Luke 14:1-35 NIV
Jesus at a Pharisee’s House
1One
Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, He was
being carefully watched. 2There
in front of Him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3Jesus
asked the Pharisees and experts in the Law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4But
they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, He healed him and sent him on
his way.
5Then He
asked them, “If one of you has a childa or an ox that falls into a well on
the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6And
they had nothing to say.
7When He
noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, He told them
this parable:8“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place
of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you,
‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least
important place. 10But 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 honored in the presence of all the other guests.
11 For
all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves
will be exalted.”
12Then
Jesus said to His host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends,
your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do,
they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the
lame, the blind, 14and 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
15When one
of those at the table with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the
one who will eat at the feast in the Kingdom of God.”
16Jesus
replied: “A certain
man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At 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 excuse me.’
19“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my
way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20“Still another said, ‘I 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 compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my
banquet.’ ”
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25Large
crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them He said: 26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be
My disciple. 27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow Me cannot be My
disciple.
28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down
and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
29For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it,
everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t
he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to
oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If 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.
33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have
cannot be My disciples.
34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made
salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown
out.
“Whoever
has ears to hear, let them hear.”
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