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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Radiate™ New Testament
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014, 2020 by Biblica, Inc.
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Luke 14
14
1-3One time when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the Pharisees, all the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. Right before him there was a man hugely swollen in his joints. So Jesus asked the religion scholars and Pharisees present, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or no?”
4-6They were silent. So he took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. Then he said, “Is there anyone here who, if a child or animal fell down a well, wouldn’t rush to pull him out immediately, not asking whether or not it was the Sabbath?” They were stumped. There was nothing they could say to that.
Invite the Misfits
7-9He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, “When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’ Embarrassed, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.
10-11“When you’re invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, ‘Friend, come up to the front.’ That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around all high and mighty, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
12-14Then he turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people.”
The Story of the Dinner Party
15That triggered a response from one of the guests: “How fortunate the one who gets to eat dinner in God’s kingdom!”
16-17Jesus followed up. “Yes. For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, ‘Come on in; the food’s on the table.’
18“Then they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses. The first said, ‘I bought a piece of property and need to look it over. Send my regrets.’
19“Another said, ‘I just bought five teams of oxen, and I really need to check them out. Send my regrets.’
20“And yet another said, ‘I just got married and need to get home to my wife.’
21“The servant went back and told the master what had happened. He was outraged and told the servant, ‘Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and down-and-out you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.’
22“The servant reported back, ‘Master, I did what you commanded—and there’s still room.’
23-24“The master said, ‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.’”
Figure the Cost
25-27One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
28-30“Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’
31-32“Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?
33“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.
34-35“Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.