Bible Commentary Forever คำอธิบายความเข้าใจในพระคัมภีร์ไทยสำหรับชีวิต

Luke 14

Summary. In this chapter, the Lord gives guidelines on being a good Christian through teachings and by many parables. Each parable emphasizes certain things, but all parables have one thing in common, the guideline of being a true follower of the beloved Son of God on earth. Luke 14:1-6. Healing of a man with dropsy on a Sabbath. This passage of Scripture teaches us that we all should do good work to one another, and this healing is a good work that the Lord has shown as an example; He healed a man without charge. Luke 14:7-11. The parable of being humble. The Lord teaches us to look inside of our hearts and see if we are humble or not. The reward of a humble heart is not only on this earth, but the Lord Himself will also rejoice and will reward us as well. Luke 14:12-24. The parable of the great supper. The great supper of the Lord is the time when the Lord will be with His guests, and He will join dinner together with all His guests. The guests are continually invited throughout the supper time; the supper time is the time from the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus until His second coming on the earth. Luke 14:25-35. The teaching of being Jesus’ disciple. In this portion of Scripture, the Lord teaches us who is our true family, bear our own cross, do not bring shame to the name of the Lord, reliance on the Lord, spiritual warfare, and be salt and light for the Lord in this world.
[1] And it came to pass, on His going into the house of a certain one of the chiefs of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat food, and they were closely watching Him.
Comments Luke 14:1 For this verse, we will concentrate on the last portion. The Lord is in their place, but all of them are watching Him with criticizing eyes, expecting the Lord will make a mistake in something; this is the beginning of many things that will happen in this chapter.
As we had commented before, the Lord will not go there unless He has been invited (see verse 12). And in this place, with the ruler of their people, the Lord must have been invited; it is not commonplace for people to go in.
[2] And behold, there was in front of Him a certain man with dropsy.
Comments Luke 14:2 This person's belly was full of liquid; we can still see this sickness in these times. In this condition, the body will draw in and store the extra fluid in the belly portion, and the belly will grow huge, sometimes to the point of cracking the skin open, and a person could die from this sickness. We can conclude that this person with this sickness will always go where people are gathering, begging for mercy from everyone. At this time, we can say that this person has been in front of the beloved Son of God and met Him by the Lord's mercy.
[3] And Jesus responding asked the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?
Comments Luke 14:3 When the Lord has asked them, “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath,” He wanted to link their minds back to what the day is today; it is the Lord’s day, and every heart should be filled with mercy and willing to help each other. Therefore, the Lord has prepared them for what will happen.
[4] But they were silent. And having taken hold, He healed and dismissed him.
Comments Luke 14:4 “But they were silent.” Give attention to the word silent; the word of the Lord has started to work in them and made them all think before answering out. We can apply this for ourselves as well, do not let the words come out of your mouth before thinking, not with the head only but with the heart as well.
“And having taken hold, He healed and dismissed him.” As the verse has told, the Lord has healed him and dismissed him; today is the Sabbath day, all should do good work to one another, and this is a good work that the Lord has shown as an example, He healed a man without charge. Then, after healing, the Lord dismissed him without telling him what he needed to pay for, but the healing the man received will work in his own heart and make him glorify the Lord.
People at that time and people nowadays did not think as well what the Lord has done here; the miracle is not just for that time but for us nowadays as well to believe and do not stumble as they did. Remember who created this body for humans, and here for this man, the Lord made his body absorb all the liquid back in itself, but the doctors nowadays will not be able to do that.
[5] And He said to them, Of which of you a son or a cow will fall into a pit, and he will not immediately draw him up on the Sabbath day?
[6] And they were not able to answer against these.
Comments Luke 14:5-6 The Lord used this opportunity and gave them a comparison to think about, but they could not answer. So, the Lord wants all of them to start thinking about this comparison to help them not stumble. You are against the Lord doing good to someone on a Sabbath day, but if it is about your own possessions, you will care for your own regardless of what day it is. The mercy of God has been shown here to all His people by the beloved Son’s question.
