Luke

14:12-24

The teachings of Messiah 9:51-19:44

4. Who enters the kingdom? 13:22-16:13

iii] A churchman's dinner party. 14:1-24

b) A lesson on hospitality

Synopsis

Jesus' interaction with the guests at the Pharisee's dinner party continues. He now explains the degree of hospitality expected of the righteous and drives this home with a crisis / kingdom parable.

 
Teaching

Be warned, only the perfectly hospitable have any part in the kingdom of God.

 
Issues

i] Context: See 13:22-30. The churchman's dinner party, 14:1-24, is the third episode in a series of six which deal with the question, who will enter the kingdom? 13:22-16:13. The answer we get is that it is not always the people we expect. These episodes describe both those who enter the kingdom and those who remain outside. In the age of the great reversal, when the first are last and the last first, many will find themselves unexpectedly outside the kingdom, 13:22-30. Among them will be a two-bit politician, unfaithful Israel, and self-righteous status-seekers. Be warned, the kingdom is upon us, and entry requires perfection, 14:12-24.

 

ii] Structure: A churchman's dinner party:

The sabbath healing of a man with dropsy, v1-6;

A "Parable", v7-11:

Instruction on ideal hospitality, v12-14:

The parable of the excluded guests, v15-24.

 

iii] Interpretation:

Luke's placement of the attached saying on generosity / hospitality, v12-14, serves to further expose the parlous state of self-righteous Israel. Religious Israel does not welcome / include the stranger within its gates and thus stands condemned, cf., Ex.20:10, cf., Deut.14:29.

Again, we have an example of Jesus using the Law, not so much in order to promote righteous behaviour, but rather to identify sinfulness. Divine hospitality offered at the heavenly banquet is for those who have practised generous hospitality themselves. It is necessary for such hospitality to be offered to those who cannot return the favour, for there is no credit in reciprocal behaviour. It is more than likely that the only outcast invited to the dinner at the Pharisee's home, was the man with dropsy, and he was only invited in an attempt to entrap Jesus. The Pharisee and his friends have marked themselves out as those who fall short of the perfection required for entry into the kingdom of God. Therefore, their future lies with those locked out of the heavenly celebrations.

This fact is driven home with the crisis / kingdom parable of the Great Feast, v15-24. Like all kingdom parables (the gospel in the form of a riddle), it proclaims the immediacy of the kingdom of God and the need for an urgent response; "Repent, for the kingdom of God has drawn near." So, as a kingdom parable, it encapsulates the abstraction that the kingdom of God is at hand / upon us. This fact is described in the terms of a man who invites his friends to a banquet that is "now ready", but they, by excusing themselves, miss out on any share of the festivities. No slice of the wedding cake for them!

 

The parable of the Great Feast: Both Dodd and Jeremias view this parable as a crisis parable - the crisis in human affairs caused by the now / not yet intrusion of the kingdom of God; as Jeremias puts it "'It may be too late', is the message of the parable" (in the terms of an urgency to act now). So, the parable is an abstraction of this fact, namely, "the kingdom of God is upon us."

Yet, commentators have tended to interpret this parable allegorically, Ellis, Tinsley, Stein, Johnson, Caird ("the universal exclusiveness of the kingdom"), Marshall ("the universal offer of the gospel"), Danker, Nolland, Bock, ....., contra Creed, .... In fact, an examination of both Luke and Matthew's record of the parable (so also the gospel of Thomas) indicates an allegorising influence at work during oral transmission in the first century. Given the importance of the mission of the church, it is only understandable that this parable, in particular, would be influenced by the church's mission imperative. Note how Matthew's version has the invitations issued by "a king", and how the banquet is "a wedding banquet." In Luke's received version, the supplementary invitation may well reflect a desire to include Gentiles in the invitation, along with the broken and lost souls of Israel. None-the-less, Luke ignores such implications, and uses it for its original intended purpose: "Come for all is ready" = "Repent, the kingdom of God has drawn near", so Dodd. "Those who say no to the master's summons to come to the dinner now prepared will never taste of it", Fitzmyer.

Allegorical interpretations tend to make the point that God is summoning Israel to the messianic banquet and in Jesus he proclaims that it is ready. The religious elite of Israel find all types of excuses not to attend, and so the invitations goes out to the outcasts of Israel, and yet there is still room. So, the invitation goes out to the Gentiles "so that my house will be full."

 

iv] Synoptics:

See 3:1-20. The attached saying on the ideal of hospitality, v12-14, is unique to Luke. The material is usually classified as L, a special Lukan source. Of course, the theme of hospitality is not unique to Luke.

