Christ Alone Exalts
Luke 14:1-11
October 1, 2023 anno Domini
I’ve always assumed the guy with dropsy was a guest that the Pharisees didn’t want to invite but had to because he was either a relative or another Pharisee. Then I assumed Jesus sat with him when no one else wanted to because that’s the Gospel. The last person God should want to sit down with is me because He knows my sin, but then Jesus comes along to sit and eat with sinners, with me.
But this week I was reading some theologians who are smarter than me and they speculate that the dropsy guy is a plant. He’s part of the Pharisee trap set for Jesus. A little while earlier Jesus had healed on the Sabbath and upset the leader of a Synagogue. He no doubt reported this to the authorities – the Pharisees and so they were on their guard. As Jesus headed for Jerusalem, on a Sabbath day, a Pharisee invited Him for lunch. They were all watching Him very closely. A sick guy was sitting beside Jesus. Coincidence or conspiracy?
Then, even though Saint Luke records no question being asked by the Pharisees, Jesus responds to the Pharisees, like He knew exactly what they were up to, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
The other interesting thing about the Dropsy guy is that he doesn’t ask to be healed and he doesn’t thank Jesus. He didn’t know what to do. He was a plant, hoping to bring down Jesus and now he’s healed. I’m sure he didn’t mind, but he wasn’t looking forward to the next council meeting of the Pharisees. Way to go Bob. Getting yourself healed really didn’t help us. By the time Jesus got done with you and His little sermon we had nothing to say.
Nothing to say. They could not reply to these things. That’s where Jesus needs you to save you. That’s the beginning of entrance into the Kingdom of God. God’s Word must humble you for Jesus to exalt you. For everyone who exalts Himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
How are you at humility? At not putting yourself above others? Is that how you act at family gathering? in a conversation about politics? after you’ve watched Fox News or CBS? Or are you more likely to be vocal, angry, even arrogant in your wisdom about the sin and folly of others? Have you ever seen someone come into church and thought, “What is SHE doing here?” Repent.
Humility has never made it onto one of the inspirational posters you see on the wall of a successful business. It’s not a trait that anyone looks for in a President or CEO. The HR department isn’t going to evaluate you on humility in your annual review.
Why is that? The nature of dropsy gives us the answer. This text is the only time dropsy is mentioned in the Bible and we need to remember that Luke was a doctor. He knew dropsy and from his travels with Saint Paul he knew the Pharisees well so the Holy Spirit used Luke’s wisdom to record this story for us.
Dropsy is what we call edema or retaining fluid. If you’ve ever heard an older person say he is taking a water pill he’s got edema. One of the sad symptoms of dropsy is that even though your body has too much water you’re always thirsty. If you give into that thirst what happens? You get worse.
That’s exactly the problem with arrogance and pride. It’s never quenched. It always wants more. These Pharisees who were silenced by Jesus couldn’t stand it. They had plotted against Him with the dropsy guy, and they would plot against Him until He was dead. They were so thirsty to be acknowledged, recognized, and revered, that not even God their Savior better get in the way.
This is how sin has wrecked us. Since we lost our high place with God through sin, now, we have an identity crisis. We want to be known, respected. We want others to pay attention and so we put ourselves forward, usually by walking on other people and putting them down. Pick your topic. How many Viking’s fans destroy Kirk Cousins every Sunday afternoon? How many of us put down our president or his contenders? Sadly, it isn’t just distant neighbors, it is those closest to us. You put yourself ahead of your wife. You put down your sister for the way she raises her children. But like dropsy your desire is never quenched. Nobody is satisfied. Why? Because you’ve lost your place and you falsely think you can get it back by your words and deeds. Repent. Learn from the Pharisees to be silent before Jesus.
Keep quiet and wait for the Son of God because His sole purpose is to exalt you to where God made you to be. The man with Dropsy never asked to be healed, never thanked Jesus, and may have been a set-up. Yet Jesus healed him. The Dropsy guy’s thirst was finally quenched because of Jesus. Do you remember what Jesus said from the cross to fulfill Scripture? “I thirst.” He was hanging there for all of us who thirst for our own honor and glory. He was hanging there full of what has swollen us with pride – our selfish sinful nature. He was hanging there in dishonor and shame because He took the lowest place, your place, a damned sinner. This is what He did so you could be seated again at God’s Table, having the high honor of being called a child of God, having the Holy Spirit create a new heart in you, not full of yourself, but of Christ.
The Lord’s Supper teaches us the same truth as this text. Remember Dr. Luther’s last question about the Lord’s Supper in his Small Catechism. Who receives this Sacrament worthily? We hear that word worthily and immediately think of ourselves or compare ourselves to others. Luther’s answer though has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Jesus. That person is truly worthy and well-prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus gave His body and shed His blood on the cross for your sins. He humbled Himself that you might be forgiven, exalted back into God’s family, raised up to the heavenly realms. In His Supper, He gives you the very body and blood that was lifted up on the cross and raised on the third day.
Believe that Christ died for you and that His body and blood are given you and you are exalted. Your sins have been forgiven. Your place with the Father is secure. You are identified as one of God’s own precious children. That cures you of your thirst for power and place. That moves you to be humble toward God in faith, trusting Him, and toward your neighbor in love. The Dropsy man played no part in his healing. If anything he worked against it. Christ did it all for him and for you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.