[7] Moreover, He spoke a parable to those who were invited, noticing how they chose out reclining first, saying to them,
Comments Luke 14:7 In this verse, the beloved Son of God wants to draw attention to all humans; notice the low seat first. But we as humans all think that we are somebody; everyone wants to be recognized; the most honorable seat is the place everyone wants to be part of.
Here the Lord did not want anyone to recognize Him or lift Him because it was not yet the time for Him. Instead, the Lord only wants every heart there to recognize what they are deep inside of them, lifting themselves above all.
[8] Whenever you are invited of anyone to a wedding-ceremony, recline not in the first place; lest at that time, a more honorable than you be invited by him,
Comments Luke 14:8 In this verse, the beloved Son of God wants everyone who reads to think, not just lift themselves towards each other but be humble to all, the humbleness of the human heart will win the high place, not just the place of this earth but of the world to come as well.
[9] and he having invited you and him will say to you, Give this one the place; and then you will begin with shame to take the last place.
Comments Luke 14:9 In this verse, the Lord gives the easy comparison for all humans to realize; if you want to be important among humans, also do not lift yourself up; instead, always do things expecting for reward for the world to come; you may not see the results now, but deep inside your heart, you will find the peace of God there.
[10] But whenever you are invited, having gone, recline into the last place; in order that when the one, having invited you, comes, he will say to you, Friend, come up higher; then you will have glory before all those reclining with you.
Comments Luke 14:10 In this place, the Lord has told a straightforward story of the reward of the humble heart. You can see the reward yourself, not just you alone that see, all the people around you also will notice the lifting up. You will be lifted up not just on this earth alone, but in the world to come the Lord Himself will also rejoice to see your humble heart, and He will put you above, higher; that is the reward of the humbleness of heart; this is an example everyone should meditate. This is a comparison; you have been called “friend,” which is why we can link it to the world to come. In the world to come, we, the true believers, become children of the God Most High, and “friend” will be the proper word to use.
[11] For all that exalt themselves will be humbled, and the one that humbles himself will be exalted.
[12] And He said to him also who had invited Him, Whenever you make a dinner or a supper, call not your friends, nor your fellows, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest ever they also should invite you again, and repayment be made to you.
Comments Luke 14:12 We can see clearly in this verse, you have invited the Lord into your life, and He is with you in all you are doing; this is the benefit for your soul, opposite than the world. When you make a big feast for your friends, all those that you invite, as the word tells, they can invite you back, and what you have done for them has been repaid, nothing you will receive further on. Unlike when you invite the Lord into your life and when He is in your heart, the reward is also in a spiritual way; the peace that humans are seeking for only the Lord can give it to you.
[13] But when you make a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
Comments Luke 14:13 This verse has clearly told what type of people to invite, unwanted people for the feast, and these people cannot repay you. Therefore, the one that will invite these types of people, by his action alone, tells all readers what he is like; a person that has a compassionate heart, this is the type that will invite these unwanted people. But remember as well, these people at the lowest positions are in the heart of the Lord, and when you invite them, you have invited the Lord as well; that is what is considered here.
[14] and you will be blessed because they have nothing to repay you; for you will be recompensed in the resurrection of the righteous.
Comments Luke 14:13-14 “blessed … recompensed in the resurrection of the righteous.” Remember now where the righteous will be; all the righteous will be with the Lord at the resurrection. And when the verse tells, you will be with the righteous; you are with the Lord as well.
[15] Moreover, having heard these, one of them reclining said to Him, Blessed who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
Comments Luke 14:15 Pay attention, one of them that reclined at the table with Him; this person has been blessed already to sit with the Lord. But even by the verse, we can tell, the heart of this person is not yet as the Lord has taught; he is still thinking of the position he has, as he is already eating bread in the kingdom of God. He has lifted himself which is against the Lord’s teaching; to be blessed you must humble yourself down and let someone else lift you up, but not that you lift yourself up.
This verse here shows a simple way of human thinking; because you think you will get the place, you consider yourself blessed; that is what the verse has told. But he is the one that said to the Lord, not the Lord has said to him you are blessed to sit there. The Lord is the one that decides who is blessed in the kingdom of God.
[16] Moreover He said to him, A certain one made a great dinner, and invited many,
Comments Luke 14:16 For verses 16 to 24, see also Comments Matthew 22:2-14.
