The
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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ORD, we pray thee that thy grace may
always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good
works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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nd it came to pass, as he went into the house of one
of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold,
there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus
answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they
held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered
them, saying, 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?
6 And they
could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put
forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out
the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou
art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a
more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And
he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou
begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art
bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh,
he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the
presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 14:1-11)
It was the Sabbath Day.
We have been thinking and
speaking of a miracle done on the Sabbath. It is evident that our Saviour had a
preference for the Sabbath
as a time for working miracles. How, then, is it with respect to ourselves — we
who, many of us, would be glad to have a miracle wrought on our behalf, and yet
have no right whatever to expect one? It is just thus — we are waiting for the
Sabbath. In other words, it was intended, no doubt, to be taught us by our
Saviour’s practice, that there is a special time of rest coming, when all the
various troubles that hamper and injure us will be utterly removed — our
burdens unbound; our fevers cooled for ever; our weakness changed to strength;
all our heaviness lightened; our blind eyes made clear; our deaf ears
unstopped; our feet filled with vigorous leaping blood; and all that is within
us lighted up with joy, even as the house was lighted up, and music and dancing
sounded in it, when the prodigal came home. There is a Sabbath coming; and as
Christ wrought His cures upon the Sabbath, when He was upon earth, we are
taught to look on to a day of cure that is coming — that Sabbath, namely, of
rest, into which we hope to enter hereafter. It may be needful for our
perfection, and the perfection of our friends, that we should still be
burdened; but we are quite sure that, after the round of the six days, there
will come the seventh; we are quite sure, when the time of trial has ended, the
boon of health will be granted. (the Rev T. T. Lynch.)
Jesus has been invited to the
house of a prominent Pharisee one of the chief of them, we are told.
“And it came to pass, as
he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the
sabbath day, that they watched him.”
Many other of the Pharisees
were doubtless there for “they watched him.” How greatly would they have
benefitted if they had watched Him to learn instead of to find fault.
Why was Jesus invited by one of
those who hated Him and was constantly trying to destroy Him? They had invited
Jesus to dinner with the intention of catching Him in an act of disobedience of
the Sabbath – it was a ‘set up’ in the popular vernacular.
Why do you suppose Jesus
accepted the invitation? Jesus was no recluse – He came to help all who
would hear Him. He loved to be in social gatherings where men would
listen – ALL men…even Pharisees; and he knew that He would reveal truth even to
unbelievers.
“And, behold, there
was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.”
The cunning mind of the
Pharisee bypassed no opportunity in providing a means of entrapment for Christ.
Seemingly, just by coincidence, a man with a grave and serious malady is
present – a man who probably had not been invited had it not fit comfortably in
the plans of the Pharisees to present Jesus with a temptation.
These men are ruthless. They will
use even the kindness and compassion of Jesus to try and condemn Him.
They have seated the man with
the dropsy (congestive heart failure) in a place BEFORE Jesus. They know that
He loves to heal and to do good regardless the occasion, but today is the
Sabbath! They will use this as an occasion to condemn Christ of violating the
Sabbath by doing healing works on this day.
But Jesus knows the heart of
men, and He knows the evil thoughts of the hearts of those who sit watching
Him.
“And Jesus answering
spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it
lawful to heal on the sabbath day?”
Jesus sets the circumstances to
turn the tables on these miscreants. The question restated might read: “Is it
ever unlawful to do good?” Did God provide man with the day of rest for the
purpose of omitting even deeds of kindness?
The Pharisees and priests of
Jesus day had added so many cumbersome proscriptions to the Sabbath observance
and every other aspect of the law, that men could not bear them without misery –
just the opposite of what God had intended.
Jesus was continually tempted
in every way that we are tempted, but Jesus never gave into temptation except
in certain cases.
What were those cases? When
tempted to do good, as in the present case, Christ could not resist the
temptation to act out of His compassion to heal and to comfort. This was not a
temptation to sin, but a temptation by sinful men of Christ to do good. He
always did!
