Following the Master by Michael J. Wilkins

Author:Michael J. Wilkins [Wilkins, Michael J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2021-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

The costly way is understood most clearly by looking at the threefold repeated refrain in verses 26, 27, 3—“. . . cannot be my disciple.” Here Jesus describes the cost of discipleship in terms of allegiance to family, self-will, and one’s all.

FAMILY

First, Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:26). Following Jesus as his disciple was not what the people might expect. Following Jesus meant to put him in such a place of prominence in one’s life that, if any other commitment dared to usurp the place of Jesus, one must “hate” it. Nothing else must be a substitute for Jesus as the focus of allegiance: neither family (14:26), nor wealth (12:13–21; 16:10–13, 14–15, 19–31), nor one’s own life (14:26), nor anything at all (v. 33). Entrance into the way of discipleship meant entering the narrow gate to salvation (13:22–30) to follow after Jesus alone (9:23; 14:27). This must have been a shock to the crowd, because prophetic figures regularly gathered large crowds around them. Jesus instead halted the enthusiastic crowd by his challenge to count the cost. Jesus’ form of discipleship is radically different than other forms, demanding that the “would-be follower” give him preeminence as Master.

Luke 14:26 obviously cannot mean literal hatred, because Jesus commanded his followers to love even their enemies (6:27), because he cared for his own mother (Jn 19:26–27), and because he would not go contrary to Old Testament commands to honor one’s father and mother (Ex 20:12).16 Rather, “hate” here may mean something like loving less (cf. Ge 29:31, 33; Dt 21:15), indicating the necessity of the preeminence of love for God in comparison to all other love relationships,17 or it may point to the separation that must come when loyalties of this world attempt to keep a person from following after Jesus (cf. Lk 8:20ff.; 9:59–62), or, similarly, it may point to the necessity of subordinating everything, even one’s own being, to one’s commitment to Jesus (cf. Lk 16:13; also 9:59–62).18 We saw earlier that the family played a major role in the life of Judaism, to the point where it could determine the direction of an individual family member’s life. Within first-century Judaism, the accepted ideal was marrying and building up a family. Shmuel Safrai concludes, “The sages saw in the family not only the fulfillment of a divine commandment but also the basis for social life, and they tried to invest family life with an aura of holiness.”19 Jesus did not call for a disruption of the family or for rebellion against it; rather he declared that he, not the family, must be the primary focus of allegiance. We can see that Jesus did not mean to sever all family relationships, because he called pairs of brothers to be among the Twelve (Mt 4:18–22); he had the highest regard for marriage, condemning adultery and prohibiting divorce

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