Jesus, An Ungracious Guest
Today, Jesus is invited to dine with a lawyer from the crowd. While He is there, He is an ungracious guest, as He says things that offend the host.
When reading this story, I had to chuckle. As Jesus is ‘offending’ the Pharisees, the host speaks up. “Don’t You realize that you are offending me too?”
To which Jesus replies; “Of course I mean to offend you! You are as bad as they are.”
Talk about an ungracious guest!
When I was a child, we went to dinner at a family friend’s house. They served something that NONE of us children found palatable. And we were not shy in saying so. My mom was mortified! Our host thought she was a bad cook. It took YEARS for my mom to convince her to serve that dish again.
Before going to their home to eat, this time, my mom sat us all down and told us how we had BETTER NOT behave as before. “You may say, ‘No thank you’, or ‘I don’t care for that’, but NEVER say ‘Yuck’ or ‘Gross’ again, if you know what is good for you.”
We donned our guest faces and took our plates as they were handed to us. Our host’s two youngest children had never seen this dish before. They did NOT hold back. They climbed up to their plates and said; “We have to EAT THIS!?” with obvious disdain on their faces.
I wonder if the disciples felt as mortified when Jesus insulted their host as my mom did that fateful day. Talk about how to NOT win friends and influence people! Let’s join Jesus and His followers as they sit down to dinner.
Holy Spirit, help me see the story the way it was like that day. Open my mind and my heart to receive Your insight. And to take from this story what is important for my life.
♥ ♦ ♥
It has been a long day of teaching the people. So much has gone on in the crowd. Many are praising Jesus’ teaching, while others are skeptical. One woman cries out; “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” (Luke 11:27).
Jesus immediately replies; “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28). He knows that His ima fits in both categories. She is truly blessed of God.
As Jesus reaches the conclusion of His teaching for the day, a Pharisees in the crowd approaches Him. He waits patiently until Jesus is finished speaking with another person. When Jesus is free, he steps up.
“Jesus, You would do me a great honor if You would dine at my house tonight.”
Even though Jesus KNOWS His words were not gentle to the religious leaders. In fact, one could make a case for them being hostile or argumentative towards all that this man represents.
The Pharisee is delighted that Jesus will accompany him to dinner. “Maybe I can persuade him to have a better understanding. Maybe Jesus will apologize for His earlier remarks after He sees the table I set” the man silently thinks.
“We would be happy to join you for dinner” Jesus graciously replies. Jesus’ response leaves no doubt that His disciples will be accompanying Him tonight. But only His chosen twelve.
The Pharisee bows his head in acceptance. Then says; “If You will follow me, we can be off right now.”
Jesus nods. He turns to Peter. “Bring the rest of the disciples along. We have an invitation to dinner.”
Peter hurries off to round up the rest of the disciples. They were scattered throughout the site where Jesus had been teaching. They catch up to Jesus and the Pharisee quickly. The Pharisee leads the group into the religious quarter where his home is.
“Welcome to my home” the Pharisee says while holding the gate open so Jesus and His disciples may enter into his courtyard.
Jesus and His disciples aren’t the only ones coming to this dinner. Before even inviting Jesus, the invitation had been passed to many of the religious leaders in the area, including many lawyers. And the Pharisees’ staff has been hard at work all day.
The smells of the feast are wafting from the door as it opens under the master’s hand. It is enough to set mouths to watering and stomachs growling. Jesus is ushered to the seat of honor.
“Sit here please” instructs their host.
Jesus takes His place as the rest of the guests file in. Soon the whole banquet area is full. One thing that strikes Matthew as strange is that Jesus’ disciples are scattered throughout the room, instead of being seated together in a group. “No matter. We all know our manners” thinks Matthew.
Near each seat is a washing basin. It is intended for the diner to wash his hands before eating, as expected by custom. Jesus completely ignores the one placed near Him.
Platters begin moving through the crowd under the practiced hand of the servers. Each plate and cup are loaded down with good things to eat. As soon as Jesus’ plate is full, He reaches into it and pulls a sizable piece of meat from its center.
The host’s eyes go wide. “Jesus! You didn’t wash Your hands” he says in a voice pretending to be a private whisper, but loud enough of all those nearby to hear.
Jesus brings the piece to His lips and takes a bite of it. He lays the remainder of the piece back on His plate while He chews. He picks up His cup and turns to face His host. Holding His cup aloft, Jesus says; “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it” “(Luke 11:39-44).
