This is the third and final time that Jesus “will accept” an invitation from the Pharisees to dine with them.
Three times and you’re out!
Three times for emphasis sake!
Three times so you do not forget.

But the “neat thing,” the “really cool” thing here – to consider: is that even though they DID NOT get along, or like each other very much, Jesus was still willing to spend time with them. Jesus hung out with HOSTILE and FRUSTRATING people…and still treated them with LOVE and DIGNITY. He even loved the CHALLENGING ONES…

Yep, “THREE TIMES” Jesus subjected himself to their treatment and all of their antics. It was to be yet another dinner party that was about to turn A LITTLE BIT ugly!

We read that “one of the leading Pharisees”…not just any Pharisee, mind you…but a “BIG WIG”…invites Jesus to DIN-DIN.
If you’ll remember, these dinner parties never end well!
We are being “set up” and so is Jesus.
He gets it. He’s been here before. They keep trying. Their intentions are not good. He is “one step” ahead of them.
The reason for “the gathering” is basically to keep “AN EYE ON JESUS.” They are still trying to “ascertain,” “what kind of a threat HE IS!” They are ITCHING for a fight. They are like a pack of “wild hyenas” trying to catch the lion off guard so that “they can attack.” It seems like they are just attempting “to WEAR Jesus DOWN” so that his “guard” slips…
And, of course, it is a SABBATH DAY. Of course it is! This REEKS of “entrapment” all over the place. “Get the rabbi on the holy day!” Nice!
Let’s catch him “saying” or “doing something wrong” and we can silence him FOR GOOD! (The problem is that Jesus is on to their “game.”) So, they’ve got “NO GAME, at all!”
Jesus is OBSERVING their behavior…and from “his point of view,” it is like a bunch of Middle School kids, yelling “Shot gun!” and all racing and diving for the front seat!
As soon as they arrive they start “CLAMORING” for the best seats. It is all a game and a show! Almost downright laughable! Were, it not so sad.
What the text does not tell us is – in Jesus’ day the Jews ate “while reclining on couches,” which they borrowed from the Greek and the Roman cultures.
The Jewish banquet was set out on a table which sat about six inches off the ground in one shape of a giant “U.”
Around the table were cushions on which the men could recline…with their feet “facing” away from the table.
The host would sit at the TOP of the “U.” The most honored guest “sat to his RIGHT” and the “second most honored” guest “sat to his LEFT.”
The seating chart went back and forth across the table until you reached the “LOWEST SEAT” which was the furthest away from THE HOST.
So now, you get the picture! These were “the SEATS” and “positions” people were fighting over. It was a matter of honor.
These guys were scrambling – like a game of “musical chairs!” It was comedic to watch. “Anybody who was anybody” wanted “the prestigious seats of honor.”
The whole thing was shallow and selfish. The mentality was: I want what is best for me and I do not care about anybody else.
This is like battling for “social position.”
This is like “climbing over others” to get to the top.
This is like “belittling others” or “talking down” to them to show “YOUR SUPERIORITY over them.”
This is like INSULTING or MAKING FUN of someone – in an effort to make yourself LOOK BETTER…by making someone else look WORSE.
Jesus is calling for “an attitude of HUMILITY.” Jesus is the original “COMFORT ZONE DESTROYER…” STEP outside of your safety net. REACH OUT, make the gesture.
The guy was also the original “CLIQUE BUSTER.” He demands that WE reach out to the MARGINALIZED. EVERYONE is welcome. There is no “OTHER SIDE” of the tracks to hail from…
We are all from THE WRONG SIDE of the tracks. We are ALL sinners.
Hang out with the “MISFITS” and the “UNWANTED.” Sit with “the LONELY” and “the ALONE.” Greet someone “YOU have never greeted before.” Sit next to someone who is sitting ALL ALONE. Pray for someone who CANNOT pray for you. Invite someone who “DOESN’T FIT” and treat them as if THEY DO!
It’s time to reach out today! Make someone’s day! Surprise ‘em. AMEN.