And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
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.
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
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?
Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Classification: Discipleship
Interpretation: Alright, let's start with a some footnotes that will help us understand what He is trying to tell us. In verse 26 on the word "hate" is a reference that takes us to Matthew 10:37: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
The next footnote is also in verse 26 on the word "yea". This one takes us to a Joseph Smith Translation. (I LOVE those!) Here is how the verse would read with the JST. Again, the JST will be in italics. "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, or husband, yea and his own life also; or in other words, is afraid to lay down his life for my sake, he cannot be my disciple.
The footnote in verse 27 on the word disciple brings us to another JST! Here's the verse: "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Wherefore, settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you."
In verse 30 on the word "finish" brings us yet another JST. Here's the verse: Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. And this he said, signifying there should not any man follow him, unless he was able to continue; saying,"
And in verse 34 we have one more footnote with a JST which actually adds verses to the chapter. Here is the JST Luke 14:35-37 "Then certain of them came to him, saying, Good Master, we have Moses and the prophets, and whosoever shall live by them, shall he not have life? And Jesus answered, saying, Ye know not Moses, neither the prophets; for if ye had known them, ye would have believed on me; for to this intent they were written. For I am sent that ye might have life. Therefore I will liken it unto salt which is good; But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?"
Wow, that was a lot of JSTs. So, how do we interpret this? Jesus wanted all in the "great multitude" to become a disciple. But he wanted them to think strongly before committing to do so. Thanks to Matthew 10:37 we can see that he didn't want his disciples to hate their family. One of the ten commandments is to Honor thy father and thy mother. He just wanted them to put Him first in their lives like He says in Matthew 22:37-38 when asked which is the great commandment in the law. He said, "..Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." He wanted them to make sure they would be able to put Him in proper priority ranking before committing to discipleship. He wanted them to know there is a cost, not of money (well, we can discuss tithing later) but of other resources such as time and possibly life. BUT! The cost is so small compared to the rewards.
Application: I think President Uchtdorf said it best at last general conference when he said this: "Once there was a man who dreamed that he was in a great hall where all the religions of the world were gathered. He realized that each religion had much that seemed desirable and worthy.
He met a nice couple who represented The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and asked, “What do you require of your members?”
“We do not require anything,” they replied. “But the Lord asks that we consecrate all.”
The couple went on to explain about Church callings, home and visiting teaching, full-time missions, weekly family home evenings, temple work, welfare and humanitarian service, and assignments to teach.
“Do you pay your people for all the work they do?” the man asked.
“Oh, no,” the couple explained. “They offer their time freely.”
“Also,” the couple continued, “every six months our Church members spend a weekend attending or watching 10 hours of general conference.”
“Ten hours of people giving talks?” the man wondered.
“What about your weekly church services? How long are they?”
“Three hours, every Sunday!”
“Oh, my,” the man said. “Do members of your church actually do what you have said?”
“That and more. We haven’t even mentioned family history, youth camps, devotionals, scripture study, leadership training, youth activities, early-morning seminary, maintaining Church buildings, and of course there is the Lord’s law of health, the monthly fast to help the poor, and tithing.”
The man said, “Now I’m confused. Why would anyone want to join such a church?”
The couple smiled and said, “We thought you would never ask.”It takes a lot to be a true disciple. But the cost is so very small compared to the rewards we get both here, now, in this life and in the life to come.
"A Disciple of Christ" by Marion G. Romney
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