Luke 14:25–14:35, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Luke 14:25–14:35
Discipleship Cost Requires Honest Calculation
Count the tower and the army before you call the crowd discipleship
Great crowds go with Jesus. He says that coming to him may require 'hating' father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even one's own life, and that a disciple must carry the cross. Semitic 'hate' names radical preference, not a command to abuse a household. The severity remains real: allegiance to him outranks the claims that ordinarily organize a life.
A builder who cannot finish a tower becomes a joke. A king who cannot meet a stronger army sends an ambassage for peace. Salt that has lost its savour is thrown out. Renunciation here is honest calculation, not a leader's right to strip people of money, family, or housing. Luke elsewhere shows varied household and possession practices. This warning does not authorize controlled dispossession in Jesus' name.
How this should shape us
Before you promise lifelong devotion, name the relationship, comfort, or asset you would not relativize. Carry the cost yourself. Walk away from any teacher who uses this passage to isolate you from family or seize what you have.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Luke 14:25–14:35, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 14:25–14:35
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 14:25–14:35
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 14:25–14:35
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, Jesus Teaches on the Road study guide, Luke 12:1-14:35; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 14:25–14:35
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Supports: Women's narrative, material, and discipleship agency, with social reconstructions kept provisional.
Penner, The Work of Wealthy Women, PDF pp. 15-18, 30-61, and 76-100; applied to the named women, households, bodies, work, resources, or witness in Luke 14:25–14:35
Supports: Focused ethical control for wealth and poverty without converting one commentary into a full economic history.
Mitzi J. Smith, “Commentary on Luke 16:19-31,” complete sections on Luke's wealth sequence, Lazarus, bodily poverty, reversal, and present justice; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 14:25–14:35, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 14:25–14:35
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Luke Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current online edition
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, Jesus Teaches on the Road study guide, Luke 12:1-14:35; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Luke: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World
Matthew L. Skinner
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Luke
Peter G. Bolt
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Exact location: Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗modern scholarly open monograph
The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze
Mark Goodacre
T&T Clark; open access supplied by the author and Duke University, 2001; open release 2011
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Exact location: Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗open access masters thesis
The Work of Wealthy Women: Female Discipleship in Luke 8:1-3
Kimberly Penner
University of Waterloo, 2011
Supports: Women's narrative, material, and discipleship agency, with social reconstructions kept provisional.
Exact location: Penner, The Work of Wealthy Women, PDF pp. 15-18, 30-61, and 76-100; applied to the named women, households, bodies, work, resources, or witness in Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗modern scholarly pastoral passage commentary
Commentary on Luke 16:19-31
Mitzi J. Smith
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2021
Supports: Focused ethical control for wealth and poverty without converting one commentary into a full economic history.
Exact location: Mitzi J. Smith, “Commentary on Luke 16:19-31,” complete sections on Luke's wealth sequence, Lazarus, bodily poverty, reversal, and present justice; applied to Luke 14:25–14:35
Open source ↗