Have you ever attended a party where the hosts and other guests treated you like a zoo animal? They look at you and listen to you only to see how different you are? This happened to Jesus all the time. 

This chapter begins with such an occasion. The hosts even brought props. It was the Sabbath. Jesus had, to his hosts and guests, a bad habit of healing people on the Sabbath. According to them, this was work. Work was forbidden on the Sabbath. In other words, they set up Jesus for an argument, and worse. 

Hallelujah, Jesus did what Jesus does. He healed the man who was desperately ill.  Jesus then asked one of his many questions: “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?’” (verse 5).

Verse 6 is illuminating: “And they had nothing to say.” In other words, it’s a good thing you are not those people’s child or ox. 

Jesus noted how everyone jockeyed for the seats of honor (verse 7). Working the room is okay, but saving your child is not. Jesus had thoughts on that (verses 8-11). 

Someone tried to move the conversation in a different direction in verse 15: “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus responded with a story about a certain man who threw a great banquet and invited many guests (verses 16-24). None of the important people came. The seat jockeys stayed away. 

What to do? The host invited the last and the least likely to get invited to a major-league shindig. He even had the room packed to overflowing with people nobody ordinarily wanted in their homes or at their parties. 

You get the idea, upon reflection, there was a kind of mutuality taking place in this conversation. The hosts didn’t want to attend any party Jesus was throwing, and Jesus didn’t want anyone at his party who restricted the good he could do or who he could do it for. Some people self-selected themselves out of Jesus’ party. They were too busy or too important. 

Remember this. Some people are too busy or too important for God. When we all get to heaven, not all of us will get to heaven because not all of us really want to go. If there were a third option—heaven, hell, or something somewhere in between—those people would choose the third option. Not so heavenly and not so hellish would be just right. 

There is no Goldilocks option.

So, either we spend eternity where everything is good all the time, or we spend eternity praying for climate change. Either we go to Jesus’ party with the wide-open guest list, or we end up with the social climbers who see you as a zoo animal and really don’t care one thing about you. Besides, it’s so darn hot. 

Jesus said, “Whosoever will may come.” I’m with Jesus. And you?

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I will attend Jesus’ party.

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