The Great Reversal

And good morning everyone. Let's pray before we open up God's Word together.
Our Father we have sung that we are never alone and it's such a privilege to know that and to
sing about that and to acknowledge that this morning that in Christ that you are with us
wherever we go through your Holy Spirit you are indwelling in our own hearts Lord and I pray that
this morning we as a result of having the same Holy Spirit having the same Lord that we can
have a great sense of unity as we come together as your people here at Grace Evangelical.
Father God I pray this morning that you will still our hearts that you will give us keen minds alert
minds to hear your voice as we open up your Word this morning. We thank you for your Word we thank
you that it is ever present in our lives and we just ask now that we will give our full attention
to it Lord putting off those things that distract us and allowing our focus to be on what you would
have to say to us this morning in Jesus name. Amen. Well I hope you have your Bibles open to
Luke chapter 14. For those who are visiting we are tracking through the Gospel of Luke.
We've been doing it now for three weeks having come back to it after a short break. So we're
up to chapter 14 and as Peter said earlier Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of God
and he's been doing this for quite a long time. He's journeying from or towards Jerusalem. He's
been doing that since about chapter 9 and we're still part of that that journey episode where
Jesus is looking towards the cross. He's facing the cross. He's facing Jerusalem. He knows where
he's going and on the way he continues to teach about the Kingdom of God and today we see
a little bit more about that in chapter 14. I read an article this week that spoke of the great
reversal in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As you know the land of Narnia is
under the curse of the white witch and this Queen, this evil Queen, places a spell on the
land so that it's always winter and never Christmas. Under her control the future of
Narnia looks bleak until word gets out that Aslan is on the move and as you know whether you've
read the book or just seen the movie Aslan is the noble lion who is coming to set things straight.
He's coming to destroy the white witch and so reverse the curse of Narnia and the first sign
of Aslan's movement towards this cursed land is that the snow begins to melt. Spring is in the
air we read. The cold begins to fade as the sun rays peer through the dark clouds promising the
dawn of a new day. Everything in Narnia begins to change. There is a great reversing of life
as Narnians knew it and the arrival of Jesus and his subsequent earthly ministry was a sure and
certain sign that God was on the move and in Jesus God begins this process of reversing the
curse of sin and recreating all things. In Jesus God is moving in a new way and in the words of CS
Lewis winter began stirring backwards. Now we have seen in our series in Luke this great reversal
being played out bit by bit. Jesus's modus operandi his mission statement in Luke chapter 4
I've read it a couple of times but we'll have to cast our thoughts back Luke chapter 4 it sets this
path of change sight to the blind freedom for the prisoner release for the oppressed good news now
for the poor and when Jesus heals the distressed when he raises the dead when he forgives the
desperate he did so to show how different God's kingdom was. Jesus the Christ Jesus the Messiah
is on the move and all of Jesus's ministries the words he spoke the miracles performed the
love he demonstrate shows us that there is a new order in town God's new order and that is in Jesus
there is this great reversal taking place in the gospels not unlike CS Lewis's famous novel but
here we see it in real life in the gospels and no letting no less in Luke's gospel as we will see
in our passage today there's a reversal of the expectation of what God's kingdom is like at least
the expectations of the Jews in Jesus's day and here Jesus calls on his here is to reshape their
thinking regarding what God's kingdom is all about to reorientate their lives towards God and for the
Jewish establishment of the first century this was a radical change a radical change but maybe
it's it's no less radical for many of us today who have drifted from what God expects of his people
perhaps we need to consider reshaping our lives to fit with God's perhaps we need to make a great
reverse in our own life so that we will reflect God's character and his kingdom in how we live
and so in Luke chapter 14 verses 1 to 14 there are three great reversals that I wish to speak
to this morning to in a sense recast God's kingdom for us at least in the minds of the
Jewish audience that he's speaking to in the context and so the first one is that care for
God's people must trump care for traditions that is love not legalism love not legalism compassion
is to come before social conventions now we've seen this before haven't we it would appear that
Jesus has pushed home this point in today's passage Luke begins his account with Jesus
going to eat at the house of a prominent Pharisee but adds he was being carefully watched conflict
conflict is never far when the Pharisees around it seems now of course it's not the first time that
Luke records that the Pharisees were watching it appears to be one of their favorite pastimes when
it comes to Jesus always in the wings always looking to what what to catch Jesus out they
like the religious paparazzi aren't they always ready to take that shot at doing looking at what
Jesus is doing hoping to catch him out hoping to find him doing something not quite kosher for the
Jews whether the ability to watch Jesus more closely resulted him being invited back to this
Pharisee's house or whether he's invited because he was a visiting rabbi and journeying to
Jerusalem we we don't know but it would appear that his reputation Jesus's reputation has
preceded him remember Jesus is moving from town to town on his way to Jerusalem so it's likely
that each confrontation we read of is with a new group of Pharisees maybe this Pharisee here just
wanted to meet Jesus for himself it heard all about him from from the network of Pharisees and
and other religious leaders and maybe he just wanted to meet Jesus for himself
and so perhaps with mixed motives he says let's do lunch in other words while you're in town let's
let me find out a little bit more about your teaching your way of life why are you so
controversial perhaps and do this Pharisee got more than he bargained for as they did lunch
together on his way to the Pharisees house Jesus comes across a man suffering from dropsy that's
a painful condition that causes fluid to be retained by the body today it's more commonly
known as I think I've got the word right edema or something along those lines so Jesus asked the
Pharisee and these experts of the law that are with them in verse three whether or not it is
lawful to heal on the Sabbath now what are they going to say we sort of know what they are thinking
but what are they going to say with everybody watching no doubt there's a crowd around them
we don't know how many but no doubt there's there's more than there's two two or three
people here what are they going to say if they say sure go ahead then in their minds they'd be
breaking the law no Pharisee would publicly break the law or be associated with one who would
they were the epitome of law keeping the whole religious universe would be put into a spin if
they were to say yeah sure go but by saying no we're knowing that Jesus could heal this man they
would appear to be showing absolutely no concern for this man they would be heartless in front of
all the people they seek to lead so they remain silent that way they can't be accused of being
for or against Jesus's next move and of course his next move is what his next move is to heal
the man that is in front of them and indeed heal on the Sabbath in front of the top brass
of the religious establishment here we have a very prominent Pharisee a leader of the Pharisees
perhaps and then he pushes the point further he'd asked them after he has healed the man in verse
five if one of you had a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day will you not
immediately pull him out you've seen your NIV footnotes that son could be donkey perhaps in
the first century there was a little difference between the two and it was hard to distinguish
freedom but at least there are no foxes in today's passage as there was last week and thank you to
those folk who gave comments to me afterwards about the fox but anyway there are no foxes there
is a son and there is an ox if one of you had a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath
will you not immediately pull him out the Pharisees in response again not wishing to
incriminate themselves they take the fifth don't they they say nothing but the clear
influence is that is exactly what they would do they would be expected to do that to care for an
animal or indeed your own son who is in need even on the Sabbath that's what they'd be expected to
do so what is jesus's point the fact is that they would have cared for their own but gave little
regard for those who are on the outside those who were considered to be on the margins of society
especially those who appeared to be out of favor with god i.e this man with dropsy in their mind
such people didn't deserve the compassion of god their own compassion because they were sinners
and their condition was god's punishment that's the theology of the first century judaism the
idea of grace and mercy was not in the mind and the heart of the religious elite when it comes to
those who who appear to have failed to live up to the expectations of the righteous but jesus
reverses such flawed theology care for god's people trumps care for traditions and human
regulations jesus turns the table on what true religion is it's always grounded in god's love
it's never just about rules and regulations the laws and the commandments of god are not just
there to impose a kind of religious prison on god's people and make life difficult for them
they were there to help them worship god and they were there to help them reflect god to others to
glorify god to others judaism in the first century has simply lost sight of the compassion of god
they had lost sight of a god who cares deeply for his people and we read elsewhere in the book of
james mercy triumphs over judgment doing the will of god was not to be reduced simply was it to
ticking off certain religious practices at the expense of those perhaps more necessary and the
jews had forgotten this and by the time of jesus and the new testament they'd embraced a sort of
legalistic rule laden religion that missed the whole point of what it meant to be god's people
what it meant to be in god's kingdom and so jesus says that is not what god's kingdom is about
and he reverses all notion of acceptable religious practice and again the book of james james says
pure religion at least in part is to care for orphans and widows in their distress
true religion in other words is about love and compassion true religion cares about people
as i said a couple of weeks ago quoting from a book that i was reading any religion does not
that does not care about people is not god is not from god any religion that does not care
about god's people is not from god this doesn't mean we can go around and break all of god's
rules but that we recognize that these laws and these commands of gods are meant to help us
love one another and love god and jesus is showing this very clearly i think in this
this first bit of this passage this morning regarding god's kingdom he shows that um but
he shows further doesn't he that it's more than just compassion for the physical well-being of
this man here is a demonstration of a spiritual restoration jesus is once again as we've seen so
many times in the gospels jesus is once again the change agent and the bigger picture here is that
he is one who can bring spiritual change to his people in the eyes of the people remember in the
eyes of the people and especially the leaders this man with drops he was a sinner not deserving god's
grace not deserving heaven and so his physical restoration was really in their minds akin to his
spiritual restoration you see jesus only jesus can reverse the effects of sin that is ultimately
what god's kingdom is all about isn't it that is what jesus is showing there he alone can reverse
the effects of sin in someone's life he wants to give people here uh not just not just uh
the immediate audience but us today he wants to give us a fuller picture of what god's
kingdom is all about what god is all about and it's god's kingdom that reaches out to people
in need and in particular spiritual need how are we going today perhaps we're in danger of being
more interested in the process or the the programs of doing church than we are in the people that
belong to church this church we often hear about people being a task-orientated person as against
a person-orientated person and while we all have different personalities and and different
difference we must be careful never to ignore that the people in god's economy who are in need
of care and compassion simply for the sake of getting on with a particular activity we have
to be very careful there don't we we must realize that god sent jesus to save people not programs
not religious activities and when we let our church traditions when we let certain rules when
we let certain ways of doing things or really anything else cloud out our love for others we
have lost being the church that god wants us to be we have lost sight of his kingdom haven't we
god's way invariably involves love in his people as a priority that's the way of his kingdom but
jesus isn't finished there's two more reversals in our text verses seven to eleven jesus speaks
about reversal number two in god's kingdom humility trumps pride verse seven says that
he noticed how the guests so he's on his way i think he's at this point he's been on his way
to this Pharisee's house and now that he's obviously inside the house whether he's eaten
anything or not we don't know but he's noticed how the guests have picked the places of honor
at the table and so he tells them a parable now recall back in verse one luke records that jesus
went to eat at the house of a prominent Pharisee he's understood to be among the socially elite
the a-listers of the first century and because jesus's host is of the highest social standing
then according to custom we may expect the others there who are invited to be of equal status if
not even higher social status you see meals in that culture were used to advertise and to
reinforce a a kind of social hierarchy a social structure and as a rule you didn't eat with those
who are of a lower class than yourself for the Pharisee honor was always at stake they were used
to being important indeed ritual purity was also at stake hence the problem the Pharisees and other
leaders had with with jesus from time to time eating and drinking with sinners and tax collectors
the most loathed out of our jewish society such an activity had would have made them clean in their
own in their own thinking and so judaism in the first century was increasingly becoming about
setting up boundaries setting up social cliques hierarchies prominence and status was in embraced
as a virtue and this was enforced or reinforced rather by the accepted social customs of the day
particularly mealtime customs pride was the dominant characteristic for the socially elite
and the religiously esteemed and we see that that that idea very much at play in this parable in
verses 7 to 11 and in the context of this parable there is a meal at which these social customs were
evidently being displayed the parable is of a wedding feast in which jesus speaks about an
embarrassing scenario to make his point imagine rushing in to take the place of honor and minutes
later the host comes up to you and asks you to vacate your seat so that a more distinguished
guest may sit where you were and so humiliated you were forced to take what the lowest seat in
the feast why because no one else would have voluntarily taken that seat it's still empty
it's there for you to take so right going from one of the top seats you're forced to go right
down to one of the bottom seats the one furthest away from the host of that particular dinner party
i recall being invited to a wedding in tassie where i performed the marriage ceremony while i
was still at college at the reception i found myself on the table right back at the the back
of the hall and really we were there with with with people really only had loose ties with
the bride and the groom and we joked that we were the social outcasts but in jesus's day it wasn't a
joke it wasn't a joke their pride would have been dented they would have been humiliated
but notice again jesus reverses this ungodly characteristic that had developed within judaism
pride prominence social status has no place in god's kingdom in fact it's the humble
that will be exalted jesus says verse 10 jesus says there that the humble guest who does not
seek the best seat in the feast will be invited up to a better place and then in verse 11 for
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted
the kingdom of god is about humility not pride not prominence not status not social standing
none of these will be required of those seeking to enter god's kingdom and what jesus is saying
is that that is not for those who believe themselves to be worthy that will be in the
kingdom that will gain the favor of god but those who know that they are not worthy those who know
they are not worthy the pharisees in the religious establishment consider themselves
to be worthy to be first in line into the kingdom of god they consider themselves to be righteous
they elevated pride and even self-confidence they boasted about being god's own people they
had the temple they had the law and the myriad of requirements that made them look good in front
of the people they amongst everyone were ready to take their place of honor at the table
but notice in this parable that such a place is at the discretion of the host
he was the one who decides who's going to sit where that is you do not enter heaven on the basis
of your own estimation you enter on the basis of god's judgment and god's judgment is based
on your faith in jesus as you humbly accept that you need him in order to enter his kingdom
that you accept none that none are righteous that none have kept the law perfectly that all
have fallen short of god's standard that that none are worthy of this feast let alone the best seat
at the feast and is this humility that characterizes those who are in god's kingdom
it's the key ingredient isn't it in order to recognize how needful we are of god's forgiveness
as we come to that point of repentance and fall on the mercy of god's the key ingredient isn't it
arrogant self-confident pride is the great stumbling block for many who believe they
are fit for heaven for all who think we they deserve a seat at god's table at the heavenly
feast and jesus comes along and he reverses all the pharisees and all of judaism's notion of what
notion of what god's kingdom is about it's not for the righteous it's for the unrighteous the
sinners who recognize they need god's help it is the humble that will be exalted i wonder if we
need to reverse our thinking this morning do you need to reshape your own understanding of god's
kingdom do we need to accept that it is only through faith in christ jesus nothing of what we
can contribute towards it only through faith in christ jesus that we can enter his kingdom on his
terms final reversal this morning that jesus focuses on is the apparent exclusiveness within
judaism again we sort of have seen this a little bit in other texts as well as today the jews had
a very narrow understanding of salvation even within judaism they established rules and
regulations that made it even more difficult to be truly saved at least by their own estimation
god's favor as we've seen rested on those who who performed well those who were materially blessed
those who appeared to be righteous because of certain external qualities and performance
and so for the religious elite they believe that god's kingdom was really only open to good jews
they actively established then boundaries that that that kind of excluded certain people
the poor the crippled the lame the blind these were certainly not righteous these clearly did
not have god's blessing upon them now we see this attitude coming from uh the social and religious
elite elite in numerous encounters in the gospels and certainly in luke's own gospel here they were
not considered table fellowship with those whom they believe god had brought some sort of temporal
punishment on it would make them unclean in their minds indeed it's even worse than that they it's
these type of people would not have advanced their standing with god or with the people it's
a table fellowship and hospitality in general appeared to be based then on the notion of i'll
scratch your back if you'll scratch mine this is the idea of hospitality in first century judaism
