISTIAN TO DO GOOD;to lay himself out to do
goodto every one within his reach.
1. This arises from the very nature of the Christian character. Gratitude to
Christ leads him to copy the Saviour, "who went about doing good."
2. The duty of laying ourselves out to do goodarises from our Christian
calling. When the Holy Spirit of God makes a difference betweensinners who
are living in ungodliness and walking after the vanity of their minds, why does
He make that difference? Godcalls forth His people to be witnesses forHim,
in such a manner that those who are blind to His glory in creation, and who
neglectHis glory in revelation, cannot refuse to acknowledgeit when it is
evidenced and reflectedfrom the people that He has calledby His grace.
When God's people go forth doing good, when they manifest self-denial, when
they are willing to "spend and be spent," in order to contribute to the
temporal necessitiesorto the spiritual welfare of their fellow-creatures,there
is something in these actions which tells upon the heart that is closedto all
other means of receiving the knowledge ofGod's glory and salvation.
II. THE OBJECT OF CHRISTIAN BENEFICENCE. Whena Christian does
good, or tries to abound in any goodwork, it must not be from
(1)personalvanity,

7. (2)a desire of human applause,
(3)for worldly recompense.His sole inducement must be the love of Christ; his
one objectthe glory of God; his whole desire to advance the temporal and
spiritual goodof mankind.
III. THE CHRISTIAN'S ENCOURAGEMENT to lay himself out to do good
unto all men, without looking for anything again. "They cannot recompense
thee; but," etc.
(W. Cadman, M. A.)
Christian feasting
W. Jay.
Much Of the impressiveness of our Lord as a preacherarose from the
miracles He performed in confirmation of the divinity of His mission, and the
truth of His doctrine; much also from His adapting Himself to the state and
conditions of His hearers;and much also from His deriving His instructions
and encouragementsfrom present objects and occurrences, forthis always
gives a freshness to our discourse, and a superiority to the artificialness of
study. He sees a sowergoing forth to sow, and for the instruction of the people
is led to deliver a parable on the goodseedof the kingdom.
I. THE OCCASION OF THE ADDRESS. "ThensaidHe also to him that
bade Him." Concerning this invitation let us make four inquiries.
1. Who was it that bade Him? It was one of the chief Pharisees, a man of some
substance and respectability, probably a ruler of the synagogue,orone of the
Sanhedrim. We never read of any of the Sadducees inviting our Lord, nor do

8. we ever read of the Herodians inviting Him. Though the Pharisees were the
bitterest enemies of Christ, they had frequent interviews with Him.
2. Forwhat was He bidden? Some suppose that this was a common meal, but
the narrative requires us to view it as an entertainment, or some kind of
festivity.
3. When was He bidden? We are told that it was on the Sabbath day.
4. Why was He bidden? He was invited by Martha from a principle of duty
and benevolence, andshe and Mary hoped to derive some spiritual advantage
from Him. I wish I could think that this Pharisee invited our Lord under the
influence of similar motives. But from whatevermotive they were impelled tie
went not to eatand drink only. No, He went about His Father's business, this
He constantly kept in view. He knew what His work required. He knew that
the GoodShepherd must seek afterthe lost sheepuntil He find it. My
brethren, you must here learn to distinguish betweenHim and yourselves. He
had nothing inflammable in Him. The enemy came and found nothing in Him.
But you have much remaining depravity, and are in danger from external
circumstances;you therefore, must watchand pray lest you enter into
temptation; you are safe when in the path of duty, there God has engagedto
keepyou. Let us learn from the Saviour's conduct to exercise goodbehaviour,
that others may not have occasionto speak evil of us on accountof our
religion. Consider—
II. WHAT OUR SAVIOUR FORBIDS.He said, "When thou makesta dinner
or a supper, callnot thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor
thy rich neighbours; lestthey also bid thee again, and a recompense be made
thee." This "supper or dinner" supposes something costly, for you observe
that in the following verse it is called "a feast." Observe, it is not absolutely

9. wrong to invite our friends, or our brethren, or our rich kinsmen, or our rich
neighbours; but our Saviour looks at the motive here, "lesta recompense be
made thee"; as much as to say, there is no friendship or charity in all this.
And the apostle says, "Let all things be done with charity." You are to show
more hospitality than vanity, and more charity than ostentation, and to be
more concernedfor those who want your relief. This brings us to consider —
III. WHAT HE ENJOINS."Butwhen thou makesta feast, callthe poor, the
maimed, the lame, and the blind." Here we see what a variety of evils and
miseries are incident to the human race. Here are "the poor," without the
necessariesoflife; "the maimed," whose hands are unable to perform their
office;"the halt," who are indebted to a crutch to enable them to walk at all;
"the blind." Here we learn, also, the proper objects of your compassion, and
the fittest subjects of your charity. It is not necessarythat you should always
have "the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind" at your table. You may
fulfil the Saviour's design without this, and do as Nehemiah did, "send
portions to those for whom nothing is prepared."
IV. WHAT OUR SAVIOUR INSURES. "And thou shalt be blessed;for they
cannot recompense thee:for thou shalt be recompensedatthe resurrectionof
the just."
1. The blessedness:"Thoushalt be blessed." Blessedevenin the act itself. Oh,
the pleasures ofbenevolence!How blessedis it even in the review! for this
blessednesscanbe continued and improved on reflection. How superior in the
performance to sordid entertainments! "Thou shalt be blessed" — blessedby
the receiver. Think of Job. He says, "Whenthe earheard me, then it blessed
me, and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me. BecauseIdelivered the
poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The
blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I causedthe
widow's heart to sing for joy." What do we see yonder when we enter Joppa

10. with Peter? "Whenhe was come they brought him into an upper chamber:
and all the widows stoodby him weeping, and showing the coats and garments
which Dorcas made while she was with them." "And thou shalt be blessed" —
blessedby the observers. Who does not observe? And who observes and does
not bless on such occasions?Few, perhaps none of us, knew personally a
Reynolds, a Thornton, or a Howard, of whom we have read; but in reading
their history, when we come to their names we cannot help blessing them, and
thus the words of the Scripture are fulfilled, "The memory of the just is
blessed." "And thou shalt be blessed." Above all, blessedby God Himself,
upon whom everything depends, "whose favouris life, and whose loving-
kindness is better than life." He blesses personallyand relatively. He grants
you spiritual and temporal blessings. Davidsays, "Let them curse, but bless
Thou."
2. The certainty of this blessedness — "Forthey cannot recompense thee."
This seems a strange reason, and would tend to check rather than encourage a
worldly man. The foundation of this reasonis this, that charity must be
recompensed. If the poor cannotdo this themselves, some one else must
undertake it for them, and therefore God Himself must become answerable;
and it is much better to have God to recompense us than to rely upon a poor
dying creature. Paul therefore, says, to those who had made a collectionto
relieve him, and had sentit by the hands of Epaphroditus, "My God shall
supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." If,
therefore, the thought ever occurs to your mind, "I know not those persons
who have relieved me; I shall never be able to repay them," so much the
better, for then God must, and if there be any truth in His word, if there be
any love in His heart, He will.
3. The time of this bestowment — "Forthou shalt be recompensedat the
resurrectionof the just." Notthat this will be done then exclusively, for, as we
have already shown, there are advantages attending charity now. But it will
be principally then, publicly then. The apostle says to the Corinthians, "Judge

11. nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the
hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels ofthe heart;
and then shall every man have praise of God." Then will it be done perfectly.
It is not wrong to look for advantage in religion. But you should be upon your
guard not to entertain a notion of meritoriousness in any of your doings. No,
the rewardis of grace, notof debt.
(W. Jay.)
Christ's counselto his host
S. A. Tipple
Our Lord does not here enjoin neglecting and refraining from one's friends,
kinsfolk, and neighbours, to entertain only the poor, maimed, halt, and blind.
What He says is, when you make a dinner or supper — that is, as He
immediately explains, a feast — let it be, not for those with whom you are
accustomedto associate,but rather for the destitute and forlorn outside your
circle. It is a question, you see, notat all of socialfellowship, but of
expenditure, and of the objects to which our greatexpenditures should be
devoted. When you would lavish trouble and money, says Christ, let the
lavishing be, not for your own personalgratification, not with the view of
securing some enjoyment or obtaining some benefit for yourself, but for the
blessing of others. The point on which the whole admonition turns, and to
which it refers, is largenessofoutlay. This is obvious. Our Lord is thinking
and speaking, notof, an ordinary meal such as might be spreadany day, but
of a feast, like the "greatsupper" of the parable that follows:and remember
the occasionofHis words, the circumstances under which they were uttered.
He was dining on the Sabbath, in the house of one of the chief Pharisees, who
had Him to eatBread with him; and everything indicates that it was no
common dinner at which He was present, but an entertainment on a large
scale, gotup probably with much pains, and regardless ofcost. Christ noticed,
we are told, how those who were bidden chose out the chief rooms;nay, such

12. were the unseemly contests among the guests for precedence, andthe rude
struggling for the best places, whichHe witnessed, thatwhen at last the
tumult had subsided, and all were arranged, He could not forbear remarking
on it in tones of rebuke. Evidently the meal was a grand affair, a banquet
numerously attended and by many notable and distinguished persons.
Contemplating, as He sat there, the profusion, the sumptuousness;picturing
what it had cost— the amount of money, labour, and worry, and perhaps
sacrifice, that had been expended on it — and penetrating that it was all
mainly for selfish ends, with the idea and in the hope of some advantage
through it; Christ turns His greatmournful eyes upon the many with the
words: "Whenyou would make such another feastas this, my friend, at so
much trouble and cost, insteadof calling to it your rich friends, who are likely
to recompense you for it, you should callto it the destitute and afflicted, who
are unable to recompense you, and thus be blessedat the resurrection of the
just." The inner point and spirit of which form of words was this: "Ah! my
friend, it is a mistake to make your greatoutlays of strength and treasure with
a view to your own gratificationand aggrandisement, for it is poor
recompense atthe best, after all. These greatoutlays should be reserved
rather to meet the needs and ameliorate the unfortunate condition of others;
for the blessing of that, though more etherealand less palpable, is infinitely
more worth. You should not burden yourself to win ought of present
enjoyment or acquisition for yourself. If you burden yourself at all, it should
be to supply some want or serve some interest of the necessitous aroundyou."
And the lessonremains for us. Let your extensive expenditures, your toils and
worries, and hardships and sacrifices, be for those outside who require
ministry, rather than for yourself. When it is a question of your own personal
amusement or pleasure, of your own worldly comfort or gain, be content to
spend but little; don't make a fuss, or lie awake anxiously, or go out of your
way for that. If you do so at all, do it when the welfare of others is concerned,
when there are others to be succouredor savedby it; reserve for such ends the
incurring of heavy cost, the taking on of heavy burdens of thought and care.
(S. A. Tipple)

13. Christian entertainments
J. Parker, D. D.
Jesus Christ did not intend that the rich should never have communion with
one another, or hold intercourse with one another; that would be as absurd as
it would be impracticable. The idea is that, having had your own fellowships
and enjoyments, having eatenthe fat and drunk the sweet, you are to send out
a portion to him that hath none, and a blessing to him who sits in loneliness
and sadness ofheart. I had a wonderful dream some time ago — a singular
dream. It was about the MansionHouse and the Lord Mayor. I saw the great
banquet. ing hall filled, and I lookedand wonderedat the people, for they had
such a peculiar expressionupon their countenances.Theyseemedto be
closing their eyes, and so they were. Alas! they were all blind people, and all
over fifty years of age. It was the greatLord Mayor of London himself who
had invited all the blind people over that age in London to meet one another,
and have one happy night, so far as he could make it, in the ancient
banqueting hall. No loving cup was passedround, lestaccidents should occur;
but many a loving word was spoken, many a sigh full of meaning was heaved
— not the sighof misery, but the sigh of thankfulness. And then a strange
silence fell upon all the guests, and I heard a voice from above saying in the
English tongue quite distinctly, "Theycannot recompense thee, but thou shalt
be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just." Then the banqueting hall
seemedto be filled with spectators — glad witnesses — as if, at last there were
upon the earth some fine touch of Christian feeling, some recognitionof the
mystery of charity and the boundlessness and condescensionofChristian love.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
True Christian festivity
Anon.
I. It should be UNSELFISH. Not extended merely to those from whom we
expecta similar return.

14. II. It should be MERCIFUL. Extended to those who are generally neglected.
III. THIS FESTIVITY WILL BE REWARDED. Withthe blessing of the poor
now, and the commendation of the Judge hereafter.
(Anon.)
Christian hospitality
M. F. Sadler.
Our Lord really means that hospitality is first to be exercisedtowards those
who need it, because oftheir narrow means, and to whom kindness of this sort
is more pleasant, because they receive suchlittle notice from the world. These
are to be first recipients of our hospitality, and after them our friends,
relatives, and neighbours, who may be supposed to be able to ask us again.
This, of course, is directly contrary to the practice of the world. Now I do not
think that we obey this injunction of the Lord by following its spirit (as the
saying is) rather than its letter. It has been said that "the essenceofthe
beatitude, as distinct from its form, remains for all who give freely, to those
who can give them no recompense in return, who have nothing to offer but
their thanks and prayers," and that "relief, given privately, thoughtfully,
discriminately, may be better both for the giver, as less ostentatious, andfor
the receiver, as tending to the formation of a higher characterthan the open
feastof the Easternform of benevolence." Butit is to be noticedthat the Lord
is not speaking ofrelief, i.e., of almsgiving, but of hospitality. It is one thing to
send relief in a basketto some poor person from your house, and quite
another yourself to proffer to the same personfood upon your owntable of
which you and he jointly partake. By relief or alms you almost of necessity
constitute yourself his superior; by hospitality you assume that he is far more
on the same level with yourself. Partaking offood in common has, by the
absolutely universal consentof mankind, been esteemeda very different thing

15. from the mere gift of food. If it be said that such hospitality as the Lord here
recommends is contrary to the usages ofeven Christian societyamongstus,
we answer, "Of course it is"; but, notwithstanding this, it is quite possible that
the Christianity of our Christian society, of which we have so high an opinion,
may be very imperfect indeed, and require reformation, if not regeneration,
and that "the open feastof the Easternform of benevolence"may be worthy
of more imitation amongstourselves. Look atthe extravagantcostof some
entertainments — viands setbefore the guests simply because they are costly
and out of season— and considerthat the difference betweena fair and
creditable entertainment and this extravagance wouldenable the giver to act
ten times more frequently on the principle which the Lord inculcates, and for
which he would be rewarded;considerthis, and the folly of such waste, not to
say its wickedness, is manifest.
(M. F. Sadler.)
A model feast
W. Hubbard.
I cannot think there is no connectionwith Divine things in the counsels Christ
gave to His host about making a feast. I think He meant more than to alter a
custom, or change social habits. What He advisedwent deeper, and had a
profounder intention than that. He was reaching down to the foundation of
things; showing how God deals with men, and what are the principles, or what
is the measure and scope ofHis kingdom. He pourtrays a model feast. And if I
mistake not, the portraiture is a pattern of things in the heavens. A place at
the feast, I think He means to say, does not depend upon socialgrade,
position, or attainments, but upon the needs of those who are called. Necessity,
misery, helplessness,were to be the qualifications — poor, maimed, halt,
blind. Friends and rich neighbours were not to be left out; they might come
and share the joy and blessing — the joy of ministering and doing goodto
others; but the sore and the stricken were to be the guests;the invitations
were to be sentspecially to them. The ado, the preparation, the plentifulness,
and the freeness of the feast, must be all for them, to bless them, and make

16. them glad. That is God's feast. That is how God does. He prepares a feastfor
man roman the sinner, man the miserable, man the outcast, the hungry, the
starved, the diseased, the dying; and He throws it open, and bids them all
come, and sends to fetch them in. And when they gather, He lets His rich
friends, the angels, rejoice with Him; for "there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
(W. Hubbard.)
The poor invited to a feast
W. H. Aitken, M. A.
When I was quite a little boy, there lived in my father's house a man whom, as
I look back, I, in common with most who knew him, cannot help regarding as,
perhaps, the holiest man we were acquainted with. He lived a life of singular
devotion and self-denial, and seemedto walk constantly in the presence of
God. Some little time ago, whenm Liverpool, I accidentallycame across the
person in whose house be had lodgedin the days when he had first devoted
himself to God, when he was quite a young man, before his connectionwith
my ownbeloved father was as close as it afterwards became. This goodman,
who kept the house in which this gentleman lodged, told me a few anecdotes
about him, and, amongstothers, I remember the following:"Ah, Mr.
Aitken!" said the man, "I shall never forgetMr. C's Christmas dinner." I
said, "I wish you would tell me about it;" and he replied, "I will." "Christmas
Day came near, and Mr. C calledup my wife, and said to her, 'Now, I want
you to make the very best dinner you possibly can; I am going to give a
dinner-party.' 'Well, Mr. C,' she said, 'you have been a long time in my house,
and I never heard you talk of giving a dinner-party yet; but I will see to it that
it is a right gooddinner, and there shall be no mistake about it.' 'Do your
best,' he said; 'I am going to invite my friends, and I want everything to be
done properly.' My wife setto work and got a very gooddinner indeed.
Christmas Day came. Towards evening we were expecting the gentlemento
turn up who had been invited by our lodger; we did not know who they were,
but we made sure they would be people worthy of the occasion. After a time,

17. there came a knock at the door. I opened the door, and there stoodbefore me
a man clothed in rags. He had evidently washedhis face, and gothimself up a
little for the occasion;at the same time he was a beggar, pure and simple. He
said, 'Does Mr. C live here?''Yes,' I replied; 'he lodges here, but you cannot
see him; he is just going to sit down to dinner.' 'But,' said the man, 'I was
invited to come here to dinner this evening.'You may imagine my horror and
astonishment; I could scarcelycontainmyself. 'What!' I said; 'you invited to
come here this evening, a man like you?' I had scarcelygotthe words out of
my mouth before I saw anotherpoor, miserable specimen of humanity
crawling round the corner; he was another of Mr. C 's guests. By-and-by,
there was a round dozen of them, or something like a score;and in they came,
the most haggard, miserable, woe-begone objects youcould possibly conceive.
They went into my wife's nice, smart-looking dining-room, with that grand
white cloth, and all the goodthings which had been so carefully prepared. It
almost took one's breath awayto see them. But when we saw the goodman
himself, setting to work, like the Masterof old (who girded Himself to serve
His disciples) — setting to work to make these men happy, and help them to
spend a pleasantevening, without stiffness or formality, we thought, 'After all,
he is right. This is the best sort of dinner-party;' and we did not grudge the
labour we had bestowed." Now,I have told that little anecdote in order to
illustrate the fact that our Lord's teaching on such subjects is eminently
practical, and that when He gives a suggestion, youmay be sure that it is a
very sensible and sound one.
(W. H. Aitken, M. A.)
Call the poor
Biblical things not generallyknown.
Pocockeinforms us, that an Arab prince will often dine before his door, and
call to all that pass, even to beggars, in the name of God, and they come and
sit down to table, and when they have done retire with the usual form of
returning thanks. It is always customaryamong the Orientals to provide more
meats and drinks than are necessaryfor the feast!and then, the poor who

