Luke 14 takes place entirely at a Sabbath meal in the house of a prominent Pharisee, where Jesus heals a man with dropsy, then delivers a series of teachings on humility, hospitality, and the cost of following him. He tells the parable of the great banquet — where the invited guests refuse to come and the host fills the hall with the poor, the crippled, and outsiders from the highways. The chapter closes with three stark sayings about counting the cost of discipleship: the tower builder, the warring king, and the demand to renounce everything.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The entire chapter is structured as a symposium — a Greco-Roman literary form in which teaching occurs at a banquet. Jesus subverts every expectation of the dinner party: he heals on the Sabbath (violating the host's assumptions), critiques the guests' jockeying for honor, instructs the host to invite the uninvitable, and tells a parable in which the original guests are replaced by social outcasts. The progression from table manners to radical discipleship is seamless — Luke presents following Jesus as a total social reorientation. The three 'cannot be my disciple' statements (vv. 26, 27, 33) are among the most demanding sayings in the Gospels.
Translation Friction
The healing of the man with dropsy (hydrops, fluid retention) on the Sabbath follows a pattern of Sabbath controversies in Luke (6:1-11; 13:10-17). Jesus's argument from the lesser to the greater (if you rescue a son or an ox, surely you can heal a person) assumes a shared ethical framework. The saying about hating father and mother (v. 26) uses miseō in its Semitic comparative sense — 'love less by comparison' — not as a command to feel hatred. The parable of the great banquet has a parallel in Matthew 22:1-14 but differs significantly in details.
Connections
The Sabbath healing connects to Luke 6:6-11 and 13:10-17. The banquet parable echoes Isaiah 25:6-8 (the messianic feast) and anticipates the eschatological meal themes of Luke 22. The cost-of-discipleship sayings connect to Luke 9:23-26 (taking up the cross) and 18:18-30 (the rich ruler). The 'salt' saying at the end parallels Mark 9:50 and Matthew 5:13.
One Sabbath, when he went to eat at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase paraterēmenoi auton ('watching him closely') carries the sense of hostile surveillance. The Sabbath meal was a formal occasion, and Jesus's presence at a Pharisee's table shows that he maintained social engagement with his critics even while challenging them. The 'ruler of the Pharisees' (archontōn tōn Pharisaiōn) was likely a synagogue leader who belonged to the Pharisaic party.
Luke 14:2
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν ὑδρωπικὸς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ.
And there in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.
KJV And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hydrops (ὑδρωπικός, 'dropsical') refers to edema — abnormal fluid retention causing visible swelling. This is the only occurrence of this condition in the New Testament. Whether the man was a guest or was placed there as a test is left ambiguous by Luke.
Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"
KJV And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Jesus takes the initiative, addressing the tension directly. The nomikoi ('lawyers, experts in the Torah') and Pharisaioi ('Pharisees') represent the religious establishment's interpretive authority. The question forces them to articulate their position openly rather than hiding behind passive observation.
But they remained silent. So he took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away.
KJV And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Their silence (hēsychasan) is telling — they cannot say healing is unlawful without appearing callous, nor can they affirm it without conceding Jesus's point. Jesus acts physically (epilabomenos, 'taking hold of') and then releases the man, removing him from the charged atmosphere.
And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?"
KJV And 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?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The SBLGNT reads huios ('son') rather than onos ('donkey') — a textual variant with significant implications. If 'son,' the argument moves from human compassion; if 'donkey,' from animal husbandry. Either way, the qal wahomer ('lesser to greater') reasoning is clear: if emergency rescue is permissible, how much more healing? The Sabbath debates assume that saving life overrides Sabbath rest.
Luke 14:6
καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσαν ἀνταποκριθῆναι πρὸς ταῦτα.
And they could not reply to this.
KJV And they could not answer him again to these things.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb antapokrithēnai ('to answer back, respond in opposition') implies they had no counter-argument. Jesus's logic has left them unable to defend their position without contradicting their own practice.
He told a parable to those who had been invited, when he noticed how they were choosing the places of honor, saying to them,
KJV And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The prōtoklisias ('first couches, places of honor') were the reclining positions nearest the host at a formal meal. Jockeying for these positions was a visible display of social ambition. Jesus observes the behavior and uses it as a teaching occasion — the parable arises from direct observation of human vanity.
"When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not recline at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him.
KJV When 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;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The wedding feast (gamous) setting raises the social stakes — weddings were the most public and hierarchical of ancient meals. The verb katakliths ('recline') reflects the ancient practice of reclining on couches rather than sitting at tables. The advice echoes Proverbs 25:6-7.
[TCR Cross-Reference] References Proverbs 25:6-7 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.