When He finishes speaking, Jesus takes a drink from His cup and then places it back on the table. The host’s face has changed color three times during Jesus’ speech. From ash grey, to flush with shame, to scarlet with anger. Jesus is unfazed by the entire transformation.
The guest across the table from Jesus is a lawyer. He feels duty bound to comment on Jesus’ words. “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also” (Luke 11:45).
Jesus looks him straight in the eyes and begins speaking. “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering” (Luke 11:46-52).
More mouths drop open and faces go red. The host drops his head in shame. Jesus has just insulted everyone in the room, except His disciples. Napkins quickly begin to fold throughout the room. They are deposited atop the plates, which are still full. As they are dropped into place, the owners rise and makes his way to the exit. They have heard enough. “We don’t have to sit here and be insulted like this” is heard around the room.
Jesus’ disciples drop their hands in their laps and wait. Another dinner disaster. This one didn’t even make it off the ground. They are waiting to see what Jesus will do.
Jesus simply watches the guest rise and exit. He says nothing. He picks up His meat and takes another bite. Silence reigns supreme as those who remain return to their meal. It would be unthinkable for the host to ask Jesus to leave.
Once the meal has concluded, Jesus folds His napkin and rises from His seat. “Thank you for a most delicious meal” He says to their host.
The host’s lips are firmly pressed together and he gives Jesus a curt nod. Jesus and His disciples are shown to the door by the servants. As soon as they are out of sight of the house, servants are dispatched to bring the other guests back.
As Jesus and His disciples make their way back to the place where they are staying for the night, they begin to question Him.
“Jesus, I thought our host was going to physically throw us out” exclaims Thomas. “You were quite unkind to everyone there.”
“I didn’t come to be kind, but to speak the truth.”
“Why did You even agree to go to this Pharisees’ house” asks John.
“So that they could hear the truth and make a decision on their own. Now they have no excuse for continuing in the ways that I pointed out. If they truly are interested in honoring the Lord, they will attend to these things in their own lives. Who knows, maybe one present tonight will actually turn from his deceitful ways.”
Back at the home of the Pharisee, those who left have reconvened. Not for a meal, but to plan how to handle Jesus.
“We can’t let Him get away with saying such things!”
“He insulted us all. If He had said this in front of the common people, they would believe Him and stop listening to us.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
“We are going to redouble our efforts in trapping Him in His own words. That is the reason I invited Him in the first place. And if you all hadn’t got up and left, maybe we could have caught Him in something” the host says with venom.
The other’s bow their heads in shame.
“If you would have told us beforehand, we wouldn’t have stormed out.”
“What’s done, is done. From this moment on, we press in HARD. Do whatever it takes to trip Him up. Catch Him in some sort of moral conflict.”
“I have a topic that He can’t wiggle out of easily” says one of the lawyers.
Everyone waits with anticipation.
“Divorce” he says with a wicked smile.
That same smile grows on all the faces in attendance.
“But we will have to pick the time when to use this argument. There must be a crowd about who can here Him trap Himself.”
“We have waited this long, what is a few more days.”
(to be continued)
I thought about having the guests throw down their napkins, but I remembered about the folded face cloth in the tomb. I learned that when the person simply drops or throws down their napkin, it is a signal to the staff that they will be returning to their meal. A folded napkin means that they are finished and it is safe to clear the plate. These guests would not be returning to this dinner. They were too offended.
Jesus folded the face cloth because He would not be returning to the grave. He had no more use for that receptacle. And those attempting to trap Him ALWAYS fail.
I wonder how many dinner parties broke up over Jesus’ words. The ones given by the elite would certainly go off the rails faster than those given by the sinners; tax collectors. How did everyone really handle that kind of dinner conversation? Did they sit by and take it, or walk out? I’m just curious. My manners would probably have had me stay put, but totally silent. Talk about a recipe for indigestion.
How many of those who were present actually took Jesus’ words to heart? Probably not many. But if even one did…
Father God, You are NEVER afraid to tackle the hard things. My life is filled with those confrontations too. Thank You! Because, without those ‘confrontations’ I would never change. I wouldn’t grow into the woman You created me to be.
Last night was one of those ‘confrontations’, after I said something I wish I could take back. THANK YOU that my husband’s memory didn’t store it. Clean those angry words out of my heart. Give me patience, even when I’m exhausted from lack of sleep. I know he is not doing these things on purpose. Remind me of that each time I start to get angry. Give me a fountain of love in my spirit that doesn’t run dry, no matter how many ‘buckets’ are drawn from it.
