Luke 14:27 — Community Reflections

LUKE 14:27 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”

And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple — the cross-bearing: the specific instrument of the death that might come to those who follow Jesus. Carry their cross (bastazei ton stauron) and follow me: the disciple's path is behind Jesus, carrying what he carries. The cross is not metaphorical suffering but the specific political execution that awaits the one who follows Jesus to Jerusalem.

Church Fathers on Luke 14:27

The mind is kindled, when it hears of heavenly rewards, and 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, &c.
Gregory the Great · 6th century

For because many of those that accompanied Him followed not with their whole heart, but lukewarmly, He shows what kind of a man his disciple ought to be.
Theophylact · 11th century

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 will have us neither be ignorant of nature, nor be her slaves, but so to submit to nature, that we reverence the Author of nature, and depart not from God out of love to our parents.
Ambrose · 4th century

Read all 10 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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