Luke 14:26-28

14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ¹  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ²  he cannot be my disciple. 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross ³  and follow ⁴  me cannot be my disciple. 14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down ⁵  first and compute the cost ⁶  to see if he has enough money to complete it?

¹ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

² tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

³ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

⁴ tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

⁵ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁶ tn The first illustration involves checking to see if enough funds exist to build a watchtower. Both ψηφίζω (yhfizw, “compute”) and δαπάνη (dapanh, “cost”) are economic terms.