The Pharisee in Me

Well, have you ever been invited over to someone's house for dinner, but maybe you wondered

! why you were even invited, because things between you and them haven't been great. Maybe

! there's been conflict between you and them or tension in the relationship. And part

of you doesn't even want to go, but then maybe part of you is hopeful that with this next

connection, things will be better than last time. This morning, as we return to the story

of Jesus, we find him in a place that we might not expect him to be. He's at the home of a

prominent Pharisee. And we heard just last week about how the Pharisee said to Jesus,

leave this place, go somewhere else. So it's kind of surprising that now he's been invited

over to the house of a Pharisee for dinner. And with the tension between them, amazingly,

Jesus goes to this Pharisee's house. Last time he went to the home of a Pharisee, things didn't

go well. We read about it in Luke chapter 11. Jesus sat down at the table to eat in the

Luke 11 · chapter mention

home. And the Pharisees were judging Jesus right out of the get-go because he didn't do

a certain ceremonial washing before the meal. And from there, Jesus began to rebuke the Pharisees,

saying they were full of greed and wickedness and hypocrisy, that they were hindering people and

they were leading people astray. And that meal ended with Jesus walking out the door and then

the Pharisees swarming him with all kinds of attacking questions. And so we can only imagine

and wonder what Jesus might be feeling as he gets another invitation to go to the house of a Pharisee.

Let's listen in as Luke tells the story in Luke chapter 14, beginning in verse 1.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.

Already, we feel the tension, don't we? First of all, it's the Sabbath day, and we know that that has

been an issue. It's come up many times already. Maybe you remember Jesus walking along with his

disciples and his disciples picking grain in the fields and the Pharisees saying,

why are you doing what's unlawful on the Sabbath? We also heard about it back in chapter 6.

They were ready to accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath day when he healed the man with the

shriveled hand. We skipped over this in chapter 13, but not too long ago, Jesus was teaching in the

synagogue on the Sabbath day and he healed a crippled woman. And Luke tells us there that the

Pharisees were indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. The synagogue leader said,

there are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.

So here we are now in Luke chapter 14, and again, it's the Sabbath day. And Luke says that they are

Luke 14 · chapter mention

watching Jesus closely. No doubt some of them are gathered here and they're ready to find fault

with Jesus. As we'll see next week, at least one guy at the table might have a softer heart.

There in front of Jesus was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body.

We almost wonder if this has been planned or a setup. Did they invite this guy just for the purpose of

seeing if Jesus would heal him so that they could accuse him of working on the Sabbath? Maybe.

We don't know. The main thing we know about this man is his condition. Luke says he's suffering from

abnormal swelling of his body. The word used here specifically refers to dropsy, what we now call

edema. Basically, it refers to excess fluid building up in parts of your body.

And what we know about this today is it has lots of different causes. The swelling itself is not a

disease. It's a symptom of something else that's not right in the body. Could be something very

serious like a problem with the kidneys or the liver or the lungs or even the heart. It could also be a

temporary or minor thing that shows up sometimes in pregnancy for women or in a situation where someone

is in the same position for a really long time. For this man, we don't know the cause. We don't know

the severity. Probably it was severe enough to be visible to everyone and noticeable by everyone

there. And here's this guy right in front of Jesus in the house of the Pharisee.

Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?

But they remained silent.

They wouldn't answer his question.

They couldn't answer the question. It's a very simple question.

Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or no? Is it against God's law to do this on the Sabbath day?

That's all Jesus is asking.

The Sabbath commandment that God gave to the people of Israel long ago was that they should do no work on the Sabbath day.

They were to take one day in six to rest.

And it was a rest from the work that you would do to provide for your family, but also the work of the household.

They were to take the day before, Friday, to make all their preparations.

And then Saturday, the seventh day, could be a day of rest to the Lord.

And so it's a very simple question.

Is a person breaking that commandment by healing someone on the Sabbath day?

And they wouldn't answer it.

They couldn't answer it.

Let's think for just a moment what answers they could have given.

The first option they could say, well, yeah, of course it's lawful.

Why wouldn't it be permitted to heal a person on the Sabbath day?

But did they actually believe that?

We don't know.

Were some of them truly unsure?

Like we don't know, maybe.

But did they know deep down inside?

Yeah.

That's something that you can do on the Sabbath day, probably.

They were unwilling to say, yeah, that's lawful.

