1And on one Sabbath day, as He went in to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, they watched Him very closely. 2And there in front of Him was a man who had the dropsy (abnormal swelling in his body). 3And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, or not?” 4And they remained silent. And so He healed him, and let him go; 5And then He asked them, “If one of you has a child, donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will you not immediately pull it out on the Sabbath day?” 6And they again could not answer Him.

7And when He noted how they (the other scribes and Pharisees) who were also invited, chose out the places of honor, He offered them this advice: 8“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding, do not sit in the place of honor; because a person more distinguished than you may be invited by the host; 9And the host who invited him may come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’; And in humiliation, you take whatever place is left. 10Instead, when you are invited, sit in the lowest place, so that the host may have occasion to come and say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place’; Then you shall be honored among those that dine with you. 11For whoever exalts himself shall be abased; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” 12Then Jesus said to the Pharisee who had invited Him, “When you give a dinner or banquet, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, that they may reciprocate and extend an invitation to repay you. 13But instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14And you shall be blessed; for although they cannot repay you; you shall be rewarded at the resurrection of the just.”

15And when one of those eating with Him heard these things, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is he that shall attend the banquet in the kingdom of God.” 16Then Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet, and invited many. 17And the when banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come; for everything is now ready’. 18And they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it; please excuse me.’ 19And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go to test them; I trust you’ll me excuse me.’ 20And still another said, ‘I have just gotten married, so I cannot come.’ 21So his servant came, and reported all these responses to him. Then the owner of the house became angry, and told his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and byways of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, lame, and the blind’. 22And when the servant reported, ‘Lord, I have done as you ordered, and there is still room’. 23Then the owner said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel anyone you find to come in, so that my house will be filled. 24For I tell you, none of those men that I invited shall taste my banquet.’”

25And great crowds were following Jesus; and He turned, and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to Me, and does not, by comparison, hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and even his own life - he cannot be My disciple. 27And whoever does not bear their cross, and follow Me, cannot be My disciple. 28For who among you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has the means to finish it? 29So that after the foundation is laid, you find that you cannot complete it; and all that see it begin to mock you, 30And say, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish’. 31Or what king would go to war against another king, without first sitting down and considering whether he is able, with ten thousand, to oppose a king that is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32And if he is not able, while the adversary is still a great way off, he sends a delegation to negotiate conditions of peace. 33So, in the same way, anyone among you that will not forsake all that you have, cannot be My disciple. 34Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its savor, how can its saltiness be restored to a salty state? 35It is not fit for the soil, or even the dunghill; but is thrown out. He that has ears to hear, let him hear and understand.”