Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

14 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the [a]leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, (A)they were watching Him [b]closely. And [c]there in front of Him was a man suffering from [d]edema. And Jesus responded and said to the [e](B)lawyers and [f]Pharisees, (C)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, [g](D)Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” (E)And they could offer no reply to this.

Parable of the Guests

Now He began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how (F)they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, “Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, (G)do not [h]take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and the one who invited you [i]both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then (H)in disgrace you will proceed to occupy the last place. 10 But whenever you are invited, go and [j]take the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, (I)move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are [k]dining at the table with you. 11 (J)For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

12 Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be your [l]repayment. 13 But whenever you give a [m]banquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind; 14 and you will be blessed, since they [n]do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at (K)the resurrection of the righteous.”

15 Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “(L)Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Parable of the Dinner

16 But He said to him, (M)A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ 18 And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; [o]please consider me excused.’ 19 And another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; [p]please consider me excused.’ 20 And another one said, ‘(N)I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21 And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.’ 22 And later the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.’”

Discipleship Tested

25 Now [q]large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 (O)If anyone comes to Me and does not [r]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not (P)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and (Q)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who (R)does not [s]give up all his own possessions.

34 “Therefore, salt is good; but (S)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be [t]seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. (T)The one who has ears to hear, [u]let him hear.”

Footnotes

  1. Luke 14:1 I.e., members of the Sanhedrin
  2. Luke 14:1 Or maliciously
  3. Luke 14:2 Lit behold
  4. Luke 14:2 I.e., extreme swelling
  5. Luke 14:3 I.e., experts in Mosaic Law
  6. Luke 14:3 Lit Pharisees, saying
  7. Luke 14:5 Lit Whose son of you...will fall
  8. Luke 14:8 Lit recline at
  9. Luke 14:9 Lit and him
  10. Luke 14:10 Lit recline at
  11. Luke 14:10 Lit reclining
  12. Luke 14:12 Or reward
  13. Luke 14:13 Or reception
  14. Luke 14:14 Or are unable to
  15. Luke 14:18 Lit I request of you
  16. Luke 14:19 Lit I request of you
  17. Luke 14:25 Lit many
  18. Luke 14:26 I.e., in comparison to his love for Me
  19. Luke 14:33 Or renounce
  20. Luke 14:34 Or salted
  21. Luke 14:35 Or hear! Or listen!

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) There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law,(D) “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”(E) But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

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) And they had nothing to say.

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table,(G) he told them this parable: “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. 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)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 14:5 Some manuscripts donkey