Discuss Luke 14 Page 3

Christians must forsake all wealth( Luke 14:33 Jesus says forsake it all)

Christians cannot work for money( Matthew 6:24)

Christians do Not pay taxes (Render to Caesar what is his and to God what belongs to Him, what belongs to God?)

Christians travel and trust in God for daily food(Mathew 6:20-33) that's what makes them different from all the world.

Christians live together 24/7 ( Acts 4:34-35) sharing everything in common( Acts 2:44-45).

Christians give to the needy in secret(Matthw 6)

Women can be leaders in the church but it is beter that all be as brothers and sisters.

If you are a Christian you own nothing in this world, as Paul says, and you are homeless as he says also, and you are the rags of this world, as Paul says. Choose Poverty not Wealth! Make Peace not War!

Christians are nonviolent ( Matthew 5:44-45).

Christians forgive as much as they can.

Kay,

2John 1:5-11, James 4:4-5, I'm reminded of 2Kings 20:12-18, Isaiah 39:1-7, Micah 7:5, Proverbs 19:4,= Job 19:14, Proverbs 14:20, Psalms 38:11,

Proverbs 19:7, Luke 21:16, Proverbs 19:6, Proverbs 18:24, Proverbs 27:6,

Even Jesus friends : Mark 3:21, Zechariah 13:6, Psalms 41:9, Luke 7:34, Matthew 11:19, Matthew 26:48-50

John 15:14-26, Job 42:10, -after = ( Job 32:3 ), Mark 5:19, Luke 14:12-14,

Hopefully these are helpful for wisdom in your love & wisdom towards GOD, your friends & close friends

Psalms 9:10, Psalms 18:2,30, Psalms 56:3, Psalms 71:5, Isaiah 12:2, our trust & hope should ultimately be in GOD

* Psalms 118:8, * Jeremiah 9:4, * Micah 7:5,6, Luke 12:52, Psalms 27:10, Ephesian 6:2,3, Proverbs 23:22, people even most dear can betray, abandon, abuse etc. There was much abuse, betrayal, within King David's family & those he served. 1Samuel 21, 2Samuel 15, Saul his King, his children, wife, etc. Starting with his calling, 1Samuel 16:5-11,

Psalms 20:7,

Psalms 62:2,5,8, 2Samuel 22:3,31,

Job 4:17-21,

Psalms 17:7, Psalms 25:2, Psalms 31:19,

Psalms 40:4, Psalms 44:6, Psalms 49:6,7,

Luke 14:26, trust GOD 1st & only yet honor them, this may be when there is contradiction to GOD's will & commandments. Even Jesus faced those struggles with earthly parents & family. Mark 3:20,21, Mark 3:31-35, John 7:3-5, Luke 2:42-52,

Hopefully these are helpful.

Leviticus 13:45, Leviticus 14:2-3,32, Leviticus 14, most of the chapter discusses the law of strictness, sacrifice, isolation, cleansing, hinting the severity. Leviticus 22:4, Numbers 5:1,2, Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-44, Luke 17:11-19,

2 Kings 5:1-14, note 2 Kings 5:15-27, Luke 4:14-27,

2 Kings 7:3-11, (the whole story started previous chapter/s & continues after verses I noted)

2 Kings 15:5, 2 Chronicles 26:21,23,

Matthew 10:1-8, Matthew 11:1-5,

Mark 3:1-5, Luke 14:1-4,

Hopefully these scriptures help in your study

Genesis 2:2-3 , Ezekiel 46:1, Mark 1:21, Mark 6:2, Luke 4:16, Luke 4:31, Luke 6:1, Luke 13:10,

Isaiah 58:1-14, Exodus 20:8, Exodus 20:10-11,

Exodus 31:13,14,16, Leviticus 16:31, Leviticus 19:3, Leviticus 19:30, Leviticus 23:1-8, Leviticus 24:8, Leviticus 25:2, Leviticus 25:4, Leviticus 25:17, Jeremiah 17:19-27, Lamentations 1:1-7, Isaiah 1:11-17, Isaiah 56:1-8, Ezekiel 20:12, Ezekiel 22:26,

Amos 8:4-8, Mark 2:27,

Matthew 12:8, Matthew 12:1-27, Mark 3:1-11, Luke 6:6-11, Luke 13:11-17, Luke 14:3-6, Luke 14:12-24, Luke 23:3-56, John 5:1-16, John 7:22-24,

Colossians 2:8-17,

James 2:1-26

In previous Chapters we see Jesus is talking to many different people from different backgrounds, educations & walks in life:

Luke 14, Luke 15:1,2, Luke 16:1,14,

Luke 15:3 =3 parables prior have to do with GOD's goodness, amazing mercy & love for HIS lost children. Luke 15:4-32,

Luke 16, continues as Jesus is talking to the disciples, Luke 16:1, yet you see the others appear to still be there. Luke 16:14,

A steward is someone trusted with things, property, belongings (even teachings) that don't belong to them, they are trusted to maintain, keep, watch-over, protect, grow etc. In this parable Jesus seems to be pointing out the wrongs done.

