Luke 14:12-14 Who Shall I Invite?
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: September 25, 2018 Luke 14:12-14
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
(Revelation of God / Understanding the Text) Jesus is the God of the Pharisees sitting down to eat with them. He is their Creator and the one that they claim to worship. From His perspective, He is trying to teach them ways so that their lives will reflect the scriptures that they claimed to obey. He tells them to put themselves last which is a lesson about humility. Now, He tells the host that if he really wants a Sabbath blessing, he should give a dinner for people who cannot repay him. The Sabbath blessing comes from giving without hope of receiving rather than from taking turns blessing each other. The Pharisees were like a church that invites fellow members and friends to each others’ houses, but never invites strangers or poor people. They host the pastor, but not someone who shows up at church without notice.
(Application) I cannot judge in these cases because I don’t host anyone at all. I don’t cook. What would my application be? I’m not sure what an equivalent situation is for me. My Sabbath blessing comes from walking alone in nature. I have tried inviting others, and they rarely come. I don’t know what else to compare it to.
(Understanding the Text) At first this looks like a rude dinner guest, but Jesus was a visiting rabbi with other “rabbis” on the Sabbath. Perhaps, He was expected to give spiritual lessons as the “guest speaker” at their luncheon. He may have been performing a duty that was expected of the special guest of the day. This might have been the usual table talk of the Pharisees, except of course, that Jesus was opening their minds to their own hypocrisy and selfishness.
Jesus’ definition of the ones who cannot repay are the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. We usually only think of the poor in this situation. How does inviting the crippled, lame, and blind fit in? I looked at several commentaries, and they all ignored this part of the remark focusing only on the poor. Why ignore the comment about crippled, lame, and blind?
Jesus says that they would be repaid at the resurrection of the just. This is similar to the remarks that He made in Matthew 25. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”(Mat 25:34-40). This is inviting to dinner terminology: hungry, thirsty, welcoming a stranger while the next part is similar to the poor, crippled, lame, and blind; clothing for the poor, visiting the sick, in prison unable to come to you so you visit them would be sort of the situation of the crippled, lame, and blind. They could not travel, so to bring them to your own house would require more effort on your part with assisting them to get to you and making special accommodations in the house for them to be there. These guests are not convenient or easy. They may tend to be gross because of their disabilities. My guess is that the significance of the crippled, lame, and blind is that the Sabbath blessing comes to us when we put ourselves out to help people rather than simply deciding to do the most convenient “restful” activity. We either go to them, or we go out of our way to get them to us.
(Application / Prayer) One application that I can make for myself is to be aware of my actions. Am I only offering the hand of friendship to people I like or that I view as high level? I don’t think so, but it is something to be aware of. Teach me to follow Your admonitions. I want to serve in the way that You have advised, but sometimes, I don’t see how that would apply to my own life. Help me to see clearly and to follow Your words.