And he spoke a parable to those that were invited, remarking how they chose out the first places, saying to them,
Jesus is at dinner in a Pharisee's house on the Sabbath, watching His fellow guests pick out the best seats. What He sees becomes a parable — not about table manners, but about where the heart puts itself, and where God puts us instead.
Before the Lord says anything, He looks. One writer notes that pause, and how rarely we copy it:
In verse 7, He has entered the house and looked around. That is exactly where we fail. We are so much taken up with ourselves that we do not look around to see things with the eyes of the Lord. The Lord came with the heart and resources of God to give out blessing. But He also came with the eye, ear and sensitivity of God, to take in the moral character of the scene here. What does He see here? First, the guests, and they do not please Him. He saw they chose the highest places... He saw that it was pride that animated the scene under His eye.
Jesus was at dinner, not in a synagogue. A scramble for seats became a lesson that still stands:
It is beautiful and blessed to notice how our Lord turns the smallest things of daily life to everlasting account. We find this in all the Gospels, and in none more than in Luke's. Under the power of the Spirit, Luke set out to contrast the God of grace with fallen, selfish man. His aim was that a person might be saved through faith in Christ and His work, and then live in keeping with it.
The choice of seat is not a small social slip. It is what fallen nature always does, and it goes back to Adam:
It is just the place that nature likes. The world, which has no relationship with God, delights in exalting self and shutting Him out. Self gets for self what it likes and forgets God. Man is always setting up self, pushing for self, against God. He does not think so, for he says he is only using his abilities. But Adam did the same when he hid himself from God. Do we not use our abilities to please ourselves, rather than for God?... A man is naturally hurt when he is put down in a corner and despised. The flesh does not enjoy being pushed aside, but this seeking for a place is to seek for it where Christ had none.
Everyone at that table was there because someone invited them. That fact settles how they should have acted. It also settles how anyone receives from God:
Fallen human nature is pushy and self-assertive. But we can only receive grace as we show humility. The guest at a wedding comes in by the host's generosity. He has no right to be there, and he has not earned it. He should behave that way.
The seat is the host's to give. One writer shows what follows when a person leaves the placing to God:
If I am conscious of being a sinner, and therefore deserving no place, I shall take none, but wait till God gives me one... When the eye is on God like this, self is forgotten. If not, I am thinking about the slights I receive, and neither faith nor grace is at work... When God gives me a place, it is a place of power and nearness to Himself. But when a man takes a place for himself, it is a place of weakness and separation from God, because self is the object.
Jesus was the opposite of what He had just watched. Kelly also applies the warning to Israel: God had invited the nation, and it had taken the top seat:
Everyone wants to lift himself up. The law does not stop that; it can only condemn... But Christ here brings in the light of God's grace — divine love in an evil world, set against human selfishness. But "when you are invited," says He who was Himself the perfect Pattern of love and humility... Certainly it would be so with Israel themselves. They had had the outward call of God, they had chosen the chief seats, and now they were going to lose all place and nation. Jesus was in the fullest contrast with them. He went down to the lowest place. He took it in love for God's glory. And there is One who will certainly say for Him, Give this man place.
- Watched. Jesus looks around the room before He speaks; what He sees in the seat-choosing is pride, and He names it.
- Exposed. Grabbing a place is Adam's instinct in small form — self getting for self, and forgetting God.
- Invited. Every guest is there by the host's generosity, not by right; we receive grace only where there is humility.
- Deferred. Leave the seating to the One who invited you; a place God gives means nearness to Him, a place you take means distance.
- Reversed. Jesus took the lowest place Himself, in love for God's glory — and One will yet give Him His place.
When thou art invited by any one to a wedding, do not lay thyself down in the first place at table, lest perhaps a more honourable than thou be invited by him,
At a Pharisee's table, Jesus watches the guests pick out the best seats. He answers with a parable about where to sit at a wedding feast. The question is not about manners. Who decides what place you get? And what happens if you take one for yourself?
The Lord is not correcting table manners. He is naming an instinct that belongs to human nature itself.
The chief seat is just the place that nature likes. The world, which has no relationship with God, loves to exalt self and shut Him out. Self gets for self what it likes and forgets God. Man is always setting up self, pushing for self, against God. He does not think so; he says he is only using his abilities. Adam did the same, to hide himself from God. Do we not use our abilities to please ourselves instead of for God? A man is naturally hurt when he is put down in a corner and despised.
Jesus gives the guests a reason, not just a rule. Someone more honoured may be on the host's list.
Then He spoke to the guests in the Pharisee's house, as He watched them take the best places for themselves. He told them not to take such a place. The host may have meant it for someone more honoured, and the social climber could end up humiliated. If this is true in ordinary life, how much more among the saints of God! Reaching for a high place is unfitting, and it exposes you to the shame of humiliation.
The whole scene assumes someone else invited you. A guest who seats himself has forgotten how he came to be there at all.
Self, and the pleasing of self, governed them, for they chose the chief seats for themselves. There, as anywhere else they were guests, such behaviour was very improper. It was favour, or grace, which moved the host to invite them. It was their place, then, to let him appoint to each one his seat. If they would take a seat, let them take the lowest, leaving it to the one who had invited them to give them a better. That was the conduct suitable for those who were subjects of grace.
The two ways of getting a place are not equal in value. One comes with nearness to the giver; the other leaves you holding something you took.
The point of this parable comes out in verses 8-11. It turns the heart to the Master, to "him who invited you." If I know I am a sinner, and so deserve no place, I shall take none. I shall wait till God gives me one. Then I shall have honour indeed... The man who invited the guests knows the true worth of each one and the honour due to them. God will appoint the evangelist's place, the pastor's, the apostle's, and so on. When God gives me a place, it is one of power and nearness to Himself. When a man takes a place for himself, it is one of weakness and alienation from God, because self is the object.
Jesus was not describing something He had never done. He took the lowest place Himself, and God answered that choice.
Then comes a more positive word: "When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place." He had done so Himself. Then, "when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.'" He took the form of a servant, was found in human form, humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name" (Phil. 2:9)... They are universal principles of God: the one true of Christ and of all who are Christ's, as the other is of the spirit of man.
Kelly reads the warning as more than personal. The men listening belonged to a nation that had God's outward call and had taken the best seat for itself.
Certainly it would be so with Israel themselves. They had had the outward call of God, they had chosen the chief seats, and now they were going to lose all place and nation. Jesus was in the fullest contrast with them. He went down to the lowest place; He took it in love for God's glory; and certainly there is One who will say for Him, Give this man place.
- Invited. You are at the table by favour, not by right — the host chose you before you chose a seat.
- Instinct. Nature reaches for the best place. Self "gets for self what it likes and forgets God," and it feels the sting when pushed aside.
- Shame. A seat you take yourself is not safe. A more honoured guest may arrive, and the host moves you down in front of everyone.
- Appointment. God assigns every real place — evangelist, pastor, apostle. A place He gives brings you near Him; a place you grab leaves you far off.
- Pattern. Christ took the lowest place Himself, and God exalted Him above every name. The rule that cost Israel its chief seat still holds for every guest.
and he who invited thee and him come and say to thee, Give place to this [man], and then thou begin with shame to take the last place.
The setting is a meal at the house of a leading Pharisee, a strict religious teacher, and Jesus watches the guests claim the best seats for themselves. His warning turns on one embarrassing moment. The host arrives with a more honoured guest, so the man who took the seat has to move — in front of everyone.
The whole parable rests on the fact that someone else owns the table. Commentators read the pull of the verse as a pull away from self and toward the one who issued the invitation.
The point of this parable comes out in verses 8-11. It turns the heart to the Master, to the one who invited you. If I know I am a sinner, and therefore deserve no place, I will take none. I will wait until God gives me one. I will have honour indeed, when God gives me a place... The man who invited the guests has the right estimate of each and the honour due to them. God will appoint the evangelist's place, the pastor's, the apostle's, and so on. When God gives me a place, it is one of power and nearness to Himself. But when a man takes a place for himself, it is one of weakness and separation from God, because self is the object.
Choosing the first place is not a rare failing of a few dinner guests. One writer traces it back to Adam.
It is just the place that nature likes. The world, which has no relations with God, delights in exalting self and shutting Him out. Self gets for self what it likes, and forgets God. Man is always setting up self, pushing for self against God. He does not think so, because he says he is only using his abilities. But so did Adam, to hide himself from God... A man is naturally hurt when he is put down in a corner and despised. Human nature does not like being pushed aside. But this seeking for a place is seeking it where Christ had none.
The verse does not threaten punishment. It simply describes what climbing costs when the climb is reversed in front of witnesses.
He advised the guests not to take such a place. The host may have meant it for a more honourable person. In that case the matter might end in the humiliation of the social climber. If this is true in the natural realm, how much more so among the saints of God! Reaching for a high place is improper, and it opens you to the shame of being brought low.
Every guest at that table was there by the host's kindness.
Self, and the pleasing of self, governed them, for they chose out for themselves the chief seats... It was favour, or grace, which moved the host to invite them. It was their place, then, to let him appoint to each one his seat... That was the conduct suitable for those who were subjects of grace. And if in natural things that was fitting, how much more is that suited for the subjects of divine grace?
Jesus spoke this while sitting in that room. Writers point out that He was describing His own habit, and the exact reverse of Adam's.
They chose the best seats. This was Adam. This was that desire to be something, which long ago grafted itself onto the heart of man... Adam was nothing — a creature of the dust — and he sought to be everything. Jesus was everything, but emptied Himself of all. He became a Man, and in that form humbled Himself in every way. In the person He took and the station in life He filled, He always took the lowest place. He did the same in the testimony He bore about Himself, and in the way He kept His glory hidden.
The picture also reaches past one dinner party to a whole nation.
Certainly it would be so with Israel themselves. They had had the outward call of God, they had chosen the chief seats, and now they were going to lose all place and nation. Jesus was in the fullest contrast with them. He went down to the lowest place. He took it in love for God's glory. And certainly there is One who will say for Him, "Give this man place." Clearly, though, it urges every heart, and especially those who heed the call of God.
One writer reads the same words forward, to proud rulers still to come.
They will raise their proud heads in defiance of God... He will say "Give this Man place," and the once-lowly Man of sorrows will appear in majesty and take His Kingdom.
- Host — The one who invited you keeps the right to seat you; he alone knows the honour due to each guest.
- Grace — You are at the table by favour, never by merit, so choosing your own rank contradicts how you got in.
- Self — Reaching for the first place is Adam's old instinct, disguised as only using your abilities.
- Shame — The host can move you in front of everyone; a seat God gives brings nearness to Him instead of exposure.
- Christ — He took the lowest place Himself, and God will yet call Him forward to appear in majesty and take His Kingdom.
But when thou hast been invited, go and put thyself down in the last place, that when he who has invited thee comes, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher then shalt thou have honour before all that are lying at table with thee;
At the Pharisee's table Jesus watched the guests pick out the best seats for themselves. His answer sounds like ordinary table manners until you ask who is doing the seating. Why should a guest choose the lowest place? And does the promise of "Friend, move up higher" turn humility into a tactic?
The scene exposes something that runs through the whole room, host and guests alike.
In verses 7-12 of this chapter the Lord exposes man. The invited guest and the inviting host were both marked by the same feature: self-seeking. This has been the character of man from the very first, and it will mark man as such to the very end.
The particular form it took at that table was a craving for status, and it has not changed.
Man is fallen under sin and Satan, and that gives occasion for grace and its ways, as God was then displaying in Christ. This tests the heart, which by nature seeks its own things — honour or power, ease or pleasure, and money as the means of pleasing self, whatever direction it takes. Here it was present honour that men wanted, and it is as true now as then. The true Light, coming into the world, laid every man bare.
The weight of the verse rests on the words "your host." A seat you take is not a seat he gave you.
The point of this parable is seen in verses 8-11: it points the heart to the Master, to "the one who invited you." If I know I am a sinner, and so deserve no place, I will take none. I will wait till God gives me one. I will have honour indeed when God gives me a place… The man who invited the guests knows the right measure of each one and the honour due to them. God will appoint the evangelist's place, the pastor's, the apostle's, and every other. When God gives me a place, it is one of power and nearness to Himself. But when a man takes a place for himself, it is one of weakness and alienation from God, because self is the object.
And no guest had earned his invitation in the first place.
It was favour, or grace, that moved the host to invite them. So it was their place to let him give each one his seat. If they were going to take a seat, let them take the lowest, and leave it to the one who invited them to give them a better one… And if that was right in ordinary things, how much more does it suit those who are the subjects of God's grace?
Jesus was not handing out advice He had never followed.
Then comes a more positive word: "When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place" — He had done so Himself — "so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.'" He took the form of a servant. He was found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9)… The first Adam tried to exalt himself, but only fell through the deceit of Satan. The Second Man humbled Himself, and God has set Him above all rule, and power, and might.
Once He took the low seat and no voice called Him higher. That silence left Him within reach of a woman outside the door.
So when the Lord entered the house He took the lowest seat at the feast, just inside the door… and no friendly voice said to Him, "Friend, move up higher." He stayed where He reclined — just inside the door. And just outside the door stood a woman, bowed and broken by her sin… If He had sat at the head of the table at the Pharisee's right hand, her courage would have failed her in the doorway. She would probably not have reached Him that day. But He was so near her… So the Pharisee's scorn put the Saviour within reach of the sinner.
Taking a low place as a technique, or out of bare duty, will not hold.