The parable of the Great Banquet, v15-24, has a parallel in Matthew 22:1-13. Unlike Luke, Matthew presents the parable in two scenes, illustrating the realisation of the kingdom of God in the gathering and the sorting of those who would enter; see Matthew 22:1-14. Luke leaves out the sorting and stays with the gathering - the invitation to the banquet. In Matthew's version, it is a wedding banquet. Matthew also has only one supplementary invitation, while Luke has two. The introductory verse and the closing verse is unique to Luke. It seems unlikely that Matthew and Luke are working off a common source, but rather their own received version of the tradition. Fitzmyer regards the opening verse, v15, as a Lukan creation, providing both setting and theme.

 

v] Homiletics: Hospitality

This passage lends itself to a sermon on welcoming refugees and immigrants. This is always a hot topic, given that the majority of the native population is usually opposed to immigration. Yet, we need to note that the primary intention of Jesus' teaching here is not ethical, but evangelistic. The attitude,"I'm up, pull the ladder up", evident in the life of all of us, even evident in those we invite to a barbecue, exposes our state of sin and our need for God's saving grace. As for ethics, our capacity for hospitality increases when we experience God's hospitality in Christ, but we will never be as hospitable as God is toward us.

 
Text - 14:12

A Churchman's dinner party, v1-24. iii] A lesson on the ideal of hospitality, v12-14. This passage, interpreted within the context of the churchman's dinner, further develops the judgement theme evident in v11. If these self-righteous "churchies" are to not find themselves on the wrong side of the gate to the kingdom, but instead "be raised at the resurrection of the righteous", they are going to have to handle the issue of hospitality a bit better than they have done so far. It's easy to invite a friend to dinner, but not so easy to invite an outcast like the "unclean" man with "dropsy." Since such a person can't repay the kindness, God will repay it. Generous hospitality toward the stranger fulfils the law and secures a person's righteous standing in the sight of God. These "churchies" certainly don't fit the bill; the man with dropsy was only invited in order to entrap Jesus. Obviously, they are like everyone else, sinners who face judgement. These churchmen, who had sought to demonstrate that Jesus didn't keep the law, now find themselves condemned by their own failure to keep the law.

In typical fashion, Jesus has used the law to expose sin. We have here a classic example of Jesus' use of an ideal, a perfect righteousness that exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, a righteousness that cannot be done. Such a righteousness serves to undermine any attempt to claim standing before God on the basis of our own law-obedience, and so drives "he who humbles himself" to God for mercy in order to receive a righteousness that is given rather than earned. It is in this gift that the humble are "exalted".

tw/ keklhkoti (kalew) dat. perf. part. "to his host" - [but/and he was speaking and = also] to the one having invited, called [him]. The participle serves as a substantive, dative of indirect object.

oJtan + subj. "when" - whenever [you make = prepare]. Introducing an indefinite temporal clause, although translated with a definite "when", as NIV.

deipnon (on) "dinner" - [a luncheon or] an evening meal. The two meals here are likely to be the two main meals of the day - the late morning meal and the late afternoon meal. "When you hold an entertainment, a midday meal, or a dinner", Cassirer.

mh fwnei (fwnew) pres. imp. "do not invite" - do not call, shout = invite [the friends of you nor the brothers of you nor the ones related to you nor rich neighbours]. The present tense implies that the command urges activity as an ongoing process, although speech often takes a durative aspect. Note, as was the custom, a host invites those he likes, his relatives, and those he wants to network (gain something from). The ethic of reciprocity was as dominant in the first century as it is today.

mhpote + subj. "if you do" - lest [and = also they should invite in return you]. This construction serves to introduce a final clause, expressing indefinite negated purpose; "lest perhaps they should in turn invite you and so repay your hospitality", Weymouth.

antapodoma (a atoV) "repaid" - [and it becomes] a payment [to/for you]. Expressing a positive or negative recompense, here it is positive. It is "to you", soi, dative of interest, advantage. If a person was seeking divine approval / reward by practising perfect hospitality they would need to show generosity toward those who were unable to repay it, otherwise the generosity offered in return by those able to give it, would erase any divine generosity that may be due. The logic simply serves to expose the fraught nature of divine approval by means other than by grace through faith.

 
v13

all (alla) "but" - but. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction, "do not ....., but .....", as NIV; "instead of that", Barclay.

oJtan + subj. "when" - when [you make = prepare a feast, banquet. Introducing an indefinite temporal clause. "When you give a reception", Barclay.

ptwcouV (oV) "poor" - [invite] the beggar = poor, [the crippled, the lame, the blind]. A person who is socially disadvantaged due to limited resources, in fact, the list in this passage is of different types of socially disadvantaged people. The list appears again in v21 of the following parable. This fact may have served to link this saying with the parable during oral transmission.

 
v14

makarioV esh/ "you will be blessed" - [and] you will be blessed. Predicate adjective. "If you seek no reciprocity in extending hospitality, you will be blessed." The blessing, given the context, is to be exalted in the sight of God, to be counted worthy of Him, so "that is the way to happiness", Barclay, is too light. To act in generosity toward the socially disadvantaged, without some selfish motivation, is, of course, impossible. None-the-less, the impossible is the required standard of righteousness before God. Thankfully, a believer is covered by the righteousness of Christ.

