LukeChapter 14

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¹One Sabbath day, Jesus went to eat at the home of an important Pharisee. The people there were watching him closely. ²Right there in front of him was a man whose body was badly swollen with fluid.a ³Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, "Is it allowed by the law to heal on the Sabbath or not?" ⁴But they said nothing. So Jesus took hold of the man and healed him. Then he sent him on his way. ⁵He asked them, "Suppose your son or your ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day. Wouldn't you pull him out right away?" ⁶They could not answer these questions. ⁷Jesus noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table. So he told them a story. ⁸"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don't sit in the place of honor. A person more important than you may have been invited. ⁹Then the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then you will be ashamed as you move to the lowest place. ¹⁰Instead, when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place. Then your host will come and say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. ¹¹For everyone who lifts himself up will be brought down. And the one who makes himself low will be lifted up." ¹²Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite you back. Then you will be paid back. ¹³But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴Then you will be blessed. Because they can't pay you back, you will be paid back when those who are right with God rise from the dead." ¹⁵One of the people at the table with Jesus heard this. He said to Jesus, "Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." ¹⁶Jesus answered, "A man was preparing a big dinner, and he invited many guests. ¹⁷When it was time for the dinner, he sent his servant to the people he had invited. The servant told them, 'Come, because everything is ready now.' ¹⁸But one by one they all began to make excuses. The first one said, 'I just bought a field, and I need to go and see it. Please excuse me.' ¹⁹Another said, 'I just bought five pairs of oxen. I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' ²⁰Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' ²¹The servant came back and told his master all this. Then the owner of the house became angry. He told his servant, 'Hurry! Go out into the streets and alleys of the city. Bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.' ²²The servant said, 'Sir, I've done what you told me. But there is still room.' ²³Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country paths. Make the people come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴For I tell you, not one of those men I invited will taste my dinner.'" ²⁵Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, ²⁶"Suppose someone comes to me but does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, and his brothers and sisters. Suppose he does not even hate his own life. Then he cannot be my disciple.b ²⁷Whoever does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. First you would sit down and figure out how much it will cost. You would see if you have enough money to finish it. ²⁹If you don't, you might lay the foundation but not be able to finish. Then everyone who sees it will make fun of you. ³⁰They will say, 'This man started to build, but he couldn't finish.' ³¹Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. First he will sit down and think. He has 10,000 men. Can he fight the king coming against him with 20,000 men? ³²If he can't, he will send some men to the other king while he is still far away. They will ask how they can make peace. ³³In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. ³⁴Salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵It is no good for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."