Luke 16:8, notice Luke 16:9-13, if you go back to Luke 14, they appear to be at one of the Cheif Phariees house throughout these chapters. Luke 14:1, (Pharisee known for being very strict religious of GOD's written laws) therefore being a "steward" of GOD's written laws, including teaching, nextJesus speaks of the rich man, that showed no mercy. Luke 16:19-31, I believe Jesus is rebuking the "rich teachers, stewards" yet also teaching HIS disciples to be wiser to what is going on.

Hopefully this is helpful

Hello Brother Spencer,

I'm not sure how this would tie in to the lesson you studied, but I'll share this with you. I'm looking at those Greek words both in Matthew and Luke. In Matthew 4:1, the word tempted is PEIRASTHENAI which means to be tried. In verse 7, the word tempt is EKPEIRASEIS which means to put on trial. What's interesting about Matthew Chapter 4 is that in James 1:13, it tells us first of all that God cannot be tempted, nor does He tempt anyone. You can't tempt Him and God Himself is not responsible for temptation.

As far as Jesus having to prove Himself, here is what I find interesting. In Matthew 4:3, it sounds like the tempter is asking Jesus to prove who He is. The tempter says "If thou be the Son of God, command these stones be made bread. That word "if" makes it sound like he's asking Jesus to prove who He is. That's what we get from the English text.

But here's why I love the Greek so much. The word "if" in the Greek text is what is called the first class condition assumed to be true. It can be translated "since." The devil, in tempting Jesus, was not tempting Him to prove that He was the Son of God. Satan is saying (since) you are the Son of God, then do this. Misuse your authority. Misuse your position. Be disobedient to your heavenly Father. But please note that Satan is not asking Jesus to prove Himself to be the Son of God, but actually questioning Him, baiting Him to disobey the commandments of God.

In Luke 14:19 the word prove is DOKIMASAI which means to test.

I'll share this with you, something I learned. A farmer in those days, if he had one pair of oxen, he would be considered fortunate. This is obviously a rich farmer. He just purchased five pairs of oxen. He's says, and I have to go and prove (DOKIMASAI/Test) them: so have me excused.

This is equivalent in our day to "I just bought a new car. I got to go test drive it and break it in, so have me excused."

Well, I'm off to bed. Hope to chat with you again soon. God Bless

Hi Brother Jesse.

I've heard a lesson once before on Mathew 4:1-10. Where the word tempted/tested can be used as to prove something, Not meaning to see if he can withstand the devil but to show that he could. Similar to the word used in

Luke 14:19. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to "PROVE" them: I pray thee have me excused.

Even though a different Greek word.

What do you think?

I value your take.

God bless.

Hi James. I know, that word 'hate' can be very pointed & ugly, especially when seen in the Scriptures. We need to realize that 'hate' as seen here & other places, can have several meanings. The word in Greek is 'miseo', & of course, it does mean 'to hate' but also can have other meanings according to application, i.e. 'to detest, to love less, to esteem less'. So, it's not always an ugly uncontrolled emotion that is shown. You can think of Luke 14:26, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Did the Lord mean to say that we are to feel such hatred for our family just so that we can truly follow Him? Or did He mean that we need to esteem Him more, putting Him first in everything even to giving our family second place?

And then we have another conundrum as seen in Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." I share this verse simply to demonstrate the usage & understanding of languages. In Isaiah, we read of two strange phenomena: God creating darkness & creating evil. Can a God Who is altogether Light & altogether Holy & Good create such things? Some might say, yes, because He is God. Rather we should consider that in light of Who God is, maybe the creation of darkness, is actually God removing His Light. Maybe the creation of evil, is God removing His Peace. Darkness is always the default just as is Evil the present default in the World. We enjoy both physical & spiritual Light because of God's intervention through Christ ( Colossians 1:16,17; John 8:12) - we also enjoy great quietness & enjoyment of life because God by His Spirit is holding back the full onslaught of evil ( 2 Thessalonians 2:7).

Therefore Romans 9:13 & Malachi 1:2,3 that speak of 'hating Esau', can only mean that Esau was hated (rejected) in God's Plan, just as Jacob was loved (accepted).

