Lucas 14

¹ AndThe law of the very sabbath ought not to hinder the offices of charity.it came to pass, as he went into the house ofEither one of the elders, whom they called the sanhedrin, or one of the chiefs of the synagogue: for all the Pharisees were not chief men of the synagogue (Joh_7:48); for this word Pharisee was the name of a sect, though it appears by viewing the whole history of the matter that the Pharisees had much authority.one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.

² And beholde, there was a certaine man before him, which had the dropsie.

³ Then Iesus answering, spake vnto the Lawyers and Pharises, saying, Is it lawfull to heale on the Sabbath day?

⁴ And they held their peace. Then he tooke him, and healed him, and let him goe,

⁵ And answered them, saying, Which of you shall haue an asse, or an oxe fallen into a pit, & wil not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?

⁶ And they could not answere him againe to those things.

⁷ The reward of pride is dishonour, and the reward of true modesty is glory.And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

⁸ When thou shalt be bidden of any man to a wedding, set not thy selfe downe in the chiefest place, lest a more honourable man then thou, be bidden of him,

⁹ And he that bade both him & thee, come, and say to thee, Giue this man roome, and thou then begin with shame to take the lowest roome.

¹⁰ But when thou art bidden, goe and sit downe in the lowest roome, that when he that bade thee, cometh, he may say vnto thee, Friende, sit vp hier: then shalt thou haue worship in the presence of them that sit at table with thee.

¹¹ For whosoeuer exalteth himselfe, shall be brought lowe, and he that humbleth himselfe, shal be exalted.

¹² Against those who spend their goods either for the glory of man or for hope of recompence, whereas Christian charity considers only the glory of God, and the profit of our neighbour.Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor [thy] rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.

¹³ But when thou makest a feast, call ye poore, the maimed, the lame, and the blind,

¹⁴ And thou shalt be blessed, because they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the iust.

¹⁵ Nowe when one of them that sate at table, heard these things, he said vnto him, Blessed is he that eateth bread in the kingdome of God.

¹⁶ Then saide he to him, A certaine man made a great supper, and bade many,

¹⁷ And sent his seruant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come: for all things are nowe readie.

¹⁸ For the most part even those to whom God has revealed himself are so mad, that any help which they have received of God they willingly turn into obstructions and hindrances.And they all withOn purpose, and a thing agreed upon before: for though they give different reasons why they cannot come, yet all of them agree in this, that they have their excuses so that they may not come to supper.one [consent] began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

¹⁹ And another said, I haue bought fiue yoke of oxen, and I goe to proue them: I pray thee, haue me excused.

²⁰ And another said, I haue maried a wife, and therefore I can not come.

²¹ So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into theWide and broad areas.streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

²² And the seruaunt saide, Lorde, it is done as thou hast commaunded, and yet there is roome.

²³ Then the master sayd to the seruaunt, Goe out into the hie wayes, and hedges, and compell them to come in, that mine house may bee filled.

²⁴ For I say vnto you, that none of those men which were bidden, shall taste of my supper.

²⁵ Even those affections which are in themselves worthy of praise and commendation must be controlled and kept in order, so that godliness may have the upper hand and have preeminence.And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

²⁶ If any [man] come to me, andIf anything stands between God and him, as Theophylact says: and therefore these words are spoken in a comparative way, and not by themselves.hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

²⁷ The true followers of Christ must at once build and fight, and therefore be ready and prepared to endure all types of miseries.And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower,At home, and calculates all his costs before he begins the work.sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have [sufficient] to finish [it]?

²⁹ Lest that after he hath laide the foundation, and is not able to performe it, all that behold it, begin to mocke him,

³⁰ Saying, This man began to builde, and was not able to make an end?

³¹ Or what King going to make warre against another King, sitteth not downe first, and taketh counsell, whether he be able with ten thousande, to meete him that commeth against him with twentie thousand?

³² Or els while hee is yet a great way off, hee sendeth an ambassage, and desireth peace.

³³ So likewise, whosoeuer hee be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

³⁴ The disciples of Christ must be wise, both for themselves and for others: otherwise they become the most foolish of all.Salt [is] good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

³⁵ It is neither meete for the land, nor yet for the dunghill, but men cast it out. He that hath eares to heare, let him heare.