Home   |   Sermons   |   Articles   |   Beliefs   |   Our Namesake   |   Photos

Pride and Perfection

Preached at St. Barnabas Church, Bellville, TX

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, 2008

by The Rev. Stephen E. Stults

Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees
to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.

Our Gospel for the day yields to us a familiar picture, Christ amongst the Pharisees, this time entering a house to partake in the Sabbath feast at the house of one of the “chief” Pharisees. Now, we know from Rabbinical sources that the Sabbath day was intended for feasting, for celebration, and for rest. B.W. Johnson tells us, quoting a Rabbinical precept: "Meet the Sabbath with a lively hunger; let thy table be covered with fish, flesh, and generous wine.”¹ The food, in accordance with Sabbath principle of no work being done on that day, was prepared the day before. Thus, the day was set aside for rest and for recreation and, evidently, for a good amount of eating.

Yet, notice the scene as it plays out in Luke. Instead of using the day for its intended purpose of godly fellowship and relaxation, the Pharisees around Jesus “watched” Him. This was typical any time Jesus was with the Pharisees. Some, like the godly Pharisee Nicodemus, were curious about Jesus and wanted to hear more from Him. Yet, most of the Pharisees had an ulterior and sinister motive: they simply wanted to hear something with which they could accuse Him, to try to “entangle Him in His talk.” We know from the Gospels that Christ drew large crowds wherever He went, and because of this, many of the Jewish leaders were consumed with jealousy and envy.

No doubt they were concerned for their exalted position in society, to which they saw Christ as a threat. Thus the close attention they paid to Christ, but not for a beneficent reason.

It seems that this scene was created perfectly for a confrontation. Luke tells us that “And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.” We don’t know if the man were a “plant”, set there on purpose, or whether he took advantage of the open nature of the Middle Easter house to draw near in hopes of a healing. All we know that this man was there for the glorification of God and for the demonstration of Christ’s sovereignty over nature and the ills of man.

First, Christ asks the penetrating question, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?” This is addressed to the Pharisees and the “lawyers”, which some commentators mention that this should be better translated, “scribes”, the ones entrusted with copying the Law exactly as it was written, with “zero tolerance” for errors. These groups were, in word and deed, the guardians of Moses, along with the manifold enrichments and additions of the priestly class over the generations since Moses. At this time, there were several hundred aspects of the Law that governed Jewish life. These were not God-given, but rather the additions of man. Recall what Matthew tells us this during another confrontation with the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23: “Woe unto you you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” {anise: Gr. dill}

Thus, when Christ asks the question, he (and his audience) already know the answer. The Mosaic Law permitted one to rescue a beast fallen into the ditch or a hole, to rescue a child fallen into the sea, and to administer some types of medical first aid. It’s obvious that the answer is a resounding “yes.” Yet, due to the hardness of their hearts, they kept silence. Luke tells us: “And they held their peace.” Why? Quoting McGarvey and Pendleton: “If the lawyers and Pharisees declared it lawful, they defeated their plot, and if they said otherwise, they involved themselves in an argument with Jesus in which, as experience taught them, they would be humiliated before the people. Hence, they kept silence, but their silence only justified him, since it was the duty of every lawyer to pronounce this act unlawful if it had been so.”²

Jesus, according to Luke, “And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;” Then, Christ follows up this act with the Rabbinical principle that they all knew, but would not admit: “Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?” Just for a minute, visualize with me the degree of the hardness of these men’s hearts. They have just witnessed, first hand, a miraculous healing in front of their very eyes and all they can worry about is this rabbi, this healer, breaking the law of the Sabbath! It is simply amazing. God’s Power is so very clearly and convincingly shown to them, laid at their feet, so to speak, but they can’t see it. They can’t see it for a very special reason, which Christ makes clear in the parable He relates next.

From Luke 14:8-10, we hear Christ say: “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; 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. 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.”

We know that certain seats were considered the most honorable at a feast, yet Jesus’ instruction insists upon humility. Christ thus gives a spiritual meaning to the social instruction³. According to John Calvin, “The reward of pride is dishonour, and the reward of true modesty is glory.”⁴ Thus, one should not seek out the best place for oneself, but rather seek the lowest place. John Gill tells us: “But when thou art bidden,.... To an entertainment, and the time is come, go and sit down in the lowest room: place thyself at the lower end of the table, or in the most inferior seat; which will show humility and lowliness of mind, and prevent shame and mortification; since there can be no putting into a lower place, and there may be an advance to an higher: that when he that bade thee cometh; into the dining room, and observe in what place thou art: he may say unto thee, friend, go up higher; to a more honourable seat at table, pointing to it, and saying, there is such a seat empty, go up and take it, it best becomes thee: then shalt thou have worship; or glory, as the word signifies; honour and esteem, instead of shame and blushing; not only from the master of the feast, but from those around you.”⁵

This is very clear. Then, Jesus completely “cements” the concept in our mind, by saying, (Luke 14:11) “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

There we have it. Christ exposes the one special reason why they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, see what was happening, or Who was in their very midst. That reason, simply, was pride. Pride in their position in society, pride in their learning and erudition in the Law, pride in the deference they were paid by men, and most of all, their own overweening spiritual pride.

This pride, this over-inflated sense of personal self-worth, was the chief barrier to the acceptance of Christ and his saving message. God’s Grace will not enter a prideful heart, but, according to Psalm 51:17: “a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

And so it is with us. Not that anyone here could be accused of having the pride of a Pharisee. God forbid. That would be extreme indeed. Yet, for all of us, including your vicar, pride is a constant enemy to spiritual growth.

In my own life, it’s probably impossible to say how many times pride has gotten me into trouble, or, at the very least, into some degree of humiliation when I thought too much of myself, or attempted something that was beyond me.

Yet, we have a cure and a defense against our old spiritual enemy, pride. That defense, so easily used and yet so little availed, is a humble sense of our true standing before God: that of miserable sinners in need of redemption. When we constantly confess our sins and humbly seek absolution and restoration, God’s Grace flows to us like a river of blessing. While God resists the proud, He readily accepts those who acknowledge their need of Him. It is then that we receive the manifold blessings of His Grace in our lives.

This hurricane season provides us with an apt analogy, in regards to our pride. If we, in our pride and self-sufficiency, attempt to stand up to the dangerous and spiritually mortal winds of this world, we will be blown away from our eternal moorings. We will be lost. But if we “get low before God”⁶ and shelter ourselves under His Wings, we shall be saved. It is only when we humble ourselves and cling to the Rock that is Christ that we shall be saved. No matter how the winds of this world blow, that Rock shall be our sure defense, our permanent refuge, and our sure reward.

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

[1] B.W. Johnson, B.W. Johnson’s Bible Commentary, BibleClassics,com

[2] McGarvey and Pendleton, Commentary on the Book of Luke, BibleClassics.com

[3] Ib id.

[4] Calvin, John, Commentary on the Book of Luke, BibleClassics, com

[5] Gill, John, Commentary on the Book of Luke, BibleClassics.com

[6] Sutton, Bp. Ray R. Sutton, Liturgics Seminar, Cranmer Theological House, Houston, TX

Return to Top

All material on this site is copyright © 2010 St. Barnabas Anglican Church, except where an author is named. In such cases, the author retains all rights.