Everyone who exalts himself

And He was telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they were picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not recline at the place of honor, lest someone more highly regarded than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in shame you proceed to occupy the last place. But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who recline at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 14:7-11

Introduction

Here is one of those instances where Luke begins one story, deviates for a moment, and then returns back to his story. This one opens with Jesus visiting the home of a Pharisee on the Sabbath. The conclusion is the very parable referenced at the beginning of this passage – the parable of the wedding feast. But sandwiched in between is this lesson regarding self importance and self worth.

We often think of Jesus being at odds with the Pharisees, opting instead to dine with “tax collectors and sinners.” But it is important to remember that some of the most famous converts were, themselves, once pharisees. The great apostle Paul was of course a pharisee (Philippians 3:5). And Nicodemus, the man to whom Jesus spoke the famous words of John 3:16 was a teacher among the Pharisees. Jesus met with all who would listen, having come for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24).

Exalting yourself

As Jesus sat with the guests at this Pharisee’s house, He observed something that would not have been uncommon in that time or place. And in fact, it is probably something fairly common in your own life as well. It is something we all need to check with ourselves: whether we are vyying for prominence for the sake of our own glory.

At this table, there were seats which indicated someone was more important or closer to the host than others. The life of a Pharisee is designed specifically to signal to others he is closer to God than they are. He does not merely tithe of his income, the bulk of his work, but he tithes of the mint and cumin (Matthew 23:23), the small herbs and spices he grows in minute quantities. He does not merely pray, but he prays lengthly public prayers for all to see (Mark 12:40). But these things do not actually make him closer to God. In fact, all they do is earn a cheap reward in the life that fades away.

Humble yourself

In this exhortation from the Lord, though, we see a dual application. It is an analogy from lesser to greater, wherein He demonstrates you might actually receive greater temporal glory via this method as well as greater eternal glory. It is certainly humiliating to be told, “You are not as important as you may think you are.” But the opposite is true as well: it is glorifying to be told, “You are far more important than that!” Certainly this applies to our conduct with one another. Consider yourself less important than you might otherwise think you are, and you may be pleasantly surprised. Some would call this setting low expectations, but it is in fact a remembrance of your lowly state in this world. You and I are sinners, unworthy of life or communion with God. But in His great mercy, He condescended and made Himself frail like we are so that He might lift up those whom He chose from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).

Abandon the praise of men in favor of the praise of God. Eternity does not care about how important your job was, how much money you made, or how knowledgable you were about a vast number of subjects. The only thing that matters in eternity is your faithfulness to God’s commands. So humble yourself and consider others more important than yourself (Philippians 2:3), and you will find great satisfaction in the world to come.

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.