Jesus Said Hate Your...

Like any normal person, there are things in the bible that I am not really all that clear about (at least not just yet and a few are, let us say, just way over my pay grade).


But Yes, Virginia, There is was a Jesus Christ and He Said to Hate Your Family, Even Yourself 

Last Sunday, I stumbled upon a member of our church who was asking a question on how could Jesus say the words He supposedly said as recorded by the Gospel writer Luke.

Here is what she was referring to regarding what Jesus said about "The Cost of Being a Disciple".

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:25-26 (NIV)


Indeed my first response was, we need to look at what was the original Greek word that was used and find out how it was typically used at that day and time. Note, the New Testament bible was originally written in Greek.

What I found out was that the word used for the word hate here was "miseo". And upon further research, this word as used in the New Testament does mean "hate".

Of course other sources would say other meanings for the word could be "to love less" or "to detest on a comparative basis".

Now Jesus and his contemporaries spoke in Aramaic, a language which today are only spoken by a few people and those who still do probably speak a language that has evolved and isn't the same as was spoken 2,000 years ago. I do not know what the original Aramaic word was, some people say it was "sone" which would be translated as "to put aside".

And yes, all of these "other meanings" would indeed water down or tame the word "hate".

Context

Now what I forgot to mention was that we also need to look at who Jesus was talking to, what was being talked about and what was said before and after those statements.

At that time, Jesus was talking to people who were following him as he moved from one place to another, speaking about the Kingdom of God. He was talking to mainly Jews and they wouldn't necessarily be believers and if they already were, then they would belong to families who were mostly intolerant non-believers (of what Jesus was teaching) and who would even be violent towards them.

Mother, Father, Brother, Sister

Let's read a passage from the Book of Matthew which was also at a time when Jesus was talking to a crowd of people.

Someone told him (Jesus), “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  Matthew 12:47-49 (NIV)

and also in  Mark 3:33-35;

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Taking Up One's Cross

Again, remember, Jesus was talking to Jews, and as I've said, Jews who have families who do not believe in Jesus and who would abhor him.

Jesus here, appears to be saying, here are your "new" brothers and sisters (mothers and fathers) -- those who (like you) belong to a new family -- the family of God. These people who were following him, have probably already been ostracized by their own parents, siblings and other relatives for listening, believing and following Jesus.

And their family members were most probably doing everything possible to pull these Jesus' followers back to their own religion, and to turn back and follow their old customs and traditions. This was the backdrop in which Jesus was saying this statement.

And that is if you want to be my disciples (my followers), then you must hate them (love them less or love them less comparatively than me or put them aside) specifically when they are forcing you turn your back and to go back to your old ways and beliefs.

Hating Your Life

We've seen what Luke, Matthew and Mark have written about regarding this subject, so let us look at what Jesus' most beloved disciple has to say, John.

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  John 12:25 (NIV)

Yes, John like Matthew says to hate your very life (or hate your life of meaningless pursuit or your life of worldliness or your life of purposelessness, I suppose).

The kicker will be in Matthew 10:34-37

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 

For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —  a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

And the key words here are "more than" me, hence the highlight.

One or The Other

Remember, these early believers weren't born to families who were Jesus' followers -- in fact they were the first followers. In order to follow Jesus, most of them have to leave their loved ones. You can see this still happening today, to new believers who are coming from devout Muslim families, from Hindus, from Buddhists and other faiths. These people weren't born to Christian families, they didn't come from generations of believers or to places where most of the people are Christian. They didn't grow up a believer, in fact they were the very first ones and some of them were the only ones in their clan, as they were most probably ostracized by their families, relatives and even entire villages and communities.

Now, looking at it from that viewpoint, then we could start to understand what Jesus was saying. Yes, it would eventually boil down to choosing one over the other. Otherwise, these early believers will be torn between their new faith or their loved ones (or their traditions). And normally the flesh would win over the will.

Luke said,

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”  Luke 16:13 (NIV)

Yes we cannot love one and not "hate" the other who (or which) will pull us away from the former.

Freedom

I do not presume to say that this is what the original verse is really all about, and of course you can have your own opinion about this but personally that is what I believe it is. And yes, I do think that Jesus used that kind of verbiage in the context that I put forth.

Some people do say that, Jesus didn't actually mean it that way and that there are other explanations slash interpretations. And of course, you are free to do further research on this.

Here's one that might be totally the opposite of what I am saying here and you are free to check it out or others like it. Jews For Jesus -- Did Jesus Teach His Disciples to Hate Their Parents

-- as this is the freedom that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, which He suffered and died for.

Shalom!

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