Category: Luke 14

Categories
Luke Luke 14

Counting the cost

Luke

As the large crowds followed Jesus, I wonder if Jesus was searching their hearts as to why they were following him?

Were they following him because of the miracles? Because of his great teachings? Or was it truly because they believed he was the Messiah and wanted to follow him?

And so he issued a very strong challenge, saying,

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27)

In other words, “Are you really wanting to be my disciple? To be my disciple is costly. It may cost you your family and even your very life.”

Jesus never promised that life would be easy if we followed him. In fact, he promised exactly the opposite.

Carrying a cross wasn’t pleasant. Neither the carrying of it, nor what happened when you finally put it down.

But Jesus said that unless you carry that cross, unless you are willing to suffer whatever trials you may go through because you’re following him, you cannot be his disciple.

Easy words? No way.

He then challenged us to count the cost of following him. We are to count the cost in two ways.

First, the cost of following him. And he compared it to a person building a tower. If a person doesn’t count the cost beforehand, and cannot complete the tower, everyone will ridicule him.

In the same way, anyone who starts following Jesus and then gives up because it’s too hard will be put to shame.

But there’s another cost to count. The cost of not following him. Jesus said,

Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. (Luke 14:31-32)

The truth of the matter is, we are either at peace with God or at war with him.

You may not think you’re at war with God, but if you choose to reject Jesus, that’s exactly what you are.

The Bible says that God sent his Son to reconcile us to himself. But there’s no need for reconciliation where there is peace.

So Jesus tells us, “Think very carefully whether you can really afford to be at war with God.

When a king considers warring against another nation, they take into account if they can possibly win. And if they can’t, they do all they can, as quickly as they can, to make peace.”

We need to do the same, although in our case, God has already sent out the peace offerings.

But it has to be on his terms, and that’s by accepting Jesus’ payment for your sins on the cross.

If you accept it, you will find life. But if you reject it, and you die in that rejection, you will find out just how terrible the enmity between you and God is.

So make peace with God while you still can. God has called us to be salt in this world. To flavor our world with his love and his light.

Don’t be cast out as worthless because you chose to reject him instead.

Categories
Luke Luke 14

Excuses

Luke

In warning the Pharisees not to just assume they will enter the kingdom, Jesus, as he often did, told a parable. It was a story of how a man invited people to a great banquet.

In those days, they didn’t have watches, so while the day of the banquet was known, the time never was until someone came to your door saying, “The banquet is ready. Please come.”

But when that day came, person after person declined to come. And the excuses were all unacceptable.

One person said he couldn’t come because he had just bought a field and had to go see it (as if he had been stupid enough to buy a field without looking at it first).

Another said he had just bought some oxen and wanted to try them out. In other words, “I have a new toy. I don’t have time to come your banquet.”

A third said, “I just got married, so I can’t come.” Certainly being recently married was a great thing, but no reason for not going to the banquet. Perhaps he could have even invited his wife.

How often do people give these types of excuses when the Holy Spirit comes knocking on the door?

They say, “I’m too busy right now. I’ve got other things that are demanding my attention.”

Or they get distracted by the things of this world, their money and possessions, and they say, “I want to enjoy all these things first. Maybe some other time.”

Or they let family get in the way. “What will my wife say if I become a Christian? What will my parents say? It’ll cause too much disruption in my relationships with them if I become a Christian now.”

But none of these are acceptable excuses. And the danger is, while other invitations may come, the invitation that you’ve got here and now may very well be your last.

You don’t know how long you will be here on earth. You could be in an accident and die tomorrow.

So don’t make excuses. Choose to accept it now. For as the apostle Paul wrote,

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Categories
Luke Luke 14

When we reject Jesus

Luke

After Jesus mentioned how God would reward the generous in the resurrection of the righteous, one of the guests at the dinner said,

Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. (Luke 14:15)

This man was referring to the great banquet that will be held someday when the Messiah comes into his kingdom. And as he said this, I’m sure every man at that table said, “Amen,” fully expecting to be at that table when God’s kingdom came.

The ironic thing? They were having dinner with the Messiah right at that very moment and didn’t recognize him. More than that, they rejected him as Messiah and eventually had him crucified.

As a result, they would be locked out of the kingdom, while all those they looked down upon, the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, the very people they locked out of their own feasts, would be allowed into the kingdom.

More than that, those sinners they despised and the Gentiles they thought unworthy of the kingdom would all find a place in the kingdom, while they would be left out.

So many people want to go to heaven, but like these Pharisees, want no part of Jesus.

Instead, they rely on their own concept of righteousness to get them into heaven, while looking down on all those that fail to meet that standard.

And like these Pharisees, when their time comes, they will find the gates of heaven closed to them, while those they despised will enter.

How about you? Are you trying to get into heaven, even expecting to go to heaven, when all the while, you’re rejecting the one who is the only way into heaven?

Only those who put their faith in Jesus and his work on the cross will enter. So put aside your pride and come to Jesus. For as he himself said,

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Categories
Luke Luke 14

Giving

Luke

As Jesus looked around the room, I wonder what kind of people he saw?

A lot of people were invited to this dinner, and I would guess that he was the only one who was not considered at least moderately well off.

