Hate, What Does This Mean?
Pentecost 15 (Sept 9, 2007)
Rev. Steven D. Spencer - Pastor
Luke 14:25-35
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. 34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Grace, peace and mercy from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen!
I was at the store this last weekend, standing there at the checkout counter, next in line to make my purchase. There was a cute young boy sitting in the cart in front of me, one of those kids that could be on the cover of a magazine. I was starting to get a bit nostalgic thinking about how many years it’s been since my own boys sat in a cart. Anyway here was this angelic little child, sitting there; picture perfect. But I had forgotten how young children think. For a moment later this little angelic child in a demanding tone said, “CANDY MOM!” The mother lovingly said, “No son”. And there was that word; the word that I had forgotten is so common to children, that little annoying, irritating, irksome and exasperating word. - “WHYYYY?” “Because it’s not good for you. –WHYYYY? Because it will ruin your teeth. WHYYYY? Because I told you so! WHYYYY?” Someone just shoot me. I had forgotten about that word. God must indeed give moms a special blessing for handling whys. Before she could answer that last why, I smiled at the young man and told him to look around. You see Lowe’s doesn’t have candy at the check out counter. The young child just said, “oh!” To which the mother responded, “I wish I had thought of that.” Why, it’s one of those words that parents can truly learn to hate.
There’s a similar phrase that kids in catechism or confirmation classes learn to hate. “What does this mean?” That’s the question that follows all the important parts of Luther’s Small Catechism to provide clarity and understanding. The First Commandment is a good example. “Thou shalt have no other gods.” What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. The kids in catechism class never balked at citing the 10 Commandments. But they always murmured at having to say the What Does This Mean? “Oh pastor do we really have too?” The importance of the “what does this mean” is to provide clarity and the true meaning of a passage. It’s a good rule to use in trying to understand any Scripture that appears unclear and convoluted.
In our text today we have a couple passages that definitely could use a what does this mean approach. Our text starts with Jesus just having finished a meal with the Pharisees. Let’s put this in context before moving forward. In last week’s text, Verses 1-24 denote an occasion when Jesus was invited by a leading Pharisee to a dinner. Verses 7-11 were spoken to all the guests who were scrambling for the most important seats. Verses 12-14 were spoken to the host with reference to his selfishness. Verses 15-24 were addressed to one of the guests, and stress the need for repentance. But now in our text today Jesus is speaking to the crowds. This is a message for all to hear. Verse 25 & 26: “Now great crowds accompanied Jesus, and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” What does this mean? I thought God said in the 4th Commandment “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long upon the earth.” I don’t remember anything about hate! Even the what does this mean says: We should fear and love God that we may not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve, obey, and hold them in love and esteem. Nothing about hate!
I was raised in a family where my mom told us that the one word that could never be taken back was “hate”. That word wasn’t tolerated in our household. My dad use to try and soften the blow of the word hate, when one of us boys used it towards my mom by telling her, “hate and love is almost the same thing, just one is negative and the other is positive”. But they aren’t the same thing, not even close. And the day someone uses that word towards you, the last thing you feel is love. A dictionary definition of Hate is this: Hatred is an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, enmity, or antipathy for a person or thing, generally attributed to a desire to avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy the hated object.
Let me go back to the verse: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” What does this mean? "Hate" must be understood Christocentrically. It doesn’t denote an evil disposition. It means to abandon, so far as spiritual resources are concerned. Look at Matthew 10:37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And John 12:25 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Our closest relatives and not even we ourselves can furnish us with the forgiveness of sins and the ensuing strength to live the Christian life. In that sense they and ourselves must be hated. We must abandon our futile attempts to save ourselves. The more we think we can save ourselves and the more we think we can live the Christian life, the more we fail. Discipleship with Jesus is impossible if we try to make gods of human beings. In other words being saved doesn’t start here (pointing to self) it starts there (pointing to the cross). Discipleship doesn’t start here (pointing to self) it starts there (pointing to the cross). It starts with God. It’s a by-product of what God has done for us, not what we have done or can do for Him.
When it comes to salvation we need to forsake the old ways of man, the traditions of man, and the tradition of family and look to the cross. In the words of Rock of Ages “nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” We must abandon all and cling to the cross. That’s what this passage is all about. That’s what verse 27 is about: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” We must consider ourselves dead to made alive.
There’s a lot more to this than we realize. We are the children of two kingdoms. We are children in the flesh of a worldly kingdom, where all the things of this world wish to constrain and control us. In this world we have a father, who is the devil. He is eager to devour us. That old evil foe means deadly woe. On this earth is not his equal. How can we set free from such a fleshly father as this? One who could stalk us down and search us out. One who desires so to constrain and control us? There is only one way to be set free. It is the way of the cross. It is to die to the flesh and the father of the flesh, that satanic foe. It is to consider ourselves dead to sin, death and the devil. But even more it is to truly die to them. It is to pick the cross of Jesus.
Jesus went the way of the cross changing it from the tree of death, to the tree of life. There on Calvary Jesus defeats sin, death and the devil. There on Calvary Jesus turns the cross into a door to another kingdom, His Heavenly Kingdom. And now He places the power of the cross upon you. In the waters of baptism you receive the cross. Romans 6:3 “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” Through the cross you have been set free from the oppressor, your father of the flesh, the father of this world, the devil. Through death the birthright of sin is broken. That death occurs in baptism. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
This text is not talking about what a person in his or her, own strength can do, but rather what we cannot do. "That thought is vanity which lies in within us."
Verse 33: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” This verse is the key to the whole passage. God doesn’t require us to renounce our possessions. Poverty is no virtue. God does require that we say goodbye to all our own resources, our own supposed self-righteousness and strength. That includes using our own reason and intellect. We are to look to God’s Word alone for our salvation. It’s important for us to be able to distinguish between Law and Gospel. This whole passage is an example of the second use of the Law, to show us our utter inability to reconcile ourselves to God and to save ourselves, and how we cannot live the difficult task Christian life of sacrifice and suffering, without God. But we need to remember justification and sanctification are a gift of God in Christ Jesus.
I want to close with the final verse of the hymn A Might Fortress. Consider for a moment your own life. Are you lonely, are you frightened? Are you ill, are you just hanging on? Does it seem that the devil knows all your button to push? Please listen to these words and let them soak in. The Word they still shall let remain; Nor any thanks have for it; He's by our side upon the plain; With His good gifts and Spirit. And take they our life, Goods, fame, child and wife, Though these all be gone, Our victory has been won; The Kingdom our remaineth.
You are redeemed by Christ the crucified. You have been yoked to His life and His death through the waters of Holy Baptism. You have been set free from the bondage of the father of the flesh, the prince of this world, the devil. The victory has been won, the Kingdom of God is yours. For Jesus has paid the price, and called you His own. You have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and for His sake, all your sins are forgiven, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name, Amen!