Luke 14 (WEB)

Luke 14:1–6

Healing a man with dropsy on the Sabbath

When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him. Behold, a certain man who had dropsy was in front of him. Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

But they were silent. He took him, and healed him, and let him go.

He answered them, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn’t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”

They couldn’t answer him regarding these things.

Invited to a Sabbath meal at the home of a leading Pharisee, Jesus is watched closely. A man suffering from dropsy is in front of him. Jesus asks the lawyers and Pharisees whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath; when they say nothing, he heals the man and asks which of them would not pull a son or an ox out of a well on the Sabbath. They have no answer.

What does this mean?

"Dropsy" is an old term for swelling caused by fluid in the body's tissues (oedema), a symptom of various serious illnesses.

Historical context

Sabbath meals were social occasions, with food prepared the day before. Some Jewish groups, such as the community behind the Dead Sea Scrolls, forbade pulling an animal out of a pit on the Sabbath, while others allowed it. Manuscripts differ in verse 5: the WEB has "son or an ox," the KJV "an ass or an ox."

Why does it matter?

This is the last of Luke's Sabbath disputes. It opens a chapter set around a meal, in which Jesus goes on to teach about seating, guests and a great banquet.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Luke 14:7–14

Humility and hospitality at table

He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”

Noticing guests choosing the places of honour, Jesus advises taking the lowest place so that the host may invite one higher, for those who exalt themselves will be humbled and the humble exalted. He tells his host not to invite friends, relatives and rich neighbours who can return the favour, but the poor, crippled, lame and blind, who cannot repay; repayment will come at the resurrection of the righteous.

What does this mean?

"Rooms" (KJV) means places at table, not separate rooms. "Recompense" means repayment.

Historical context

Seating at a banquet displayed rank, and honour and shame were central social values. Greco-Roman society ran on reciprocal favours between equals and between patrons and clients; inviting those who could not repay broke that system. Proverbs 25:6–7 gives similar advice about not claiming a high place before a king.

Why does it matter?

The list of guests anticipates the parable that follows (14:21) and echoes Jesus' mission to the poor and disabled (4:18; 7:22). Some interpreters note that the Dead Sea Scrolls excluded people with such disabilities from the community's assembly, which sharpens the contrast.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Luke 14:15–24

The parable of the great banquet

When one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will feast in God’s Kingdom!”

But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people. He sent out his servant at supper time to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’ They all as one began to make excuses. “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.’

“Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.’

“Another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I can’t come.’

“That servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’

“The servant said, ‘Lord, it is done as you commanded, and there is still room.’

“The lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper. For many are called, but few are chosen.’”

When a fellow guest exclaims how blessed those will be who eat in God's kingdom, Jesus tells of a man who gave a great dinner. When everything was ready, the invited guests made excuses: a field, some oxen, a new marriage. The angry host sent his servant to bring in the poor, crippled, blind and lame from the town, then others from the roads and hedges, and declared that none of those first invited would taste his dinner.

What does this mean?

"Compel them to come in" means urge them strongly; outsiders would hesitate to accept such an invitation. "Highways and hedges" are country roads and paths along walls or fences.

Historical context

A host commonly sent an invitation and then a servant to summon the guests when the meal was ready (compare Esther 5:8; 6:14), so refusing at the last moment was a public insult. In the early fifth century Augustine cited "compel them to come in" to justify state pressure on dissenting Christians, a use widely criticised since. The WEB's closing words "many are called, but few are chosen" are found in some manuscripts but not in the KJV here.

Why does it matter?

Those expected to respond refuse, while outsiders fill the hall. Matthew 22:1–14 has a related parable with different details.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Luke 14:25–35

The cost of discipleship

Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross and come after me, can’t be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation and isn’t able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy and asks for conditions of peace. So therefore, whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.

“Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Turning to the large crowds following him, Jesus says that no one can be his disciple who does not put him above family and even above their own life, and who does not carry their own cross. He gives two examples of counting the cost first: someone planning to build a tower and a king about to go to war. His disciples must give up everything they have; salt that has lost its taste is useless.

What does this mean?

"Hate" (KJV) is a Semitic way of expressing preference, meaning to love less; the WEB renders it "disregard," and Matthew's parallel says "loveth father or mother more than me" (Matthew 10:37). "Savour" means taste.

Historical context

Salt in the ancient world was often impure, gathered from places such as the Dead Sea; the salt itself could leach away, leaving a tasteless residue. Salt was used for flavouring and preserving and perhaps in small amounts on soil, which may explain the mention of land and the dunghill.

Why does it matter?

Coming after a parable in which the poor are invited freely, this passage shows the other side: following Jesus is costly. The large crowds stand in contrast to the few who will follow him to the cross.

Editorial notes, not scripture.