Luke 14
14
A Sabbath Controversy
1One Sabbath, when He went to eat # Lit eat bread ; = eat a meal at the house of one of the leading Pharisees, # Lk 7:36; 11:37 they were watching Him closely. # Mk 3:2; Lk 6:7; 20:20 2There in front of Him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid. # Afflicted with dropsy or edema 3In response, Jesus asked the law experts # Lk 7:30; 14:30 and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? ” # Mt 12:2; Mk 3:4; Lk 6:2,9; 13:14; Jn 5:10 4But 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? ” # Ex 21:33; Dt 22:4; Mt 12:11; Lk 13:15 6To this they could find no answer.
Teachings on Humility
7He told a parable # Lk 5:36; 13:6 to those who were invited, when He noticed how they would choose the best places # Lk 11:43 for themselves: 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t recline at the best place, because a more distinguished person # Lk 7:2; Php 2:29; 1Pt 2:4 than you may have been invited by your host. # Lit by him 9The 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 # Jn 5:44; 7:18; Rm 2:7 in the presence of all the other guests. # Pr 25:6-7; 29:23 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” # Ezk 21:26; Mt 18:4; 23:12; Lk 1:51; 3:5; 18:14; Jms 4:10; 1Pt 5:5-6
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, # Lk 5:29 invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. # Lv 22:22; Lk 14:21 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid # Rm 11:35; 12:19; 1Th 3:9; 2Th 1:6; Heb 10:30 at the resurrection of the righteous.” # Ac 24:15
The Parable of the Large Banquet
15When # Mt 22:1-14 one of those who reclined at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “The one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God # Lk 13:29; 22:16,30; Rv 19:9 is blessed! ”
16Then He told him: “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
18“But without exception # Lit And from one (voice) they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
19“Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
20“And another said, ‘I just got married, # Lit I have married a woman # Dt 24:5 and therefore I’m unable to come.’
21“So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame! ’ # Lk 14:13
22“ ‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’
23“Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. 24For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will enjoy my banquet! ’ ”
The Cost of Following Jesus
25Now # Mt 10:37-38 great crowds were traveling with Him. So He turned and said to them: 26“If anyone comes to Me # Mt 11:28; Mk 10:14; Lk 6:47; Jn 5:40 and does not hate # Dt 21:15; 22:13; 24:3; Lk 16:13 his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life — he cannot be My disciple. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross # Jn 19:17 and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28“For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost # Pr 24:27 to see if he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to make fun of him, 30saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31“Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000? 32If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to # Or does not renounce or leave all his possessions # Mt 19:21; Php 3:7; Heb 11:26 cannot be My disciple.
34“Now, # Mt 5:13; Mk 9:49-50 salt # Jdg 9:45; Mk 9:50 is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? 35It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen! ” # Mt 11:15; 13:9; Mk 4:9
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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.