Jesus Heals a Man with Dropsy
On a Sabbath day, Jesus went to have dinner at the house of an important Pharisee. The other guests were watching Jesus very carefully to see what he would do. There was a man present who suffered from a condition that caused his body to swell with fluid. Jesus looked at the religious law experts and Pharisees who were there and asked them, "Does our law allow healing on the Sabbath, or does it forbid it?" They said nothing in response. So Jesus reached out and touched the sick man, healed him completely, and told him he could go. Then Jesus asked the silent guests, "If your son or your ox fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you pull him out right away?" They could not give him any answer to this question.
Parable of the Wedding Banquet
When Jesus saw how the dinner guests were choosing the best seats at the table, he told them this story: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don't take the seat reserved for the most important guest. What if someone more important than you has also been invited? The person who invited you both will have to come over and say, 'Please give your seat to this person.' Then you'll be embarrassed as you get up and move to whatever seat is left at the end of the table. Instead, when you're invited somewhere, go sit in the least important seat. Then your host might come over and say, 'My friend, come up here and sit in a better place.' When that happens, everyone else at the dinner will see how you're being honored. Here's the truth: anyone who tries to make himself look important will end up being brought down low. But anyone who chooses to put himself in a humble place will be lifted up high."
Teaching on Hospitality
Then Jesus turned to the man who had invited him to dinner and said, "When you throw a dinner party or put on a feast, don't invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your wealthy neighbors. If you do, they'll just invite you back to their own parties, and then you'll have been paid back for your kindness. Instead, when you host a feast, invite the poor people, those who can't walk well, those who are disabled, and those who are blind. When you do this, you will be truly blessed. These people won't be able to invite you back or repay your kindness, but God will repay you when the righteous are raised from the dead."
Parable of the Great Banquet
When one of the dinner guests heard Jesus talking, he said to him, "How wonderful it will be for everyone who gets to eat at the great feast in God's kingdom!" Jesus responded with a story: "A man was planning a huge banquet and sent out invitations to many people. When everything was prepared and ready, he sent his servant to tell all the invited guests, 'Come now! The feast is ready!' But they all started making excuses. The first person said, 'I just bought some land and I have to go look at it. I'm sorry, but I can't come.' Another guest said, 'I just bought five pairs of oxen and I need to go test them out. Please excuse me.' A third person said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' The servant went back and told his master everything that had happened. The master of the house became furious and told his servant, 'Go out immediately into the city streets and back alleys. Bring back the poor people, the disabled, the blind, and anyone who can't walk properly.' The servant came back and said, 'Sir, I did what you asked, but there's still more room at the table.' So the master said to his servant, 'Then go out to the country roads and paths along the fields. Urge people to come in until my house is completely full. I'm telling you this—not a single one of those people I originally invited will get even a taste of my banquet.'"
The Cost of Discipleship
Large crowds were following Jesus as he traveled, and he turned around to speak directly to them. "If anyone wants to follow me," he said, "but refuses to put me before his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—even before his own life—then he cannot be my follower. And anyone who will not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my follower. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and figure out how much it will cost to see if you have enough money to finish it? If you don't, you might lay the foundation but then run out of money before you can complete the building. Then everyone who sees it will make fun of you, saying, 'Look at that man who started building but couldn't finish what he began.' Or imagine a king who is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and think carefully about whether his army of ten thousand soldiers can defeat an enemy army of twenty thousand? If he realizes he cannot win, he will send messengers to the other king while that king is still far away, asking to make peace. In exactly the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he owns cannot be my follower."
Salt Without Taste
Salt is valuable and useful, but what happens when salt loses its saltiness? How can you make it salty again? When salt becomes worthless, it can't be used to improve the soil, and it can't even be mixed into compost. People simply throw it away because it serves no purpose. Anyone who can truly listen should pay attention to what this means.