##### Luke 14:7-10 7 "And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them," 8 "When thou art bidden of any [man] to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;" 9 "And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man 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 thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee." Jesus, again knowing their thoughts and behaviors, speaks to their silence with a parable. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. After using their silence to teach on hypocrisy and healing, He also used this occasion to teach on humility, a quality apparently lacking in the other guests and hospitality, a quality apparently lacking in his hosts. The simple principle behind both teachings is that a concern for others should supersede a concern for oneself. When he noticed how the invited guests chose places of honor closer to the host, Jesus exhorted them to do otherwise. Rather than choosing the best seat, only to be asked to give it up to a more distinguished person, they should instead choose the lowest place. This would give the host an opportunity to move them up to a better seat. Notice that the first scenario results in humiliation, but the latter results in honor. We see, here, Jesus is speaking of someone who has exalted himself up to where He does not belong. These Pharisees, Jewish doctors of the law, had elevated themselves to a position far above the average man. They felt, if there was a seat of importance, they should be in it. Jesus puts a story before them to make them think. The one thing they did not want to do was to be embarrassed. Jesus tells them the embarrassment they would feel if they had to step down from their seat of importance to allow someone else this elevated position. The way these lawyers felt about the uppermost seats in a room was exactly apposite to Jesus' teaching. Jesus taught that the great of this world are the humble.

##### Luke 14:11 "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Once again, Jesus taught His disciples to consider the eternal perspective. His disciples must wait to be exalted, and they must be generous and considerate of others in this life, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is a direct reprimand by Jesus to these learned men of the law. It left no doubt at all who this parable was for. Jesus is showing how the humble will be elevated in the end. There will be no embarrassment for Him. He has taken a lowly seat and is bidden to come up higher. This is God's way. The Pharisees exalted themselves, assuming that they held important positions in the kingdom. But Jesus sought to teach them the relationship between humility and exaltation. We are to live with an eternal perspective in mind, not with a desire for notoriety. Followers of Christ are not to exalt themselves by presumptuously seeking positions of greatness; rather, they are to assume lower positions of service and allow God to exalt them. Humility is the true path to glory.

##### Luke 14:12-14

12 "Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor [thy] rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee."

##### 13 "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:"

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