oJti "although" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why they will be blessed; "you will be blessed by God because they were not able to pay you back / bless you." For the logic of this argument see above.

antapodounai (antapodidwmi) aor. inf. "recompense / repay" - [they do not have the wherewithal] to give back to, repay. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the negated verb "they do not have = they are not able."

soi dat. pro. "you" - you. Dative of direct object after the anti apo prefix verb "to give back to, repay"

gar "-" - for [it will be repaid back]. Here more reason than cause, explaining how their failure to repay the debt favours "you"; "for you will be repaid .....", ESV. Note how the verb antapodoqhsetai has two prefixes indicating strength. God is the obvious agent.

en + dat. "at [the resurrection]" - on [the resurrection]. Temporal use of the preposition.

twn dikaiwn gen. adj. "of the righteous" - of the just one. The adjective serves as a substantive, with the genitive being verbal, objective. cf., Luke 20:35, Acts 17:32, 23:6, 24:15, along with Daniel 12:2-3 as a particular Old Testament source. An appropriate term at this point, given that the Pharisees believed in a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous, one to blessing and the other to cursing, ie. a resurrection to judgment enabling the separation of the righteous from the unrighteous.

 
v15

iv] The parable of the Great Feast, v15-24. Although Luke has again not used the tag-line "The kingdom of heaven is like / may be compared with the situation where .....", this parable is most likely a crisis / kingdom parable, a gospel riddle proclaiming the immediacy of the messianic age (the dawning of the new age of God's rule through Christ). Luke does give us a clue in v15 with the words of the guest, "Blessed is everyone who will eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God." So, what we have is the abstraction that the kingdom of God is upon us, as illustrated in the story of a man who sends out invitations to a banquet which is now ready for all to attend. To miss out is to miss out forever. "Repent, for the kingdom of God has drawn near." For the classification of parables, see The Parables of Jesus, 8:1-18.

twn sunanakeimenwn (sunanakeimai) gen. pres. part. "[one] of those at table with" - [but/and a certain] of the ones reclining at table with him. The participle serves as a substantive, the genitive being partitive.

akousaV (akouw) aor. part. "heard" - having heard [these things]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal; "when he heard these things."

autw/ dat. pro. "to Jesus" - [said] to him. Dative of indirect object.

o{stiV pro. "[blessed is] the one who" - whoever [will eat bread in the kingdom of god is blessed]. This indefinite relative pronoun introduces a nominal phrase which stands as the subject of an assumed verb to-be. "Anyone who gets to share in the heavenly banquet is blessed of God." For "the kingdom of God" see tou qeou, 4:43.

 
v16

autw/ dat. pro. "[replied]" - [but/and he said] to him [a certain man was making = preparing a large dinner, banquet, and he called, invited many]. Dative of indirect object. "There was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many", Peterson.

 
v17

th/ wJra/ (a) dat. "at the time" - [and he sent the slave of him] in = at the hour. Dative of time; "at the time of the dinner."

tou deipnou (on) gen. "of the banquet" - of the dinner, supper, banquet. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic / temporal, limiting "the hour"; "at the time when the banquet was to be held."

eipein (legw) aor. inf. "to tell" - to say. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing purpose; "in order to say ....."

toiV keklhmenoiV (kalew) dat. perf. mid. part. "those who had been invited" - to the ones having been invited, [come]. The participle serves as a substantive, dative of indirect object.

oJti "for" - because [now it is ready = prepared]. Introducing a causal clause explaining why they should "come". "Come along; everything is now ready", Cassirer.

 
v18

apo miaV "[all] alike" - [and] from one. The sense of this phrase is unclear. Nolland suggests it is an Aramaism, "at once", whereas Marshall suggests it is a Greek phrase meaning "unanimously", "with one accord", NKJV "without exception", HCSB, "one after another", Thompson, cf., NET.

paraiteisqai (paraiteomai) pres. mid. inf. "to make excuse" - [all began] to refuse = excuse themselves. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to begin."

autw/ dat. pro. "-" - [the first said] to him. Dative of indirect object.

exelqwn (exercomai) aor. part. "[I must] go" - [i have bought a field and i have a necessity] going out [to see it]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the infinitive idein, "to see"; "it is necessary for me to go out and to see it." "I must go and look at it", Phillips.

parh/thmenon (paraiteomai) perf. mid. part. "excuse" - [i ask you, you have me] having been refused = excused. The participle serves as the accusative complement of the direct object "me", standing in a double accusative construction and asserting a fact about the object. "Please have me excused", ESV; "Send my regrets", Peterson.

