The Glory of His Second Judean Tour
The Kindness of Christ · AD 30
This man receives sinners and eats with them.
Luke 15:2
Christ is kind — a friend to the friendless who welcomed the very outcasts the world despised. On His second Judean tour He dined in the house of a Pharisee and taught the humble to take the lowest seat, He counted the cost of discipleship before the crowds, and He answered the grumbling of the Pharisees with parables of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Through it all He proved that He is kind even to the ungrateful and the evil, remaining a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Read: Luke 14:1–35; Luke 15:1–32; Luke 16:1–31; Matthew 18:15–35
At the Table of a Pharisee
A ruler of the Pharisees invited Christ to dine on the Sabbath, and the guests watched Him closely, hoping to catch Him healing. A man suffering from dropsy was there, so Christ asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” When no one answered, He healed the man and sent him away — reminding them that any of them would pull a son or an ox out of a well on the Sabbath.
As the guests jockeyed for the best seats, the Lord was grieved. He who was Lord of all had chosen the lowest place, willing to be the servant of all. So He urged them to take the lowest seat and wait to be called higher, for the one who exalts himself will be humbled.
He charged them not to host dinners to gain favors from the wealthy and powerful, but to welcome those who could never repay them.
When a guest exclaimed, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Christ told the parable of the great banquet. A man invited many prestigious guests, but each was too busy to come. Angered, the master sent his servant into the streets and along the highways and hedges to compel the poor, the crippled, and the outcasts to fill his table — for those who refuse the kingdom have only themselves to blame.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 14:11
“But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Luke 14:13–14
The Cost of Discipleship
As great crowds followed Him through Judea, Christ would not let them follow cheaply. He wanted them to know the cost up front, for we cannot love this world and love God, nor grab hold of Christ without letting go of everything else.
He gave two illustrations. A man who begins to build a tower without counting the expense will be mocked when he cannot finish; a king going to war against a stronger army must first weigh his chances. In the same way, following Christ will cost us everything — even our own lives. And a disciple who does not continue becomes like salt that has lost its taste, worthless and thrown out.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:26–27
Lost and Found: A Friend of Sinners
The tax collectors and sinners drew near to hear Him, and the Pharisees grumbled, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” In answer Christ told three parables. A shepherd with a hundred sheep leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one that is lost, and rejoices over it when it is found. A woman with ten silver coins sweeps her house until she finds the one that was lost.
Then He told of a father with two sons. The younger squandered his inheritance in reckless living, came to his senses in a pigsty, and returned home in repentance — and the overjoyed father ran to him and threw a feast. But the older son, who pictures the Pharisees, was angry and jealous that his wayward brother was so lavishly received. Salvation is not fair; the heavenly banquet is reserved for those who know they do not deserve to be there.
It was not only pride but the love of money that kept the Pharisees from Christ. He taught His disciples to be shrewd with the wealth on loan to them — investing it in eternity by giving it away — for we brought nothing into the world and can carry nothing out. Above all, He warned that no servant can serve two masters.
The Pharisees, being lovers of money, ridiculed Him. So He told of a rich man who feasted sumptuously and a beggar named Lazarus who lay at his gate covered in sores. Both died: the angels carried Lazarus to Abraham's side, while the rich man was tormented in Hades. Abraham answered his pleas that his brothers had Moses and the Prophets — and if they would not hear them, neither would they be convinced if someone rose from the dead.
“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Luke 15:7
“No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Luke 16:13
Kindness to the End
Christ does not only befriend the friendless; He endures in His kindness to the end. Knowing His people would battle sin until the last day, He turned to His disciples and warned that temptations to sin are sure to come — but woe to the one through whom they come. Better to lose an eye, a hand, or a foot than to be thrown whole into hell; we are not to flirt with temptation but to amputate it.
He taught them how to respond when sinned against. If a brother sins, go to him privately; if he will not listen, bring one or two witnesses; if still he refuses, tell the church; and if he will not hear the church, treat him as an outsider. And when a brother repents, we must forgive — even seventy-seven times.
To show the necessity of forgiveness, Christ told of a servant forgiven an enormous debt who then seized a fellow servant over a trifling one and threw him into prison. His master, enraged, delivered him to the jailers. We who have been forgiven an immeasurable debt have no ground to withhold forgiveness from others.
When the Pharisees tested Him on divorce, He pointed them back to the beginning — that God made them male and female and joined them as one flesh, which man must not separate; Moses permitted divorce only because of hardness of heart. And when the disciples asked Him to increase their faith, He answered that faith like a grain of mustard seed could uproot a mulberry tree. Yet whatever good we do, we remain unworthy servants who have only done our duty.
“So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Matthew 18:35
“So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
Luke 17:10
For Reflection
Down, down, down the Lord traveled as He poured Himself out in kindness. He showed no favoritism to the rich or powerful and was not ashamed to walk the highways and hedges to invite the outcasts of society to His heavenly banquet. Having befriended the friendless and loved the unlovable, He remains faithful to us in all our failures and sins — for Christ proved that He “is kind to the ungrateful and the evil,” a friend who sticks closer than a brother.