Church Fathers Commentary Luke 14:25-27

"Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." — Luke 14:25-27 (ASV)

St. Gregory the Great: The mind is kindled when it hears of heavenly rewards, and it already desires to be there, where it hopes to enjoy them without ceasing; but great rewards cannot be reached except by great labors. Therefore it is said, And there went great multitudes to him: and he turned to them, and said, etc.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Because many of those who accompanied Him did not follow with their whole heart, but lukewarmly, He shows what kind of person His disciple ought to be.

St. Gregory the Great: It may be asked how we are instructed to hate our parents and relatives, when we are commanded to love even our enemies.

But if we weigh the force of the command, we can do both by making the right distinction: we are to love those who are united to us by the bond of the flesh, whom we acknowledge as our relatives, and yet hate and avoid—that is, refuse to acknowledge—those whom we find to be enemies in the way of God.

For in a sense, a person is loved through hatred when, because of their carnal wisdom, we do not listen to the evil things they say.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For if, for your sake, the Lord renounces His own mother, saying, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? why do you deserve to be preferred to your Lord? But the Lord desires that we neither be ignorant of nature nor be its slaves, but instead submit to nature in such a way that we revere the Author of nature and do not depart from God out of love for our parents.

St. Gregory the Great: Now, to show that this hatred toward relatives does not proceed from inclination or passion but from love, our Lord adds, yes, and his own life also.

It is plain, therefore, that a person ought to hate his neighbor by loving as himself the one who hated him. For we rightly hate our own soul when we do not indulge its carnal desires, when we subdue its appetites, and when we wrestle against its pleasures. That which is brought to a better condition by being despised is, in a sense, loved through hatred.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But life itself must not be renounced. The blessed Paul preserved his life, both in body and soul, so that while still living in the body he might preach Christ. Yet, when it was necessary to despise life in order to finish his course, he did not count his own life dear to himself.

St. Gregory the Great: How the hatred of life ought to be shown, He declares as follows: Whoever does not bear his cross, etc.

St. John Chrysostom: He does not mean that we should place a beam of wood on our shoulders, but that we should always have death before our eyes, just as Paul also died daily and despised death.

St. Basil the Great: By bearing the cross, one also proclaims the death of his Lord, saying, The world is crucified to me, and I to the world. We anticipate this in our very baptism, in which our old man is crucified so that the body of sin may be destroyed.

St. Gregory the Great: Alternatively, the cross is so-called from the torture it involves. We bear our Lord’s cross in two ways: either when we afflict our bodies through abstinence, or when, through compassion for our neighbor, we consider all their needs our own.

But because some practice abstinence of the flesh not for God’s sake but for vainglory, and show compassion not spiritually but carnally, it is rightly added, And comes after me. For to bear His cross and come after the Lord is to practice abstinence of the flesh or show compassion for our neighbor out of a desire for eternal gain.