Sunday

The Gospel of Luke - Chapters 14 - 15



What do we read about in the fourteenth & fifteenth chapters of Luke's Gospel?
What do we learn from Luke?


What is the main focus?
Is it important to know the words from this chapter?







I am continuing to write my thoughts on the Gospel of Luke. 



If you missed The Overview or any of the chapters please click  HERE  for a list of them all.



Now let's look at the Fourteenth Chapter of Luke.



Today we are dividing this chapter into 4 sections



Healing in a Pharisee's House on the Sabbath v. 1-6:

Jesus was at a meal in the home of a Pharisee and we are told straight away in verse 1 that 

"they watched Him closely"

Jesus saw a man who was ill and asked what may seem to us like a simple question however with the rules the Pharisees had it was not so simple.

His question was in verse 3

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

                 The answer was in verse 4

SILENCE


His action was immediate in verse 4

He took him and healed him, and let him go.

He then spoke to them in verse 5

“Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”


                            The result was in verse 6




SILENCE



It is indeed a serious thing to make laws into something they are not meant to be.










God has always intended good through His Laws to the people He created, not legalistic attitudes.



Exaltation & Humility v. 7-14:

Jesus then used the place and situation He was in to teach a parable. 

Normally I think the main focus people take from this parable about guests at a wedding feast is the fact of Jesus talking to the guests coming and choosing good places to sit and then being asked to move because a more honoured guest has arrived.  They have esteemed themselves to great. 

It is better for us not to think so highly about ourselves and leave it to the host to recognise our worth.

Which leads us to the well known  verse 11







But then there is the other fact that is not mentioned so often in the next section  verses 12 - 14 where Jesus talks to the host of the meal about who he invites.

We as hosts are not to invite people who will honour us in return but we should be reaching out to help others who may need more help or friendship and not expect anything in return.

I leads to the idea of rewards and we must not look for a reward on earth as we are told in 
 verse 14


“And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”


We must not forget this second part and end up having ulterior motives for our actions.



The Parable of the Great supper  v. 15-24:

One of the guests in this Pharisee's house makes a statement in verse 15


“Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Which is when Jesus tells the parable of the Great Supper.

Briefly:
A man plans a great feast and invites many people but when the feast is ready they all have excuses for not attending.
When the man hears this he says in verse 21



‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’


Which is very similar to verse 13 from the previous talk of humility and exaltation.


But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 

So we see what we should be doing is what God would do.

God has a blessing for all His creation but not all the people will accept it.
And
He will not keep a place for us if we keep saying no because there are other things more important to us.



Leaving All to Follow Christ  v. 25-35:


It is not surprising that the previous parable leads into this next section of verses.
There Jesus had been talking to a limited number of people in a house but now here we see how He talks in a similar vein to crowds who follow Him.

Jesus knows that people follow Him about and will listen to His teachings

BUT

Do they really mean to follow Him faithfully and keep His teachings?

People have different reasons for being in a crowd of followers but here we see that each person must know how much they are willing to give up - when or if it is needed - to be a true follower of Christ.

Extreme examples are given but to take just one of them it is not meant that as Christians we leave our families who depend on us and do not offer comfort, companionship, love or help because in God's Word we know we are taught to love and care for others.

It is pointing out that in the end we cannot let other factors keep us from our true walk with God, or draw us away from the faith.   We must instead not jump into something we do not firmly believe because we will not finish the race like Paul talks about in  2 Timothy 4 v 7-8







Not to be mistaken for the thought of

"I won't be able to keep this salvation"

But more like the lesson we are taught in the parable of the sower - with all the distractions and hindrances and attacks of the devil.






Because we do not have to keep our Salvation - Jesus is the One who does all the keeping and He is well able to do that.








Now let's look at the Fifteenth Chapter of Luke.



Today we are dividing this chapter into 3 sections.



The Parable of the Lost Sheep  v. 1-7:


Can you imagine Jesus saying these words from verse 6 ?

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’





Well we should be able to imagine this because this is how He felt when He brought us into His Kingdom.



The Parable of the Lost Coin  v. 8-10:


Can you imagine Jesus saying these words from verse 9 ?

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’






Well we should be able to imagine this because this is how He felt when He brought us into His Kingdom.


Yes these two portions of Scripture are parables Jesus told but they were told to express the love and joy He and all of Heaven feel for each person that accepts His gift of Salvation.




The Parable of the Lost Son  v. 11-32:


The son left the father and went his own way, just as we (all people have sinned against God and gone our own way)


Brings to my thoughts  Romans 3 v 23









The father never forgot about his son and waited looking out for him all the time (God wants everyone to be saved)


Brings to my thoughts  John 3 v 16







When the son returns home the father has a special meal for him, clothes for him, shoes and a ring, gifts to show him how important he was to his father and how he was part of the family.


Brings to my thoughts  Romans 6 v 23







Because to the father the son was dead until he came home  verse 24



for this my son was dead and is alive again; 
he was lost and is found








You can find more posts on the chapters of Luke  HERE