Analyzation of the Biblical Text in Luke 14:25-35
The writing in Luke 14:25-35 is an adaptation of the costs of being a disciple of Christ. The setting for this pericope is crucial because it gives people insight on what Jesus was doing at that time. Furthermore, the pericope opens with “large crowds were traveling with him.”(Luke 14:25, NRSV) meaning that the crowd found something in Jesus because they were traveling with him toward Jerusalem. Moreover, these ‘large crowds’ had left their homes to travel with Jesus, which is very important to know. John Nolland interpreted the opening as a, “paradoxical nature of the resources needed for discipleship.” Looking deeper into the text people begin to notice that there is no context as when Jesus gave this speech. Even though Luke focuses on a specific time period, it is important to notice that Jesus also foreshadows the events that will happen in the future. For example, when he references the cross in verse 27 it reflects how he will die from the cross. Key words like cross is repeated throughout the passage and plays an essential part on the meaning of this passage. Secondly, key phrases and themes help the people understand the meaning of what Jesus was trying to preach to them when giving his speech. In Luke 14:25-35 Jesus gives a harsh speech to the crowd, he speaks of the consequences and conditions of being a follower and what is like to be a disciple of Christ. This pericope begins with two conditions, at the beginning of two sentences in verses 14:25a-27c which both begin with whoever. …show more content…
Whoever represents and directs the speech towards those who were considering becoming disciples and all those who want to listen. This is also a reference to how people can enter the kingdom of God and explains why he so harsh with his words. Then Jesus says, “does not hate”(Luke 14:26b-c) it parallels with “does not carry the cross” (Luke 14:27a) notice that both start with does not which gives a negative connotation. Hate is known to be a word of judgment and to many Hebrews this word was used for relationships between humans (Stuhlmueller 412). It is important to know that hate is the opposite of agape, which is a Greek term for love. Although hate is a big term to use towards people it could be interpreted as to leave everything that is holding you back from Heaven and the Kingdom of God. This is because he asking people to hate those who give them comfort, which represents everything that people know and love. Moreover, Jesus says people who do not leave everything and carry the cross “cannot be my disciple”(Luke 14:27c) this phrase is repeated twice and is a major theme in this speech. This is because Jesus wants people to hate their family and leave everything behind to become to disciples of God. The second part of this pericope transitions into two different parables; one is about a tower builder and the other about a king. These two parables deal with embarrassment and consequences because both the builder and king did not prepare their plans before charging full force into their tasks. First and foremost, it begins with the “for which of you”(Luke 14:28) which automatically gives the next part of the speech a negative connotation because being told this would mean that based on what you do you will be judged accordingly. These paired parables are meant for the people who were listening to, believe what Jesus was saying. The similarities in the parables are also important, especially the use of the phrase “does not first sit down”(Luke 14:28) and “will not sit down first” these both show that these men did not think before they acted. Which is not an effective way of moving forward in terms of what they want to accomplish. These parables are about the fear of being a public disgrace because in v. 14:29-30 and v. 14:32 the negative implication is meant to place fear in people’s hearts. Phrases such, “whether he has enough” (Luke 14:28) and “whether he is able” (Luke 14:31) show doubt that the king and tower builder ever had the chance of finishing what they had started. Ultimately, the king and tower builder showed that nothing that they wanted
The writing in Luke 14:25-35 is an adaptation of the costs of being a disciple of Christ. The setting for this pericope is crucial because it gives people insight on what Jesus was doing at that time. Furthermore, the pericope opens with “large crowds were traveling with him.”(Luke 14:25, NRSV) meaning that the crowd found something in Jesus because they were traveling with him toward Jerusalem. Moreover, these ‘large crowds’ had left their homes to travel with Jesus, which is very important to know. John Nolland interpreted the opening as a, “paradoxical nature of the resources needed for discipleship.” Looking deeper into the text people begin to notice that there is no context as when Jesus gave this speech. Even though Luke focuses on a specific time period, it is important to notice that Jesus also foreshadows the events that will happen in the future. For example, when he references the cross in verse 27 it reflects how he will die from the cross. Key words like cross is repeated throughout the passage and plays an essential part on the meaning of this passage. Secondly, key phrases and themes help the people understand the meaning of what Jesus was trying to preach to them when giving his speech. In Luke 14:25-35 Jesus gives a harsh speech to the crowd, he speaks of the consequences and conditions of being a follower and what is like to be a disciple of Christ. This pericope begins with two conditions, at the beginning of two sentences in verses 14:25a-27c which both begin with whoever. …show more content…
Whoever represents and directs the speech towards those who were considering becoming disciples and all those who want to listen. This is also a reference to how people can enter the kingdom of God and explains why he so harsh with his words. Then Jesus says, “does not hate”(Luke 14:26b-c) it parallels with “does not carry the cross” (Luke 14:27a) notice that both start with does not which gives a negative connotation. Hate is known to be a word of judgment and to many Hebrews this word was used for relationships between humans (Stuhlmueller 412). It is important to know that hate is the opposite of agape, which is a Greek term for love. Although hate is a big term to use towards people it could be interpreted as to leave everything that is holding you back from Heaven and the Kingdom of God. This is because he asking people to hate those who give them comfort, which represents everything that people know and love. Moreover, Jesus says people who do not leave everything and carry the cross “cannot be my disciple”(Luke 14:27c) this phrase is repeated twice and is a major theme in this speech. This is because Jesus wants people to hate their family and leave everything behind to become to disciples of God. The second part of this pericope transitions into two different parables; one is about a tower builder and the other about a king. These two parables deal with embarrassment and consequences because both the builder and king did not prepare their plans before charging full force into their tasks. First and foremost, it begins with the “for which of you”(Luke 14:28) which automatically gives the next part of the speech a negative connotation because being told this would mean that based on what you do you will be judged accordingly. These paired parables are meant for the people who were listening to, believe what Jesus was saying. The similarities in the parables are also important, especially the use of the phrase “does not first sit down”(Luke 14:28) and “will not sit down first” these both show that these men did not think before they acted. Which is not an effective way of moving forward in terms of what they want to accomplish. These parables are about the fear of being a public disgrace because in v. 14:29-30 and v. 14:32 the negative implication is meant to place fear in people’s hearts. Phrases such, “whether he has enough” (Luke 14:28) and “whether he is able” (Luke 14:31) show doubt that the king and tower builder ever had the chance of finishing what they had started. Ultimately, the king and tower builder showed that nothing that they wanted