And so he said,

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.

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. (Luke 14:12-14)

Two things strike me here. Although this “prominent” Pharisee undoubtedly gave alms to the poor, I strongly doubt he ever invited any of these poor to his dinners.

At another guess, I doubt if the thought of entertaining the poor to a dinner at his house had ever even crossed his mind.

Why not? Probably because he was more interested in gaining the admiration of his friends and the people around him for his house and the food he served.

He was more interested in hanging out with his friends and furthering his reputation among them than reaching out to the hurting around him.

Many times, we give tithes to the church, but use the rest of our money solely for ourselves. We think that now we’ve given our tithes to the church, our “duty” to God is discharged in terms of money.

But God calls us to be givers. Not just inside of church, but outside the church. And if you can give to help someone you know in need, God will bless you.

The second thing that strikes me is our attitude in giving.

Are we giving expecting to be given back? Or do we give freely of what God has given us, expecting nothing in return?

Jesus makes it clear here that it is the latter that God blesses.

I have to admit, I struggle with giving. I’m not a natural giver.

But if we are to be like Jesus, we need to learn to give as he did: sacrificially, expecting nothing in return, helping those who are hurting.

What kind of giver are you?

Categories
Luke Luke 14

Humility

Luke

In this passage, we see a cultural issue that we don’t really see so often in Western culture, if at all.

Jesus noticed at the meal he was at, that people were jockeying for the best seat.

Generally, the person sitting to the right of the host was the most important, while the person to the left was the second most. And the further away you were from the host, the less important you were.

So Jesus told them, “Don’t fight for the best seat. If you do, the host may ask you to go down to a lower seat, and you’ll be humiliated.

Instead take the least important seat. Then if the host deems you worthy of a higher position, you will be exalted in front of everyone.”

Like I said, we don’t really face that situation nowadays. But so often, in the church, people look for the “higher positions.” It may be as a teacher, or worship leader, or other high-profile position.

But don’t be so wrapped up in trying to attain these positions. Be humble enough to serve in lower positions.

It may be setting up the room for worship service. It may be greeting people at the door. Be faithful in those things.

And at the proper time, when the Lord thinks you’re ready and deems you worthy of a higher position, he’ll give you that opportunity.

But if you’re always criticizing those around you, saying, “I’m better than him. I’m better than her. Why are they in that position and I’m not?” you will be cast down.

Jesus humbled himself in this way his entire time on earth.

He didn’t demand to be made king. Nor did he demand to have the best of everything even though he was certainly worthy of such things.

Instead, he remained humble, taking the role of a servant all the way to the cross.

And now Paul says,

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

So let us be like Jesus, remaining humble and serving where we can. And in due time, God will lift us up.

Categories
Luke Luke 14

Arguing people into belief

Luke

Jesus was not only a master teacher, he was a master debater. We see it here, when once again he confronts the Pharisees with the “legality” of healing someone on the Sabbath.

The thing that strikes me here is the Pharisees’ response. When Jesus questioned them about whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, Luke tells us,

They remained silent. (Luke 14:4)

Jesus then healed the man, after which, he looked at them and asked,

If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out? (Luke 14:5)

Their response?

They had nothing to say. (Luke 14:6)

Which just proves the old adage, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” 🙂

But I think it proves something else.

After all their confrontations with Jesus, he had argued them into silence. There was not one thing they could say to argue with him. He had won the argument.

Does that mean they then changed their minds about the matter and about Jesus? Not at all. Rather, they continued to seek to kill him.

The point is that you cannot argue people into believing.

You can lay out all the logical arguments about why a person should believe in Jesus, or why the Bible is true, or why Christianity is true, and you might even win the argument.

As with Jesus, you might leave them completely without defense. But there are some people who simply won’t believe, regardless the arguments, and regardless the proof.

I heard a story once about a debate that occurred on NBC radio between a Christian and some non-believers.

The non-believer said, “The problem with you Christians is that you’re always quoting the Bible to prove the Bible. That’s circular reasoning. You can’t do that.”

The Christian replied, “Who told you it’s one book? Actually it’s 66 different books, written by about 40 different authors, over a period of over 1000 years.

So if I use one author of the Bible to prove what another author said, this is not circular reasoning. This is using independent sources to prove my point.”

The non-Christian said, “No…no…no.”

The Christian replied, “Are you saying no because you actually have proof to back up what you’re saying, or because you don’t believe it.”

The non-Christian said, “I don’t believe it!”

The non-Christian had no argument he could give against what the Christian had said. He was left silent.

But I have no doubt that he went on to use that very same argument with the next Christian he met, hoping that the Christian didn’t have an answer for it.

Am I saying that we shouldn’t debate with unbelievers or answer their questions or challenges? Absolutely not. Peter wrote,

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15)

There are some true seekers out there with legitimate questions. And presented the answers, they may come to belief in Christ.

But let us never deceive ourselves into thinking we can argue people into the kingdom of God.

Only by the Holy Spirit will their hearts be opened. So don’t just stop at giving answers to people’s questions. Pray for them.

Because ultimately, it is the Spirit that will change people’s hearts and save their souls, not our arguments.