Lukas 14:16 Kommentar

In this chapter we have, I. The cure which our Lord Jesus wrought upon a man that had the dropsy, on the sabbath day, and his justifying himself therein against those who were offended at his doing it on that day (Luk 14:1-6). II. A lesson of humility gives to those who were ambitious of the highest rooms (Luk 14:7-11). III. A lesson of charity to those who feasted the rich, and did not feed the poor (Luk 14:12-14). IV. The success of the gospel not foretold in the parable of the guests invited to a feast, signifying the rejection of the Jews and all others that set their hearts upon this world, and the entertainment of the Gentiles and all others that come to be filled with Christ (Luk 14:15-24). V. The great law of discipleship laid down, with a caution to all that will be Christ's disciples to undertake it deliberately and with consideration, and particularly to ministers, to retain their savour (Luk 14:25-35).

And it came to pass,.... The Persic version adds, "on a certain day"; and it is afterwards said to be the sabbath day. This seems to have been somewhere or other in Galilee; see Luk 17:11. As he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees; or rather, one of the rulers, and of the sect of the Pharisees: and he might be either a ruler of a synagogue, or a member of one of the lesser or greater sanhedrim; such another as Nicodemus, who was of the Pharisees, and a ruler of the Jews, Joh 3:1 for that there was any distinction among the Pharisees as a sect, does not appear: to this man's house Christ went, after he came out of the synagogue, being invited by him; to eat bread on the sabbath day. The sabbath day was a feasting day with the Jews, in which they made very large and magnificent entertainments, for the honour of the sabbath; and he was reckoned the most praiseworthy, that exceeded this way; and no doubt, since this man was a Pharisee, one that was tenacious of the traditions of the elders, and was also a ruler, his table was well spread: the rules concerning this part of keeping the sabbath, are these (g); "what is this delight? the wise men say, a man ought to prepare abundance of food and spiced liquids, for the sabbath, all according to a man's substance; and whoever multiplies in the expenses of the sabbath, and in preparing food, much and good, lo, he is praiseworthy; and if he is not able, though he only prepares boiled food, and such like, on account of the glory of the sabbath, lo, this is the delight of the sabbath: and he is not obliged to straiten himself, nor to ask of others, to increase the food of the sabbath: the ancient wise men said, make thy sabbath a common day, and do not make thyself necessitous to men; he who is delicate and rich, and lo, all his days are as a sabbath day, ought to have food on a sabbath day, different from that on a weekday; and if it is not possible to change, let him alter the time of eating; if he had been used to have it soon, let him have it late; and if late, let him have it sooner: a man is obliged to eat three meals, or feasts, on a sabbath day; one in the evening, and one in the morning, and one at the time of the meat offering; and he ought to take heed to those three feasts, that he does not diminish them at all; and even a poor man that is maintained by alms, must keep the three feasts.'' And this last canon, or rule, is of the utmost importance with them; for they (h) say, "whoever keeps the three feasts on the sabbath day, shall be delivered from three punishments, from the sorrows of the Messiah, from the judgment of hell, and from the war of Gog and Magog.'' That they watched him; that is, those that sat down to meat with him, the lawyers and Pharisees: and it is very probable, that it was not out of pure respect to him, that he was asked to eat meat at this ruler's house; but with a design to observe whatever might be said, or done by him, they could take any advantage from, against him. (g) Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat, c. 30. sect. 7, 8, 9. (h) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 118. 1. Kimchi in Isa. lviii. 13.