18. pass by, or whom the rumour of the feastbrings to the neighbourhood, are
calledin to consume what remains. This they often do in an outer room, to
which the dishes are removed from the apartment in which the invited guests
have feasted;or otherwise, every invited guest, when he has done, withdraws
from the table, and his place is takenby another personof inferior rank, and
so on, till the poorestcome and consume the whole. The former of these modes
is, however, the most common.
(Biblical things not generallyknown.)
Feeding the hungry
It was the custom of St. Gregory, when he became pope, to entertain every
evening at his own table twelve poor men, in remembrance of the number of
our Lord's apostles. One night, as he sat at supper with his guests, be saw, to
his surprise, not twelve but thirteen, seatedathis table; and he called to his
steward, and said to him, "Did not I command thee to invite twelve? and,
behold! there are thirteen." And the stewardtold them over, and replied,
"Holy father, there are surely twelve only." And Gregoryheld his peace;and,
after the meal, he calledforth the unbidden guest, and askedhim, "Who art
thou?" And he replied, "I am the poor man whom thou didst formerly
relieve;" but my name is 'The Wonderful' and through Me thou shalt obtain
whateverthou shalt ask of God. Then Gregoryknew that he bad entertained
an angel; or, according to anotherversion of the story, our Lord Himself."
Christ-like hospitality
It is said of Lord Chief Justice Hale that he frequently invited his poor
neighbours to dinner, and made them sit at table with himself, if any of them
were sick, so that they could not come, he would send provisions to them from
his owntable. He did not confine his bounties to the poor of his own parish,
but diffused supplies to the neighbouring parishes as occasionrequired. He
always treatedthe old, the needy, and the sick with the tenderness and
familiarity that became one who consideredthey were of the same nature with
himself, and were reduced to no other necessitiesbut such as he himself might

19. be brought to. Common beggars he consideredin another view. If any of these
met him in his walks, or came to his door, he would ask such as were capable
of working why they went about so idly. If they answeredit was because they
could not getemployment, he would send them to some field to gatherall the
stones in it, and lay them in a heap, and then pay them liberally for their
trouble. This being done, he used to send his carts, and causedthe stones to be
carried to such places of the highway as neededrepair.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(12) A dinner or a supper.—The two words were used respectivelyfor the
morning and the evening meal—the former, like the Continental déjeûner,
being taken commonly a little before noon, the latter, about sunset.
Thy friends, nor thy brethren.—The words were clearlychosenas including
the classesofguests who were then present. Our Lord saw in that Sabbath
feastnothing but an ostentatious hospitality, calculating on a return in kind. It
might not be wrong in itself, but it could take no place, as the Pharisee clearly
thought it would do, in the list of goodworks by which he soughtto win God’s
favour. The very fact that it met with its rewardon earth excluded it, almost
ipso facto, from the reward of the resurrectionof the just.
BensonCommentary
Luke 14:12-14. Thensaid he also to him that bade him — In the time of
dinner, Jesus directedhis discourse to the person who had invited him, and
showedhim what sort of people he should bid to his feasts. Whenthou makest
a dinner, &c., call not thy friends — That is, I do not bid thee call thy friends,
or thy rich neighbours. Our Lord leaves these offices of courtesyand

20. humanity as they were, and teaches a higher duty. Or, “by no means confine
thy hospitality to thy rich relations, acquaintance, and neighbours, lest the
whole of thy reward be an invitation from them to a like entertainment.” So
Macknight:but surely it is also implied in this precept of our Lord, that we
should be sparing in entertaining those that need it not, in order that we may
assistthose that do need, with what is saved from those needless
entertainments. Lest a recompense be made thee — This fear is as much
unknown to the world as even the fear of riches. But when thou makesta
feast, callthe poor — Have tables also for the poor, that they may partake of
thy entertainments. Dr. Whitby’s observations onthis passageare worthy of
attention. 1st, “Christ doth not absolutelyforbid us to invite our friends, our
brethren, or kinsfolk, to testify our mutual charity and friendship, and how
dear our relations are to us; only he would not have us invite them out of a
prospectof a compensationfrom them again, but to prefer the exercising of
our charity to them who cannotrecompense us. As comparative particles are
sometimes in sense negative, so negative particles are often in sense only
comparative:as Proverbs 8:10, Receive my instructions, and not (that is,
rather than) silver; Joel2:18, Rend your hearts, and not (that is, rather than)
your garments; John 6:27, Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for
that which endureth, &c. So here, Be not so much concernedto callthy
friends as to call the poor. 2d, Nor does he lay upon us a necessity, by this
precept, to callthe lame, the blind, or the maimed to our tables;but either to
do this, or what is equivalent to us in respectof charge, and more
advantageous to them and their families, namely, to send them meat or
money, to refresh them at home.” And thou shalt be blessed — Μακαριος,
happy. This will afford thee a much nobler satisfactionthan banquets can
give: for, though they cannotmake thee any recompense in the same way,
their prayers shall descendin blessings on thy head; and besides all the
pleasure thou wilt find in the exercise ofsuch beneficence, thoushalt be
abundantly recompensedat the resurrectionof the just, if thy bounties
proceedfrom a principle of faith and piety.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
14:7-14 Even in the common actions of life, Christ marks what we do, not only
in our religious assemblies, but at our tables. We see in many cases, thata

21. man's pride will bring him low, and before honour is humility. Our Saviour
here teaches, thatworks of charity are better than works of show. But our
Lord did not mean that a proud and unbelieving liberality should be
rewarded, but that his precept of doing good to the poor and afflicted should
be observed from love to him.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Call not thy friends ... - This is not to be understood as commanding us not to
entertain "at all" our relatives and friends; but we are to remember the
"design" with which our Lord spoke. He intended, doubtless, to reprove those
who soughtthe societyof the wealthy, and particularly rich relatives, and
those who claimed to be intimate with the greatand honorable, and who, to
show their intimacy, were in the habit of "seeking"their society, and making
for them expensive entertainments. He meant, also, to commend charity
shown to the poor. The passagemeans, therefore, call"notonly" your friends,
but callalso the poor, etc. Compare Exodus 16:8; 1 Samuel 15:22;Jeremiah
7:22-23;Matthew 9:13.
Thy kinsmen - Thy relations.
A recompense - Lest they feel themselves bound to treat you with the same
kindness, and, in so doing, neither you nor they will show any kind spirit, or
any disposition to do goodbeyond what is repaid.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
12-14. callnot thy friends—Jesus certainlydid not mean us to dispense with
the duties of ordinary fellowship, but, remitting these to their proper place,
inculcates what is better [Bengel].
lest … a recompense be given thee—a fearthe world is not afflicted with
[Bengel]. The meaning, however, is that no exercise of principle is involved in
it, as selfishness itselfwill suffice to prompt to it (Mt 5:46, 47).

22. Matthew Poole's Commentary
Ver. 12-14. Many things are delivered in Scripture in the form of an absolute
and universal prohibition, which must not be so understood, amongstwhich
this is one instance. None must think that our Saviour doth here absolutely or
universally forbid our invitations of our brethren, or kinsmen, or rich
neighbours, or friends, to dinners or suppers with us; there was nothing more
ordinarily practisedamongstthe Jews;Christ himself was at divers meals:
but Christ by this teachethus,
1. That this is no act of charity; it is indeed a lawful actof humanity and
civility, and of a goodtendency sometimes to procure amity and friendship
amongstneighbours and friends, but no such act of charity as they could
expecta heavenly rewardfor.
2. That such feastings oughtnot to be upheld in prejudice to our duty in
relieving the poor, that is, they ought not to be maintained in such excesses
and immoderate degrees, as by them we shall disable ourselves from that
relief of the poor, which God requireth of us, as our duty, with respectto the
estate with which he hath blessedus.
3. That we may most reasonablyexpecta recompence from heavenfor such
goodworks as we do, for which we are not recompensedon earth.
4. That God’s recompences ofus, for doing our duty in obedience to his
commands, are often deferred until the resurrectionof the just, but then they
will not fail obedient souls.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

23. Then said he also to him that bad him,.... As he had given advice and
instructions to the guests, so he likewise thought fit to give some to the master
of the house, that had given both him and them an invitation to the present
meal; observing, very likely, that his guests consistedof such persons as are
hereafterdescribed.
When thou makesta dinner, or a supper; any entertainment for other
persons, at what time of the day soever, whethersooneror later, at noon, or at
night, on sabbath days, or others:
call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich
neighbours: that is, do not invite thy rich friends, rich brethren, and rich
kinsmen, as well as not rich neighbours: not that our Lord's meaning is, that
such should not be invited at all; which would be to destroyfriendship and
sociable conversationamong persons in such a relation, and of such rank and
fortune: but his sense is, that not these only should be invited, to the neglectof
poor friends, poor brethren, poor kinsmen, and poor neighbours; and who,
comparatively speaking, shouldrather be invited than the former, as being
what would be more serviceable to them, and of a greateradvantage in the
issue to the masterof the feasthimself.
Lest they also bid thee again; and thee only, and not the poor, to as grand an
entertainment, which is commonly done:
and a recompense be made thee: one feasting bout for another, so that there
will be no obligation on either side; and this will be all the advantage that will
be gained; the return is made here, and there will be no rewardhereafter.
Geneva Study Bible

24. {3} Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makesta 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.
(3) Against those who spend their goods eitherfor the glory of man or for
hope of recompence, whereasChristiancharity considers only the glory of
God, and the profit of our neighbour.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Luke 14:12-14. Doubtless the collocationofthe company at table suggested
these words, which likewise are meant not probably as an actual table
arrangement, but parabolically, as a foil to the customaryteaching, that
instead of arranging the manifestations of human friendliness with a view to
receiving a return, we should make such manifestations just to those who
cannot repay them again; then shall we receive requital in the kingdom of the
Messiah. At the rootof this lies the idea that the temporal requital striven
after excludes the Messianic compensation, the idea of the ἀπέχειν τὸν μισθόν
(Matthew 6:2; Matthew 5:16). There is no allusion in this place to the calling
of the heathen (Schenkel).
μή] not: non tam or non tantum (Kuinoel, and many others), which here
would be even logicallywrong on accountof μήποτε κ. αὐτοί σε ἀντικ. Jesus
gives, indeed, only a figurative discourse.
φώνει] purposely chosen;the manifest, obvious element of the καλεῖν(Luke
14:13)is denoted.
πλουσίους]belongs only to γείτονας (in opposition to Grotius).

25. μήποτε κ.τ.λ.]“Hic metus mundo ignotus est, ut metus divitiarum,” Bengel.
ἀντικαλέσωσι]Comp. Xen. Symp. i. 15 : οὔτε μὴν ὡς ἀντικληθησόμενος,
καλεῖ μέ τις, ἐπεὶ πάντες ἴσασιν, ὅτι ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ νομίζεται εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν οἰκίαν
δεῖπνον εἰσφέρεσθαι.
In respectof καὶ αὐτοί the generalidea of the invitation has presented itself.
Luke 14:13. ἀναπήρους]maimed; Plat. Crit. p. 53 A: χωλοὶ καὶ τυφλοὶ καὶ
ἄλλοι ἀνάπηροι.
Luke 14:14. ἀνταποδοθήσεται]Thucyd. iii. 40; Plat. Phaedr. p. 236 C;
Romans 11:35; 1 Thessalonians 3:9;placed first for emphasis.
ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν δικαίων]This is the ἀνάστασις ζωῆς, see on John 5:28.
The Jewishdoctrine of a double resurrection is confirmed not only by Paul (1
Corinthians 15:22 f.; 1 Thessalonians4:16;comp. Acts 24:15), but also in this
place by Christ (comp. also Matthew 24:31). Comp. Luke 20:34-36. Otherwise
τῶν δικαίωνwould be a superfluous and unmeaning addition.[175]Moreover,
it could not be taken by the pharisaic hearers in any other sense than in the
particularistic one, but not in such a manner as that Jesus, because He had the
δικαίους directly in view, only mentioned the resurrectionof these, without
thereby excluding that of the remaining people as contemporary (in
opposition to Kaeufer, De ζωῆς αἰων. not. p. 52). The doctrine of the
millennial kingdom betweenthe first and secondresurrectionadopted in the
Apocalypse (Bertholdt, Christol. § 38) is not, however, confirmed, nor are the
Rabbinical traditions, partly varying very much among themselves on the
severalstagesofthe resurrection(Eisenmenger, Entdeckt. Judenth. II. p. 901

26. ff.); further, the assumption is not confirmed, according to which the
Israelites in themselves were understoodas the δικαίους who should first arise
(Bertholdt, § 35; Eisenmenger, II. p. 902), orat leastthe righteous among the
Israelites (Eisenmenger, l.c.). Jesusmeans the righteous in the moral sense, as
the contextshows (see Luke 14:13 f., 16 ff.), without limitation of race. The
specific definition of the idea of those first to be awakenedas οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ
(1 Corinthians 15:23; comp. 1 Thessalonians 4:16)lay of necessityin the
development of the Christian consciousness ofthe ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗ only to be
attained in Christ.
[175]It would be so also if it did not presuppose any ἀνάστασις τῶν ἀδίκωνat
all. This is againstGeorgiiin Zeller’s Jahrb. 1845, I. p. 141., who finds in the
Synoptic Gospels only a resurrectionof the pious.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 14:12-14. A word to the host, also parabolic in characterin so far as it
gives generalcounselunder a concrete particular form (Hahn), but not
parabolic in the strict sense of teaching spiritual truth by natural examples.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
12-14. Whom to invite; a Lessonto the Host.
12. call not thy friends, nor thy brethren] In this, as many of our Lord’s
utterances, we must take into account(1) the idioms of Oriental speech;(2)
the rules of common sense, whichteachus to distinguish betweenthe letter
and the spirit. It is obvious that our Lord did not mean to forbid the common
hospitalities betweenkinsmen and equals, but only, as the context shews, (1) to
discourage a mere interestedhospitality intended to secure a return; and (2)
to assertthat unselfish generosityis superior to the common civilities of
friendliness. The “not” therefore means, as often elsewherein Scripture, “not
only, but also,’or “not so much...as,” as in Proverbs 8:10; John 6:27; 1
Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 1 Timothy 2:9, &c. In other words,

27. “not” sometimes denies “not absolutely but conditionally (Galatians 5:21) and
comparatively (1 Corinthians 1:17).” See Matthew 9:13; Jeremiah 7:22; Joel
2:13; Hebrews 8:11and a recompence be made thee] In a similar case Martial
says, “You are asking for gifts, Sextus, not for friends.” There is a remarkable
parallel in Plato’s Phaedrus.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 14:12. [Τῷ κεκληκότι,to him that had bidden Him) This Pharisee was
not one of the worststamp; see Luke 14:14.—V. g.]—ἄριστονἢ δεῖπνον, a
dinner [rather the morning meal, or breakfast], or a supper [rather a dinner])
More usually there is made the simple mention of supper: therefore the meal
at this time may have been the early meal [ἄριστον, prandium, breakfastor
luncheon]. See Luke 5:1; Luke 5:25.—μὴ φώνει τοὺς φίλους, do not give an
invitation to thy friends) that is to say, I do not tell thee to invite thy friends,
etc. Jesus leaves as it were in their own place [as generallyrecognised]
invitations which arise out of a natural or socialtie of connection. He Himself
enjoins [besides]a better class of invitations. He does not altogetherabolish
the offices offriendly courtesy.—πλουσίους, [whenthey happen to be] rich)
This epithet is to be joined to τοὺς φίλους—ἀδελφοὺς—συγγενεῖς—γείτονας,
those of thy friends, brethren, relatives, neighbours who may be rich, but who
are often neglectedwhenthey are poor: But the epithet chiefly belongs to
γείτονας, neighbours; to which four classesofthose well-off in the world, there
are opposedas many classes ofthose who are not so in Luke 14:13,—
μήποτε—ἀνταπόδομα, lest—a recompense)This kind of fear is unknown to
the world, as is also fear of riches [Give me neither poverty nor riches],
Proverbs 30:8. This is the foundation of true liberality, and αὐταρκεία,
independent contentedness. Who is there that would wish that all his acts in
this life should be recompensedaccording to their desert? [And yet there are
not wanting persons, who wish that everything whatever, which they give or
lend, should be most quickly, abundantly, and with accumulatedinterest,
repaid to them: nay they even hunt after both peculiar privileges and
undeserved opportunities which for crushing many others, with such great
eagerness,that one might suppose that there was no resurrection at hand or
recompense ofmen’s deed, nay, indeed, as if nothing is to be takenaway
(wrested)from those, who practically deny their faith in things future by their

28. unbridled panting after things present. At what a fearful costdo these things
present stand to not a few persons, with whom they are turned into a matter
of plunder and rapacity! Happy is he, who is not loath to wait (for his good
things). Do not be unduly chagrined, if at any time it will happen that in some
case you fail (are disappointed) in the world. But beware of judging rather
harshly of others, whom, whether you will or not, you cannot but perceive to
have precedencygiven to them above yourself.—V. g.]—καὶ γενήσεται)
Concerning this construction, μήποτε καὶ αὐτοί σε ἀντικαλέσωσι [Subj.], καὶ
γενήσεταί [Indic.], σοι ἀνταπόδομα,the exactcounterpart to which occurs in
Luke 14:9 [where see note], a judgment may be formed from the note on
Mark 3:27, which see. From not observing this, many have alteredγενήσεται
to γένηται.[144]
[144]Howeverthe oldestauthorities support γένηται, not γενἡσεται, ABa
Vulg. Iren. (‘fiat’) Cypr. bc alone have ‘erit.’—E. and T.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 12. - Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makesta
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
recompense be made thee. This remark of Jesus took place somewhatlaterin
the course ofthe feast. Those presentwere evidently mostly, if not all, drawn
from the upper ranks of Jewishsociety, andthe banquet was no doubt a
luxurious and costly entertainment. Godet's comment is singularly interesting,
and well brings out the half-sorrowful, half-playful sarcasmofthe Master. He
was the rich Pharisee's Guest;he was partaking of his hospitality, although, it
is true, no friendly feelings had dictated the invitation to the feast, but still he
was partaking of the man's bread and salt; and then, too, the miserable
societytradition which then as now dictates such conventional hospitality, all
contributed to soften the Master's stern condemnationof the pompous hollow
entertainments; so he "addressesto his host a lessonon charity, which he
clothes, like 'the preceding, in the gracefulform of a recommendation of
intelligent self-interest." The μήποτε, lest(ver. 12), carries a tone of liveliness

29. and almostof pleasantry. "Bewareofit; it is a misfortune to be avoided. For,
once thou shalt have receivedhuman requital, it is all over with Divine
recompense."Jesus did not mean to forbid our entertaining those whom we
love. He means simply, "In view of the life to come, thou canstdo better still."
Vincent's Word Studies
Dinner - supper
See on Matthew 22:4. Supper (δειπνον) is the principal meal at evening, and
corresponding to the modern late dinner.
Call not thy friends, etc
A striking parallel occurs in Plato's "Phaedrus," 233. "And, in general, when
you make a feast, invite not your friend, but the beggarand the empty soul,
for they will love you, and attend you, and come about your doors, and will be
the bestpleased, and the most grateful, and will invoke blessings on your
head."
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 14:12 And He also wenton to say to the one who had invited Him,
"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your
brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite
you in return and that will be your repayment.

