Gospel of Luke Chapter Fourteen

14:1 Later on, as he entered the house of one of the chief pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, he was being watched.
14:2 Then suddenly a man who had swelling appeared before him.
14:3 Jesus said to the scribes and the pharisees, “Is it allowed to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
14:4 Yet they remained silent. Then he took hold of the man, healed him and sent him off.
14:5 Then he asked them, “Which of you wouldn’t immediately pull your child or an ox out of a well if they fell into it on a Sabbath day?”
14:6 They were silent.
14:7 When he saw that the guests were picking out the places of honor at the table, he instructed them with an analogy:
14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t take the place of honor, because someone more esteemed than you may have also been invited.
14:9 Then the host will approach and ask you to give your seat to him. Then in disgrace you’ll have to occupy the least important seat.
14:10 Rather, when you are invited, go sit in the least important seat so that when the host approaches, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move to a better seat.’ Then you’ll have honor in the sight of everyone at the table with you.
14:11 Because anyone who exalts himself will be humbled and one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
14:12 He continued, speaking to his host, “When you host a luncheon or dinner, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may also invite you in return and that will be your reward.
14:13 Rather, when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
14:14 Then you will be blessed, since they don’t have the means to repay you – because you will be repaid at the resurrection¹ of the righteous.
14:15 One of those sitting at the table with him said, after hearing this, “Anyone who dines at the feast of God’s sanctuary is blessed.”
14:16 Jesus responded, “A man hosted a large feast and invited many.
14:17 At the feast time, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come in because everything is ready now.’
14:18 Then they all began to give excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I’ve bought some land and I have to go and look after it. Please allow me to be excused.’
14:19 Another said, ‘I’ve bought five yoke of oxen and I have to test them out. Please allow me to be excused.’
14:20 Another said, ‘I’ve just married a wife and I cannot make it.’
14:21 Then the servant returned and reported this to his master. The master of the house was upset, and told his slave, ‘Go out immediately into the streets and alleys of the town and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.
14:22 Then the servant said, ‘Master, what you instructed has been done and still there is room.’
14:23 Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and along the fences and compel them to come in so that my house will be full.
14:24 Because I tell you, none of those men who were invited will have a taste of my feast.’”
14:25 Now large crowds were accompanying him. He turned and said to them:
14:26 “If anyone approaches me and doesn’t detest his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.
14:27 Whoever doesn’t pull up stakes¹ and follow after me cannot be my disciple.
14:28 For which of you, when you want to build a tower, doesn’t first sit and calculate the cost to see if you have enough to complete it?
14:29 Otherwise, when you’ve laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees this will ridicule you.
14:30 They’ll say, ‘This man began building and wasn’t able to finish.’
14:31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, won’t first sit and consider whether his ten thousand men will be strong enough to encounter the twenty thousand coming against him.
14:32 Otherwise, while they are still far away, he’ll send a delegation and ask for terms of peace.
14:33 Similarly, those of you who don’t give up everything cannot be my disciples.
14:34 Likewise, salt is good, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how can it be used to season?
14:35 It is useless – even for the soil or the manure pile. It is thrown out. One who has ears to hear – listen!”

Footnotes:

1. Verse 14:14. The Greek word ἀνάστασις (anastasis) – translated to resurrection – refers to the rising of the spirit-person from the body at the time of death. The lexicon defines the word as, “a rising from the dead.”

2. Verse 14:27. The Greek word σταυρός (stauros) refers to stakes used by farmers to hold up their vines, trees and bushes. These were often crossed to provide stability for the vine to wind upon. The term “pull up stakes” – still used to this day – refers to a person uprooting his life (or the singular, “pull up his stake”). In the context of Jesus' statement, he is asking his followers to "pull up stakes" in their lives in order to follow Jesus. The phrase indicates the process of rejecting materialism and fully committing oneself to the teachings of Jesus.