“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith"

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 14:15-24:

We started this chapter with the Lord eating with a ruler of the Pharisees. We know that they are actively trying to catch the Lord in something that they can use to destroy His influence on the multitudes. Yet, even though the Lord knows their hearts, He has brought the wisdom and truth of God's word directly to them. He has dared them to find fault with doing good on the Sabbath; they could not! He has pointed out that their attempts at self exaltation are going to be their downfall, unless they can learn true humility in serving God; they will not!

Luke 14:11 “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

He is now going to continue to show the destructive nature of the Pharisees in their hypocrisy and rejection of His word and Him as the Son of God.

Text #1:

Luke 14:15-17 “Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.”

First, we learn through the statement of the one at the table of the ruler of the Pharisees; the Jewish notion that the kingdom would be ushered in by great pomp and circumstance; such as a great feast.

Second, this statement will be used as a spring board for the Lord to teach a parable concerning not just this misguided notion; but that they wouldn't accept it even if it was.

Remember a parable is a spiritual message ‘cast beside' daily events.

Here, we have a man having a great supper (after the fashion of the supper referenced in the opening statement), and he has sent out early invitations, which was customary at this time. This may be symbolic of the message of the prophets concerning the coming kingdom. At any rate, as the time for the feast draws near, he sends out a servant to those invited, saying that the time has arrived for them to come. This would be the message of John the Baptist and even of the Lord during His earthly ministry; even the twelve and seventy disciples He has sent out.

Matthew 10:5-7 “These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel . 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Text #2:

Luke 14:18-20 “But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”

3 Excuses:

•  These previously invited guests made engagements without regard for the great banquet.

•  They placed little value on this friendship or this feast, which shows their disrespect.

•  Each excuse contains an element of newness (field, oxen, and wife); showing the things of this world to be sweeter to those invited than the invitation.

•  All these forgo their invitation to dine in this great feast for the trifles of self desire.

Text #3:

Luke 14:21-24 “So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' 22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'”

As the servant came back and reported the excuses of those who had received early invitations and the master of the house is faced with this rejection, he gives new instructions to the servant. Some things to consider in the new instruction:

•  All the invitations are going to go out to the lost sheep of Israel . The early invitations have gone out to the religious leaders of the people, who were familiar with the teachings of the prophets.

•  The first invites were to those considered to be the honorable citizens of the city (by their outward appearance and claims), yet they are the ones guilty of the rejection.

•  The new invitation goes out to those, considered by the so-called honorable citizens, to be the lowly denizens of the city and they came in.

•  There was still room at the feast after the acceptance of those to whom the new invitation went. So, the master instructs his servant to extend the invitation to those who did not even dwell within the city. These poor country bumpkins, as we would call them today, did not think themselves worthy of such a feast and had to be compelled to come (a stark contrast to the attitude of those who received the original invitation and didn't consider the feast worth attending).

This parable shows the self elevated nature of the Pharisees as the primary reason for their hypocrisy, which the Lord has condemned on several occasions.

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1)

In addition, it shows why the Lord and His disciples have gone out to the masses with great concern for them.

Matthew 9:35-38 “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Unlike the religious leaders of the people, who should have stood right next to the Lord in bringing His message of preparation to the masses; who were the ones who displayed the humble nature necessary to receive His teaching. The Pharisees, scribes, and even the Sadducees were a constant antagonistic force against the Lord as He brought the words of the coming of the kingdom. This parable shows that as the Servant of God, He would not be thwarted from bringing the invitation of God. When they rejected His words, He went to the poor, lame, and out casts and placed with them a value in the eyes of God; regardless of what their leaders thought.

Next: “True Discipleship”