Luke 14
14
Jesus Eats at a Pharisee’s House
1One Sabbath day, Jesus went to eat in the house of a well-known Pharisee. While he was there, he was being carefully watched. 2In front of him there was a man whose body was badly swollen. 3Jesus turned to the Pharisees and the experts in the law and asked them, “Is it breaking the Law to heal on the Sabbath day?” 4But they didn’t say anything. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.
5He asked them another question. He said, “If you had a child or an ox that fell into a well on the Sabbath day, wouldn’t you pull them out right away?” 6And they had nothing to say.
7Jesus noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, so he told them a story. 8He said, “Suppose someone invites you to a wedding feast. Don’t take the place of honor, because a person more important than you may have been invited. 9If so, the host who invited both of you will come to you and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you’ll be humiliated, and you’ll have to take the least important place. 10So when you’re invited somewhere, take the lowest place. Your host will come over to you and say, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you’ll be honored in front of all the other guests. 11All who lift themselves up will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be lifted up.”
12Then Jesus spoke to his host. “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite you to eat with them in return and you will be paid back. 13When you give a banquet, invite the poor and those who can’t see or walk. 14Then you will be blessed. Your guests won’t be able to pay you back, but you will be paid back when those who are right with God are raised from the dead.”
The Story of the Great Banquet
15One of the people at the table with him heard these things and he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in God’s kingdom.”
16Jesus responded, “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and he invited many guests. 17When the day of the banquet arrived, he sent a servant to get those he had invited. The servant told them, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
18“But they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I’ve just bought a field and I have to go see it. Please excuse me.’
19“Another one said, ‘I’ve just bought five pairs 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, ‘Quick! Go into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor and those who can’t see or walk.’
22“The servant came back and said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, but there’s still room.’
23“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make people come in. I want my house to be full. But 24I tell you, not one of those people I first invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned to them and said, 26“Anyone who comes to me but doesn’t love me more than their father and mother, their wife and children, their brothers and sisters, and even their own life can’t be my disciple. 27Whoever doesn’t carry their cross and follow me can’t be my disciple.
28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you sit down first and figure out how much it will cost? Then you’ll know whether you have enough money to finish it. 29If you start building but aren’t able to finish, everyone who sees it will laugh at you. 30They’ll say, ‘This person started to build but 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 think about whether he can win if he only has 10,000 soldiers while the other king has 20,000? 32If he decides he can’t win, he’ll send messengers to make a peace treaty with the other king while he’s still far away. 33You have to ask the same kind of question, because if you don’t give up everything you have, you can’t be my disciple.
34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It’s not good for fertilizer, and you can’t even put it in the compost. It has to be thrown out.
“Whoever can understand should take this to heart.”
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