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The Great Reversal at the Lord’s Table
Luke 14:1-24
Suppose you did everything for your countrymen, but they rejected you. During China’s warring states period, Q? Yúan, a respected court advisor, served his king loyally. He advocated strong alliances with other states to counter the expansion of Qin state. But his reformist ideas and personal integrity provoked envy and opposition in his fellow court officials. They plotted against him and exiled him. From afar, when he heard about the decline of his home state, he grieved so much he took his life.
Christ was also betrayed. He did all he could for his people - healing and teaching them the way of salvation. But his teaching angered them. He demanded their loyalty and obedience to God’s kingdom, and to abandon their wickedness. But many, especially the religious leaders, hated him. In his last 6 months of ministry, he ramped up his teaching and miracles. He claimed divinity - he and God were one. And he demonstrated divinity - he healed a man blind from birth, a woman crippled for 18 years, and this man in our passage with severe swelling in his body. And all of these were done in religious places - in the temple, the synagogue, and the house of a Pharisee. Why? To show the religious leaders who he was. But they hated him and hated his claims. And eventually, they got him killed. But above all, they should’ve known who he was. So how did Jesus respond to such persistent unbelief and rejection? Unless they repented, they’d bear forth no fruit. And he, as God, would judge them. Here, he told them a parable - a story with a heavenly meaning - to reiterate their fate. And he taught a great truth - God’s kingdom operates on the principle of radical reversal. And that reversal is twofold. Firstly, the exalted ones shall be brought low. Secondly, the lowly will be exalted by grace alone by the truly Exalted One.
Firstly, the exalted ones shall be brought low. A prominent Pharisee invited Jesus home for dinner on the Sabbath day. As he entered, this wasn’t a dining room - it was a lion’s den. Verse 1 says they were watching him. This word is used frequently to describe careful religious observance - like keeping special holy days of the year. But every other time it’s used, it has to do with these religious leaders observing Jesus - to watch him closely to can catch him at his words or actions. Why? To accuse him. The Greek word implies hostile surveillance, like a spy behind enemy lines. So this dinner wasn’t a happy time of fellowship - it was an investigation. They were there to judge him, but he confounded them. Verse 2 - “And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.” The word “behold” implies that something just came on the scene - like it was staged. A man with dropsy came in. His whole body was swollen with fluid. Meaning some part of his body wasn’t working; his heart, kidneys, or liver was impaired, causing swelling. But this happened on the Sabbath day - when the Pharisees, because of strict religious observance of manmade rules - disallowed any form of healing. To heal was to practice a trade - it was to do a work. So doctors weren’t allowed to heal on the Sabbath day. But Jesus had done it often enough. So they dragged this man, presumably, into the house on this Day of Rest, to observe what Jesus would do. The man wasn’t someone they pitied and wanted healed, but someone to be used to judge Christ. Their hearts had no room for human suffering, only room for meticulous religious observance.
But the Lord Jesus, the guest, turned the table and became the judge himself. In verse 3, he asked “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But there was silence. Why? Shouldn’t they have known the answer? After all, this was the home of a chief Pharisee - a bigwig. And not only was he present, verse 3 reveals lawyers were there; specialist Pharisees whose job it was to prepare documents and write legislature. They were experts in the law. But they were also silent. Why? They were trapped by their own legalism. If they said yes, then they’ve lost their cause. But if they said no, they expose their cruelty. So they kept silent. They were exalted men - religious leaders who questioned and were not accustomed to being questioned.
While they were silent, Jesus healed this man and sent him away. Then he shamed them with their own hypocrisy - “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?” With this question, he exposed the arithmetic of their hearts. They all had donkeys and oxen - and if any of these fell into the pit on the Sabbath, they wouldn’t have hesitated to rescue them. Why? Their livelihoods were at stake. And so compassion became a very appropriate defense. But just as the man was swollen with fluid, they were swollen with hypocrisy. They valued their property more than they valued a suffering soul. So after being asked this question, they too were silent. In fact, it says, “they could not answer him again to these things.” So it’s more than silence - it’s the inability to respond. They were confounded. Jesus had demonstrated that God’s mercy was the highest law - but they couldn’t admit it. They couldn’t admit to being wrong. They were swollen with pride. They’d dotted their “i’s” and crossed their “t’s”, and were proud of their meticulous keeping of ceremony - what ritual to do on every occasion - but this prevented them from showing mercy to a sick man because the occasion didn’t allow it. And they had no qualms using him on this occasion.
