Luke 14:8-10

Luke 14:8-10

[8] When  thou art bidden  of  any  man to  a wedding,  not  down  in  the highest room;  a more honourable man  bidden  of  him;  [9] And  he that bade  and  him  come  and say  Give  place;  and  thou begin  with  shame  to take  the lowest  room.  [10] But  when  thou art bidden,  go  and sit down  in  the lowest  room;  that  when  he that bade  cometh,  Friend,  go up  higher:  then  worship  in the presence  of them that sit at meat 

What does Luke 14:8-10 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Jesus" teaching from here on in this section centers on the concept of being invited (called, Gr. kaleo, Luke 14:8 [1], 9 , 10 [1], 12 [1], 13 , 16 , 17 , 24).
The meal in the Pharisee"s house was not a wedding feast. Jesus used that type of banquet in His parable because He was speaking of the messianic banquet at the beginning of the kingdom. Then Israel would unite with her Messiah. Evidently Jesus" point was that the Jews present should learn a spiritual lesson about the kingdom from the simple social situation He described. Everyone realized that seeking a prominent place for oneself at a banquet could lead to personal embarrassment. Jesus" hearers were to learn from this not to seek prominence for themselves but to humble themselves. In relation to the kingdom this meant being willing to forego present prominence, which the Pharisees so desired, and humbling oneself by associating with Jesus as a disciple. The implication was that those who so humbled themselves now would experience exaltation by God in the kingdom when it began ( Luke 14:11).
The reason one should humble himself is that someone else has invited him. He is a guest, not the host. Jesus further stressed this dependent relationship by using passive verbs. This was not only to avoid direct reference to God out of respect but to present God as the exalted host. A person"s position in the kingdom depends on God, not on his own self-seeking.