Luke 14:1 says, And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. Jesus did not avoid the Pharisees, but He even went to the home of one of the chief Pharisees to eat with him one Sabbath. No one can ever say that Jesus rejected them because of who they were. Verse two adds, And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. There was a sick man there before Jesus at the house. Verse three continues, And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath day. I believe Jesus wanted to see if they would put legalism ahead of mercy to others. We need to make sure that we don't become so religiously legalistic that we fail to treat others with mercy and compassion. Verse four states, And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; The lawyers and Pharisees did not answer Jesus, so He healed the man and let him go. We will never be able to deny the truth of God, so we are better off not trying to, even if we might disagree with His truth. Verse five adds,nd answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? Jesus asked them another question. Which of them, if he had an ass or ox fall in a pit on the Sabbath would not pull it out. This would still be work, and sometimes we are more willing to break religious rules if it affects us materially than we are if it affects someone else. Verse six says, And they could not answer him again to these things. Once again, the lawyers and Pharisees, the ones who best knew God's laws and the ones that had been added to them, would not answer Jesus. We may believe that we know the laws of God better than anyone else, but if we don't have mercy and compassion toward others, we cannot truly follow the leadership of Christ. Rules and regulations will never save anyone. Verse seven adds, And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, Jesus once more taught those there with a parable. Verse eight continues, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; Jesus said if they were invited to a wedding to not look for the highest place to sit, because someone more important might come along. The lawyers and Pharisees liked to be in the position of greatest authority in the religious community, and there are still people today who seek the same thing. Jesus warned us against this. Verse nine says, And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. Jesus said that if they sought the highest place and another more important person came along that the one who called them there might tell them to give up their place, and they would move down with shame. One greater than the lawyers and Pharisees was there, and they would have to move down from their assumed position of authority. We must humble ourselves before God and can never come to Him holding on to assumed positions of moral superiority over others. Verse ten adds, But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. Jesus told them when they came, to seek the lowest room of the house, and when the one who invited them came, he might call them up to a better place. When we come to Jesus, we come to the lowest room so to speak, and then it is up to Him to call us to our place of service. We can never just assume a higher place on our own. Verse eleven continues, For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. The lawyers and Pharisees exalted themselves, and Jesus said they would be put to shame, and that those who humbled themselves before God would be exalted one day. We should never attempt to serve God for self exaltation. We will always be no more im than any other sinner saved by grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment