One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The first sentence in itself is amazing: Jesus was invited to dinner at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, the very ones who called Him demon-driven and "the friend of sinners." Perhaps this was one of those who later became a follower of Jesus. The healing once again focuses on whether it was permissible to do so on the Sabbath, where once again Jesus makes a credible case that not only was it lawful, it would be a breaking of the law for Him not to. Jesus now goes to the core of the issue: Why was it that the Pharisees and others like them opposed Him so much, and had such a struggle with Him doing good? Pride. They wanted to use situations and use others for what would benefit their position and others' perception of them. They had no interested in the well-being of others or the glory of God. Following Jesus means giving up promotion of self, and instead, like Him, taking the form of a servant, doing what is best for others, and seeking the Glory of God. Who can you go pull out of the pit today?
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