Trinity 17 + Luke 14:1-11 + October 8, 2017
Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1) “ Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted .” These words are the summary of what Jesus has just taught the Pharisees. Christ “ went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath .” On this occasion, as they gather to dine together, they watch Him closely, for the Pharisees are always looking for an opportunity to entrap Jesus and discredit Him. They want to catch Him in His words and deeds to prove that He is not the Christ. To that end, they bring in a man who is terribly afflicted with dropsy, what we call edema today. The man is in a painful condition, retaining fluid in his body. The Pharisee had placed the man at his table, not to honor him, but to see what Jesus would do. They don’t bring this man to Jesus because they love him and want Jesus to heal him. The Pharisees...