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The Gospels · New Testament

Luke 14

Luke 14: a sabbath meal, the great supper, and counting the cost

General context

Jesus goes into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath, and the narrator says they watched him. A man with the dropsy is before him. He asks the lawyers and Pharisees whether it is lawful to heal on the sabbath day; they hold their peace, and he heals the man and lets him go, then asks which of them would not pull an ass or an ox out of a pit on the sabbath. They cannot answer. Marking how the guests choose the chief rooms, he tells them to sit in the lowest room, and tells his host to call the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind rather than friends, kinsmen and rich neighbours. One guest speaks of eating bread in the kingdom of God, and Jesus answers with a parable of a great supper whose invited guests excuse themselves over a piece of ground, five yoke of oxen and a marriage, so the master sends his servant into the streets, lanes, highways and hedges until the house is filled. Turning to the multitudes travelling with him, he speaks of hating family and one's own life, bearing the cross, the builder who counts the cost, the king who considers his ten thousand against twenty thousand, and salt that has lost its savour.

Cited passages: Luke 14:1, Luke 14:2, Luke 14:3, Luke 14:4, Luke 14:5, Luke 14:6, Luke 14:7, Luke 14:8, Luke 14:10, Luke 14:11, Luke 14:12, Luke 14:13, Luke 14:14, Luke 14:15, Luke 14:16, Luke 14:17, Luke 14:18, Luke 14:19, Luke 14:20, Luke 14:21, Luke 14:22, Luke 14:23, Luke 14:24, Luke 14:25, Luke 14:26, Luke 14:27, Luke 14:28, Luke 14:31, Luke 14:33, Luke 14:35

Luke 14 (KJV)

1And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.

2And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.

3And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?

4And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;

5And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

6And they could not answer him again to these things.

7And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

8When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

9And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

10But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

11For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

12Then 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.

13But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:

14And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

15And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

16Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

18And they all with 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.

19And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

20And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

21So 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 the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

23And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

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

25And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

26If any man come to me, and 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.

27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

28For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

29Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

30Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

31Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

32Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

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

34Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

35It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The host is described only as one of the chief Pharisees and is never named; neither is the man with the dropsy, and the text does not say how he came to be there or whether he was invited. The lawyers and Pharisees are twice recorded as giving no answer, first holding their peace and then unable to answer again. The seating advice and the guest-list advice are given as teaching at that meal, and the supper that follows is introduced as a parable prompted by a guest's remark. The instruction to compel people to come in is spoken by the lord inside that parable, not narrated as something done. The sayings about hating father and mother and about forsaking all are addressed to great multitudes on the road, and the chapter offers no further explanation of them. No place name and no date appear.

Cited passages: Luke 14:1, Luke 14:2, Luke 14:3, Luke 14:4, Luke 14:5, Luke 14:6, Luke 14:7, Luke 14:15, Luke 14:16, Luke 14:23, Luke 14:24, Luke 14:25, Luke 14:26, Luke 14:33

Literary context

Meals hold the chapter together: a watched sabbath meal, advice about where to sit at a wedding, advice about whom to invite to a dinner, then a parable about a supper nobody comes to. The seating parable turns on a single reversal, exalting and abasing, stated flat at the end of it. The list given to the host, the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, comes back almost unchanged inside the parable as the people the servant gathers from the streets. The three excuses share one shape, a purchase or a marriage followed by a refusal, and the third drops the polite request altogether. After the parable the pattern changes to a series of conditions, two sayings that end cannot be my disciple, two illustrations of sitting down first to reckon, and a third saying in the same words. The chapter closes on salt that cannot be seasoned and a call to hear.

Cited passages: Luke 14:1, Luke 14:7, Luke 14:8, Luke 14:9, Luke 14:10, Luke 14:11, Luke 14:12, Luke 14:13, Luke 14:15, Luke 14:16, Luke 14:18, Luke 14:19, Luke 14:20, Luke 14:21, Luke 14:22, Luke 14:23, Luke 14:26, Luke 14:27, Luke 14:28, Luke 14:31, Luke 14:33, Luke 14:34, Luke 14:35

Key moments

  1. Healed while they watch (Luke 14:4). They hold their peace and Jesus heals the man with the dropsy and lets him go.
  2. Take the lowest room (Luke 14:10). He advises sitting lowest so the host may call the guest up higher.
  3. Call those who cannot repay (Luke 14:13). He tells his host to invite the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind.
  4. All with one consent excuse (Luke 14:18). The first invited man says he has bought ground and must go see it.
  5. The house is filled (Luke 14:23). The lord sends his servant to the highways and hedges so the house is full.
  6. Bear the cross and follow (Luke 14:27). He says whoever does not bear his cross and follow cannot be his disciple.
  7. Counting the cost first (Luke 14:28). He asks who would build a tower without first sitting down to count the cost.

For reflection

Three men give reasons for missing the supper, and the parable reports the reasons without arguing against any of them. Which of the three sounds most reasonable to you, and does the parable treat it differently from the others?

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