Jesus was for the poor and handicapped

JESUS WAS FOR THE POOR AND HANDICAPPED
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 14:13 13But when you give a banquet, invitethe
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Moderation;Disinterestedness;Patience
Luke 14:12-14
W. Clarkson
We find in these words of our Lord -
I. THE CORRECTIONOF A COMMON FAULT. Jesus Christ did not,
indeed, intend to condemn outright all family or socialgatherings ofa festive
character. He had already sanctionedthese by his own presence. The
idiomatic language, "do not, but," signifies, not a positive interdiction of the
one thing, but the superiority of the other. Yet may we not find here a
correctionof social, festive extravagance;the expenditure of an undue
measure of our resources onmutual indulgences? It is a very easyand a very
common thing for hospitality to pass into extravagance, andeven into selfish
indulgence. Those who invite neighbours to their house in the full expectation
of being invited in return may seemto themselves to be open-handed and
generous, whenthey are only pursuing a systemof well-understoodmutual
ministry to the lowertastes and gratifications. And it is a fact that both then

and now, both there and here, men are under a greattemptation to expend
upon mere enjoyment of this kind a degree of time and of income which
seriouslycripples and enfeebles them. Thus that is given to display and
indulgence which might be reservedfor benevolence andfor piety; thus life is
lowered, and its whole service is reduced; thus we fail to reach the stature to
which we might attain, and to render to our Masterand his cause the service
we might bring. In the matter of indulgence, direct or (as here) indirect, while
we should keepawayfrom asceticism, it is of still greaterconsequencethat we
do not approacha faulty and incapacitating selfishness.
II. AN INVITATION TO A NOBLE HABIT. "Callthe poor... and thou shalt
be blessed;for they cannotrecompense thee." An actof disinterestedkindness
carries its blessing with it.
1. It is an intrinsically excellent thing. "To do goodand to communicate" is
honourable and admirable; and to do this with no thought of return from
those who are benefited, is an act of peculiar and exceptionalworth. It takes
very high rank in the scale ofspiritual nobleness.
2. It allies us with the highest and the best in all the universe; with the noblest
men and womenthat ever lived in any land or age;with the angels ofGod
(Hebrews 1:14); with our Divine Exemplar (Mark 10:45); with the eternal
Father himself (Matthew 5:45).
3. It leaves a benign and elevating influence on our own spirit. Every man is
something the better, is so much the worthier and more Christ-like, for every
humblest deed of disinterestedbenevolence.
III. THE PROMISE OF A PURE REWARD. If the idea of recompense is
admitted, everything turns upon the characterofthe reward, so far as the
virtue of the action is concerned. To do something for an immediate and
sensible reward is unmeritorious; to act in the hope of some pure and distant
recompense is an estimable because a spiritual procedure. Our life is, then,
basedupon faith, upon hope, and especiallyupon patience. To do goodand to
be content to wait for our recompense until "the resurrection of the just,"
when we shall reap the approval of the Divine Masterand the gratitude of

those whom we have served below, - this is conduct which our Lord approves;
it bears the best mark it can bear - that of his Divine benediction. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
Call the poor.
Luke 14:12-14
The Church's duty to the poor
J. Parker, D. D.
A recent advertisementon our city walls struck me as singularly suggestive;it
containedthe words, "Godand the poor." Such a conjunction of words is
most remarkable:the highest and the lowest, He who owns all things, and they
who own nothing: it is a conjunction of extremes, and though it lookedvery
extraordinary on a placard, yet if you examine the Old and New Testaments
the idea will be discoveredalmostmore frequently than any other.

I. THE RELATION OF GOD TO THE POOR. There is a strange mingling of
terror and tenderness in God's language in relation to the poor; terror
towards their oppressors tenderness towards themselves.Takethe former
(Proverbs 17:5; Isaiah10:2; Jeremiah 22:13;Amos 5:11; etc.). Such are some
of the sentencesoffire in which God speaks ofthe oppressorof the poor. We
now turn from terror to tenderness. We shall hear how God speaks ofthe
poor themselves. The lips that spoke in fire now quiver with messagessetto
music (Isaiah 58:6, 7). There is an extract which I must give from God's
ancient legislation, and as I read you will be able to say whether everAct of
Parliament was so beautiful (Deuteronomy 24:19-21). And why this beneficial
arrangement? A memorial act; to keepthe doers in grateful remembrance of
God's mighty interposition on their behalf. When men draw their gratitude
from their memory, their hand will be opened in perpetual benefaction.
II. THE RELATION OF THE POOR TO THE CHURCH. "The poor ye have
always with you." For what purpose? As a perpetual appeal to our deepest
sympathy; as an abiding memorial of our Saviour's own condition while upon
earth; as an excitement to our most practicalgratitude. The poor are given
into the charge of the Church, with the most loving commendation Of Christ
their companion and Saviour.
1. The poor require physical blessing. Christ helped man's bodily nature. The
Church devotes itself more to the spirit than to the flesh. This is right: yet we
are in danger of forgetting that Christianity has a mission to the body as well
as to the soul. The body is the entrance to the soul And is there no reward?
Will the Lord who remembers the poor forgetthe poet's benefactor? Truly
not! (Psalm41:1).
2. The poor require physical blessing; but still more do they require spiritual
blessing. The harvest is great, the labourers are few. Do you inquire as to
recompense? It is infinite! "Theycannot recompense thee, but thou shalt be
recompensedat the resurrectionof the just." And yet they can recompense
thee! Every look of the gleaming eye is a recompense!Every tone of
thankfulness is a repayment. God is not unrighteous to forgetour work of
faith. If we do goodunto "one of the leastof His brethren," Christ will receive
the goodas though offeredto Himself. Terrible is the recompense ofthe

wicked!"Whoso stoppethhis ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry
himself, but shall not be heard." Much is being said about Charity. .They have
carved her image in marble; they have enclosedherin gorgeouslycoloured
glass;they have placed on her lofty brow the wreath of immortal amaranth;
poesyhas turned her name into rhythm, and music has chanted her praise. All
this is well. All this is beautiful. It is all next to the best thing; but still the best
thing is to incorporate charity in the daily life, to breathe it as our native air,
and to express it in all the actions of our hand. "Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus." "Ifthou wilt be perfect, go and sellthat thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." You will then
be one with God! "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosenthe
poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath
promised to them that love Him?" Then do not contemn the poor. "He that
giveth, let him do it with simplicity."
(J. Parker, D. D.)
Christian beneficence
W. Cadman, M. A.
I. THE DUTY OF A CHRISTIAN TO DO GOOD;to lay himself out to do
goodto every one within his reach.
1. This arises from the very nature of the Christian character. Gratitude to
Christ leads him to copy the Saviour, "who went about doing good."
2. The duty of laying ourselves out to do goodarises from our Christian
calling. When the Holy Spirit of God makes a difference betweensinners who
are living in ungodliness and walking after the vanity of their minds, why does
He make that difference? Godcalls forth His people to be witnesses forHim,
in such a manner that those who are blind to His glory in creation, and who
neglectHis glory in revelation, cannot refuse to acknowledge it when it is
evidenced and reflectedfrom the people that He has calledby His grace.
When God's people go forth doing good, when they manifest self-denial, when
they are willing to "spend and be spent," in order to contribute to the

temporal necessities orto the spiritual welfare of their fellow-creatures,there
is something in these actions which tells upon the heart that is closedto all
other means of receiving the knowledge ofGod's glory and salvation.
II. THE OBJECT OF CHRISTIAN BENEFICENCE. Whena Christian does
good, or tries to abound in any goodwork, it must not be from
(1)personalvanity,
(2)a desire of human applause,
(3)for worldly recompense.His sole inducement must be the love of Christ; his
one objectthe glory of God; his whole desire to advance the temporal and
spiritual goodof mankind.
III. THE CHRISTIAN'S ENCOURAGEMENT to lay himself out to do good
unto all men, without looking for anything again. "They cannot recompense
thee; but," etc.
(W. Cadman, M. A.)
Christian feasting
W. Jay.
Much Of the impressiveness of our Lord as a preacherarose from the
miracles He performed in confirmation of the divinity of His mission, and the
truth of His doctrine; much also from His adapting Himself to the state and
conditions of His hearers;and much also from His deriving His instructions
and encouragementsfrom present objects and occurrences, forthis always
gives a freshness to our discourse, and a superiority to the artificialness of
study. He sees a sowergoing forth to sow, and for the instruction of the people
is led to deliver a parable on the goodseedof the kingdom.
I. THE OCCASION OF THE ADDRESS. "ThensaidHe also to him that
bade Him." Concerning this invitation let us make four inquiries.

1. Who was it that bade Him? It was one of the chief Pharisees, a man of some
substance and respectability, probably a ruler of the synagogue,orone of the
Sanhedrim. We never read of any of the Sadducees inviting our Lord, nor do
we ever read of the Herodians inviting Him. Though the Pharisees were the
bitterest enemies of Christ, they had frequent interviews with Him.
2. Forwhat was He bidden? Some suppose that this was a common meal, but
the narrative requires us to view it as an entertainment, or some kind of
festivity.
3. When was He bidden? We are told that it was on the Sabbath day.
4. Why was He bidden? He was invited by Martha from a principle of duty
and benevolence, andshe and Mary hoped to derive some spiritual advantage
from Him. I wish I could think that this Pharisee invited our Lord under the
influence of similar motives. But from whatevermotive they were impelled tie
went not to eatand drink only. No, He went about His Father's business, this
He constantly kept in view. He knew what His work required. He knew that
the GoodShepherd must seek afterthe lost sheepuntil He find it. My
brethren, you must here learn to distinguish betweenHim and yourselves. He
had nothing inflammable in Him. The enemy came and found nothing in Him.
But you have much remaining depravity, and are in danger from external
circumstances;you therefore, must watchand pray lest you enter into
temptation; you are safe when in the path of duty, there God has engagedto
keepyou. Let us learn from the Saviour's conduct to exercise goodbehaviour,
that others may not have occasionto speak evil of us on accountof our
religion. Consider —
II. WHAT OUR SAVIOUR FORBIDS.He said, "When thou makesta dinner
or a supper, callnot thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor
thy rich neighbours; lestthey also bid thee again, and a recompense be made
thee." This "supper or dinner" supposes something costly, for you observe
that in the following verse it is called "a feast." Observe, it is not absolutely
wrong to invite our friends, or our brethren, or our rich kinsmen, or our rich
neighbours; but our Saviour looks at the motive here, "lesta recompense be
made thee"; as much as to say, there is no friendship or charity in all this.

