Top of Page
Page Style
Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, He was closely watched. 2 There in front of Him was a man who was suffering from an abnormal swelling of his body with fluid. 3 Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man and healed him, and sent him away.
5 Then He said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on the Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 But they were not able to give an answer.
7 When Jesus saw the guests choosing the places of honour for themselves at the table, He told them this parable: 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the place of honour in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him. 9 Then the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place’, and then you will be humiliated, and you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’. Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus said to the man who invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbours, otherwise they may invite you in return, and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, 14 and you will blessed, because although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 When one of those who sat at the table with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed are they who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God!”
16 Jesus said to Him, “A certain man was holding a large banquet and he invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready’.
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me’.
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me’.
20 “Still another said, ‘I have just got married, so I am not able to come’.
21 “So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame’.
22 “ ‘Master’, the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room’.
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes, and make people come, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited will get so much as a taste of my banquet’.”
25 Now large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and He turned to them and said, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you intends to build a tower. Doesn’t he first sit down and count the cost, to see whether he has enough money to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’.
31 “Or suppose a king intends to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up all that he has cannot be My disciple.
34 “Salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is neither fit for the soil or for the manure pile, but it is thrown out.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”