Luke 14:1, 7-11
Chapter 14
1
One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat at the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.
7
Jesus then told a parable to the guests because he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. He said,
8
“When you are invited to a wedding, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited,
9
and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your seat.’ What shame will be yours when you take the lowest seat!
10
Whenever you are invited, choose the lowest seat so that your host may come and say, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ In that way, everyone at the table with you will see you honored.
11
For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Commentaries
Heals a Man With Dropsy.
With this new sign of healing on the Sabbath, Jesus condemns the mistaken and self-serving way of understanding the Sabbath commandment and, more broadly, the Law. Elsewhere in Galilee, Jesus had already proclaimed his lordship over the Sabbath; in this region on the way to Jerusalem, it is also confirmed that he is Lord of life and also of the Sabbath.
The First Places.
In the kingdom, no one holds the top positions by right or courtesy; those positions are taken by individuals who have rejected the typical way of thinking and have dedicated themselves to serving others.