Kari,

I would like to share with you my perspective from a biblical Greek study on this word hate. In Luke 14:26, it says " If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."

First of all let me tell you what the word hate means. This word is MISEO. It is not the word for hostile or hatred as we know it in English. It is a word of comparison. When MISEO is used with any of the words that have to do with love, it is showing comparison.



In other words, Jesus is saying you must love me so much that the comparison between me and anybody else, or anything else, it makes it look like you hate them. You really don't, but that's what it looks like. It can't even be close!

Jesus is not talking about walking away from our families. He's talking about cutting the emotional ties, not cutting the relationship. We need to understand that. In our society, there's a big play on the social interaction with friends and relatives. Jesus didn't say you couldn't have family. Jesus didn't say that you have to stop your relationship with family members. That is not what He is saying.



He is saying that when it comes to choice and service, and what to do with your life, basically it's a no-brainer. It is Jesus. Family members that don't know Jesus aren't going to understand that. But do you know what they are going to understand? They are going to see and understand that Jesus means more to you than anything or anybody else in the world.

So this is the teaching of Jesus, you must hate. That is, love everybody much less then you love me. It can't even be close. No question about it. You love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, and that's a Hebraism for you are going to love your neighbor according to how you love the Lord.

Luke 14 Vers 26

Heidi,

You have to add in vs 26 to get a feel for how primitive sounding the text is:

( Luke 14:27) And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

*Straight forward language to walk he walk with God.

( Luke 14:33) So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

*So I have to abandon my possessions to walk with God.

( Luke 14:26) If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

*Do not love others above God to walk with God. I don't hate family members, Jesus, so you got me there. I have a feeling there was more to this conversation than was published.

First of all, are you a born-again Christian? If not, take Jesus as your Savior by confessing your sins and asking Him to come into your heart. Romans 10:9-10.

if you are a born-again Christian--you must understand--you received the Holy Spirit the second you were saved. Luke 14:16. You need not ask for God to send Him to you for He does not come and go. He is with you always.

Cast your cares upon Him for He careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7. He will answer according to His will. He will always sustain you. Psalm 55:22. Pray continuously, especially for His will in these matters. Read His Word and wait upon him. He will not fail you. Let your needs rest in Him. He may not answer your prayer the way you want, but he will make a way for you to have victory over this matter.

This passage is often used to provoke us to witness but in fact it's a sad declaration to the Jews (& specifically to those around Jesus at meal-time). The message of Luke 14:16-24 was an indictment against the Jews about their rejection of God's Message & Provision of salvation. One said in verse 15, "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God", believing in the special position that only the Jews enjoyed & to be in God's Kingdom. Jesus then went about to show him that that position was now untenable because of their rejection of the Messiah of God.

So, in the parable, the invited guests represent the Jewish people. The Kingdom was prepared for them & Jesus came preaching that the Kingdom of Heaven was near ( Matthew 4:17), but they had rejected Him & His Messiahship ( John 1:11). And of course, all types of excuses were given to discount Jesus' claim & works.

Thus the invitation (of God) went out to those whom the Jews considered as outcasts & unclean (the Gentiles), that we in our miserable state of ignorance of God's Holy Demands, would be given the opportunity to salvation which the Jews despised. As Hosea 2:23 says, "I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God".

Even as Paul declared in Acts 13:46,47, "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." We may not all be missionaries in our calling, or standing on street corners warning every man, but we are called to be witnesses of God's Grace reaching out to those who have never heard. In the most part, we as Christians, have failed to be God's Light & Hope in this dark & desperate world.

Hi Dgjot.

Listen here at Paul.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7. I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Maybe the World needs a little watering.

"Smile"

God bless.

Dgjot,

I agree with what you are saying.

Although witnessing Christ to others is a good thing, no one should put a heavy burden on us to do so. There are some who even say that Jesus would have come back by now if we believers were out there "doing our jobs."

It should never be about putting a guilt trip on a believer to get out and do their job so that everyone will be reached.

Besides, John 1:9 tells us that the whole world has already been reached.

The word, the Logos, enlightens every person coming into the world. Every single human being born into this earthly life will be enlightened by God to the truth.



There will not be one person that will stand before God that will ever say "Hey I didn't know anything about it." Here is why. I'll give you three scriptures.



Psalm 19:1-4 says that creation, the language of creation goes throughout the world. There is no language that does not understand the language of creation. And creation speaks of the Creator.



So much so that in Romans 1:19-20, the apostle Paul even says that what is known of God is clearly manifest as God reveals the truth of the invisible God to every person.

Romans 10:18 is a verse people will use to motivate Christians to help support missionary work around the world. Unfortunately some stop at Verse 17 when it says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

"So we have got to get the word of God out there and reach those people."