Then the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then in disgrace you will begin to take the lowest place.
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The public humiliation (meta aischynēs, 'with shame') of being demoted would be devastating in an honor-shame culture. The scenario is socially realistic — hosts managed seating hierarchies carefully, and miscalculating one's status had real consequences.
But when you are invited, go and recline at the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will have honor in the presence of all who are reclining at the table with you.
KJV But 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The strategy of deliberate self-lowering leads to public elevation — a pattern that mirrors the theological principle stated in the next verse. The address 'Friend' (Phile) adds warmth to the public honor. The word doxa ('glory, honor') is the same used for God's glory — here applied to social standing, but pointing toward a deeper reality.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
KJV For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This axiom appears multiple times in Luke (1:52; 18:14) and throughout the Gospels. The passive voice ('will be humbled... will be exalted') is the divine passive — God is the implied agent. What appears as social advice becomes a statement about God's eschatological reversal of human hierarchies.
He also said to the one who had invited him, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, so that they may not invite you in return and you be repaid.
KJV Then 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Jesus now turns from the guests to the host. The four categories — friends, brothers, relatives, rich neighbors — represent the entire network of reciprocal obligation in ancient Mediterranean society. The verb antikalesōsin ('invite in return') and the noun antapodoma ('repayment') expose the economy of social exchange: hospitality given to peers is an investment, not generosity.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
KJV But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The four categories — poor, crippled, lame, blind — are the same groups who will fill the banquet hall in the parable that follows (v. 21). These are people who cannot reciprocate, making the invitation pure grace. In the Qumran community (Dead Sea Scrolls), these same groups were explicitly excluded from the messianic banquet; Jesus inverts that exclusion.
And you will be blessed, because they have nothing with which to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
KJV And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The promise of repayment at 'the resurrection of the righteous' (tē anastasei tōn dikaiōn) shifts the reward from social reciprocity to eschatological recompense. The Pharisees believed in resurrection (unlike the Sadducees), so this appeal meets them on their own theological ground. True generosity is not unrewarded — it is rewarded by God, not by social peers.
When one of those reclining at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, "Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This exclamation, perhaps pious but self-satisfied, triggers the parable of the great banquet. The speaker assumes he will be among those eating at the messianic feast. Jesus's parable will challenge exactly that assumption — the originally invited guests may find themselves excluded.
But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
KJV Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The 'great banquet' (deipnon mega) evokes the messianic feast of Isaiah 25:6. In ancient practice, a formal banquet involved two invitations: the initial announcement and a second summons when the meal was ready. The 'many' (pollous) who are invited represent Israel, the covenant people.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Isaiah 25:6. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.
At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
KJV And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The second summons ('Come, for everything is now ready') represents the present moment of Jesus's ministry — the kingdom feast is being prepared and the invitation is going out. The single servant (doulon, 'slave') contrasts with Matthew's version, which has multiple servants.
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.'
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase apo mias ('with one accord, unanimously') emphasizes the collective nature of the refusal. The excuse is transparently absurd — no one buys a field without first inspecting it. The polite formula 'have me excused' (eche me parētimenon) masks the insult of rejecting a prepared feast.
Luke 14:19
καὶ ἕτερος εἶπεν· Ζεύγη βοῶν ἠγόρασα πέντε καὶ πορεύομαι δοκιμάσαι αὐτά· ἐρωτῶ σε, ἔχε με παρῃτημένον.
Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them. Please have me excused.'
KJV And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Five yoke of oxen (ten animals) represents significant wealth — this is a man of means. Again, the excuse is implausible: one tests oxen before purchasing. The pattern of three excuses follows the rule of three in ancient storytelling.
And therefore i cannot come, another said, I have married a wife.
KJV And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This third excuse echoes Deuteronomy 24:5, where a newly married man is exempt from military service for one year. But a banquet is not military service, and this excuse — the most blunt of the three, without even asking to be excused — reveals that the refusals escalate in rudeness. Property, possessions, and family relationships all become obstacles to accepting the invitation.
[TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Deuteronomy 24:5 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.'
KJV So 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The master's anger (orgistheis) is justified — to refuse a prepared banquet was a grave social insult. The four groups summoned — poor, crippled, blind, lame — are the same groups from verse 13, now given narrative embodiment. These are the people who cannot repay the invitation, making this the feast of pure grace that Jesus commanded.
And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'
KJV And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The report that 'still there is room' (eti topos estin) is theologically charged — the feast has capacity for more. God's banquet is not a zero-sum table. The inclusion of the marginalized does not fill the hall to capacity; grace expands to accommodate all who will come.
Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the roads and hedgerows and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
KJV And 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:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The movement extends beyond the city to 'roads and hedgerows' (hodous kai phragmous) — the places where travelers and the homeless would be found. The verb anankason ('compel, urge strongly') does not imply violence but the insistence needed to overcome the resistance of those who would never imagine themselves invited to such a feast. This second sending likely represents the Gentile mission.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.'"
KJV For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The shift from 'his' banquet to 'my' banquet (mou tou deipnou) is striking — the master of the parable speaks in a way that bleeds into Jesus's own voice. The exclusion is self-imposed: the original guests chose not to come. The door remains open to the unexpected guests who did accept.
Now large crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and said to them,
KJV And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The scene shifts from the Pharisee's house to the open road. Jesus 'turned' (strapheis) — a deliberate, confrontational gesture directed at those who were following casually. What follows are the most stringent discipleship demands in the Gospels.
Luke 14:26
Εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός με καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφάς, ἔτι τε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ, οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
KJV If 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.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
μισέωmiseō
"hate"—to hate, detest; in Semitic usage: to love less, to regard as secondary
A Semitic comparative idiom rather than a command to feel animosity. The absolute language communicates the absolute nature of the demand: discipleship tolerates no competing ultimate loyalty.
Translator Notes
The verb misēi ('hate') must be understood in its Semitic sense of 'love less by comparison' (cf. Genesis 29:31, where Leah is 'hated' meaning 'less loved'; Malachi 1:2-3). Matthew's parallel (10:37) clarifies: 'loves father or mother more than me.' The demand is not emotional hostility but absolute priority — when loyalties conflict, Jesus claims first allegiance over every human bond, including self-preservation (tēn psychēn heautou, 'his own life/soul').
[TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Genesis 29:31. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.
[TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Malachi 1:2-3. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
KJV And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The stauros ('cross') was not a religious symbol in Jesus's time but an instrument of Roman execution — the most shameful and painful death available. To 'carry one's cross' meant to walk to one's own execution. The image would have been shocking and literal for Jesus's audience. This is the second 'cannot be my disciple' statement.
For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?
KJV For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The tower (pyrgon) could be a farm watchtower or a defensive structure. The verb psēphizei ('calculate, count with pebbles') gives us the concept of 'counting the cost.' Jesus is not discouraging discipleship but demanding informed commitment — the parable warns against starting what one cannot finish.
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to mock him,
KJV Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The abandoned foundation becomes a permanent monument to failed ambition. The verb empaizein ('to mock, ridicule') carries the sting of public shame — the same word used for the mocking of Jesus at his trial (Luke 22:63; 23:11).
And was not able to finish, and declared, This man began to build.
KJV Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The mockers' words are devastating in their simplicity. The verb ērxato ('began') paired with ouk ischysen ('was not able') creates a stark contrast between aspiration and failure.
Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?
KJV Or 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?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The second parable escalates from personal construction to national warfare. The odds are two-to-one against — the question is whether the king can realistically prevail. Like the tower builder, the king must assess his resources before committing. The parallel to discipleship is clear: following Jesus is a total commitment with opposition guaranteed.
If not, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
KJV Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word presbeian ('delegation, embassy') is the root of 'presbyter' and 'ambassador.' The wise king who cannot win negotiates — but Jesus does not offer a negotiation option for discipleship. The parable's logic demands total commitment because there is no middle ground with God.
So therefore, any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
KJV So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The third 'cannot be my disciple' statement specifies the cost: apotassetai pasin tois heautou hyparchousin ('renounce all his own possessions'). The verb apotassomai means 'to say farewell to, take leave of, renounce.' This is not merely spiritual detachment but literal willingness to release everything. Luke's Gospel consistently highlights the danger of wealth (6:20-26; 12:13-21; 16:19-31; 18:18-25).
"Salt is good, but if even salt has lost its taste, with what will it be seasoned?
KJV Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The salt saying (also in Matthew 5:13 and Mark 9:50) serves as a warning metaphor following the discipleship demands. Salt that has lost its saltiness (mōranthē, literally 'become foolish' — the same root as 'moron') is useless. A disciple who will not pay the cost is like flavorless salt — purposeless. Chemically, pure sodium chloride cannot lose its salinity, but the impure salt from the Dead Sea region could leach and lose effectiveness.
It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear."
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Useless salt cannot even serve as fertilizer (eis gēn, 'for the land') or as a catalyst in a compost heap (eis koprian, 'for the manure pile'). It has absolutely no remaining function. The chapter closes with the same formula that concluded the Sower parable in chapter 8: 'The one who has ears to hear, let him hear' — an urgent call to active listening and obedience.