Luke 14:26 Explained!

One of the hardest sayings of Jesus comes in Luke 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.” – Luke 14:26

At first glance, this verse sounds harsh and confusing. How can Jesus, who commands us to love even our enemies, call us to hate our families?

To understand His meaning, we must look carefully at the context. Jesus is not contradicting His own command to love—He is pressing us to recognize the radical cost of following Him.

Why Did Jesus Use Such Strong Language?

Jesus often used hyperbolic (exaggerated) language to make His listeners pay attention.

For example, when He said, “If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out” (Matthew 5:29), He wasn’t literally telling people to mutilate themselves but stressing the seriousness of sin.

In the same way, “hate” here doesn’t mean hostility or bitterness toward family members. It means that our love for Christ must be so great, so supreme, that all other loves look like hate in comparison.

In other words, Jesus is demanding first place in our hearts.

This was especially important for His audience. In the first century, choosing to follow Jesus often meant rejection from one’s family, community, and religious tradition.

He was warning them that discipleship could—and often would—come at the cost of their most cherished relationships.

Bearing the Cross

Right after this, Jesus says:

“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:27

Carrying the cross wasn’t a poetic metaphor in the first century. The cross was a Roman instrument of death. To “carry your cross” meant embracing shame, suffering, and even execution if necessary.

Jesus was calling His followers to be willing to endure hardship for His sake.

Today, our “cross” may not be literal crucifixion, but it still involves dying to self. It means surrendering our desires, our pride, and sometimes our relationships for the sake of Christ.

It means trusting Him even when obedience costs us everything.

Afterwards, Jesus then gives two parables to drive His point home.

First, He describes a man building a tower who must calculate whether he has enough resources to finish. If he doesn’t plan, he risks laying the foundation and then being mocked when he cannot complete the project.

Second, He describes a king with 10,000 soldiers facing an enemy with 20,000. Unless he considers carefully, he will be destroyed. In such a case, the wise thing would be to seek peace rather than rush foolishly into battle.

Both illustrations point to the same lesson: true discipleship requires sober calculation.

Following Christ isn’t something to do casually or half-heartedly. We must be prepared for sacrifice. Share on X

The Danger of Lukewarm Christianity: When Salt Loses Its Flavor

Jesus doesn’t want disciples who start strong but fade away, or who follow Him only when it’s easy. This is why in Revelation, He gives such a strong warning to one of the 7 churches:

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” – Revelation 3:15–16

Half-hearted Christianity is a misrepresentation of the Gospel. When believers live in compromise, they confuse the world about what it really means to serve Christ.

Jesus would rather someone be cold—openly rejecting Him—than to pretend to follow while living with divided loyalty.

He then concludes His teaching with a metaphor about salt:

“Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?” – Luke 14:34

Salt without flavor is useless. It cannot fulfill its purpose. In the same way, a disciple who refuses full commitment is ineffective in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus calls us to live as the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), preserving truth and pointing others to Him. But if our faith is compromised, we lose our witness.

Loving God Above All Else

What Jesus is really teaching in Luke 14 is the first and greatest commandment lived out in daily life:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” – Matthew 22:37

This is the heart of discipleship. Every other relationship—even the most sacred—must be placed beneath our loyalty to Christ. Loving Him first enables us to love others rightly, because our love is grounded in Him.

I’ve known seasons where following Jesus came at a personal cost. There were moments when family members didn’t understand the choices I made for my faith, or when friends pulled away because of my devotion to Christ.

At the time, it felt painful—like I was losing everything that gave me security.

But looking back, I see how God used those trials to deepen my dependence on Him. He reminded me that while human relationships may falter, His love never fails.

The reward of walking closely with Christ has always outweighed the sacrifice.

A Call to True Discipleship

Jesus does not want lukewarm followers. He wants men and women who have considered the cost and still say, “Yes, Lord.” He wants disciples who carry their crosses daily, who love Him more than family, possessions, or even their own lives.

This is not an easy calling—but it is the only path to true life.

The choice before us is clear: cling to this world and lose Christ, or surrender everything and gain eternal life in Him.

Luke 14:26–35 challenges us to take discipleship seriously. Following Jesus is not about convenience, comfort, or cultural Christianity—it is about total surrender.

If you’ve been tempted to settle for lukewarm faith, let this passage call you back to wholehearted devotion.

Count the cost, pick up your cross, and follow Him with everything you have. Share on X

If this article helped you, I encourage you to read this related one: Does the Old Testament Teach That the Coming Messiah Would Be God?

We understand the cost of discipleship when we recognize who Jesus truly is—and the Old Testament powerfully shows that God Himself promised the Messiah.

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