11. Then, to further make His point about recovery, He told this story: "There was a certain wealthy landowner who had two sons;
12. One day, the younger of the two of them came to his father and said, 'Sir, I want you to give me my inheritance now...all of it...the money, and the part of the property that will eventually be mine, anyway. And without protest, the father did exactly as his son had requested, dividing the estate between them.
13. In almost no time, the younger son gathered up everything that he had, and started out on a grand adventure, journeying into a distant country. Once he arrived at a place that suited him...a place that could accommodate his desire for an extravagant and hedonistic lifestyle...he started throwing money at anything and everything that could bring him pleasure. Before he knew it, he had recklessly wasted his entire fortune in the prodigal pursuit of his passions.
14. As it turned out, when he had spent everything that he had, a terrible famine came upon that country, and he became destitute.
15. Desperate, he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that country, begging for work. So that man took pity on him and sent him into his fields to feed his hogs.
16. His situation continued to deteriorate to the point that he would gladly have fed on the carob pods that the hogs were eating, because they were eating better than he was at the time, but they couldn't satisfy his extreme hunger. But there was no alternative...nobody could provide him with anything better.
17. Then he came to himself...he looked objectively at the picture of what he had become, and compared it to the picture in his mind of what he knew he was supposed to be. And with that he said, 'How many hired servants on my father's estate have enough food...more than enough to eat, in fact...but here I am, dying of hunger in a land of strangers!
18. I'm going to get myself up, and I'm going to go to my father. And when I see him, I'm going to say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against God, and in your sight.
19. I'm not even worthy to be called your son any longer, seeing as how I have selfishly squandered the inheritance you freely gave me, disgracing your family's good name. Please, sir...if you see fit, just make me like one of your hired servants, and I will work hard for everything I earn.
20. So he got up out of the hog pen, and returned to his father, practicing his repentance speech the whole way there. But while he was still a long way off, his father recognized his emaciated frame, staggering up the road, and was moved with pity and tenderness for him. So, instead of proudly waiting for the son to come all the way to him...and without judgment...and without even thinking about anything that had happened in the past...he just started running toward his boy. And when he reached him, he grabbed him and held him tight, ignoring the stench of the hogs that was still on him, and started kissing him all over his thin, mud-smeared face.
21. And the surprised son went into his rehearsed repentance speech, saying, 'Father, I have sinned against God and in your sight...I'm no longer worthy to be treated as your son...I don't even deserve to be recognized as a son of yours!'
22. But the father didn't need to hear a word of it. He immediately said to one of his bond servants, 'Bring me, this instant, the very best robe...the festive robe reserved for guests of honor...and put it on him...cover him with it. And give him a family signet ring for his hand, and sandals for his feet.
23. And not only that...go bring out that fine, wheat-fattened calf that we've been saving for a special occasion, and butcher it. Tonight we'll pull out all the stops, have a feast fit for a king, and raise the roof with celebration!
24. Don't you see? This is my son who was dead, and is alive again...he was lost and is found!' And with those words, the entire household went into a state of revelry.
25. But while all of this was happening, his older son was out working hard in the field. At the end of a long day's work, he returned to the main house, and as he approached, he heard music and dancing.
26. So he called one of the servant boys to him, and asked him what was going on.
27. The boy excitedly said to him, 'Oh! Haven't you heard? Your little brother has come home, and your father has killed that wheat-fattened calf that he's been saving, and has thrown him a huge party! He's so happy that his son is back, safe and well.'
28. But the elder brother was furious at this news, and began to make a scene. He refused to go inside the house, so his father came out and began to reason with him, trying to calm him down.
29. But he pushed his father away and said, 'Are you kidding me with this?! You can't be serious! All these many years I have served you, and I've never once disobeyed any of your directives. But you've never given me so much as a young goat, so that I might have just a little get-together with my friends.
30. But all of a sudden, when this ungrateful, undisciplined, irresponsible son of yours shows up here, after having devoured your estate by spending everything you gave him on whores and God knows what else, you have killed for him the special wheat-fattened calf!'
31. And the father said to him, 'Oh, buddy...don't you realize that you're always with me, and that everything I have is yours? You can have anything you want at any time...just ask for it.
32. But I'm not going to make any apology for having this feast for your brother. If the celebration goes on all night long, so be it...it's the right thing to do. This brother of yours was dead, and is alive again! He was lost and is found!'"
1. Jesus' charisma and anointing regularly attracted a wide array of people-types, but at this point in His ministry, an unusually large number of characters of dubious reputation seemed to be surrounding Him all the time. The hated tax collectors, who were friendly with the oppressive Roman government...along with a variety of sinners of scandalous notoriety...were with Him constantly, hanging on to His every word, and hearing Him with apparent comprehension.
2. The self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the law were shocked by His tolerance of them, and by their obvious mutual familiarity. They whispered among themselves, "This man makes reprobates feel accepted and right at home...He openly socializes with them all the time."
3. So Jesus answered them with this illustration:
4. "Imagine that a shepherd has a hundred fine sheep, and loses one of them. If he's a good shepherd, wouldn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the lost one until he finds it?
5. And when he finds it, wouldn't he joyfully put it on his shoulders?
6. Wouldn't he then bring it home and call his friends and neighbors together and say to them, 'Come celebrate with me...I have found my lost sheep!'
7. The truth is that in the very same way there will be more celebration in the heavenly realm over one transgressor who has a paradigm shift, than over ninety-nine people who think that there is no room for improvement in their own lives, and stay exactly the same as they were.
