Jesus at a Pharisee’s House^(A)

14 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee,^(B) he was being carefully watched.^{(C) 2} There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. ³ Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law,^(D) “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”^{(E) 4} But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

⁵ Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child^[a] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”^{(F) 6} And they had nothing to say.

⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table,^(G) 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. ⁹ If 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. 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 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.”^(H)

¹² Then 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. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,^{(I) 14} and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”^(J)

The Parable of the Great Banquet^(K)

¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast^(L) in the kingdom of God.”^(M)

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 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.’^(N)

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. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”^(O)

The Cost of Being a Disciple

²⁵ Large 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.^{(P) 27} And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.^(Q)

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? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘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? 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, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.^(R)

³⁴ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?^{(S) 35} It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.^(T)

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(U)

The Demand for a Sign^(A)

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees^(B) came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.^(C)

² He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^{[a](D) 4} A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”^(E) Jesus then left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵ When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. ⁶ “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”^(F)

⁷ They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

⁸ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith,^(G) why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? ⁹ Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?^{(H) 10} Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?^{(I) 11} How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.^(J)

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah^(K)

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;^(L) others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”^(M)

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”^(N)

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,^(O) but by my Father in heaven.^{(P) 18} And I tell you that you are Peter,^[b](Q) and on this rock I will build my church,^(R) and the gates of Hades^[c] will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys^(S) of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[e] loosed in heaven.”^{(T) 20} Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone^(U) that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Predicts His Death^(V)

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem^(W) and suffer many things^(X) at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,^(Y) and that he must be killed^(Z) and on the third day^(AA) be raised to life.^(AB)

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!^(AC) You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.^{(AD) 25} For whoever wants to save their life^[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.^{(AE) 26} What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man^(AF) is going to come^(AG) in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.^(AH)

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”