Luke 14; Luke 15
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 dropsy. 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 away. 5 Then he asked
them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the
Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him 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 man
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 your fellow
guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself 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 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, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you,
you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." 15 When
one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed
is the man 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 make them come in, so that my house will be
full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited
will get a taste of my banquet.' "25 Large crowds were
traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If
anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and
children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my
disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and
follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you
wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see
if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the
foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule
him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able
to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war
against another king. Will he not 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, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my
disciple. 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. "He who
has ears to hear, let him hear."
1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners"
were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and
the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with
them." 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose
one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the
ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds
it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his
shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and
neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost
sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more
rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous
persons who do not need to repent. 8 "Or suppose a woman
has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house
and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds
it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I
have found my lost coin.' 10 In the same way, I tell you,
there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who
repents." 11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who
had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father,
give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not
long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant
country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After
he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and
he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to
a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He
longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one
gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he
said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father
and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I
am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired
men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while
he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion
for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The
son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no
longer worthy to be called your son. ' 22 "But the father
said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring
on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened
calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For
this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So
they began to celebrate. 25"Meanwhile, the older son was in
the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.26 So
he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your
brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.' 28 "The older
brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded
with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these
years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never
gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But
when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes
home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 " 'My son,'
the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But
we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