And the apostle says, "Let all things be done with charity." You are to show
more hospitality than vanity, and more charity than ostentation, and to be
more concernedfor those who want your relief. This brings us to consider —
III. WHAT HE ENJOINS."Butwhen thou makesta feast, callthe poor, the
maimed, the lame, and the blind." Here we see what a variety of evils and
miseries are incident to the human race. Here are "the poor," without the
necessariesoflife; "the maimed," whose hands are unable to perform their
office;"the halt," who are indebted to a crutch to enable them to walk at all;
"the blind." Here we learn, also, the proper objects of your compassion, and
the fittest subjects of your charity. It is not necessarythat you should always
have "the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind" at your table. You may
fulfil the Saviour's design without this, and do as Nehemiah did, "send
portions to those for whom nothing is prepared."
IV. WHAT OUR SAVIOUR INSURES. "And thou shalt be blessed;for they
cannot recompense thee:for thou shalt be recompensedatthe resurrectionof
the just."
1. The blessedness:"Thoushalt be blessed." Blessedevenin the act itself. Oh,
the pleasures ofbenevolence!How blessedis it even in the review! for this
blessednesscanbe continued and improved on reflection. How superior in the
performance to sordid entertainments! "Thou shalt be blessed" — blessedby
the receiver. Think of Job. He says, "Whenthe earheard me, then it blessed
me, and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me. BecauseIdelivered the
poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The
blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I causedthe
widow's heart to sing for joy." What do we see yonder when we enter Joppa
with Peter? "Whenhe was come they brought him into an upper chamber:
and all the widows stoodby him weeping, and showing the coats and garments
which Dorcas made while she was with them." "And thou shalt be blessed" —
blessedby the observers. Who does not observe? And who observes and does
not bless on such occasions?Few, perhaps none of us, knew personally a
Reynolds, a Thornton, or a Howard, of whom we have read; but in reading
their history, when we come to their names we cannot help blessing them, and
thus the words of the Scripture are fulfilled, "The memory of the just is

blessed." "And thou shalt be blessed." Above all, blessedby God Himself,
upon whom everything depends, "whose favouris life, and whose loving-
kindness is better than life." He blesses personallyand relatively. He grants
you spiritual and temporal blessings. Davidsays, "Let them curse, but bless
Thou."
2. The certainty of this blessedness — "Forthey cannot recompense thee."
This seems a strange reason, and would tend to check rather than encourage a
worldly man. The foundation of this reasonis this, that charity must be
recompensed. If the poor cannotdo this themselves, some one else must
undertake it for them, and therefore God Himself must become answerable;
and it is much better to have God to recompense us than to rely upon a poor
dying creature. Paul therefore, says, to those who had made a collectionto
relieve him, and had sentit by the hands of Epaphroditus, "My God shall
supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." If,
therefore, the thought ever occurs to your mind, "I know not those persons
who have relieved me; I shall never be able to repay them," so much the
better, for then God must, and if there be any truth in His word, if there be
any love in His heart, He will.
3. The time of this bestowment — "Forthou shalt be recompensedat the
resurrectionof the just." Notthat this will be done then exclusively, for, as we
have already shown, there are advantages attending charity now. But it will
be principally then, publicly then. The apostle says to the Corinthians, "Judge
nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the
hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels ofthe heart;
and then shall every man have praise of God." Then will it be done perfectly.
It is not wrong to look for advantage in religion. But you should be upon your
guard not to entertain a notion of meritoriousness in any of your doings. No,
the rewardis of grace, notof debt.
(W. Jay.)
Christ's counselto his host

S. A. Tipple
Our Lord does not here enjoin neglecting and refraining from one's friends,
kinsfolk, and neighbours, to entertain only the poor, maimed, halt, and blind.
What He says is, when you make a dinner or supper — that is, as He
immediately explains, a feast — let it be, not for those with whom you are
accustomedto associate,but rather for the destitute and forlorn outside your
circle. It is a question, you see, notat all of socialfellowship, but of
expenditure, and of the objects to which our greatexpenditures should be
devoted. When you would lavish trouble and money, says Christ, let the
lavishing be, not for your own personalgratification, not with the view of
securing some enjoyment or obtaining some benefit for yourself, but for the
blessing of others. The point on which the whole admonition turns, and to
which it refers, is largenessofoutlay. This is obvious. Our Lord is thinking
and speaking, notof, an ordinary meal such as might be spreadany day, but
of a feast, like the "greatsupper" of the parable that follows:and remember
the occasionofHis words, the circumstances under which they were uttered.
He was dining on the Sabbath, in the house of one of the chief Pharisees, who
had Him to eatBread with him; and everything indicates that it was no
common dinner at which He was present, but an entertainment on a large
scale, gotup probably with much pains, and regardless ofcost. Christ noticed,
we are told, how those who were bidden chose out the chief rooms;nay, such
were the unseemly contests among the guests for precedence, andthe rude
struggling for the best places, whichHe witnessed, thatwhen at last the
tumult had subsided, and all were arranged, He could not forbear remarking
on it in tones of rebuke. Evidently the meal was a grand affair, a banquet
numerously attended and by many notable and distinguished persons.
Contemplating, as He sat there, the profusion, the sumptuousness;picturing
what it had cost — the amount of money, labour, and worry, and perhaps
sacrifice, that had been expended on it — and penetrating that it was all
mainly for selfish ends, with the idea and in the hope of some advantage
through it; Christ turns His greatmournful eyes upon the many with the
words: "Whenyou would make such another feastas this, my friend, at so
much trouble and cost, insteadof calling to it your rich friends, who are likely
to recompense you for it, you should callto it the destitute and afflicted, who

are unable to recompense you, and thus be blessedat the resurrection of the
just." The inner point and spirit of which form of words was this: "Ah! my
friend, it is a mistake to make your greatoutlays of strength and treasure with
a view to your own gratificationand aggrandisement, for it is poor
recompense atthe best, after all. These greatoutlays should be reserved
rather to meet the needs and ameliorate the unfortunate condition of others;
for the blessing of that, though more etherealand less palpable, is infinitely
more worth. You should not burden yourself to win ought of present
enjoyment or acquisition for yourself. If you burden yourself at all, it should
be to supply some want or serve some interest of the necessitous aroundyou."
And the lessonremains for us. Let your extensive expenditures, your toils and
worries, and hardships and sacrifices, be for those outside who require
ministry, rather than for yourself. When it is a question of your own personal
amusement or pleasure, of your own worldly comfort or gain, be content to
spend but little; don't make a fuss, or lie awake anxiously, or go out of your
way for that. If you do so at all, do it when the welfare of others is concerned,
when there are others to be succouredor savedby it; reserve for such ends the
incurring of heavy cost, the taking on of heavy burdens of thought and care.
(S. A. Tipple)
Christian entertainments
J. Parker, D. D.
Jesus Christ did not intend that the rich should never have communion with
one another, or hold intercourse with one another; that would be as absurd as
it would be impracticable. The idea is that, having had your own fellowships
and enjoyments, having eatenthe fat and drunk the sweet, you are to send out
a portion to him that hath none, and a blessing to him who sits in loneliness
and sadness ofheart. I had a wonderful dream some time ago — a singular
dream. It was about the MansionHouse and the Lord Mayor. I saw the great
banquet. ing hall filled, and I lookedand wonderedat the people, for they had
such a peculiar expressionupon their countenances.Theyseemedto be
closing their eyes, and so they were. Alas! they were all blind people, and all

over fifty years of age. It was the greatLord Mayor of London himself who
had invited all the blind people over that age in London to meet one another,
and have one happy night, so far as he could make it, in the ancient
banqueting hall. No loving cup was passedround, lestaccidents should occur;
but many a loving word was spoken, many a sigh full of meaning was heaved
— not the sighof misery, but the sigh of thankfulness. And then a strange
silence fell upon all the guests, and I heard a voice from above saying in the
English tongue quite distinctly, "Theycannot recompense thee, but thou shalt
be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just." Then the banqueting hall
seemedto be filled with spectators — glad witnesses — as if, at last there were
upon the earth some fine touch of Christian feeling, some recognitionof the
mystery of charity and the boundlessness and condescensionofChristian love.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
True Christian festivity
Anon.
I. It should be UNSELFISH. Not extended merely to those from whom we
expecta similar return.
II. It should be MERCIFUL. Extended to those who are generally neglected.
III. THIS FESTIVITY WILL BE REWARDED. Withthe blessing of the poor
now, and the commendation of the Judge hereafter.
(Anon.)
Christian hospitality
M. F. Sadler.
Our Lord really means that hospitality is first to be exercisedtowards those
who need it, because oftheir narrow means, and to whom kindness of this sort
is more pleasant, because they receive suchlittle notice from the world. These

