Jesus was saying that we should love him and his father Jehovah more even than our fleshly relatives.Matthew 10:37 says, "Whoever has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me; and whoever has greater affection for son or daughter than for me is not worthy of me."
He means that the contrast between the strength of our love for him and the strength of our love for anyone else should be so strong that next to it the latter would seem like hate. The way it works out in practice is that you love your family more if you've got Jesus, or at least it would if it were true.
In the Bible, “hate” can refer to loving a person or an object to a lesser degree than another. (Gen. 29:30, 31) Christians are to “hate” their relatives in the sense of loving them less than they do Jesus.—Matt. 10:37.
As others have pointed out, the meaning gets lost in translation. Here are some other translations that might make it clearer.
CEV You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.
ERV “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life!
GW “If people come to me and are not ready to abandon their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as their own lives, they cannot be my disciples.
ICB “If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters more than he loves me, then he cannot be my follower. A person must love me more than he loves himself!
TLB “Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—yes, more than his own life—otherwise he cannot be my disciple.
MSG One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
Jesus is not saying that all who become his followers must literally hate their relatives.
Rather, he means that they must hate them in the sense of loving them less than they love Jesus, not being like the man in his illustration of the evening meal who turned down an important invitation because he just got married. Luke 14:20
The Jews’ ancestor Jacob is said to have hated Leah and loved Rachel, meaning that he loved Leah less than her sister Rachel.
Jesus says that a disciple should hate even his own life, or soul. This means that a true disciple must love Jesus more than he loves his own life, even being willing to lose his life if necessary.
Clearly, becoming a disciple of Christ is a serious responsibility. It is not to be undertaken casually, without careful thought.
Matthew 10:37-38 [Yeshua speaking] Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Yeshua needs to be the most important thing in your life. This does not mean that you cannot have other relationships.
he only meant that you love him more the mother father son or daughter he did not mean to literally hate you father mother and son and daughter. Thanks for the question.
Answers & Comments
Humans spoil their kids .
Jesus was saying that we should love him and his father Jehovah more even than our fleshly relatives.Matthew 10:37 says, "Whoever has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me; and whoever has greater affection for son or daughter than for me is not worthy of me."
It is a figure of speech called hyperbole, which means deliberate exaggeration to emphasize a point.
"Hate" translates the Greek "miseo": "Of relative preference for one thing over another." Vines Dictionary, Page 292.
He means that the contrast between the strength of our love for him and the strength of our love for anyone else should be so strong that next to it the latter would seem like hate. The way it works out in practice is that you love your family more if you've got Jesus, or at least it would if it were true.
In the Bible, “hate” can refer to loving a person or an object to a lesser degree than another. (Gen. 29:30, 31) Christians are to “hate” their relatives in the sense of loving them less than they do Jesus.—Matt. 10:37.
As others have pointed out, the meaning gets lost in translation. Here are some other translations that might make it clearer.
CEV You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.
ERV “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life!
GW “If people come to me and are not ready to abandon their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as their own lives, they cannot be my disciples.
ICB “If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters more than he loves me, then he cannot be my follower. A person must love me more than he loves himself!
TLB “Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—yes, more than his own life—otherwise he cannot be my disciple.
MSG One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
Jesus is not saying that all who become his followers must literally hate their relatives.
Rather, he means that they must hate them in the sense of loving them less than they love Jesus, not being like the man in his illustration of the evening meal who turned down an important invitation because he just got married. Luke 14:20
The Jews’ ancestor Jacob is said to have hated Leah and loved Rachel, meaning that he loved Leah less than her sister Rachel.
Jesus says that a disciple should hate even his own life, or soul. This means that a true disciple must love Jesus more than he loves his own life, even being willing to lose his life if necessary.
Clearly, becoming a disciple of Christ is a serious responsibility. It is not to be undertaken casually, without careful thought.
That is a mistranslation.
Matthew 10:37-38 [Yeshua speaking] Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Yeshua needs to be the most important thing in your life. This does not mean that you cannot have other relationships.
he only meant that you love him more the mother father son or daughter he did not mean to literally hate you father mother and son and daughter. Thanks for the question.