Section 114
Healing of a man with dropsy while eating with a prominent Pharisee on the Sabbath, and three parables suggested by the occasion
Perhaps Perea
| Luke 14:1-24 |
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| 1One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat at the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees, the people there were watching him closely. 2And behold, there in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3In response Jesus said to the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 4But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5Then he said to them, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not immediately pull him out?” 6But they could give him no answer about these things. 7When Jesus noticed how the guests were choosing the places of honor for themselves, he told them a parable: 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not recline in the place of honor, in case someone more honorable than you has been invited by your host. 9Then the host, who invited you both, will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person.’ And with shame you will begin moving to the least important place. 10But when you are invited, go recline in the least important place, so that, when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of those who are reclining at the table with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 12Jesus also said to the man who had invited him, “When you prepare a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. 13But when you prepare a banquet, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. 14Then you will be blessed. Since they do not have the means to repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” 15When one of the men reclining at the table with Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16Jesus said to him, “A man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time for the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go out and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them out. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20Still another said, ‘I have married a woman, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21So the servant came back and told these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind.’ 22The servant said, ‘Master, it has been done as you commanded, and there is still room.’ 23So the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24For I tell you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” |
Notes
Perea
Perea was the term used by the historian Flavius Josephus, and others, for a section of the territory east of The Jordan River, opposite Judea and Samaria. Although the word Perea is not found in the Scriptures, the area was mentioned frequently in the Gospels as the “land beyond the Jordan”. John the Baptist baptized in Perea, and was also martyred there at Herod’s fortress of Machaerus. Jesus Christ often visited Perea during His ministry, and had many followers from there, which at the time had a large Jewish population.
Jesus spent most of his final 3 months before Passion Week traveling around Perea, teaching in its towns and villages. Jesus had been in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22-39), and the Jews tried to stone him again. He escaped their grasp and went back across the Jordan into Perea for the final months before his crucifixion. During these months he taught his disciples about the cost of following him and he tried to prepare them for his coming death.
Today, most of Perea is in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.