Luke 14:26 Meaning of Such a Person Cannot Be My Disciple

Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”

Explanation and Commentary of Luke 14:26

Jesus’ early ministry attracted massive crowds. No one had ever spoken like the Son of God, and no one had performed miracles in public on the scale that Jesus had. Everyone had their own ideas about him, but thousands followed him from place to place to hear him teach and watch him demonstrate the Kingdom of God.

Whenever Jesus saw that large crowds were following him, he often would make comments that seemed to be designed to thin out the crowds, leaving only those who were genuinely called. This is one of those statements. The section ends with one of his favorite concluding statements, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (Lk 14:35). This strange statement required “ears to hear.”

Jesus’ call to love our neighbors and even our enemies precluded any attempt to interpret this in a way that would leave loving father, mother, wife, children, brother, sister, self, out. But we must love him more than all of these in a way that makes true love for all of them possible. If we don’t love God, then the love we think we have for others is merely emotionalism. Christ is the most lovely entity there is. To not love him so much that everything else seems like hate, would be unbelief.

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Luke 14:26

#1 “If anyone comes to me…”
Unfortunately, there were people then and today who would come to Jesus for some reason other than to be his genuine disciples. It is important to come to him, but it is even more important to mind how you come to him.

#2 “…and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters…”
This is not a matter of leaving and cleaving to one’s new family and the next generation. It is total. Of course, we must love our family, but not more than we love Christ or we are only committing idolatry and will hurt them.

#3 “…yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”
This is totally consistent with Christ’s teaching on the death of self to find the true self (Lk 9:23), taking up one’s one cross, and selling all one has to by the pearl of great price (Mt 13:45-46). Jesus asks not to be only a scratch for the spiritual itch, but one’s whole identity, one’s whole life. If he is worth anything, he is worth everything.

Expert Overview of Luke Ch. 10-24

Biblical Translations of Luke 14:26

NIV
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”

NLT
“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.”

ESV
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

KJV
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

NKJV
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”

Luke 14:26 Meaning and Commentary

Author Bio
Natalie Regoli is a child of God, devoted wife, and mother of two boys. She has a Master's Degree in Law from The University of Texas. Natalie has been published in several national journals and has been practicing law for 18 years.