someone from the lower classes was not able were they to advance the cause of the
of the cause of the wealthy so they what happens they get overlooked they get sidelined they get
marginalized and jesus knew that his host had invited his guests for one or two reasons either
to pay them back for being a guest at their place or to in the hope that they would invite him to
a future meal at their place one or two reasons is behind uh jesus's thinking here uh regarding
his host they wanted to keep god's kingdom exclusively didn't they for the right sort
friends family and rich neighbors says verse 12 and such hospitality is rooted not in love
and friendship it was not out of concern for another's welfare but rather in establishing
clicks those of the right sort to hang out with hospitality became they're not a service
to others that is those who that is those who are in need of food and shelter and company perhaps
but of self-interest simply to be in the right crowd to be seen to be in the right crowd gaining
personal advantage became more important than personal service but again this is not the way
of god's kingdom is it it was a bad theology that produced a bad practice that ultimately
destroyed god being reflected through his own people they not only kept god from others or
kept others from knowing god but they kept their own people from seeing the fullness
of god the fullness of his character displayed through their own actions and so jesus turns the
tables on this ungodly attitude he reverses their misapplied theology the kingdom of god is not for
those who appear righteous but for those who need a savior regardless of their status it's not about
creating boundaries to keep others out but rather about knocking down the walls of prejudice in
order to invite others in the kingdom of god is about serving and loving the unlovable and the
parable of the good samaritan which we have seen before in luke at least in part is a parable
that teaches this exact point loving those on the outside loving those who are not in our clique
loving those who appear to have fallen out of favor with god whether they can repay us or not
real and lasting blessing will come when we selfishly love selflessly rather love and serve
those who cannot repay us that's what jesus effectively says in verse 14 that is the way
of the kingdom isn't it and for us today we need to be challenged then on two fronts
firstly jesus is never just for christians he and his message of salvation are for the entire world
to hear again like last week it's a timely reminder as we approach our mission sunday
and as we hear about the work in mianmart a bit later on in our service it's a timely reminder
for us the gospel is not meant to be kept to ourselves to our own exclusive clique of fellow
believers to each week pat ourselves on the back and being wonderfully encouraged about god's
goodness to us but that the same goodness is to be declared and proclaimed to every nation to be
proclaimed to the ends of the earth don't hold it in just for us and secondly we must not allow
ourselves to become caught up with the cliques and the social groups that exclude rather than
include groups that fail to seek those who are in need of friendship those who are in need of some
sort of help consider how much of your time is spent with your type of people consider how we
may broaden our own social network to include others that we too must love and must serve
luke presents presents us rather with three great reversals three reversals that that that we must
make if we're to live according to the god's way in his kingdom love over legalism humility over
pride and being open armed to ensure that jesus is proclaimed to all and not just an exclusive
circle of like-minded people and while jesus is specifically speaking to the jewish establishment
the same message can and needs to be applied to us doesn't it god's kingdom is radically
and fundamentally different to all other kingdoms of the world and today we have been influenced by
a host of other authorities that a passage like this must impress upon us to for us to remain
at odds with to to remain distinct from and in situations where we find ourselves on the road
to unguiding us on the road to all that is unbiblical in our lives we need to shift into
reverse and come back and embrace the way of christ in god's kingdom once again don't we let me pray
now father quite often we feel like we've just tipped the iceberg when it comes to
understanding your word and understanding how we may apply it to our lives but i pray father we can
read this passage again and again and see how wonderfully different your kingdom is and how
we are part of that kingdom and how how we need to also reflect your character to one another and
reflect your character to the world so that we may also be different father help us in our desire to
do this allow your holy spirit to to convict us of sin to convict us of of of anything that would
be ungodly in our lives anything that would be out of sorts with being in your kingdom lord
give us a sense that we may in some cases need to reverse we need to come back to the way of your
kingdom come back to christ seek his forgiveness and start living the way that you want us to live
father we pray these things in jesus name amen