23. The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads. Tell the people there to come. I want my house to be full!
24. I tell you, not one of those people I invited first will eat any of this food I prepared.’”
25. Many people were traveling with Jesus. He said to them,
26. “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life!
27. Whoever will not carry the cross that is given to them when they follow me cannot be my follower.
28. “If you wanted to build a building, you would first sit down and decide how much it would cost. You must see if you have enough money to finish the job.
29. If you don’t do that, you might begin the work, but you would not be able to finish. And if you could not finish it, everyone would laugh at you.
30. They would say, ‘This man began to build, but he was not able to finish.’
31. “If a king is going to fight against another king, first he will sit down and plan. If he has only 10,000 men, he will try to decide if he is able to defeat the other king who has 20,000 men.