Luke 14:7-11

(Luke 14:7-11)

And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,  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.  For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Most church people say, "It is humility to humble yourself." It cannot be said that it is completely wrong, but that is not what Jesus meant to say. Jesus sees those who want to sit high at the feast and speaks figuratively: "And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him; 』
The feast is the parable of the Lamb's wedding feast. The inviting person is the king, and furthermore represents God. It is Israel who has been invited, and since Israel is the model of all the people of the world, everyone is invited. The reason he told me not to sit in a high seat was “When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him; 』 It is said that the higher invited person is the friend of the inviter (the wage).

In John 15:13-15『 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 』 So, friend means one who is in Christ. Who is the one that Jesus calls friends in the land of Israel? Jesus' friends were sinners, including tax collectors. So it is the Pharisees who want to sit at the top. In Luke 18:14, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. It means that the publican was first justified and then went down. Those who exalt themselves are Pharisees and scribes. They are those who enhance their righteousness. Those who humble themselves are those who realize they are sinners.

Jesus spoke of a curse on the Pharisees. In Matthew 23:12, "And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. 』. Because the Pharisees kept the law well, they thought for themselves to be righteous. Those who exalt themselves fall to the horsestone, and if they do not have their robe, they are eventually driven to a dark place. Those who humble themselves are those who do not look up to heaven, beat their hearts, and confess that they are sinners.

In Matthew 5:20, ``For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 』
The scribes and Pharisees are those who think that they are righteous by keeping the law. What does it mean to be more righteous than they do? That is why it is being taught that people in the church should try their best to gain faith.

In Romans 1:21, ``Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 』
Why did this happen? God gave the Israelites the law, and through that law they realized that they were sinners and told them to return to God because they were expressing their righteousness by saying that they were God's people. The righteousness of the Pharisees is self-righteousness. But the righteousness that the Pharisees have above their own is the righteousness of God. In order to obtain the righteousness that God gives, we must be a self-humbler. To humble yourself is that you must realize that you are a sinner, repent, and become a person who enters Christ. Such things that try to be sanctified by oneself and to live a holy life by examining oneself every day to see if he commits sin are trying to show his righteousness. He who is in Christ only becomes like the dead. Jesus is clearly telling us to deny himself, but people are living their lives of faith as they think. They are told to bear their own cross, but they are trying to exalt themselves.