Luke 14

Healing of a Man on the Sabbath

1 One Sabbath, ¹when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were ²watching him carefully.

2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.

3 And Jesus responded to ³the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ⁴"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"

4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.

5 And he said to them, ⁵"Which of you, having a son^[a] or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?"

6 ⁶And they could not reply to these things.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed ⁷how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,

8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,

9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.

10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, ⁸so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.

11 For ⁹everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The Parable of the Great Banquet

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give ¹⁰a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers^[b] or your relatives or rich neighbors, ¹¹lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.

13 But when you give a feast, ¹²invite ¹³the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,

14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid ¹⁴at ¹⁵the resurrection of the just."

15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, ¹⁶"Blessed is everyone who will ¹⁷eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

16 But he said to him, ¹⁸"A man once ¹⁹gave a great banquet and invited many.

17 And at the time for the banquet he ²⁰sent his servant^[c] to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.'

19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.'

20 And another said, ²¹'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'

21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in ²²the poor and crippled and blind and lame.'

22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'

23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.

24 For I tell you,^[d]23none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"

The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,

26 ²⁴"If anyone comes to me and ²⁵does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, ²⁶yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

27 ²⁷Whoever does not ²⁸bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not ²⁹first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not ³⁰sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

33 ³¹So therefore, any one of you who ³²does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Salt Without Taste Is Worthless

34 ³³"Salt is good, ³⁴but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. ³⁵He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Luke 14 Commentary

Chapter 14

Christ heals a man on the sabbath. (1-6) He teaches humility. (7-14) Parable of the great supper. (15-24) The necessity of consideration and self-denial. (25-35)

Verses 1-6 This Pharisee, as well as others, seems to have had an ill design in entertaining Jesus at his house. But our Lord would not be hindered from healing a man, though he knew a clamour would be raised at his doing it on the sabbath. It requires care to understand the proper connexion between piety and charity in observing the sabbath, and the distinction between works of real necessity and habits of self-indulgence. Wisdom from above, teaches patient perseverance in well-doing.

Verses 7-14 Even in the common actions of life, Christ marks what we do, not only in our religious assemblies, but at our tables. We see in many cases, that a man's pride will bring him low, and before honour is humility. Our Saviour here teaches, that works of charity are better than works of show. But our Lord did not mean that a proud and unbelieving liberality should be rewarded, but that his precept of doing good to the poor and afflicted should be observed from love to him.

Verses 15-24 In this parable observe the free grace and mercy of God shining in the gospel of Christ, which will be food and a feast for the soul of a man that knows its own wants and miseries. All found some pretence to put off their attendance. This reproves the Jewish nation for their neglect of the offers of Christ's grace. It shows also the backwardness there is to close with the gospel call. The want of gratitude in those who slight gospel offers, and the contempt put upon the God of heaven thereby, justly provoke him. The apostles were to turn to the Gentiles, when the Jews refused the offer; and with them the church was filled. The provision made for precious souls in the gospel of Christ, has not been made in vain; for if some reject, others will thankfully accept the offer. The very poor and low in the world, shall be as welcome to Christ as the rich and great; and many times the gospel has the greatest success among those that labour under worldly disadvantages and bodily infirmities. Christ's house shall at last be filled; it will be so when the number of the elect is completed.

Verses 25-35 Though the disciples of Christ are not all crucified, yet they all bear their cross, and must bear it in the way of duty. Jesus bids them count upon it, and then consider of it. Our Saviour explains this by two similitudes; the former showing that we must consider the expenses of our religion; the latter, that we must consider the perils of it. Sit down and count the cost; consider it will cost the mortifying of sin, even the most beloved lusts. The proudest and most daring sinner cannot stand against God, for who knows the power of his anger? It is our interest to seek peace with him, and we need not send to ask conditions of peace, they are offered to us, and are highly to our advantage. In some way a disciple of Christ will be put to the trial. May we seek to be disciples indeed, and be careful not to grow slack in our profession, or afraid of the cross; that we may be the good salt of the earth, to season those around us with the savour of Christ.

Cross References

• 1. Luke 7:36; Luke 11:37
• 2. Luke 20:20; Mark 3:2
• 3. See Luke 7:30
• 4. Luke 13:14; Matthew 12:10
• 5. Luke 13:15; [Deuteronomy 22:4; Matthew 12:11]
• 6. [Matthew 22:46]
• 7. See Luke 11:43
• 8. Proverbs 25:6, 7
• 9. Luke 18:14; [Proverbs 29:23; Ezekiel 21:26; Matthew 18:4; James 4:6, 10; 1 Peter 5:5, 6]
• 10. John 21:12(Gk.)
• 11. [Luke 6:34]
• 12. [Nehemiah 8:10, 12; Esther 9:22]
• 13. ver. 21
• 14. 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; [John 11:24; Revelation 20:4, 5]
• 15. Acts 24:15
• 16. Revelation 19:9
• 17. [Luke 13:29; Luke 22:16, 30]
• 18. For ver. 16-24, [Matthew 22:2-14]
• 19. [Isaiah 25:6]
• 20. [Esther 6:14; Proverbs 9:3, 5]
• 21. Deuteronomy 24:5
• 22. ver. 13
• 23. Matthew 21:43; Acts 13:46
• 24. ver. 33; Matthew 10:37; [Deuteronomy 33:9]
• 25. Luke 16:13
• 26. John 12:25; Acts 20:24; Revelation 12:11
• 27. Luke 9:23; Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34
• 28. John 19:17
• 29. [Proverbs 24:27]
• 30. ver. 28
• 31. [Philippians 3:7]
• 32. [ver. 26; Luke 18:28]
• 33. Mark 9:50
• 34. Matthew 5:13
• 35. See Matthew 11:15

Footnotes

• [a]. Some manuscripts a donkey
• [b]. Or your brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated "brothers") refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
• [c]. Greek bondservant; also verses 21, 22, 23
• [d]. The Greek word for you here is plural