Sunday School Lessons: Luke 14

Luke 14

Only Luke records this incident. Two of the parables are found only in Luke—the building of the tower and the king preparing to go to war. This chapter concerns the cost of discipleship and builds upon chapter 13. See if you can detect the themes from Chapter 13 that He continues in Chapter 14.

14:1One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5And he said to them, “Which of you, having a sonor an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6And they could not reply to these things.

Again, these events happened on the Sabbath. Review 13:10-21 See if you can detect the themes from Chapter 13 that He continues in Chapter 14.

Again, Jesus is invited to dine at the house of a religious leader on the Sabbath—for the purpose of catching him violating the rules of the Sabbath. Read Luke 11:53-54. This man was a ruler of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a party of influence but they did not have an ‘office’ like a priest or the ruler of the Synagogue. As we have come to expect, there is a man in need of healing at this dinner. This was probably another set-up to put Jesus into a difficult position. Notice that Jesus responds to them—he knows what they are thinking and planning and he turns the table on them by asking THEM instead of them asking HIM if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. The law of Moses did not prohibit healing on the Sabbath, but the religious leaders had added to the law and declared that healing was only allowed in the case of a life threatening injury or illness. This disease was not immediately life threatening. Notice that the Pharisees remained silent. Why do you think that was? Jesus healed the man and allowed him to go. Then he asks them what THEY would do. He gave them two examples of a merciful deed but they still would not answer him.

7Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In this section, Jesus is talking to the invited guests. Remember, Jesus knows the hearts of the people. (Read Luke 11:43) He knew they all wanted the best seat. The summary of this section is in verse 11 (read). Jesus says this very thing many times—it must be important! What is he warning against?

12He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothersor your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Now he’s talking to the man who had invited him! What is he warning him against? Is there anything wrong with having friends in for supper? What is the point Jesus is making here?

15When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17And at the time for the banquet he sent his servantto say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

Jesus responds to the person’s comment about eating bread in the kingdom of God by telling another parable, sometimes called the Parable of the Great Feast. The man is God, who invites many people to a great banquet in advance. He sends out a reminder when it’s time for the banquet. All the people knew in advance about the banquet and we can assume that they had accepted the invitation. There are three types of people that Jesus describes in this parable. The first group is the nation of Israel. They are described in the three persons who make an excuse. Notice that all of the reasons have to do with something new and none of the excuses are particularly good. The three excuses are based on worldly things: possessions, business, and people (relationships). There is nothing wrong with any of these things unless they keep a person from coming to Christ. These represent the Jews who rejected their Messiah.

“bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” This second group represents the Jews who understood their poverty and weakness and sinfulness and believe. Notice that they all responded to the invitation and there was still room at the feast.

“Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled” The last group to be invited represents the Gentiles. They are considered as outsiders, but God invites them in. Read Romans 1:16

25Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

There is a shift in place here, for he begins to address the crowds. He is talking to them about the cost of discipleship. Read vs.26-27. Is it wrong to love your family and friends? Must we hate and despise everyone but Christ? Is he teaching us to be hateful? No, he is teaching them, and us, that he must come first. That our love for him should exceed our love for anyone or anything else, including our own lives. We must seek first the kingdom of God and lay up our treasures in heaven. Eternal life must be most important to us. Read vs 28-30. This parable is talking about faith—truly following Christ. There are many who make a profession of faith--say that they believe—but they never count the cost of following Christ or follow through. Read vs. 31-32. Same thing. What are the costs of being a Christian?

34“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Salt can lose its flavor over time, especially if it is not carefully stored. Once it has lost its flavor it can’t be made salty again. The only way you can make something salty is to use salt to make it so. It would be foolish to waste perfectly good salt to try to make bad salt salty again. Jesus ends this chapter with another of his most frequent sayings: he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

*These lessons are written for use with elementary aged students. You can find lessons for previous chapters here . All scriptures are taken from the ESV.