And I think the reason why is because then they'd be agreeing with Jesus that as he's been going around and healing people on the Sabbath,

they'd be agreeing that that's good.

That's right.

And they don't want to endorse or affirm Jesus in any way.

The other option they had, of course, they could have just said no.

It's not lawful to heal on the Sabbath.

That goes against what God has commanded.

But then the problem with that answer is if they really believed it, that would make them seem pretty heartless.

Pretty lacking in compassion towards those suffering or in need of urgent medical help.

There were already many crowds of thousands surrounding Jesus.

And the last thing they wanted to do was to lose even more influence and favor with the people.

And so they chose to remain silent.

And so what does Jesus do?

He heals the man.

So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

It's almost surprising how little Luke says about the miracle here.

I mean, this is awesome.

He miraculously cures the man of his swelling right in front of their eyes.

But this isn't the main thing in the passage.

I mean, imagine what it would have been like.

I don't know what part of his body, whether his leg or his arms or what,

but imagine what it would have been like to just watch that swelling disappear in that moment.

And you can imagine the guy that was healed and just the stunned look on his face as he, you know,

feels that skin and no more squishiness.

It's the swelling is gone.

It's back to normal.

Luke doesn't say a word about that.

Jesus has already healed so many countless numbers of people.

And Luke's already described these kinds of things more than once.

What's at the focus here is Jesus and the Pharisees.

After healing the man, Jesus asks another question.

Verse 5.

Then he asked them,

If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day,

will you not immediately pull it out?

Another very simple question.

If your son, or maybe you don't have a son,

then if your ox,

if your son falls into a well on the Sabbath day,

will you not immediately pull him out?

And they had nothing to say.

Again, the same options are before them.

They could have said,

Well, yeah, I would pull my son out if he fell into a well on the Sabbath day.

But then, what would Jesus say in response?

Why shouldn't I be helping and healing these people on the Sabbath day then?

What's the difference?

Or I guess they could have said,

No, I'd leave my son in the well on the Sabbath day till the next day

to honor the commandment.

But then deep down inside,

I think they probably all knew that's not what they would do.

I mean, is God that heartless

that he would expect us to ignore the injury of the person right in front of us

to avoid doing work on the Sabbath?

And if they did say,

Yeah, yeah, I'd do that.

I wouldn't lift a finger to get him out of there on the Sabbath.

I'd wait till tomorrow.

I mean, how would that look to the people?

That would kind of show the true colors of the Pharisees, wouldn't it?

That they really are heartless.

They really do lack love and compassion.

And so again, they decide to say nothing.

They had nothing to say.

And what's masterful about this question that Jesus asks is that it really,

no matter what they do,

what they answer,

it exposes them.

It shows what's really going on in their hearts

and in their thoughts.

Because even refusing to answer the question,

I mean, it shows that they're heartless.

That they're lacking in compassion.

That they're overly concerned with what everybody else thinks.

I mean, Jesus just asks a room full of people,

If one of you has a child that falls into a well on the Sabbath day,

will you not immediately pull him out?

And nobody in the room could bring themselves to say,

Yeah, I would.

This is what was wrong with the Pharisees

and the experts in the law.

Their devotion to God was not authentic.

It wasn't sincere.

They were all about putting on that religious show

for others to see.

Keeping the laws and the commandments outwardly

when people were watching.

But there was very little love for God

and there was very little love for other people

in their hearts.

Theirs was a religion of ritual

and ceremony

and religious habit

they did not have a real relationship with God.

As Jesus said,

they were truly wicked

on the inside.

They polished the outside

to make their words

and their actions look good.

But on the inside,

Jesus said they're filthy

and wicked

and greedy

and the list goes on.

They couldn't even bring themselves

to say out loud

at the dinner table,

Yeah, I would pull my son

out of the well

if he fell in there

on the Sabbath day.

Because saying that

would affirm

that Jesus has been doing right.

He has been doing good

when he heals people

on the Sabbath.

This wasn't a trick question.

There was a clear right answer.

And if they really were experts in the law,

they should have been able to answer this easily.

Maybe some of them knew the right answer

deep down inside

and yet the stubbornness

in their hearts.

I'm not going to give Jesus

the satisfaction

of agreeing with him.

Well, it's one thing

for us to sort of look at this

and analyze the Pharisees

and understand

the problem with them.