Q: What can we say about the similarities between these two parables in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew?
A: These parables may have similarities, but they are not the same parables. All readers could tell the difference of the story plot; the Lord has told them separately. So, they have some similarities but are not the same; it depends on the readers’ hearts when they read; if the readers’ hearts try to match the stories, they will say both are the same story, but these parables tell different stories to have different purposes.
Q: What is the difference between the dinner time as presented here in this parable in the Gospel of Luke and the marriage feast as presented in the Gospel of Matthew?
A: The dinner time is a time before the marriage feast; the marriage feast itself will happen after the dinner time has ended. Some guests have been invited specifically for the marriage feast, that is, long before the beloved Son of God was born on earth, those are considered the guests of the old-time which will come at the marriage feast.
“a certain one.” This is one of Jesus’ characters that He uses to teach the disciples, and it represents the Lord. “a great dinner.” This is the time the Lord will be with His guests; as the Lord has joined dinner together with all the guests, this is the great dinner of the Lord. Note that this great dinner mentioned here in the Gospel of Luke is a different event than the marriage feast mentioned in Matthew 22:2. This great dinner event will take place before the marriage feast event, and both these events will take place at a future time when the Lord returns on earth.
“invited many.” These are the Lord’s list of guests to join Him at the dinner table. He invited many of them because He wants to spend time with them.
[17] and he sent his servant at dinner time to say to those who had been invited, Come, for is even now prepared.
Comments Luke 14:16-17 These verses are the introduction of the parable; the Lord lays out for the following things He teaches. The characters the Lord uses here so far are “a certain one,” “his servant,” and the “invited many.”
The Lord invites many throughout the time, and now at this particular moment in time when the dinner is prepared at the Lord’s return, “he sent his servant.” “His servant” in this place includes all angels and humans that work for the Lord, even those humans that work without position, but the Lord has called them to be servants. These servants can feel their heart calling differently because they will tell about the Lord and prepare all those invited to be ready to come to the great dinner. When “the servant” will be called to do the work, they will announce to all that are invited, if you are ready, come for the great dinner of the Lord is prepared.
“at dinner time.” Even now is considered dinner time. Dinner time is a length of time beyond the human mind can think because the Lord gives everyone the opportunity to be ready for His dinner. Dinner time is the time from the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus until His second coming on the earth.
[18] And all with one consent began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I have need to go forth and see it; I beg you have me excused.
[19] And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to prove them; I beg you have me excused.
[20] And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
Comments Luke 14:18-20 The Lord gives all these examples for the reader to think about. When the Lord has called you in your heart, and you get the excuse not to do what the Lord has told you, like all these people who have been invited, they all have excuses why they cannot come. Are you like them or not? Think of this as well. These are examples of earthly reasons people have for not following the Lord’s call. We can see they all have excuses; all their excuses relate to what they want, but they have mixed up their call with the duty they believe they have. When the Lord has invited anyone, only those that leave everything and follow that call right away will have a seat at the table with the Lord.
[21] And the servant having come reported to his master these. At that time, the head of the household, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the public square and streets of the city, and bring in here the destitute and crippled and blind and lame.
Comments Luke 14:21 When those invited reject the invitation, the Lord will take all the rest of the leftover people who did not follow the call yet but will be ready at a different time, and the Lord will send His servants to call them again, come now this is the last chance to enter. This verse has told everyone, the Lord is angry, but by His mercy, the Lord still tells His servant to go out quickly and bring all those that He called to come to Him before the door of mercy is shut, and the last chance for all those leftover will end. Right now, at this time, there is still room, but His servant is going now out to gather all those unwanted to fill up the place, but when all those have come in, the time of calling will be over. These unwanted people have a special place in the Lord’s heart; He is calling them even now. Because of their physical condition and situation, these rejected the call; humans have this feeling of not being worthy enough. These unwanted ones, the Lord does not look at the physical, but at heart, and their heart is worthy to enter. These have given their heart to the Lord; deep from their soul, they have called out to the Lord, they may not be important people, but they are important for the Lord because of their heart.
