A Spirit of Infirmity

¹⁰ Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way ^[a]raise herself up. ¹² But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your ^(A)infirmity.” ^13 (B)And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had ^(C)healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ^(D)“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and ^(E)not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ The Lord then answered him and said, ^[b]“Hypocrite! ^(F)Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ So ought not this woman, ^(G)being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were ^(H)done by Him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(I)

^18 (J)Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a ^[c]large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(K)

²⁰ And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like ^[d]leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^(L)measures^[e] of meal till it was all leavened.”

The Narrow Way^(M)

^22 (N)And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there ^(O)few who are saved?”

And He said to them, ^24 (P)“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for ^(Q)many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ^25 (R)When once the Master of the house has risen up and ^(S)shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ^(T)‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ^(U)‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ ²⁶ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ ^27 (V)But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. ^(W)Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ^28 (X)There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, ^(Y)when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹ They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. ^30 (Z)And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

^31 [f]On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³² And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(AA)I shall be ^[g]perfected.’ ³³ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(AB)

^34 (AC)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵ See! ^(AD)Your house is left to you desolate; and ^[h]assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ^(AE)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

A Man with Dropsy Healed on the Sabbath

14 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. ² And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. ³ And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ^(AF)“Is it lawful to heal on the ^[i]Sabbath?”

⁴ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. ⁵ Then He answered them, saying, ^(AG)“Which of you, having a ^[j]donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶ And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

Take the Lowly Place

⁷ So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: ⁸ “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; ⁹ and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. ^10 (AH)But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. ^11 (AI)For whoever exalts himself will be ^[k]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹² Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a feast, invite ^(AJ)the poor, the ^[l]maimed, the lame, the blind. ¹⁴ And you will be ^(AK)blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

The Parable of the Great Supper^(AL)

¹⁵ Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, ^(AM)“Blessed is he who shall eat ^[m]bread in the kingdom of God!”

^16 (AN)Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, ¹⁷ and ^(AO)sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the ^[n]maimed and the lame and the blind.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ ²³ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I say to you ^(AP)that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”

Leaving All to Follow Christ^(AQ)

²⁵ Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, ^26 (AR)“If anyone comes to Me ^(AS)and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, ^(AT)yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ And ^(AU)whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For ^(AV)which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— ²⁹ lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? ³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whoever of you ^(AW)does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Tasteless Salt Is Worthless^(AX)

^34 (AY)“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? ³⁵ It is neither fit for the land nor for the ^[o]dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(AZ)

15 Then ^(BA)all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. ² And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man ^[p]receives sinners ^(BB)and eats with them.” ³ So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

^4 (BC)“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ^(BD)‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep ^(BE)which was lost!’ ⁷ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents ^(BF)than over ninety-nine ^[q]just persons who ^(BG)need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver ^[r]coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ ¹⁰ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them ^(BH)his livelihood. ¹³ And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with ^[s]prodigal living. ¹⁴ But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the ^[t]pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, ^(BI)I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. But ^(BJ)when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven ^(BK)and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ^[u]‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ^24 (BL)for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

²⁸ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ³⁰ But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

³¹ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³² It was right that we should make merry and be glad, ^(BM)for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

The Parable of the Unjust Steward

16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was ^[v]wasting his goods. ² So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an ^(BN)account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

³ “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[w]measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred ^[x]measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than ^(BO)the sons of light.

⁹ “And I say to you, ^(BP)make friends for yourselves by unrighteous ^[y]mammon, that when ^[z]you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. ^10 (BQ)He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.