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Jesus at a Pharisee’s House
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of
a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2
There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal
swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and
experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or
not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man,
he healed him and sent him on his way.
5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an
ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not
immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:
8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not
take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished
than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who
invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this
person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take
the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take
the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say
to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will
be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For
all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those
who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a
luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your
brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors;
if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be
repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed.
Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this,
he said to Jesus, “Blessed are those who will eat at the
feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great
banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the
banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been
invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The
first said, ‘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’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, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of
the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and
the lame.’
22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has
been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the
roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that
my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who
were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning
to them he said:
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and
mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even
life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And
whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be
my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t
you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have
enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the
foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees
it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build
and 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 consider whether
he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming
against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he
will send a delegation while the other is still a long way
off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way,
those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot
be my disciples.
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how
can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the
soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has
ears to hear, let them hear.” |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
