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Luke 14:23-25
New Catholic Bible
Luke 14:23-25
New Catholic Bible
23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the open roads and along the hedgerows and compel people to come,[a] so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
Conditions To Be a Disciple[b]
25 Renunciation of Everything for Jesus.[c] Great crowds were accompanying Jesus on his journey, and he turned to them and said,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 14:23 Compel people to come: they must be emphatic on the need to enter, but the Gospel excludes any coercion.
- Luke 14:25 This section is tantamount to a short catechism on discipleship. The phrase “cannot be my disciple” runs through it like a refrain (vv. 26, 27, 33).
- Luke 14:25 This passage indicates that one must renounce everything to follow Jesus, even the most legitimate values and attachments, for the Gospel relegates all other considerations to a secondary level. That is the point of the word “hate” in the Old Testament (see Lk 16:13; Gen 29:31, 33; Deut 21:15-16; Isa 60:15). This renunciation is not some passing fancy but a radical demand: the two parables of the builder and the warrior could have been nothing more than simple invitations to reflect before deciding anything; Luke turns them into a call to make a serious commitment.
