I preached this sermon on August 31, 2025, as pulpit supply at West Chester Presbyterian Church in West Chester, Ohio.
The lectionary text is Luke 14:1, 7-14 – Jesus at a Pharisee’s House.
The whole scene was a setup. A prominent Pharisee – reports have his name as Simon, and that’s what we’re calling him today – invited Jesus to dinner on the Sabbath. This wasn’t just a meal, it was a stage. Verse 1: “He was being carefully watched.” The great philosopher, Yogi Berra, said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” Simon and his fellow Pharisees were watching for Jesus to break the laws that the Pharisees so carefully adhere to.
Luke tells us before the parable about a man suffering from dropsy – edema, or swelling in his body – suddenly “appeared” at the meal. Coincidence? Not at all. Simon had likely planted him there, hoping Jesus would heal on the Sabbath and give them evidence against Him. They wanted evidence against Jesus? He gave it to them.
Jesus asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Silence from the Pharisees. So Jesus heals the man, and sends him away. Mercy over ritual. His authority over their law.
They wanted evidence against Jesus, and he gave it –evidence that he has the power and authority to heal!
Now the Pharisees loved status. Jesus says in Matthew 23:6-7, “They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.” This sets the scene for this parable.
(WE)
Aren’t we the same at those Pharisees? The sweetest sound in the world I learned in my Dale Carnegie classes is the sound of someone saying your name. Either that, or the sizzle of bacon. Imagine going to the marketplace, to Kroger, and being recognized and called on by name? How does that feel to be recognized?
The banquet table was a place to show your status. The closer you sat to the head of the table nearest the guest of honor or the host, the higher your status would appear to be. I’m probably missing something, but the host would usually have a seating chart in mind and would invite the guests to sit where the host chooses. It takes hutzpah to just walk up to the best seats at the dinner table, don’t you think? These leaders had a certain entitlement. Are we like them? Do we try to show our status?
We appreciate recognition. We toil for promotions at work. We count our likes and followers on social media. We run a 5k and hope to win our age group. Okay, that’s not a bad thing. But when does this love for status become wrong? Jesus says when it doesn’t come with a dose of humility. The way up is down.
(GOD)
While Jesus was still being carefully watched, he was watching too. And this prompted His parable of the Wedding Feast that we just heard. What did Jesus see? Those guests were picking the places of honor at the table. Who does that?? The entitlement was rich with these folks. They would probably complain about the new Cracker Barrel logo.
This parable is a bit different than most of his parables. Most of Jesus’ parables are in third person. He tells the story of the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Wise and Foolish Builders, all in third person, so he’s telling the listeners of these mythical actors. Did you notice he’s telling this parable in the second person? There are no anonymous characters this time, this time he’s telling the people in the room that they are in his story.
When Jesus called out these people rushing to the best seats, he was paraphrasing Proverbs, and these Pharisees would have known the reference. Proverbs 25:6-7,
6 Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men;7 it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.
Similarly, Jesus says inLuke 11:43, “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplace.”
Imagine if we chose to sit in the more important seats in our sanctuaries, right up front. Anybody? Have you ever noticed that most people park as close as they can to the front door – of their gym? They try to cut out walking 50 feet extra, to get to their workout!
Jesus is making a point about humility. Humility is not self-deprecation.
“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” — C.S. Lewis, repeat.
The opposite of humility is pride, arrogance, or deceit, where individuals exhibit an inflated sense of self-importance. The Bible warns against pride, and encourages humility.
Proverbs 16:18-19, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
19 Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.” Alteration?
James 4:6, ““God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Paul says the same thing in 1 Peter 5:5, then continues in verse 6. 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up [exalt] in due time.”
Jesus says to take the lesser seat and your host will come and say to you, “Friend, move up to a better place.” A couple Bible translations say ’may come and say to you’ instead of ‘will come and say to you’, and that’s what I was wondering. What if the host doesn’t come by? What if he doesn’t see you? What if he doesn’t tell you to move? You’re still back in the lesser seat.
Maybe that’s what the Pharisees were thinking. As a project manager in a prior life, I get what they’re thinking: Reduce risk. Take matters into their own hands, grab the best seat nearest the head of the banquet table. Don’t place your faith or trust in the host maybe coming to move you to a better seat, the Pharisees were thinking.
And maybe that is Jesus’ point right there. Place your faith in God. Have faith in your reward.
(YOU)
It comes down to humility. Make that sincere humility. No humble bragging. Let’s flip this situation on its head. What if everybody got on board and tried to take the lesser seats. Imagine a rush for the worst seats, all the while announcing how humble you are being. “Roger, I’m more humble than you!” That’s not the sincere humility Jesus is talking about. Here’s a story I remember about sincere humility:
Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger once told the story of his toughest college exam. On test day, the professor handed out a blank sheet of paper. The one question: “What is the name of the woman who cleans this building?” Bettinger didn’t know. He had seen her, but never asked her name. Her name was Dottie.
He failed that exam—but he said it was the greatest lesson he ever learned. He showed true humility in sharing that lesson. From then on, he made it a point to know every “Dottie” in his workplace.
But Jesus doesn’t stop with the guests. He turns to the host in the second part of today’s parable and says:
12 “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed.
Don’t you have dinners with family and friends? You’re looking for a good time, sharing laughs, continuing traditions. I don’t think Jesus is saying don’t do that, but rather, don’t host with selfish motivation. Jesus calls for a completely different motivation: hospitality that expects nothing in return. Jesus says, “You will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” What an alliteration! This translator was all about poetry!
Why is Jesus telling us to host selflessly? Because that’s how God treats us. We bring nothing to His table. We cannot repay His grace. And yet, through Christ, He invites us in, seats us, and feeds us with the bread of life. Yet next week, Pastor Pettigrew will share the communion table, where God invites you in, seats you, and feeds you with the bread of life.
(WE)
So what does this look like for us today? Let me suggest a few ways we can live out humility this week from Luke 14, to live out “The way up is down.”
(a) Choose the Lower Seat.
In conversations, at work, in your marriage—don’t be quick to push yourself forward. Be slower to speak, and quicker to listen, quicker to serve than to be served. Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” includes habit #5, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Show humility. Your worth isn’t where you sit at the table; it’s that God invited you to the table.
(b) Serve Without Repayment.
Look around you. Who are the people who cannot “pay you back?” A lonely neighbor, a struggling student, the person who cleans your office. Call them – by name. Invite them. Bless them. That’s kingdom hospitality. This week I volunteered to coach kids in a running program in an inner city grade school (I have the time). In the introduction, the coordinator told me there was a $300 stipend for the coach. What part of “volunteering” includes getting paid? I’m declining the stipend, of course. It’s like getting paid to donate blood. Is there a definition of “donate” I’m not aware of?
(c) Trust God’s Promise.
Jesus said, “Those who humble themselves will be exalted.” James 4:10 repeats it: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” It may not be today. It may not be in this world. But God Himself will honor the humble.
The Pharisees scrambled for the best seat. But Jesus chose the lowest. The one on the cross.
This week, in your home, in your work, in your church, remember: The way up is down. Don’t scramble for the best seat. Instead, look for the lowest seat. Because that’s where you’ll find Jesus.
In Jesus’ name.
