Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Dr Joseph Wood, Principal and Senior Lecturer in Theology and Church History, for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
Luke 14: 25-27 (NLT)
25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “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. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
Devotional
As a child, my parents forbid us to use certain words. Many of these words contained four letters. You can probably guess what some of those were. I avoided them as much as possible because my parents told me that Jesus would not be happy with me if I used them. Then I read Luke 14 one day and came across one of these words. Not only was I surprised to find the word was in the Bible, but even worse: JESUS WAS THE ONE WHO USED IT!!!
“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison HATE everyone else…”
Jesus said one of the four letter words I was forbidden to say, so of course my shocked little mind began to ask questions: Why did Jesus use this word? How did the people react? Did Jesus do a sinful thing by saying the word? Surely not, because Jesus never sinned. Is it ever ok to use a word like this?
Even today, many years after that first instance, I am shocked when I read this statement by Jesus, and I still wrestle with the merits of its use by him. What did Jesus mean we are to hate everyone else, if we want to be Jesus’ disciple? Let’s have a look at the historical context and see how it may help us apply the meaning of the text to our contemporary life:
Historical Context
Jesus was living in an age and place when Greek and Aramaic were common languages. Luke’s gospel was written in Greek. The word, ‘hate’ in Greek, miséō, has several meanings. The most common meaning is the one we expect: to detest or denounce something. The other meaning, closely related, is this: to love someone or something less than someone or something else, or to renounce one in favour of another (Strong’s Concordance, 3404).
Contemporary Application
Now that we know what the Greek word Jesus used means, we can then more appropriately and accurately examine what He was saying in this passage. Hate is a strong word, even in Jesus’ day. And as such, it should be used with great caution. So, when Jesus says we are to ‘love someone or something less than someone or something else’, including our own parents and siblings, He is referring to something called the ‘cost of discipleship’. To follow Jesus is not an easy road. It requires the disciple to be willing to love Jesus over and above anything else. This includes the things we hold most dear to us. Maybe you have experienced that in your own life. Maybe you are the only one in your family who follows Jesus. Maybe your choice to follow Jesus has led to some difficult decisions you have had to make. Maybe following Jesus meant making significant sacrifices in your life. In this teaching Jesus is illustrating the depth to which one must be willing to go to be His disciple. Many of those early followers of Jesus would face persecution and even death. For us today, this passage is sobering and demands we reflect on our own relationship with Jesus. Do we know the cost of discipleship? And are we willing to trust Jesus with our lives, no matter the cost?
Prayer
For the prayer this week, I ask that you meditate on some lyrics from the hymn, ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross’, because it captures the idea I think Jesus is illustrating in this passage well.
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
save in the death of Christ, my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them through his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
-Isaac Watts
Grace and peace,
Rev. Joseph Wood, PhD (Principal and Senior Lecturer in Theology and Church History)