 
v19

bown (ouV own) gen. "[five] yoke of oxen" - [and another said, i bought five] oxen. The genitive is adverbial, of measure, quantity.

dokimasai (dokimazw) aor. inf. "to try [them] out" - [and i am going] to test, approve [them]. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing purpose; "I am going to try them out", NRSV.

parh/thmenon (paraiteomai) perf. mid. part. "excuse [me]" - [i ask you, you have me] having been refused = excused. The participle as in v19.

 
v20

dia touto "so" - [and another said, i married a woman and] because of this = therefore. The causal construction is best treated as inferential, drawing a logical conclusion, as NIV.

elqein (ercomai) aor. inf. "[I can't] come" - [i am not able] to come. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the negated verb "to be able."

 
v21

poaragenomenoV (paraginomai) aor. mid. part. "came back" - [and the servant, slave] having come, arrived = returned [reported]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to report"; "came and reported."

tw kuriw/ (oV) dat. "to [his] master" - [these things] to the lord. Dative of indirect object.

autou gen. pro. "his" - of him. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, "his master", or idiomatic / subordination, "over him."

tote adv. "then" - then [the householder said to the slave of him]. Again this temporal adverb leans toward a consecutive sense, "consequently the master of the house became angry ....."

thV polewV (iV ewV) gen. "of the town" - [go out into the squares and streets] of the city [and bring in here the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame]. The genitive is adjectival, partitive. Usually taken as "streets and alleys of the town", but "town squares and streets" is possible.

 
v22

o} pro. "what" - [and the slave said lord,] what [you commanded has become, and still there is a place = room]. The relative pronoun introduces a relative clause which serves as the subject of the verb "to become." "I have done what you told me, sir, and there are still empty places", Phillips.

 
v23

proV + acc. "-" - [and the lord said] toward [the slave]. Used here to introduce an indirect object instead of a dative.

eiselqein (eisercomai) aor. inf. "to come in" - [go out into the roads and fences and compel, force = urge strongly them] to enter the feast. Here recitative, introducing a dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what the servants urged, namely "to enter the feast." Note that Culy suggests that it is complementary and Thompson that it parallels anagkhn exelqwn, v18. "Go out in the roads and hedgerows ..... and bring them in, even if you have to compel them to come", Barclay.

iJna + subj. "so that" - that [the house of me may be filled]. Introducing a final clause expressing purpose, "in order that"; "to make sure that my house is properly filled", Cassirer.

 
v24

Creed argues that this verse is not part of the parable, but is a warning by Jesus to the hearers, with regard to "the displacement of those originally invited to the Messianic banquet." Nolland views it as a "foreign body ... a Lukan formulation." None-the-less, it does seem to function as an integral part of the parable, making the point that those who have absented themselves from the banquet will not get to tase any of the food on offer, ie., no portions of the banquet will be sent to them as a gesture of goodwill, cf., Ne.8:10-12, so Derrett, Law in the New Testament, 1970. As with Matthew's additional sorting scene, Matt.22:11-14, this verse reinforces the image of loss. The temptation to allegorise the parable at this point is hard to resist, particularly if oJ kurioV, "the lord = master of the house", is taken to refer to "the Lord Jesus", eg., "there is no way to the messianic feast except by responding to the invitation once given", Marshall.

gar "-" - for. An inferential sense seems unlikely here. A transitional sense is more likely, serving to introduce a concluding point - used for a self-evident conclusion, so Culy.

uJmin "you" - [i say] to you. Dative of indirect object. The plural "you all" is unexpected. In the story so far, the master of the house has addressed a single servant. As noted above, the parable may end at this point, and now Jesus addresses those gathered around. If this is the case, Jesus applies the parable to himself and his own messianic banquet. Of course, such an application could be appended during oral transmission, or even by Luke himself. Culy suggests that at this point the master of the house is "being the literary equivalent of a stage actor (here a parable actor), turning and making a comment to the audience." Another possibility is that the phrase legw uJmin, "I say to you" (pl.), was a statement commonly made by Jesus to reinforce a point, or to underline a conclusion. The statement has been retained within the tradition, and is commonly used by Luke for emphasis. Stein notes the following uses unique to Luke: 3:8, 10:24, 11:8, 15:7, 16:9, 18:8, 14, 22:16-18.

oJti "-" - that. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what the master of the house says.

twn andrwn (hr droV) gen. "[of those]" - [no one] of the men [of those]. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.

keklhmenwn (kalew) perf. mid. part. "who were invited" - having been invited. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting, "men", as NIV.

tou deipnou (on) gen. "of [my] banquet" - [will taste] of the dinner [of me]. The verb geuomai, "to taste", takes a genitive of direct object / genitive of the thing. The genitive pronoun mou, "of me / my", is possessive, brought forward for emphasis.

 

Luke Introduction

Exegetical Commentaries

 

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