The Living Bible (325 page)

Luke
14

One Sabbath as he was in the home of a member of the Jewish Council, the Pharisees were watching him like hawks to see if he would heal a man who was present who was suffering from dropsy.

    
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 Jesus said to the Pharisees and legal experts standing around,
“Well, is it within the Law to heal a man on the Sabbath day, or not?”

    
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 And when they refused to answer, Jesus took the sick man by the hand and healed him and sent him away.

    
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 Then he turned to them:
“Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath?”
he asked.
“If your cow falls into a pit, don’t you proceed at once to get it out?”

    
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 Again they had no answer.

    
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 When he noticed that all who came to the dinner were trying to sit near the head of the table, he gave them this advice:
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“If you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t always head for the best seat. For if someone more respected than you shows up,
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the host will bring him over to where you are sitting and say, ‘Let this man sit here instead.’ And you, embarrassed, will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

    
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“Do this instead—start at the foot; and when your host sees you he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place than this for you!’ Thus you will be honored in front of all the other guests.
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For everyone who tries to honor himself shall be humbled; and he who humbles himself shall be honored.”
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 Then he turned to his host.
“When you put on a dinner,”
he said,
“don’t invite friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors! For they will return the invitation.
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Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
¹⁴
 
Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who can’t repay you.”

    
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 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a privilege it would be to get into the Kingdom of God!”

    
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 Jesus replied with this illustration:
“A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.
¹⁷
 
When all was ready, he sent his servant around to notify the guests that it was time for them to arrive.
¹⁸
 
But they all began making excuses. One said he had just bought a field and wanted to inspect it, and asked to be excused.
¹⁹
 
Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out.
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Another had just been married and for that reason couldn’t come.

    
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“The servant returned and reported to his master what they had said. His master was angry and told him to go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and to invite the beggars, crippled, lame, and blind.
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But even then, there was still room.

    
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“‘Well, then,’ said his master, ‘go out into the country lanes and out behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.
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For none of those I invited first will get even the smallest taste of what I had prepared for them.’”

    
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 Great crowds were following him. He turned around and addressed them as follows:
²⁶
 
“Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does
*
his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—yes, more than his own life—otherwise he cannot be my disciple.
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And no one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me.

    
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“But don’t begin until you count the cost.
*
For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills?
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Otherwise he might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh!

    
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“‘See that fellow there?’ they would mock. ‘He started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’

    
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“Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of 10,000 is strong enough to defeat the 20,000 men who are marching against him?

    
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“If the decision is negative, then while the enemy troops are still far away, he will send a truce team to discuss terms of peace.
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So no one can become my disciple unless he first sits down and counts his blessings—and then renounces them all for me.

    
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“What good is salt that has lost its saltiness?
*
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Flavorless salt is fit for nothing—not even for fertilizer. It is worthless and must be thrown out. Listen well if you would understand my meaning.”

Luke
15

Dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus’ sermons;
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 but this caused complaints from the Jewish religious leaders and the experts on Jewish law because he was associating with such despicable people—even eating with them!

    
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 So Jesus used this illustration:
“If you had a hundred sheep and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it?
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And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders.
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When you arrived you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found.

    
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“Well, in the same way heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who haven’t strayed away!

    
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“Or take another illustration: A woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it?
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And then won’t she call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her?
¹⁰
 
In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents.”

    
¹¹
 To further illustrate the point, he told them this story:
“A man had two sons.
¹²
 
When the younger told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die!’ his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

    
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“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there wasted all his money on parties and prostitutes.
¹⁴
 
About the time his money was gone a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
¹⁵
 
He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs.
¹⁶
 
The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the swine looked good to him. And no one gave him anything.

    
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“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough and to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger!
¹⁸
 
I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,
¹⁹
 
and am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.”’

    
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“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming, and was filled with loving pity and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

    
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“His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you, and am not worthy of being called your son—’

    
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“But his father said to the slaves, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. And a jeweled ring for his finger; and shoes!
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And kill the calf we have in the fattening pen. We must celebrate with a feast,
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for this son of mine was dead and has returned to life. He was lost and is found.’ So the party began.

    
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“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working; when he returned home, he heard dance music coming from the house,
²⁶
 
and he asked one of the servants what was going on.

    
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“‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the calf we were fattening and has prepared a great feast to celebrate his coming home again unharmed.’

    
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“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,
²⁹
 
but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to; and in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.
³⁰
 
Yet when this son of yours comes back after spending your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have on the place.’

    
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“‘Look, dear son,’ his father said to him, ‘you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours.
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But it is right to celebrate. For he is your brother; and he was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!’”