The Beatitudes
20 And zhe lifted up his eyes on his disciples, aand said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for byours is the kingdom of God.
Messengers from John the Baptist
18 stThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ythe blind receive their sight, the lame walk, zlepers1 are cleansed, and athe deaf hear, bthe dead are raised up, cthe poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give ya dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers1 or your relatives or rich neighbors, zlest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, ainvite bthe poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid cat dthe resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, e“Blessed is everyone who will feat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, g“A man once hgave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he isent his servant2 to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 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.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, j‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 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 to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in kthe poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you,3 mnone of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
