Beginning

Another Man Healed on the Day of Rest

14 On the Day of Rest Jesus went into the house of one of the leaders of the proud religious law-keepers to eat. They all watched Jesus to see what He would do. ² A man who had very large arms and legs because of a sickness was put before Jesus. ³ Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers, “Does the Law say it is right to heal on the Day of Rest, or not?” ⁴ They did not answer. Jesus took hold of the man and healed him and sent him away. ⁵ Then Jesus said to the leaders, “If one of you had a cow or donkey that fell into a hole, would you not go at once and pull it out on the Day of Rest?” ⁶ And they were not able to answer His questions.

Jesus Teaches about How to Live with Others

⁷ Jesus had been watching those who were asked to come to supper. They were all trying to get the important seats. He told them a picture-story, saying, ⁸ “When you are asked by someone to a wedding supper, do not take the important seat. Someone more important than you may have been asked to come also. ⁹ The one who asked both of you to come may say to you, ‘The important seat is for this man.’ Then you will be ashamed as you take the last place. ¹⁰ But when you are asked to come to the table, sit down on the last seat. Then the one who asked you may come and say to you, ‘Friend, go to a more important place.’ Then you will be shown respect in front of all who are at the table with you. ¹¹ Whoever makes himself look more important than he is will find out how little he is worth. Whoever does not try to honor himself will be made important.”

¹² Then Jesus said to the man who asked Him to eat in his house, “When you have a supper, do not ask your friends or your brothers or your family or your rich neighbors. They will ask you to come to their place for a supper. That way you will be paid back for what you have done. ¹³ When you have a supper, ask poor people. Ask those who cannot walk and those who are blind. ¹⁴ You will be happy if you do this. They cannot pay you back. You will get your pay when the people who are right with God are raised from the dead.”

¹⁵ When one of those eating at the table with Jesus heard this, he said, “Everyone is happy who will eat in the holy nation of God.”

The Picture-Story of the Big Supper ^(A)

¹⁶ Then Jesus said to the leader of the proud religious law-keepers, “There was a man who was giving a big supper. He asked many people to come to eat. ¹⁷ When it was about time to eat, he sent one of the servants he owned to tell those he had asked, saying, ‘Come, everything is ready now.’ ¹⁸ They all gave different reasons why they could not come. The first said, ‘I have bought some land and I must go and see it. Do not expect me to come.’ ¹⁹ Another one said, ‘I have bought ten cows to use for working in my fields. I must go and try them out. Do not expect me to come.’ ²⁰ And another one said, ‘I have just been married and I cannot come.’

²¹ “The servant went back to his owner and told him these things. Then his owner became angry. He said to his servant, ‘Hurry into the streets and narrow roads of the city and bring poor people here. Bring those whose bodies are diseased. Bring those who cannot walk and those who are blind.’ ²² The servant came back and said, ‘Sir, what you told me to do has been done. But there are still some empty places.’ ²³ Then the owner said to his servant, ‘Go out along the roads leading away from the city and into the fields. Tell them they must come. Do this so my house will be filled. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those I had asked will eat of my supper.’”

Giving Up Things of This Earth ^(B)

²⁵ Many people followed Jesus. Then He turned around and said to them, ²⁶ “If any man comes to Me and does not have much more love for Me than for his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My follower. ²⁷ If he does not carry his cross and follow Me, he cannot be My follower.

²⁸ “If one of you wanted to build a large building, you would sit down first and think of how much money it would take to build it. You would see if you had enough money to finish it, ²⁹ or when the base of the building is finished, you might see that you do not have enough money to finish it. Then all who would see it would make fun of you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

³¹ “What if a king is going to war with another king? Will he not sit down first and decide if he is able to go with 10,000 men against the other king who is coming with 20,000 men? ³² Or, he will send a soldier to the other king while he is still a long way off. He will ask what can be done to have peace. ³³ In the same way, whoever does not give up all that he has, cannot be My follower.

³⁴ “Salt is good. But if salt has lost its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again? ³⁵ It is no good for the field or the waste place. Men throw it away. You have ears, then listen!”

The Picture-Story of the Lost Sheep

15 All the tax-gatherers and sinners were coming to hear Jesus. ² The proud religious law-keepers and the teachers of the Law began to speak against Him. They said, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them a picture-story, saying, ⁴ “What if one of you had one hundred sheep and you lost one of them? Would you not leave the ninety-nine in the country and go back and look for the one which was lost until you find it? ⁵ When you find it, you are happy as you carry it back on your shoulders. ⁶ Then you would go to your house and call your friends and neighbors. You would say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ⁷ I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven because of one sinner who is sorry for his sins and turns from them, than for ninety-nine people right with God who do not have sins to be sorry for.

The Picture-Story of the Lost Piece of Money

⁸ “What if a woman has ten silver pieces of money and loses one of them? Does she not light a lamp and sweep the floor and look until she finds it? ⁹ When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together. She says to them, ‘Be happy with me. I have found the piece of money I had lost.’ ¹⁰ I tell you, it is the same way among the angels of God. If one sinner is sorry for his sins and turns from them, the angels are very happy.”

