Lukas 9:23-26

A Call to Discipleship

9:23 Then ¹  he said to them all, ²  “If anyone wants to become my follower, ³  he must deny ⁴  himself, take up his cross daily, ⁵  and follow me. 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, ⁶  but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 9:25 For what does it benefit a person ⁷  if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself? 9:26 For whoever is ashamed ⁸  of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person ⁹  when he comes in his glory and in the glory ¹⁰  of the Father and of the holy angels.

Lukas 9:57-62

Challenging Professed Followers

9:57 As ¹¹  they were walking ¹²  along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ¹³  9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky ¹⁴  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ¹⁵  9:59 Jesus ¹⁶  said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, ¹⁷  “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 9:60 But Jesus ¹⁸  said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, ¹⁹  but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ²⁰  9:61 Yet ²¹  another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” ²²  9:62 Jesus ²³  said to him, “No one who puts his ²⁴  hand to the plow and looks back ²⁵  is fit for the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ 

Lukas 14:25-33

Counting the Cost

14:25 Now large crowds ²⁷  were accompanying Jesus, ²⁸  and turning to them he said, 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ²⁹  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ³⁰  he cannot be my disciple. 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross ³¹  and follow ³²  me cannot be my disciple. 14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down ³³  first and compute the cost ³⁴  to see if he has enough money to complete it? 14:29 Otherwise, ³⁵  when he has laid ³⁶  a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, ³⁷  all who see it ³⁸  will begin to make fun of ³⁹  him. 14:30 They will say, ⁴⁰  ‘This man ⁴¹  began to build and was not able to finish!’ ⁴²  14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ⁴³  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ⁴⁴  the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 If he cannot succeed, ⁴⁵  he will send a representative ⁴⁶  while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. ⁴⁷  14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ⁴⁸ 

[9:23]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:23]  ² sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.

[9:23]  ³ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[9:23]  ⁴ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[9:23]  ⁵ sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[9:24]  ⁶ sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

[9:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

[9:26]  ⁸ sn How one responds now to Jesus and his teaching is a reflection of how Jesus, as the Son of Man who judges, will respond then in the final judgment.

[9:26]  ⁹ tn This pronoun (τοῦτον, touton) is in emphatic position in its own clause in the Greek text: “of that person the Son of Man will be ashamed…”

[9:26]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in the glory of him and of the Father and of the holy angels.” “Glory” is repeated here in the translation for clarity and smoothness because the literal phrase is unacceptably awkward in contemporary English.

[9:57]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:57]  ¹² tn Grk “going,” but “walking” is an accurate description of how they traveled about.

[9:57]  ¹³ tc Most mss (A C W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) add κύριε (kurie, “Lord”) here, but scribes were prone to add to the text, especially appellations for the Lord. The shorter reading also enjoys significant ms support (Ì^45,75 א B D L Ξ Ë¹ lat co).

[9:57]  sn The statement “I will follow you wherever you go” is an offer to follow Jesus as a disciple, no matter what the cost.

[9:58]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[9:58]  ¹⁵ sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).

[9:59]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:59]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “said.”

[9:60]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:60]  ¹⁹ sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to preach the gospel (proclaim the kingdom of God).

[9:60]  ²⁰ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[9:61]  ²¹ tn Grk “And another also said.”

[9:61]  ²² tn Grk “to those in my house.”

[9:62]  ²³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:62]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:62]  ²⁵ sn Jesus warns that excessive concern for family ties (looks back) will make the kingdom a lesser priority, which is not appropriate for discipleship. The image is graphic, for who can plow straight ahead toward a goal while looking back? Discipleship cannot be double-minded.

[9:62]  ²⁶ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[14:25]  ²⁷ sn It is important to note that the following remarks are not just to disciples, but to the large crowds who were following Jesus.

[14:25]  ²⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:26]  ²⁹ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

[14:26]  ³⁰ tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[14:27]  ³¹ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

[14:27]  ³² tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

[14:28]  ³³ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:28]  ³⁴ tn The first illustration involves checking to see if enough funds exist to build a watchtower. Both ψηφίζω (yhfizw, “compute”) and δαπάνη (dapanh, “cost”) are economic terms.

[14:29]  ³⁵ tn Grk “to complete it, lest.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and ἵνα μήποτε ({ina mhpote, “lest”) has been translated as “Otherwise.”

[14:29]  ³⁶ tn The participle θέντος (qentos) has been taken temporally.

[14:29]  ³⁷ tn The words “the tower” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ³⁸ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:29]  ³⁹ tn Or “mock,” “ridicule.” The person who did not plan ahead becomes an object of joking and ridicule.

[14:30]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “make fun of him, saying.”

[14:30]  ⁴¹ sn The phrase this man is often used in Luke in a derogatory sense; see “this one” and expressions like it in Luke 5:21; 7:39; 13:32; 23:4, 14, 22, 35.

[14:30]  ⁴² sn The failure to finish the building project leads to embarrassment (in a culture where avoiding public shame was extremely important). The half completed tower testified to poor preparation and planning.

[14:31]  ⁴³ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:31]  ⁴⁴ tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”

[14:32]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “And if not.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated; “succeed” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:32]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “a messenger.”

[14:32]  ⁴⁷ sn This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30). The first part of the illustration (sit down first and determine) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration (ask for terms of peace) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.

[14:33]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

[14:33]  sn The application of the saying is this: Discipleship requires that God be in first place. The reference to renunciation of all his own possessions refers to all earthly attachments that have first place.