Chronological Plan

¹It happened one Sabbath, when He went for a meal at the house of one of the ruling Pharisees, that they were watching Him closely and carefully [hoping to entrap Him].

²And there in front of Him was a man who had dropsy (extreme swelling).

³And Jesus asked the lawyers and the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"

⁴But they kept silent. Then He took hold of the man and healed him, and sent him on his way.

⁵Then He said to them, "Which one of you, having a son or an ox that falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"

⁶And they were unable to reply to this.

⁷Now Jesus began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been selecting the places of honor at the table, saying to them,

⁸"When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down [to eat] at the place of honor, since a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by the host,

⁹and he who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your place,' and then, in disgrace you proceed to take the last place.

¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down [to eat] at the last place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; and then you will be honored in the presence of all who are at the table with you.

¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [before others], and he who habitually humbles himself (keeps a realistic self-view) will be exalted."

¹²Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.

¹³But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind,

¹⁴and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (the just, the upright)."

¹⁵When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, "Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

¹⁶But Jesus said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many guests;

¹⁷and at the dinner hour he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, because everything is ready now.'

¹⁸But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have purchased a piece of land and I have to go out and see it; please consider me excused.'

¹⁹Another one said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.'

²⁰And another said, 'I have [recently] married a wife, and for that reason I am unable to come.'

²¹So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then [his master,] the head of the household, became angry [at the rejections of his invitation] and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the lame.'

²²And the servant [after returning] said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'

²³Then the master told the servant, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled [with guests].

²⁴For I tell you, not one of those who were invited [and declined] will taste my dinner.'"

²⁵Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them,

²⁶"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple.

²⁷Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple.

²⁸For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it?

²⁹Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is unable to finish [the building], all who see it will begin to ridicule him,

³⁰saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish!'

³¹Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

³²Or else [if he feels he is not powerful enough], while the other [king] is still a far distance away, he sends an envoy and asks for terms of peace.

³³So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [carefully consider the cost and then for My sake] give up all his own possessions.

³⁴"Therefore, salt is good; but if salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?

³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words."

¹Now all the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were coming near Jesus to listen to Him.

²Both the Pharisees and the scribes began muttering and complaining, saying, "This man accepts and welcomes sinners and eats with them."

³So He told them this parable:

⁴"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost, [searching] until he finds it?

⁵And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

⁶And when he gets home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!'

⁷I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

⁸"Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins [each one equal to a day's wages] and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

⁹And when she has found it, she calls together her [women] friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, because I found the lost coin!'

¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents [that is, changes his inner self—his old way of thinking, regrets past sins, lives his life in a way that proves repentance; and seeks God's purpose for his life]."

¹¹Then He said, "A certain man had two sons.

¹²The younger of them [inappropriately] said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.' So he divided the estate between them.

¹³A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything [that he had] and traveled to a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living.

¹⁴Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need.

¹⁵So he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

¹⁶He would have gladly eaten the [carob] pods that the pigs were eating [but they could not satisfy his hunger], and no one was giving anything to him.

¹⁷But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger!

¹⁸I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men."'

²⁰So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

²¹And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

²²But the father said to his servants, 'Quickly bring out the best robe [for the guest of honor] and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand, and sandals for his feet.

²³And bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let us [invite everyone and] feast and celebrate;

²⁴for this son of mine was [as good as] dead and is alive again; he was lost and has been found.' So they began to celebrate.

²⁵"Now his older son was in the field; and when he returned and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

²⁶So he summoned one of the servants and began asking what this [celebration] meant.

²⁷And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.'

²⁸But the elder brother became angry and deeply resentful and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.

²⁹But he said to his father, 'Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never neglected or disobeyed your command. Yet you have never given me [so much as] a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

³⁰but when this [other] son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you slaughtered that fattened calf for him!'

³¹The father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

³²But it was fitting to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was [as good as] dead and has begun to live. He was lost and has been found.'"