The Great Banquet
Comments for Study 27
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I. A Pharisee's Banquet (1-14)
>1. Why was Jesus being so carefully watched at the Pharisee's banquet?
* Luke 14:1 "One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched."
* Luke 11:53-54 "When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say."
* "On a Sabbath" -Luke does not state which Sabbath. A walking trip from Galilee to Judea was only a few days. There probably weren't any synagogues along the Jordan in Jesus' day and there certainly weren't any in Samaria. So Jesus was either at the southern edge of Galilee or most likely on the eastern edge of Judea. However, it is also possible that Luke is not following chronological order.
* Luke is the only one to record the exchange Jesus had at this pominent Pharisee's house.
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>Why do you think the Pharisee invited him?
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>Why did he accept?
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>2. What did Jesus do when the man suffering from dropsy stood before him?
* Luke 14:2-4 "There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" "But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.""
* "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"
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>What did he teach? (5)
* Luke 14:5 "Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"
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>Why were the Pharisees silent?
* Luke 14:6 "And they had nothing to say."
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>3. What did Jesus notice about the guests at the banquet?
* Luke 14:7 "When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:"
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>What do their actions reveal about them?
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>What teaching did Jesus give these guests? (8-11)
* Luke 14:8-11 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
* Luke is the only one to record this teaching.
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>Why did he teach them?
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>4. What was the Pharisee's basis for selecting the guests he invited to his banquet?
* Luke 14:12 "Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid."
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>What did Jesus teach his host about whom he should invite?
* Luke 14:13-14 "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
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>Why?
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II. The Great Heavenly Banquet (15-24)
>5. Why did the man in verse 15 make a remark about a great heavenly banquet?
* Luke 14:15 "When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
* Luke is the only one to record the parable of the Great Banquet.
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>What did he mean?
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>6. In Jesus' parable, who is the host?
* Luke 14:16 "Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests."
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>Who do the invited guests represent?
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> Who does the servant represent?
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>7. What were the responses of the invited guests?
* Luke 14:17-20 "At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'"
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>How did these responses reveal their worldliness?
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>What do they reveal about their attitude toward God?
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>8. How did the master respond to the rejection? (21)
* Luke 14:21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'"
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>Who do these second group of invited guests represent?
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>How are we like the third group?
* Luke 14:22-23 "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full."
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>What can we learn about God? (24)
* Luke 14:24 "I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"
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III. The Workers of the Kingdom of God (25-34)
>9. What did Jesus teach the large crowds following him?
* Luke 14:25-27 "A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison our father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple."
* Luke is the only one to record this.
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>What does he mean by "hate" his loved ones and himself?
* "hate everyone else by comparison your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters yes, even your own life."
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>10. What do each of the two parables in verses 28-33 teach about counting the costs of following Jesus?
* Luke 14:28-33 "But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, "There's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it!" Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can't, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own."
* Luke is the only one to record the parables concerning the cost of being a disciple.
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>About the importance of making a decision and a commitment?
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>11. What does salt that has lost its saltiness represent?
* Luke 14:34-35 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
* The parable of salt is also in Matthew 5:13 and Mark 9:50.
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>How should Christians have saltiness?
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