Luke 14

Jesus at a Pharisee's House

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.2 There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.

5 Then he asked them, "If one of you has a sont or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"6 And they had nothing to say.

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, he told them this parable:8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honoured in the presence of all your fellow guests.11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

The Parable of the Great Banquet

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuseme.'

19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuseme.'

20 "Still another said, 'I have just got married, so I can't come.'

21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

22 "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet."'

The Cost of Being a Disciple

25 Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple.27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out.
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

LUKE 14

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

1 One Sabbath, Jesus was having dinner in the home of an important Pharisee, and everyone was carefully watching Jesus. 2 All of a sudden a man with swollen legs stood up in front of him. 3 Jesus turned and asked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath?”

4 But they did not say a word.
Jesus took hold of the man. Then he healed him and sent him away. 5 t Afterwards, Jesus asked the people, “If your son or ox falls into a well, wouldn't you pull him out at once, even on the Sabbath?”

6 There was nothing they could say.

How To Be a Guest

7 Jesus saw how the guests had tried to take the best seats. So he told them:
8  t When you are invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the best place. Someone more important may have been invited.

9 Then the one who invited you will come and say, “Give your place to this other guest!” You will be embarrassed and will have to sit in the worst place.
10 When you are invited to be a guest, go and sit in the worst place. Then the one who invited you may come and say, “My friend, take a better seat!” You will then be honored in front of all the other guests.

11 t If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.

12 Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him:
When you give a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends and family and relatives and rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return, and you will be paid back. 13 When you give a feast, invite the poor, the paralyzed, the lame, and the blind.

14 They cannot pay you back. But God will bless you and reward you when his people rise from death.

The Great Banquet

(Matthew 22.1-10)

15 After Jesus had finished speaking, one of the guests said, “The greatest blessing of all is to be at the banquet in God's kingdom!”

16 Jesus told him:
A man once gave a great banquet and invited a lot of guests.

17 When the banquet was ready, he sent a servant to tell the guests, “Everything is ready! Please come.”

18 One guest after another started making excuses. The first one said, “I bought some land, and I've got to look it over. Please excuse me.”

19 Another guest said, “I bought five teams of oxen, and I need to try them out. Please excuse me.”

20 Still another guest said, “I've just now married, and I can't be there.”

21 The servant told his master what happened, and the master became so angry he said, “Go as fast as you can to every street and alley in town! Bring in everyone who is poor or paralyzed or blind or lame.”

22 When the servant returned, he said, “Master, I've done what you told me, and there is still plenty of room for more people.”
23 His master then told him, “Go out along the back roads and make people come in, so my house will be full.

24 Not one of the guests I first invited will get even a bite of my food!”

Being a Disciple

(Matthew 10.37,38)

25 Large crowds were walking along with Jesus, when he turned and said:

26  t You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot follow me unless you love me more than you love your own life.

27  t You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and follow me.
28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. What is the first thing you will do? Won't you sit down and figure out how much it will cost and if you have enough money to pay for it? 29 Otherwise, you will start building the tower, but not be able to finish. Then everyone who sees what is happening will laugh at you.

30 They will say, “You started building, but could not finish the job.”
31 What will a king do if he has only 10,000 soldiers to defend himself against a king who is about to attack him with 20,000 soldiers? Before he goes out to battle, won't he first sit down and decide if he can win? 32 If he thinks he won't be able to defend himself, he will send messengers and ask for peace while the other king is still a long way off.

33 So then, you cannot be my disciple unless you give away everything you own.

Salt and Light

(Matthew 5.13; Mark 9.50)