30. KJV Luke 14:12 Then saidhe also to him that bade him, When thou makesta
dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy
kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lestthey also bid thee again, and a
recompence be made thee.
When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends Lk 1:53; Pr
14:20;22:16; James 2:1-6
and that will be your repayment 6:32-36;Zech 7:5-7; Mt 5:46; 6:1-4,16-18
Luke 14 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 14:1-14 Jesus the Confronter - StevenCole
Luke 14:7-14 Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble - John MacArthur
JESUS CONTINUES TO REBUKE
THEIR SINFUL PRIDE
And He also went on to sayto the one who had invited Him - Referring to His
host, the leader of the Pharisees in Lk 14:1-note.
Wiersbe - Jesus knew that the host had invited his guests for two reasons:(1)
to pay them back because they had invited him to past feasts, or (2) to put
them under his debt so that they would invite him to future feasts. Such
hospitality was not an expressionof love and grace but rather an evidence of
pride and selfishness. He was “buying” recognition.
Mattoonhas an interesting introduction to this next sectionhe entitles "The
Three Stooges"writing - When I was growing up as a boy, I can remember
watching three men that were constantly doing foolish, nutty things and

31. beating up on one another. These guys were absolutely crazy and were known
as Moe, Larry, and Curly, otherwise knownas The Three Stooges. Two ofthe
men were actualbrothers, Moe and Curly. The constantbings, bangs, bongs,
dings, dongs, slaps, and punches would almost drive a personcrazy, yet,
people came back for more. In fact, they performed from 1922 to 1975. Their
comedy, mockery, and foolishness drove Adolph Hitler into a rage. They were
the first to do a small film making fun of Hitler. In 1940, their short film
called"You Natzy Spy" put them on Hitler's DeathList. When we look in this
portion of Luke 14, we find the original Three Stooges.These menwere also
characterizedby foolish, stupid thinking and behavior. The reasonwe note
them is because many folks today think and actjust like them. Let's take a
look at this story so you can understand why many folks behave like The
Three Stooges.
Robertson- This is a parable for the host as one had just been given for the
guests, though Luke does not term this a parable.
When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your
brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors - Jesus is addressing the idea of
reciprocity, the practice of exchanging things (in this case dinner invitations)
with others (other prideful Pharisees)formutual benefit.
Do not invite (2564)(kaleo)is a command, present imperative with a negative,
which calls for this Pharisee to stop inviting only friends, et al. Jesus is not
saying he could not invite friends, but that he needed a "motive check!" He
should not do so to the exclusionof others. In other words, Jesus is
condemning his socialexclusivism(then and now)!
Friends (5384) (philos) means loved (loved one), dear, befriended, friendly,
kind. Philos can mean kindly disposedor devoted (Acts 19:31). Philos

32. describes one having specialinterestin someone else. One who is on intimate
terms or in close associationwith someone else
Wiersbe - Jesus does not prohibit us from entertaining family and friends, but
He warns us against entertaining only family and friends exclusively and
habitually. That kind of “fellowship” quickly degeneratesinto a “mutual
admiration society” in which eachone tries to outdo the others and no one
dares to break the cycle. Sad to say, too much church sociallife fits this
description.
Brothers (80)(adelphos from a = denotes unity + delphus = a womb) means
brother or near kinsman.("ofthe same womb")
Rich (rich man) (4145)(plousios fromploutos = wealth, abundance, riches) is
an adjective which literally refers to having an abundance of earthly
possessionsthat exceeds normalexperience. Rich is used often of material
wealth and was a frequent topic addressedby the Lord Jesus.
Luke's uses of plousios - Lk. 6:24-note;Lk. 12:16-note;Lk. 14:12;Lk. 16:1;
Lk. 16:19; Lk. 16:21;Lk. 16:22; Lk. 18:23; Lk. 18:25;Lk. 19:2; Lk. 21:1
Spurgeon- Our Saviour, you see, keepsto one line of instruction. It was a
feast, so he used the feastto teachanother lesson. It is always well, when
men’s minds are running in a certaindirection, to make use of that particular
current. When a feastis uppermost in the minds of men, it is no use starting
another subject. So the Saviour rides upon the back of the banquet, making it
to be his steed. Note his advice to his host: “Try to avoid doing that for which
you will be recompensed. If you are rewarded for it the transactionis over;

33. but if not, then it stands recordedin the book of God, and it will be
recompensedto you in the greatday of account.”
Craig Keener - Not to invite people of one’s own socialstatus would offend
them; but Jesus says that the other’s need, not one’s own socialstanding, must
determine the giving of gifts. The Old Testamentforbade charging interest on
a loan and so profiting by one’s neighbor; but Jesus’principle here excludes
looking for any repayment at all; cf. "“Ifyou lend to those from whom you
expectto receive, whatcredit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in
order to receive back the same amount. 35“Butlove your enemies, and do
good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the MostHigh; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful
and evil men." Lk 6:34–35-note.(IVP BackgroundCommentary)
They may also invite you in return - The "benefit" of the reciprocity in this
case is an invitation.
And that will be your repayment - As MacArthur says this "was a zero sum
game with no winners, in which the participants’ gains and lossesofprestige
evened out in the end. In Jewishsociety aninvitation to a meal with a Pharisee
was a kind of currency; they exploited hospitality for the sake of self-glory
and elevation. Disinterestedkindness was foreignto them; everything they did
was self-serving."
Wiersbe - Our motive for sharing must be the praise of God and not the
applause of men, the eternalreward in heaven and not the temporary
recognitionon earth. A pastor friend of mine used to remind me, “You can’t
get your rewardtwice!” and he was right (see Matt. 6:1–18). On the day of
judgment, many who today are first in the eyes of men will be last in God’s

34. eyes, and many who are last in the eyes of men will be first in the eyes of God
(Luke 13:30).
Repayment (468)(antapodoma from antí = in turn + apodidomi = render;
cognate verb antapodidomi) a noun which means a giving back in return for
something receivedand so that which is offered or given as recompense or
retribution (in both a goodsense and a bad sense). The thing paid back in a
goodsense (Lk 14:12)or bad sense (Ro 11:9).
Bock - The invitation of friends is limited to repayment in an invitation to eat
at their home. But the more gracious actionthat Jesus suggests has a bigger,
more permanent, rewardfrom God. The major point is that customary “pay
back” hospitality is of no greatmerit to God. Fellowshipshould not have
sociallimits. The best hospitality is that which is given, not exchanged.
Mattoon- Jesus gives these Phariseesinstructions for hosting a parry or
dinner. The principles given here are applicable for us today. When people
made a grand feastin Bible days, they would invite famous and important
people to their dinner, which would give them prestige if they attended. These
important folks would return the favor by inviting them to their social
functions. In a sense, they would give to those in authority or important
positions in order to getsomething in return. Jesus was condemning this
motive. Do people do this today? Of course they do.
Luke 14:13 "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the
lame, the blind,
KJV Luke 14:13 But when thou makesta feast, callthe poor, the maimed, the
lame, the blind:

35. invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind Lk 14:21; 11:41;Dt 14:29;
16:11,14;26:12,13;2 Sa 6:19; 2 Chr 30:24;Neh 8:10,12;Job29:13,15,16;
31:16-20;Pr 3:9,10;14:31;31:6,7;Isa 58:7,10;Mt 14:14-21;15:32-39;22:10;
Acts 2:44,45;4:34,35;9:39; Ro 12:13-16;1 Ti 3:2; 5:10; Titus 1:8; Phile 1:7;
Heb 13:2
Luke 14 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 14:1-14 Jesus the Confronter - StevenCole
Luke 14:7-14 Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble - John MacArthur
TRUE DISCIPLESHIP CALLS
FOR UNSELFISH GENEROSITY
But - A term of contrastwhich should always prompt the question "What is
being contrasted?" In this case the contrastis striking - the wayof the
Pharisees who soughtto be exalted among men, and the way of God, which is
the humble path that leads to true blessing.
When you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind (4
groups in Lk 14:21) - This focuses onthose who have need and have no funds
to repay with a reciprocalinvitation. To the Pharisees sucha suggestionwould
be absurd as these low caste people could provide no benefit to them in their
desire for prestige. In fact the Pharisees shunned this genre of non-genteel
folk! The OT clearly taught concernfor the poor and powerless (Dt. 14:28–
29; 16:11–14;26:11–13.)
Guzik - There is something wonderful in giving a gift that can never be
repaid. This is some of the more blessing Jesus spoke ofwhen He said, It is
more blessedto give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

36. Lame (5560)(cholos)is an adjective that describes a physical “disability that
involves the imperfect function of the lowerlimbs” (Louw-Nida). It is used in
the NT primarily to describe those who are literally crippled in the feet or legs
(Acts 3.2, 11, 14:8, Mt 11:5, 15:30-31, 21:14, Lk 7:22, Jn 5:3) or deprived of
one foot, maimed (Mt 18.8, Mk 9:45). Cholos is used once in a figurative sense
to describe spiritual weaknessin Heb 12:13 (cf Lxx use in 1 Ki 18:21)where
the limb that is lame denotes those wavering betweentwo opinions within the
Christian community.
Gilbrant - This adjective is used in both the Septuagint and the New
Testamentto designate the group of people who suffer such afflictions, usually
grouped togetherwith “the blind” and other handicapped groups. Since the
Law forbade the full cultic participation of people who were physically
impaired, the healing of such people and their consequentreintegrationinto
societywas symbolic of the glories of the coming kingdom of God in both the
Old and New Testaments (cf. Matthew 11:4-6 and Isaiah35:5,6 which is
alluded to there).
Cholos in NT - 14x in 14v - Mt. 11:5; 15:30-31;18:8; 21:14; Mk. 9:45; Lk.
7:22; 14:13,21;Jn. 5:3; Acts 3:2; 8:7; 14:8; Heb. 12:13
Cholos in Septuagint - 11xin 11v- Lev. 21:18;Deut. 15:21;2 Sam. 5:6,8; 9:13;
19:26;Job 29:15; Isa. 33:23;35:6; Mal. 1:8,13;
Blind (5185)(tuphlos from tuphlóo = envelop with smoke, be unable to see
clearly) canrefer to literal blindness as here in Luke 14:13 (cf Mt 9:27, 28;
11:5; 12:22; Lk 7:21, 22;Jn 9:1, 2, 3.;Acts 13:11 Lv 19:14; Job29:15) but
more often the NT uses tuphlos to describe spiritual blindness. Figuratively
the picture is of one's mind as blind, ignorant, stupid, slow of understanding,
being unable to understand, incapable of comprehending (see Mt 15:14;

37. 23:16, 17, 19, 24, 26; Lk 4:18; Jn 9:39,40,41;Ro 2:19; 2Pe 1:9; Rev 3:17; Isa
42:16,18,19;43:8) This sense speaksofboth mental and spiritual blindness,
often the result of self-deceptionso that one is unable to understand (spiritual
truth). The Greek writers used tuphlos to describe those who were "mentally
blind".
Keener - Well-to-do persons in the Greco-Romanworldusually invited people
of somewhatlowersocialstatus in return for receiving honor, but these
invitees would still be relatively respectable, notabsolute dependents or
beggars, as crippled, lame and blind people would be in that society, or
peasants (although many Jewishteachers might regard inviting beggars and
peasants as an actof piety). The crippled, lame and blind were not permitted
on the premises of the probably Essene community at Qumran. (Ibid)
Cole - True ministry out of Christian love serves and gives without thought of
return. It isn’t manipulative, serving for what you canget out of it. As
Christians, we should serve others out of love for God and others. To go
Jesus’way, you have to have your focus on eternity, not on the rewards of this
life. You have to believe that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him”
(Heb. 11:6). Often there are many blessings that come back on you in this life
when you serve the Lord. But, often there are not any visible rewards here
and now. You serve and no one notices. You give to help a needy personand
you getripped off, and the person never even says, “Thanks.”One testof
whether your motives are right in your service for Christ is, “Are you hurt
when you don’t get the recognitionyou think you deserve?” (WOE!)Another
test is, “What is your attitude toward the poor and the hurting?” If you’re
only willing to serve those who can pay you back or who might later be able to
advance your cause, you’re using people, not loving them. Jesus confronts our
motives for service. Any selfishmotives in serving Christ are sin.

38. Bock - Unlike much of ancient culture, Jesus urges that reciprocitynot be a
factorin deciding whom to invite (Marshall1978:584). Hospitality is
generositywhen no motive exists besides
Mattoon- He instructed them to invite those who were poor, maimed, lame,
and blind. By doing this, they would show they were not controlledby a spirit
of repayment, that their giving was unselfish, and their love was genuine. The
Lord is trying to getus to examine our motives of service and doing things for
others. Is it for self-gloryor for God's glory? Are we seeking to be seenof
others? Are we trying to gain something down the road? One day our motives
will be revealed.
Paul alludes to this by giving us a "motive check" in First Corinthians
Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the
Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and
disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then eachman’s praise will come to
him from God. (1 Cor 4:5)
Comment - "Judge nothing before the time", for all such judgment must be
premature and faulty, partial and inconclusive, invalid and illegal. The "time"
is when the Lord comes and sets up His Judgment Seat. In view of this "time",
all human verdicts must be prejudice. Then the Lord will bring into the light
the hidden things of darkness, those deepinner springs that lurked unseen,
things of which we were not aware, and will make manifest the counsels ofthe
heart, those secretdesires and motives which were concealedbut were the
basis of decisionand action. Then everything will be "named and open". Then
eachshall receive the praise that is his due from God, the only praise that
really matters, the only judgment that possessestrue value. (What the Bible

39. teaches – 1 and 2 Corinthians) (Ed: The truth this verse prompts me to pray
Ps 139:23-24 frequently!)
A New Tradition
When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. —
Luke 14:13
In the United States, Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of feasting with
family. But changing circumstances may lead us to rethink our holiday
traditions.
It happened to Sharon Randall during a year in which her mother died, her
father-in-law had to be moved to a resthome, and her husband was
undergoing treatment for cancer. As the Thanksgiving holiday drew near, the
Randall family decided it was time for a new approach. So instead of
preparing a feastjust for themselves, they invited people outside their family
circle to join them. The next year they expanded the guestlist even more.
“If your family has changedand you need a new tradition,” says Sharon,
“look around. You’re not alone. Invite someone to join you for Thanksgiving.
Or volunteer to help serve at a church or shelter or community dinner.”
Those are challenging words for every followerof Jesus Christ. Perhaps it’s
time to start a new tradition for your next holiday feastby inviting people
outside your usual circle, or by serving those in need. In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus
said that when we include those who can’t repay us, we are blessedin a special
way. Sharing the feastis Thanksgiving indeed! By David C. McCasland(Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)

40. Just a "cup of cold water" was given in His name,
But the soul of the giver was never the same!
For he found that when giving was done with a zest,
Both the heart of the giver and takerwere blest. —Anon.
Life takes onnew meaning when we give ourselves to others.
Luke 14:14 and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay
you; for you will be repaid at the resurrectionof the righteous."
KJV Luke 14:14 And thou shalt be blessed;for they cannot recompense thee:
for thou shalt be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just.
for you will be repaid Pr 19:17; Mt 6:4; 10:41,42;25:34-40;Phil 4:18,19
at the resurrectionof the righteous Lk 20:35,36;Da 12:2,3;Jn 5:29; Acts
24:15
Luke 14 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 14:1-14 Jesus the Confronter - StevenCole
Luke 14:7-14 Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble - John MacArthur
THE PROMISE OF
FUTURE BLESSING

41. You will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you - The point
is that you "gave" expecting nothing in return. You gave with pure motives,
motives of compassionand love for your fellow man. These are God-like
attributes. And God honors selfless graciousness. While they do not have the
means to repay, God does and God will repay! Note that "be blessed" is the
"Divine Passive"indicating it is God Who will repay.
Wiersbe - If our hearts are right, God will see to it that we are properly
rewarded, though getting a reward must not be the motive for our generosity.
When we serve others from unselfish hearts, we are laying up treasures in
heaven (Matt. 6:20) and becoming “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). Our
modern world is very competitive, and it is easyfor God’s people to become
more concernedabout profit and loss than they are about sacrifice and
service. “Whatwill I getout of it?” may easilybecome life’s most important
question (Matt. 19:27ff). We must strive to maintain the unselfish attitude that
Jesus had and share what we have with others.
Blessed(3107)(makarios fromroot makar, but others say from mak = large or
lengthy) means to be happy, but not in the usual sense ofhappiness basedon
positive circumstances. Fromthe Biblical perspective Makarios describesthe
person who is free from daily cares andworries because his every breath and
circumstance is in the hands of His MakerWho gives him such an assurance
(such a "blessing"). Makarios describesthe kind of happiness that comes
from receiving divine favor. God wants to bless His creation, but we must be
in a position to receive His blessing. Proud people are not in such a position,
for "Godis opposedto the proud, but gives grace (cf"blessing")to the
humble." (James 4:6-note).
Rob Morgan- Makarios (blessed)means happy, fortunate, blissful. Homer
used the word to describe a wealthy man, and Plato used it of one who is
successfulin business. Both Homer and Hesiod spoke ofthe Greek gods as

42. being happy (makarios)within themselves, because theywere unaffected by
the world of men-who were subjectto poverty, disease, weakness, misfortune,
and death. The fullest meaning of the term, therefore, had to do with an
inward contentedness thatis not affectedby circumstances. Thatis the kind of
happiness Goddesires for His children, a state of joy and well-being that does
not depend on physical, temporary circumstances (cfPhp 4:11, 12, 13). (From
his sermonentitled "Blessed")
Repay...repaid(paid back)(467)(antapodidomifrom antí = in turn +
apodídomi = render <> from apo = from + didomi = give) means to give back
in return for something received. The idea is to practice reciprocitywith
respectto an obligation. It means to pay back something owed. Antapodidomi
is a strong verb (having two prefixes) and is emphatic as indicated by its two
uses in this verse.
For - term of explanation - Clearly Jesus explains how you will be blessed. The
blessing will not be bestowedby those who have to means to repay but by God
has has all means to repay and to repay throughout eternity! I would callthat
a blessing almost beyond belief. That God would safe us is "reward" enough,
but that He will rewardus in eternity future is nothing short of indescribably
amazing grace!
You will be repaid at the resurrectionof the righteous - Contrastthe
repayment of the Phariseesfrom one man to another in time, with the
repayment from God throughout eternity! This type of mindset is living with
an eternal perspective. With what perspective are you spending your short
time on earth?
Will be repaid - The passive voice is the "Divine Passive"indicating it is God
Himself Who will repay their selfless generosity.

