"none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." Luke 14:33

[zoidar]

Now large crowds were going along with Him; 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
— Luke 14:25-33

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

 

[jacks]

I think it is saying that following Jesus demands sacrifice. What those sacrifices are vary from person to person, but all of us are expected to put God first. Fortunately the rewards are greater than the sacrifices we make, but we must first take this on faith.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Now large crowds were going along with Him; 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
— Luke 14:25-33

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

Hyperbolic language. Jesus Christ of Nazareth also said to hate your parents and siblings. He also said to gouge your eye and cut off your hand but all in hyperbolic language,the language Jews fully understood, but we do not. We are not accustomed to this type of communication. But rest assured the message remains the same. Love Him first, above all people, places or things.
Blessings.

 

[Norbert L]

Now large crowds were going along with Him; 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
— Luke 14:25-33

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

The book of Job has a whole story revolving around that exact issue. What do you think?

 

[lismore]

Thoughts?

Later in the New Testament, talking about money:

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Jesus said that of the stones in the temple not one would left on another, they would all be thrown down. He also told the women of Jerusalem to weep for themselves and for their children. I think one reason much of what the Lord Jesus said to the Jews is apocalyptic and extreme was the time the Jews they were living in, within a generation the Romans would destroy Jerusalem, put everyone to the sword or crucify them, loot or burn their possessions. Therefore why store up possessions?

On the other hand the gentile churches were told to be generous but prudent with money. Context is king. God Bless

 

[HTacianas]

Now large crowds were going along with Him; 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
— Luke 14:25-33

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

"Disciple" in that context is what is later called "apostle". It means to become an itinerant preacher of Christianity. Paul is an example of someone who gave up everything to become an apostle, yet not all the people in all of the Churches he established did the same thing. It is not a commandment directed at every individual Christian, much like all the "church order" commandments were not directed at everyone.

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Being rich is not a sin, but the rich man treated money as in idol. Jesus told him to give up his idol and follow Him i.e. put Jesus first. Jesus does not say we should hate our families, but rather that we should hate it if we put our families or anything else above Him. Jesus must be first, if He is not, you are not worthy of Him, and therefore you must hate that and come to repentence.

Think how many rich faithful have been in the Bible, Abraham, Solomon etc., money only comes problematic when we look at them for more than a gift of God and it compromises our relationship with Him/we treat money as idols. This scripture does not imply that Christians should sell everything as many falsely teach today, because you cannot buy your way into Kingdom of Heaven. As long as you love God and obey Him, it's all that matters.

 

[DamianWarS]

Now large crowds were going along with Him; 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
— Luke 14:25-33

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

the western church tends to look at this more abstractly than look at it as literal instruction which is ironic given all the wooden literalism the same group will look at Genesis. We all have our blinders and the blinders of the western church certainly are to do with riches. Many people in the west don't consider themselves rich so will dismiss this as not for them but this only works in an American vacuum and in reality if you are an American then you are probably richer than most people in the world and certainly richer than the context of Christ's words. (this also works for many western countries). with regards to riches, Christ did tend to polarize things so his instructions seem to be more extreme and his disciples happened to be of the sort that needed miracles like multiplying fish and bread to eat. We take issue what those extremes so explain them away but I think if we all fully submitted to following Christ the day-to-day choices we make would be a lot different and we shouldn't read a text like this only to explain it away but rather use it to navigate the choices we make. Ultimately if our possessions are getting in the way of serving/following Christ then we need to get rid of them but only Christ can tell you what he requires of you to follow him and an internet forum can't.

 

[zoidar]

Hyperbolic language. Jesus Christ of Nazareth also said to hate your parents and siblings. He also said to gouge your eye and cut off your hand but all in hyperbolic language,the language Jews fully understood, but we do not. We are not accustomed to this type of communication. But rest assured the message remains the same. Love Him first, above all people, places or things.
Blessings.

I don't know if I believe it's hyperbole. Thanks for the input.

 

[zoidar]

The book of Job has a whole story revolving around that exact issue. What do you think?

What I think? I don't know what I think. Would it be the same message in Job? Isn't that basically what I said, that everything belongs to God?

 

[zoidar]

"Disciple" in that context is what is later called "apostle". It means to become an itinerant preacher of Christianity. Paul is an example of someone who gave up everything to become an apostle, yet not all the people in all of the Churches he established did the same thing. It is not a commandment directed at every individual Christian, much like all the "church order" commandments were not directed at everyone.

I have been thinking the same way. Not sure about it still.

 

[zoidar]

I got a wide range of replies. Thank you all!

 

[Norbert L]

What I think? I don't know what I think. Would it be the same message in Job? Isn't that basically what I said, that everything belongs to God?

Without spoilers. It's a story about whether a man's obedience to God is because he is rich and much more.

 

[Waymarker]

It's unhealthy to be obsessed with worldly possessions and our life on this earth.
By contrast a poor beggar has nothing to tie him to earth, and when he dies his soul is therefore free to fly.

 

[zoidar]

It's unhealthy to be obsessed with worldly possessions and our life on this earth.
By contrast a poor beggar has nothing to tie him to earth, and when he dies his soul is therefore free to fly.

It's unhealthy to be obsessed with asceticism as well. It's just the back door to the same problem. Earth is a gift from God, to be enjoyed, but not misused.

 

[Godwilling]

Now large crowds were going along with Him; 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
— Luke 14:25-33

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

I believe Jesus knew the man was rich and the rich man`s personality. Thus Jesus gave him a test which according to the Bible he failed at that time.

But overall I believe that scripture is referring to us not hoarding or holding anything more important than God. Just like the Richman could not be separated from his riches to follow after Jesus.

God bless

 

[tturt]

All Scripture works together..There's hundreds of verses about money. But at the least it also says "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children:..." Proverbs

So then that helps us understand Luk 14:33. For example #2 posted by Jacks is good.

 

[Davy]

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

Luke 22:35-38
35 And He said unto them, "When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing?" And they said, "Nothing."

36 Then said He unto them, "But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in Me, 'And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning Me have an end."

38 And they said, "Lord, behold, here are two swords." And He said unto them, "It is enough."
KJV

 

[Guojing]

Now large crowds were going along with Him; 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
— Luke 14:25-33

Ok, what's the deal here? I come think of the rich man that Jesus tells to give everything to the poor and then follow him. Was this something Jesus expected of his followers of that day? But I hardly think everyone that followed Jesus gave all their possessions.

Or is it the general idea that we are to acknowledge that nothing we have is our own, but everything belongs to God. Thoughts?

When you are expecting the Day of the Lord to come very soon, remember Daniel's prophecy stated that the Messiah will be cut off at the end of the 69th week, which every Jew knew that during the 4 gospels, you need to give up your possessions because the more you have them, the more tempted you will be to take the Mark of the Beast.

That is why James reminded the 12 tribes of Israel in James 5:1-6 about the "woes of the rich".