For the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, the Series C readings are Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Philemon 1-21 and Luke 14:25-35 with Luke 14 26 as the sermon text, “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.”
Here we go again with one of those Biblical passages that appears to contradict the message of Scripture that we are to love everyone. How is that possible if at the same time you are to hate your father and mother? Many young people are leaving the organized church not because of passages like this but because of the interpretation and application of passages like this. Unless one keeps the distinctions between Law and Gospel, verses like this one will appear not only to contradict other parts of the Bible but also result in a rejection of such a god who would want us to hate our parents. So how do we understand this properly?
First, the word translated as “hate” does mean “hate” so that one cannot wiggle out of Jesus’ words by sleight of hand of translation. Once more the key to proper interpretation of the Scripture is not your pastor, the denomination leaders, the pope or church councils. Instead, Scripture interprets Scripture. That means both the immediate and wider context. Now it is clear that we are to love one another as Jesus loved us. However, is there something within the narrow context that might help us more fully understand what Jesus is saying?
Verse 26 itself reveals that this hating of relatives takes place when one “comes to Jesus.” Verse 27 includes the concept of “bearing one’s cross.” and verse 33 clarifies this by saying that one cannot become the disciple of Jesus unless he forsakes all that he has. What we are dealing with here is the fact that when one becomes a disciple of Jesus, crosses will appear by which one will have to make a decision whether we forsake the world or Jesus.
Let’s use the phrase in verse 26 to make the point which says that we need to hate our own life also. What does that mean? Well, what kind of life does a person have prior to faith in Jesus Christ? He has a life of sin. Jesus’ point is clear. When you become His disciple, you will still be tempted not to follow Jesus. That temptation will come from your own selfish life of desires, perhaps from members of your family, certainly because of your possessions. To choose Jesus in situations when there is a choice is the cross we bear.
The following is an example of how some choose parents over Jesus. How many times does a pastor face a couple from different denominations that wants to get married. Even when both agree that the Lutheran faith is the correct summary of holy Scripture, it is not unusual that the non-Lutheran still will not change because he or she does not want to upset parents. That places love of parents above love for Jesus. Jesus Himself faced that decision when Mary, his brothers and sisters were tempting Him to stop His “silly” preaching about Himself being the Messiah. Jesus replied that those who are truly His family are the ones who believe His Word.
Now none of us are capable of following the will of Jesus perfectly. That’s why He, as our substitute, so hated the world, sin and the devil that He became our substitute in taking upon Himself the punishment that should have been ours. He died so that we will never really die but be raised from the deadness of our mortal life to be with Him and the heavenly host eternally. It’s a message worth sharing with others who remain in the darkness of unbelief.
Name:Tom Baker