are to be first recipients of our hospitality, and after them our friends,
relatives, and neighbours, who may be supposed to be able to ask us again.
This, of course, is directly contrary to the practice of the world. Now I do not
think that we obey this injunction of the Lord by following its spirit (as the
saying is) rather than its letter. It has been said that "the essenceofthe
beatitude, as distinct from its form, remains for all who give freely, to those
who can give them no recompense in return, who have nothing to offer but
their thanks and prayers," and that "relief, given privately, thoughtfully,
discriminately, may be better both for the giver, as less ostentatious, andfor
the receiver, as tending to the formation of a higher characterthan the open
feastof the Easternform of benevolence." Butit is to be noticedthat the Lord
is not speaking ofrelief, i.e., of almsgiving, but of hospitality. It is one thing to
send relief in a basketto some poor person from your house, and quite
another yourself to proffer to the same personfood upon your owntable of
which you and he jointly partake. By relief or alms you almost of necessity
constitute yourself his superior; by hospitality you assume that he is far more
on the same level with yourself. Partaking offood in common has, by the
absolutely universal consentof mankind, been esteemeda very different thing
from the mere gift of food. If it be said that such hospitality as the Lord here
recommends is contrary to the usages ofeven Christian societyamongstus,
we answer, "Of course it is"; but, notwithstanding this, it is quite possible that
the Christianity of our Christian society, of which we have so high an opinion,
may be very imperfect indeed, and require reformation, if not regeneration,
and that "the open feastof the Easternform of benevolence"may be worthy
of more imitation amongstourselves. Look atthe extravagantcostof some
entertainments — viands setbefore the guests simply because they are costly
and out of season— and considerthat the difference betweena fair and
creditable entertainment and this extravagance wouldenable the giver to act
ten times more frequently on the principle which the Lord inculcates, and for
which he would be rewarded;considerthis, and the folly of such waste, not to
say its wickedness, is manifest.
(M. F. Sadler.)

A model feast
W. Hubbard.
I cannot think there is no connectionwith Divine things in the counsels Christ
gave to His host about making a feast. I think He meant more than to alter a
custom, or change social habits. What He advisedwent deeper, and had a
profounder intention than that. He was reaching down to the foundation of
things; showing how God deals with men, and what are the principles, or what
is the measure and scope ofHis kingdom. He pourtrays a model feast. And if I
mistake not, the portraiture is a pattern of things in the heavens. A place at
the feast, I think He means to say, does not depend upon socialgrade,
position, or attainments, but upon the needs of those who are called. Necessity,
misery, helplessness,were to be the qualifications — poor, maimed, halt,
blind. Friends and rich neighbours were not to be left out; they might come
and share the joy and blessing — the joy of ministering and doing goodto
others; but the sore and the stricken were to be the guests;the invitations
were to be sentspecially to them. The ado, the preparation, the plentifulness,
and the freeness of the feast, must be all for them, to bless them, and make
them glad. That is God's feast. That is how God does. He prepares a feastfor
man roman the sinner, man the miserable, man the outcast, the hungry, the
starved, the diseased, the dying; and He throws it open, and bids them all
come, and sends to fetch them in. And when they gather, He lets His rich
friends, the angels, rejoice with Him; for "there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
(W. Hubbard.)
The poor invited to a feast
W. H. Aitken, M. A.
When I was quite a little boy, there lived in my father's house a man whom, as
I look back, I, in common with most who knew him, cannot help regarding as,
perhaps, the holiest man we were acquainted with. He lived a life of singular
devotion and self-denial, and seemedto walk constantly in the presence of

God. Some little time ago, whenm Liverpool, I accidentallycame across the
person in whose house be had lodgedin the days when he had first devoted
himself to God, when he was quite a young man, before his connectionwith
my ownbeloved father was as close as it afterwards became. This goodman,
who kept the house in which this gentleman lodged, told me a few anecdotes
about him, and, amongstothers, I remember the following:"Ah, Mr.
Aitken!" said the man, "I shall never forgetMr. C's Christmas dinner." I
said, "I wish you would tell me about it;" and he replied, "I will." "Christmas
Day came near, and Mr. C calledup my wife, and said to her, 'Now, I want
you to make the very best dinner you possibly can; I am going to give a
dinner-party.' 'Well, Mr. C,' she said, 'you have been a long time in my house,
and I never heard you talk of giving a dinner-party yet; but I will see to it that
it is a right gooddinner, and there shall be no mistake about it.' 'Do your
best,' he said; 'I am going to invite my friends, and I want everything to be
done properly.' My wife setto work and got a very gooddinner indeed.
Christmas Day came. Towards evening we were expecting the gentlemento
turn up who had been invited by our lodger; we did not know who they were,
but we made sure they would be people worthy of the occasion. After a time,
there came a knock at the door. I opened the door, and there stoodbefore me
a man clothed in rags. He had evidently washedhis face, and gothimself up a
little for the occasion;at the same time he was a beggar, pure and simple. He
said, 'Does Mr. C live here?''Yes,' I replied; 'he lodges here, but you cannot
see him; he is just going to sit down to dinner.' 'But,' said the man, 'I was
invited to come here to dinner this evening.'You may imagine my horror and
astonishment; I could scarcelycontainmyself. 'What!' I said; 'you invited to
come here this evening, a man like you?' I had scarcelygotthe words out of
my mouth before I saw anotherpoor, miserable specimen of humanity
crawling round the corner; he was another of Mr. C 's guests. By-and-by,
there was a round dozen of them, or something like a score;and in they came,
the most haggard, miserable, woe-begone objects youcould possibly conceive.
They went into my wife's nice, smart-looking dining-room, with that grand
white cloth, and all the goodthings which had been so carefully prepared. It
almost took one's breath awayto see them. But when we saw the goodman
himself, setting to work, like the Masterof old (who girded Himself to serve
His disciples) — setting to work to make these men happy, and help them to

spend a pleasantevening, without stiffness or formality, we thought, 'After all,
he is right. This is the best sort of dinner-party;' and we did not grudge the
labour we had bestowed." Now,I have told that little anecdote in order to
illustrate the fact that our Lord's teaching on such subjects is eminently
practical, and that when He gives a suggestion, youmay be sure that it is a
very sensible and sound one.
(W. H. Aitken, M. A.)
Call the poor
Biblical things not generallyknown.
Pocockeinforms us, that an Arab prince will often dine before his door, and
call to all that pass, even to beggars, in the name of God, and they come and
sit down to table, and when they have done retire with the usual form of
returning thanks. It is always customaryamong the Orientals to provide more
meats and drinks than are necessaryfor the feast!and then, the poor who
pass by, or whom the rumour of the feastbrings to the neighbourhood, are
calledin to consume what remains. This they often do in an outer room, to
which the dishes are removed from the apartment in which the invited guests
have feasted;or otherwise, every invited guest, when he has done, withdraws
from the table, and his place is takenby another personof inferior rank, and
so on, till the poorestcome and consume the whole. The former of these modes
is, however, the most common.
(Biblical things not generallyknown.)
Feeding the hungry
It was the custom of St. Gregory, when he became pope, to entertain every
evening at his own table twelve poor men, in remembrance of the number of
our Lord's apostles. One night, as he sat at supper with his guests, be saw, to
his surprise, not twelve but thirteen, seatedathis table; and he called to his
steward, and said to him, "Did not I command thee to invite twelve? and,

behold! there are thirteen." And the stewardtold them over, and replied,
"Holy father, there are surely twelve only." And Gregoryheld his peace;and,
after the meal, he calledforth the unbidden guest, and askedhim, "Who art
thou?" And he replied, "I am the poor man whom thou didst formerly
relieve;" but my name is 'The Wonderful' and through Me thou shalt obtain
whateverthou shalt ask of God. Then Gregoryknew that he bad entertained
an angel; or, according to anotherversion of the story, our Lord Himself."
Christ-like hospitality
It is said of Lord Chief Justice Hale that he frequently invited his poor
neighbours to dinner, and made them sit at table with himself, if any of them
were sick, so that they could not come, he would send provisions to them from
his owntable. He did not confine his bounties to the poor of his own parish,
but diffused supplies to the neighbouring parishes as occasionrequired. He
always treatedthe old, the needy, and the sick with the tenderness and
familiarity that became one who consideredthey were of the same nature with
himself, and were reduced to no other necessitiesbut such as he himself might
be brought to. Common beggars he consideredin another view. If any of these
met him in his walks, or came to his door, he would ask such as were capable
of working why they went about so idly. If they answeredit was because they
could not getemployment, he would send them to some field to gatherall the
stones in it, and lay them in a heap, and then pay them liberally for their
trouble. This being done, he used to send his carts, and causedthe stones to be
carried to such places of the highway as neededrepair.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(13) When thou makesta feast.—Literally, as in Luke 5:29, a reception. In
practice, it need hardly be said, the form of obedience to the precept must, of
necessity, vary with the varying phases of sociallife, and with the lessons of
experience. Reliefgiven privately, thoughtfully, discriminatively, may be
better both for the giver, as less ostentatious, and for the receivers, as tending
to the formation of a higher character, than the open feastof the Easternform
of benevolence. The essenceofthe beatitude, as distinct from its form, remains
for all who give freely to those who can give them no recompense in return,
who have nothing to offer but their thanks and prayers.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
14:7-14 Even in the common actions of life, Christ marks what we do, not only
in our religious assemblies, but at our tables. We see in many cases, thata
man's pride will bring him low, and before honour is humility. Our Saviour
here teaches, thatworks of charity are better than works of show. But our
Lord did not mean that a proud and unbelieving liberality should be
rewarded, but that his precept of doing good to the poor and afflicted should
be observed from love to him.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
The poor - Those who are destitute of comfortable food.
The maimed - Those who are deprived of any member of their body, as an
arm or a leg or who have not the use of them so that they can labor for their
own support.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
13. call the poor—"SuchGod Himself calls" (Lu 14:21)[Bengel].
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 14:12"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But when thou makesta feast,....An entertainment for others, a dinner, or a
supper:
call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind; that is, the poor maimed,
the poor lame, and the poor blind; otherwise it is possible that rich men may
be maimed, lame, and blind; whereas these are not intended, but such who are
in indigent circumstances, that stand in need of a meal, and to whom it is
welcome.
Geneva Study Bible
But when thou makesta feast, callthe poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 14:13. δοχὴν, the same word used by Lk. in reference to the feastin
Levi’s house, which was a gathering of the sort here recommendedby
Jesus.—μακάριος,here and always denoting rare virtue and felicity = the
pleasure of doing a kindness not to be repaid, except at the resurrectionof the
just, or by the joy that every really beneficentaction brings now.—τῶν
δικαίων:in specifying the righteous as the subjects of the resurrection the
Speakerhas no intention of indicating an opinion as to the unrighteous:
whether they rise at all, or when.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
13. call the poor] Matthew 25:35. The duty is recognisedin anotherform by
Nehemiah. “Eatthe fat, and drink the sweet, andsend portions unto them for
whom nothing is prepared,” Nehemiah8:10.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 14:13. Κάλεῖ) invite, bid, call, simply; not φώνει,[145]as in Luke 14:12,
ΦΩΝΕῖΝ conveys the idea of something more loud (clear)and formal
(solemn).—ΠΤΩΧΟῪς, the poor) It is such whom God Himself invites Luke
14:21.

