Now
great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple.
Luke 14:25-26
Luke 14 [23.] “The lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper.’”
Luke 14 [25.] Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him,
Luke 14 [30.] saying, ‘This man began to build, and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace. So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple. Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Meaning:
Jesus had left the Pharisee’s dinner, where he told the parable of the great supper and warned that guests who put fields, oxen and marriage first would miss the feast (Luke 14:15-24). Now he was on the road to Jerusalem, and “great multitudes were going with him.” Many were attracted by his miracles and teaching, but Jesus knew that following a crowd is not the same as being a disciple. So he “turned” and spoke one of his hardest sayings, which opens a section about the cost of discipleship that continues in Luke 14:27-30.
- “If anyone comes to me”
The invitation is open to anyone, but coming to Jesus means more than walking behind him for a while. A disciple was a learner who attached his whole life to a teacher. Jesus was heading to the cross, and he wanted those who followed to know where the road led.
- “doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children”
The Greek word, noted in the footnote, literally means “hate.” In Hebrew speech “hate” could mean “love less” or “put second.” When Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, Scripture says, “Yahweh saw that Leah was hated” (Genesis 29:31). Matthew records the meaning plainly: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Jesus was not commanding hostility toward family. The same Lord taught people to honor their parents and love their neighbors. He was saying that loyalty to him must come first, so that if family and Christ pull in different directions, Christ wins.
- “yes, and his own life also”
The demand reaches beyond relatives to self. Jesus had already said, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). John records, “He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life” (John 12:25). A disciple holds even his own plans, comfort and safety with an open hand.
The Significance of Luke 14:25-26
- Christ first
For the first readers this was very practical: Jews or Gentiles who believed in Jesus were often rejected by their families. Jesus prepared them for that cost and promised that it would not be in vain: “there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for God’s Kingdom’s sake, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:29-30).
- Love put in its right order
Putting Christ first does not reduce love for others; it purifies it. Love for family that flows from love for God is freer and less selfish.
Cross-References:
Matthew 10:37: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;” Matthew’s parallel saying.
Luke 9:23: “let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Self-denial in discipleship.
Genesis 29:31: “Yahweh saw that Leah was hated,” Hate meaning loved less.
Malachi 1:2-3: “Yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated,” The same Hebrew way of speaking about choice.
Conclusion: Seeing great crowds following him, Jesus told them that no one could be his disciple without putting him before father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and even his own life. “Disregard” or “hate” here means to love less by comparison. Jesus asks for first place in the heart, and he promises that nothing given up for his sake will be lost.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible