14 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[a] 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 is the one 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.’”