26`If any one doth come unto me, and doth not hate his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and yet even his own life, he is not able to be my disciple;
27and whoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, is not able to be my disciple.
28`For who of you, willing to build a tower, doth not first, having sat down, count the expense, whether he have the things for completing?
29lest that he having laid a foundation, and not being able to finish, all who are beholding may begin to mock him,
30saying -- This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
31`Or what king going on to engage with another king in war, doth not, having sat down, first consult if he be able with ten thousand to meet him who with twenty thousand is coming against him?
32and if not so -- he being yet a long way off -- having sent an embassy, he doth ask the things for peace.
33`So, then, every one of you who doth not take leave of all that he himself hath, is not able to be my disciple.
And since Grosse is such a sour fucking Kraut, here is the King James version:
25And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26If 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.
27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
29Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
30Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
31Or 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?
32Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Jesus was kind of a dick sometimes. :-(
I maintain that you are charactorizing Jesus as a "dick" without considering the entire passage philosophically. Like much of the bible I believe this passage is interpreted best figuratively. I think it is plain from the context of the new testament that one need not literally hate their family in order to be a disciple of Jesus, although one might have to forsaketh all he hath. ;)\
ReplyDeleteXross
I think he is saying that you have to be fucking serious about being a disciple. The only people he wants in his inner circle are those who have nothing to lose. In those times people who caused trouble like Jesus were in grave danger of being crucified. Jesus didn't want to bear that responsibility on the families of his disciples. He wanted men who would not be missed in case they were murdered by the Romans.
ReplyDeleteHe says you wouldn't build a tower if you knew you couldn't afford to finish. He wanted potential disciples to understand the full risks of being a disciple. He says you have to even hate your own life. In other words they must know that their lives were in danger. If they wanted to be a disciple they must hold their own lives in low regard because they could potentially lose their lives at any moment.