A Sabbath Controversy

14 One Sabbath, when he went in to eat^[a] at the house of one of the leading Pharisees,^(A) they were watching him closely.^{(B) 2} There in front of him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid. ³ In response, Jesus asked the law experts^(C) and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”^{(D) 4} But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ And to them, he said, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”^{(E) 6} They could find no answer to these things.

Teachings on Humility

⁷ He told a parable^(F) to those who were invited, when he noticed how they would choose the best places^(G) for themselves: ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t sit in the place of honor, because a more distinguished person^(H) than you may have been invited by your host. ⁹ The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place.

¹⁰ “But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ You will then be honored^(I) in the presence of all the other guests.^{(J) 11} For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”^(K)

¹² He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. ¹³ On the contrary, when you host a banquet,^(L) invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind.^{(M) 14} And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid^(N) at the resurrection of the righteous.”^(O)

The Parable of the Large Banquet

¹⁵ When^(P) one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” ^(Q)

¹⁶ Then he told him, “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’

¹⁸ “But without exception^[b] they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’

¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’

²⁰ “And another said, ‘I just got married,^(R) and therefore I’m unable to come.’

²¹ “So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’^(S)

²² “‘Master,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’

²³ “Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy my banquet.’”

³⁵ “I am^(A) the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me^(B) will ever be hungry,^(C) and no one who believes in me^(D) will ever be thirsty^(E) again.

¹⁰ “‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.^{(A) 11} Then I gave them my statutes and explained my ordinances to them—the person who does them will live by them.^{(B) 12} I also gave them my Sabbaths to serve as a sign between me and them,^(C) so that they would know that I am the Lord who consecrates them.

¹³ “‘But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness.^(D) They did not follow my statutes and they rejected my ordinances—the person who does them will live by them.^(E) They also completely profaned my Sabbaths.^(F) So I considered pouring out my wrath on them in the wilderness to put an end to them.^{(G) 14} But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ However, I swore to them^(H) in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—the most beautiful of all lands, flowing with milk and honey— ¹⁶ because they rejected my ordinances, profaned my Sabbaths, and did not follow my statutes. For their hearts went after their idols.^{(I) 17} Yet I spared them from destruction and did not bring them to an end in the wilderness.^(J)

¹⁸ “‘Then I said to their children in the wilderness, “Don’t follow the statutes of your fathers, defile yourselves with their idols, or keep their ordinances.^{(K) 19} I am the Lord your God. Follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them.^{(L) 20} Keep my Sabbaths holy,^(M) and they will be a sign between me and you, so you may know that I am the Lord your God.”