Just Men and Women Made Perfect

Luke 14:1-14 

A Man with Dropsy Healed on the Sabbath

1 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. 2 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. 5 Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" 6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

Take the Lowly Place

7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 8 "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

In Hebrews 12:23 we read about those of the “general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.”  This seems to be the resurrection of the just Jesus spoke of at the end of this passage when He talks of those being rewarded at the resurrection of the just.  No man or woman is just apart from the justice imputed by the Lord in His justice to us, so we who are in Him now will be in that rising again as just in His estimation and seen as the just because we have been called and chosen to rise with Him through faith by repentance as we took Him at His word in being our substitutionary sacrifice to atone for our sins once and for all.  Backing up a bit, this passage begins with Jesus healing on a sacred Sabbath day which was made for man to rest as God did from His works (Hebrews 4:2, 9-10) that points to a higher rest in stopping our efforts to work good to earn salvation and rest in His work on our behalf (Galatians 2:16, Titus 3:5).  The religious leaders had judged the Lord of all for doing good contrary to their reinterpretation of the law concerning keeping the Sabbath as if to earn points with God through keeping their rules while forgetting the commandment to love their neighbor as themselves.  Jesus reminded them of this while undoubtedly pointing to the higher meaning of the day of rest as one ceasing from trying to earn God’s favor by tainted deeds of human effort and lean on His work about to come to pass on the cross and out of the grave as planned (Genesis 3:15) since the beginning of our fall from grace in Eden’s garden.  He then moved to the parable of taking the lowly place instead of the best position of pride to drive home these points.  Who knows if we take the best place for ourselves if someone greater comes and we have to be humbled in moving to a lesser spot?  This lesson was to teach us all to not be self-seeking but others-serving.  When the Lord invites us to move to more honor we then can move there in humility as we know we did not work for what is pure grace of His goodness to put us in His good sight.  This is a picture of the grace we receive in Christ as we cease from our works and trust in His work which invites us to the heavenly position before the throne where He is its temple in the New Jerusalem.  Likewise, Jesus told those who had invited Him to make room for the “poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind” who are unable to pay back the gift given them by such goodness as a further picture of how we are to receive His grace in the gospel which we are utterly unable to repay either.  Our reward is at the resurrection of just men made perfect by the righteous work of Jesus Christ our merciful Master who invites us to dine forever with Him by grace and not earned by working for the gift freely given us.  He makes us perfect in Him as we rest in His work on the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18, Galatians 6:14) and work our the sanctification of our salvation with trembling fear (Philippians 2:12-13) and humble response to do good because He already earned our deliverance from sin’s punishment as men and women made perfect and just in the Justifier (Romans 3:25-26), not to earn it.