Luke Fourteen
And it came to pass when he entered
the house of one of the leaders of the
Pharisees to eat bread on a sabbath day,
they watched him. And there was a man before him, who had
dropsy. And Jesus answered and said to the scribes
and Pharisees, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath? But they kept silent. So he took him, and
healed him, and let him go. And he said to them, Which one of you, if
his son or his ox should fall into a pit on the
sabbath day, would not immediately pull and
bring him out? And they could not answer him concerning
this.
¶ And he spoke a parable to those who were
invited there, because he saw them choosing
places among the front seats.
When you are invited of a man to a banquet house, do not go and sit in the front seat;
it might be that a more honorable man than
you is invited there; And then he who has invited you and him
will come, and say to you, Give the place to
him; and you will be embarrassed when you
get up and take a lower seat. But when you are invited, go and sit at
the lower end, so that when he who has invited
you comes, he will say to you, My
friend, go up and sit higher; and you will
have glory before all who sit with you. For whoever exalts himself will be
humbled; and whoever humbles himself will
be exalted. He also said to him who had invited him,
When you give a dinner or a supper, do not
invite your friends, nor your brothers, nor
your relatives, nor your rich neighbors; they
might probally invite you, and you will be
repaid for this. But when you give a reception, invite the
poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind; And you will be blessed; for they have
nothing to repay you; for you will be repaid
at the resurrection of the righteous. When one of the guests heard these
things, he said to him, Blessed is he who will
eat bread in the kingdom of God. Jesus said to him, A man gave a great
supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant at supper time to
tell those who were invited, Behold, everything
is made ready for you, come. One and all, they began to make excuse.
The first said to him, I have bought a field,
and I am forced to go and see it; I beg you to
excuse me for being called away. Another said, I have bought five yoke of
oxen, and I am just going to examine them; I beg you, excuse me for being called away. Another said, I have just taken a wife,
and therefore I cannot come. And the servant came and told his master
these things. Then the master of the house
was angry, and said to his servant, Go out
quickly to the streets and lanes of the city,
and bring in here the poor, the afflicted, the
maimed and the blind. And the servant said, My Lord, it has
been done as you commanded, and yet there
is more room. Then the master said to his servant, Go
out to the highways and hedges, and urge
them to come in so that my house may be
filled. For I say to you, that not one of those
men who were invited shall taste of my supper.
¶ And while many people were going with
him, he turned and said to them, He who comes to me and does not put
aside his father, and his mother, and his brothers,
and his sisters, and his wife, and his children,
and even his own life, he cannot be a
disciple to me. And he who does not take up his cross
and follow me, cannot be a disciple to me. For which of you, who wishes to build a
tower, does not at first sit down and consider
its cost, to see if he has enough to finish it? Lest after he has laid the foundation, he
is not able to finish it, and all who see it will
mock him, Saying, This man began to build, but he
was not able to finish. Or which king, who goes to war to fight
against a king equal to him, would not at first
reason, whether he is able with ten thousand
to meet the one who is coming against him
with twenty thousand? And if not, while he is far away from
him, sends envoys and seeks peace. So every man of you, who would not
leave all his possessions, cannot be a disciple
to me.
Salt is good; but if the salt lose its savor,
with what can it be salted? It is good neither for the ground nor for
fertilizing; but it is thrown out. He who has
ears to hear let him hear.
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