But if this is to be

any benefit to us today,

here and now,

we have to think about

how does it relate to us.

We live in a very different

cultural moment

than we see in this passage.

The majority of people

in our community

don't even bother

to put up

a religious front

anymore.

I mean,

there are some communities

and there are some churches still

where that's,

they're the exception

and rules and traditions

are very strictly followed

and how you follow them

and keep them

becomes the measure

of righteousness

even if your heart

is cold towards God.

But for most people

in our community today,

we just don't see

too much of this problem

of pretending

to be devoted to God

but in a hypocritical way.

And so probably

the more important question

that we can ask

is the question

that we should ask the Lord.

Lord,

am I

in any way

like the Pharisees here?

What things have I been doing

that fall into

that same sort of

category?

Maybe it's how we pray.

Do we really only pray

out of routine?

perhaps

before the meal

or when called upon

by someone else

to pray

before bed

and

is my heart

really engaged

in that prayer?

As though I'm speaking

to God

or am I just

saying the same old things,

parroting the same things?

God is gracious,

God is good,

let us thank Him

for this food,

amen.

without even thinking

about what I'm saying anymore.

Or is it time

to pray

for some

people?

Okay,

Father,

please

bless and be with

and bless and be with

and bless and be with

and bless and be with

and bless and be with,

amen.

We can be like

the Pharisees

sometimes.

We can slip

into that.

Maybe it's in

how we go to church

or we just,

you know,

coming on Sundays

because I have to

to be a good Christian.

That's my Christian duty.

There's lots of other things

I could be doing

and I maybe think about them

all throughout the service

but if I miss

or if I attend less,

I mean,

what will people think?

My spouse really wants me

to be here

or my parents

said that I have to come.

but my heart

isn't in it.

We can be like

the Pharisees.

Maybe it's in how

we read our Bible.

Am I,

you know,

just opening it up

to check off the box

in my reading plan

and feel good

that I'm doing

what Christians

are supposed to do?

Or as we talked about

last week in Sunday school,

am I opening it up

in order to draw near

to God

and to hear His voice

speak to me?

Is my heart

ready to respond

to whatever He would say?

Is my heart engaged

as I do these things?

Am I doing these things

for you, Lord?

To seek after you,

to be with you,

to be obedient to you.

Lord,

would you expose

the Pharisee

in me?

Do you have the faith

and the guts

to pray that prayer?

Lord,

would you expose

the Pharisee

in me?

Well,

this isn't the end

of the meal yet.

Jesus hasn't left yet.

They haven't driven

Him out yet.

And so Jesus

continues on

and He exposes

more in the Pharisees.

Let's look at verse 7.

When Jesus noticed

how the guests

picked the places

of honor at the table,

He told them

this parable.

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.

If so,

the host

who invited

both of you

will come

and say to you,

give this person

your seat.

Then humiliated,

you will have to

take the least

important place.

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

the other guests.

For all those

who exalt themselves

will be humbled.

And those who

humble themselves

will be exalted.

So Luke says

that the people

that were invited

to this meal,

Jesus took notice

of how they

went and found

their seats.

He was watching

and he noticed

how some of them

went for the

places of honor.

We don't get

all the details,

but you could

almost imagine

that there's a bit

of a rush

or a scurry

to those

better seats

in the house,

the seats

of greater honor.

This is kind of

foreign in our

culture today.

I mean,

if you think

at your table

at home right now,

do you think

of one seat

or another seat

as having more

honor than another?

Probably not.

But maybe

if we think

about a wedding,

we still have

a sort of a,

you know,

we've got the

head table

and if we have

arranged seating

at the wedding,

maybe you've been

to a wedding

that had arranged

seating,

sort of the closer

your relationship

to the bride or groom,

the closer you get

to sit to them.

Of course,

the best seats

at the wedding

go to the maid

of honor

and the best man.

They get to sit

right beside

the bride and the groom

on their special day.

But that doesn't

happen very often.

Most of our meals

in our houses,

even at the community,

town hall,

they come and go

and sit where you please.

But back in this day

and in this culture,

where you sat at the table

mattered a little bit more.

The seats on the left

and the right of the host

were considered

the seats of honor.

And those seats

that were a little closer

to the host

were considered

seats of honor.

And what catches

Jesus' attention here

is how some of the guests

just sort of make

a beeline

for those seats

and they rush

to take them

before someone else

gets there.