[145]Issue a formal invitation, lit. invite with a loud voice, φωνή.—E. and T.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 13, 14. - But when thou makesta feast, call the poor, the maimed, the
lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed;for they cannot recompense thee.
Greatpagan moralists, sick at heart at these dreary, selfishsociety
conventionalities, have condemned this system of entertaining those who
would be likely to make an equivalent return for the interested hospitality. So
Martial, writing of such an incident, says, 'You are asking for gifts, Sextus,
not for friends." Nehemiahgives a somewhatsimilar charge to the Jews ofhis
day: "Eatthe fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom
nothing is prepared" (Nehemiah 8:10). Thou shalt be recompensed at the
resurrectionof the just. There is no doubt that Jesus here was alluding to that
first resurrectionwhich would consistof the "just" only; of that which St.
John speaks ofin rapt and glowing terms: "Blessedand holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection" (Revelation20:6). This was a doctrine evidently
much insisted on by the early teachers ofChristianity (see John 5:25; Acts
24:15;1 Corinthians 15:23;1 Thessalonians4:16;Philippians 3:11; and
compare our Lord's words againin Luke 20:35).
Vincent's Word Studies
Feast(δοχήν)
Or reception. Used by Luke only. See on Luke 5:29.
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible

The poor - Those who are destitute of comfortable food.
The maimed - Those who are deprived of any member of their body, as an
arm or a leg or who have not the use of them so that they can labor for their
own support.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon Luke 14:13". "Barnes'Notesonthe Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/luke-14.html.
1870.
return to 'Jump List'
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
But when thou makesta feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
Boles'comment on this is: "It is far better to give to relieve the distressedthan
to set a feastto those who do not need it."[21]A man is not in the true sense
hospitable who entertains only those who can entertain him. "Such interested
hospitality is not wrong, but it does not lay up treasure in heaven."[22]
With this word to the host, Jesus pinpointed the third of three distortions, or
reverse ethics, which marked the conduct of his hearers. In Luke 14:5, it was
love of property elevatedover love of men; in Luke 14:7, it was pride and
conceitelevatedabove humility; and here in these verses it was selfishness
elevatedabove genuine hospitality.
[21] H. Leo Boles, Commentary on Luke (Nashville: GospelAdvocate
Company, 1940), p. 285.
[22] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 757.

Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/luke-14.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
But when thou makesta feast,....An entertainment for others, a dinner, or a
supper:
call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind; that is, the poor maimed,
the poor lame, and the poor blind; otherwise it is possible that rich men may
be maimed, lame, and blind; whereas these are not intended, but such who are
in indigent circumstances, that stand in need of a meal, and to whom it is
welcome.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography

Gill, John. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". "The New JohnGill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/luke-
14.html. 1999.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
call the poor — “SuchGod Himself calls” (Luke 14:21) [Bengel].
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 14:13". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/luke-14.html. 1871-8.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
When thou makesta feast (οταν δοχηνποιηις — hotan dochēn poiēis). οταν—
Hotan and the present subjunctive in an indefinite temporal clause. Δοχη —
Dochē means receptionas in Luke 5:29, late word, only in these two passages
in the N.T. Note absence ofarticle with these adjectives in the Greek (poor
people, maimed folks, lame people, blind people).
Copyright Statement

The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". "Robertson's WordPictures
of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/luke-14.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Feast( δοχήν)
Or reception. Used by Luke only. See on Luke 5:29.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 14:13". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/luke-14.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
The Fourfold Gospel
But when thou makesta feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame1, the blind:
But when thou makesta feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame,

the blind. Jesus'teaching is positive rather than negative, and should
constrainus to live more for charity and less for sociability.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon Luke 14:13".
"The Fourfold Gospel".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/luke-14.html. Standard
Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
13 But when thou makesta feast, callthe poor, the maimed, the lame, the
blind:
Ver. 13. Call the poor] Christ prefers charity before courtesy.

Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/luke-
14.html. 1865-1868.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Luke 14:13. The maimed,— ' Αναπηρους, the disabled; the word takes in both
the lame and the blind; and may also include those whom the infirmities of
age have rendered helpless. See a fine parallel passagein Pliny's Epistles, lib.
9: epist.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon Luke 14:13". Thomas Coke Commentary
on the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/luke-
14.html. 1801-1803.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Luke 14:13. κάλεῖ) invite, bid, call, simply; not φώνει,(145)as in Luke 14:12,
φωνεῖν conveys the idea of something more loud (clear)and formal

(solemn).— πτωχοὺς, the poor) It is such whom God Himself invites Luke
14:21.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/luke-14.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
See Poole on"Luke 14:12"
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Luke 14:13". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/luke-14.html. 1685.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Call the poor; do goodto the needy who cannot reward you.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/luke-
14.html. American TractSociety. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
13. κάλει πτωχούς. Matthew 25:35. The duty is recognisedin another form by
Nehemiah. “Eatthe fat, and drink the sweet, andsend portions unto them for
whom nothing is prepared,” Nehemiah8:10.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
"Commentary on Luke 14:13". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools
and Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/luke-
14.html. 1896.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Luke 14:13. Bid. Not the word used in Luke 14:12; the quiet invitation is
meant. Sounding a trumpet before such a feastis forbidden in Matthew 6:1-2.

The poor, etc. This is to be taken as including all modes of providing for the
wants of the classesreferredto. There is little danger that it will be
understood too literally. As the same classesare spokenofin the parable
(Luke 14:21), it is a fair inference that in so doing we follow God’s own
example.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". "Schaff's Popular
Commentary on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/luke-14.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 14:13. δοχὴν, the same word used by Lk. in reference to the feastin
Levi’s house, which was a gathering of the sort here recommended by
Jesus.— μακάριος, here and always denoting rare virtue and felicity = the
pleasure of doing a kindness not to be repaid, except at the resurrectionof the
just, or by the joy that every really beneficentaction brings now.— τῶν
δικαίων:in specifying the righteous as the subjects of the resurrection the
Speakerhas no intention of indicating an opinion as to the unrighteous:
whether they rise at all, or when.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/luke-14.html. 1897-1910.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
feast, or reception. Occurs only here and in Luke 5:29.
call. Same word as bid, Luke 14:7.
the poor. Note the Figure of speechAsyndeton (App-6), not emphasizing the
particular classes, but hastening us on to the climax in Luke 14:14. Note the
opposite Figure in Luke 14:21.
maimed = crippled. Only here, and Luke 14:21.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/luke-14.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

But when thou makesta feast, callthe poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
Compare this with the classes Godhimself invites to the greatGospelFeast,
Luke 14:21.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 14:13". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/luke-
14.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(13) When thou makesta feast.—Literally, as in Luke 5:29, a reception. In
practice, it need hardly be said, the form of obedience to the precept must, of
necessity, vary with the varying phases of sociallife, and with the lessons of
experience. Reliefgiven privately, thoughtfully, discriminatively, may be
better both for the giver, as less ostentatious, and for the receivers, as tending
to the formation of a higher character, than the open feastof the Easternform
of benevolence. The essenceofthe beatitude, as distinct from its form, remains
for all who give freely to those who can give them no recompense in return,
who have nothing to offer but their thanks and prayers.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Luke 14:13". "Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/luke-14.html. 1905.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
call
21; 11:41;Deuteronomy 14:29;16:11,14;26:12,13;2 Samuel6:19; 2
Chronicles 30:24;Nehemiah 8:10,12;Job 29:13,15,16;31:16-20;Proverbs
3:9,10;14:31; 31:6,7;Isaiah58:7,10;Matthew 14:14-21;15:32-39;22:10;Acts
2:44,45;4:34,35;9:39; Romans 12:13-16;1 Timothy 3:2; 5:10; Titus 1:8;
Philemon 1:7; Hebrews 13:2
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 14:12 And He also wenton to say to the one who had invited Him,
"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your

brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite
you in return and that will be your repayment.
KJV Luke 14:12 Then saidhe also to him that bade him, When thou makesta
dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy
kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lestthey also bid thee again, and a
recompence be made thee.
When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends Lk 1:53; Pr
14:20;22:16; James 2:1-6
and that will be your repayment 6:32-36;Zech 7:5-7; Mt 5:46; 6:1-4,16-18
Luke 14 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 14:1-14 Jesus the Confronter - StevenCole
Luke 14:7-14 Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble - John MacArthur
JESUS CONTINUES TO REBUKE
THEIR SINFUL PRIDE
And He also went on to sayto the one who had invited Him - Referring to His
host, the leader of the Pharisees in Lk 14:1-note.
Wiersbe - Jesus knew that the host had invited his guests for two reasons:(1)
to pay them back because they had invited him to past feasts, or (2) to put
them under his debt so that they would invite him to future feasts. Such
hospitality was not an expressionof love and grace but rather an evidence of
pride and selfishness. He was “buying” recognition.
Mattoonhas an interesting introduction to this next sectionhe entitles "The
Three Stooges"writing - When I was growing up as a boy, I can remember
watching three men that were constantly doing foolish, nutty things and
beating up on one another. These guys were absolutely crazy and were known
as Moe, Larry, and Curly, otherwise knownas The Three Stooges. Two ofthe
men were actualbrothers, Moe and Curly. The constantbings, bangs, bongs,
dings, dongs, slaps, and punches would almost drive a personcrazy, yet,
people came back for more. In fact, they performed from 1922 to 1975. Their

comedy, mockery, and foolishness drove Adolph Hitler into a rage. They were
the first to do a small film making fun of Hitler. In 1940, their short film
called"You Natzy Spy" put them on Hitler's DeathList. When we look in this
portion of Luke 14, we find the original Three Stooges.These menwere also
characterizedby foolish, stupid thinking and behavior. The reasonwe note
them is because many folks today think and actjust like them. Let's take a
look at this story so you can understand why many folks behave like The
Three Stooges.
Robertson- This is a parable for the host as one had just been given for the
guests, though Luke does not term this a parable.
When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your
brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors - Jesus is addressing the idea of
reciprocity, the practice of exchanging things (in this case dinner invitations)
with others (other prideful Pharisees)formutual benefit.
Do not invite (2564)(kaleo)is a command, present imperative with a negative,
which calls for this Pharisee to stop inviting only friends, et al. Jesus is not
saying he could not invite friends, but that he needed a "motive check!" He
should not do so to the exclusionof others. In other words, Jesus is
condemning his socialexclusivism(then and now)!
Friends (5384) (philos) means loved (loved one), dear, befriended, friendly,
kind. Philos can mean kindly disposedor devoted (Acts 19:31). Philos
describes one having specialinterestin someone else. One who is on intimate
terms or in close associationwith someone else
Wiersbe - Jesus does not prohibit us from entertaining family and friends, but
He warns us againstentertaining only family and friends exclusively and
habitually. That kind of “fellowship” quickly degeneratesinto a “mutual
admiration society” in which eachone tries to outdo the others and no one
dares to break the cycle. Sad to say, too much church sociallife fits this
description.
Brothers (80)(adelphos from a = denotes unity + delphus = a womb) means
brother or near kinsman.("ofthe same womb")

Rich (rich man) (4145)(plousios fromploutos = wealth, abundance, riches) is
an adjective which literally refers to having an abundance of earthly
possessionsthat exceeds normalexperience. Rich is used often of material
wealth and was a frequent topic addressedby the Lord Jesus.
Luke's uses of plousios - Lk. 6:24-note;Lk. 12:16-note;Lk. 14:12;Lk. 16:1;
Lk. 16:19; Lk. 16:21;Lk. 16:22; Lk. 18:23; Lk. 18:25;Lk. 19:2; Lk. 21:1
Spurgeon- Our Saviour, you see, keepsto one line of instruction. It was a
feast, so he used the feastto teachanother lesson. It is always well, when
men’s minds are running in a certaindirection, to make use of that particular
current. When a feastis uppermost in the minds of men, it is no use starting
another subject. So the Saviour rides upon the back of the banquet, making it
to be his steed. Note his advice to his host: “Try to avoid doing that for which
you will be recompensed. If you are rewarded for it the transactionis over;
but if not, then it stands recordedin the book of God, and it will be
recompensedto you in the greatday of account.”
Craig Keener - Not to invite people of one’s own socialstatus would offend
them; but Jesus says that the other’s need, not one’s own socialstanding, must
determine the giving of gifts. The Old Testamentforbade charging interest on
a loan and so profiting by one’s neighbor; but Jesus’principle here excludes
looking for any repayment at all; cf. "“Ifyou lend to those from whom you
expectto receive, whatcredit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in
order to receive back the same amount. 35“Butlove your enemies, and do
good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the MostHigh; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful
and evil men." Lk 6:34–35-note.(IVP BackgroundCommentary)
They may also invite you in return - The "benefit" of the reciprocity in this
case is an invitation.
And that will be your repayment - As MacArthur says this "was a zero sum
game with no winners, in which the participants’ gains and lossesofprestige
evened out in the end. In Jewishsocietyaninvitation to a meal with a Pharisee
was a kind of currency; they exploited hospitality for the sake of self-glory

and elevation. Disinterestedkindness was foreignto them; everything they did
was self-serving."
Wiersbe - Our motive for sharing must be the praise of God and not the
applause of men, the eternalreward in heaven and not the temporary
recognitionon earth. A pastor friend of mine used to remind me, “You can’t
get your rewardtwice!” and he was right (see Matt. 6:1–18). On the day of
judgment, many who today are first in the eyes of men will be last in God’s
eyes, and many who are last in the eyes of men will be first in the eyes of God
(Luke 13:30).
Repayment (468)(antapodoma from antí = in turn + apodidomi = render;
cognate verb antapodidomi) a noun which means a giving back in return for
something receivedand so that which is offered or given as recompense or
retribution (in both a goodsense and a bad sense). The thing paid back in a
goodsense (Lk 14:12)or bad sense (Ro 11:9).
Bock - The invitation of friends is limited to repayment in an invitation to eat
at their home. But the more gracious actionthat Jesus suggests has a bigger,
more permanent, rewardfrom God. The major point is that customary “pay
back” hospitality is of no greatmerit to God. Fellowshipshould not have
sociallimits. The best hospitality is that which is given, not exchanged.
Mattoon- Jesus gives these Phariseesinstructions for hosting a parry or
dinner. The principles given here are applicable for us today. When people
made a grand feastin Bible days, they would invite famous and important
people to their dinner, which would give them prestige if they attended. These
important folks would return the favor by inviting them to their social
functions. In a sense, they would give to those in authority or important
positions in order to getsomething in return. Jesus was condemning this
motive. Do people do this today? Of course they do.
Luke 14:13 "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the
lame, the blind,
KJV Luke 14:13 But when thou makesta feast, callthe poor, the maimed, the
lame, the blind:

invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind Lk 14:21; 11:41;Dt 14:29;
16:11,14;26:12,13;2 Sa 6:19; 2 Chr 30:24;Neh 8:10,12;Job29:13,15,16;
31:16-20;Pr 3:9,10;14:31;31:6,7;Isa 58:7,10;Mt 14:14-21;15:32-39;22:10;
Acts 2:44,45;4:34,35;9:39; Ro 12:13-16;1 Ti 3:2; 5:10; Titus 1:8; Phile 1:7;
Heb 13:2
TRUE DISCIPLESHIP CALLS
FOR UNSELFISH GENEROSITY
But - A term of contrastwhich should always prompt the question "What is
being contrasted?" In this case the contrastis striking - the wayof the
Pharisees who soughtto be exalted among men, and the way of God, which is
the humble path that leads to true blessing.
When you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind (4
groups in Lk 14:21) - This focuses onthose who have need and have no funds
to repay with a reciprocalinvitation. To the Pharisees sucha suggestionwould
be absurd as these low caste people could provide no benefit to them in their
desire for prestige. In fact the Pharisees shunned this genre of non-genteel
folk! The OT clearly taught concernfor the poor and powerless (Dt. 14:28–
29; 16:11–14;26:11–13.)
Guzik - There is something wonderful in giving a gift that can never be
repaid. This is some of the more blessing Jesus spoke ofwhen He said, It is
more blessedto give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
Lame (5560)(cholos)is an adjective that describes a physical “disability that
involves the imperfect function of the lowerlimbs” (Louw-Nida). It is used in
the NT primarily to describe those who are literally crippled in the feet or legs
(Acts 3.2, 11, 14:8, Mt 11:5, 15:30-31, 21:14, Lk 7:22, Jn 5:3) or deprived of
one foot, maimed (Mt 18.8, Mk 9:45). Cholos is used once in a figurative sense
to describe spiritual weaknessin Heb 12:13 (cf Lxx use in 1 Ki 18:21)where

the limb that is lame denotes those wavering betweentwo opinions within the
Christian community.
Gilbrant - This adjective is used in both the Septuagint and the New
Testamentto designate the group of people who suffer such afflictions, usually
grouped togetherwith “the blind” and other handicapped groups. Since the
Law forbade the full cultic participation of people who were physically
impaired, the healing of such people and their consequentreintegrationinto
societywas symbolic of the glories of the coming kingdom of God in both the
Old and New Testaments (cf. Matthew 11:4-6 and Isaiah35:5,6 which is
alluded to there).
Cholos in NT - 14x in 14v - Mt. 11:5; 15:30-31;18:8; 21:14; Mk. 9:45; Lk.
7:22; 14:13,21;Jn. 5:3; Acts 3:2; 8:7; 14:8; Heb. 12:13
Cholos in Septuagint - 11xin 11v- Lev. 21:18;Deut. 15:21;2 Sam. 5:6,8; 9:13;
19:26;Job 29:15; Isa. 33:23;35:6; Mal. 1:8,13;
Blind (5185)(tuphlos from tuphlóo = envelop with smoke, be unable to see
clearly) canrefer to literal blindness as here in Luke 14:13 (cf Mt 9:27, 28;
11:5; 12:22; Lk 7:21, 22;Jn 9:1, 2, 3.;Acts 13:11 Lv 19:14; Job29:15) but
more often the NT uses tuphlos to describe spiritual blindness. Figuratively
the picture is of one's mind as blind, ignorant, stupid, slow of understanding,
being unable to understand, incapable of comprehending (see Mt 15:14;
23:16, 17, 19, 24, 26; Lk 4:18; Jn 9:39,40,41;Ro 2:19; 2Pe 1:9; Rev 3:17; Isa
42:16,18,19;43:8) This sense speaksofboth mental and spiritual blindness,
often the result of self-deceptionso that one is unable to understand (spiritual
truth). The Greek writers used tuphlos to describe those who were "mentally
blind".
Keener - Well-to-do persons in the Greco-Romanworldusually invited people
of somewhatlowersocialstatus in return for receiving honor, but these
invitees would still be relatively respectable, notabsolute dependents or
beggars, as crippled, lame and blind people would be in that society, or
peasants (although many Jewishteachers might regard inviting beggars and
peasants as an actof piety). The crippled, lame and blind were not permitted
on the premises of the probably Essene community at Qumran. (Ibid)

