Luke 14 — FBV

14Verse 1One Sabbath Jesus went to have a meal at the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees where they watched him closely.^{Verse 2}A man was there whose arms and legs were swollen.^{Verse 3}So Jesus asked the experts in religious law and the Pharisees, “Does the law allow healing on the Sabbath, or not?”^{Verse 4}But they kept quiet. Jesus touched the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.^{Verse 5}Then Jesus said to them, “If your son or your ox happened to fall into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you go and pull him out immediately?”^{Verse 6}They weren't able to give an answer.^{Verse 7}So he told a story to the guests, noticing how they'd chosen to sit in places of honor.^{Verse 8}“When you're invited to a wedding reception, don't take the place of honor, because someone more important than you may have been invited,” he began.^{Verse 9}“Your host who invited you both will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then in embarrassment you'll have to move to whatever place is left.^{Verse 10}Instead, when you're invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes in, he'll tell you, ‘My friend, please move to a better seat.’⁺Then you'll be honored before all the guests sitting with you.^{Verse 11}For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”^{Verse 12}Then he said to the man who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or your rich neighbors, for they may invite you back, and then you'd be repaid.^{Verse 13}Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,^{Verse 14}and you will be blessed, for they have nothing to repay you with, and you'll be rewarded at the resurrection of the good.”^{Verse 15}When one of them eating at the table with Jesus heard this, he said to Jesus, “How wonderful it will be for those who feast in the kingdom of God!”^{Verse 16}“Once there was a man who prepared a great banquet, and invited many guests,” Jesus replied.^{Verse 17}“When it was time to eat he sent his servant out to tell everyone who had been invited, ‘Come, because the banquet's ready.’^{Verse 18}But they all started to make excuses. The first said, ‘I've just bought a field and I have to go and see it. Please excuse me.’^{Verse 19}Another said, ‘I've just bought five pairs of oxen and have to go and try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said,^{Verse 20}‘I've just got married, so I can't come.’^{Verse 21}The servant returned and told his master what they'd said. The home-owner became angry and told his servant, ‘Quickly, go out into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’^{Verse 22}Then the servant said, ‘Master, I did what you told me, but there are still empty places.’^{Verse 23}So the master told the servant, ‘Go out on the country roads and lanes, and make people come—I want my house to be full.^{Verse 24}I tell you, not a single one of those people I invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”^{Verse 25}A large crowd was accompanying Jesus. He turned to them and said,^{Verse 26}“If you want to follow me but you don't hate your father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters—even your own life—you can't be my disciple.^{Verse 27}If you don't carry your cross and follow me, you can't be my disciple.^{Verse 28}If you planned to build a tower, wouldn't you first work out how much it would cost, and see if you had enough money to complete it?^{Verse 29}Otherwise, if after laying the foundation you weren't able to finish it, everyone who saw it would laugh at you, saying,^{Verse 30}‘Look at him: he started building but he couldn't finish.’^{Verse 31}What king goes to war with another king without first sitting down with his advisors to work out whether he and his ten thousand can defeat the one marching against him with twenty thousand?^{Verse 32}If he can't, he'll send representatives to ask for peace while the other king is still a long way off.^{Verse 33}In the same way every one of you who doesn't give up everything can't be my disciple.^{Verse 34}Salt is good, but if it loses its taste, how can you make it salty again?^{Verse 35}It's no good for the soil or for fertilizer—you just toss it out. Whoever has ears, then listen!”