And sent his servant at supper time,.... Either John the Baptist, the harbinger and forerunner of Christ, who declared that the kingdom of heaven, or the Gospel dispensation, was at hand; and exhorted the people to believe in Christ that should come after him; or Christ himself, who is God's servant as man, of his choosing and appointing, and whom he sent in the fulness of time in the form of a servant, as the minister of the circumcision, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and to call sinners to repentance; or servant may be put for servants, since in Mat 22:3 mention is made of more; and so the Persic version here; which parable bears some likeness to this, if it is not the same; and may design the apostles of Christ, who were the servants of the most high God, and the ministers of Christ, who were first sent by him to preach the Gospel to the Jews, and to them only for a while: to say to them that were bidden, come: this call, or invitation, was not the internal call, which is a fruit of love, and by grace, and of mighty power; to special blessings, grace, and glory; and is irresistible, effectual, and unchangeable: but external, to outward ordinances: and is often slighted and neglected; and is sometimes of persons who are neither chosen, nor sanctified, nor saved: for all things are now ready; the Syriac version adds, "for you": righteousness, pardon of sin, peace, and reconciliation, sin put away by the sacrifice of Christ, redemption obtained, and life and salvation secured; which shows the perfection of the present dispensation, and the large provisions of the Gospel, to which nothing is, or can be brought to be added to them, or qualify for them.

Consider also to which deity is better suited the parable of him who issued invitations: "A certain man made a great supper, and bade many." The preparation for the supper is no doubt a figure of the abundant provision of eternal life.

(ubi sup.) Or else, the Man is the Mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus; He sent that they who were bidden might come, i. e. those who were called by the prophets whom He had sent; who in the former times invited to the supper of Christ, were often sent to the people of Israel, often bade them to come at supper time. They received the inviters, refused the supper. They received the prophets and killed Christ, and thus ignorantly prepared for us the supper. The supper being now ready, i. e. Christ being sacrificed, the Apostles were sent to those, to whom prophets had been sent before.

We understand the man to be God the Father. For similes represent the truth but are not the truth itself. The Creator of the universe and the Father of glory made a great supper, a festival for the whole world, in honor of Christ. In the last times of the world and at our world's setting, the Son rose for us. At this time, he suffered death for our sakes and gave us to eat his flesh, the bread from heaven that gives life to the world. Toward evening and by the light of torches, the lamb was also sacrificed according to the law of Moses. With good reason, the invitation that is by Christ is called a supper.

This man represents God the Father just as images are formed to give the resemblance of power. For as often as God wishes to declare His avenging power, He is called by the names of bear, leopard, lion, and others of the same kind; but when He wishes to express mercy, by the name of man. The Maker of all things, therefore, and Father of Glory, or the Lord, prepared the great supper which was finished in Christ. For in these latter times, and as it were the setting of our world, the Son of God has shone upon us, and enduring death for our sakes, has given us His own body to eat. Hence also the lamb was sacrificed in the evening according to the Mosaic law. Rightly then was the banquet which was prepared in Christ called a supper.

This is the distinction, dearest brothers, that usually exists between the delights of the body and those of the heart: bodily delights, when they are not possessed, kindle in themselves a serious desire, but when possessed and consumed, they immediately turn the one eating them into disgust through satiety. Spiritual delights, on the contrary, when not possessed are treated with disgust, but when possessed they are desired; and the more they are hungered for by the one eating, the more they are also consumed by the one hungering. In the former, the appetite pleases but the experience displeases; in the latter, the appetite is of little account, but the experience pleases more. In the former, appetite generates satiety, and satiety generates disgust; but in the latter, appetite generates satiety, and satiety generates appetite. For spiritual delights increase desire in the mind while they satisfy, because the more their flavor is perceived, the more one recognizes what should be loved more eagerly. And therefore, when not possessed, they cannot be loved, because their flavor is unknown. For who is able to love what he does not know? Hence the Psalmist admonishes us, saying: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet." As if he were saying openly: You do not know his sweetness if you do not taste it at all. But touch the food of life with the palate of your heart, so that by proving its sweetness you may be able to love it. Man lost these delights when he sinned in paradise; he went outside when he closed his mouth to the food of eternal sweetness. Hence we also, born into the hardship of this pilgrimage, have come here already full of disgust, nor do we know what we ought to desire; and the disease of our disgust increases all the more as the soul distances itself further from eating that sweetness; and it no longer desires internal delights precisely because it has long since lost the habit of consuming them. Therefore we waste away in our disgust, and we are wearied by the long plague of fasting. And because we are unwilling to taste inwardly the sweetness prepared for us, we wretches love our hunger outside. But the heavenly mercy does not abandon those who abandon it. For he recalls those despised delights to the eyes of our memory, and sets them before us; in his promise he shakes off our torpor, and invites us to repel our disgust. For he says: "A certain man made a great supper, and invited many." Who is this man, except he of whom it is said through the Prophet: "And he is a man, and who has known him?" He made a great supper, because he prepared for us the fullness of inward sweetness. He invited many, but few come, because sometimes those very ones who are subject to him through faith contradict his eternal banquet by living wickedly.