43. Keener - Judaism taught that the righteous would ultimately be rewarded at
the resurrectionof the dead; here Jesus applies this truth to distribution of
resources.ThatGod repaid those who helped the poor was alreadytaught in
the Old Testament(Prov 19:17).
One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him
for his gooddeed. (Pr 19:17-Bridges'note)
Spurgeon- It should be your ambition to have something setdown to your
credit “at the resurrection of the just.” If you do someone a kindness with a
view to gaining gratitude, you will probably be disappointed; and even if you
should succeed, whatis the gratitude worth? You have burned your firework,
you have seenthe brief blaze, and there is an end of it. But if you getno
present return for your holy charity, so much the better for you.
Daniel alludes to God's repayment at the resurrection of the righteous -
“Many of those who sleepin the dust of the ground will awake
(RESURRECTION), these to everlasting life (cf "REPAYMENT""ofthe
righteous"), but the others to disgrace (cftemporal "disgrace"in Lk 14:9)
and everlasting contempt. “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the
brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to
righteousness, like the stars foreverand ever. (Da 12:2,3-note)
Luke mentions the resurrectionof the righteous again in Acts

44. Acts 24:14-15 “Butthis I admit to you, that according to the Way which they
call a sectI do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in
accordancewith the Law and that is written in the Prophets;having a hope in
God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a
resurrectionof both the righteous and the wicked.
Jesus describes this resurrectionin the Gospelof John
John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who
are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the
gooddeeds to a resurrectionof life (= "resurrectionof the righteous"), those
who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Keener - Resurrectionwas a holistic Jewishhope that the dead (or at leastthe
righteous dead) would be raised to a new bodily existence of some sort at a
future time....Jewishpeople expectedthe resurrectionat the end of the age,
usually associating it with the time of the Messiah’s coming and his kingdom.
(NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
Resurrection(386)(anastasisfrom ana = up, again+ histemi = to cause to
stand) literally means “to stand again" or "to cause to stand again" and most
NT uses refer to a physical body rising from the dead or coming back to life
after having once died.
The resurrectionis distinguished from belief in reincarnation, which usually
involves a series ofrebirths from which the soulmay seek release.
Resurrectionhas primary reference to the body. The resurrectionis the
central, defining doctrine and claim of the gospelfor as Paul wrote "if Christ

45. has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain." (1 Cor
15:14)
Stein on of the righteous - From Acts 24:15 it is evident that this is short for
“of the righteous and the unrighteous.” Compare John 5:28–29;2 Tim 4:1; cf.
also Luke 10:12;11:31–32;Rom 2:5–11.
John Piper - This is the way Jesus saidthe hope of the resurrectionis
supposedto change our behavior. For example, he told us to invite to our
homes people who cannot pay us back in this life. How are we to be motivated
to do this? “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14).
This is a radical callfor us to look hard at out present lives to see if they are
shaped by the hope of the resurrection. Do we make decisions onthe basis of
gain in this world or gainin the next? Do we take risks for love’s sake that can
only be explained as wise if there is a resurrection? May God help us to
rededicate ourselves fora lifetime to letting the resurrectionhave its radical
effects. (Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ)
Righteous (1342)(dikaios from dike = right, just) defines that which is in
accordancewith high standards of rectitude and in this contextpertains to
being in accordance withwhat God requires. He requires righteousness and
provides it by grace through faith in Christ (cf verb form dikaioo translated
justified in Lk 18:14). In Matthew 13 Jesus describes the righteous as those
"who will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Mt 13:43).
MacArthur -The Lord had concluded His illustration with a reference to the
resurrectionand reward of the righteous. The scribes and Pharisees
understood that He was referring to eternallife, and challenging them to
humble themselves to receive it. Earning that resurrectionwas their supreme
hope. They believed that by enduring the minute prescriptions, deprivation,

46. self-sacrifice,and rituals of their religious systemthey would gain eternallife
in God’s kingdom. In all false religions the promise of a goodlife in the future
after death motivates people to put up with the restrictions and burdens
imposed on them in this life.
Who’s On My GuestList?
When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And
you will be blessed. —Luke 14:13-14
I love hosting festive dinners. Sometimes I’ll say: “Tonia, we haven’t had
anyone over for dinner in a while. Who do you think we should invite?” We
go through our proposedguest list and suggestfriends we have never invited
or have not invited in a while. And it seems like this list is normally comprised
of people who look and sound and live like we do, and who can reciprocate.
But if we were to ask Jesus whomwe should have over for dinner, He would
give us a totally different guestlist.
One day a prominent Pharisee invited Jesus into his home, probably for table
fellowship, but possibly to watch Him closelyso he could trap Him. While
there, Jesus healeda man and taught the host a significant lesson:When
making out your guest list for a dinner party, you should not be exclusive—
inviting friends, relatives, rich neighbors, and those who can pay you back.
Instead, you should be inclusive—inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame,
and the blind. Although such people would not be able to pay the host back,
Jesus assuredhim that he would be blessedand that God would rewardhim
(Luke 14:12-14).

47. Just as Jesus loves the less fortunate, He invites us to love them by opening up
our hearts and homes. By Marvin Williams (Our Daily Bread, Copyright
RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved)
The poor and needy everywhere
Are objects of God’s love and care,
But they will always know despair
Unless His love with them we share.
—D. De Haan
Opening our hearts and homes blesses bothus and others.
I'll PayYou Later
You shall be repaid at the resurrectionof the just. —Luke 14:14
Suppose a boss were to say to an employee, “We really appreciate what
you’re doing around here, but we’ve decided to change the waywe pay you.
Starting today, we’re going to pay you later—afteryou retire.” Would the
employee jump for joy? Of course not. That’s not the way things work in this
world. We like our payment now—orat leastevery payday.
Did you know that Godpromises to “pay” us later—much later? And He asks
us to be happy about it!

48. Jesus suggestedthat our ultimate reward for the goodthings we do in His
name comes after we die. In Luke 14, Jesus saidthat if we care for the poor,
the lame, and the blind, our reward for such kindness will come at the
resurrectionof the righteous (Luke 14:14). He also said that if we are
persecuted, we should “rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed [our]
reward is greatin heaven” (6:22-23). Surely, the Lord gives us comfort, love,
and guidance today, but what wonderful things He has planned for us in the
future!
This may not be the way we would have planned it; we don’t enjoy waiting for
things. But imagine how glorious it will be when we receive our rewards in
Jesus’presence. Whata grand time we’ll have as we enjoy what God has
reservedfor later. By Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC
Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved)
Beyond earth's sorrows,the joys of heaven,
Eternal blessings with Christ my Lord;
Earth's weeping ended, earth's trials over,
Sweetrestin Jesus, O blest reward! —Gilmore
What is done for Christ in this life will be rewarded in the life to come.
GuestList

49. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And
you will be blessed. —Luke 14:13-14
Qumran was a first-century Jewishcommunity that had isolateditself from
outside influences to prepare for the arrival of the Messiah. Theytook great
care in devotional life, ceremonialwashings, and strict adherence to rules of
conduct. Surviving documents show that they would not allow the lame, the
blind, or the crippled into their communities. This was basedon their
conviction that anyone with a physical “blemish” was ceremoniallyunclean.
During their table fellowship, disabled people were never on their guestlists.
Ironically, at that same time the MessiahofIsraelwas at work in the cities
and villages of Judea and Galilee. Jesus proclaimedHis Father’s kingdom,
brought teaching and comfort, and workedmighty miracles. Strikingly, He
proclaimed: “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame,
the blind. And you will be blessed” (Luke 14:13-14).
The contrastbetweenJesus’words and the guestlist of the Qumran “spiritual
elite” is instructive to us. Often we like to fellowship with people who look,
think, and actlike us. But our Lord exhorts us to be like Him and open our
doors to everyone. By Dennis Fisher (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC
Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved)
The gospelmust be sharedwith all,
Not just with those like you and me;
For God embraces everyone
Who turns to Him to setthem free. —Sper

50. The inclusive gospelcannotbe shared by an exclusive people. —George
Sweeting
WILLIAM BARCLAY
DISINTERESTED CHARITY(Luke 14:12-14)
14:12-14 Jesus saidto the man who had invited him, "Wheneveryou give a
dinner or a banquet, do not callyour friends, or your brothers, or your
kinsfolk or your rich neighbours, in case they invite you back againin return
and you receive a repayment. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the
maimed, the lame and the blind. Then you will be happy, because theycannot
repay you. You will receive your repayment at the resurrectionof the
righteous."
Here is a searching passage, becauseit demands that we should examine the
motives behind all our generosity.
(i) A man may give from a sense of duty.
He dropped a penny in the plate
And meekly raisedhis eyes,

51. Glad the week's rentwas duly paid
For mansions in the skies.
We may give to God and to man much in the same way as we pay our income
tax--as the satisfactionofa grim duty which we cannot escape.
(ii) A man may give purely from motives of self-interest. Consciouslyor
unconsciouslyhe may regard his giving as an investment. He may regard each
gift as an entry on the credit side of his accountin the ledgerof God. Such
giving, so far from being generosity, is rationalized selfishness.
(iii) A man may give in order to feel superior. Such giving can be a cruel
thing. It can hurt the recipient much more than a blunt refusal. When a man
gives like that he stands on his little eminence and looks down. He may even
with the gift throw in a short and smug lecture. It would be better not to give
at all than to give merely to gratify one's own vanity and one's owndesire for
power. The Rabbis had a saying that the best kind of giving was when the
giver did not know to whom he was giving, and when the receiverdid not
know from whom he was receiving.
(iv) A man may give because he cannothelp it. That is the only realway to
give. The law of the kingdom is this--that if a man gives to gain rewardhe will
receive no reward; but if a man gives with no thought of reward his rewardis
certain. The only real giving is that which is the uncontrollable outflow of
love. Once Dr Johnsoncynically described gratitude as "a lively sense of
favours to come." The same definition could equally apply to certain forms of
giving. God gave because he so loved the world--and so must we.

52. ALBERT BARNES
Verse 12
Call not thy friends … - This is not to be understood as commanding us not to
entertain “at all” our relatives and friends; but we are to remember the
“design” with which our Lord spoke. He intended, doubtless, to reprove those
who soughtthe societyof the wealthy, and particularly rich relatives, and
those who claimed to be intimate with the greatand honorable, and who, to
show their intimacy, were in the habit of “seeking”their society, and making
for them expensive entertainments. He meant, also, to commend charity
shown to the poor. The passagemeans, therefore, call“notonly” your friends,
but callalso the poor, etc. Compare Exodus 16:8; 1 Samuel 15:22;Jeremiah
7:22-23;Matthew 9:13.
Thy kinsmen - Thy relations.
A recompense - Lest they feel themselves bound to treat you with the same
kindness, and, in so doing, neither you nor they will show any kind spirit, or
any disposition to do goodbeyond what is repaid.
Verse 13
The poor - Those who are destitute of comfortable food.

53. The maimed - Those who are deprived of any member of their body, as an
arm or a leg or who have not the use of them so that they can labor for their
own support.
Verse 14
Shalt be blessed- Blessedin the “act” ofdoing good, which furnishes more
“happiness” than riches cangive, and blessedor rewarded“by God” in the
day of judgment.
They cannot recompense thee - They cannotinvite you again, and thus pay
you; and by inviting “them” you show that you have a “disposition” to do
good.
The resurrectionof the just - When the just or holy shall be raisedfrom the
dead. Then “God” shall rewardthose who have done good to the poor and
needy from love to the Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew 10:42;Matthew 25:34-36.
BRIAN BELL
3RD GAME – GUESS WHO’S COMIN TO DINNER!(12-14)
2.13. This host was self-seeking in his selectionof guests.
2.14. We should examine the motives behind all our generosity:
2.15. [1]A man may give from a sense of duty.
2.16. [2]A man may give purely from motives of self-interest.

54. 2.16.1.But not if he invites someone who can’t ever invite him to his next
feast!{i.e. can’t reciprocate}
2.17. [3]A man may give in order to feel superior.
2.17.1.The Rabbis had a saying that the best kind of giving was when the
giver did not know to whom he was giving, and when the receiver
did not know from whom he was receiving.
2.18. [4]A man may give because he cannothelp it.
2.18.1.Thatis the only realway to give.
2.18.2.Godgave because He so loved the world—and so must we.
2.19. How much better to reachout in love to those who no one knows but
God.
2.19.1.You can be paid back in this life or the next!
JIM BOMKAMP
VS 14:12-14 - “12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited
Him, “Whenyou give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or
your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also
invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13 “But when you give a
reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be
blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid
at the resurrectionof the righteous.”” - Jesus tells His disciples and those who
are at this feastthat when they give a luncheon or dinner that they should not
invite their friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors but rather the poor,
crippled, lame, and blind, for then they shall be blessed

55. 4.1. On this day, Jesus is not yet finished making this meal a
source of controversy. Having noticing the motive that many have for their
acts of hospitality He seeks to impress upon everyone present that they need to
have a higher motive for the things that they do in extending hospitality.
4.2. People in our world have the same motivations as the people
in Jesus’day for the good things that they do for people.
4.2.1. People will invite someone overto their house if they know that this
person will in response invite them over later or in some way give them an
equitable payback for being invited over.
4.2.2. People invite family over because family members usually give
paybacks.

56. 4.2.3. ManyChristian people think that they are expressing Christian
hospitality to others when they invite them over for meals, howeverthere is a
hidden motive because deepdown they know that there will come about a
payback.
4.2.4. Richpeople are always having people do nice things for them because
people doing these nice things bank upon the fact that a personwith some
means will provide a solid payback.
4.3. Jesus point in teaching this is the fact that we as people need
to get to the point that we are willing to do nice and good things for people
with no thought of a payback in our minds or subconscious. Itis not that it is
wrong to invite someone overto lunch at our home who is a friend, brother,
relative, a rich person, etc., it is the fact that in considering doing nice and
goodthings for others that whether or not someone canor will ever pay us
back should never be an issue for us.
4.4. There is a saying that derives from what the scriptures teach
us that goes like this, “You can never receive payment for the goodthings you
do twice.” If you receive a rewardin this life for something that you do you
will not be rewardedfor it when you getto heaven. Therefore, it is wise to

57. store up rewards that will be handed out to you by the Lord rather than seek
to receive mere earthly rewards and kudos for the goodthings that you do.
What is at issue is not the goodwork or deed that you do, but rather the
underlying motive, whether or not you are doing it in expectationof receiving
back an earthly reward.
4.5. Have you ever noticed how that with the big telethons on
televisionfor the various charity organizations that whenever companies
donate a lot of money that the program televises their name and receiving a
handshake and perhaps a big plaque or banner for the donation? And,
whenevera man or womandonates a lot of money to a university or other
charitable organizationthat some wing or building is then named in honor of
the person? How many big donations do you think would come in if there
wasn’t this public acknowledgmentfor donations? I say, not many. You see,
here in our world today we are not any different than the people in Jesus’day
when it comes to the motives in our hearts for the goodworks or deeds that
we do. Yet, if you want your gooddeeds and works to please the Lord and
be rewarded by Him then do them in secretand don’t calculate whatyou will
receive in return for any of the good things that you do.
4.6. In Matthew 6:1-6, Jesus taught about the attitude that we
ought to have wheneverwe do any kinds of nice and gooddeeds for others, “1
“Bewareofpracticing your righteousness before men to be noticedby them;
otherwise you have no rewardwith your Father who is in heaven. 2 “So when
you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do
in the synagoguesand in the streets, so that they may be honored by men.

58. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 “But when you give to the
poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that
your giving will be in secret;and your Father who sees whatis done in secret
will rewardyou. 5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for
they love to stand and pray in the synagoguesand on the streetcorners so that
they may be seenby men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6
“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray
to your Father who is in secret, and your Fatherwho sees whatis done in
secretwill reward you.” Notletting our left hand know what our right hand
is doing speaks ofthe fact that there ought to be a sort of unconsciousness
about doing gooddeeds. Ratherthan calculating what we might receive in
return for our gooddeeds, we ought to do things in an unconscious sortof
way.
4.7. Jesus teacheshere that instead of inviting to luncheons or
dinners friends, brothers, relatives, rich people, etc., it would be a greater
blessing and wiserto instead invite, ‘the poor, the crippled, the lame, the
blind.’
4.7.1. It would be a greaterblessing to invite these ones because there is a
greatblessing that is always receivedin doing things for others when they
cannot reciprocate in return.

59. 4.7.2. It would be wiser to do this because you will receive an eternal reward
in heaven for deeds such as this, and this reward will be receivedby the Lord
and never fade away.
4.8. Note that Jesus speakshere of rewards being handed out at
‘the resurrectionof the righteous.” There will be a resurrectionof both the
righteous as wellas the unrighteous, howeverthere will be a great difference
betweenthe two resurrections. The resurrectionof the righteous will result in
rewards being handed out to all, the resurrectionof the unrighteous will be a
resurrectionto eternal damnation.
4.8.1. Revelation20:12-15 describes the resurrectionof the unrighteous, “12
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened;and another book was opened, which is the book of life;
and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books,
according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it,
and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were
judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades
were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the seconddeath, the lake of fire. 15
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown
into the lake of fire.”

60. GENE BROOKS
Luke 14:12-14 – Jesus applies the principle in a fascinating way. If his host
really cares about honor from God, he should invite the poor and powerless,
who can never repay him in this life (Prov. 19:17). Jesus uses the word for a
formal dinner party or reception, a striking word for socialoutcasts.[3]Eating
with someone oflower socialstatus couldjeopardize one’s own social
standing. But Jesus says Godis concernedfor the poor. He will exalt the
person who cares forthe helpless, rather than the powerful who canrepay
you for your kindness.
f. APPLICATION:Pride backfires and makes us selfish. We start playing
the childish game of who’s better than whom. We always end up losing. We
naturally tend to seek recognitionand esteemfrom others, but Jesus says that
those who seek self-glorificationwill ultimately find themselves humbled,
while those who put others first will be exalted. The highest calling of a
Christian is to look out for others first, encouraging them to be all that God
would have them to be.
ADAM CLARKE
Verse 12
Call not thy friends, etc. - Our Lord certainly does not mean that a man
should not entertain at particular times, his friends, etc.;but what he
inculcates here is charity to the poor; and what he condemns is those
entertainments which are given to the rich, either to flatter them, or to
procure a similar return; because the money that is thus criminally laid out
properly belongs to the poor.
Verse 14

61. For they cannotrecompense thee - Becauseyou have done it for God's sake
only, and they cannot make you a recompense, therefore Godwill consider
himself your debtor, and will recompense youin the resurrectionof the
righteous. There are many very excellentsayings among the rabbins on the
excellence ofcharity. They produce both Job and Abraham as examples of a
very merciful disposition. "Job, say they, had an open door on eachof the four
quarters of his house, that the poor, from whateverdirection they might come,
might find the door of hospitality open to receive them. But Abraham was
more charitable than Job, for he traveled over the whole land in order to find
out the poor, that he might conduct them to his house."
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verses 12-14
The lessonabout inviting guests14:12-14
Jesus addressedthe former parable to His fellow guests, but He directed this
teaching particularly to His host. This lesson, like the former parable, could
have applied only to socialrelationships. However, Jesus"teaching was never
simply ethical. It always had a spiritual dimension (cf. Luke 6:32-36). Jesus
was teaching on both levels. If the Pharisees did not perceive or rejectedthe
lessonabout Jesus" ministry, they could at leastprofit from the ethical
instruction. In much of Jesus" teaching the alternatives were not really "do
not do this but do that" as much as "do not do as much of this as that." This
was common Semitic idiom, and it accounts forJesus" strong statements.
The principle that Jesus recommendedto His host for selecting guests is one
that God had used in inviting people to the messianic banquet. Inviting those

62. who could not repay the favor resulted in the greatergloryof earthly hosts as
well as the divine host. If earthly hosts behaved as the heavenly host, that
behavior would demonstrate true righteousness,and God would reward it.
Otherwise they would only receive a temporal reward from their guests. This
lessonvindicated Jesus" ministry to the "have nots" and explained why He
did not caterto the "haves" (cf. Luke 4:18; Luke 6:20-21). It also indirectly
appealedto the Pharisees to receive Jesus"invitation to believe on Him for
blessing.
"We cannot be certain that the ruler of Luke 14wasa silent believer like the
ones mentioned in John 12. Perhaps he was not, because he had invited Jesus
to dinner at the risk of criticism from his fellow Pharisees. But one thing we
do know is that he was a believer, for if he had not been, then a guarantee of
reward could not have been given to him.
"What a fortunate host this man was!In return for this dinner, he gets from
our Lord an invaluable lessonin Christian etiquette. If a believer uses his
hospitality to entertain people who have no way of repaying him for it, God
Himself becomes the Paymaster. And the resurrection of the just, which
includes of course the Judgment Seatof Christ, becomes the payday!
"When was the last time that you or I extended hospitality in such a way that
it would only be repaid to us in that future resurrection payday? Maybe we
should rethink our guestlists!" [Note:Zane C. Hodges, "Stopand Think! (
Luke 14:13-14), Rewardable Hospitality," The KERUGMA Message3:1
(Spring1993):3.]

