Part 14

However, the reference to Jerusalem led Jesus to pronounce a lament of touching pathos over the city he truly loved. He saw that his rejection and death would hasten the destruction of the city. He saw its doom already hovering over it like a bird of prey. He gladly would have given his divine salvation and protection, but his people would not accept him. Now they would be left to their own defense, that is to say, to the ruin which he alone could have averted. Henceforth they would not see him in his saving power until as a suffering and repentant nation they would finally welcome his return as that of their true Saviour and Lord. How Jesus always yearns to bless and to deliver, and how often he is spurned and rejected by those who need him the most!

3. Jesus as a Sabbath Guest. Ch. 14:1-24

1 And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him. 2 And behold, there was before him a certain man that had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not? 4 But they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go. 5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a well, and will not straightway draw him up on a sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer again unto these things.

7 And he spake a parable unto those that were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, 9 and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee. 11 For everyone that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

12 And he said to him also that had bidden him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 and thou shalt be blessed; because they have not _wherewith_ to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many: 17 and he sent forth his servants at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for _all_ things are now ready. 18 And they all with one _consent_ began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 And the servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame. 22 And the servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain _them_ to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Luke pictures our Lord not as a severe ascetic but as a man of human sympathies and social instincts, mingling freely with his fellow men, worshiping with them in their synagogues and eating with them in their homes. No domestic scene in the life of our Lord is sketched with more detail than that of the Sabbath feast in the house of a Pharisee. Jesus is pictured as entering with the guests, noting the ranks of society to which they belong, and taking a leading part in their conversation. Yet he never for a moment forgot his mission; he seized every opportunity for delivering some needed message. Here his tones were unusually severe, for he was among persons who, while formally courteous, were in their hearts hostile to him; but he showed to all his unfailing grace, and his desire for their highest good.

While the guests were assembling Jesus saw a man suffering from disease. He knew that the Pharisees were watching him and would object to his effecting a cure upon the Sabbath Day and he therefore turned to ask whether a cure would be lawful. When they hesitated to reply, he healed the sufferer and then rebuked their hypocrisy, and warned against all insincerity in religion by reminding these formalists that they would not hesitate on the Sabbath to rescue a beast they owned; should they regard it as sinful to deliver a human being from distress? Jesus never encouraged breaking the Sabbath law, but he taught that this law must be interpreted by love.

When the guests were seated and Jesus saw how they chose for themselves the most desirable places, he took occasion to rebuke selfish ambition and to give a lesson in humility. Evidently, when Jesus advised a guest to “sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher,” he was not merely teaching good manners or worldly wisdom, nor was he advising the pride that masquerades as humility. He was stating the great law that among his followers true lowliness and conscious unworthiness in the sight of God are the real conditions of advancement and honor; “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Then as Jesus looked around upon the company he took occasion to teach a lesson in true charity. He told his host—and there was something of playfulness in his voice—that in selecting guests one should invite not only the rich, lest he might be so unfortunate (?) as to receive an invitation in return, but also the poor, who could not return the favor. Here again, Jesus was not giving merely rules of social hospitality; he was illustrating the great spiritual principle of unselfish motives in all deeds of kindness. We are not to confer benefits with a view to receiving benefits in return.

However, Jesus did not mean literally to forbid inviting rich guests to our homes or to insist that all feasts must be confined to paupers, but to teach that no service is to be rendered with the mere hope of personal gain. It is proper and pleasant, it may be even profitable, to entertain “friends” or “brethren” or “kinsmen” or “rich neighbors;” but in none of these cases is such entertainment a ground of merit for they may “bid thee again;” but if kindness is shown to the poor or rich simply for their good and with no thought of personal gain either present or future, the deed will not be without its reward: “for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.”

Possibly this reference or some similar reference called forth from one of the guests the exclamation, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” Jesus took the occasion to give the parable of the Great Supper, by which he illustrated the sinful folly of refusing to accept his offer of salvation. In this story those who were bidden to the feast at first feigned a willingness to come, but subsequently, by their refusal and their flimsy excuses, they showed their complete absorption in selfish interests and their utter disregard for their host. However, their places were filled with other guests, some of them poor and helpless, from their own city; others were vagrants from the highways and hedges beyond. Thus Jesus plainly pictured the refusal by the rulers and Pharisees of his offered salvation and its acceptance, first by publicans and sinners, and then by despised Gentiles.

There was, however, a message for each one who heard the story, and there is a message to-day for anyone who is rejecting Christ. The Pharisees, by inviting Jesus to dine, pretended to feel some sympathy for him as a prophet, while in their hearts they hated him; and the very man whose pious and sentimental remark about “the kingdom of God” occasioned the parable, was unwilling to accept the invitation to “eat bread in the kingdom of God” which Jesus was presenting.

So there are those to-day who show an outward respect for Christian truth and talk sentimentally about the Kingdom of God, who, however, are so absorbed in selfish interests and have so little real love for God that they refuse the offer of salvation, while social outcasts and despised heathen gladly accept the invitation to life and divine fellowship and eternal joy.

4. Counting the Cost. Ch. 14:25-35

25 Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have _wherewith_ to complete it? 29 Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, 30 saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace. 33 So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34 Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: _men_ cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

As Jesus was journeying on toward Jerusalem the attending crowds were increasing in size and in excitement. The people imagined that he was about to establish a kingdom in pomp and splendor and power, and in these glories they expected to share. To remove the misunderstanding, Jesus turned to declare the true conditions of discipleship. His followers must expect sacrifice and suffering and be willing to part with all they possessed, even with life itself. When he declared that they must hate their kindred and their own lives, he of course meant that they must love them less than they loved him, regarding them with aversion only in so far as they were opposed to him or stood in the way of his service. To be his disciple one must be willing to “bear his own cross,” which was a symbol of suffering and of death; one must continually yield his will to the will of Christ, no matter what hardship or loss might be involved.

Jesus did not wish to discourage men from following him, but warned them first to count the cost. This he illustrated by referring to the folly of laying the foundation for a building without first estimating the entire expense and one’s ability to meet it; he also stated, as a further illustration, the rashness of entering a war without first calculating what sacrifices must be made to win. Jesus did not mean that it is better not to begin the Christian life than to begin and fail, but that it is not wise even to begin unless one first realizes that it involves a readiness to renounce everything which the service of Christ may demand. “So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

Nothing could be more useless than a worldly and selfish and willful follower of Christ; he is like salt that has lost its savor; he lacks the very essence of discipleship; he can be of no possible service to his Lord.

5. The Prodigal Son. Ch. 15

1 Now all the publicans and sinners were drawing near unto him to hear him. 2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

3 And he spake unto them this parable saying, 4 What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, _more_ than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance.

8 Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of _thy_ substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: 19 I am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 and bring the fatted calf, _and_ kill it, and let us eat, and make merry: 24 for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called to him one of the servants, and inquired what these things might be. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 But he was angry, and would not go in: and his father came out, and entreated him. 29 But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and _yet_ thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. 32 But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive _again_; and _was_ lost, and is found.

The precious and matchless parable of the Prodigal Son belongs naturally to Luke. Its literary charm, its tender beauty, its deep human interest, its breadth of sympathy, its perfect picture of the grace and love of God, all are in peculiar accord with the purpose and genius of this Gospel.

The parable is linked with two others, the teachings of which it includes and completes: the parables of the Lost Sheep and of the Lost Coin. The occasion of all three parables was the censure passed by the Pharisees upon Jesus because of his association with social outcasts and his cordial welcome to penitent sinners. Jesus rebuked his enemies by showing that it is natural to rejoice in the recovery of a lost sheep or a lost coin or a lost son: much more, then, must God rejoice in the recovery of a lost soul. Evidently they who fail to share his joy must be out of sympathy and fellowship with him.

The first parable reveals the love of God in depicting his compassion for the distress and helplessness of the sinner. The second shows how precious a lost soul is in the sight of the loving God. Both of them picture his yearning and patient effort for the recovery of the sinner and his abounding joy in the restoration of the lost. The statement that “there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance,” is not to be interpreted too literally. It does not mean that God finds more satisfaction in a repentant sinner than in a sinless saint. Jesus was here referring definitely to the penitent publicans and to the self-righteous Pharisees. God did not take delight in the sins of the former, nor did he regard the state of the latter as perfect, even taking the Pharisees at their best and regarding them as faithful to the laws of God. Whatever its motive, morality is always better than lawlessness and impurity. However, a repentant sinner who understands the grace and mercy of God is always more pleasing to him than the Pharisee, proud, critical, and unloving, however correct he may be in his moral behavior.

This truth is made more plain in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Here we have perfectly described the experience of the repentant sinner and also the unsympathetic attitude of the disdainful Pharisee. The first is represented in the story by the prodigal and the second by the conduct of his elder brother.

In describing the waywardness of this younger son, Jesus gave a complete picture of the character and consequences of sin. Some have thought that the parable of the Lost Sheep indicates that sin is due in part to ignorance and folly and that the parable of the Lost Coin shows that it may be occasioned by misfortune or accident. The parable of the Prodigal Son, however, shows that it is usually due to willful choice and to a desire for indulgence. Its results are sketched in appalling colors. We are shown all its disillusion, suffering, slavery, and despair. As a picture of the inevitable consequences of sin, no touch could be added to the scene of the prodigal in the far country when he had spent all, when the famine had arisen, when he had sold himself to feed swine and was unable to be satisfied even with the coarse food he was providing for beasts.

Nor is there any more beautiful picture of repentance than was drawn when the Master described the prodigal as “he came to himself,” his sin had not been mere folly, it had been madness. He remembered a former time of joy and plenty in his early home. He realized his present desperate need; he resolved to arise and go to his father. Most of all, he saw that his offense had been not only against a loving, earthly parent but against God, and that he was wholly undeserving of fellowship with his father. Repentance is not only sorrow for sin; it is an acknowledgment that the offense has been committed against a holy God; it is a change of heart toward him, and a resolution for a new life which manifests itself in definite action. “He arose, and came to his father.”

Strictly speaking, this is the end of the parable of the Prodigal Son. In another sense the most beautiful part immediately follows. It is a description of the matchless love shown by God to every repentant soul. The father had never ceased to love the prodigal or to hope and yearn for his return. He had been eagerly looking for his wayward son. The first sight of the prodigal filled his heart with compassion; he “ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” The prodigal was ready to confess his fault, but the father scarcely heard his words as he commanded the servants to “bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and make merry.” It is a picture not only of pardon but of complete restoration. It assures the sinner that as he turns to God he will be received into the closest fellowship of a son and heir and that his return will give joy to the heart of God who will regard him as one that “was dead, and is alive again,” as one who “was lost, and is found.”