God Speaks
1-2 One Sabbath as he was in the home of a member of the Jewish Council, the Pharisees were watching him like hawks to see if he would heal a man who was present who was suffering from dropsy.
3 Jesus said to the Pharisees and legal experts standing around, “Well, is it within the Law to heal a man on the Sabbath day, or not?”
4 And when they refused to answer, Jesus took the sick man by the hand and healed him and sent him away.
5 Then he turned to them: “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath?” he asked. “If your cow falls into a pit, don’t you proceed at once to get it out?”
6 Again they had no answer.
7 When he noticed that all who came to the dinner were trying to sit near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 “If you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t always head for the best seat. For if someone more respected than you shows up, 9 the host will bring him over to where you are sitting and say, ‘Let this man sit here instead.’ And you, embarrassed, will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!
10 “Do this instead—start at the foot; and when your host sees you he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place than this for you!’ Thus you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For everyone who tries to honor himself shall be humbled; and he who humbles himself shall be honored.” 12 Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a dinner,” he said, “don’t invite friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors! For they will return the invitation. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who can’t repay you.”
15 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a privilege it would be to get into the Kingdom of God!”
16 Jesus replied with this illustration: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When all was ready, he sent his servant around to notify the guests that it was time for them to arrive. 18 But they all began making excuses. One said he had just bought a field and wanted to inspect it, and asked to be excused. 19 Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out. 20 Another had just been married and for that reason couldn’t come.
21 “The servant returned and reported to his master what they had said. His master was angry and told him to go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and to invite the beggars, crippled, lame, and blind. 22 But even then, there was still room.
23 “‘Well, then,’ said his master, ‘go out into the country lanes and out behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I invited first will get even the smallest taste of what I had prepared for them.’”
25 Great crowds were following him. He turned around and addressed them as follows: 26 “Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—yes, more than his own life—otherwise he cannot be my disciple. 27 And no one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me.
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills? 29 Otherwise he might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh!
30 “‘See that fellow there?’ they would mock. ‘He started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’
31 “Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of 10,000 is strong enough to defeat the 20,000 men who are marching against him?
32 “If the decision is negative, then while the enemy troops are still far away, he will send a truce team to discuss terms of peace. 33 So no one can become my disciple unless he first sits down and counts his blessings—and then renounces them all for me.
34 “What good is salt that has lost its saltiness? 35 Flavorless salt is fit for nothing—not even for fertilizer. It is worthless and must be thrown out. Listen well if you would understand my meaning.”
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Jesus healed a man with dropsy (This condition is also called edema: a buildup of fluid causing swelling) while He was eating at the house of a leader of the Pharisees on the Sabbath. Various translations say that Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. NLT reads “there was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen.” At the same dinner, Jesus saw that the men were all looking for the seats of honor, so He told the parable of guests invited to the great banquet. He made two points: 1) “For everyone who tries to honor himself shall be humbled; and he who humbles himself shall be honored.” TLB 2) Everyone (no matter their condition in life) is invited to the Great Feast, but people must positively respond to the invitation without excuses. Jesus explained the cost of discipleship–putting our love for Christ far above our love for anyone or anything else including our own lives. To be a true disciple of Jesus, we must live pure lives and be willing to suffer on behalf of others as He did. Otherwise, our promised allegiance is worthless.
Prayer: Dear God who heals and relates to people, thank You for all the ways You have healed me. Please continue to work on the swelling of pride. Instead, I want to be held as an instrument of righteousness in Your hands, sending out beautiful music for Your Kingdom. Show me how to humble myself now so that You can honor me later. Thank You for inviting me to the Great Wedding Feast and enabling me to accept. Help me to urge others to respond as well. I so want to keep You first in my life, and I claim the cross of Christ whenever I don’t. I acknowledge that apart from the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit all my promises and efforts are worthless. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Lord who He wants me to reach out to so that He can heal them (physically, emotionally, or socially) and then do it.
- I will ask the Lord how He wants me to humble myself and then do it.
- I will ask the Lord who He wants me to invite to dinner (or whatever means of service He chooses) and then do it cheerfully.
- I will ask the Lord who He wants me to invite to the Great Wedding Feast and then do it.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.