“and bring in here the destitute and crippled and blind and lame.” Bring them as they are, dirty, unwanted, but the Lord wants them. That is why the Lord has sent His angels to bring them in. Not only the humans that are servants, to bring the unwanted people, but the Lord also sends His angels to work, because this time the angels will deal with the problem of the heart that they have as people have rejected them. The human servants go out and tell about the mercy of God, but their hearts of the unwanted ones will lead them in hiding. So, the Lord by His mercy will send His angels to talk in their hearts that the mercy of God is for them as well, not only for those that are well off on this earth; only the angels can talk to their hearts (see Hebrews 1:14), the human servants speak to the ear.
[22] And the servant said, Sir, as you did command it has been done, and even now is room.
Comments Luke 14:22 This verse talks about the angels as servants of the Lord. When these angels see some available place, they will go and report to the Lord; there is still more room available to put someone in; that is the meaning of this verse. All these invited guests are not only the nation of Israel but all those that come to the Lord with their hearts; the Lord looks at the heart, not the nation. The Lord chooses them because of the heart, not because of who they are. As a gentile, you must accept that you are not His people, but He has adopted you, and you all have the same privileges as His elect ones from the beginning.
[23] And the master said to the servant, Go forth into the roads and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
Comments Luke 14:23 When the place is not filled yet, the Lord will go everywhere and invite them all to come because He has already prepared the banquet; regardless of whom they are, the Lord will invite them.
"Go forth into the roads and hedges." Because now the majority have been invited, "roads" are the people that once have known the Lord but because of troubles of life have felt discouraged and distrust in the Lord and go wandering around without purpose; and "the hedges" refers to those people that have no aim for the leftover life and go around people that they think are important and are begging for mercy to take them in.
[24] For I say to you that none of those men who have been invited will taste of my dinner.
Comments Luke 14:24 The Lord will invite all to fill up His guest room when the time has come. But those invited before, even if they have changed their mind and want to come, the Lord will reject them; there is no repentance at this moment; the time of repentance has ended. The invited ones are not only His own people, the Jews, but also those that have a heart for the Lord and put all their trust upon Him and do not have any doubt about His mercy.
The conclusion of the parable the Lord has given is, when the Lord has sent all the servants to invite all the guests to His kingdom, the guests that have ignored the invitation will make room for the ones that stay out and are not important in the world, but the Lord will invite these to replace those that have ignored the invitation, and when He has done that, those that ignored the invitation will have no chance for repentance because the Lord will not retake them, that why we said no repentance in this point of time.
[25] Then were going with Him great multitudes, and having turned He said to them,
[26] If anyone comes to Me and loves less not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he is not able to be My disciple.
Comments Luke 14:26 In this verse, we concentrate on the word “love less,” the Lord did not mean dislike, but means do not entangle yourself with deep heart feeling towards these, because all these relationships do not exist anymore in the kingdom of God. When you go there, the parents on this earth are not your parents in the kingdom of God, because at that time you will have only one father and mother, which is the God Almighty Himself; and the rest also, the same way, your wife, children, brothers, and sisters will be those that glorify the Lord with you in that time, those will be your true family.
About your own life, the Lord wants us not to concentrate on what we have or think we may have on this earth; all these will be left behind when you are there. In the kingdom of heaven, you will have treasures of your own from the Lord, and those are the things that you will treasure when you are with the Lord; but those things are not as objects but happiness in glorifying the Father, that all we should think about, the true treasures you will have. Husband and wife in Christian life also will be closer than brother or sister in the kingdom of God, as the Lord has told, He put two to be one, they will join not just body, but in the spiritual world as well. When both go up to the kingdom of God, both will glorify the Lord together as one, no difference in feeling, one means one, nothing in between, when they glorify the Lord.
For verses 26 and 27 see also Comments Matthew 10:37-39.
[27] Whoever does not carry his own cross, and comes after Me, is not able to be My disciple.
Comments Luke 14:27 As the verse says, everyone has problems; carry those problems with you, but not in you; you must give them all to the Lord. But you still have them on your shoulders as the verse has told, carrying your own cross; you carry your problems with you, but you don’t feel unrest from those problems because you have already given them to the Lord, and you know you have given them to the Lord; that knowledge will be the cross for you. When you have given the problems to the Lord, you have already become His disciple. Because we are humans, even we give them to the Lord, but we still carry them on our shoulders (we can’t forget them).