Cole - True ministry out of Christian love serves and gives without thought of
return. It isn’t manipulative, serving for what you canget out of it. As
Christians, we should serve others out of love for God and others. To go
Jesus’way, you have to have your focus on eternity, not on the rewards of this
life. You have to believe that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him”
(Heb. 11:6). Often there are many blessings that come back on you in this life
when you serve the Lord. But, often there are not any visible rewards here
and now. You serve and no one notices. You give to help a needy personand
you getripped off, and the person never even says, “Thanks.”One testof
whether your motives are right in your service for Christ is, “Are you hurt
when you don’t get the recognitionyou think you deserve?” (WOE!)Another
test is, “What is your attitude toward the poor and the hurting?” If you’re
only willing to serve those who can pay you back or who might later be able to
advance your cause, you’re using people, not loving them. Jesus confronts our
motives for service. Any selfishmotives in serving Christ are sin.
Bock - Unlike much of ancient culture, Jesus urges that reciprocitynot be a
factorin deciding whom to invite (Marshall1978:584). Hospitality is
generositywhen no motive exists besides
Mattoon- He instructed them to invite those who were poor, maimed, lame,
and blind. By doing this, they would show they were not controlledby a spirit
of repayment, that their giving was unselfish, and their love was genuine. The
Lord is trying to getus to examine our motives of service and doing things for
others. Is it for self-gloryor for God's glory? Are we seeking to be seenof
others? Are we trying to gain something down the road? One day our motives
will be revealed.
Paul alludes to this by giving us a "motive check" in First Corinthians
Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the
Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and
disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then eachman’s praise will come to
him from God. (1 Cor 4:5)
Comment - "Judge nothing before the time", for all such judgment must be
premature and faulty, partial and inconclusive, invalid and illegal. The "time"

is when the Lord comes and sets up His Judgment Seat. In view of this "time",
all human verdicts must be prejudice. Then the Lord will bring into the light
the hidden things of darkness, those deepinner springs that lurked unseen,
things of which we were not aware, and will make manifest the counsels ofthe
heart, those secretdesires and motives which were concealedbut were the
basis of decisionand action. Then everything will be "named and open". Then
eachshall receive the praise that is his due from God, the only praise that
really matters, the only judgment that possessestrue value. (What the Bible
teaches – 1 and 2 Corinthians) (Ed: The truth this verse prompts me to pray
Ps 139:23-24 frequently!)
A New Tradition
When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. —
Luke 14:13
In the United States, Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of feasting with
family. But changing circumstances may lead us to rethink our holiday
traditions.
It happened to Sharon Randall during a year in which her mother died, her
father-in-law had to be moved to a resthome, and her husband was
undergoing treatment for cancer. As the Thanksgiving holiday drew near, the
Randall family decided it was time for a new approach. So instead of
preparing a feastjust for themselves, they invited people outside their family
circle to join them. The next year they expanded the guestlist even more.
“If your family has changedand you need a new tradition,” says Sharon,
“look around. You’re not alone. Invite someone to join you for Thanksgiving.
Or volunteer to help serve at a church or shelter or community dinner.”
Those are challenging words for every followerof Jesus Christ. Perhaps it’s
time to start a new tradition for your next holiday feastby inviting people
outside your usual circle, or by serving those in need. In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus
said that when we include those who can’t repay us, we are blessedin a special
way. Sharing the feastis Thanksgiving indeed! By David C. McCasland(Our

Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
Just a "cup of cold water" was given in His name,
But the soul of the giver was never the same!
For he found that when giving was done with a zest,
Both the heart of the giver and takerwere blest. —Anon.
Life takes onnew meaning when we give ourselves to others.
Luke 14:14 and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay
you; for you will be repaid at the resurrectionof the righteous."
KJV Luke 14:14 And thou shalt be blessed;for they cannot recompense thee:
for thou shalt be recompensedat the resurrectionof the just.
for you will be repaid Pr 19:17; Mt 6:4; 10:41,42;25:34-40;Phil 4:18,19
at the resurrectionof the righteous Lk 20:35,36;Da 12:2,3;Jn 5:29; Acts
24:15
THE PROMISE OF
FUTURE BLESSING
You will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you - The point
is that you "gave" expecting nothing in return. You gave with pure motives,
motives of compassionand love for your fellow man. These are God-like
attributes. And God honors selfless graciousness. While they do not have the
means to repay, God does and God will repay! Note that "be blessed" is the
"Divine Passive"indicating it is God Who will repay.

Wiersbe - If our hearts are right, God will see to it that we are properly
rewarded, though getting a reward must not be the motive for our generosity.
When we serve others from unselfish hearts, we are laying up treasures in
heaven (Matt. 6:20) and becoming “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). Our
modern world is very competitive, and it is easyfor God’s people to become
more concernedabout profit and loss than they are about sacrifice and
service. “Whatwill I getout of it?” may easilybecome life’s most important
question (Matt. 19:27ff). We must strive to maintain the unselfish attitude that
Jesus had and share what we have with others.
Blessed(3107)(makarios fromroot makar, but others say from mak = large or
lengthy) means to be happy, but not in the usual sense ofhappiness basedon
positive circumstances. Fromthe Biblical perspective Makarios describesthe
person who is free from daily cares andworries because his every breath and
circumstance is in the hands of His MakerWho gives him such an assurance
(such a "blessing"). Makarios describesthe kind of happiness that comes
from receiving divine favor. God wants to bless His creation, but we must be
in a position to receive His blessing. Proud people are not in such a position,
for "Godis opposedto the proud, but gives grace (cf"blessing")to the
humble." (James 4:6-note).
Rob Morgan- Makarios (blessed)means happy, fortunate, blissful. Homer
used the word to describe a wealthy man, and Plato used it of one who is
successfulin business. Both Homer and Hesiod spoke ofthe Greek gods as
being happy (makarios)within themselves, because theywere unaffected by
the world of men-who were subjectto poverty, disease, weakness, misfortune,
and death. The fullest meaning of the term, therefore, had to do with an
inward contentedness thatis not affectedby circumstances. Thatis the kind of
happiness Goddesires for His children, a state of joy and well-being that does
not depend on physical, temporary circumstances (cfPhp 4:11, 12, 13). (From
his sermonentitled "Blessed")
Repay...repaid(paid back)(467)(antapodidomifrom antí = in turn +
apodídomi = render <> from apo = from + didomi = give) means to give back
in return for something received. The idea is to practice reciprocitywith
respectto an obligation. It means to pay back something owed. Antapodidomi

is a strong verb (having two prefixes) and is emphatic as indicated by its two
uses in this verse.
For - term of explanation - Clearly Jesus explains how you will be blessed. The
blessing will not be bestowedby those who have to means to repay but by God
has has all means to repay and to repay throughout eternity! I would callthat
a blessing almost beyond belief. That God would safe us is "reward" enough,
but that He will rewardus in eternity future is nothing short of indescribably
amazing grace!
You will be repaid at the resurrectionof the righteous - Contrastthe
repayment of the Phariseesfrom one man to another in time, with the
repayment from God throughout eternity! This type of mindset is living with
an eternal perspective. With what perspective are you spending your short
time on earth?
Will be repaid - The passive voice is the "Divine Passive"indicating it is God
Himself Who will repay their selfless generosity.
Keener - Judaism taught that the righteous would ultimately be rewarded at
the resurrectionof the dead; here Jesus applies this truth to distribution of
resources.ThatGod repaid those who helped the poor was alreadytaught in
the Old Testament(Prov 19:17).
One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him
for his gooddeed. (Pr 19:17-Bridges'note)
Spurgeon- It should be your ambition to have something setdown to your
credit “at the resurrection of the just.” If you do someone a kindness with a
view to gaining gratitude, you will probably be disappointed; and even if you
should succeed, whatis the gratitude worth? You have burned your firework,
you have seenthe brief blaze, and there is an end of it. But if you getno
present return for your holy charity, so much the better for you.
Daniel alludes to God's repayment at the resurrection of the righteous -
“Many of those who sleepin the dust of the ground will awake
(RESURRECTION), these to everlasting life (cf "REPAYMENT""ofthe

righteous"), but the others to disgrace (cftemporal "disgrace"in Lk 14:9)
and everlasting contempt. “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the
brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to
righteousness, like the stars foreverand ever. (Da 12:2,3-note)
Luke mentions the resurrectionof the righteous again in Acts
Acts 24:14-15 “Butthis I admit to you, that according to the Way which they
call a sectI do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in
accordancewith the Law and that is written in the Prophets;having a hope in
God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a
resurrectionof both the righteous and the wicked.
Jesus describes this resurrectionin the Gospelof John
John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who
are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the
gooddeeds to a resurrectionof life (= "resurrectionof the righteous"), those
who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Keener - Resurrectionwas a holistic Jewishhope that the dead (or at leastthe
righteous dead) would be raised to a new bodily existence of some sort at a
future time....Jewishpeople expectedthe resurrectionat the end of the age,
usually associating it with the time of the Messiah’s coming and his kingdom.
(NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
Resurrection(386)(anastasisfrom ana = up, again+ histemi = to cause to
stand) literally means “to stand again" or "to cause to stand again" and most
NT uses refer to a physical body rising from the dead or coming back to life
after having once died.
The resurrectionis distinguished from belief in reincarnation, which usually
involves a series ofrebirths from which the soulmay seek release.
Resurrectionhas primary reference to the body. The resurrectionis the
central, defining doctrine and claim of the gospelfor as Paul wrote "if Christ
has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain." (1 Cor
15:14)

