[Jesus] said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 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 14:12-14)
This turned out to be quite the dinner party in which Jesus has kindly confronted a lot of heart issues. In the previous sections, Jesus had addressed some heart issues of those invited to the party. In this section, Jesus ended up directing His words to the man who had invited Him, but His words are for more than just that one man at that one specific time.
When You Give
It was expected that people would host dinners or banquets and host people. In the Jewish culture, this was a regular thing. In our culture now, it’s kind of a thing, right? But let’s be honest, even without COVID restrictions, people don’t seem to get together at one another’s houses like they used to.
Having dinner with others is an intimate setting where conversation is had, where food and stories are shared, and where relationships can grow deeper among friends, at least when done among true friends. We saw this practice in the early church and it’s great.
So why does Jesus say not to invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors? And does this mean you should never invite them over? Nope, not at all. Once again, Jesus is speaking to a heart issue here, not a practical one.
Repaid by Others
When Jesus said not to invite friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors, it came with a caveat – lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
This does not mean you shouldn’t share meals with friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors; this means you shouldn’t invite those people and host them with the expectation of being invited in return. If an invitation to dinner has any motive beyond blessing them with a meal and enjoying a time of fellowship with them, then it’s a wrong motive.
We see evidence of this in situations such as politics or business. One party invites another over for dinner, may even lavish the guests with some gifts – all with the goal of getting something in return. This is the type of heart issue Jesus is addressing. If you’re giving anything with an expectation of selfishly getting something in return, then you’re not truly giving.
Repaid by God
Jesus gave instruction on how not to invite or give, then He contrasted it by giving instruction on how to invite and give.
Jesus said to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind – BECAUSE they cannot repay you. Jesus really goaded the Pharisees and lawyers here who tended to view everything from how it appeared on the outside and directed them to look inward at their motives by giving an outward example.
But at the root of that motive to get something in return is pride. Who are we to expect anything?
And yet Jesus tells us that by inviting the poor, crippled, lame, and blind we’ll be blessed and repaid at the resurrection of the just. Some might wonder, isn’t that getting repaid too? What’s the difference in the two scenarios when both get repaid?
The difference is in the heart and how people are viewed. In the first situation, the host invites with an expectation to get repaid by those invited. The first type of host views people as a means to an end. In the second situation, the host invites knowing their guests cannot repay them. The second type of host views people as worth something simply because they’re people created in the image of God. And yet God in His goodness says He will repay them in heaven.
Remember when Jesus told us in Matthew 6, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”? If our hearts keep eternity in mind, we’ll be doing things down here on earth simply because it’s the right thing to do. In the first scenario, the host acted out of expectation of the desired outcome – being repaid. In the second scenario, the host acted out of love for the people, knowing they could not repay. And the reward in both scenarios is vastly different. The first one is fleeting, only to be had here on earth. But the second one is eternal and will not be destroyed by moth and rust or stolen by thieves.
Compare and Contrast
Think of this - when the devil invites people to his proverbial parties, he fully has the expectation that his tempting will yield an outcome of them sinning. It is the devil’s goal to draw people away from God and his efforts are repaid in the souls he ensnares in sin.
When God invites people to take the gift of salvation in Him in which we abide in Him and He in us, He fully knew we could never repay Him. And yet, we are the eternal reward He died to pay for.
As we invite our friends and family over for dinner and when we give to others, may our hearts be aligned with the heart of Christ, in giving from a true, generous heart, seeing people for the worth and value in who they are and not for what whatever they can give in return.
In doing so, we will reap the eternal rewards in heaven in which we can then lay down at the feet of our Savior in worship of Him, who gave Himself up for us and invited into the kingdom of God when we couldn’t repay Him.