63. STEVEN COLE
Jesus confronts our sin of using people rather than loving them (14:12-14).
Jesus doesn’tstop with rebuking the guests for their sinful pride. He goes on
to rebuke the host for his sin of using people rather than loving them. Jesus is
not teaching that it is wrong to invite your friends and relatives to a dinner
party. Rather, He is making the point that you are not being generous and
loving if you only invite people who can return the favor, and especiallyif you
invite the rich with the motive of the status or possible advancements they
may be able to provide you in the future. That is just plain old selfishness.
True ministry out of Christian love serves and gives without thought of
return. It isn’t manipulative, serving for what you canget out of it. As
Christians, we should serve others out of love for God and others.
To go Jesus’way, you have to have your focus on eternity, not on the rewards
of this life. You have to believe that God “is a rewarderof those who seek
Him” (Heb. 11:6). Often there are many blessings that come back on you in
this life when you serve the Lord. But, often there are not any visible rewards
here and now. You serve and no one notices. You give to help a needy person
and you getripped off, and the person never even says, “Thanks.”
One test of whether your motives are right in your service for Christ is, “Are
you hurt when you don’t getthe recognitionyou think you deserve?”Another
test is, “What is your attitude toward the poor and the hurting?” If you’re
only willing to serve those who can pay you back or who might later be able to
advance your cause, you’re using people, not loving them. Jesus confronts our
motives for service. Any selfishmotives in serving Christ are sin.
Conclusion

64. We’ve all met people who don’t take a showeroften enough. They’re difficult
to be close to because ofthe stench. The same is true of people who don’t use
the Word of God daily to cleanse the crud of sin out of their lives. You must
develop the habit of taking God’s Word and letting it expose and scrub the
dirt out of your heart. Don’t read the Word with the thought, “My wife (or
husband) really needs to apply this!” Don’t think, “I wish my kids would take
this verse to heart!” Readit and pray, “Lord, confront me with my sin and
cleanse it out of my life. Expose my religious hypocrisy. Show me my selfish
pride. Revealhow I use people rather than love them. Fill me with your holy
love.”
Charles Spurgeonwrote, “My own experience is a daily struggle with the evil
within. I wish I could find in myself something friendly to grace, but, hitherto,
I have searchedmy nature through, and have found everything in rebellion
againstGod” (C. H. SpurgeonAutobiography [Banner of Truth], 1:229). If
Spurgeonhad to confront his sin daily, so do you and I! If we will do it, we
will be repaid abundantly at the resurrection of the righteous.
12 Then Jesus saidto 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 cannotrepay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the righteous.”
Jesus is not saying we should never invite friends and family to dinner. That’s
not the point. The point is that these things are self-serving acts. We do them
because ofwhat we derive from them. Realhospitality, real graciousness,real

65. credit with God comes when we give of ourselves to others even though we
expectnothing in return. When we “repayothers” or look for others to
“repay us” (either tangibly or through some “snob appeal”)there is still a
motivation of selfishness. Whenwe invite those who cannotrepay us we are
then extending grace and the love of Christ.
The point is that real love means opening our hearts to others even though
they may provide nothing to us. This isn’t just about dinner parties. It means
Saying hello to someone you don’t know
Stopping to really talk to someone ofa different generation
Inviting someone to eat with you who is castawayby others
Being helpful to someone who is a competitor in business
Reaching out to an “unpopular kids” at school
Inviting someone to church who doesn’t fit the normal “demographic”
The idea is simple: we should look beyond ourselves. We should think about
others and give without calculating the return we can get for ourselves. True
hospitality is generouslygiving to others for no other reasonthan the love of
Christ.

66. Applications
Lett me draw a few quick applications. First, we learn from this passage that
you can’t reachthe lostunless you are willing to associate withthem. Jesus
knew the Pharisees were setting Him up. He knew their hearts were hard yet
He still agreedto have dinner with them, why? This dinner was one more
opportunity for Him to share the Word of Truth with these leaders. We
cannot reachlost people unless we are willing to associate with them.
We must observe a caution. We must never allow such relationships to
compromise our walk with Christ. If a relationship with unbelievers leads us
into sin or is drawing us awayfrom living for the Lord that relationship is
toxic to us and we must withdraw from the relationship (if possible). You may
need to let someone else reachoutto that person.
Second, we are reminded that if you identify yourself as a believer you will be
watched. People wantto see if your discipleship is “real” or just pretend. They
notice that you go to church (or don’t go to church). They are watching your
behavior, listening to your language, and observing your values. It is a sad
truth that “slips” and inconsistencies willnot be overlookedorforgotten. We
must be diligent in our pursuit of consistency.
Some people rather than live consistently, choose to not identify themselves as
a believer or they deny any relationship with Christ so that they canlive how
they please. The truth is: either option is better than professing Christ and
living as a pagan. In the Book ofRevelationJesus told the church in Laodicea
that they were lukewarm(non-committal). The Lord said He would rather
they be hot or cold rather than Lukewarm. The lukewarm“believer” does
much more harm than good.

67. Third, we should live our lives in light of the coming resurrectionof the dead.
Jesus tells us to reachout to those who cannotpay us back because we will be
rewardedin the resurrectionof the dead. In Matthew 6 Jesus told us that if
we live for the praise of men then the praise of men is all we canhope to
receive. Jesus encourages us to live for the praise of our Father in Heaven . . .
even if no one notices on earth.
Finally, take careful note of the deadly attitude of these leaders. They were
continually confronted with the truth (especiallyabout the Sabbath) but they
refused to back down. We must be on guard againstthis same attitude. We
must be alert to any rebellious attitude in our heart lest it destroyus as it did
these leaders.
I encourage youto write three words, to remind you of the advice of Jesus, on
a card and post it somewhere:Consistency, Humility, and Hospitality. Every
time you see orremember those words rededicate yourselfto pursuing these
traits in your life. And if anyone asks you why you have changed, just tell
them that you were given some goodadvice and decided to embrace it.
BRUCE GOETTSCHE
MATTHEW HENRY
He takes occasionto reprove the master of the feastfor inviting so many rich
people, who had wherewithalto dine very well at home, when he should
rather have invited the poor, or, which was all one, have sent portions to them
for whom nothing was prepared, and who could not afford themselves a good
meal's meat. See Nehemiah8:10. Our Saviour here teaches us that the using of

68. what we have in works ofcharity is better, and will turn to a better account,
than using it in works ofgenerosityand in magnificent house-keeping.
1. "Covetnot to treat the rich invite not thy friends, and brethren, and
neighbours, that are rich," Luke 14:12. This does not prohibit the
entertaining of such there may be occasionforit, for the cultivating of
friendship among relations and neighbours. But, (1.) "Do not make a common
custom of it spend as little as thou canstthat way, that thou mayest not disable
thyself to lay out in a much better way, in almsgiving. Thou wilt find it very
expensive and troublesome one feastfor the rich will make a greatmany
meals for the poor." Solomon saith, He that giveth to the rich shall surely
come to want, Proverbs 22:16. "Give" (saith Pliny, Epist.) "to thy friends, but
let it be to thy poor friends, not to those that need thee not." (2.) "Be not
proud of it." Many make feasts only to make a show, as Ahasuerus did
(Esther 1:3,4), and it is no reputation to them, they think, if they have not
persons of quality to dine with them, and thus rob their families, to please
their fancies. (3.)"Aim not at being paid againin your own coin." This is that
which our Saviour blames in making such entertainments: "You commonly
do it in hopes that you will be invited by them, and so a recompence willbe
made you you will be gratified with such dainties and varieties as you treat
your friends with, and this will feedyour sensuality and luxury, and you will
be no real gainerat last."
2. "Be forwardto relieve the poor (Luke 14:13,14):When thou makesta feast,
instead of furnishing thyself with what is rare and nice, getthy table spread
with a competencyof plain and wholesome meat, which will not be so costly,
and invite the poor and maimed, such as have nothing to live upon, nor are
able to work for their living. These are objects of charity they want
necessariesfurnish them, and they will recompense thee with their prayers
they will commend thy provisions, which the rich, it may be, will despise. They
will go away, and thank God for thee, when the rich will go awayand
reproachthee. Say not that thou art a loser, because they cannot recompense

69. thee, thou art so much out of pocketno, it is so much set out to the best
interest, on the best security, for thou shall be recompensedatthe
resurrectionof the just." There will be a resurrectionof the just, a future
state of the just. There is a state of happiness reservedfor them in the other
world and we may be sure that the charitable will be remembered in the
resurrectionof the just, for alms are righteousness. Works ofcharity perhaps
may not be rewardedin this world, for the things of this world are not the best
things, and therefore God does not pay the best men in those things but they
shall in no wise lose their reward they shall be recompensedin the
resurrection. It will be found that the longestvoyages make the richest
returns, and that the charitable will be no losers, but unspeakable gainers, by
having their recompense adjournedtill the resurrection.
JOHN MACARTHUR
And then in verse 12, He turns to the host who's not a part of the mad
scramble because his seat's alreadydetermined. But He's not going to let him
off the hook. So He says to him, verse 12, went on to sayto the one who had
invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your
friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also
invite you in return and repayment come to you." There's that reciprocation
system. "But when you give a receptioninvite the poor, the crippled, the
lame, the blind, and you will be blessedsince they do not have the means to
repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Ah,
now we know we're talking about a spiritual reality. And so did they know.
That's why one of them commented about the kingdom of God in verse 15.
They knew exactly what He was talking about. In fact, he may have said more
and this is just a condensedpart of it.
By the way, we know here in this sectionthat the man had invited Jesus
because verse 12 says, "He also went on to say to the one who had invited

70. Him." Jesus wasn'ta drop-in guest. It was all set up to trap Him. He was
there on their perspective for evil purposes. On His, He was there to give them
mercy and an invitation to come to the kingdom. Since this man was left off
the hook because he wasn'tin the scramble, Jesus had to come up with
another perspective to help him view his own pride.
And so He says, "Whenyou give a luncheon or a dinner..." There were only
two meals a day in Jewishlife. There was ariston, early in the day, deipnon,
dinner at the end of the day. On the Sabbath, they added a third one in the
morning, but it was only those two meals, and so He says when you invite
someone for any of those meals, do not invite...and let me just clarify this, do
not only invite. This is a Semitic idiom. “Notso much” would be a way to say
it. It's not so much for you to invite your friends or your neighbors or your
relatives or rich neighbors. It's not that that's an absolute prohibition, don't
ever do it under any circumstance. Of course, you're going to have your
friends. Of course, you're going to have your brothers and relatives and your
rich neighbors because they're you're neighbors.
But what He is saying here is: Don't do that exclusively. And what He's doing
is addressing the pride and the superiority and the self-seeking thatHe saw in
their separation. And what they did was they only invited the people who
could invite them back. It was...How canI understand this? I guess maybe
one way to sayit would be this. An invitation to a meal with a Pharisee was a
kind of currency in the marketplace of Jewishsociety. Itwas a kind of
currency. They exploited hospitality for the sake ofself-gloryand elevation.
It was the "you scratchmy back, I'll scratchyour back" kind of thing. It was
a way to elevate them. I'll elevate you and you elevate me. And Jesus says,
why don't you instead of doing that all time and only inviting the people who
are going to promote you the way you promote them, why don't you give a
receptionand invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and be blessed.
Why don't you, He is saying, humble yourselves? Why don't you humble
yourselves?
Reciprocitybasicallyruled the ethics and the actionof the socialstructure of
the Pharisees. Itwas a gift obligationsystem. It was a kind of currency as I

71. said. Every gift had strings. To acceptan invitation was to agree to an equal
obligation, which controlledwho was invited. You didn't invite somebody
who couldn't reciprocate. Onlythose who could reciprocate were invited and
the better and more lavish could be the reciprocation, the closerthey sat to the
host. And the lowly, my, the poor and the crippled, the lame and the blind
had no capacityto reciprocate. And even if you invited them, they wouldn't
acceptan invitation because they would know they would then be obligated
and be unable to perform. And so it would be too embarrassing to ever accept
that kind of invitation.
You see the hypocritical Pharisees hadno such thing as a disinterested
kindness. It was all self-serving. Our Lord is deconstructing their categories
you might say. He's overturning their conventionalwisdom. He's exposing
their selfishness. Youonly do this for the people who canpay you back, who
can elevate you and honor you. Just a note or two here: “Reception” in verse
13, dochn, a party, a banquet, a feast. Why don't you invite the destitute and
the maimed and the people who can't walk and the people who can't see?
Those people would never be invited, never unless as we saw with the man
with dropsy, they were a foil to trap Jesus for a higher purpose.
They separatedthemselves from the riffraff. This would be the death of their
elevation. This would defeatthe whole system. The divide that defined
Pharisees wasa divide betweenholy and the unholy, the rich, the poor, the
honored and the despised. And if they invited these people, the separation,
the middle would collapse andthe system would come crashing down. And
that's why the Pharisee in Luke 18 says, "Ithank you God that I'm not like
that guy." Who? Thatwas emblematic of how they viewed anybody below
them.
Jesus says:If you do that you'll be blessed. Since they don't have the means to
repay you, God, implied, who will repay you at the resurrectionof the
righteous. If you were to humble yourselves to that degree, you would give
evidence of having the kind of heart that is prepared to enter the kingdom.
Our Lord is speaking about eternity. That's what the resurrectionof the
righteous indicates.

72. The resurrectionof the righteous simply means that time when the righteous
come before God for their eternal reward. John 5:28 and 29, Jesus is going to
be there as the judge of the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.
But Jesus is saying, you want to be a part of the resurrection of the righteous
entering into the kingdom of God eternally then you're going to need to
humble yourself and the kind of humiliation and self-effacing that is going to
allow you to open your arms and embrace all the people you hate, all the
people you separate from.
By the way, the resurrectionwas a big thing to the Pharisees. Theybelieved
in the resurrectionaccording to Acts 23:6 and Acts 24:15. There were
certainly other words that Jesus saidclarifying all of this. It was all about
humbling yourself. It was all about forgetting this reciprocityidea. All about
knowing you're unworthy. You're no better than the lowestof the low. Jesus
is saying the kingdom is only open to those who humble themselves. That's
the illustrations. Look at the assumption behind them in verse 11. "For
everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled and he who humbles himself
shall be exalted." And here again, without saying so, God is the humbler and
God is the exalter. This is a spiritual axiom. This is a spiritual principle.
This is the assumption behind the parables. This is the presupposition.
Everyone who exalts, hupso, who elevates, who lifts himself up shall be,
tapeino, lowered, brought low, abased.
And it is God who does this. He is the unnamed actorin verse 11. Proverbs
16:5, they knew that. "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to
the Lord and it will not be unpunished." God judges the proud and God
blesses the humble. In fact, at the very beginning of the gospelof Luke in the
Magnificatof Mary, Mary says in Luke 1:46, "My soul exalts the Lord, my
spirit has rejoicedin God my Saviorfor His regard for the humble state of His
bond slave." And then down in verse 51, "He's done mighty deeds with His
arm. He scatteredthose who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts and
has brought down rulers from their thrones and exalted those who were
humble and filled the hungry with goodthings and sent awaythe rich empty-
handed."

73. I mean there is Mary acknowledging that Godreaches out to rescue the
humble and brings judgment on the proud. Now what Jesus is saying here is
not about socialreconstruction. It's not some kind of etiquette training to be a
better hypocrite. It's not moral motivation. It's a picture of salvation that
ends in final judgment, the judgment of the righteous. The resurrectionof the
righteous is where those who lived like this, because they were humbled and
put their trust in the living God and in His Son are then rewardedby God.
It is also, as I said, the resurrectionof the unrighteous where those do not
humble themselves will be humbled by God, sent to the remotestpart of the
divine domain where there is darkness and torment and weeping and wailing
and gnashing of teeth like the servants who are sent awayfrom the banquet
into outer darkness. So, the assumption, the truth behind the illustration is
that honor and blessing and God's kingdom, salvation, eludes those who think
they can scramble for it and earn it. Honor and blessing and God's kingdom
comes to those who know they don't have it, they can't earn it, they don't
deserve it, and they come humbly to Godpounding their breast, “God, be
merciful to me a sinner.”
By the way, the narrow door is not enteredby people bloated with the edema
of pride. It's not entered by people carrying baggage, the baggage oftheir
achievementand their works. You saywell, do you think Jesus explained
this? I don't know. I think He probably did explain some of it. That's why
when He said the resurrectionof the righteous immediately they would have
known He was talking about the kingdom. That's why the question comes,
"Blessedis everyone who shall eat in the kingdom of God." They knew what
He was talking about. And yet there's a sense in which Jesus is not obligated
to explain things because in Matthew it says, "He's hidden these things from
the wise and prudent and revealedthem unto babes." And that's why in
many cases Jesus tells parables, explains them only to His own disciples.
But here I think He extended mercy to them. His message to them, always the
same:Works, merit, external religion, useless, pride in your own achievement,
your own position, your ownreligiosity will shut you out of the kingdom. And
then finally just to comment about the application. It's just this. Nobody's
going to enter the kingdom by merit. Nobody's going to enter the kingdom by

74. goodworks, by righteous deeds, certainly by self-promotion, spiritual pride.
Nor did God make extra laws to make some people more proud. But that's
Pharisaism. The idea was they would make more laws so when keeping those
more laws, they would then be more righteous. Thatis really blasphemy.
Salvationhas always been to the humble and the brokenand the contrite and
those who come and plead for mercy and grace and nothing more. And we'll
see a lot more on this in chapter 18. But let me close with just some
reminders. In the greatestevangelistic sermon, the one that opens the New
Testament, Jesus saidthis, "Blessedare the poor in spirit for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessedare those who mourn for they shall be comforted.
Blessedare the meek for they shall inherit the earth." It's about bankruptcy
of spirit. It's about weeping over your condition. It's about meekness. That's
the wayinto the kingdom.
In the wonderful 4th chapter of James, it is crystalclear. Listen, verse 6.
"Godis opposedto the proud, but gives grace to the humble." What do you
do about it then? "Submit therefore to God. Resistthe devil, he will free
from you. Draw near to God. He will draw near to you. Cleanse yourhands
you sinners. Purify your hearts you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn
and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you."
It's always like that. That's the way to the kingdom. It was Paul, a Pharisee
and the son of a Pharisee, zealous killerof Christians, defender of Pharisaism,
who was broken, penitent, saw himself as the chief of sinners, saw all of his
merit and religious achievementas manure, Philippians 3. Who casthimself
on the mercy of God and said, "It is a trustworthy statementdeserving full
acceptancethat Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners among whom
I am foremostof all." Jesus was saying to them that day and to us the way
into the kingdom is the way of humility, humbling yourself as a wretched
sinner before God.
Father, we thank You now as we come to this table that You have humbled us,
that You have brought us to this place of humility. This is not some human
virtue, but You have brokenus by Your spirit and Your word. And You have

75. drawn us to an awarenessofour own sin and hopelessnessandthen You have
lifted us to look at the cross and see there the sacrifice forour sins. We thank
You for the Lord Jesus Christ who responds to our humiliation our shame,
our sorrow with grace and salvation. Father, we now thank You for the
wondrous time we've had in Your word. It's glories are endless and may we
apply its truth. Would You humble us before You, the great and Almighty
God? Show us the folly of human pride and religious merit and efforts and
ceremonyand ritual. May we fall on our faces, humbling ourselves, pleading
for mercy that You will always give the penitent believer in Christ and know
that one day having been humbled we will be by You exalted in the glory of
Your eternal kingdom. Work Your work in every heart. We pray in Christ's
name, amen.
RICH CATHERS
12-14
:12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makesta 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 recompense be made thee.
that bade – kaleo – to call; to invite
This is the man who is hosting the meal, a “chiefof the Pharisees”(14:1)
dinner – ariston– the first food takenearly in the morning before work,
breakfast;later usage:dinner
supper – deipnon – supper, especiallya formal meal usually held at the
evening,
new translations (NAS, NIV) – “luncheon or dinner”
friends – philos – friend, to be friendly to one, wish him well

76. kinsmen – suggenes – of the same kin, akin to, related by blood; in a wider
sense, ofthe same nation, a fellow countryman
neighbours – geiton– a neighbour
rich – plousios – wealthy, abounding in material resources
bid thee again – antikaleo – to invite in turn
recompense – antapodoma – the thing paid back, requital
These people, your friends and such, will always pay you back.
:13 But when thou makesta feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the
blind:
a feast– doche – a feast, banquet
call – kaleo – to call; to invite
the poor – ptochos – reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms;destitute of
wealth, influence, position, honour
the maimed – anaperos – disabled in the limbs, maimed, crippled; injured in,
or bereft of, some member of the body
the lame – cholos – lame; deprived of a foot, maimed
the blind – tuphlos – blind; mentally blind
:14 And thou shalt be blessed;for they cannot recompense thee:for thou shalt
be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just.
blessed– makarios – blessed, happy
recompense – antapodidomi – in a goodsense, to repay, requite; in a bad
sense, penalty and vengeance
Who are these people? People who can’t return your favor. These are people
you might not normally associate with.