8. Or let's say a woman has ten silver coins and loses one of them. In that case, doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the whole house, and search it thoroughly until she finds the money?
9. And, just like the shepherd, when she finds it she calls all her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Come celebrate with me...I have found my lost coin!'
10. Just like with the lost sheep, I reiterate, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one rebel who changes his or her mindset."
1. Regardless of previous experiences, Jesus once again went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee on a particular Sabbath. And, as was always the case in such an environment, He was being carefully watched and scrutinized.
2. Right there in front of Him was a man who was suffering from a condition like dropsy, which caused abnormal swelling in his body.
3. So Jesus said to the Pharisees and the experts in the law who were present, "Let me ask you gentlemen something...is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"
4. Even though this was a repeat of a previous scenario, the men still didn't have a reasonable answer to Jesus' provocative question, so they remained completely silent. Then Jesus authoritatively but compassionately took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.
5. Once the man was gone, He asked them, "If one of you has a child, or even an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, won't you immediately pull it out?"
6. But still they had nothing to say. They just sat there in silence, unable to be even the slightest bit objective about their tradition and belief system.
7. So, moving on from this dead-end of a subject, He noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, and spoke to that, instead. He told them this illustration:
8. "Listen...when someone invites you to a formal wedding feast, don't be presumptuous enough to take the place of honor. You never know if a person more distinguished than you may have been invited, and that place was intended for him or her.
9. If, indeed, that is the case, the host who invited both of you will have to come and say to you, 'Please give this person your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place, creating an awkward situation for everyone involved.
10. So when you are invited, just automatically take the lowest place. That way, when your host comes to greet you he will say to you, 'Friend, please...I insist that you move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored and admired right there in the presence of all the other guests.
11. You see, all those who exalt themselves will be humbled...and all those who humble themselves will be exalted."
12. Then Jesus turned to His host and said, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, don't invite your friends...don't invite your brothers or your sisters...in fact, don't invite any of your relatives...and, by all means, don't invite your rich neighbors. If you invite any of them, they will most likely invite you back, and so you will be repaid.
13. No...when you give a banquet, invite the poor and the disenfranchised...invite the crippled and the helpless...invite the lame...invite the blind;
14. If you do that you will be fully blessed. And although these people can't repay you, you will be repaid in the bigger picture with resurrection life and the benefits of righteousness."
15. When one of the guests at the table heard Him say this, he blurted out, "How blessed are those who will eat at the celebration feast in the Kingdom of God!"
16. This prompted Jesus to expound some more on the subject. He said, "There was a certain man who prepared an extravagant banquet, and invited many guests to it.
17. When it was time for the banquet to commence, he sent his personal servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come now...the table is set...everything is ready.'
18. But each of the invited guests that he approached began to make ridiculous excuses. The first one to whom he spoke said, 'You know what? I've just bought a field, and I have to go right now and see it. Please send my regrets.'
19. The next one said, 'Listen, I've just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way, even as we speak, to try them out. Thanks, anyway.'
20. Still another said, 'Hey, I just got married, so I obviously can't come.'
21. So the servant came back and reported all of this to his employer. Then the owner of the house felt insulted, and became incensed. So he ordered his servant, 'Go out immediately into the streets and back-alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'
22. In a short while the servant responded, 'Sir, what you've ordered has been done, but there is still room at your table.'
23. Undaunted, the host told his servant, 'All right then...go out to the dirt roads and country lanes, and compel the rest of them to come in...drag them in if you have to...I want my house to be full!'"
24. Then Jesus said, "I tell you the truth...not one of those who were privileged to be originally invited to My feast will get so much as a taste of the food at My Kingdom-banquet."
25. Right after this, a huge crowd was walking along with Jesus on a particular day, and He stopped, turned to them, and said,
26. "Listen...if anyone comes to Me and does not make God his or her top priority, he or she can't be My disciple. Let me put it this way...if you don't have a relative disregard for your parents, wife, husband, children, or siblings, in comparison with your attitude and affection toward God...even if you love your own life more than Him...you can't really follow Me.
27. And whoever does not persevere and carry his or her own cross, even as I carry Mine, can't be My true disciple.
28. I mean, which of you, planning to build a building on your farm, or for your business, doesn't first sit down and calculate the cost to see whether or not you have sufficient means to finish it?
29. You know full well that if you don't do that, when you've laid the foundation and are unable to complete the structure, everyone who sees it will begin to mock and jeer at you.
30. They'll say, 'This man began to build something, but was not able to finish what he started.'
31. Or, to put it another way, what king going out to engage in war with another king will not first sit down and consider the big picture. No, he'll take counsel with his advisers to see whether he is able, even with ten thousand men, to meet the one who opposes him with possibly twenty thousand?
32. And, if after the war-counsel has examined the situation from every angle, he realizes that it just can't be done, he devises another strategy. When the other king is still very far away, he sends an envoy to appease him, and begins peace talks with the enemy.
33. The bottom line is this for any and all of you...if you do not forsake all, or if you're not at least willing to do whatever has to be done for the Kingdom...you just can't be My disciple.
34. Look...salt is good...in fact, it's an excellent thing when it's used properly. But if salt loses its strength and becomes flat, how can its saltiness ever be restored?
35. It's not fit for anything....completely useless. I'm speaking in abstract terms, but I ask you to listen with real comprehension...hear this with your spiritual ear."