Stein on of the righteous - From Acts 24:15 it is evident that this is short for
“of the righteous and the unrighteous.” Compare John 5:28–29;2 Tim 4:1; cf.
also Luke 10:12;11:31–32;Rom 2:5–11.
John Piper - This is the way Jesus saidthe hope of the resurrectionis
supposedto change our behavior. For example, he told us to invite to our
homes people who cannot pay us back in this life. How are we to be motivated
to do this? “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14).
This is a radical callfor us to look hard at out present lives to see if they are
shaped by the hope of the resurrection. Do we make decisions onthe basis of
gain in this world or gainin the next? Do we take risks for love’s sake that can
only be explained as wise if there is a resurrection? May God help us to
rededicate ourselves fora lifetime to letting the resurrectionhave its radical
effects. (Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ)
Righteous (1342)(dikaios from dike = right, just) defines that which is in
accordancewith high standards of rectitude and in this contextpertains to
being in accordance withwhat God requires. He requires righteousness and
provides it by grace through faith in Christ (cf verb form dikaioo translated
justified in Lk 18:14). In Matthew 13 Jesus describes the righteous as those
"who will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Mt 13:43).
MacArthur -The Lord had concluded His illustration with a reference to the
resurrectionand reward of the righteous. The scribes and Pharisees
understood that He was referring to eternallife, and challenging them to
humble themselves to receive it. Earning that resurrectionwas their supreme
hope. They believed that by enduring the minute prescriptions, deprivation,
self-sacrifice,and rituals of their religious systemthey would gain eternallife
in God’s kingdom. In all false religions the promise of a goodlife in the future
after death motivates people to put up with the restrictions and burdens
imposed on them in this life.
Who’s On My GuestList?

When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And
you will be blessed. —Luke 14:13-14
I love hosting festive dinners. Sometimes I’ll say: “Tonia, we haven’t had
anyone over for dinner in a while. Who do you think we should invite?” We
go through our proposedguest list and suggestfriends we have never invited
or have not invited in a while. And it seems like this list is normally comprised
of people who look and sound and live like we do, and who can reciprocate.
But if we were to ask Jesus whomwe should have over for dinner, He would
give us a totally different guestlist.
One day a prominent Pharisee invited Jesus into his home, probably for table
fellowship, but possibly to watch Him closelyso he could trap Him. While
there, Jesus healeda man and taught the host a significant lesson:When
making out your guest list for a dinner party, you should not be exclusive—
inviting friends, relatives, rich neighbors, and those who can pay you back.
Instead, you should be inclusive—inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame,
and the blind. Although such people would not be able to pay the host back,
Jesus assuredhim that he would be blessedand that God would rewardhim
(Luke 14:12-14).
Just as Jesus loves the less fortunate, He invites us to love them by opening up
our hearts and homes. By Marvin Williams (Our Daily Bread, Copyright
RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved)
The poor and needy everywhere
Are objects of God’s love and care,
But they will always know despair
Unless His love with them we share.
—D. De Haan
Opening our hearts and homes blesses bothus and others.

I'll PayYou Later
You shall be repaid at the resurrectionof the just. —Luke 14:14
Suppose a boss were to say to an employee, “We really appreciate what
you’re doing around here, but we’ve decided to change the waywe pay you.
Starting today, we’re going to pay you later—afteryou retire.” Would the
employee jump for joy? Of course not. That’s not the way things work in this
world. We like our payment now—orat leastevery payday.
Did you know that Godpromises to “pay” us later—much later? And He asks
us to be happy about it!
Jesus suggestedthat our ultimate reward for the goodthings we do in His
name comes after we die. In Luke 14, Jesus saidthat if we care for the poor,
the lame, and the blind, our reward for such kindness will come at the
resurrectionof the righteous (Luke 14:14). He also said that if we are
persecuted, we should “rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed [our]
reward is greatin heaven” (6:22-23). Surely, the Lord gives us comfort, love,
and guidance today, but what wonderful things He has planned for us in the
future!
This may not be the way we would have planned it; we don’t enjoy waiting for
things. But imagine how glorious it will be when we receive our rewards in
Jesus’presence. Whata grand time we’ll have as we enjoy what God has
reservedfor later. By Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC
Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved)
Beyond earth's sorrows,the joys of heaven,
Eternal blessings with Christ my Lord;
Earth's weeping ended, earth's trials over,
Sweetrestin Jesus, O blest reward! —Gilmore
What is done for Christ in this life will be rewarded in the life to come.

GuestList
When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And
you will be blessed. —Luke 14:13-14
Qumran was a first-century Jewishcommunity that had isolateditself from
outside influences to prepare for the arrival of the Messiah. Theytook great
care in devotional life, ceremonialwashings, and strict adherence to rules of
conduct. Surviving documents show that they would not allow the lame, the
blind, or the crippled into their communities. This was basedon their
conviction that anyone with a physical “blemish” was ceremoniallyunclean.
During their table fellowship, disabled people were never on their guestlists.
Ironically, at that same time the MessiahofIsraelwas at work in the cities
and villages of Judea and Galilee. Jesus proclaimedHis Father’s kingdom,
brought teaching and comfort, and workedmighty miracles. Strikingly, He
proclaimed: “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame,
the blind. And you will be blessed” (Luke 14:13-14).
The contrastbetweenJesus’words and the guestlist of the Qumran “spiritual
elite” is instructive to us. Often we like to fellowship with people who look,
think, and act like us. But our Lord exhorts us to be like Him and open our
doors to everyone. By Dennis Fisher (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC
Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved)
The gospelmust be sharedwith all,
Not just with those like you and me;
For God embraces everyone
Who turns to Him to setthem free. —Sper
The inclusive gospelcannotbe shared by an exclusive people. —George
Sweeting

BARCLAY
DISINTERESTED CHARITY(Luke 14:12-14)
14:12-14 Jesus saidto the man who had invited him, "Wheneveryou give a
dinner or a banquet, do not callyour friends, or your brothers, or your
kinsfolk or your rich neighbours, in case they invite you back againin return
and you receive a repayment. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the
maimed, the lame and the blind. Then you will be happy, because theycannot
repay you. You will receive your repayment at the resurrectionof the
righteous."
Here is a searching passage, becauseit demands that we should examine the
motives behind all our generosity.
(i) A man may give from a sense of duty.
He dropped a penny in the plate
And meekly raisedhis eyes,
Glad the week's rentwas duly paid
For mansions in the skies.
We may give to God and to man much in the same way as we pay our income
tax--as the satisfactionofa grim duty which we cannot escape.
(ii) A man may give purely from motives of self-interest. Consciouslyor
unconsciouslyhe may regard his giving as an investment. He may regard each
gift as an entry on the credit side of his accountin the ledgerof God. Such
giving, so far from being generosity, is rationalized selfishness.
(iii) A man may give in order to feel superior. Such giving can be a cruel
thing. It can hurt the recipient much more than a blunt refusal. When a man
gives like that he stands on his little eminence and looks down. He may even
with the gift throw in a short and smug lecture. It would be better not to give
at all than to give merely to gratify one's own vanity and one's owndesire for

power. The Rabbis had a saying that the best kind of giving was when the
giver did not know to whom he was giving, and when the receiverdid not
know from whom he was receiving.
(iv) A man may give because he cannothelp it. That is the only realway to
give. The law of the kingdom is this--that if a man gives to gain rewardhe will
receive no reward; but if a man gives with no thought of reward his rewardis
certain. The only real giving is that which is the uncontrollable outflow of
love. Once Dr Johnsoncynically described gratitude as "a lively sense of
favours to come." The same definition could equally apply to certain forms of
giving. God gave because he so loved the world--and so must we.
JIM BOMKAMP
Jesus teacheshere that insteadof inviting to luncheons or dinners friends,
brothers, relatives, rich people, etc., it would be a greaterblessing and wiser
to instead invite, ‘the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.’
4.7.1. It would be a greaterblessing to invite these ones because there is a
greatblessing that is always receivedin doing things for others when they
cannot reciprocate in return.
4.7.2. It would be wiser to do this because you will receive an eternal reward
in heaven for deeds such as this, and this reward will be receivedby the Lord
and never fade away.
4.8. Note that Jesus speakshere of rewards being handed out at
‘the resurrectionof the righteous.” There will be a resurrectionof both the

righteous as wellas the unrighteous, howeverthere will be a great difference
betweenthe two resurrections. The resurrectionof the righteous will result in
rewards being handed out to all, the resurrectionof the unrighteous will be a
resurrectionto eternal damnation.
GENE BROOKS
Luke 14:12-14 – Jesus applies the principle in a fascinating way. If his host
really cares about honor from God, he should invite the poor and powerless,
who can never repay him in this life (Prov. 19:17). Jesus uses the word for a
formal dinner party or reception, a striking word for socialoutcasts.[3]Eating
with someone oflower socialstatus couldjeopardize one’s own social
standing. But Jesus says Godis concernedfor the poor. He will exalt the
person who cares forthe helpless, rather than the powerful who canrepay
you for your kindness.
f. APPLICATION:Pride backfires and makes us selfish. We start playing
the childish game of who’s better than whom. We always end up losing. We
naturally tend to seek recognitionand esteemfrom others, but Jesus says that
those who seek self-glorificationwill ultimately find themselves humbled,
while those who put others first will be exalted. The highest calling of a
Christian is to look out for others first, encouraging them to be all that God
would have them to be.
DR. THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verses 12-14

