Luke 14

1 – 6

On a Sabbath day, Jesus went to the home of a leading Pharisee to eat with him. The people there were all watching Jesus very closely. A man with dropsy was brought before Jesus. Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “Is it right or wrong to heal on the Sabbath day?”

But they would not answer his question. So Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away. Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “If your son or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not pull him out quickly?” And they could not answer him.

The Jewish people had to pretend that everything the leaders said was good. They would never talk about how these things were wrong. Jesus brings the truth into the open for all to see and the leaders cannot say anything to answer Him.

7 – 10

Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So Jesus told this story: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the most important seat.

The host may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, the host will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat.’

Then you will begin to move down to the last place. And you will be very embarrassed. So when you are invited, go sit in a seat that is not important. Then the host will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to a more important place!’ Then all the other guests will respect you.

If where you sit is what makes you feel
important then you must not be very important!

11. Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But the person who makes himself humble will be made great.

God is against the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6

12 – 15

Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite only your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. At another time they will invite you to eat with them. Then you will have your reward.

Instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Then you will be blessed, because they cannot pay you back. They have nothing. But you will be rewarded when the good people rise from death.

One of the men sitting at the table with Jesus heard these things. The man said to Jesus, “The people who will eat a meal in God’s kingdom are blessed.”

One of the people who heard this had their mind opened by the Holy Spirit and they saw that in God’s eyes everyone is the same.

16 – 20

Jesus said to him, “A man gave a big banquet and invited many people. When it was time to eat, the man sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come! Everything is ready!’

 “But all the guests said they could not come. Each man made an excuse. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go look at it. Please excuse me.’ Another man said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen; I must go and try them. Please excuse me.’ A third man said, ‘I just got married; I cannot come.’

Nobody buys land or cows without looking at them first. Every wife likes to go out to eat so this excuse will not work because he could have went and got his wife. What they really mean is, “I do not want to come!”

21 – 24

So the servant returned. He told his master what had happened. Then the master became angry and said, ‘Go at once into the streets and alleys of the town. Bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ Later the servant said to him,

‘Master, I did what you told me to do, but we still have places for more people.’ The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes. Tell the people there to come. I want my house to be full! None of those men that I invited first will ever eat with me!’”

The Jews were the first people invited to walk with God in the Old Testament. They did not want what God was giving to them so now people everywhere who are looked down on are invited and are glad to be in the kingdom!

25 – 27

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters more than he loves me, then he cannot be my follower. A person must love me more than he loves himself! If anyone is not willing to die on a cross when he follows me, then he cannot be my follower.

Many people were following so that they could see a miracle or just because their friends were doing it. Jesus wanted the crowds of people to understand that following Him was going to cost them something.

28 – 30

If you wanted to build a tower, you would first sit down and decide how much it would cost. You must see if you have enough money to finish the job.

If you do not do that, you might begin the work, but you would not be able to finish. And if you could not finish it, then all who would see it would laugh at you. They would say, ‘This man began to build but was not able to finish!’

If you were building something you would want to make sure that you had thought of all the things you would need. It is the same way with following Jesus. We count the cost and say that it is worth it to us!

31 – 33

If a king is going to fight against another king, first he will sit down and plan. If the king has only 10,000 men, he will plan to see if he is able to defeat the other king who has 20,000 men. If he cannot defeat the other king, then he will send some men to speak to the other king and ask for peace. In the same way, you must give up everything you have to follow me. If you do not, you cannot be my follower!

Why should we give up the things we want? How else can we show that we are living for Him and not for ourselves? The world says that we should push ourselves to get what we want. The secret of life with God is that if we put His things first He will give us what we need without having to fight for it. Matthew 6:33

34 – 35

Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, then it is worth nothing. You cannot make it salty again. It is no good for the soil or for manure. People throw it away. “Let those with ears use them and listen!”

Salt stops things from becoming rotten. Jesus said that we are like salt to the people on the earth. In places where there are no Christians there are many evil things out of control.

Be careful what you listen to! Some think that listening to garbage will not hurt them. We do not think about it, but lies can enter our minds and come out of our mouths if we are not centered on the Words of the Bible.