77. resurrection– anastasis – a raising up, rising (e.g. from a seat);a rising from
the dead
Jesus is talking about heaven here.
just – dikaios – righteous, observing divine laws;in a wide sense, upright,
righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God; approved of or acceptable
of God
Does this mean I can’t ever spend time with my friends?
Not at all. Jesus spenttime with His friends.
Just don’t think that it’s going to earn you any specialrewards from the Lord.
The problem is when we getto the point where all we ever do is spend time
with people we’re comfortable with.
Lesson
Think outside your comfort zone.
In a way, Jesus has just demonstrated this to his host. Jesus had been invited
to a dinner party, and for some, they might think that it’s time to relax and
take it easy. But Jesus sees this man with dropsy and turns to heal the man.
These are the very people that God will in turn invite to His greatWedding
Feast(14:21), so in a way, Godis asking us to have the same heart that He has
– a heart for the lost.
These invitations are actually waymore than just asking someone overfor
dinner. God wants us to be a part of His invitation to the world.
There are a lot of hurting people in the world right now.
DON FORTNER

78. LIVING FOR ETERNITY
Text: Luke 14:12-15
Subject: Eternity
Date: Sunday Evening—October5, 2001
Tape # X-82a
Readings: Ron Wood & Merle Hart
Introduction:
My text will be Luke 14:12-15. Beforewe look at the text itself, let me remind
you of the background.
It is Saturday evening, the JewishSabbath, and the Lord Jesus has been
invited to dinner by one of the leaders among the Pharisees (14:1), the most
zealous of the zealous law-keepers among the Jews. There is no indication that

79. I know of that our Saviorwas ever invited back a secondtime to a Pharisee's
house. And it is not hard to see why.
It seems like every time he openedhis mouth, he undressedsomeone's
hypocrisy. There never was anotherman whose words were so penetrating
and so exposing. When our Lord spoke, he openedand exposedthe hearts of
men.
(Heb 4:12-13) "Forthe word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any twoedgedsword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. {13} Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight:
but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have
to do."
When our Lord spoke, he spoke as one having authority, divine, penetrating,
omniscient authority. The Phariseesonce reportedof him, “Neverman spake
like this man” (John 7:46).

80. It seems that every time our Lord spoke in a crowd, large or small, there was
a division because ofhis words. Those who are "ofthe truth" listen and obey.
He tells us, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me"
(John 10:27,4). Those who are not of the truth do not have ears to hear or eyes
to see. The Lord says to them, “Why do ye not understand my speech? even
because ye cannot hear my word…He that is of God heareth God's words: ye
therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God” (John 8:43,47).
THE HEALING
The first thing our Lord did at this Saturday dinner was heal a man of
dropsy. He askedthe law-experts and Pharisees if they thought healing on the
Sabbath was lawful. They did not answer, but their silence clearly meant, No
it is not lawful.
Back in Luke 13:14 the synagogue ruler had said, “with indignation, because
that Jesus had healedon the sabbath day, and saidunto the people, There are
six days in which men ought to work:in them therefore come and be healed,
and not on the sabbath day.” Our Lord responds to their silence here the
same way he responded to that.

81. (Luke 14:5) "And answeredthem, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or
an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightwaypull him out on the sabbath
day?"
Again, no answer.
HYPOCRISY UNDRESSED
The Masterleaves it for them and us to draw the inference. It is
unmistakable.—Religionists,legalists, andself-righteous Pharisees have a
keeninterest in their own welfare. When the things of God seemto stand
betweenthem and their personalinterests, they have no difficulty bending the
Word of God and the things of Godto accommodate theirinterests. The
preservationof their owninterests is clearlymore important than the will of
God the Word of God, and the worship of God.

82. But when it comes to another person's need, whose illness, pain, or loss is no
skin off their noses, they become conveniently rigid their hardness, that is to
say, in their spirituality! The meanest, most wicked, hard-hearted people in
this world are religious people who have no idea who God is, “whose godis
their belly!” Our Lord held such men in utter contempt; and I do, too. The
first lessonfor us to learn from this event in the earthly life of our Lord is
this:—Religion without Christ makes men and womentwofold more the
children of hell than they were before.
The first thing our Lord did at this dinner party was heal that poor man with
the dropsy, exposing the hard-heartedness of his religious host. He publicly
undressed the man’s hypocrisy. Notthe most ingratiating thing to do to your
host, but certainly the most gracious.
PRIDE UNDRESSED
Then, the secondthing did must have been even more shocking. Our Master
publicly undressed the pride of the dinner guests, right there in front of
everybody. He has been sitting there watching them come in. And what does
He look for? How they are dressed? Where they are from? What are their
jobs? No. He looks for what they love. The keeneye of omniscience knows

83. where our treasure is. Sooneror later, he will expose it. Where our treasure is
there our hearts are, So the Lord watches andsees whatthe treasure of these
religious men is. Here it is—they love the praise of men. They love to be
esteemedfor occupying the seats ofhonor. He watches as they move in and
out of conversations,weaving their way, unnoticed by other
What does the Son of God think of this love of honor and esteem, this love of
distinction? Turn back to Luke 11:43, and see.
(Luke 11:43) "Woe unto you, Pharisees!for ye love the uppermost seats in
the synagogues, andgreetings in the markets."
(Luke 20:46-47) "Beware ofthe scribes, which desire to walk in long robes,
and love greetings in the markets, and the highestseats in the synagogues,and
the chief rooms at feasts;(47) Which devour widows'houses, and for a show
make long prayers: the same shall receive greaterdamnation."

84. Two things go hand in hand with loving the place of honor: exploitation of the
weak and condemnation of those deemed less honorable. If crave the praise of
men and a widow's house stands in your way, you will devour it without a
thought. But in the end your own house will collapse in the flood of God's
judgment. If we pursue the seatof honor on earth, there will be no seatfor us
in among the redeemed in glory (Luke 14:11;Matt. 5:3, 5, 7; 18:3).
(Luke 14:11) "Forwhosoeverexaltethhimself shall be abased;and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted."
(Mat 5:3) "Blessedare the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven."
(Mat 5:5) "Blessedare the meek:for they shall inherit the earth."
(Mat 5:7) "Blessedare the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

85. (Mat 18:3) "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and
become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
MOTIVE UNDRESSED
You might think the Lord has ruffled enough feathers for one evening. He had
publicly undressed the hypocrisy of the legalists and their pride. Our Lord
knew how to spoil a dinner party. But he is not done. Up to this point, he has
been talking in general to the guests atthe party. Now he turns (vv. 12-14)to
address the host. Here, he undresses the man’s motive, the motive of his heart,
before all his guests.
(Luke 14:12-14) "Thensaid 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
recompense be made thee. (13) But when thou makesta feast, callthe poor,
the maimed, the lame, the blind: (14) And thou shalt be blessed;for they
cannot recompense thee:for thou shalt be recompensedatthe resurrectionof
the just."

86. What an unusual way of thinking! What strange reasoning!The Lord says,
“When you have a lavish dinner party, don’t invite your relatives, friends, and
rich neighbors, who can repay you, but those from whom you can expect no
gain or advantage of any kind.”
Our Lord could not have been more coarselyblunt if he had put his finger
right in this proud Pharisee’sface. He said, “You, sir, hope to go to heaven
because ofyour goodness,and there’s no goodness inyou. You are motivated,
in all your displays of goodness,by your own, personalinterest. Everything
you pretend to do for others, you really do for yourself. And that shall be your
eternal ruin.”
Who on earth would talk like that? Probably someone whose Kingdom is not
of this world (John 18:36);someone who knows that 1000 years onthis earth
are like yesterday when it is gone (Psalm 90:4); someone who knows that our
life is but a vapor that appears and in a moment vanishes away(James 4:14);
who knows that he who saves his life now will lose it and he who loses it now
in love will save it (Mark 8:35); and who knows that there the resurrection,
the day of judgment, and eternity are real. That Someone is the Son of God,
our Savior. No man ever spoke like this man.

87. LESSONS INTENDED
But why did our Lord speak as he did at this dinner party? Why did he do the
things he did? Was it merely to show up these men? Was it simply to expose
their condemnation? Was it just to publicly humiliate them? Of course not!
Our Master’s purpose in his behavior and in his speech, here and always, was
to teachand instruct us in very important spiritual things, to setforth the,
gospelof God’s free grace in him. Let me show you some of the obvious
lessons ourLord would have us learn from this passage.
I. The first thing to be learned from our Masterhere is the fact that THE
SON OF GOD CAME INTO THIS WORLD TO SEEK, SERVE, AND SAVE
POOR, NEEDYSINNERSFROM WHOM HE COULD NEVER RECEIVE
ANY RECOMPENSE.
Be sure you do not misunderstand me. There is no doubt that our Lord
teaches us, indeed the grace ofGod experiencedin the heart teaches us as well
as the whole of Holy Scripture, that we ought always to care for the poor and
needy among us, particularly for those who are numbered among the saints.

88. “The poor shall never cease outof the land” (Deut. 15:11); and those who are
able ought to be forward in assisting them. Not to do so is to hate and despise
them; and those who do not love their brethren do not know God(1 John
3:14-17).
(1 John 3:14-17) "We know that we have passedfrom death unto life, because
we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (15)
Whosoeverhatethhis brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer
hath eternal life abiding in him. (16) Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren. (17) But whoso hath this world's good, and seethhis brother have
need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassionfrom him, how dwelleth the
love of God in him?"
As we ought to care for the poor, so too, we ought to give particular care and
attention to our weakerbrethren. Bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill
the law of Christ (Gal. 6:20.
But out Lord is not teaching this Pharisee a lessonin moral uprightness. His
aim is much higher. Like the man describedin verse 2, who had the dropsy,
you and I are poor, helpless, perishing sinners. We could do nothing for
ourselves. We could not help ourselves. And no one else could help us, if they

89. were so inclined. When the Lord first begins his work of grace in us, it is not
because we wanthim, or have come to him, or have prayed for help. Not at
all! This man apparently expected nothing from the Lord Jesus. There is no
indication that he even lookedat him. But the Mastertook up the rich
Pharisee’s invitation to dinner because that poor man with the dropsy was
there for whom the time of mercy had come.
· A Certain Man
· In A Certain Place
· At A Certain Time
· For a CertainPurpose
II. The secondthing that is obvious here is the fact that IN ORDER TO
SAVE SUCH POOR, NEEDYSINNERSAS WE ARE, THE SON OF GOD
TOOK THE LOWEST PLACE AMONG MEN.

90. Again, humility is a gift of grace. The grace ofGod humbles men. But our
Lord is not teaching this crowdto make themselves humble, that they might
be exalted and recompensedin the Day of Judgment. Indeed, such self-serving
humility is not humility at all, but a mere show of humility. Our Lord is
describing true humility, his own (Phil. 2:1-11). His humility is exemplary. We
ought to be of the same mind. But he is the pattern. His humility was
voluntary. He humbled himself unto the very lowest, not that he might be
exalted, but for the love he has to us and to the glory of God. For that, he has
been exalted and shall be recompensedin the Day of Judgment.
(2 Cor 8:9) "For ye know the grace ofour Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he
was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty
might be rich."
(Phil 2:1-11) "If there be therefore any consolationin Christ, if any comfort
of love, if any fellowshipof the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, (2) Fulfil ye
my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of
one mind. (3) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness
of mind let eachesteemother better than themselves. (4) Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (5) Let this mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:(6) Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness ofmen: (8) And being found in fashionas a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every

91. name: (10) That at the name of Jesus everyknee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father."
(Isa 45:20-25) "Assemble yourselves and come;draw neartogether, ye that
are escapedof the nations: they have no knowledge thatset up the woodof
their graven image, and pray unto a godthat cannot save. (21)Tell ye, and
bring them near; yea, let them take counseltogether:who hath declaredthis
from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD?
and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none
beside me. (22)Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I
am God, and there is none else. (23)I have sworn by myself, the word is gone
out of my mouth in righteousness, andshall not return, That unto me every
knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (24)Surely, shall one say, in the
LORD have I righteousnessand strength: even to him shall men come; and all
that are incensed againsthim shall be ashamed. (25) In the LORD shall all the
seedof Israelbe justified, and shall glory."
(Isa 53:9-12) "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in
his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth. (10) Yet it pleasedthe LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11)
He shall see ofthe travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:by his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (12)

92. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong;because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he
was numbered with the transgressors;and he bare the sin of many, and made
intercessionfor the transgressors."
III. The third thing our Redeemerteaches us here is that THERE SHALL BE
A RESURRECTION DAYAND A JUDGMENT DAY.
Everything our Saviordid in this world he did with eternity before his eyes.
He lived in the constantawarenessofeternity. Oh, may God give us grace to
do the same!
(2 Cor 4:17-18) "Forour light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternalweight of glory; (18)While we look
not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:for the
things which are seenare temporal; but the things which are not seenare
eternal."

93. (2 Cor 5:1) "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens."
A. You and I are immortal souls.
B. We are all dying creatures, moving rapidly to the grave.
C. There shall be a resurrectionof the dead, both of the just and of the
unjust, a resurrectionof life and a resurrectionof damnation.
(John 5:28-29) "Marvelnot at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, (29) And shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrectionof damnation."
D. There shall be a Day of Judgment, at which we shall all be recompensed
for all that we have done forever.

94. (Acts 17:31) "Becausehe hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereofhe hath
given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
(Rev 20:11-15) "And I saw a greatwhite throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away;and there was found no place
for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened:and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. (13)And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works. (14)And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the seconddeath. (15) And whosoeverwas not
found written in the book of life was castinto the lake of fire."
· The Judge shall be that Man who was crucified at Calvary, that Man
who is seatedon the throne in heaven, that Man who is God, the God-man,
our Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.
· The basis of judgment shall be the record in heaven, the books of God’s
remembrance, and another book called, “the Book ofLife.”

95. · All shall perish, all shall be forever damned, whose names are not found
written in the Book ofLife.
o —JUST RECOMPENSE!
o —EXACT RECOMPENSE!
o —ETERNALRECOMPENSE!
Let us learn to live every day in the immediate prospect of the last greatday,
when the dead shall be raised to meet God in judgment. There shall be a
resurrectionafter death. Let this never be forgotten. The life that we live here
in the flesh is not all. The death of these bodies is not the end of our existence.
The visible world around us is not the only world with which we have to do.
All is not over when the last breath is drawn, and men and women are carried
to their long home in the grave.
The trumpet shall one day sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.
All that are in the graves shallhear Christ’s voice and come forth: they that
have done goodto the resurrectionof life, and they that have done evil to the
resurrectionof damnation.

96. Let us live like men and women who believe in a resurrectionand a life to
come, and desire to be always readyfor another world.—So living, we shall
look forward to death with calmness.—Soliving, we shall take patiently all
that we have to bearin this world. Trials, losses, disappointments, ingratitude,
will affectus little. We shall not look for our reward here. We shall feel that
all will be rectified one day, and that the Judge of all the earth will do right
(Gen. 18:25).
But how canwe bear the thought of a resurrection? What shall enable us to
look forward to death, the resurrection, the judgment, and eternity without
alarm? Faith in Christ! Believing him, we have nothing to fear. Our sins will
not appearagainstus. The demands of God’s law will be found completely
satisfied. We shall stand firm in the great day, and none shall lay anything to
our charge (Rom. 8:33).
· All whose names are written in the Book ofLife, all who stand before
God in Christ, washedin his blood, robed in his righteousness, shallbe
forever blessed.
o —JUST RECOMPENSE!

