Becoming Like Christ

This morning I was wanting to grow in my knowledge of what kind of man Jesus was and I felt like reading out of Luke 14:1-6, 12-17 NIV:

[1] "One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. [2] There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. [3] Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” [4] But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
[5] Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” [6] And they had nothing to say.

[12] Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. [13] But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, [14] and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

[15] When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” [16] Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. [17] At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready...."

I had a couple of reflections on these passages. First, although Jesus battled regularly with the Pharisees, he was actually on friendly terms with them, at least with some, even dining in this one's house. He came to call sinners and set free those of us who are bound in sin. The Pharisees are no different than all of us in that regard. You could say that Jesus loved the man, but disliked his teaching.

Second, Jesus was always on, always being watched, and He was constantly in communication with the Father. Thus, he never missed an opportunity to speak what the Father was whispering to Him, nor the opportunity to provide additional insight into the Father's heart.

Third, He was moved by people' sufferings. In this case there is a man suffering from dropsy, or edema, which is severe swelling in the connective tissues due to retention of water. In this case, after using the man's suffering to make a point about the rules of the sabbath, Jesus heals him, so one would expect Hus swelling went down immediately. That must have been a awesome to witness!

Fourth, the teaching on the banquet in Heaven was apparently a spur of the moment teaching, yet full of significant truth. The second section starting with verse 15, is actually prophetic, speaking about the day when the doors we be swung open to poor and lowly, and even the gentiles. This is huge and yet it came forth almost as an afterthought to the conversation that was happening at the banquet. It is thus important for us to pay attention at all times to what the Lord might saying, sometimes using completely nonreligious scenarios to impart significant truth.

Lastly, we should be careful how we give, for giving when one expects to receive an equivalent gift in return is not what we are called to do as His followers. We are supposed to be generous, extending grace to those around us. Grace is unmerited favor, in other words favor that is not being returned, not being earned.

Lord, help me to assimilate these truths into my life. My goal is to become more like You in every way, so I want to learn from You and I want to embrace all that You model in the Gospels. I want to become like You Lord.