Luke 14

Instruction on the Sabbath

14Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. ²And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. ³And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ^a“Is it lawful to heal on the ¹Sabbath?”

⁴But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. ⁵Then He answered them, saying, ^b“Which of you, having a ²donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

Parable of the Ambitious Guest

⁷So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: ⁸“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; ⁹and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. ^10cBut when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. ^11dFor whoever exalts himself will be ³humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹²Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. ¹³But when you give a feast, invite ^ethe poor, the ⁴maimed, the lame, the blind. ¹⁴And you will be ^fblessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Parable of the Great Supper

¹⁵Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, ^g“Blessed is he who shall eat ⁵bread in the kingdom of God!”

^16hThen He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, ¹⁷and ⁱsent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ ¹⁸But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ ¹⁹And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ ²⁰Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the ⁶maimed and the lame and the blind.’ ²²And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ ²³Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴For I say to you ^jthat none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”

Christ Teaches on Discipleship

²⁵Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, ^26k“If anyone comes to Me ^land does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, ^myes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷And ⁿwhoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸For ^owhich of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—²⁹lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³²Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. ³³So likewise, whoever of you ^pdoes not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

^34q“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? ³⁵It is neither fit for the land nor for the ⁷dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”