The passage
      v1-6. The dinner was at the home of a member of the Sanhedrin. He was an important Pharisee. The sick person brought before Jesus was most likely a plant. He had dropsy, an accumulation of fluid in the body which, at the time, was believed to be a venereal disease (a false association). Jesus supports the "correctness" of his healing on the Sabbath with a typically rabbinic argument. First, he asks (even answers their thoughts) whether it is permitted, under the law, to heal on the Sabbath. The legalists would obviously like to say "no", on the basis of their tradition, but can they deny healing to a person they have actually invited to the dinner? Jesus then asks, if it is right to pull an "ass or an ox" (RSV is better than NIV "a son or an ox") out of a well on the Sabbath, is it not also right to heal a sick person on the Sabbath? The lawyers and the other Pharisees, were simply unable to make a decent argument in response, so they didn't answer. In the ancient world, silence was counted as approval. So again, Jesus demonstrates an understanding of the law which far exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisee, namely, that the law is summed up in love toward a neighbor, a love full of mercy and compassion.
      v7-11. In this teaching parable about social climbing, Jesus exposes the self-righteous blindness of these churchman, and thus, their state of loss before God. They can't even get their status games right. Better to take the lower seat and be called up higher, than the higher seat and be moved down lower. The pretense of false humility gains more status than a push and shove move. Jesus concludes in v11 with a reference to the coming day of judgment. These blind self-righteous "churchies", whose lives are focused on status, will find themselves overturned in the "last day", devoid of status in the sight of God.
      v12-14. Jesus goes on to develop the judgement theme. If these self-righteous "churchies" are to survive the day of judgement and "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. Gracious hospitality toward the stranger fulfills the law and secures a righteous standing in the sight of God. Yet, where can we find such a righteous person? These "churchies" certainly don't fit the bill. Obviously, they are like everyone else, sinners who face judgement. The churchmen had sought to demonstrate that Jesus didn't keep the law, now find themselves condemned. In typical fashion, Jesus has used the law to expose sin and so hopefully drive the sinner to God for mercy.

Who am I?
      He was the most unlikely person to be elected class captain. He never said a word and could hardly ever look you in the face. But then, we were in year nine, out of control, and in total rebellion mode. Why support the system by electing the typical self-confident "leader of man". We wanted someone who would never push us around.
      Self-esteem is a quality difficult to measure. With it we are self-controlled, self-contained, self-assured.... without it, well! There are many elements that can contribute to a sense of low self-esteem. Our family background can damage us, or the school playground can destroy us. With our self-worth eroded, we then lose confidence and are inevitably immobilized.
      Religion too can be a destructive element in our lives. If we believe our worth in the sight of God is somehow related to religious performance, we soon become worthless, because our performance is always second rate. We are then forced to hide our worthlessness with a created self-worth - a self-righteousness, pharisaism.
      In our passage for study, Jesus exposes the true condition of some supposedly "godly" church attenders. They believed their piety not only gained them the best seat in the house, it secured their eternal seat at the heavenly feast. Too much religion had blinded them to their condition of loss. Claiming their own worth, they were actually worthless before God. Yet, they could still claim eternal worth, and this just for the asking. All they had to do was accept God's free invitation in Christ.
      "Humble we must be, if to heaven we go; High is the roof there, but the gate is low", George Herbert.

v2
      kai idou "-"- and behold. Indicating surprise and therefore, the unexpected presence of this man at the meal, either in his just arriving, or more likely, his being a plant.
      anqrwpoV tiV "a man" - a certain man. This particular man has dropsy, that is, fluid in his limbs, caused, for example, by a heart complaint. Jewish teachers associated it with sin of some kind, often a sexual sin.

v3
      apakriqeiV (apokrinomai) pas. part. "[Jesus] asked" - The word indicates dialogue, as if Jesus is "answering" the thoughts of the experts in the law and the other Pharisees who were present, ie. the churchmen who were present.
      exestin "is it lawful" - Impersonal verb which is read here as a question, "is it permitted ...?" The sense being, "is it permitted to do good on the Sabbath?" The churchmen can't say yes, as this would defy their traditions, and can't say no because they would prove themselves heartless, seeing they probably brought the sick person along to meet Jesus.

v4
      hJsucasan (hJsucazw) "they remained silent" - they were silent. Fitzmyer notes that silence, in a legal setting, indicates tacit approval, but as noted above, they are in a corner and this is probably the reason why they don't speak.
      epilabomenoV (epilambanomai) aor. mid. part. "so taking hold of [the man]" - having taken hold. This verb is not used elsewhere of Jesus healing someone, rather it is used of grabbing hold of someone. It has a very tactile sense to it, so Jesus has initiated some form of overt physical contact. The touch is probably for the churchmen's benefit.

v5
      tinoV "if one of" - of whom. This substantive pronoun introduces an interrogative clause which has two sub clauses, the second being the question proper. The Pharisees did understand that it was proper to relieve the distress of an animal on the Sabbath, although the Qumran community believed that such relief could only apply to a human.
      uiJoV ... onoV "son" - son .... ass. The textual variant "ass" certainly fits better and has strong Old Testament precedence, but a change from "son" to "ass" is more easily explained than from "ass" to "son".
      kai ouk "not" - and not. This particular negation is used to show that Jesus expects a positive answer. Anyone with any heart would help an animal in distress, so why not a sick person?

