Luke 14:26-33

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? 14:29 Otherwise, ⁷  when he has laid ⁸  a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, ⁹  all who see it ¹⁰  will begin to make fun of ¹¹  him. 14:30 They will say, ¹²  ‘This man ¹³  began to build and was not able to finish!’ ¹⁴  14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ¹⁵  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ¹⁶  the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 If he cannot succeed, ¹⁷  he will send a representative ¹⁸  while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. ¹⁹  14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ²⁰ 

Luke 18:22-23

18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ²¹  and give the money ²²  to the poor, ²³  and you will have treasure ²⁴  in heaven. Then ²⁵  come, follow me.” 18:23 But when the man ²⁶  heard this he became very sad, ²⁷  for he was extremely wealthy.

Joshua 24:19-22

24:19 Joshua warned ²⁸  the people, “You will not keep worshiping ²⁹  the Lord, for ³⁰  he is a holy God. ³¹  He is a jealous God who will not forgive ³²  your rebellion or your sins. 24:20 If ³³  you abandon the Lord and worship ³⁴  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ³⁵  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ³⁶  though he once treated you well.” ³⁷ 

24:21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will ³⁸  worship ³⁹  the Lord!” 24:22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?” ⁴⁰  They replied, “We are witnesses!” ⁴¹ 

John 6:60-66

6:60 Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, ⁴²  said, “This is a difficult ⁴³  saying! ⁴⁴  Who can understand it?” ⁴⁵  6:61 When Jesus was aware ⁴⁶  that his disciples were complaining ⁴⁷  about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? ⁴⁸  6:62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? ⁴⁹  6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! ⁵⁰  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ⁵¹  6:64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) ⁵²  6:65 So Jesus added, ⁵³  “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.” ⁵⁴ 

Peter’s Confession

6:66 After this many of his disciples quit following him ⁵⁵  and did not accompany him ⁵⁶  any longer.

[14:26]  ¹ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

[14:26]  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.

[14:27]  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.

[14:27]  ⁴ tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

[14:28]  ⁵ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:28]  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.

[14:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “to complete it, lest.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and ἵνα μήποτε ({ina mhpote, “lest”) has been translated as “Otherwise.”

[14:29]  ⁸ tn The participle θέντος (qentos) has been taken temporally.

[14:29]  ⁹ tn The words “the tower” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ¹⁰ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ¹¹ tn Or “mock,” “ridicule.” The person who did not plan ahead becomes an object of joking and ridicule.

[14:30]  ¹² tn Grk “make fun of him, saying.”

[14:30]  ¹³ sn The phrase this man is often used in Luke in a derogatory sense; see “this one” and expressions like it in Luke 5:21; 7:39; 13:32; 23:4, 14, 22, 35.

[14:30]  ¹⁴ sn The failure to finish the building project leads to embarrassment (in a culture where avoiding public shame was extremely important). The half completed tower testified to poor preparation and planning.

[14:31]  ¹⁵ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:31]  ¹⁶ tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”

[14:32]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And if not.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated; “succeed” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “a messenger.”

[14:32]  ¹⁹ sn This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30). The first part of the illustration (sit down first and determine) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration (ask for terms of peace) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.

[14:33]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

[18:22]  ²¹ sn See Luke 14:33.

[18:22]  ²² tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:22]  ²³ sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.

[18:22]  ²⁴ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: …you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[18:22]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.

[18:23]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ²⁷ tn Or “very distressed” (L&N 25.277).

[24:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “said to.”

[24:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

[24:19]  ³⁰ sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

[24:19]  ³¹ tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.

[24:19]  ³² tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”

[24:20]  ³³ tn Or “when.”

[24:20]  ³⁴ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:20]  ³⁵ tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.

[24:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “bring you to an end.”

[24:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “after he did good for you.”

[24:21]  ³⁸ tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”

[24:21]  ³⁹ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:22]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve him.”

[24:22]  ⁴¹ sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.

[6:60]  ⁴² tn The words “these things” are not present in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the English reader.

[6:60]  ⁴³ tn Or “hard,” “demanding.”

[6:60]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “teaching”; Grk “word.”

[6:60]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “obey it”; Grk “hear it.” The Greek word ἀκούω (akouw) could imply hearing with obedience here, in the sense of “obey.” It could also point to the acceptance of what Jesus had just said, (i.e., “who can accept what he said?” However, since the context contains several replies by those in the crowd of hearers that suggest uncertainty or confusion over the meaning of what Jesus had said (6:42; 6:52), the meaning “understand” is preferred here.

[6:61]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “When Jesus knew within himself.”

[6:61]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “were grumbling.”

[6:61]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “Does this cause you to no longer believe?” (Grk “cause you to stumble?”)

[6:62]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “he was formerly?”

[6:63]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”

[6:63]  ⁵¹ tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”

[6:64]  ⁵² sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

[6:65]  ⁵³ tn Grk “And he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:65]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “unless it has been permitted to him by the Father.”

[6:66]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “many of his disciples went back to what lay behind.”

[6:66]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “were not walking with him.”