Parable of The Wedding Feast in Luke 14

Read Luke chapter 14

Introduction: Luke 14 offers many valuable teachings for believers by Jesus on humility, generosity, and the cost of discipleship. This chapter has several parables given by Jesus, a common teaching method He used to reveal spiritual truths to believers, and on another note, the parables also went right over the unbelievers head, as we say down south. In this outline of Luke 14, we will look at each verse’s key messages, reinforcing the life changing power of Jesus’ teachings, and looking for what it means for us today in year 2024.

I. Luke 14:1-6: Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
In these verses, Jesus is dining at the house of a prominent Pharisee on the Sabbath. He cures a man suffering from dropsy and challenges the Pharisees’ harsh interpretation of Sabbath laws. This brings to mind Mark 3:1-6, where Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, which points out that compassion is greater than the ritualistic law the Pharisee’s taught. And in John 5:8-9, Jesus heals a paralyzed man on the Sabbath, teaching that the law of love takes precedence over the religious leaders practices and opinions.

II. Luke 14:7-11: Parable of the Wedding Feast
Jesus speaks to believers hearts about humility, teaching that those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. This is much the same teaching in Matthew 23:12 and James 4:10, both of which shed more light on the importance of humility of heart instead of a proud heart.

III. Luke 14:12-14: Parable of the Great Banquet
Jesus advises the religious leaders to invite the poor, crippled, lame, and blind to the banquet, instead of those who are able give something back, like the wealthy or the highly respected. This mirrors Matthew 22:1-14 which points out the all are included in God’s kingdom and the reward of resurrection. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) teaches this sentiment, suggesting that God favors the weak and the foolish over the haughty and high minded.

IV. Luke 14:15-24: Parable of the Great Banquet Continued
Jesus tells the parable of the banquet to explain the kingdom of God. Those A listers that were first invited made excuse after excuse and missed their chance to attend the great supper,  and they were replaced by the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. This lines up with the teaching in Matthew 22:1-14, where the invited guests are too busy with worldly matters.

V. Luke 14:25-33: The Cost of Discipleship
Jesus speaks about the cost of following Him, making the strong statement that one should be ready to forsake everything, including family and their life to follow Him. These verses line up with Matthew 10:37-39, which speaks of the personal commitment required from people for discipleship.

VI. Luke 14:34-35: If the Salt Has Lost it’s Savor
Jesus uses the analogy of an everyday thing, salt losing its taste to describe believers, or christians, or disciples, or even just a follower who abandons his commitment to Jesus. If they turn away from their initial commitment to Jesus, they are basically the same as salt that has lost it’s saltiness, useless and only good to be thrown out. This brings to mind Matthew 5:13,  which stress the important role and influence of believers in the world.

Conclusion: Luke 14 gives us a huge amount of information about the role of believers in the world with  Jesus’ teachings on humility, generosity, and discipleship. It teaches us to prioritize compassion over ritualistic laws, embrace humility, extend generosity towards the poor and needy, and remain steadfast in our commitment to discipleship. Through these teachings, we as believers can strive to be the ‘salt of the earth,’ influencing the world positively through our Christian walk.