97. o —EXACT RECOMPENSE!
o —ETERNALRECOMPENSE!
(Jer 23:6) "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and
this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS."
(Jer 33:16) "In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalemshall dwell
safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our
righteousness."
(Jer 50:20) "In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of
Israelshall be soughtfor, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and
they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve."
Illustration: RowlandHill’s Dream

98. There seems to have been one man in that crowdwho heard and understood
our Lord’s words. Perhaps everything recordedin this passage came to pass
specificallybecause the Lord had come to seek andfind this one sinner, whose
time of love had come. Look at verse 15.
(Luke 14:15) "And when one of them that satat meat with him heard these
things, he said unto him, Blessedis he that shall eatbread in the kingdom of
God."
I agree with him.—“Blessedis he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”
JOHN GILL
Verse 12
Then said he also to him that bad him,.... As he had given advice and
instructions to the guests, so he likewise thought fit to give some to the master

99. of the house, that had given both him and them an invitation to the present
meal; observing, very likely, that his guests consistedof such persons as are
hereafterdescribed.
When thou makesta dinner, or a supper; any entertainment for other
persons, at what time of the day soever, whethersooneror later, at noon, or at
night, on sabbath days, or others:
call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich
neighbours: that is, do not invite thy rich friends, rich brethren, and rich
kinsmen, as well as not rich neighbours: not that our Lord's meaning is, that
such should not be invited at all; which would be to destroyfriendship and
sociable conversationamong persons in such a relation, and of such rank and
fortune: but his sense is, that not these only should be invited, to the neglectof
poor friends, poor brethren, poor kinsmen, and poor neighbours; and who,
comparatively speaking, shouldrather be invited than the former, as being
what would be more serviceable to them, and of a greateradvantage in the
issue to the masterof the feasthimself.
Lest they also bid thee again; and thee only, and not the poor, to as grand an
entertainment, which is commonly done:
and a recompense be made thee: one feasting bout for another, so that there
will be no obligation on either side; and this will be all the advantage that will
be gained; the return is made here, and there will be no rewardhereafter.
Verse 13
But when thou makesta feast,....An entertainment for others, a dinner, or a
supper:

100. call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind; that is, the poor maimed,
the poor lame, and the poor blind; otherwise it is possible that rich men may
be maimed, lame, and blind; whereas these are not intended, but such who are
in indigent circumstances, that stand in need of a meal, and to whom it is
welcome.
Verse 14
And thou shalt be blessed,.... ByGod, with an increase ofworldly substance,
or with spiritual blessings, and with eternal glory and happiness;and by these
poor objects, who will pray to God for a blessing upon such a kind benefactor:
for they cannot recompense thee;by inviting again to a like entertainment, as
rich guests cando, and when they have done that there is nothing else to be
expected;but such that entertain the poor canhave no return from them, and
yet a retaliationwill be made:
for thou shalt be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just; when the just
shall rise again, which will be the first resurrection;and happy is he that has
part in it: for the righteous, or dead in Christ will rise first; and notice will be
takenof the goodworks of the saints, particularly of their acts of beneficence
to the poor members of Christ; and which they have done in faith, from a
principle of love to Christ, and with a view to the glory of God, and the good
of their fellow creatures and Christians.
PETER PETT

101. Verse 12
‘And he said to him also who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a
supper, do not call friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich
neighbours, in case they also invite you in return, and a recompense be made
to you.” ’
The passagebegins with Jesus suggesting to His host, the ruler who was a
Pharisee (Luke 14:1), that when next time he makes a supper or dinner he
should not invite those who will return his invitation and thus recompense
him for what he has done. For there is no goodness in that. It is simply a part
of the socialround. It may earn him a reputation as being a goodhost, but it
will earn no plaudits from God.
Jesus is not, of course, discouraging family gatherings. He is rather using
them to get over His point that the poor and needy should not be overlooked,
and that what we do for them counts even more than what we do in this way
for our families. We must remember that He had Himself attended many such
gatherings (Martha and Mary had not invited the poor and the maimed, the
lame and the blind - Luke 10:38-42). Jesuswouldhave encouragedall kinds of
relationships if they were leading to the betterment of men and women. But
He desired especiallythat they would not forget the poor.
Verses 12-24
The GreatSupper Will Be Attended By Unexpected Guests BecauseThose
First Invited Have Made Excuses In Order To Avoid Attending (14:12-24).
In the previous parable Jesus had hinted at the danger of not partaking in the
future life because they were too proud. Now He makes clearthat most of
those present will not be there in the everlasting kingdom because theyhave

102. refused the King’s invitation to partake in the Kingly Rule of God. The
introduction and the parallel have a twofoldmessage.
· Firstly the need to be concernedfor the poor and needy. Here the injunction
is to invite the poor and needy to his table. In the chiasmus the parallel is with
the story of the rich fool who also ignored the poor and needy and graspedfor
riches and a goodtime (Luke 12:13-21).
Some have suggestedthat Jesus wouldnot have spokento his host in this vein.
But they overlook the fact that Jesus was a recognisedprophet. That was why
He had been invited. And people, even Pharisees, expecteda genuine prophet
to speak strongly to them, and be straight with them. And besides Jesus was a
Galilean, and they were much more open and straight than the southerners.
· But secondlythere is also a second, deepermessage, andthat is that many of
those first invited, the religious Jews, who thought complacentlythat their
place in God’s kingdom was secure, will not enter under either the present or
the future Kingly Rule of God, because they have refused His invitation, while
many from among the outcasts andthe Gentiles will.
There are similarities between this parable and that in Matthew 22:1-14. The
two parables indicate the flexibility of Jesus’mind and His ability to adapt His
stories so as to get over different points. We cantend to forgetthat like us He
had to sit and considerhow He could reachHis audience, and that He would
learn from experience, commencing with a simple story and then later
expanding it in order to make it more powerful. Many of us have done the
same thing time and againuntil the stories become quite sophisticated(or at
leastwe think so)although it is necessaryto ensure that they do not become
overloaded. But Jesus never made that mistake. The Rabbis on the other hand
were not noted for the simplicity of their stories.

103. Analysis.
· He said to him also who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a
supper, do not call friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich
neighbours, in case they also invite you in return, and a recompense be made
to you” (Luke 14:12).
· “But when you make a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the
blind, and you will be blessed, because they have no means with which to
recompense you, for you will be recompensedin the resurrectionof the
righteous” (Luke 14:13-14).
· When one of those who sat at meat with him heard these things, he said to
him, “Blessedis he who will eatbread within the Kingly Rule of God” (Luke
14:15).
· But he said to him, “A certain man made a greatsupper, and he invited
many, and he sent out his servant at supper time to sayto those who were
invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready’ ” (Luke 14:16-17).
· “And they all with one consentbeganto make excuse. The first said to him,
‘I have bought a field, and I find it necessaryfor me to go out and see it, I beg
you, have me excused’(Luke 14:18).
· “And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to
prove them. I beg you, have me excused’” (Luke 14:19).

104. · “And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come’”
(Luke 14:20).
· “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 here the poor and maimed and blind and lame’
” (Luke 14:21).
· “And the servant said, ‘Lord, what you commanded is done, and yet there is
room’ ” (Luke 14:22).
· “And the lord saidto the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and
constrainthem to come in, that my house may be filled’ ” (Luke 14:23).
· “ ‘For I sayto you, that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my
supper’ ” (Luke 14:24).
Note how in ‘a’ he is told not to callthose whom he knows, and in the parallel
none of those invited will eatof his supper. In ‘b’ he is to call the needy, and in
the parallelthe needy are finally called. In ‘c’ one present says ‘Blessedis he
who will eatbred within the Kingly Rule of God’, and in the paralleleven
after the Lord’s command there is still room because those who were invited
had not responded. In ‘d’ he invites many friends to his supper, and in the
parallel he invites the needy, and in a threefold centre in ‘e’ the point of the
story is brought home, all those who were first invited made excuses.

105. JAMES NISBET
Verse 14
THE GENERALRESURRECTION
‘Thou shalt be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just.’
Luke 14:14
Mostpeople expectto receive the rewardof goodservice done to God, so soon
as they leave this world and enter heaven. But our Lord says, ‘Thou shalt be
recompensedat the resurrectionof the just.’ The hope setbefore us is the
hope of receiving the reward of dutiful service at the resurrection, and not
before. The condition after death is one of expectancyand not one of fruition.
I. The great change.—The resurrectionbody is:—
(a) Sown in corruption; raisedin incorruption.
(b) Sown in dishonour; raisedin glory.
(c) Sown in weakness;raisedin strength.
(d) Sown a natural body; raiseda spiritual body.

106. It is idle to conjecture. Suffice it that we know that the risen body will be as
unlike the natural body that was sownin corruption as the beautiful butterfly
is unlike the mean grub, and that, nevertheless, identity will not be lost.
II. Difference of degrees.—Eachin eternallife receives more or less glory and
honour and rule, according as he has deservedit. Some will be glorified as
saints, others saved only with fear, as brands plucked out of the fire. God is
just, and rewardeth every man justly.
III. What is it that infuses into our corruptible bodies the germ of the new
resurrectionlife and glorification?—Themiracles ofhealing wrought by our
Lord were figures of restorationfrom sin, but they were more than that, they
were foretastes ofthe greathealing of human nature of all its infirmities that
He would effectas the greatPhysician of bodies as wellas souls. It is
noteworthy that many of these cures were wrought by His touch. And He
instituted the Holy Eucharist as the means whereby we might sacramentally,
yet really, touch His risen body.
Rev. S. Baring-Gould.
Illustration
‘The expression, “Thoushalt be recompensed,” is worthy of notice. It
confirms the doctrine of a reward according to works, thoughnot on account
of works, in the judgment day. The similarity betweenthe Lord’s language in
this place, and that used in the description of the judgment day in Matthew
25, ought to be observed. It seems to contradictthe opinion which some hold,
that in Matthew our Lord is speaking only of the judgment of the heathen

107. who never heard the Gospel. Some arguments by which this view is
maintained would apply to the passage before us. Yet here it is plain that our
Lord is speaking of His own hearers and disciples. It appears, more probable,
that both here and in Matthew our Lord speaks ofthe generaljudgment, and
that the importance of works as an evidence of faith is the truth which He
desires to impress on our minds.’
The PoorMan's Banquet
Bible in a Year:
Joshua 4-6
Luke 1:1-20
Go out . . . and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the
blind. —
Luke 14:21
COMMENT
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Today's Scripture:
Luke 14:12-24

108. During the North African campaignof World War II, some German troops
became detachedfrom their source of supplies. With their throats parched by
the intense desert sun, they were overjoyedwhen they found a newly
constructedBritish waterline. Shooting it full of holes, they fell on their
stomachs and began gulping furiously.
But they realized something too late—the British had been testing the pipeline
with salty seawater. Within 24 hours all of the Germans were dying of thirst.
Recognizing the severity of their situation, they quickly surrendered.
In a similar way, life’s painful reverses are sometimes required to break down
the willful resistance ofpeople who would rejectGod’s terms of surrender.
Jesus’parable in Luke 14 reminds us that misfortune can be a blessing if it
makes us willing to acceptGod’s invitation. He said that only the poor and
needy acceptedthe offer to attend the banquet. The rest were too self-
sufficient and preoccupied.
Whether our need is salvationor development of Christlike character,
adversities are often necessaryto help us sort out what really counts. May we
see them as God’s loving invitation to take our place at the “poorman’s
banquet.”
By: Mart DeHaan
Who Should We Invite to Thanksgiving Dinner?

109. Resource by John Piper Scripture: Luke 14:12–14 Topic: Fellowship&
Hospitality
Matthew 28:19 and 20 is calledthe GreatCommissionnot because it is better
than all the other commissions in the Bible, but because it includes all the
other commissions. Go and make disciples of all nations includes the whole of
our duty once we understand what making a disciple means. It means two
things:
1) Bringing people to Christ through faith and baptism.
2) Teaching them to do all that Jesus commanded. The Great Commissionis
all-inclusive because it demands that we do all that Jesus commanded.
Therefore, we are engagedin fulfilling the Great Commissionwheneverwe
help others obey Christ, and we will never be finished with the Great
Commissionuntil we do everything Christ has told us to do.
It is obvious, then, as a pastorthat my agenda is setfor me already. My sole
task is to call people to Christ and then do all in my powerto help them keep
all of Jesus'commandments. And missions week, with its emphasis on calling
people to faith worldwide, leads with an inescapable biblicallogic to the task
of "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." And that is
where we are this morning.
In two and a half weeksmostof us will have a thanksgiving feast. In order to
fulfill the GreatCommissionthat we observe everything Jesus commanded,
we need to know whom Jesus wants us to invite to that feast. So I want to talk
about that while there is still time.
Bending the Law for Their Own Comfort

110. The text is Luke 14:12–14. It is Saturday, the Jewishsabbath, and Jesus has
been invited to dinner by one of the leaders among the Pharisees (14:1), the
most zealous of all law-keepers among the Jews. There is no evidence that I
know of that Jesus was everinvited back a secondtime to a Pharisee's house.
And it is not hard to see why. It seems like every time he opens his mouth, he
undresses somebody's hypocrisy. There never was another man whose mouth
was more closelytied to the human heart. Was there ever a word that came
out of Jesus'mouth that did not touch the ultimate issues ofthe soul? No man
ever spoke like this man. "Forthis very thing I was born and for this I came
into the world: to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears
my voice" (John18:37).
So when Jesus spokeout at a Saturday dinner and when we hear him through
the gospels today, a division is created. Those who are "ofthe truth" listen
and obey. "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me"
(John 10:27, 4). Those who are not of the truth do not have ears to hear or
eyes to see. Jesus says to them, "Why do you not know what I say? It is
because you are not able to hear my word . . . The one who is of God hears the
words of God. This is the reasonyou do not hear, because you are not of God"
(John 8:43, 47). So let's take heed how we hear the words of Jesus, lestwe be
found indifferent or antagonistic to his teaching and so prove ourselves to be
outside the fold. I pray that the way we hear today will prove that we are all
among the number of whom Jesus said, "Father, I have given them the words
which thou gavestme, and they have receivedthem and know in truth that I
came from thee."
The first thing Jesus does atthis Saturday dinner is heal a man of dropsy.
Perhaps he was lying outside the Pharisee'shouse as they entered(like
Lazarus used to lay at the rich man's gate). Jesus askedthe law-experts and
Pharisees ifthey thought healing on the sabbath was lawful. They did not
answer, but their silence clearlymeant, No it is not lawful. In Luke 13:14, the
synagogue ruler had said, "There are six days in which work ought to be

111. done, come on those days and be healedand not on the sabbath day." And so
Jesus says here at the dinner the same thing he saidthere in the synagogue:
"Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not
immediately pull him out on a sabbath day?" (14:5). No answer.
Jesus leaves it for them and for us to draw the inference, namely: You law-
experts and Phariseeshave a keeninterest in your own welfare. When the law
seems to stand betweenyou and the safetyof your valuable ox, you have no
difficulty relativizing the law. The preservationof your own comfort is clearly
a higher commitment than rigorous sabbath keeping. But when it comes to
another person's need, whose illness is no skin off your nose, then the law
becomes convenientlyrigid to protectyou from involvement. O, the
wickednessofreligious people! whose highestlove, whose god, is not the Lord
but selfishconvenience, and for whom the holy law of God is either rigid or
robbery depending on whether it protects or threatens that convenience.
I talkedto a womanrecently who has made a policy of lying to an institution
in this city in order to gain a certain convenience. I said, "That's wrong and it
will not square with your claim to be a followerof Christ." She said, "I think
the Lord understands." In other words, the law is rubber. But if you ask what
she wants from her husband and what she thinks the Scriptures require of
him, then the law is not rubber anymore. It is rigid. Inconsistent? Notreally.
It is a very consistenteffort to manipulate God for the sake ofone's
convenience.
So it is clear, isn't it? No one will go out of here today without understanding
this, I hope: you can be at your furthest ebb from God in the very exercise of
your religion. Man at his worst is religious man using his religionto protect
himself from the inconvenience and disturbance of needy strangers.

112. Seeking the Praise of Men
That is the first thing Jesus does whenhe comes to dinner. Not the most
ingratiating thing to do to your host, but perhaps the most loving. The second
thing Jesus does is to undress the pride of the dinner guests right there in
front of everybody. He has been sitting there watching them come in. And
what does he look for? How they are dressed? Where they are from? What
are their jobs? No. He looks for what they love. Jesus always watchesuntil he
knows where our treasure is. Because where your treasure is, is where your
heart is, and Jesus wants the heart! So Jesus watchesand he sees whattheir
treasure is: they love the praise of men. They love to be esteemedfor
occupying the seats ofhonor. And he watches how they move in and out of
conversations, weaving their way unnoticed to the bestseats. Nobodyfools
Jesus. He is master, absolute master, of every situation!
What does Jesus think about the guest's whose treasure is the praise of men?
In short, he thinks they will go to hell if their values don't change. Listen to
what he said in two other places about this form of idolatry. Luke 11:43:
"Woe to you Pharisees!for you love the bestseatin the synagoguesand
salutations in the marketplaces." Luke 20:46, 47:"Beware ofthe scribes who
like to go about in long robes and love salutations in the market places and the
best seats in the synagoguesandthe places of honor at the feasts, who devour
widows'houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the
greatercondemnation." Two things go hand in hand with loving the places of
honor at the feast:exploitation of the weak and condemnation. If your
treasure is the praise of men and a widow's house stands in your way, you will
just destroy it. But in the end, your own house will collapse in the flood of
God's judgment. So Jesus here says in Luke 14:11, "Everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted." If you
pursue the seats of honor on earth you will have no seatat all in heaven (cf.
Matthew 18:3; 5:20).
Living by the Law of Reciprocity

113. Now you would think Jesus has ruffled enough feathers at one dinner:
exposing the legalist's ability to twist the law in order to protecttheir selfish
convenience, and exposing the pride of those who crave the praise of men. You
would think the party is over. But he is not done yet.
He said also to the man who had invited him, "Wheneveryou give a dinner or
a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers, or your relatives or
your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and it be a repayment
for you. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the
blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannotrepay you. For it will be
repaid to you in the resurrection of the just." (Luke 14:12–14)
Up till now Jesus has talkedto the guests. Now he turns to the host. "Don't
touch that snake, lestit bite you and you die." "Don't climb that rope, lestit
break and you fall." "Don'tinvite your friends and brothers and relatives and
rich neighbors to dinner, lestyou be repaid in kind." What an unearthly
argument! "Danger!Repayment ahead!" "Warning! This repayment may be
dangerous to your health!" Who on earth would talk like that? Probably
somebody whose kingdomis not of this world (John 18:36);somebody who
knows that 1,000 years on this earth are like yesterdaywhen it is gone (Psalm
90:4); somebody who knows that our life is but a mist that appears and in a
moment vanishes away(James 4:14); who knows that he who saves his life
now will lose it later, and he who loses it now in love will save it later (Mark
8:35); and who knows that there will be a resurrectionunto eternallife, a
resurrectionof the just to live with God a million millennia of eons, if indeed
he was our God on this earth. Jesus is the man. No man ever spoke like this
man. And the people who callhim Lord ought not to be like any other people.
Take heedhow you hear. There are some whose first and only reactionto
Jesus'words will be: "Well, he can't mean that, because then we would have
no more church suppers, no more Sunday Schoolsocials,no more family

114. reunions, and even the Lord's Supper would have been wrong." Then, having
thus defused the text and bent the sword of the Spirit, they move on to the
next passageand right on through the New Testamentjustifying themselves
and, just like the Pharisees, manipulating the law of Christ to preserve their
unruffled tradition and convenience.
There is no better defense againstthe truth than a half-truth. And the half-
truth is, Jesus does not intend to end all family meals and gatherings of
friends. But the truth is: there is in every human heart a terrible and powerful
tendency to live by the law of earthly repayment, the law of reciprocity. There
is a subtle and relentless inclination in our flesh to do what will make life as
comfortable as possible and to avoid what will inconvenience us or agitate our
placid routine or add the leastbit of tensionto our Thanksgiving dinner. The
most sanctifiedpeople among us must do battle every day so as not to be
enslavedby the universal tendency to always actfor the greatestearthly
payoff.
The people who lightly dismiss this text as a rhetorical overstatementare
probably blind to the impossibility of overstating the corruption of the human
heart and its deceptive powerto make us think all is wellwhen we are
enslavedto the law of reciprocity, the law which says:always do what will pay
off in convenience, undisturbed pleasures, domestic comfort, and social
tranquility. Jesus'words are radical because oursin is radical. He waves a red
flag because there is destruction aheadfor people governed by the law of
reciprocity.
It Really Matters Who You Invite to Dinner
I stress the dangerof living for earthly repayment (for ease, convenience,
comfort, tranquility) because Jesus stressedit. Listen to these other sayings.
Luke 6:24: "Woe to you that are rich, for you have receivedback your
consolation."The rich are condemned because the use of their money showed

115. where their heart was:they used it to secure their lives and pad themselves
with comfort and luxury and consolation, insteadof using it to meet the needs
of the suffering.
Jesus takes this saying from Luke 6:24 and makes a parable out of it in Luke
16:19ff.:
There was a rich man who was clothedin purple and fine linen who feasted
sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of
sores, who desiredto be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; and the
dogs came and lickedhis sores. The poorman died and was carried by the
angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in
Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and
Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, "FatherAbraham, have mercy upon
me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in waterand coolmy tongue,
for I am in anguish in this flame." But Abraham said, "Son, remember that
you in your lifetime receivedback your goodthings, and Lazarus in like
manner evil things. But now he is comfortedhere and you are in anguish."
Why didn't the rich man give Lazarus the crumbs from his table? Because
Lazarus was in no position to pay back any goodthing. The rich man's life
was governedby the law of reciprocity, by the earthly benefits he could
receive back in all his dealings. He wore the finest clothes and feasted
sumptuously and did not inconvenience himself with the poor, sick man at his
very door. And so he went to hell, where everybody will go who uses his
money to feastsumptuously with comfortable, respectable guests insteadof
using it to alleviate suffering.

116. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and
you will be blessed, becausethey cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at
the resurrectionof the just.
You will be blessedbecause they cannotrepay you! You will be blessed
because they cannotrepay you! What an amazing thing for Jesus to say!We
get ourselves bracedfor some good, solid self-denial. We screw on our
willpower to exercise some disinterestedbenevolence.And Jesus turns around
and says:Your self-denial for the poor will bring you great blessing. Your
benevolence is not, nor ever could be, disinterested. Indeed, your eternal
interest is at stake. "It is more blessedto give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
"If you lose your life (in love) for my sake, you will save it" (Mark 8:36). So in
the end, for those who obey, there is no self-sacrifice. Who wouldn't count
everything as rubbish in order to gain Christ?
Why does it make such an eternaldifference whom you invite to Thanksgiving
dinner? It is not so much that this one afternoonis all-determining. The
reasonit makes an eternaldifference is that it, along with many other
occasions,reveals where our treasure is. Is Jesus, with his commands and
promises, more valuable to us than tradition and convenience and earthly
comfort? Is he our treasure or is the world? That question is not decided
during an invitation at church. It is decided at Thanksgiving dinner, and hour
by hour every day, by whether we are willing to inconvenience ourselves for
those who can't repay, or whether we avoid them and so preserve our placid
routine. It matters whom you invite to Thanksgiving dinner because it matters
where your treasure is.
On the back of your bulletin there is a paragraphwhich says, "If you would
like to enjoy the blessing of having a Lao or Hmong family to join you for
Thanksgiving Dinner, please callthe church office between8 and 4:30 or
evenings call Rick or Marie Wilson." I pray that we will all see the connection
betweenthis opportunity and Luke 14:12–14.

117. RON RITCHIE
Review your guestlist
Luke 14:12-14
And He also went on to sayto the one who had invited Him, "When you give a
luncheon or a
dinner, do not invite [only] your friends or your brothers or your relatives or
rich neighbors,
lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. But when you
give a
reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be
blessed, since
they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the
righteous."
As our Lord lookedaround Him He could see that most of the people at the
luncheon seemedto be kinfolk,
friends, or rich neighbors of the host, all of whom sometime in the future
could repay this present luncheon by
having a party themselves and inviting all the same people. They all knew
eachother and were on the same
plane socially. The makeup of the party would be the same, only the host
would change. Our Lord saw that the

118. motive of the host's heart was one of selfishness,security, and exclusiveness.
In reality the luncheon was a
picture of what sort of ministry the spiritual leaders were conducting among
the people of God in Israel:
exclusive, self-promoting, and immediately rewarding. But the lifestyle he
wanted them to have would setup a
picture of how to have a ministry the way he did. He walkedamong the rich as
well as the poor, among those
who were of reputation as well as those without reputation. It seems as if he
constantly had people from both
spheres, both rich and poor, come to him and feelvery comfortable with him.
But the wrong way to give a
party is to have a very selectlist.
So he said, "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the
lame, the blind, and you will be
blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid
at the resurrectionof the
righteous." This principle would certainly challenge the motives of their
hearts, as it might our own. Our
immediate temptation might be to say, "But Lord, those kind of people will
never be able to invite us to their
house for a party. And Lord, those kind of people are not really our kind of
people; they have no manners, no
Page:6
socialgraces, no business cards and contacts, no cleanclothes. Lord, get
serious, that kind of party would be

119. a waste of time and energy in this day and age." But our Lord's challenge to
this Pharisee was reallya
summary of his whole life and ministry. Rememberin the beginning of his
ministry he quoted Isaiah 61 in the
synagogue ofNazareth:"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He
anointed Me to preach the gospelto
the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recoveryof
sight to the blind, to setfree those
who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." (Luke
4:18-19.)
The Young Couples Class used our house lastnight for a get-togetherofabout
about sixty people. The Young
Couples Class always brings their kids, lots of them! And the kids know very
few rules: "CanI jump in the
hot tub before we take off the cover?" "CanI go upstairs and play with your
computer?" "Canwe swing from
the chandelier?" I was all over the place. As I mentally lookedoverthe list
last night, out of all those people
who were in our house I think there were only two who could ever invite us to
their home. All the rest were
still struggling; they'll probably never be able to repay in like manner, at least
while I'm on this earth! That's
the right wayto give a party, though. It was so much fun, so much joy, so
pleasurable-allthe babies, all the
different kinds of people from all walks oflife.
On the other hand, Friday night we were with some friends talking about how
we had been at a party where

120. we were absolutely dead mackerels. We were not on the normal guest list, and
the hostslipped us in.
Everybody knew that we were slipped in, and it was just as if we were
invisible for four hours. Have you ever
been invisible for four hours? You eat your pâté. They talk about everything
that you don't know anything
about, and they make sure you don't know. They talk about all the people you
don't know, and you have
nothing to say. No one wants to talk to you, because you're not on their list
and you aren't getting on their list.
The Lord wants us to have a love for strangers, as we saw reflectedin his own
ministry, regardless oftheir
physical or financial condition. What the Lord wants us to see is the spiritual
condition of all those strangers
around us. Some of them are spiritually bankrupt and crippled by some
addiction or legalism, others are lame
because ofsome sin in the pastor present, and then there are those who are
spiritually blind to the truth of
God. It may not seemvery rewarding to reachout to those kinds of people on
this earth, but our Lord
promised those who are willing to trust him and to live as he lived on earth
that there are two rewards: You will
be blessedwith a sense ofwholeness, peace, andjoy; you feel right about who
you are and who you're with
as you love and minister among the strangers ofthis world. And then because
you have placedyour faith in
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will be rewardedby God at the
resurrectionof the righteous.

121. I was recently made aware of a situation in which a young woman was having
a very difficult physical
problem. She neededto move out of her living situation in order to regain her
health. I calledup a couple who
are part of this spiritual family and askedthem if they would check out this
situation and give me some
suggestionsas to who might be able to offer her a spare room in their home
for a few months until she could
get back on her feet. After a couple of days I receiveda phone call from this
couple who had takenthe time to
interview the woman and pray about the situation. They had finally decided
that they were willing to become
lovers of this stranger. She now lives with them, and we canall join with them
in prayer that this woman will
be physically and spiritually healed.
Our loving Lord is encouraging his spiritual children to reflecthis character
by becoming lovers of strangers,
toward the end of providing some emotionalor spiritual healing. He wants us
to live our lives in humility
before him rather than spending time seeking to exalt ourselves to undeserved
places of honor. And now we
have been calledto review our guestlist to make sure we include not only our
family and friends, but also the
physically and spiritually handicapped. Finally, our Lord will offer the hostof
this luncheon a fourth spiritual
principle:

122. CHARLES SIMEON
LIBERALITY TO THE POOR RECOMMENDED
Luke 14:12-14. Thensaid he also to him that bade him, When thou makesta
dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither kinsmen,
nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be
made thee. But when thou makesta feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame,
the blind: and thou shalt be blessed;for they cannotrecompense thee:for
thou shalt be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just.
IT is a thing yet to be learned in the religious world, that there is no part of
Christian duty beneath the attention of those who hear the Gospel, or those
who preach it. The Church is a building, which must be carriedforward till
its final completion. Its foundation must be laid; but in laying it, we must not
imagine that it is of any use of itself; it is laid, in order to have a
superstructure raisedupon it; and the builder must advance in his work till he
has “brought forth the top-stone.” St. Paul would “not be always laying the
foundation of repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, but
would go on unto perfection.” Thus we would do: and whatever our blessed
Lord inculcated on his Disciples, thatwould we also inculcate on all who
profess to belong to him.
Our Lord, dining at the house of a Pharisee ona Sabbath-day, set himself to
correctsome evils which he saw peculiarly predominant there. Amongst the
company he perceiveda spirit of ambition and self-preference;which he
endeavouredto correctby a parable suited to the occasion. It should seem,
too, that the feastwas sumptuous, or, at least, that none but rich people were
invited to it: he therefore, to counteractthe pride which such a banquet

123. fosteredand displayed, told them what kind of feasts he approved; and that,
instead of laying out their money in sumptuous entertainments, he would have
them rather to spend their money in making provision for the poor. In
conformity with this precept, we shall endeavour to set before you some rules
and reasons fora proper expenditure of our money.
I. Some rules—
Two are mentioned in our text;
1. Do not waste your money in giving entertainments to the rich—
[We must not construe this so strictly as, to decline all friendly intercourse
with our richer relatives or neighbours, or to refuse them the rights of
hospitality; for kindness is due to them as well as to the poor, and doubtless
may occasionallybe exercisedtowards them in the wayapparently forbidden
in our text. But we must not affecthigh company, or spend money
unnecessarilyin entertaining them. Hospitality indeed is good; and we should
“love if [Note: 1 Timothy 3:2. Titus 1:8. 1 Peter 4:9.],” and not “be forgetful to
entertain strangers;because some have thereby entertained angels unawares
[Note:Hebrews 13:2.]:” but still this is essentiallydifferent from a fondness
for parade and feasting;which, howevervindicated as necessaryto form
connexions for one’s children, and to promote socialintercourse, and to keep
up one’s stationin the world, is little else than sensualityand pride. To feast
the rich, will involve us in greatexpense, which of course must lessenour
means of doing goodto the poor: therefore, though occasions mayoccur
wherein we may not improperly exercise hospitality towards them, we must
not find our pleasure in such feasts, nor should we devote to them any
considerable portion of our income. The generality of persons accountthe
keeping of high company, and the being able to entertain them in a splendid

124. way, as the chief use of wealth; and they launch out into these kinds of
expenses the very instant they have receivedsuch an accessionoffortune as
will enable them so to do. But we must shew ourselves of a different spirit, and
not sanctionby our example any such evil practices.]
2. Devote your property rather to the relieving and comforting of the poor—
[God has ordained that there shall always be poor amongsthis people, in
order that graces ofevery kind may be called forth into exercise among them
[Note:Deuteronomy 15:11.]. These therefore are to be the specialobjects of
our care;but especiallythose among them whom God in his providence has
visited with afflictions which incapacitate them for labour; “the poor, the
maimed, the lame, the blind.” The talents which God has committed to our
care, are to be laid out with a particular reference to them. Under the law, it
was appointed that every person should lay up the tithe of his increase every
third year, for the express purpose of feasting “the stranger, the fatherless,
and the widow, in the courts of the Lord,” that all of them togethermight “eat
and be satisfied[Note: Deuteronomy14:28-29.].” In a similar manner, we also
are enjoined at statedperiods to “lay by us in store as Godhas prospered us
[Note:1 Corinthians 16:2.]:” and even those who are forced to work with
their hands for their own maintenance, are yet required to labour the more, in
order “that they may have to give to him that needeth [Note: Ephesians
4:28.].” It is true, that there is no need of throwing down all distinctions in
society, and feasting with the poor on terms of strict equality; but to make
them happy, should be an objectnear our hearts. Indeed it is, if I may so
express myself, a godlike employment: for God himself has shewn a marked
respectfor the poor, in that “he has chosenthe poor of this world rich in faith,
and heirs of his kingdom [Note:James 2:5.].” He has set us an example of this
very thing in the dispensationof his Gospel. In the verses following the text, he
represents himself as having made a greatfeast, and invited many: and,
because his invitations are slighted by the rich, the gay, the worldly, he says to
his servants, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in

125. hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind: yea, Go out into
the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be
filled [Note: ver. 16–23.].”Thus, as by his Gospelhe makes them preeminently
partakers of his spiritual blessings, so we also, as far as our circumstances will
admit of it, should make them partakers of our temporal blessings.]
This, though felt and acknowledgedby us as a duty, needs yet to be enforced
upon us, in order that it may be reduced to practice:we will therefore proceed
to enforce it by,
II. Some reasons—
The two things which men aim at in the disposalof their money, are pleasure
and advantage:and it is from an idea that these are more to be obtained by
feasting with the rich, that people almost universally prefer that method of
expending their property. But we do not hesitate to say, that the mode of
expending it which has been recommended to you has greatly the superiority
in point,
I. Of gratification—
[We do not deny but that there is considerable pleasure in entertaining one’s
friends: we must however assert, thatthat pleasure is carnal in its nature, and
transient in its duration. But the delight which arises from providing for the
poor, and making them happy, is solid, refined, permanent. If it were nothing
more than the thought of contributing to lessenthe miseries to which human
nature is exposed, it would be very delightful; the very sensationof sympathy
is exquisite: but the thought of being God’s messengerto them for good, and
the hope that “by our means thanksgivings will abound to God [Note:2

126. Corinthians 9:12.],” and that our heavenly Parent will be adored and
magnified through us; this is a sensationwhich even an angelmight envy. We
can easilyconceive the comfort which an indigent fellow-creature feels in
being relieved from his distress;yet is that not to be compared with the
happiness excitedin the bosom of him who administers the relief: for One who
cannot err has told us, that “it is more blessedto give than to receive.” The
comfort of the relieved continues only whilst the pressure of his calamity is
removed: but the donor may look back at the distance of many years, and feel
againthe same delights which he experiencedat the first communication of
his alms.
Amongst the many considerations whichtend to perpetuate his comfort, one
in particular is, that, in administering to the poor, he has ministered to the
Lord Jesus Christ himself. Christ has condescendedto identify himself with
his poor members, and to regardevery thing which is done for them, not only
as done for him, but as done personally to him [Note:Matthew 25:35-40.]. O
what a thought is this to one who feels his obligations to Christ! I suppose
there is scarcelyan enlightened Christian in the universe, who has not envied
the womenwho had the privilege of “ministering to him of their substance
[Note:Luke 8:3.]:” but the man who delights in comforting the poor, occupies
their province; and is privileged to view, as it were, the very person of Christ
in all such guests. Verily, he can have but little love for his Saviour who does
not feelmore delight in this thought, than in all the gratifications which high
company and a well-spreadtable ever afforded.]
2. Of benefit—
[All the benefit that the feasting of the rich brings with it, is, the getting a good
name among them, and the being invited to their feasts in return. The latter of
these is what our Lord rather teaches us to dread, inasmuch as it cancels the
obligation we have conferred, and makes our expenditure in vain [Note: ver.

127. 12.]. It is to be lamented, however, that amongsthis reputed followers, the
being invited to feasts is no greatobjectof dread. But the man who feasts the
poor, canlook for no recompence from them; (exceptindeed in their blessings
and their prayers;) but from God, he shall be recompenseda hundred-fold.
The communications of grace and peace shall abound towards him whose
delight is in doing good: “having wateredothers he shall be watered himself.”
This is declaredby an inspired writer in the most express and most eloquent
terms: “If thou deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast
out to thy house; if when thou seestthe naked, thou coverhim, and hide not
thyself from thine own flesh; if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and
satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy
darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and
satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a
wateredgarden, and like a spring of water, whose waters failnot [Note:Isaiah
58:7-11.].” Whata glorious recompence is this!
But there is a time coming when his recompence shall be complete. “At the
resurrectionof the just,” God will acknowledgeallthat has been done for the
poor as “a loan lent to him; and he will repay it” all with interest [Note:
Proverbs 19:17. 1 Timothy 6:17-19.]. We take for granted indeed that the
person is a believer in Christ, and that, in relieving the poor, he does it for
Christ’s sake, andnot from an idea of establishing a righteousness ofhis own.
This must certainly be supposed;else the liberality, however great, will only
turn to the confusionof him who exercises it, and prove a foundation of sand
to him who builds upon it: but, supposing the person’s state to be right before
God in other respects, and his motives to be pure in the distribution of his
alms, we do not hesitate to say, that he treasures up a rich reward for himself
in the day that Christ shall judge the world; insomuch that a cup of coldwater
only that has been given by him from right principles, “shall in no wise lose its
reward.” Jehovahhimself in that day shall make a feast, a marriage-feastfor
his Son: and to it will he invite those who for his sake provided for the poor.

128. There shall they sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob;and be regaled
with all the delights of Paradise. Wellis it said in reference to that day,
“Blessedare they which are calledto the marriage-supperof the Lamb [Note:
Revelation19:7-9.].” Yes;in the words of our text it is said, “Thoushalt be
blessed;” but how blessedthe liberal man shall be, none but God himself can
fully declare.]
We sum up the whole in two words of advice—
1. AcceptGod’s invitations to you—
[You have already heard that in his Gospelhe has spreada feast, even “a feast
of fat things full of marrow, and of wines on the lees wellrefined [Note: Isaiah
25:6.].” The persons whom he invites are, not “the rich who think themselves
in need of nothing, but the wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked[Note: Revelation3:17-18.].” As his servants, we invite you all; and
declare to you, that the pooreryou are, and the more unworthy in your own
apprehensions, the more acceptable you will be at his table. NeedI say how
much God will be delighted to see his table furnished with guests? Hearhis
own invitation: hear how he pleads with you, and entreats you to acceptit;
hear how he expatiates on the delicacieshe has provided for your repast
[Note:Isaiah 55:1-2.]. He sets before you nothing less than the body and blood
of his dear Son; which Christ himself says, is “meatindeed, and drink indeed
[Note:John 6:55.].” Think of this, and let nothing for a moment delay your
coming.]
2. Conform your invitations to his—

129. [We are enjoined to “be followers (imitators) of God as dear children:” “to be
merciful as he is merciful, and perfect as he is perfect.” Beholdthen at what
expense he has made provision for our needy souls!“he has not spared even
his ownSon, but has delivered him up for us all.” Let not us then grudge any
sacrifice for the comfort and support of our afflicted brethren. Economy
should be practised, in order to liberality; and self-denial, in order to an
enlarging of our ability to supply the wants of others. You well “know the
grace ofour Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for our sakes he
became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich [Note:2 Corinthians
8:9.]: Let the same mind be in you that was in him.” Let the happiness of
others be your happiness, and the luxury of doing goodbe your daily food.
Thus will every thing you have be sanctified to you [Note:Luke 11:41.]: and
the blessing of God will rest upon you in life [Note:Hebrews 6:10.], in death
[Note:Psalms 41:1.], and to all eternity [Note:Luke 16:9.].]