Luke 14:1–14

A Sabbath Controversy

14One Sabbath, when He went to eat ^bat the house of one of the leading Pharisees, ^cthey were watching Him closely. ^d2There in front of Him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid. ^e3In response, Jesus asked the law experts ^fand the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ^{g 4}But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵And to them, He said, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ^h6To this they could find no answer.

Teachings on Humility

⁷He told a parable ⁱto those who were invited, when He noticed how they would choose the best places ^jfor themselves: ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t recline at the best place, because a more distinguished person ^kthan you may have been invited by your host. ^l9The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place.

¹⁰“But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ You will then be honored ^min the presence of all the other guests. ⁿ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” ^o

¹²He also said to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your ^•brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. ¹³On the contrary, when you host a banquet, ^pinvite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. ^q14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid ^rat the resurrection of the righteous.” ^s