[28] For which of you, willing to build a tower, does not first sit down and counts the expense, whether he has enough for completion?
Comments Luke 14:28 For anyone who reads this verse, think twice before your mouth, telling people, makes the commitment to follow the Lord, that you can keep all commandments that the Lord has given you. Read the Holy Word and meditate on the teachings of the Lord and ask yourself can you follow all things? Which is the commandment that you have the most difficulty with? Meditate on it and pray and bring that to be your need each time; as the Bible has told, if you fall for one commandment, the rest of the commandments you follow do not help you succeed.
[29] Lest ever, when he having laid its foundation, and not having strength to finish, all who behold begin to ridicule him,
[30] saying, This man began to build and had no strength to bring to completion.
Comments Luke 14:29-30 When you have announced to people that you follow the Lord and your walk is not according to His teachings, the people you have told will think again, you have said you believe but did not act accordingly, and people will think, “what sort of God you serve.” So, this verse tells clearly you make the name of the Lord to be shameful because you announced you follow Him, but you do not do according to His teachings.
[31] Or what king, as he goes to engage another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Comments Luke 14:31 The verse teaches all true believers that when you go out in the world, the first thing to do is pray and ask guidance from the Lord, as all believers will have adversaries outside surrounding them. We all should think about counseling with the beloved Son of God through the Holy Spirit’s help, and then we will be able to encounter many attacks that come on our way. This verse does not relate to the Holy Spirit baptism; this is just a straightforward prayer to the beloved Son of God by the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide you on what you should say and what you should ask to be able to fight against all attacks. The beloved Son of God will help you, but also, He likes you to encounter with the Holy Spirit’s work because that time (during the attacks), God of Three will be there in helping all believers.
[32] And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, having sent an embassy, he requests for peace.
Comments Luke 14:32 As the verse tells, an embassy in this place is not someone going begging for mercy. But, instead, the Holy Spirit will go ahead and convince the hearts of those adversaries to stop and think about how they are going to fight against someone under the protection of God Almighty, or make a choice and turn back and keep the peace.
[33] So, therefore, every one of you that renounces not all that he possesses is not able to be My disciple.
Comments Luke 14:33 When it tells you to renounce all that you possess, this verse does not mean that you have to give up everything in your life. But in this place, the Lord wants to let all readers know not to be attached to any treasure on this earth; the life here on earth is short, and you cannot take any earthly treasures with you after death. But to be His disciple, read the Holy Word, meditate, and follow the teachings, and that will be the real treasure for you in the world to come when you will be there and have eternal life with the Lord.
[34] Salt, therefore, is good; however, if also the salt becomes tasteless, in what will it be seasoned?
Comments Luke 14:34 As the verse tells, to be salt of the earth is good, but to be salt, the quality of salt is not just the taste but the usefulness of the salt itself. When the salt itself loses its taste, it will have no use for anything; therefore, having faith and maintaining meditation on the Word and practicing the teachings of the Lord will make the salt hold its savor. But also, in this place itself, the Lord wants all Christians to be as light for the world, and when they that do not know the Lord come to have any contact with you, they will notice the quality of the true salt in you.
See also Comments Matthew 5:13 and Comments Mark 9:50.
[35] It is fit neither for the soil nor for manure; they cast it out. The one having ears to hear, let him hear.
Comments Luke 14:35 As the verse tells, when you lose the value of Christianity in you, your soul itself has lost its value and is not fit for the world to come; the soul as the voice of worshiping the Lord, when it lost the value, that voice will not be heard as it has no voice to praise the Lord, that is the meaning of “they cast it out.” Therefore, all that read this verse should think and meditate on all the teachings of the Lord because only that way will you lift your value up in the eyes of humans and the eyes of the Lord Himself.
Life and Faith Applications. 1) Do good to one another in the name of the Lord, regardless of the day, Sabbath day or not. 2) Practice being humble when you are in public places. 3) When you give a meal or a banquet, invite those in need as well. 4) Do not entangle your heart with earthly possessions or your earthly family. 5) Be the light and salt for the Lord in this world, and do not let the name of the Lord be put to shame.