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.
[And hate not] Matthew, Matt 10:37, expresses the true meaning of this word, when he says, He who loveth his father and mother more than me. In Luke 6:24, he uses the word hate in the same sense. When we read, Rom 9:13, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, the meaning is simply, I have loved Jacob-the Israelites, more than Esau-the Edomites; and that this is no arbitrary interpretation of the word hate, but one agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, appears from what is said at Gen 29:30-31, where Leah's being hated is explained by Rachel's being loved more than Leah. See also Deut 21:15-17; and Dr. Pearce on this place. See also the notes at Matt 10:37.
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)
Luke 14:25-27
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.
See the notes at Matt 10:37-38.
Verse 26. [And hate not] The word "hate," here, means simply to "love less." See the meaning of the verse in Matt 10:37. It may be thus expressed: "He that comes after me, and does not love his father less than he loves me, etc., cannot be my disciple." We are not at liberty literally to "hate" our parents. This would be expressly contrary to the fifth commandment. See also Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20. But we are to love them "less" than we love Christ; we are to obey Christ rather than them; we are to be willing to forsake them if he calls us to go and preach his gospel; and we are to submit, without a complaint, to him when he takes them away from us. This is not an uncommon meaning of the word "hate" in the Scriptures. Compare Mal 1:2-3; Gen 29:30-31; Deut 21:15-17.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
Matthew 10:37
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
[He that loveth father or mother ...] The meaning of this is clear. Christ must be loved supremely, or he is not loved at all. If we are not willing to give up all earthly possessions, and forsake all earthly friends, and if we do not obey him rather than all others, we have no true attachment to him.
[Is not worthy of me] Is not appropriate to be regarded as a follower of me, or is not a Christian.
Matthew 10:38
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
[And he that taketh not his cross ...] When persons were condemned to be crucified, a part of the sentence was that they should carry the cross on which they were to die to the place of execution. Thus, Christ carried his, until he fainted from fatigue and exhaustion. See notes at Matt 27:31. The cross was usually composed of two rough beams of wood, united in the form of this figure of a cross It was an instrument of death. See the notes at Matt 27:31-32. To carry it was burdensome, was disgraceful, was trying to the feelings, was an addition to the punishment. So "to carry the cross" is a figurative expression, denoting that we must endure whatever is burdensome, or is trying, or is considered disgraceful, in following Christ. It consists simply in doing our duty, let the people of the world think of it or speak of it as they may. It does not consist in MAKING trouble for ourselves, or doing things merely "to be opposed;" it is doing just what is required of us in the Scriptures, let it produce whatever shame, disgrace, or pain it may. This every follower of Jesus is required to do.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)