NOTES for Luk 14:1-14

Because of its rich symbolic meaning, the meal in the house of one of the Pharisees, the banquet representing the messianic Kingdom, immediately gives Jesus material for new parables about the Kingdom He came to proclaim to humanity. As the saying goes, a fish seeks deeper water and a person seeks a better place. None of the guests wants to sit beside the man disfigured by dropsy; he had better come another day, since seeking healing on the Sabbath is a sin. It is best to feast with friends and neighbors whom you know, who smell pleasant, and who will not let your rich dishes disappear without return, for they too will invite you to a “return dinner.” And if you are a guest, it would be good to sit at the head of the table, closer to the generous host. This is ordinary human life, but Jesus has an apt word for every situation, without moralizing or angry denunciations. He simply, almost jokingly, shows us, seated with Him at the table in the Pharisee's house, the utter absurdity of our normal life when it is viewed “from the standpoint” of God's Kingdom.