Once in a while,

we do see this kind

of behavior in public.

Could be at the grocery store

as we watch people

sort of push their way

past everybody else

in the line

and ask if they can

go first.

Could be at a sale

or a giveaway

or in the waiting room

at the doctors.

And probably for us,

though,

it's less about honor

and it's more just

about being first

and not wanting

to have to wait

for our turn.

And Jesus,

he gives them

a little wisdom

in the form

of a parable here.

I'm not going to

explain every detail

because I think

it speaks for itself.

He basically

poses the question,

isn't it better

not to assume

that you're

the guest of honor

by pushing your way

to that best seat?

I mean,

do you know

who all has been invited?

Maybe somebody

more distinguished

than you

has been invited,

a closer friend

or family member.

And think about

what's likely

to happen in that case.

I mean,

if the host

of the banquet

sees their best friend

come in the door

and the only seat

that's left open

is way at the far end

of the table,

he's going to look

at who's sitting

next to him

and give him the bump.

He's going to ask you

if you might be willing

to give up that seat

to his best friend

and then the only seat

left will be

that one

that's furthest away.

The best friend

will be honored

in front of everyone

by the host

and you will be humiliated

as you make your way

to the worst seat.

And so Jesus

gives them

some wise advice.

Verse 10,

he says,

but when you're 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 the other guests.

Now there's a right way

to take these words

in a wrong way.

Jesus is not saying,

you know,

here's a great trick

that you can do

to get more attention

and praise

and honor for yourself.

You know,

take the lowest seat

on purpose

so that you end up

getting asked

to move up

and then you'll get

the praise that you do.

No,

he's not saying that.

It's not a party trick

to get more attention

for proud people.

The right way

to take this

is to realize

what Jesus means

by the whole parable.

He's saying,

don't be proud.

Don't assume

that you are

the most important

compared to others.

Because if you do,

it's just a matter of time

before you find yourself

publicly humiliated.

As the ancient proverb

in the book

of Proverbs goes,

pride goes before

destruction

and a haughty spirit

before a fall.

And so take the lowest seat

means humble yourself.

Don't assume

that you're the most important.

Sincerely consider others

as more important

than yourself.

Let them have

the better seats.

I'm not going

to take that seat

because I want you

to enjoy it.

You be closer

to the host.

I'm not going

to push my way

to the front of the line

because even though

I feel like my time

is important

and my business

is important,

well,

so is yours.

Your business

might be even more

urgent than mine.

I could rush

through this door

because I know

that if I do,

I'll get served

first at the till.

I won't have

to wait as long

but hold on.

Let me hold

the door open

for you.

Who says

that I'm more

important than you?

You go ahead.

I'm borrowing

loosely from

Pauline Phillips,

the author

of the Dear

Abbey newspaper column.

The way she said it

I think is worth

reflecting on

something to the effect

of do I walk

into the room

with an attitude

of hey guys,

here I am

or do I walk

into a room

with an attitude

of oh,

there you are.

Do you see yourself

as the most important

in the room,

the wisest,

the smartest,

the strongest?

Are you eager

to share with others

what you think,

your opinions

on things,

your experiences

or are you eager

to hear from others

about what they think

and their opinions,

their experiences,

to learn from them?

The lesson

in the parable

for everyone

is this,

verse 11,

for all those

who exalt themselves

will be humbled

and those

who humble themselves

will be exalted.

This is just

the reality

of how it will be.

It's how things

will always

eventually go.

It's true

when we look back

through history,

God sees

that it goes

this way.

It's true

when we look ahead

to the future

through prophecy,

this is how

it's all going

to end

with the full

arrival of God's

kingdom.

God tells us

that everything's

going to be turned

upside down.

Those who were

first,

they're going

to be last

and those

who were last,

they're going

to be first.

The lowly

will be honored

by God

and the proud

will be humbled

by God.

Again,

it's one thing

to recognize

the fault

in the Pharisees.

We can

beat up on them

for scurrying

to the seats

of honor,

but we have

to think about

how does this

relate to us.

And again,

I think the question

that's most important

is the one

that we ask

the Lord.

Lord,

Lord,

am I in any

way like the

Pharisees here?

What things

have I been

doing which

sort of fall

into that

same mindset

as they had?

Have I been

thinking much

of myself

and little

of others?

Am I willing

to take the

lowest seat

or do I

feel like,

no,

that seat

should,

that's better

for someone

else?

