Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 10:37

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." — Matthew 10:37 (ASV)

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

What a wonderful sight, then, the church is as it passes through this world. The head of it is Christ, the cross bearer, and, following in the train, are all his faithful disciples, all carrying crosses still – the very picture of a church. You know how Simon carried the cross after Christ: he is the type of all his disciples.

"Did Simon bear the cross alone,
And all the rest go free?
No, there's a cross for everyone,
And there's a cross for me."

Christ must be first. In this, He claims the highest place in every human heart. Could He have done so if He had not been divine? No mere prophet would speak in this manner. Yet we are not aware of the slightest egotism in His speech, nor does it occur to us that He oversteps His bounds. We are conscious that the Son of God has a right to speak this way, and only He.

We must earnestly beware of making idols of our dearest ones by loving them more than Jesus. We must never set them near the throne of our King. We are not worthy to dwell with Christ above, nor even to be associated with Him here, if we consider any earthly object worthy to rival the Lord Jesus.

Father and mother, son and daughter—we would do anything to please them, but as opposed to Jesus, they count for nothing and cannot for an instant be allowed to come in the way of our supreme loyalty to our Lord.