v6
      antapokriqhnai (antapokrinomai) pas. inf. "to say" - [they were not able] to make a reply [to this]. They could make no answer to the argument put by Jesus.

v7
      epecwn (epexw) pres. part. "he noticed" - paying close attention to.
      touV keklhmenouV (kalew) pas. part. "the guests" - the ones having been invited/called.
      prwtoklisiaV (a) "the places of honor" - the head of the table, the first place at the meal, the seat of honor. The seat next to the host.
      pwV adv. "how" - in what way. Probably describing what they were doing, rather than the way they were doing it.
      exelegonto (eklegomai) mid. imperf. "picked" - they were choosing. The middle voice here is best rendered with a prepositional phrase "they were choosing for themselves". The imperfect is most likely conative, that is, the legalists were busy trying to get themselves into a favored position, but with varying success.
      parabolhn (h) "parable" - Teaching parables are often little more than illustrations used to make a point, so here "a little word of advice", Phillips. The advice is that "pride comes before a fall." Best to be gracious and be rewarded accordingly. The implication is that the churchmen demonstrate, by their actions, an inability to promote their own self-righteousness, let alone the righteousness that comes from God. Some commentators argue that the term "parable" always implies something more than advice, in which case they suggest that Jesus is speaking about how a person should approach God. This is unlikely.

v8
      gamouV (oV) "wedding feast" - banquet. "Wedding feast" is possible, but unlikely here, unless the exegete wishes to spiritualize the parable.
      katakliqhV (kataklinw) aor. pas. subj. "take" - recline at the table = sit down.
      mhpote "for" - lest, perhaps. Here best "perhaps" ie. "it may turn out that."
      h/ keklhmenoV "may have been invited" - An example of a perfect periphrastic, that is the subjunctive of the verb to-be with a perfect participle, saying nothing more than could have been said by a simple subjunctive verb.

v9
      aiscunhV (h) "humiliated" - shame. In the sense "to be shamed", rather than feel shame. Given that honored guests often arrive late, it is unwise to go for the more honored seat early, otherwise humiliation may follow. Honor was determined by social status, but by 300 AD it was determined by age.
      katecein "to take" - hold. Here the sense is "to occupy."
      escaton adj. "least" - last. This adjective is elative here, ie. a "lower" remaining seat, rather than the "last" seat.

v10
      oJtan + subj. "when" - whenever. With this construction the temporal sense is an indefinite future. Subordinating conjunction introducing a subordinate clause dependent on the clause "take the lowest place." Given the nature of Jesus' sarcasm here, which is not overly evident, we may need to expand the opening clause: "when you are invited to a dinner party and you really what to make an impression on the guests, given the high opinion that you have of yourself, then 'take the lowest place ....'"
      anapese (anapiptw) imp. "take" - recline = sit down
      iJna + subj. "so that" - Forming a purpose clause. "Take the lower seat with the intended purpose that you will be called higher." Jesus' advice shows how to gain kudos in the eyes of others. He does this to show up the blind pride of the churchmen who are working hard at it, but failing. It's all about exposing them as "blind guides." If they can't even work out how to win favour in the sight of others, how can they work out how to win favor in the sight of God? Although a popular interpretation, it is unwise to take Jesus' advice at face value, as if he is actually showing us how to do well at status games. He is just pointing out that these churchmen don't do it very well.

v11
      oJ uJywn (uJyow) part. "[everyone] who exalts" - the one lifting up. Here, in the sense of lifted up to a high station, exalted.
      tapeinwqhsetai (tapeinow) fut. pas. "will be humbled" - will be leveled = humbled. The agent of the action is probably God in that we now have a proverb which has greater ramifications than just being humiliated at a dinner party. The proud, or more particularly the self-righteous, are blind to reality, even to the extent of not getting pride right. Better to "know thyself" and so, under God's mercy, be glorified rather than humiliated in the coming day of judgment.

v12
      oJtan + subj. "when" - whenever. With this construction the temporal sense expresses an indefinite future.
      poihV (poiew) sub. "you give" - make.
      deipnon (on) "dinner" - an evening meal. The two meals here are likely to be the two main meals of the day. There were the late morning meal and the late afternoon meal.
      mh fwnei (fwnew) pres. imp. "do not invite" - call, shout = invite. The present tense implies that the command urges activity as an ongoing process. So, 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 at self-righteousness, and so drives "he who humbles himself" to God for mercy to receive a righteousness that is given rather than earned. In this gift, the humble are "exalted". 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 dominant in the first century, as it is today.
      mhpote "if you do" - lest, perhaps. Here "lest" is best...
      genhtai (ginomai) subj. "so you will be" - The subjunctive forms a consecutive clause, ie. "with the result that you get ....."
      antapodoma (a atoV) "repaid" - [your] reward. A positive or negative recompense, here it is positive.

v13
      dochn (h) "banquet" - feast
      ptwcouV (oV) "poor" - beggar = poor. 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.