And so Christ condemned their pride. He condemned their desire for honor and exclusivity. When he was invited to dinner, he noticed how they jostled for the seats of honor. Verse 7 - “he marked how they chose out the chief rooms.” In that culture, honor and shame were everything. To sit near the host was to validate one’s importance. But the King of Glory watched these petty power struggles and told a parable to make a point. Verse 11 was the punchline. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
He firstly addressed the guests in verse 8. If you’re invited to a wedding, don’t sit in the VIP seat. Why? In case a VVIP comes, the host will tell you to take another seat. You’ll be shamed. Rather, as a guest, go to the less important seats. Your host may very well say - go higher, then you’ll have honor among guests. Now to be clear, Jesus wasn’t teaching Asian cultural etiquette 101 - how to be ?? - humble and self-deprecating. Rather, our Lord taught this parable to reveal a spiritual truth. They shouldn’t have exalted themselves. But they thought they were learned. And here, a better teacher had come. Jesus. He’s God. And they dared to trick him? Well, he schooled them. But he didn’t stop at them.
He turned to the host and essentially critiqued his entire guest list. Don’t invite your friends or rich neighbors - they can pay you back. It’s merely transactional. You pay this time, I pay next time. But if you really want to be a good host, then you need to show a hospitality that has no hope of return. Why are you so exclusive? You should’ve invited the poor, the crippled, the lame, and blind, verse 13! It’s giving without receiving. This is what God looks at. He himself will reward at the resurrection.
Now also to be clear, Jesus wasn’t giving some ethical instruction - that if you invite the poor instead of your friends, then you’re more spiritual. That wasn’t his point. He was making an accusation. These people who were invited weren’t worthy. They were inquisitors, wanting to interrogate and trick, from a high and exalted judging position, who thought they were worthy on the account of their status as religious leaders and teachers. Keeping rituals doesn’t mean they’re spiritual. They’re like every other religious person - transactional. I do this for my god, I expect this in return. I’m good, so I should be treated well. They believed their place at the table was theirs by right. But the one who truly mattered was the sick man. But behold! His place was not at the table - he was the evening’s entertainment. And so Jesus’ point was simple. The heart of God is for the needy. If you were real religious leaders, you’d have known that.
I’m sure there was an awkward silence again. So much so that one of the guests - probably a religious leader - tried to smooth over the tension. He blurted out some pious platitude in verse 15 - “What a blessing it’ll be to attend that banquet in the Kingdom of God!” Sadly, he didn’t get Jesus’ point! This guest assumed he was on that list for heaven. He thought just because he performed rituals that he was worthy. But he was about to learn another terrifying lesson. The exalted ones shall be brought low.
That’s the second part of the principle of reversal - the truly Exalted One will bring in the lowly. Jesus then told a parable to shatter their assumptions. Verse 16 says a man prepared a great banquet and invited many. In that culture, a double invitation was customary: the first was to save the date - and we learn he invited many; the second, verse 17, was to announce that the meal was ready. That’s when the servant went out to call every invited guest - “Come! Everything’s now ready!” What a privilege to be invited! But sadly, we see the excuses of the privileged and their eventual exclusion. The guests began to make excuses why they couldn’t come - even though the servant called them at the time of the supper. And their excuses were absurd. One said he’d purchased a field and had to go see it. But what kind of person buys a piece of land without having seen it first? Then another said he bought five yoke of oxen and need to test them. But what kind of person buys livestock for labor without a trial first? And yet another said - I’ve married a wife - I can’t come. Now, in that culture, marriage only exempted a new husband from military - not a supper. And moreover, what host would invite the husband alone? No - the man used his wife as an excuse to snub the host.
