Luke 14:1, 7-14
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, `Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, `Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 12 Then Jesus said to 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 cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
In our text today, we see Jesus visiting the home of a Pharisee, one of the Jewish religious leaders. In verse 1 we see that he is being “carefully watched”.
Then, our text is divided into two parts.
- In the first part Jesus notices everyone’s desire to take the best seats around the table. He speaks about humility and the fact that “those who humble themselves will be exalted….and those that exalt themselves….will be humbled.” At first glance, this appears to be a kind of common sense lesson in etiquette. A similar teaching appears in other biblical examples: James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Is this just common sense? A lesson in etiquette? Yet, Jesus goes on in the second part of our text to address the host, the Pharisee who had invited him to this meal:
- He says, “When you throw a party, or plan a feast, don’t invite the people to dinner who can repay you. Don’t invite folks who can easily return the favor.” Instead, invite people who cannot repay you, the poor, the blind, the cripple, those who don’t expect it and can’t return the favor. That will be a real blessing to you!
Do you think we can actually do this??
Jesus seems to be saying “Stop Counting! Don’t count the costs, benefits, or rewards of your actions…but live with a sense of God’s abundance and blessing!
The world tells us that there is never enough….that we are all competing for limited resources. We’re always counting. We check our bank accounts, we count our “likes” on Facebook, we wonder what our neighbors will think?, we worry about our food, clothes, and housing for tomorrow. And none of this is necessarily wrong. But Jesus teaches us to count correctly! Count accurately! Seek FIRST the kingdom of God, and all of these other things will be taken care of.
What if we really believed that there was enough for everyone? Would we be more generous? Would we worry less? Would we try to give more away….and hold on to less? I believe that is what Jesus is getting at in this account.
- True humility is to recognize that WE are the poor, blind, lame….undeserving of God’s grace – yet, we have been invited to the great feast….God’s table of abundance, through Jesus Christ!
- True blessing is to be found in showing hospitality and kindness to those who cannot repay us. Stop counting….and start blessing others!
Who in my life could I invite into my circle who cannot “repay” me?
How can JCC embody Jesus’ banquet table in our community?
(The above is a summary of the message shared during worship on August 31, 2025.)
Japanese Congregational Church 