“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.” (Luke 14:26)
As you read this you might be thinking that this cannot be right. After all, this is Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the God who loved the world so much He died that we might be saved (John 3:16). This is the same Jesus who says to love your enemies (Matthew 5:44) and to love one another (John 14:23). How then is it possible for this same Jesus to say that one must “hate” in order to follow him, to be his disciple?
First and foremost Jesus does not contradict himself. Jesus being God in the flesh is perfect (Matthew 5:48). We also know that the Bible is the Word of God and Luke accurately records Jesus’ words. Given this, what do we make of the statement on hate?
We start with looking at the fact that following Jesus requires sacrifice. Following the verse on hate, Jesus says, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27) In other words, in the same way that Jesus carried his splintered cross to Calvary, in the same way he was crucified to the same cross we too need to be prepared to suffer and give our all if we are truly going to follow, believe and trust in Jesus.
There is great benefit from being a disciple that trusts and follows Jesus. We are guaranteed salvation (Romans 10:9) and we are elevated to Sons and Daughters of God co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). The benefits far outweigh the sacrifice yet there still is a sacrifice that is not for the faint of heart. Today very few people truly follow Jesus and can be considered His disciples.
A true disciple of Jesus will not hesitate in leaving everything behind for Jesus. In an encounter with a rich young man Jesus honors that this man had followed all the commandments. Yet the young man lacked one thing. Jesus tells him to “go, sell all that you have and give to the poor” and to follow him. (Mark 10:21) Mark records that this man was “disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (v.22)
Jesus demands our all. He deserves it since he gave his all for us. That young man wanted to follow Jesus but could not let go of his things. We need to remember that Jesus never asks of us anything he has not experienced or accomplished first. He requires that we leave all behind. Jesus did just this. He “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:6-7) Jesus demands that we make Him the priority. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” (Luke 10:27). Love with your all because He first loved us! (1 John 4:10)
Jesus demands that in order to love God with our all we must hate all other things and people. The word hate in the Greek (the original language of the New Testament) is μισέω pronounced miseo and it means to “have relatively low regard.” In English we are accustomed to using “hate” to mean a loathing of someone or something. This is not what Jesus is saying. He is making the point that we should Love Him so much that our love for anything else doesn’t even come close.
In America there is still very little shame from following Jesus. In other countries following Jesus means being hated and disowned by your family, your friends, losing your job, and in the worst scenarios facing death often because of your family perpetrating the homicide or giving you over to the authorities to be punished and/or martyred.
While in America we often don’t fear persecution or hate, Jesus reminds us that the time is coming when “brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake.” (Matthew 10:21) Following Jesus is not easy but it is the best decision anyone can ever make. He is the kind of company we need to keep. Remember that Jesus says “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)
About Rev. Marcos O. Almonte
Rev. Marcos O. Almonte is senior pastor at Brandywine Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church west of Philadelphia. Pastor Marcos is a graduate of Palmer Theological Seminary with more than 10 years working with families with an expertise in theology, trauma and addictions. Pastor Marcos and his wife Mary have three children, Carmen, Joseph, and Lincoln.
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