Simply knowing what is right, as a matter of law, can never last. A thing may be very right, but there is no staying power in pursuing it. Merely doing what you know to be right gives no power to subdue the flesh… What lasts is the sense that we are nothing and that God is everything… When God is the object, the low place here is enough. He Himself carries me on. Whatever it may be, if the mind and affections are on Him, what was hard at first is no effort as I go on.
What may or may not happen at a dinner is guaranteed with God.
He turns to the guests to press on them the wisdom of humility. Even in the world the man that exalts himself is often abased: but with God this is the constant rule. Man's way is that of self-exaltation: he cannot trust God nor see himself aright; he must be abased for blessing or abased in judgment. How the Speaker here in His own Person illustrates the contrast between God and man. How far He had come down!
- Invited. You are at the table by favour, not by merit — which is why the seating is not yours to arrange.
- Seated. The host knows the right measure of every guest. God appoints every place of service, and a place He gives is nearness to Himself.
- Taken. A seat grabbed for yourself is weakness and distance from God, because self, not He, is the object.
- Followed. Christ took the lowest place first. At one table His low seat put Him within a sinner's reach.
- Honoured. Real honour is the honour God gives — and God gave the One who took the lowest place the name above every name.
for every one that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that abases himself shall be exalted.
Jesus was at a Sabbath meal in the house of a leading Pharisee. He watched the guests pick out the best seats for themselves, and closed His parable with this saying. Is He teaching table manners? Or is He stating a fixed law of God's dealings with every person.
What Jesus saw at that table He recognised as something in everyone.
The Lord put forward "a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they chose the places of honor." People who feel no need themselves block good to others. But there is more: everyone wants to exalt himself. The law does not stop this: it can only condemn... They sought for themselves; they sought the best.
One writer traces the instinct back to its source, and finds it older than the Pharisees.
They chose the chief seats. This was Adam. This was that desire to be something which long ago grafted itself onto the heart of man. Jesus could not but be grieved. From the beginning until now, He has been the full contradiction of this. And He will be so right down to the death of the cross.
Every guest was there because the host invited him. That settles who decides where he sits.
Self, and the pleasing of self, governed them, for they chose out for themselves the chief seats... It was favour, or grace, that moved the host to invite them. It was their place, then, to let him appoint each one his seat. If they were going to take a seat, let them take the lowest, leaving it to the one who had invited them to give them a better. That was the conduct that suited those who were the objects of grace. And if that was fitting in natural things, how much more does it suit those who are the objects of divine grace?
Taking the low seat is not a clever move to get noticed. It comes from an honest view of what we deserve, and leaves the outcome with God.
The point of this parable refers the heart to the Master, to "him who invited you." If I know I am a sinner, and so deserve no place, I shall take none. I will wait until God gives me one... When the eye is on God like this, self is forgotten. If not, I am thinking about the slights I receive, and neither faith nor grace is at work... When God gives me a place, it is one of power and nearness to Himself. But when a man takes a place for himself, it is one of weakness and distance from God, because self is the object.
The world half-knows the first half of this verse. What makes it a word from God is that He applies it without exception.
He turns to the guests to press on them the wisdom of humility. Even in the world the man who exalts himself is often brought low: but with God this is the constant rule. Man's way is that of self-exaltation: he cannot trust God or see himself rightly. He must be brought low for blessing, or brought low in judgment.
The One saying this had already done it. Both halves of the verse have a person attached to them.
"When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place" — He had done so Himself... He took the form of a servant and was found in human form. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name."... These are universal principles of God: one is true of Christ and of all who are Christ's, as the other is of the spirit of man. The first Adam sought to exalt himself, but only fell through the deceit of Satan. The Second Man humbled Himself and is set above all rule and authority and power.
Notice who does the lifting in the second half of the verse. The lines below quote Philippians 2:9 from an older translation.
"HE humbled Himself," but — you will notice — not "He exalted Himself." No, "GOD supremely exalted Him." Nor should we pass over that little word "also." "Therefore God also supremely exalted Him." In the Greek it stands in a very emphatic position. It seems to contrast God's thoughts of His Son with man's treatment of Him.
- Invited. Everyone at the table is there by the host's favour, so no guest has the right to assign his own seat.
- Grasping. Choosing the best place is the old instinct of Adam: the desire to be something. It is in everyone, not just Pharisees.
- Lowered. Whoever pushes himself up will come down. With God this is the constant rule: He brings a man low for blessing, or low in judgment.
- Waiting. Take no place. Wait for God to give one. The place He gives means power and nearness; a place you seize means weakness and distance.
- Lifted. Christ humbled Himself to the cross and God exalted Him — He never lifted Himself, and neither do we.