Except in Verse 18 Paul says, but I say have they not heard? Yes they have. Their sound went out into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world.

So it's not up to us to reach everyone. In the book of Revelation, we are told of God's plan to reach every single person.

There will be the two witnesses, an angel will be flying around in mid-heaven for 3-1/2 years warning everyone.

And there will also be 144,000 Jews who will be evangelizing and reaching the list. So God has it pretty much covered!

Matthew 25:33-46

33 And he shall set the sheep on his RIGHT HAND, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall THE RIGHTEOUS answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto ME.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on THE LEFT HAND (goats)

Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me NO meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me NO drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me NOT in: naked, and ye clothed me NOT: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me NOT.

44 Then shall they (the goats) also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and DID NOT minister unto thee???

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it NOT to one of the least of these, ye did it NOT to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Comment by Mishael: this is not a call to get all wrapped up into a "Works Only" mentality.

This a means to worship Jesus, and love him. He asks us to do this.

At the Bema Seat, Rewards will be given out to the Believers, by Jesus.

Luke 14:

21So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

22And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

23And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Some people read this and say it's our job to witness to everyone/anyone. And this is 2021.

This isn't like it was the days before the scriptures were compiled into a book that everyone could read. (the 1611 KJV)

The invention of printing press made it so many copies could be printed and everyone could have one. Then came the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, television, the personal computer and satellites. The Gospel has been preached to every nation in every language. Everyone has heard about the Gospel of Jesus at SOME time in their life. So why are we still required to "witnesss"/spread the Gospel????

Brother Mitchell, may CHRIST IN US grace us with HIS wisdom and HIS understanding.

When you came to the understanding that WE CAN DO NOTHING; but, Christ does all things for us. You will BE SET FREE.

You want have to achieve the hope set before you, Christ started it. he will complete it. In fact; Christ sees it as already COMPLETE. This is what is meant by coming INTO HIS REST; the works were completed before the foundations of the world were laid.

Ephesians 1:4

Hebrews 4:3

John 15:5

Psalms 92:4-6

YOU ARE DEAD (on your cross); He is alive on HIS THRONE (in you) living HIS life FOR YOU.

YOU have become ONE WITH CHRIST.

John 17:21

Luke 14:27

Matthew 10:38

Luke 9:23

We are THE POT he is THE POTTER.

About this longevity, About Moses. Typological errors in the bible or could be from SATAN WHO BENT HIS LIFE TO CONFUSE THE CHILDREN OF GOD OR THE WORK OF THE

Type setters or type writers made of iron and have no life in themselves, so they can make mistakes.

The original scripts were Holy Spirit guided by d writers who were Holy Spirit filled then.

I show u one example from the Bible and work it out itself

Moses and d Israelites

God told Abraham

Genesis 15.13

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years

Moses appeared before Pharaoh at 80 years old

King James Bible

And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh

In Exodus 12:40 we read: The dwellings of the children of Israel that they dwelt in Egypt were 430 years. Verse 41 reiterates that after 430 years all the legions of God left Egypt. The verse seems to be stating a non-debatable historical fact. That is, that the Children of Israel were in Egypt for 430 years before their Exodus.

(Q) 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old(R) when he died, yet his eyes were not weak(S) nor his strength gone.(T) 8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab(U) thirty days,(V) until the time of weeping and mourning(W) was over.

Work it out ur self

If the Israeli completed 400 years according to God in Genesis 15.13

Then they spent another 30 years for whatever it was. Which Moses spent with them after God sent him to pharaoh and he was 80 years old when he appeared before Pharaoh, died at 120 years, how can this be right except for typography error. I didn't know this but d Holy Spirit highlighted it to me. There r many of these errors in d bible, it only takes d Holy Spirit to point it out to u when u need them.

Work of the Holy Spirit to remind us what has past, present and future John chapter 16.

The Bible doesn't specifically tell us how the drop in human longevity changed from the large numbers you read of in Genesis chapter 5, to smaller numbers as you progressively go through that Book & into the rest of biblical history.

We can assume that when God created humans, He intended that we live forever. When Adam & Eve sinned, not only their hearts became sin-tainted, but their intimate walk with God (i.e. their relationship) was affected & the duration of their earthly existence was shortened. Even though Adam lived for 930 years (& Eve possibly for a similar duration), even that was abnormal.

Then we come to Noah & the Great Flood that wiped away all living creatures, except Noah & his family. I should say, that the reference to 120 years in Genesis 6:3 is often taken as 'God's shortening of man's ages to 120 years, however, that actually is a reference to the time God gave to man before he would be wiped off the Earth because of his unrestrained sin. So these great ages of humans continued until the Flood. Post Flood: ages began to reduce as we see in Noah's son, Shem ( Genesis 11:10 ff) & others in history, but this wasn't the rule.

