Articles
Jesus' Figures of Speech - 7
“When you give a dinner … do not ask your friends, your brother, your relatives, nor your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.” (Lk 14:12)
Is this literal? If so, then why does Jesus feast with His friends a week before His death (Jn 12)? Or why were early saints “breaking bread from house to house” with fellow believers (Ac 2:46)? Is it unscriptural to have a wedding reception or a birthday party where the invitees are mainly friends and family?
Though what Jesus says sounds absolute when stripped of its context, it is apparent that he is aiming to correct the faults that He witnesses among the Pharisees: “So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places … for whoever exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:7, 11). He also speaks in a relative “not/but” format which is designed to place greater weight upon the “but” contrast.
If we are not careful our “service” can degenerate into selfish pursuits disguised as godliness. Yes, Christians can eat together, but we can easily become a closed society enjoying our wealth and festivities to the exclusion of the disadvantaged. We must carefully examine our motives lest we fool ourselves.