The Picture-Story of the Foolish Son Who Spent All His Money

¹¹ And Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, let me have the part of the family riches that will be coming to me.’ Then the father divided all that he owned between his two sons. ¹³ Soon after that the younger son took all that had been given to him and went to another country far away. There he spent all he had on wild and foolish living. ¹⁴ When all his money was spent, he was hungry. There was no food in the land. ¹⁵ He went to work for a man in this far away country. His work was to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He was so hungry he was ready to eat the outside part of the ears of the corn the pigs ate because no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “He began to think about what he had done. He said to himself, ‘My father pays many men who work for him. They have all the food they want and more than enough. I am about dead because I am so hungry. ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father. I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am not good enough to be called your son. But may I be as one of the workmen you pay to work?”’

²⁰ “The son got up and went to his father. While he was yet a long way off, his father saw him. The father was full of loving-pity for him. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹ The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not good enough to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to the workmen he owned, ‘Hurry! Get the best coat and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. ²³ Bring the calf that is fat and kill it. Let us eat and be glad. ²⁴ For my son was dead and now he is alive again. He was lost and now he is found. Let us eat and have a good time.’

²⁵ “The older son was out in the field. As he was coming near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the servants and asked what was happening. ²⁷ The servant answered, ‘Your brother has come back and your father has killed the fat calf. Your brother is in the house and is well.’ ²⁸ The older brother was angry and would not go into the house. His father went outside and asked him to come in. ²⁹ The older son said to his father, ‘All these many years I have served you. I have always obeyed what you said. But you never gave me a young goat so I could have a supper and a good time with my friends. ³⁰ But as soon as this son of yours came back, you killed the fat calf. And yet he wasted your money with bad women.’

³¹ “The father said to him, ‘My son, you are with me all the time. All that I have is yours. ³² It is right and good that we should have a good time and be glad. Your brother was dead and now he is alive again. He was lost and now he is found.’”

The Picture-Story of the Boss Who Stole

16 Jesus said to His followers, “There was a rich man who put a boss over his houses and lands. Someone told him that his boss was not using his riches in a right way. ² The rich man sent for the boss and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done with my things. You are not to be the boss of my houses and lands anymore.’

³ “The boss said to himself, ‘What will I do now? The owner of the houses and lands is taking my work away from me. I cannot dig in the ground for a living. I am too proud to ask for help. ⁴ I know what I will do. I will make it so that when I lose this work I will be able to go to the homes of my friends.’

⁵ “He sent for the people who owed the rich man. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe the owner?’ ⁶ The first man said, ‘One hundred barrels of oil.’ The boss said to him, ‘Take your bill. Sit down at once and change it to fifty.’ ⁷ He asked another one, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘One hundred bags of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and change it to eighty.’ ⁸ Then the rich man said that this sinful boss had been wise to plan for himself for the days ahead. For the people of the world are wiser in their day than the children of light.

⁹ “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using the riches of the world that are so often used in wrong ways. So when riches are a thing of the past, friends may receive you into a home that will be forever. ¹⁰ He that is faithful with little things is faithful with big things also. He that is not honest with little things is not honest with big things. ¹¹ If you have not been faithful with riches of this world, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² If you have not been faithful in that which belongs to another person, who will give you things to have as your own? ¹³ No servant can have two bosses. He will hate the one and love the other. Or, he will be faithful to one and not faithful to the other. You cannot be faithful to God and to riches at the same time.”

Jesus Teaches That the Law Is Not Finished

¹⁴ The proud religious law-keepers heard all these things. They loved money so they made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to them, “You are the kind of people who make yourselves look good before other people. God knows your hearts. What men think is good is hated in the eyes of God. ¹⁶ Until John came, you had the writings of the Law and of the early preachers. From that time until now the Good News of the holy nation of God has been preached. Everyone is pushing his way in. ¹⁷ But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one small part of a word in the Law to be of no more use.

¹⁸ “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman is not faithful in marriage and is guilty of sex sins.

The Rich Man and the Man Who Begged for Food

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who dressed in purple linen clothes everyday. He lived like a king would live with the best of food. ²⁰ There was a poor man named Lazarus who had many bad sores. He was put by the door of the rich man. ²¹ He wanted the pieces of food that fell from the table of the rich man. Even dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “The poor man who asked for food died. He was taken by the angels into the arms of Abraham. The rich man died also and was buried. ²³ In hell the rich man was in much pain. He looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus beside him. ²⁴ He cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, take pity on me. Send Lazarus. Let him put the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in much pain in this fire.’ ²⁵ Abraham said, ‘My son, do not forget that when you were living you had your good things. Lazarus had bad things. Now he is well cared for. You are in pain. ²⁶ And more than all this, there is a big deep place between us. No one from here can go there even if he wanted to go. No one can come from there.’

²⁷ “Then the rich man said, ‘Father, then I beg you to send Lazarus to my father’s house. ²⁸ I have five brothers. Let him tell them of these things, or they will come to this place of much pain also.’ ²⁹ Abraham said, ‘They have the Writings of Moses and of the early preachers. Let them hear what they say.’ ³⁰ But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham. If someone goes to them from the dead, they will be sorry for their sins and turn from them.’ ³¹ Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and to the early preachers, they will not listen even if someone is raised from the dead.’”