Jesus Heals the Man Who Had Dropsy

141 And it came about that when he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the Sabbath, to have a meal, they were watching him. 2 And a certain man was there who had a disease. 3 And Jesus, answering, said to the scribes and Pharisees, Is it right to make people well on the Sabbath or not? 4 But they said nothing. And he made him well and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, Which of you, whose ox or ass has got into a water-hole, will not straight away get him out on the Sabbath? 6 And they had no answer to that question.

A Lesson to Guests and a Host

7 And he gave teaching in the form of a story to the guests who came to the feast, when he saw how they took the best seats; saying to them, 8 When you get a request to come to a feast, do not take the best seat, for a more important man than you may be coming, 9 And then the giver of the feast will come to you and say, Give your place to this man; and you, with shame, will have to take the lowest seat. 10 But when you come, go and take the lowest seat, so that when the giver of the feast comes, he may say to you, Friend, come up higher; and then you will have honour in the eyes of all the others who are there. 11 For every man who gives himself a high place will be put down, but he who takes a low place will be lifted up. 12 And he said to the master of the house, When you give a feast, do not send for your friends and your brothers and your family or your neighbours who have wealth, for they may give a feast for you, and so you will get a reward. 13 But when you give a feast, send for the poor and the blind and those who are broken in body: 14 And you will have a blessing, because they will not be able to give you any payment, and you will get your reward when the upright come back from the dead.

The Parable of the Great Supper

15 And, hearing these words, one of those who were at table with him said to him, Happy is the man who will be a guest in the kingdom of God. 16 And he said to them, A certain man gave a great feast, and sent word of it to a number of people. 17 And when the time had come, he sent his servants to say to them, Come, for all things are now ready. 18 And they all gave reasons why they were not able to come. The first said to him, I have got a new field, and it is necessary for me to go and see it: I am full of regret that I am unable to come. 19 And another said, I have got some cattle, and I am going to make a test of them: I am full of regret that I am unable to come. 20 And another said, I have been married, and so I am not able to come. 21 And the servant came back and gave his master an account of these things. Then the master of the house was angry and said to the servant, Go out quickly into the streets of the town and get the poor, the blind, and those who are broken in body. 22 And the servant said, Lord, your orders have been done, and still there is room. 23 And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the roads and the fields, and make them come in, so that my house may be full. 24 For I say to you that not one of those who were requested to come will have a taste of my feast.

The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now a great number of people went with him. 26 And turning round, he said to them, If any man comes to me, and has not hate for his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even for his life, he may not be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not take up his cross and come after me may not be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to put up a tower, does not first give much thought to the price, if he will have enough to make it complete? 29 For fear that if he makes a start and is not able to go on with it to the end, all who see it will be laughing at him, 30 And saying, This man made a start at building and is not able to make it complete. 31 Or what king, going to war with another king, will not first take thought if he will be strong enough, with ten thousand men, to keep off him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or while the other is still a great distance away, he sends representatives requesting conditions of peace. 33 And so whoever is not ready to give up all he has may not be my disciple.

Tasteless Salt

34 For salt is good, but if the taste goes from it, of what use is it? 35 It is no good for the land or for the place of waste; no one has a use for it. He who has ears, let him give ear.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

151 Now all the tax-farmers and sinners came near to give ear to him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes were angry, saying, This man gives approval to sinners, and takes food with them. 3 And he made a story for them, saying, 4 What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if one of them gets loose and goes away, will not let the ninety-nine be in the waste land by themselves, and go after the wandering one, till he sees where it is? 5 And when he has got it again, he takes it in his arms with joy. 6 And when he gets back to his house, he sends for his neighbours and friends, saying to them, Be glad with me, for I have got back my sheep which had gone away. 7 I say to you that even so there will be more joy in heaven when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing, than for ninety-nine good men, who have no need of a change of heart.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 Or what woman, having ten bits of silver, if one bit has gone from her hands, will not get a light, and go through her house, searching with care till she sees it? 9 And when she has it again, she gets her friends and neighbours together, saying, Be glad with me, for I have got back the bit of silver which had gone from me. 10 Even so, I say to you, There is joy among the angels of God, when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing.

The Parable of the Lost Son

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me that part of your property which will be mine. And he made division of his goods between them. 13 And not long after, the younger son got together everything which was his and took a journey into a far-away country, and there all his money went in foolish living. 14 And when everything was gone, there was no food to be had in that country, and he was in need. 15 And he went and put himself into the hands of one of the people of that country, and he sent him into his fields to give the pigs their food. 16 And so great was his need that he would have been glad to take the pigs' food, and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to his senses, he said, What numbers of my father's servants have bread enough, and more, while I am near to death here through need of food! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have done wrong, against heaven and in your eyes: 19 I am no longer good enough to be named your son: make me like one of your servants. 20 And he got up and went to his father. But while he was still far away, his father saw him and was moved with pity for him and went quickly and took him in his arms and gave him a kiss. 21 And his son said to him, Father, I have done wrong, against heaven and in your eyes: I am no longer good enough to be named your son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Get out the first robe quickly, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet: 23 And get the fat young ox and put it to death, and let us have a feast, and be glad. 24 For this, my son, who was dead, is living again; he had gone away from me, and has come back. And they were full of joy. 25 Now the older son was in the field: and when he came near the house, the sounds of music and dancing came to his ears. 26 And he sent for one of the servants, questioning him about what it might be. 27 And he said to him, Your brother has come; and your father has had the young ox put to death because he has come back safely. 28 But he was angry and would not go in; and his father came out and made a request to him to come in. 29 But he made answer and said to his father, See, all these years I have been your servant, doing your orders in everything: and you never gave me even a young goat so that I might have a feast with my friends: 30 But when this your son came, who has been wasting your property with bad women, you put to death the fat young ox for him. 31 And he said to him, Son, you are with me at all times, and all I have is yours. 32 But it was right to be glad and to have a feast; for this your brother, who was dead, is living again; he had gone away and has come back.