The lessonabout inviting guests14:12-14
Jesus addressedthe former parable to His fellow guests, but He directed this
teaching particularly to His host. This lesson, like the former parable, could
have applied only to socialrelationships. However, Jesus"teaching was never
simply ethical. It always had a spiritual dimension (cf. Luke 6:32-36). Jesus
was teaching on both levels. If the Pharisees did not perceive or rejectedthe
lessonabout Jesus" ministry, they could at leastprofit from the ethical
instruction. In much of Jesus" teaching the alternatives were not really "do
not do this but do that" as much as "do not do as much of this as that." This
was common Semitic idiom, and it accounts forJesus" strong statements.
The principle that Jesus recommendedto His host for selecting guests is one
that God had used in inviting people to the messianic banquet. Inviting those
who could not repay the favor resulted in the greatergloryof earthly hosts as
well as the divine host. If earthly hosts behaved as the heavenly host, that
behavior would demonstrate true righteousness,and God would reward it.
Otherwise they would only receive a temporal reward from their guests. This
lessonvindicated Jesus" ministry to the "have nots" and explained why He
did not caterto the "haves" (cf. Luke 4:18; Luke 6:20-21). It also indirectly
appealedto the Pharisees to receive Jesus"invitation to believe on Him for
blessing.
"We cannot be certain that the ruler of Luke 14wasa silent believer like the
ones mentioned in John 12. Perhaps he was not, because he had invited Jesus
to dinner at the risk of criticism from his fellow Pharisees. But one thing we
do know is that he was a believer, for if he had not been, then a guarantee of
reward could not have been given to him.

"What a fortunate host this man was!In return for this dinner, he gets from
our Lord an invaluable lessonin Christian etiquette. If a believer uses his
hospitality to entertain people who have no way of repaying him for it, God
Himself becomes the Paymaster. And the resurrection of the just, which
includes of course the Judgment Seatof Christ, becomes the payday!
"When was the last time that you or I extended hospitality in such a way that
it would only be repaid to us in that future resurrection payday? Maybe we
should rethink our guestlists!" [Note:Zane C. Hodges, "Stopand Think! (
Luke 14:13-14), Rewardable Hospitality," The KERUGMA Message3:1
(Spring1993):3.]
BOB DEFFINBAUGH
Guidelines for the GuestList
(14:12-14)
12 Then Jesus saidto 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. 13 But when you give
a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be
blessed. Although they cannotrepay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrectionof the righteous.”
Our Lord’s words in verses 7-11 were directed towards the guests, who were
jockeying for position at the table. The host, however, had no need of doing
this, for his chair was guaranteed. He had the only reservedseat. But there is
much evil to be exposedon the part of the host, for those he invites are those
who promote his standing. The same spirit is seenin the host, but in a

different way, and thus Jesus deals with this, too. He is going to leave no one’s
sins unveiled.
It is not just where one sits at the table that gives one status, but also whom
one is sitting with at that table. I remember someone saying that status would
be to be sitting in the Oval Office with the President of the United States, to
have the red phone ring, and for the Presidentto hand it to you, saying, “It’s
for you.”
I do not know this as a fact, but it occurred to me as I studied this text that the
Jews ofthat day may not have been introduced to the “potluck dinner.” We
all know that a potluck dinner is one that everyone contributes to. It has
become a part of our culture, and very often when we invite someone to our
table for dinner they ask what they canbring. It would seemthat this thought
never occurredto the person of Jesus’day. If people ate “potluck” then there
would have been no need to reciprocate, but as it was, whenone person
invited another to dinner, they provided the entire meal, and the guestwould
reciprocate by doing likewise. This seems to be the backdropfor what Jesus is
saying in our text.
When planning a banquet, the temptation is to invite those who are most
likely to do us some goodin return. Thus, one thinks first of inviting family
members or rich friends, who will reciprocate in kind. We are tempted to give
in order to get. Jesus taught that this practice should not only be revised, but
reversed. In this world, men invite their friends and the rich, in order to gain
from their reciprocalinvitations and hospitality. In God’s economy, men are
gracious to the helpless and to those who cannot pay them back, so that when
the kingdom of God is establishedon the earth (at the resurrectionof the
righteous), God may reward them. Thus, Jesus advocatedinviting as “guests”
at our next banquet the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind (verse 13).
Doing so assures us of God’s blessings in heaven.
While the words of our Lord in verses 7-14 should be seriouslytakenand
applied in a literal way, let us take note of the fact that Jesus was speaking a
parable (verse 7, cf. v. 12). The parable and its principle is thus to be much
more broadly applied.

JOHN MACARTHUR
Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble
Sermons Luke 14:7–14 42-193 Sep25, 2005
Play Audio
Add to Playlist
A + A - Reset
This morning we continue in our study of Luke's gospel. We come to chapter
14 and verses 7-14. Luke 14:7-14. Some of you will remember some years
back a very famous incident with a religious cult leaderby the name of Jim
Jones. It's become pretty much legendary. Jim Jones led his followers down
to a South American country known as Guyana and there he managed to
convince them to all drink Kool-Aid lacedwith cyanide and hundreds of
people committed suicide in a mass demonstration of how effective a leader
Jim Jones was.
What happened that day in Guyana when all of those people, men, women,
and children, committed suicide and believed that they were following Jim
Jones into heaven was really a parable. It was really a metaphor, really a
picture. In fact, it was a very dramatic and unforgettable picture of what all
false leaders do to their followers. The real tragedyof Jonestownwas not that
all those people died physically. The real tragedywas that they died eternally.
The real tragedywas not that their bodies were left in a South American
jungle. The realtragedy was their souls will spend eternity in eternal hell;
everlasting punishment. But Jim Jones is no solitarymonster by the way. He

is no solitaryfigure, though there have been I suppose few who have been so
dramatic in the way they have led their followers to physical death. All false
teachers, in effect, do the same thing spiritually.
The greattragedy of false leaders is that they leadpeople into hell. And like
so many in the history of the world who follow false teachers, the Jews trusted
their religious leaders. Theytrusted their religious leaders with their lives as
people do today. All across the planet and always since there has been
religion people have put their souls in the hands of their trusted religious
leaders who like Jim Jones leadthem down the path to eternal destruction.
And the leaders of the Jews were no different. The people expectedto follow
their leaders into heavenand instead, they followedtheir leaders into hell.
That is standard for people in a religion. They trust their leaders. They
expectthat their leaders know the path to life, that they know the way to
heaven. But the horrible reality is people follow their religious leaders away
from God forever. There is only one way to heaven and that is through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the Savior and the true gospelis the only
way to enter heaven.
The leaders of Israel, as they had done throughout the Old Testament, led
their people into judgment. And they were doing it again during the ministry
of Jesus Christ. Chapter13 ends "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills
the prophets and stones those sentto her." You have always done it this way.
"How often I wanted to gather your children togetherjust as a hen gathers
her brood under her wings and you would not have it. Behold your house is
left to you, desolate."
This is their history. Kill the prophets that are sent from God with the truth.
Stone the messengersthat come from heaven with the messageofsalvation.
They will take this all the way to the point where they will kill the Son of God,
the MessiahHimself. And the people will do it under the leadership of their
trusted religious leaders. This is nothing new. This is the way it always is.
People follow their false leaders into deceptionand lies and destruction.
Now as we have been working our waythrough the gospelof Luke, we have
come to understand that the leaders of the people during the time of our Lord

were a group called the Pharisees. And though there were only 6,000 ofthem,
they were the influencers. “Pharisee” comesfrom a word that means
separated. As we saw lasttime, they found their prominence before Christ.
They found it in a period betweenthe Old and the New Testamentcalledthe
inter-testamental period. They rose to prominence in that time when Greek
culture was having tremendous inroads into Israeland into the thinking of the
Jewishpeople and they wanted to pull the people back from the influences of
paganculture. They were the fundamentalists.
They are a kind of a branch of the Hasidim, the pious ones. They opposedthe
encroaching influence of Greek and Roman culture, especiallyunder
Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek ruler who did such horrific things in Israel.
Their archrivals in Jewishsocietywere a group calledthe Sadducees. They
were wealthy, the Sadducees were. Theywere aristocratic. Theywere priests
and Levites at the top of the sortof socialfoodchain. While the Pharisees
were middle class andthey were lay people, but they had the influence with
the people and even though they knew their movement needed to reach the
people, they treated the people with a greatmeasure of contempt, as we read
in John 7:49.
They viewed the people in a condescending fashionas contemptuous and
ignorant and beneath them. But at the same time, they felt the responsibility
to the law of God to protect the people from the encroaching influences of
paganidolatry. It was 70 A.D., after our Lord had gone back to heavenand
three decades lateror so when the temple was destroyed. With the
destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. and the destruction of the city, the
Sadducees disappearedfrom history, because they basicallywere
concentratedin the temple. They were concentratedin the leadership of the
nation and when the temple was destroyedand Jerusalemwas destroyedit
was the end for them. That left one other somewhatwell-knowngroup called
the Zealots. Theywere the terrorists. They went around stabbing Romans as
we know.
They had a revolt in the year 135 A.D., and it was calledthe Bar Kokhba
revolt. It was crushed and the Zealots were eliminated. The Phariseesthen,
in the secondcentury, became the dominant Jewishleadership. The dominant

Jesus was for the poor and handicapped

Jesus was for the poor and handicapped

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Jesus was for the poor and handicapped

Similar to Jesus was for the poor and handicapped (20)

More from GLENN PEASE

More from GLENN PEASE (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Jesus was for the poor and handicapped