Jesus really

did set the

example for us

here.

He was in

very nature

God

and yet he

made himself

nothing

and became

the servant

of all.

He's the

king,

the son

of God

and yet he

got down

on his hands

and knees

and washed

the dirt

off the

disciples'

feet.

Now we

may never

literally do

that to

another person

washing their

feet.

We just

don't really

do foot

washing in

our culture.

But how

about washing

the dirty

dishes of

another?

When I'm at

home with my

family,

what does it

look like to

take the

lowest seat?

to be

humble and

to serve

others?

Do I just

walk by that

piece of

garbage on

the floor

and silently

hope and

expect that

someone else

will pick

it up?

Do I

wrinkle my

nose at

the side of

the toilet

or the

bathroom when

it's become

untidy yet

expect someone

else to

clean it?

Do I rush

to the

fridge to

get the

best

leftovers

for my

lunch for

tomorrow?

Leaving the

least desirable

stuff for

others in

the family?

Do I

watch that

last piece

of chicken

in the

bowl like

a hawk?

And as

soon as

there's just

one piece

left,

snatch it

for myself?

Or do I

consider that

someone else

around the

table might

be just as

hungry as

me and

desire it

just as

much as

me?

And do I

sincerely

offer it

to them

first?

With a

willingness to

actually let

them have

it.

This stuff

of humility

and pride,

it isn't

just abstract

religious

principle.

I mean,

it really

does relate

to every

little detail

of how we

interact at

home,

in public,

at the

grocery store,

line up,

while driving

on the

road.

Finally,

Jesus gives

another word

of advice,

this time to

his host.

Let's look at

that quickly

in verse 12

to 14.

Jesus said

to his

host,

when you

give a

luncheon

or dinner,

do not

invite your

friends,

your brothers

or sisters,

your relatives

or your rich

neighbors.

If you do,

they may

invite you

back and

so you

will be

repaid.

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.

When's

the last

time you

invited

someone over

to your

house for

a meal

who

couldn't

return

the

favor?

Pride has

a way

of blinding

us.

We kind

of just

get used

to thinking

about

ourselves

and we

stop caring

or seeing

others who

are on the

outside

looking in,

wanting to

be part of

things.

The lonely,

the orphan,

the widow,

the outcast,

those with

mental or

physical

disabilities

who are

unable to

do things

and

sometimes

we can

see them

as though

they're

just

takers.

They don't

really

contribute

or they're

just less

enjoyable to

be with.

But

humility

runs the

opposite way.

We see

them as

people

and we

realize that

we could

just as

easily be

in the

same

situation

as

them.

And maybe

God has

put me

in their

life

with means

not so I

can indulge

myself but

so that I

can meet

their needs

and be a

friend and

a brother

to them.

One of my

favorite things

when it

comes to

special

occasions like

Thanksgiving and

Christmas and

Easter, we

often do have a

big meal and

invite family and

friends over.

One of my

favorite things is

on those

occasions when

a family makes

their gathering

less comfortable

or less

predictable by

inviting someone

over who

doesn't have

family to

gather with.

Maybe

somebody who's

lonely or

an outcast or

just not

someone who

people want to

be with.

Maybe they're

going through a

really rough

time and

they're just

downcast and

it's hard to

be with them.

I've been

that person

who's been

invited over for

a Thanksgiving

weekend while

away from

family.

A poor

college student,

nothing to

contribute and

it meant the

world to me to

be welcomed into

someone else's

home and family

even just for a

weekend.

This is the

kind of thing

Jesus is

talking about.

And hey,

Thanksgiving is

just three weeks

away.

Do you think

Jesus really

means for us

to do this?

Lord, would

you show us

the Pharisee

inside of us?

we want to

be like you

Jesus.

We want to

follow your

example.

We want to

we see that

beautiful humility

that you had.

Please forgive

us of every

moment where

we have been

proud, where

we have been

like the

Pharisees and

faked it in

front of

others.

Forgive us

for those

moments where

we have just

been self

centered and

put ourselves

ahead of

everyone else.

Lord, we

pray and ask

that you would

give us

humble hearts.

Teach us

that way of

humility.

And we

ask that you

would give us

eyes to see

the poor and

the lonely and

the needy around

us right here

in Davidson.

Give us

courage to

invite them

to the table.

people.

To your name

be the glory.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.