What did Jesus mean when He instructed us to hate our father and mother in Luke 14:26?

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Today's question is, what did Jesus mean when He instructed us to hate our father and mother in Luke 14, verse 26?

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In this video I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective. Then afterwards, as always,

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I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end. First, we must take this verse in the context of the chapter.

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Jesus is teaching His disciples, and like any good teacher, He gets His students thinking. In this case,

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He begins with a truth statement that is hard to understand. Then He clarifies it with a metaphor.

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The truth statement is Luke 14, verse 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.

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It seems that if we don't hate our family, we can't be Jesus' disciple. Or is there more to this issue?

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Following the statement that we must hate our father and mother, Jesus relates a metaphor about a man who builds a house without first counting the cost.

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The man finds that he cannot follow through with what he set out to do. He leaves the house unfinished because he cannot pay what is required.

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Jesus' illustration helps explain His difficult statement about hating our mother and father, namely, we must count the cost of being a disciple.

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There is a cost, and that is the point of the passage. In order to be a disciple, we must be willing to give up everything for Jesus.

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Following Jesus requires commitment and faithfulness. Even if our parents choose not to follow the

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Lord, if and when we are faced with the painful choice of loyalty to family versus loyalty to Jesus, we must choose

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Jesus. Even if our family members disown us, or worse, for being Christians, we must follow

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Christ. It is in this sense that we are hating our family. Jesus' command to hate father and mother requires us to prioritize our relationship with Jesus over our relationship with parents, siblings, and other family members.

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Of course, it is right to love our family members, and we want them to love and follow God. Elsewhere, Jesus confirmed the fifth commandment, that we honor our fathers and mothers.

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And Paul sternly warned that anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever 1

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Timothy 5, verse 8. Jesus' statement that we hate father and mother must be seen in relation to the whole of Scripture.

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His point is not that we are to be heartless towards our families, only that we must love

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Him more. We must not forget that included in Jesus' condition that a follower must hate his father and mother is the condition that he likewise hate even his own life.

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Luke 14, verse 26. Jesus is not teaching an emotional hatred of one's parents any more than He is teaching self -hatred.

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The emphasis is on self -denial and absolute surrender. Immediately following is

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Jesus' instruction to carry your own cross, Luke 14, verse 27. Some other translations make

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Jesus' meaning a little clearer. If you want to be My disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison,

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Luke 14, verse 26 in the NLT. And the Amplified Bible says that a follower of Christ must hate his family members in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God.

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It is a hatred by comparison, not an absolute hatred. The word hate in Luke 14, verse 26 deserves a closer look.

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In the Hebrew Scriptures, the contrast between love and hatred is sometimes used to communicate preference.

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For example, in dealing with inheritance in polygamous marriages, the Mosaic law referred to two wives, one beloved and another hated,

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Deuteronomy 21, verse 15. This is a good literal translation. There was a loved wife and a hated wife.

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Other translations usually soften the hated wife to be unloved or less loved.

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The law was not indicating emotional hatred on the part of the husband, only preference.

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One wife was preferred over the other. We have a similar use of the love -hate idiom in Malachi 1, verses 2 and 3.

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Many Christians will never have to make the painful choice of turning their backs on their family in order to follow

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Christ. But around the world, there are many other Christians who face shunning, disowning, or persecution from their families.

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These believers, if they are to be true to Christ, are forced to live in a way perceived as hateful toward their father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters.

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All believers are called to acknowledge the lordship of Christ and show Him preference over all earthly ties.

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Those who must sacrifice earthly relationships have this promise, No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age.

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Homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life."

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Mark 10, verses 29 -30. Want to learn more? Subscribe so you don't miss the next video!

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Visit GotQuestions .org for more great content. And check out the details section below this video, there you'll find one book I recommend, along with links to several related questions.

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If you'd like to learn about Bible Munch, or if you're interested in Bite -sized devotionals, subscribe to Bible Munch on YouTube, it's linked right here.