You and I are tempted, on the
other hand, to do bad things not pleasing to God. But in every temptation to do
evil is found an opportunity to, instead, do good. Jesus sets the example for
us in every case.
Because they have set their
trap, the Pharisees do not respond to the pointed question of Christ: “And
they held their peace.” Men will most often speak out when they can
condemn or hurt, but will less often speak out on the part of righteousness.
Political correctness restrains them from speaking righteousness but tends
always to wickedness.
So Jesus poses the simple
question which they decline to answer so as not to give away their plot. How
many clergy, as well as laity, remain silent on issues of great importance?
I have observed the silence, even on discussion groups of the church, remain
stony silent on matters on which they should have strong opinion. The silence
of those is like a scream in the night.
Those who are legalist often
forget that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. (Mark
2:27)
The failure to accept the Sabbath
in the manner and purpose for which it was given nullifies its benefits. The
Christian Sabbath is not a once per week observance but a daily one. Christ has
given us an Eternal Sabbath (Rest).
“And he took him, and
healed him, and let him go.” The whole will of Christ was to heal the
man and not to make a spectacle of him. So Jesus, instead of having the man
remain standing by for show, releases him to go his way. How different from the
Pharisees who heartlessly brought the man to tempt Christ.
“And answered them,
saying, 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?”
Had they forgotten the counsel
of Proverbs 12:11 - “A righteous man regardeth the life of his
beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”
An ox or a donkey were precious
to men who depended on them to produce income. If one of the Pharisees own
precious animals fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, he would certainly have
rescued the animal, if not out of kindness, then out of greed.
He thus shuts them. Up to this
startling alternative: "Not to do good, when it is in the power of our
hand to do it, is to do evil; not to save life, when we can, is to kill"
“And they could not
answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable
to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms;
saying unto them,”
Righteous words will shut the
mouth of the wicked.
Jesus is an observer of men and
women. He watched as the poor widow cast her all into the Temple treasury, and
He has observed here how the guests of the Pharisee came into the room and
chose the best seats and provisions. They sought to have their seating
lend them honor when they should have allowed their honor to determine their
seating. They lacked humility and were filled with false pride.
So Jesus tells them a story
(Parable) to which they can relate in common life:
“When
thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest
a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him
come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take
the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room;
that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher:
then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with
thee.”
All of the counsels of Christ
are full of spiritual and uplifting truths. This short Parable is no exception.
Jesus begins the story with a
delicate allusion to a type of gathering that would be different from that of
his present host of whom He has been invited. The venue is a wedding feast, but
still a feast so that the same principle will apply.
When we are invited to a
special event, do not exalt your importance by finding the highest place, or
most visible place, to stand or sit. We will inevitably to be embarrassed
by our presumptive pride when we are told, curtly, to move and surrender your
place to one having greater honor than you. The only place left at that time
will be the place of least honor – the lowest room. “And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give
this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.”
He has given an example of how
not to behave, but He does not leave us in doubt as to how we should behave: “But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest
room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up
higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat
with thee.”
Notice the host refers to the
man who is humble and takes the very lowest place of honor as Friend. He did
not refer to the man who took the highest place as Friend. Men despise false
pride and arrogance in others. If we humble ourselves, men will always
elevate us in esteem. But greater is the reward in Heaven!
A college professor once hosted
a tea for his graduating students. When they all presented themselves at
his home, the professor had all the cups, in the right number, assembled on the
table. The cups were all of different kinds. One was of stone, one of crystal,
one of clay, and some were shaped curiously different from any before seen.
When the professor invited the students to take a cup, the first took the
crystal, the next the glass, the next the stone, the next the clay, and so
forth.
As the professor watched them
drink their tea that he had poured for them, he observed that they had each
chosen the best cup at the table; but the purpose of a tea was not the kind of
cup one drank from, but the tea which the cup contained. The quality of the tea
is not changed by the quality of the cup which contains it. So with our
worthiness before God. It is not some superficial position or appearance that
is important, but what is inside.
What of you and me? Do we honor
Christ in all good works during our eternal Sabbath Rest in Him?
