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Yeshua’s schooling of a Pharisee member of Israel’s ruling council on allowable actions on Shabbat seems disconnected from the parables that follow in Luke 14. Yet they all are threaded together with learning God’s view on justice, compassion and mercy then honoring God through lifelong commitment to those principles of the kingdom of Heaven.
Not honoring God by seeking that change of “glasses” for seeing the world — and seeing the One through Whom the change would come — doomed much of Israel to be scattered and regathered repeatedly.
In Luke 13:10-21, we read about how Yeshua healed a woman on the Sabbath. She had been afflicted with this problem for 18 years. In that passage, Yeshua noted that Torah experts considered it allowable on Shabbat to unite a knot — which was considered a forbidden work — to allow an animal to drink freely, out of compassion for the animal.
Yeshua spoke about how the “weightier matters of the Torah” inform us how to apply all the provisions of the Torah (Matt. 23:23). Does this loosen or relax the Torah’s standards, which Yeshua claimed was not His mission (Matt. 5:17–20)? On at least two occasions, Yeshua quoted from the Prophets to show what God intended by learning “justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matt. 9:11-13; 12:5–8).
When Yeshua says that God desires “mercy not sacrifice,” He was quoting the Septuagint (Greek) version of Hosea (Hos. 6:6; see vv. 4–6). Matthew and the Septuagint uses the Greek word ἔλεος eleos (Strong’s lexicon No. G1656) to translate the Hebrew word חֶסֶד khesed (Strong’s H2617), which means kindness, lovingkindness or mercy.
Prophet Zechariah echoed (Zech. 7:9–14) the testimony through prophet Hosea that God’s goals in the Torah are justice (מִשְׁפַּט mishpat, from שָׁפַט shaphat, H8199, to judge or govern), kindness and compassion (רַחַם rakham, H7356, from רֶחֶם rekhem, H7358, womb), more than God-ordained sacrifice (זֶבַח zebakh, H2077) and burnt offering (עוֹלָה ʿolah, H5930a). The picture through the Hebrew word for compassion — רחם — communicates care similar to a mother for the baby in her womb.
Do we mind the מלך Melekh (King) or His מלאכות melekhot, the works He instructed His people to do? Do we offer Him zebakh and ‘olah or khesed and rakham? Is it one or the other — the “letter of the Law” or the Spirit of the Law-giver (Rom. 7:6)? The whole testimony of the Torah and Prophets is that it is both — minding the One without neglecting the other (Rom. 7:9–15).
We see in the prophets that God “hated their feasts” because they were not acting with kindness and compassion. They were not practicing the Torah, but the doctrines and laws of men.
Yeshua was invited by “one of the leaders of the Pharisees” to his home for a Sabbath meal. Most likely, he was a member of the Sanhedrin. An important person inviting an even more important person (the Messiah) to a meal.
Luke 14:7-35: Yeshua tells a parable about salt to give people perspective on the meaning of life.
Luke 14:7–11: Seek honor from God, not from other people.
Salt was used for a lot of things in ancient times, for preserving foods, to clean wounds, even as a weapon of war. It was common in these days for invading armies to destroy the agriculture of a conquered land by salting it. Yeshua is calling to mind Prov. 25:6-7. Listen to what the Torah and Prophets are saying. Where does honor come from? What is lasting, true honor?
Luke 14:12–14: Follow God’s example in bestowing honor: Honor those who don’t have the means to honor you.
This is what God does for us. He gives honor to those who can’t possibly reciprocate. In the grand scheme of things, humans are not significant but when God declares that we are special by calling us heirs of His kingdom, that is why human beings are special. That is why we should wait until God puts up in the seat of honor rather than trying to try to gain honor to ourselves.
Luke 14:15–33: God’s “blood” is thicker than ours.
God’s kingdom, God’s adopted family takes priority over human family. So seek honor from God rather than from kin. Context is important. Would Yeshua be telling people to disregard the Fifth Commandment (Ex. 20:12)? Sometimes the prophets have to make the same point over and over because humans can be quite dense.
Luke 14:15–24: Parable of the wedding feast
“Eat bread in the kingdom” is a common euphemism in rabbinical writings for “din[ing] at the messianic banquet table with Abraham, Yitskhak and Ya’akov and the resurrected righteous, according to commentator Daniel Lancaster (Torah Club: Chronicles of the Messiah. Vol. 4. Marshfield, Mo.: First Fruits of Zion, 2010. p. 865), citing Rabbi Akiva in m.Avot 3:16 and Rambam in Halachot Teshuvah 8:4. We see that the weightier matters of Torah as quoted in Zechariah and Hosea are compassion, mercy and kindness. There will be people who are invited but they don’t come because they are “too busy” and they will miss out.
Symbols of the parable
- Host = God
- Banquet = Wedding banquet of the Lamb
- Slave = Yeshua
- Invitees = Hearers of the good news about the coming of the Kingdom through God’s Messiah
- Excuses = Deceitfulness of wealth and materialism
- This is similar to the thorns in the parable of the sower.
- Poor, crippled, blind, lame = Disenfranchised hearers of the good news
- The point: Wealth of the rich can lead to their humiliation before God, and God will exult the humbled.
This Good News has been coming for a long time. This is why He called Abraham out, this is why He called Israel out of Egypt with its ultimate culmination in the work of the Messiah. Those who think of themselves as important in the Kingdom of God but are too busy to actually show up will be put aside in favor of those who would otherwise be disenfranchised. The disenfranchised understand that when God calls them, God is their only option.
We need to be careful and not assume that those who posses a lot of material things are “poor in spirit” or humility and that those who are poor in material things are “rich in the spirit” or possessing lots of humility. The snare of materialism can strike rich and poor equally.
Luke 14:25-33: “Hate” your parents, carry your own cross, prepare for war by counting the cost
Symbols of the parable of the unfinished tower
- Builder = Would-be disciple
- Tower = Lifelong discipleship of Yeshua
- Cost of construction = Demands of discipleship, e.g., “carry his own cross,” i.e. leave the old life behind
- Unfinished tower = Discipleship abandoned
- The point: Consider the demands of becoming Yeshua’s dedicated servant-student before starting the task.
Symbols of the parable of the king going to war
- King = Would-be disciple
- War = Lifelong discipleship of Yeshua
- King’s strategy = Demands of discipleship vs. commitment to discipleship
- Peacemaking = Deciding not to become a disciple
- The point: Are you really ready to become a lifelong servant of the Messiah and messenger of the Kingdom?
Was Yeshua doing away with the Fifth Commandment? Do we kick our parents, children, everyone to the curb? Sages taught that one should be dedicated to his teacher — “father” of his forthcoming life in the Kingdom of God — ahead of dedication to his biological father, according to Lancaster, citing m.Bava Metzia 2:11. Yeshua also warned against “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” by violating the Fifth Commandment in dedication of what would have been support for parents rather to God as a temple gift (Matt. 15:1–9).
The verbage of “hate” is strong for a reason. Yeshua also used very strong language about cutting of limbs to avoid sin. We have to look at context. This is not telling us not to follow the 10 commandments. It’s a question of priorities. Laws multiply where ethics fade away. When a society fails to operate ethically, more laws have to be enacted to protect people. When we live lives of compassion, kindness and mercy and treat others better than ourselves, we don’t need laws.
With all the gifts we have — knowledge, talents, skills, wealth — we should want God to honor us by learning what God says brings Him honor, not trying to buy His honor or to buy honor from our fellow human beings.
Speaker: Jeff. Summary: Tammy.