Luk 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luk 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Luk 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth ambassadors, and desireth conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
I believe the problem many have with this scripure is the word "hate". If it said; "Care not enough for", "care less for than" or "not to love as much in comparison with Jesus" then many would understand and accept it more easily. Often times scripture refers an action that either appears to be one of lack of love or concern for another as hate.
In context of this scripture and in other scripture that is what the word "hate" means.
Pro 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him quickly.
For instance here in proverbs we are told that one hates his sone if he does not dicipline him.Obviously (in contest) not caring enough to discipline ones son is not the same as hatred. Naturaly a one time failure to disipline ones child is not out and out hatred but more of an indication of loving that child less than expected by them or those observing the transpiring events. It is the same in respect to leaving the family to follow Jesus.
It is not the person that is spoken against here but the importance to the individual of that relationship in comparison with one of discipleship with Jesus. In verse 33 we see that the afore mentioned hatreds and sacrifices (including the family) is just elements of what Jesus is refeing to.
Jesus is defining the cost of discipleship. In short he is saying ,as he states in 33 that anyone who is not willing to forsake all of their former life need not follow him. I believe because to be a wothy disiple one must be willing to do as Jesus did. We also see this same requirement in Mathew 8 and the same account in Luke.
Mat 8:19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
Mat 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Mat 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Mat 8:23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him,
The potential cost of discipleship in Jesus is high. This scripture warns us not to take lightly our commitment or the cost of it.
Something we each and everyone needs to concider carefuly., lest we under estimate and are unable to endure to salvation.
The parable by Jesus of the seeds confirms that not all who initialy commit to discipleship will not succeed.
Commitment to Christ is not a part time nor secondary action and seeing it as any less than total commitment will likely end in failure.
Sincerely
Cliff