Sermon #105 Luke Sermons
Title: Living For Eternity
Text: Luke
14:12-15
Subject: Eternity
Date: Sunday
Evening—
Tape # X-82a
Introduction:
My text will be Luke 14:12-15. Before we look at the text itself,
let me remind you of the background.
It is Saturday evening, the Jewish Sabbath, and the Lord Jesus has
been invited to dinner by one of the leaders among the Pharisees (14:1), the
most zealous of the zealous law-keepers among the Jews. There is no indication
that I know of that our Savior was ever invited back a second time to a
Pharisee's house. And it is not hard to see why.
It seems like every time he opened his mouth, he undressed
someone's hypocrisy. There never was another man whose words were so
penetrating and so exposing. When our Lord spoke, he opened and exposed the
hearts of men.
(Heb
4:12-13) "For the word of God is
quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. {13} Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his
sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with
whom we have to do."
When our Lord spoke, he spoke as one having authority, divine,
penetrating, omniscient authority. The Pharisees once reported of him, “Never
man spake like this man” (John
It seems that every time our Lord spoke in a crowd, large or
small, there was a division because of his words. Those who are "of the
truth" listen and obey. He tells us, "My sheep hear my voice
and I know them and they follow me" (John
The Healing
The first thing our Lord did at this Saturday dinner was heal a
man of dropsy. He asked the law-experts and Pharisees if they thought healing
on the Sabbath was lawful. They did not answer, but their silence clearly
meant, No it is not lawful.
Back in Luke 13:14 the synagogue ruler had
said, “with
indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto
the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore
come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.”
Our Lord responds to their silence here the same way he responded to that.
(Luke
14:5) "And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit,
and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?"
Again, no
answer.
Hypocrisy
Undressed
The Master leaves it for them and us to draw the inference. It is
unmistakable.—Religionists, legalists, and self-righteous Pharisees have a keen
interest in their own welfare. When the things of God seem to stand between
them and their personal interests, they have no difficulty bending the Word of
God and the things of God to accommodate their interests. The preservation of
their own interests is clearly more important than the will of God the Word of
God, and the worship of God.
But when it comes to another person's need, whose illness, pain,
or loss is no skin off their noses, they become conveniently rigid their
hardness, that is to say, in their spirituality! The meanest, most wicked,
hard-hearted people in this world are religious people who have no idea who God
is, “whose god is their belly!” Our Lord held such men in utter
contempt; and I do, too. The first lesson for us to learn from this event in
the earthly life of our Lord is this:—Religion without Christ makes men
and women twofold more the children of hell than they were before.
The first thing our Lord did at this dinner party was heal that
poor man with the dropsy, exposing the hard-heartedness of his religious host.
He publicly undressed the man’s hypocrisy. Not the most ingratiating thing to
do to your host, but certainly the most gracious.
Pride Undressed
Then, the second thing did must have been even more shocking. Our
Master publicly undressed the pride of the dinner guests, right there in front
of everybody. He has been sitting there watching them come in.
And what does He look for? How they are dressed? Where they are
from? What are their jobs? No. He looks for what they love. The
keen eye of omniscience knows where our treasure is. Sooner or later, he will
expose it. Where our treasure is there our hearts are, So
the Lord watches and sees what the treasure of these religious men is. Here it
is—they love the praise of men. They love to be esteemed for occupying the
seats of honor. He watches as they move in and out of conversations, weaving
their way, unnoticed by other
What does the Son of God think of this love of honor and esteem,
this love of distinction? Turn back to Luke 11:43, and see.
(Luke
11:43) "Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and
greetings in the markets."
(Luke
20:46-47) "Beware of the scribes,
which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the
highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; (47) Which
devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive
greater damnation."
Two things go hand in hand with loving the place of honor:
exploitation of the weak and condemnation of those deemed less honorable. If
crave the praise of men and a widow's house stands in your way, you will devour
it without a thought. But in the end your own house will collapse in the flood
of God's judgment. If we pursue the seat of honor on earth, there will be no
seat for us in among the redeemed in glory (Luke
(Luke
14:11) "For whosoever exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
(Mat
5:3) "Blessed are the poor
in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
(Mat
5:5) "Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth."
