SELF EXALTATION FORBIDDEN

Luke 14:11

Morning Meditation 9/5/16

Verse 11 says, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Someone has said that God created man to be a king, i.e., the ruler of the earth and the ruler of his home. That was ok when man was not a sinner. Can you imagine having a President that is not a sinner? Can you imagine having a husband that is not a sinner? Well, we do have to deal with the imagination when we ask those questions. Adam sinned, and when he did, the possibility of perfection in leadership ended, so far as one of his sons is concerned. Since man fell, he has been climbing. He wants to be on the top of the ladder. He wants to be the head of his family and the ruler of his nation. But the element of sin has entered that perverts every action he takes.

Jesus has a teaching on this subject. There is a right position for us to take. Our text says, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” This is the punch line of the Parable just given by Jesus. He said, “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” (Lk. 14:8-10).

Jesus said, “When thou art bidden of any man . . .” The words “any man” mean that it is a basic teaching referring to any situation. The man may be your closest friend. Do not assume, as a Christian, upon your friend. Do not be disappointed if he choses another to take the most prominent seat. Jesus is giving this as a teaching to govern the constant attitude of His followers.

The “wedding” is used in the Parable to illustrate the normal selectivity of people being seated in the order of their importance to the host. He is also dealing with the natural desire to be important. He says, “sit not down in the highest room.” The verb “sit not down” translates “protoklisia” used with the negative. It speaks of “the relative rank of the several places at a table varied among the Persians, Greeks, and Romans.” It was completely understood by those to whom Jesus was speaking else the purpose of the Parable would be lost, i.e., to illustrate a spiritual truth by the use of a physical and natural practice. Then He adds “lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him.” The word “honourable” translates “entimos” and means “to be held in honor, to be prized or highly esteemed.” It does not mean that the persons chosen to be honored are more honorable, it means that they are seen by the host to be so. Now when Jesus is the Host, you can be sure that He is absolutely correct in the ones He chooses. But this Parable is teaching us an attitude that we are to have before men as well as before God. It is an attitude that will save us from embarrassment.

This goes against the grain of our sinful human nature. We have an estimate of our worth. It is impossible for the natural man to live without it. But it is possible to subdue and keep this attitude of self importance from controlling our actions through the Spirit filled life. Paul sets this forth in Romans 8:13: “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” It is by the Spirit’s power within the believer that he can mortify (put to death) the deeds (in this case the desire of self importance) of the body . . .” Self importance became a deed that caused the man in the Parable to take the “highest room.” The Lord doesn’t create the bird to fly without giving it wings. Neither does He teach us to take the lowest place without giving us both instructions and the power to do it.

I heard the story of a Bible conference that went like this. The host pastor was about to introduce the next speaker. It was not known in advance who the speaker would be. The host pastor was explaining his friendship to the man who was to speak. He explained the greatness of the man, some of his accomplishments and the high esteem in which he held him. And about the time he called his name, five preachers were on their feet headed for the platform. Needless to say, four of them had to go back to their seats embarrassed. Anyone with an old sin nature has this problem, including preachers!!!

The words “But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room . . .” tell us where we are to start, i.e., we are to take the lowest room. We do not have seniority. We never develop to the place where it is RIGHT for us to assume that we are to sit in the “highest room.” That place is always to be filled by the host. Jesus continues, “that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend go up higher . . .” In the Parable, it is up to the host where his guests sit. There are two things that are suggested by this. The estimate of our self importance is not a valid choice. We do not decide our importance relative to the Host. Then there is His desire to keep us from self embarrassment. Jesus does care about our feelings. We may have to leave the wedding feast with a tear in our eye because we didn’t get selected for the “highest room,” but at least, we were not embarrassed over it.

Then Jesus gives the punch line of the Parable: “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” The word “whosoever” means that this rule is universal. No one has the right of self exaltation. No one can assume upon Christ. He is the One who makes the judgment of our importance. The word “exalteth” is a present active participle. It is talking about the present tense of those to whom he is speaking. The words “shall be abased” is a future passive indicative verb. The future tense is reltive to the time of self exaltation. The passive voice means that He will “abase” those who have this exalted attitude of themselves. It means it will happen. The one in the Parable might guess correctly when he sits in the “highest room,” but not in the application. The one who EXALTS himself WILL be abased. Then he says, “and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Jesus is teaching here that the greatest in His sight are those who are willing to discipline themselves to be the lowest in their own sight.

I know of no New Testament teaching that is more ignored than this one. This may be part of the reason that there is no “mountain moving faith” in our day. Jesus said to the Jews in His day, “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” The desire for honor is a hinderance to faith.

A very common problem for pastors is dealing with Christians who have hurt feelings over not being asked to “sit in the highest seat.” I have a sermon entitled, “Who is it important to you to be important to?” The title of this sermon preaches without adding points! May God help us to be willing to take the lowest room. This is where GRACE is found. Grace comes to the lowest room. The one who sits in the highest room is the one grace found in the lowest room!

May God bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White