Who to Invite for Dinner? Not Who We'd Expect

Jesus was still in the house of the Pharisee as He spoke the words of this text. This Pharisee certainly did not expect a healing and the parables he heard. Jesus uses the unexpected to teach us. He knows us. It takes the unexpected to get our attention.

Jesus knew this Pharisee would give more “dinners.” In these verses He gave the man counsel about future dinners and the purpose for them. The man didn’t see it coming.

“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.””

Luke 14:12-14

There are some lessons from Jesus in this passage. Jesus never wastes words. All are thought out.

1. Jesus said “when” not “if.” Yes, give dinners. Invite others to share food with you. It’s green light on dinners.

2. Jesus was specific about who should not be on your future dinner guest list: not friends, or brothers, or family or rich neighbors. Our dinners are not for them. Does this surprise you? It does me. Least we complain about the guest list limitations Jesus explains why these are to be excluded. These can repay-they can invite us in return.

3. Next comes the difficult part-as if limiting the guest list to exclude friends and family isn’t difficult. The guest list includes people we would seldom consider asking. Likely we would never ask these people: the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Invite those with misfortune in their lives. When we create a dinner guest list the first criteria should be - this one cannot repay me. How is this for unexpected?

4. Also, Jesus does not leave us unclear about the motivation for having dinners with guests such as those He listed. What is the reason to invite the poor and physically disabled?

Answer: We are to live each day with eternity in view. This life with dinners/feasts given to those who cannot repay us is connected with the unseen of eternity. And God sees all of it. God will repay us for every dinner given to the poor. Give dinners for eternity.

Because…our life today, any day, is not about us. Jesus takes the “me first” mentality and trashes it here.

There are many “poor” near us.

Jesus will show them to us.

The greatest commandment is “love God with all your heart.”

The second greatest is “love your neighbor as yourself.”

In these verses Jesus shows us how to love our neighbors.

Hear again what Jesus said about inviting the poor to dinner:

“You will be blessed.”

Just think- that means now-and forever.

Even better, the blessing will be unexpected.