Luke 14:15-35

15When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “1Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16But He said to him, “2A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a 3piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; 4please consider me excused.’ 19Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; 5please consider me excused.’ 20Another one said, ‘6I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”

25Now 7large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26“8If anyone comes to Me, and does not 9hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27Whoever does not 10carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and 11consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends 12a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33So then, none of you can be My disciple who 13does not give up all his own possessions.

34“Therefore, salt is good; but 14if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. 15He who has ears to hear, 16let him hear.”