In Luke 14:12-14, our Lord addresses a host (a chief ruler of the Pharisees – Luke 14:1) and states, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
One way that we can make application of these verses in our lives, is by helping those who need help and cannot compensate us for our services. In this regard, Jesus said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). As a result, we will be richly “recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14).
Our Lord gave us a spiritual application of the above verses (the principle of selfless giving), when He told the self-righteous Pharisees, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Matthew 9:12). He went on to say that His purpose for coming to the earth was not “to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).
Our Lord not only provides the physical necessities of life (Matthew 6:25-33), but the spiritual necessities of life as well (John 10:10; cf. Psalm 23:1-6). Since He is our example (1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 2:21), can we as His followers do any less for those in need (both physically and spiritually) and still be blessed? (cf. 1 John 3:17; Deuteronomy 15:7-11; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 4:8).
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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