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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 3 - Dinner - Honor
Dinner - Honor
Luke 14:7-9
7 And [de] he put forth [lego] a parable [parabole] to [pros] those which were bidden [kaleo] , when he marked [epecho] how [pos] they chose out [eklegomai] the chief rooms [protoklisia] ; saying [lego] unto [pros] them [autos] ,
8 When [hotan] thou art bidden [kaleo] of [hupo] any [tis] man to [eis] a wedding [gamos] , sit [kataklino] not [me] down [kataklino] in [eis] the highest room [protoklisia] ; lest [mepote] a more honourable man [entimos] than thou [sou] be [o] bidden [kaleo] of [hupo] him [autos] ;
9 And [kai] he that bade [kaleo] thee [se] and [kai] him [autos] come [erchomai] and say [ereo] to thee [soi] , Give [didomi] this man [touto] place [topos] ; and [kai] [tote] thou begin [archomai] with [meta] shame [aischune] to take [katecho] the lowest [eschatos] room [topos] . KJV-Interlinear
7 And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table; saying to them, 8 'When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both shall come and say to you,' Give place to this man,' and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. NASB
People who are self indulgent seek promotion when they lack the ability to perform the required responsibilities. They love or express love without honor as they have no concern for the feelings of others. They love without virtue as they take without giving of themselves. They desire success without integrity, win at any cost, deceive in order to gain what they want. They have approbation without achievement (they fake their achievement) as they seek the approval and attentions of others when they do not deserve it.
So here we have the principle of honor, and the humility which needs to accompany it, in order for it to have real meaning.
The diseased man is now gone and the dining room is now opened. Before this the crowd was watching the events as they unfolded with the sick man. The Pharisees had set up the trap with no concern for the sick man, with no concern for Jesus, with no concern for the people who were close at hand and might not have known what was going on.
The sick man normally would not have been there. He wasn't invited into the dinner, but was used as a pawn in order to trap Jesus. The motives of the Pharisees for entrapment of Jesus were dishonorable at best.
Now the opening 'show' was over, and what do the people do? Do they at once recognize the power of Christ? Do they begin to understand just who He is? Do they fall down on their faces and begin to worship the God of the universe? No. They begin the scramble for seats at the best places at the dinner table, or tables. There were several tables.
They were more concerned with their seating position and the food to come, than they were concerned for the honored guest (though He was not honored) that was among them.
Negative people (and that includes anyone who lacks a good portion of Bible doctrine in their soul), lack good manners. They think of self first. Honorable people will allow others to seat themselves first, serve themselves first, feed themselves first, care for themselves first. Then the honorable person will quietly move through the line and sit down to eat.
Any good parent learns this when they have children. They see to the care of the children first, take care of all their needs - seat them, serve them, make sure they have all they need, and then the parent looks to themselves last.
These folks just saw a remarkable miracle. The healed man was escorted outside presumably, and then sent on his way. Where is the courtesy there? Jesus was or should have been the honored guest. What would you do if God came to dinner at your home? You as the host would sit Him at the head of the table. You would take His arm and lead or escort Him to the most honored position of your table. You would invite or ask Him to sit at your humble and unworthy table and occupy the position which you would normally sit at. You as the man of the house, or husband, or host or whatever your title might be, would gladly give up your place in order to be honored by the God of the universe that He might have the highest honor.
But what happens here? Jesus Christ is not escorted anywhere. He is not led to the highest position at the table. But He remains where He was placed in the first place, in a position for testing and entrapment, and He watches as the scramble for the 'good' seats unfolds.
Now the second parable in this series begins. When invited to a party where there is great honor just to be in attendance, then one should not make assumptions as to ones own value. The host invited everyone and thus the host has the right and the obligation to seat everyone in a manner in which he sees fit. To presume otherwise is sheer arrogance.
God (Jesus Christ) is the ultimate host. He will invite all believers into heaven one day and there we will all stand before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ. That is not a time to become arrogant (if it were possible), but it is a time to become the least of the least in humility. God will evaluate everyone and to those who have grown up spiritually there will be great honors given. To those who seek their place in this world and have basically ignored their spiritual lives, then there will be few if any honors given.
You can seek your honors in this life in the energy of your own flesh and then forego all the honors of eternity, or you can forego all the honors in this life in humility and spiritual growth, and gain many honors in eternity.
I suppose that the worst situation, is for one to try for things in this world and be squashed in this life by the jungle which surrounds us all, and in so doing have no spiritual life, and likewise lose all honors in the next life forever, and thus really have nothing at anytime in their life. Bummer! That person would be a real all around loser.
Learn the lesson of this parable and do not pursue the things of this life. Do not self promote yourself into oblivion and the false notion that you have gained something when in fact you have gained nothing. Instead pursue your spiritual life, and in doing that, apply this principle of humility, and honor those around you. Children honor your parents. Wives your husbands. Husbands your positions should yield to others and so forth. This does not make you the lessor of a person, but it does teach you humility and when practiced over and over, again and again, then when you get into heaven, you will have a lifetime of established and good manners and habits of life.
In this life God has a plan for you, but He will not use you until and unless you are prepared spiritually. This in itself is a great honor if and when God comes along and promotes you to some great position in this and the next life, not because you have earned it, but because you hand been prepared for it through your spiritual growth. Do not promote yourself, God will promote you if and when it suites His will. And if so, then there is nothing and no one who can prevent it.
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