A Dinner Conversation on Shabbat

14 Now when Yeshua went into the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees to eat a meal on Shabbat, they were watching Him closely. ² And there before Him was a man swollen with fluid. ³ So Yeshua said to the Torah lawyers and the Pharisees, “Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat, or not?”

⁴ But they kept silent. So Yeshua took hold of him and healed him, and He sent him away. ⁵ Then He said to them, “Which of you, with a son or an ox falling into a well on Yom Shabbat, will not immediately pull him out?” ^{[a] 6} And they could not reply to these things.

⁷ Yeshua began telling a parable to those who had been invited, when He noticed how they were choosing the seats of honor. He said to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding, don’t take the seat of honor, for someone more highly esteemed than you may have been invited by him. ⁹ Then the one who invited both of you will come to you and say, ‘Give up this seat.’ And with shame, you would proceed to take the lowest seat. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest seat so that when the one who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you shall be honored in the presence of all those who are dining with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”^[b]

¹² Then Yeshua was also saying to the one who invited Him, “When you host a luncheon or dinner, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise they might invite you in return as your payback. ¹³ But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, since they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ Now hearing this, one of those dining with Yeshua said to Him, “Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁶ But Yeshua said to him, “A certain man was hosting a large banquet, and he invited many. ¹⁷ At the time for the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, everything is already prepared.’

¹⁸ “But every one of them began to beg off. The first said to him, ‘I bought a farm, and I’m obligated to go out to see it. I’m asking you to have me excused.’ ¹⁹ Then another one said, ‘I’ve purchased five teams of oxen, and I’m going to check them out. I’m asking you to have me excused.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I’ve married a wife, so I cannot come.’^[c]

²¹ “The slave came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house got angry and said to his slave, ‘Quickly go out into the squares and alleys of the city and bring here the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame.’

²² “And the slave said, ‘Master, I have done as you instructed, and still there is room.’

²³ “So the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the thoroughfares and fenced areas, and press them to come in so my home may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”

Telling Parables Along the Road

²⁵ Now great crowds were traveling with Yeshua; and He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—and yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

²⁸ “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and figure out the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and isn’t able to finish everything, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and wasn’t able to finish!’

³¹ “Or what king, going to make war against another king, won’t first sit down to consider whether he is able with ten thousand to confront the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ^{[d] 32} If not, while the other is still far away, he sends an ambassador and asks for peace. ³³ So in the same way, whoever does not renounce all that he has, cannot be My disciple.

³⁴ “Therefore, salt is good; but if the salt should lose its flavor, how shall it be made salty again? ³⁵ It is not suitable for the soil or for a manure heap—it is thrown out. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to hear Yeshua. ² The Pharisees and the Torah scholars began to complain, saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³ So He told this parable to them, saying, ⁴ “Which man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, for I’ve found my sheep that was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one repenting sinner than over the ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

⁸ “Or which woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin,^[e] does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it? ⁹ When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I’ve found the coin I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

¹¹ Then Yeshua said, “A certain man had two sons, ¹² and the younger of them said to the father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that comes to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.

¹³ “Not many days later, the younger son gathered everything and traveled to a far country, and there he squandered his inheritance on wild living. ¹⁴ Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine came against that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to fill up on the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one was giving him any.

¹⁷ “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food overflowing, but here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I’ll get up and go to my father, and I’ll say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your presence. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.

²⁰ “And he got up and went to his own father. But while he was still far away, his father saw him and felt compassion. He ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹ Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your presence. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let’s celebrate with a feast! ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and has come back to life—he was lost and is found!’ Then they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was out in the field. And as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called out to one of the servants and began to ask what these things could be.

²⁷ “The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he got him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “But the older son was angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came outside and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look, so many years I’ve slaved away for you—not once did I ignore your order. Yet you’ve never given me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came—the one who has squandered your wealth with prostitutes—for him you killed the fattened calf!”

³¹ “Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that is mine is yours. ³² But it was right to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead but has come back to life! He was lost, but is found.’”

Parable of the Vineyard

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a master of a household who planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower.^[a] Then He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. ³⁴ Now when fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. ³⁵ But grabbing his servants, the tenants beat up one, killed another, and stoned still another. ³⁶ Again the master sent other servants, even more than the first, and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ ³⁹ So grabbing him, they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the master of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those miserable men to a miserable end,” they said to Him, “and will lease the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the fruits in their seasons.” ⁴² Yeshua said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures^[b]?

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be shattered; but the one upon whom it falls, it will crush him.”^[d]

⁴⁵ When the ruling kohanim and Pharisees heard Yeshua’s parables, they realized He was talking about them. ⁴⁶ Although they were trying to seize Him, they feared the crowds, because they regarded Him as a prophet.