Healing on the Sabbath

14 On a Sabbath day, when Jesus went to eat at the home of a leading Pharisee, ·the people [^Lthey; ^Cprobably religious leaders] were watching Jesus very closely. ² And [^LLook; ^TBehold] in front of him was a man with ·dropsy [^Cswelling caused by bodily fluids; also called edema]. ³ Jesus said to the Pharisees and experts on the law, “Is it ·right or wrong [permitted; lawful] to heal on the Sabbath day?” ⁴ But they ·would not answer his question [^Lkept silent]. So Jesus ·took [touched; took hold of] the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ Jesus said to ·the Pharisees and teachers of the law [^Lthem], “If your child^[a] or ox falls into a ·well [or pit] on the Sabbath day, will you not pull him out ·quickly [immediately; right away; Ex. 21:33–34]?” ⁶ And they could not answer him.

Don’t Make Yourself Important

⁷ When Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the ·best places [places of honor] to sit [^Cseats were assigned according to social status], he told this ·story [parable]: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the ·most important seat [place of honor], because someone more ·important [distinguished; honorable] than you may have been invited. ⁹ The host, who invited both of you, will come to you and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be ·embarrassed [humiliated; disgraced; shamed] and will have to move to the ·last [least; lowest] place. ¹⁰ ·So [^LBut] when you are invited, go ·sit in a seat that is not important [^Lrecline in the last/lowest place; 7:36]. When the host comes to you, he may say, ‘Friend, move up here to a ·more important [better; higher] place.’ Then ·all the other guests will respect you [^Lyou will be honored in the presence of all the guests]. ¹¹ [^LFor; Because] All who ·make themselves great [exalt themselves] will be made humble, but those who make themselves humble will be ·made great [exalted].”

You Will Be Rewarded

¹² Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite only your friends, your ·family [near relatives; ^Lbrothers; siblings], your other relatives, and your rich neighbors. At another time they will invite you to eat with them, and ·you will be repaid [or that will be your only payment]. ¹³ Instead, when you give a ·feast [banquet], invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ Then you will be blessed, because they have nothing and cannot pay you back [^Csomething given was typically repaid with goods, favors, or honor]. ·But [For] you will be repaid ·when the good people rise from the dead [^Lat the resurrection of the righteous].”

A Story About a Big Banquet^(A)

¹⁵ One of those ·at the table [^Lreclining; see 5:29] with Jesus heard these things and said to him, “·Blessed [Happy] are the people who will ·share in the meal [^Leat bread] in God’s kingdom [^Can allusion to the messianic banquet at the end of time; see 13:29; Is. 25:6–8].”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “A man gave a ·big [great] banquet and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time to eat, the man sent his ·servant [slave] to tell the guests [^Cwho had accepted the invitation], ‘Come. Everything is ready.’

¹⁸ “But all the guests [one after another; or in a similar manner] began to make excuses [^Ca great offense in that culture]. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go look at it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I have just bought five ·pairs [^Lyoke] of oxen; I must go and try them. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ A third person said, ‘I just got married; I can’t come [^Cwhile newly married men were exempt from certain duties (Deut. 24:5), that is not a valid excuse for offending the host].’ ²¹ So the ·servant [slave] returned and told his master what had happened. Then the master [^Lof the household] became angry and said, ‘Go at once into the ·streets [squares] and ·alleys [lanes] of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² ·Later [^LAnd] the ·servant [slave] said to him, ‘Master, I did what you commanded, but we still have room.’ ²³ The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and ·country lanes [hedgerows], and ·urge [compel] the people there to come so my house will be full [^Cthose outside the city may refer to the Gentiles, who will come into the kingdom (see Acts 10—11)]. ²⁴ [^LFor] I tell you, none of ·those [^Lthose men; ^Creferring to the three who refused] whom I invited first will ·eat with me [^Ltaste my banquet/dinner].’”

The Cost of Being Jesus’ Follower^(B)

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me but ·does not hate [or loves more than me; ^CJesus is using hyperbole to emphasize his point] his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—or even ·life [life itself; or his own life]—he cannot be my ·follower [disciple]. ²⁷ Whoever ·is not willing to [^Ldoes not] carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my ·follower [disciple]. ²⁸ ·If you want [^LFor which of you who wants…?] to build a tower, you first sit down and ·decide [calculate; figure out] how much it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. ²⁹ If you don’t, you might lay the foundation, but you would not be able to finish. Then all who would see it would ·make fun of [mock; ridicule] you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build but was not able to finish.’

³¹ “If a king is going to ·fight [meet in battle; wage war against] another king, first ·he will [^Lwill he not…?] sit down and plan. He will decide if he and his ten thousand soldiers can ·defeat [^Lengage/meet in battle] the other king who has twenty thousand soldiers. ³² If he can’t, then while the other king is still far away, he will send ·some people [an embassy; a messenger] to speak to him and ask for [terms of] peace. ³³ In the same way, you must give up everything you have to be my ·follower [disciple].

Don’t Lose Your Influence^(C)

³⁴ “Salt is good, but if it loses its salty taste, ·you cannot make it salty again [^Lhow can it be seasoned?]. ³⁵ It is no good for the soil or for ·manure [the manure pile]; it is thrown away.

“·Let those with ears use them and listen [^LThe one who has ears to hear, let him hear].”