To be clear, these were not excuses. They were rejections by those who think they’re better. Their property, business, pleasure were more important than fellowship with this man. What was Christ’s point? The Son of God had come to his people - even to the religious ones. They were privileged beyond others. He performed many miracles in their midst - they heard who he was from his own lips. He would’ve saved them from their damnable righteousnesses. But no! They thought they were too good. They refused to acknowledge him and repent. Therefore, verse 24 - the master responded - none of those invited shall taste my banquet. They were all to be excluded. Meaning, the exalted religious elite, who refused to see their sins, refused to acknowledge his divinity by his clear miracles; would never taste of his salvation as long as they continued to reject. But who’d be saved?
In the parable, the feast had to be filled. The master’s table must be full. Heaven is open to all who’d come. And that’s where we see the elevation of the underprivileged. So the servant was sent out with a new guest list - bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame! Who are these? This was the same guest list Jesus recommended to the Pharisee. Those that aren’t worthy for the religious elite. Those who aren’t holy and good enough. But the master brought in the “riff-raff,” the outcasts, the ceremonially unclean, those who couldn’t repay him.
You see, these were the ones the Pharisees stepped over to get to the head table. These were the ones that the lawyers ignored. These are the ones used by them to trick Jesus. They’re the “sinners” and tax collectors; the Gentiles - non-Jews, whom the Pharisees rejected. In verse 23, the master called the servant to go to the highways - meaning main roads; and to the areas behind the hedges - meaning country roads. He was to get everyone that would come. And notice the command - “Compel them to come in.” Compel means to plead. It shows the urgency of such an invitation. It’s the passionate pursuit of a master who will not have an empty table. And you know who are the ones who will come in? The ones who will respond? Desperately hungry and needy people. These are the people God wants. So while the Pharisee only wanted the best people, and wanted to accuse Jesus, this master wouldn’t have the proud at his table - rather, he’d have the very needy who’d graciously accept the invitation.
And that’s the message of Christianity. That’s the gospel. It reflects the very heart of God the Father who sends his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to seek and save the lost. Friends, who come today- you’ve heard this invitation. Christ - God’s servant isn’t here for those who think they’re well; who think that by some religious observance, or keeping to some morality, they deserve a place at God’s table. He’s not here for those who don’t think they’re sinful - or who think they’re less sinful than others. HOw does he respond to those who think this way? “Oh! So you think you deserve a higher place. That’s the same judging heart of the Pharisees.” Friends, why can’t he heal you if you’re too proud? You think you’re too good. You don’t need to be saved. You think you can save yourself. But if you think like this, you’re in need of being saved from yourself - from your damnable good works. From your inflated sense of self. There are those who don’t think they need a savior. You’re saying - I’m okay. Look at my scrupulous morality. Even those who grow up in church can have this attitude. Some think that church attendance, baptism, being born in a believing family, Christian service, and even right doctrine give them a place at the table. What are you pointing to today? If we think that because we have our theology straight or we’ve not missed church, we’re like the first guests. We’re saying - look at my field, my oxen, my life. And we reject the servant God has sent to save us. None of you will taste God’s supper.
But Christ has come to save those who are spiritually sick - who know they’re sinners - who know they deserve no place at God’s table. The spiritually poor, crippled, blind, and lame - those who need a spiritual physician to heal them - God receives at his table in heaven. If we know how swollen we are with sin, Christ heals us when we confess to him.
Today, as you hear these words, the master of the feast has sent His Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, to find you. He came and ministered to his people - but they rejected him. Out of envy and opposition, his rivals exiled him outside of the city, where he died on the cross. But there, he bore the sins of those who believe in him - those who can never repay the debt, so that they might be exalted to a seat at his table. Salvation is not for you who trust in yourself. You’ll be brought low on that day of judgment. But salvation is for the humble. Come, everything is now ready.
1. The Exalted Ones Shall Be Brought Low (1-15)
A. They judged him but he confounded them (1-6)
B. He condemned their exclusivity (7-15)
2. The Truly Exalted One Brings in the Lowly (16-24)
A. The excuses and exclusion of the privileged (16-20, 24)
B. The elevation of the underprivileged (21-23)
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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