The big picture
Sharing a sabbath meal, Jesus, the teacher and healer, sits in a religious leader's home while people watch him closely. A sick man and the guests' choice of seats become occasions to teach about mercy and rank. Jesus calls for meals that welcome people unable to repay the host. He then describes invited guests who lose their place by refusing a feast. Outside, large crowds hear that following him requires more than joining a moving group. The cost must be faced in full.
In this chapter
- Healing Leaves the Watchers Without an Answer Luke 14:1-6
A leading Pharisee, a member of a strict religious group, hosts Jesus on the sabbath, the holy rest day.
- Choose Humility and Welcome Those in Need Luke 14:7-14
Noticing guests choose honoured seats, Jesus describes someone claiming a high place at a wedding.
- Refused Invitations Open the Feast to Others Luke 14:15-24
A guest praises the blessing of eating in God's kingdom.
- Count the Cost Before Following Luke 14:25-33
Large crowds travel with Jesus, and he turns to describe discipleship.
- Salt Must Keep Its Distinctive Quality Luke 14:34-35
Jesus closes with salt.
Central truth
Jesus overturns the pursuit of rank and repayment, offering a generous welcome while demanding wholehearted commitment from those who follow.
Scripture beside the summary
Luke · King James Version · 35Luke 14:1-6
Healing Leaves the Watchers Without an Answer
A leading Pharisee, a member of a strict religious group, hosts Jesus on the sabbath, the holy rest day. The guests watch him, and a man with bodily swelling stands before him. Jesus asks the law experts and Pharisees whether healing is permitted on this day. They say nothing. He takes the man, heals him, and sends him away. Then he asks which of them would leave an animal in a pit because it is the sabbath. They still have no answer. Their own readiness to rescue exposes the weakness of an objection to his care for a sick person.
In everyday life
A farm inspector sees an owner lift a trapped calf from a ditch during a required rest period, then hears him deny a worker time for urgent care. She asks why the animal's distress changes the rule but the worker's does not. His silence reveals the unequal standard. Jesus heals by touch and interprets God's sabbath, not labour policy.
Notice
Luke 14:4 Jesus heals while the challengers remain silent. The man's need does not have to wait for their willingness to answer the question honestly.
Luke 14:1-6
King James Version1And 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.
Luke 14:7-14
Choose Humility and Welcome Those in Need
Noticing guests choose honoured seats, Jesus describes someone claiming a high place at a wedding. A more honoured guest arrives, and the first person must move down in shame. Taking the low place lets the host give honour instead. People who raise themselves will be lowered; the humble will be lifted. Jesus then speaks to the host. Inviting friends and rich neighbours can bring a return invitation. A feast for poor and disabled people cannot be repaid in that way. God will repay such welcome when the righteous rise. Hospitality can become a gift rather than another exchange among people protecting their rank.
In everyday life
A retirement-party organiser reserves the best seats for former cleaners and casual staff who cannot offer her a useful return invitation. She sits near the back and lets the host decide whom to honour. The meal stops being a display of useful connections. Jesus promises God's repayment at resurrection, not only a more generous guest list.
Notice
Luke 14:14 The inability to repay is the reason these guests are named. Their welcome breaks the cycle in which generosity is limited to people who can return it.
Luke 14:7-14
King James Version7And 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.
Luke 14:15-24
Refused Invitations Open the Feast to Others
A guest praises the blessing of eating in God's kingdom. Jesus answers with a man preparing a great supper. When it is ready, the invited guests excuse themselves through land, oxen, and marriage. The angry host sends for poor and disabled people from the streets. There is still room, so the servant goes farther out and strongly urges others to come until the house is full. Those who refused will not taste the meal. The account treats ordinary claims as reasons people choose to decline a greater invitation. The host's wish to fill his house continues, but the original guests cannot assume a place remains theirs.
In everyday life
A community-theatre host receives last-minute refusals from guests whose seats have long been reserved. She opens the doors to neighbours waiting outside and sends helpers down the street because seats remain. The performance goes ahead with a different audience. Jesus describes entry into God's kingdom, not the reassignment of unused tickets.
Notice
Luke 14:22 Even after the poor and disabled guests arrive, room remains. The host's next command widens the invitation again instead of ending the welcome early.
Luke 14:15-24
King James Version15And 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.
Luke 14:25-33
Count the Cost Before Following
Large crowds travel with Jesus, and he turns to describe discipleship. He uses the stark word hate for the comparison between allegiance to him and even family or one's own life. This demands first loyalty, not cruelty toward relatives. A follower must carry a cross, an image of accepting even death. Jesus compares the choice to a builder checking funds before starting a tower and a king assessing forces before war. An unfinished structure or hopeless battle exposes an uncounted cost. Following requires surrender of one's claim to all possessions. Crowds and enthusiasm do not remove the need to face what the commitment demands.
In everyday life
A boat restorer adds the cost of timber, tools, mooring, and months of work before buying a ruined hull. The attractive first price is not the full commitment, and a half-repaired boat will not carry anyone. She faces the total before beginning. Jesus requires surrender of life and possessions to him, not a carefully budgeted hobby.
Notice
Luke 14:33 Jesus ends the two planning examples by naming possessions. Counting the cost does not produce a cheaper version of following him; it exposes the full claim.
Luke 14:25-33
King James Version25And 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.
Luke 14:34-35
Salt Must Keep Its Distinctive Quality
Jesus closes with salt. It is useful because of its distinct taste, but if that quality is lost, there is no way to restore it by adding more seasoning to itself. Such salt is not useful even for land or manure and is thrown out. He calls anyone with ears to listen. Coming after the hard sayings about following, the image warns against keeping a name while losing what makes it meaningful. A crowd can travel with Jesus while refusing his claim. That resembles a substance which looks familiar but no longer does its work.
In everyday life
A battery tester places a familiar-looking cell into a torch and finds it gives no light. Keeping the label and metal shape has not kept the energy the torch requires. She sets it aside because appearance cannot perform its task. Jesus speaks of discipleship losing its distinctive quality, not a product reaching the end of its useful life.
Notice
Luke 14:35 The final call is to hear after a warning about useless salt. Jesus asks the crowd to take in the demand, not only remain physically near him.
Luke 14:34-35
King James Version34Salt 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Luke 14:1 begins with “And 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.”
Where the chapter turns
Luke 14:16 forms a natural hinge: “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:”
The final note
Luke 14:35 leaves the reader with “It 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.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words bidden, servant, bade, room, supper, able help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- dropsy
- Swelling caused by fluid collecting in the body.
- recompense
- Repay or give something in return for a gift or service.
- ambassage
- A group sent to negotiate on behalf of a ruler.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