(Mat
5:7) "Blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."
(Mat
18:3) "And said, Verily I say unto
you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Motive Undressed
You might think the Lord has ruffled enough feathers for one
evening. He had publicly undressed the hypocrisy of the legalists and their
pride. Our Lord knew how to spoil a dinner party. But he is not done. Up to
this point, he has been talking in general to the guests at the party. Now he
turns (vv. 12-14) to address the host. Here, he undresses the man’s motive, the
motive of his heart, before all his guests.
(Luke
14:12-14) "Then said he also to him
that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor
thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they
also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. (13) But when thou
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: (14) And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee:
for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
What an unusual way of thinking! What strange reasoning! The Lord
says, “When you have a lavish dinner party, don’t invite your relatives,
friends, and rich neighbors, who can repay you, but those from whom you can
expect no gain or advantage of any kind.”
Our Lord could not have been more coarsely blunt if he had put his
finger right in this proud Pharisee’s face. He said, “You, sir, hope to go to
heaven because of your goodness, and there’s no goodness in you. You are
motivated, in all your displays of goodness, by your own, personal interest.
Everything you pretend to do for others, you really do for yourself. And that
shall be your eternal ruin.”
Who on earth would talk like that? Probably someone whose Kingdom
is not of this world (John 18:36); someone who knows that 1000 years on this
earth are like yesterday when it is gone (Psalm 90:4); someone who knows that
our life is but a vapor that appears and in a moment vanishes away (James
4:14); who knows that he who saves his life now will lose it and he who loses
it now in love will save it (Mark 8:35); and who knows that there the
resurrection, the day of judgment, and eternity are real. That Someone is the Son of God, our Savior. No man ever spoke
like this man.
Lessons Intended
But why did our Lord speak as he did at this dinner party? Why did
he do the things he did? Was it merely to show up these men? Was it simply to
expose their condemnation? Was it just to publicly
humiliate them? Of course not! Our Master’s purpose in his behavior and in his
speech, here and always, was to teach and instruct us in very important
spiritual things, to set forth the, gospel of God’s free grace in him. Let me
show you some of the obvious lessons our Lord would have us learn from this
passage.
I. The first thing to be
learned from our Master here is the fact that the Son of God came into this world to seek, serve, and save poor,
needy sinners from whom he could never receive any recompense.
Be sure you do not
misunderstand me. There is no doubt that our Lord teaches us, indeed the grace
of God experienced in the heart teaches us as well as the whole of Holy
Scripture, that we ought always to care for the poor and needy among us,
particularly for those who are numbered among the saints. “The poor shall
never cease out of the land” (Deut.
(1
John 3:14-17) "We know that we have
passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his
brother abideth in death. (15) Whosoever hateth his brother is a
murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
(16) Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his
life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
(17) But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of
God in him?"
As we ought to care for the
poor, so too, we ought to give particular care and attention to our
weaker brethren. Bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of
Christ (Gal.
But out Lord is not teaching
this Pharisee a lesson in moral uprightness. His aim is much higher. Like the man described in
verse 2, who had the dropsy, you and I are poor, helpless, perishing sinners.
We could do nothing for ourselves. We could not help ourselves. And no one else
could help us, if they were so inclined. When the Lord first begins his work of
grace in us, it is not because we want him, or have come to him, or have prayed
for help. Not at all! This man apparently expected nothing from the Lord Jesus.
There is no indication that he even looked at him. But the Master took up the
rich Pharisee’s invitation to dinner because that poor man with the dropsy was
there for whom the time of mercy had come.
·
A Certain Man
·
In A Certain Place
·
At A Certain Time
·
For a Certain Purpose
II. The second thing that is obvious here is the fact that in order to save such poor, needy sinners as we are, the Son of God took the lowest place among men.
Again, humility is a gift of grace. The grace of God humbles men. But our Lord is not teaching this crowd to make themselves humble, that they might be exalted and recompensed in the Day of Judgment. Indeed, such self-serving humility is not humility at all, but a mere show of humility. Our Lord is describing true humility, his own (Phil. 2:1-11). His humility is exemplary. We ought to be of the same mind. But he is the pattern. His humility was voluntary. He humbled himself unto the very lowest, not that he might be exalted, but for the love he has to us and to the glory of God. For that, he has been exalted and shall be recompensed in the Day of Judgment.
(2
Cor 8:9) "For ye know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
(Phil
2:1-11) "If there be therefore
any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, (2) Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be
likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
(3) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. (4) Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
(5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
(9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Isa
45:20-25) "Assemble yourselves and
come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have
no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that
cannot save. (21) Tell ye, and bring them
near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from
ancient time? who hath told it from that
time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a
Saviour; there is none beside me. (22) Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none
else. (23) I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in
righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me
every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (24) Surely, shall one
say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him
shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
(25) In the LORD shall all the seed of
(Isa
53:9-12) "And he made his grave
with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;
because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
(10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to
grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in
his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall
be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities. (12) Therefore
will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he
was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors."
III. The third thing our Redeemer
teaches us here is that there
shall be a Resurrection Day and a Judgment Day.
Everything our Savior did in
this world he did with eternity before his eyes. He lived in the constant
awareness of eternity. Oh, may God give us grace to do the same!
(2
Cor
(2
Cor 5:1) "For we know that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of
God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens."
A. You and I are immortal
souls.
B. We are all dying creatures,
moving rapidly to the grave.
C. There shall be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust, a resurrection of
life and a resurrection of damnation.
(John
5:28-29) "Marvel not at this: for
the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice, (29) And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation."
D. There shall be a Day of
Judgment, at which we shall all be recompensed for all that we have done
forever.
(Acts
(Rev
20:11-15) "And I saw a great white
throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away; and there was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book
was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of
those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (13)
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged
every man according to their works. (14) And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
·
The Judge shall be that Man who was crucified at
·
The basis of judgment shall be the record in heaven, the books of God’s
remembrance, and another book called, “the Book of Life.”
·
All shall perish, all shall be forever damned, whose names are not
found written in the Book of Life.
o —Just Recompense!
o —Exact Recompense!
o —Eternal Recompense!
Let us learn to live every day in the immediate prospect of the last great day, when the dead shall be raised to meet God in judgment. There shall be a resurrection after death. Let this never be forgotten. The life that we live here in the flesh is not all. The death of these bodies is not the end of our existence. The visible world around us is not the only world with which we have to do. All is not over when the last breath is drawn, and men and women are carried to their long home in the grave.
The trumpet shall one day sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible. All that are in the graves
shall hear Christ’s voice and come forth: they that have done good to the
resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of
damnation.
Let us live like men and women who believe in a
resurrection and a life to come, and desire to be always ready for another
world.—So living, we shall look forward to death with calmness.—So living, we
shall take patiently all that we have to bear in this world. Trials, losses,
disappointments, ingratitude, will affect us little. We shall not look for our
reward here. We shall feel that all will be rectified one day,
and that the Judge of all the earth will do right (Gen. 18:25).
But how can we bear the thought of a resurrection?
What shall enable us to look forward to death, the resurrection, the judgment,
and eternity without alarm? Faith in Christ! Believing him, we have nothing to
fear. Our sins will not appear against us. The demands of God’s law will be
found completely satisfied. We shall stand firm in the great day, and none
shall lay anything to our charge (Rom.
·
All whose names are written in the Book of Life, all who stand before God
in Christ, washed in his blood, robed in his righteousness, shall be forever blessed.
o —Just Recompense!
o —Exact Recompense!
o —Eternal Recompense!
(Jer
23:6) "In his days
(Jer
33:16) "In those days shall
(Jer
50:20) "In those days, and in that
time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of
Illustration: Rowland Hill’s Dream
There seems to have been one man in that crowd who
heard and understood our Lord’s words. Perhaps everything recorded in this
passage came to pass specifically because the Lord had come to seek and find
this one sinner, whose time of love had come. Look at verse 15.
(Luke
14:15) "And when one of them that
sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed
is he that shall eat bread in the
I
agree with him.—“Blessed
is he that shall eat bread in the
Amen.