The Deep End

Having the Neighbors over for Dinner

The Pharisees, the self-righteous religious ruling class during Christ’s days on earth, knew of Jesus’s compassion for those who were suffering. In order to “trap” Jesus into some type of perceived religious violation, they were not above cruelly using a sick or disabled person to unwittingly play a role in their false accusations. However, the Lord Jesus was and is a keen discerner of ulterior motives.

In Luke Chapter 14 we find Him invited to a meal at the home of one of the chief Pharisees. After the Lord shamed them into silence by healing a man afflicted with dropsy, He took the opportunity to explain a valuable lesson.

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. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

Luke 14:12-14

We must be careful not to play the game of false hospitality. Although fellowship with our neighbors is an important part of the Christian life, the love of God should motivate us to be kind, loving, and hospitable especially to those who will not be able to reward us or pay us back in kind.