New Testament in a Year

A Dinner Given by a Pharisee^[a]

Chapter 14

Jesus Heals a Man with Dropsy on the Sabbath.^{[b] 1} On one Sabbath, Jesus went to dine at the home of a prominent Pharisee, and the people were watching him closely. ² In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy, ³ and Jesus asked the lawyers and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ When they offered no reply, he took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. ⁵ Then he said to them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶ And they were unable to give him any answer.

The Parable of the Ambitious Guest.^{[c] 7} When he noticed how the guests were securing places of honor, he told them a parable: ⁸ “When you have been invited by someone to attend a wedding banquet, do not sit down in the place of honor in case someone who is more distinguished than you may have been invited, ⁹ and then the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then you will be embarrassed as you proceed to sit in the lowest place.

¹⁰ “Rather, when you are invited, proceed to sit in the lowest place, so that when your host arrives, he will say to you, ‘My friend, move up to a higher place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹² Invite the Needy.^[d] Then he said to the one who had invited him, “When you host a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, lest they invite you back and thus repay you. ¹³ Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ Then indeed will you be blessed because they have no way to repay you. But you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ The Parable of the Great Supper.^[e] On hearing this, one of the dinner guests said to him, “Blessed is the man who will dine in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ Jesus said in reply, “A man gave a sumptuous banquet, to which he invited many. ¹⁷ When the hour for the banquet drew near, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited: ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

¹⁸ “But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have bought a parcel of land, and I must go out to inspect it. Please accept my apologies.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them out. Please accept my regrets.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I have just gotten married, and therefore I am unable to come.’

²¹ “When the servant returned, he reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became enraged, and he said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² Shortly afterward, the servant told him, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, and some room is still available.’ ²³ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the open roads and along the hedgerows and compel people to come,^[f] so that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”