In Luke 14:12-14 Jesus turned to his host and told him, rather than inviting his friends and people of his social class, who were expected in return the favor and invite him to their gatherings, he should invite the poor and the handicapped who were unable to return his kindness. If he would extend his hospitality to those who had nothing to offer him in return, he would be rewarded by God in the age to come.
Some folks may think Jesus was being unkind or disrespectful of his host. After all, Jesus was his guest, and the banquet, such as it was, was not a sinful gathering in itself. That is, Jesus’ host didn’t sin by inviting his friends and associates, and of course he hadn’t sinned by inviting Jesus, although his motives were questionable. Certainly, by modern standards Jesus had committed a breach of etiquette in criticizing the guest list of a man who, for all intents and purposes, was simply being social. Jesus, himself, would later make a point of saying a man’s property is his own to share with whomsoever he desires (Matthew 20:15; cf. Acts 5:1-4)? So, what can be said of Jesus’ behavior? Was he being contradictory?
No, Jesus was neither being contradictory (Luke 14:12-14 versus Matthew 20:15), nor was he being ungracious. Rather, he was correcting a social custom that had deteriorated into a selfish and, at times, a cruel gathering. Jesus was invited to the chief Pharisee’s home in order that the Pharisee and his guests might find fault in Jesus. In other words, Jesus was a gazingstock, but he turned the tables on his enemies and exposed their sins. It is impossible for darkness (what is hidden) to expose light, but it is the property of the Light to expose the darkness (what is hidden).
The Law provided for the poor, in that those who were able were supposed to share with them and make sure they had shelter and food enough to eat (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 16:11-14; 26:11-13). The problem is that the rich Jews in the first century AD had bought into the Greek culture rather than the customs the Law teaches. For example, compare how Jesus was treated as the chief Pharisee’s guest (Luke 14:1) and how the ancient writer, Juvenal, spoke of a client being invited to his patron’s dinner.[1] Referring to Juvenal, author, James S. Jeffers, writes:
“A client might be invited to a patron’s banquet table simply to witness the latter’s wealth and power, not out of genuine friendship. In such cases the client could expect to be the butt of jokes and receive food and wine far inferior to that of honored guests…”[2]
The poorer classes were looked down upon by the rich social class (cf. John 7:49; 9:34, 40), who had little sympathy for their plight (cf. Luke 16:19-21). It seems to me that it was this sort of thing Jesus spoke against, and he had every right to do so as the Messiah, their Judge.
When the Kingdom of God would come, it would be a time of healing for the blind, the deaf and the lame. The dumb would speak, and deserts would be well watered (Isaiah 35:5-6; 42:7, 16; Jeremiah 31:8).
Therefore, it would have behooved the chief Pharisee’s guests, who busied themselves in seeking out a place of honor at the table where the Messiah sat, to reverse their train of thought and seek to be near Jesus rather than their socially minded host. The exalted would be humbled, and the humbled would be exalted (Luke 14:11, 14), and this is the time of the coming of the Messiah (Luke 12:42-48; cf. Revelation 22:12), which is also the time of the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:15; 1Corinthians 15:52-53;1Thessalonians 4:14-17).
Both the chief Pharisee and his guests were the spiritually deaf, dumb and blind, and they were the spiritually lame as far as walking in righteousness was concerned (cf. John 9:40). Jesus could and did promise from the beginning to heal them (cf. Luke 4:17-21). In fact, by telling the guests to take their place in the lowest seats, Jesus was in a sense calling them to himself. That is, he called to them to recline at the table nearest him, because, in point of fact, Jesus sat in the lowest place at the table.
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[1] See Juvenal, Satires 5 “How a Client Is Entertained”
[2] James S. Jeffers: “The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era”, IVP Downers Grove, Illinois; page 192.
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