So, it's understood that with a possible defective gene in Noah/his wife that was subsequently passed onto his son's & then down the line to us, the effects of sin that had increasingly affected our bodies, & even our changing conditions (chemical levels in the atmosphere, diet, mental/emotional stability, life's complications bringing on pressures, etc.) could well have contributed to a much shorter life span. In Psalm 90:9,10, Moses states: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow". Though Moses himself lived for many more years than 70, 120 years in fact, he probably envisaged that man's days 'were numbered' & if we should live beyond 70, life would get more difficult, finally extracting our final breath.

Age in the bible must be different than now.seeing as how some people lived to be 500 years old...what is that. I just do not understand

Yvonne, you must forgive! In my experience, the best way is to pray for that person when feelings of hatred set in. Truth be told, a Christian won't wish hell on their worst enemy, you know in your heart that Jesus died for this person, how can you then not forgive them? Forgiveness can become a wonderful habit, which is beneficial to your own spirit and is healthy for your body as well. God Bless.

Let's discuss sin. The main reason God sent his only begotten (special) Son Jesus into this world, was to save us from sin. St. John 3: 16-17, For God so loved the world, that He sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. What are we saved from? We can be saved from sin. Jesus is the light of the world. Verse 18: Every one that doeth evil hateth the light..." Verse 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

God is perfect, holy, loving, longsuffereing and excellent. Sin cannot and will not be in his presence. Jesus is perfect and he tells us in St. Matthew 5:48: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. When Jesus tells us to be perfect, he furnishes the Holy Ghost power for us to be perfect. Believe in Jesus, practice His doctrine of righteousness each and every day. We must exercise faith in God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. The Bible also tells us, "without faith we sin". We must sincerely love and trust God with all our mind, body, soul and strength.

Jesus told the adulterous woman, "Go in peace and sin no more." We are saved when we remove sin from our lives. St. Luke 14:33: ...There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Repentance is the key. We must stop sinning and live righteously. Every eye shall see Jesus, but none but the pure in heart shall see God. St. Luke 19:10: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. We are lost without Christ in our lives.

St. John 8:24: ...Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. What is sin? It is trangressing the law of God. The ten commandments tells us what we cannot do. Ephesians 4:24...Put on the new man,

Not one of you understands this. Jesus Christ said you will be hated by all, and that is the sign of a true prophet. If you don't hate even your own life...?

If you don't pick up your Cross daily...?

Jesus Christ never told anyone to hate anything but evil.

It seems like a terrible it ? But for Christians it means we put Jesus before anything .

What is the meaning of Luke 14:26. very disturbing is this Jesus says, I don't think so.

why someone put this in the bible make no sense to me.

Dorothy,

Please follow Gen. 25:33; 27:27-30; 28:13; 29:33; 32:30; Deut. 21:15; Luke 14:26; Rom. 9:13.

Seek, and ye shall find ( Matthew 7:7).

In His Service.

Andy & Dianne van den Berg, Nova Scotia, Canada

It would be share joy for a poor man to have supper with a king in his palace. It sure makes that poor man very important. It would be a joy a person who lacks the world goods, etc. to sup with Jesus in his kingdom.

Dianne,

In Romans 9:13 it says "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."

Now that's a pretty serious statement to make.

The terms love and hate are what are called words of comparison. Obviously, love and hate, there is a comparison there, but the words themselves don't mean He loves them and He hates them, or He loves one more than the other. As a matter of fact, these words are found in the New Testament.

We think that was harsh but look at this. In Luke 14:26, it says "If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."

Now that's pretty harsh! You have to hate your mother and your father, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters? Now I can probably pick a couple out of there that I'm glad He said that! But it makes it pretty hard. What do you have to do, go home and show your hate towards them? What's He trying to say?

The Greek word for hate, MISEO means to love less. It doesn't mean hostility. In fact, Jesus, in Matthew 10:37 says "He that loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

He's talking about comparisons. The comparison is that Jesus is saying you must love me so much that in comparison to everybody else, it looks like you hate them. I mean it's not even close. Jesus said there cannot be me and somebody else!

That helps explain in Exodus Chapter 20 where God says you shall have no other gods before me. Except in the Hebrew, it says you shall have no other gods except for me.

In other words, it's not putting God first, and then we have our other priorities. God says I'm your only priority. Wow! We have no obligation in the flesh. Our one and only obligation is to follow Christ.

(more to follow:)