But first it must be asked whether this reading in Matthew is the same one that is described in Luke under the name of a supper. And indeed there are some things that seem to be discordant with each other, because here a dinner is mentioned, there a supper; here the one who entered the wedding feast without proper garments was rejected, there no one who is said to have entered is reported to have been rejected. From this matter it is rightly concluded that both here the present Church is signified by the wedding feast, and there the eternal and final banquet is signified by the supper, because some enter this one who are going to depart, and whoever has once entered that one will no longer go out. But if perhaps anyone contends that this is the same reading, I think it better, with faith preserved, to yield to another's understanding than to serve contentions, since it can perhaps also be suitably understood that Matthew said what Luke was silent about concerning the casting out of him who had not come with a wedding garment. But that it is called a supper by the one and a dinner by the other does not at all oppose our understanding, because since among the ancients dinner was daily at the ninth hour, that same dinner was also called supper.

(Hom. 36. in Evan.) Or he made a great supper, as having prepared for us the full enjoyment of eternal sweetness. He bade many, but few came, because sometimes they who themselves are subject to him by faith, by their lives oppose his eternal banquet. And this is generally the difference between the delights of the body and the soul, that fleshly delights when not possessed provoke a longing desire for them, but when possessed and devoured, the eater soon turns from satiety to loathing; spiritual delights, on the other hand, when not possessed are loathed, when possessed the more desired. But heavenly mercy recalls those despised delights to the eyes of our memory, and in order that we should drive away our disgust, bids us to the feast. Hence it follows, And he sent his servant, &c.

But he said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and called many. Who is this man, but he of whom it is said by the prophet: "And he is a man, and who knows him?" He made a great supper, for he has prepared for us the fullness of internal sweetness. Because he calls many, but few come, because sometimes those who are subject to him through faith contradict his everlasting feast by living badly.

Since the one reclining with the Lord said: "blessed is he who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God," the Lord teaches him at considerable length how we ought to understand the feast of God, and delivers the present parable, calling His man-loving Father a man. For in Scripture, when an allusion is made to the punishing power of God, God is called a lion and a bear (in Church Slavonic — a panther, a leopard) (Hos. 13:7–8); but when the intention is to indicate some act of His love for mankind, then God is presented in the person of a man (Luke 15:11–24), just as in the present passage. Since the parable speaks of the most philanthropic economy which God accomplished in us, having made us partakers of the Flesh of His Son, He is called a man. This economy is called a "great supper." It is called a "supper" because the Lord came in the last times and, as it were, at the "supper" of the age, and a "great supper" because the mystery of our salvation is undeniably great (1 Tim. 3:16).

Christ heals a man ill of the dropsy, on a Sabbath day, Luk 14:1-6. He inculcates humility by a parable, Luk 14:7-11. The poor to be fed, and not the rich, Luk 14:12-14. The parable of the great supper, Luk 14:15-24. How men must become disciples of Christ, Luk 14:25-27. The parable of the prudent builder, who estimates the cost before he commences his work, Luk 14:28-30. And of the provident king, Luk 14:31, Luk 14:32. The use of these parables, Luk 14:33. The utility of salt while in its strength and perfection; and its total uselessness when it has lost its savor; Luk 14:34, Luk 14:35.

A certain man made a great supper, etc. - See a similar parable to this, though not spoken on the same occasion, explained, Mat 22:1-14 (note).

HEALING OF A DROPSICAL MAN, AND MANIFOLD TEACHINGS AT A SABBATH FEAST. (Luke 14:1-24) man before him--not one of the company, since this was apparently before the guests sat down, and probably the man came in hope of a cure, though not expressly soliciting it [DE WETTE].

a great supper--(Compare Isa 25:6). bade many--historically, the Jews (see on Mat 22:3); generally, those within the pale of professed discipleship.