Tables & Sinners – How To Party Like Jesus

Luke 14:1-24 // It’s party season. In today’s passage, Jesus compares His Kingdom to a party — and lays out some expectations about what that party should look like.

Reflection

Here is a helpful quote from John Barclay that provides more context to the honor and shame culture. It is helpful to keep in mind to see just how radical Jesus is!

"As recent research has emphasized, almost all social relations in Paul’s cultural context were governed by competition for honor. In many modern cultures, some measures of worth are regarded as “objectively” secure—educational qualifications, for instance, or status within public institutions: if one has a degree from a high-ranking institution, one does not need to fight all the time to establish one’s educational credentials. But in the ancient world, almost every aspect of worth was dependent on one’s public reputation, which was insecure and perpetually contestable at almost every point. To maintain your worth, you had to keep asserting it and defending it, in the awareness that others could at any moment make a claim by which your worth would be undermined or outclassed."

• What are some distinctions we love that we use to give us worth? What might the Holy Spirit be revealing about how you hold onto those things?

• As an individual and as a life group, what opportunities do you have to bless another with a gift that is not dependent on their worth?

• What is your reaction to the desire Jesus has to invite others to the party? Do you feel it is an obligation? Does it feel exciting? It's okay if it feels like an obligation! Invite the Holy Spirit to show you more about your reaction and how He might want to make you more like Jesus.

• Who can you be reaching out to with His invitation?