Ver. 25-27. We met with much the same Matthew 10:37,38. The sum of the words is, That no man can be a true disciple of Christ, that giveth any friend, or any thing, a preference to Christ in the affections of his heart. Christ must be loved above all. It appeareth that the words must not be interpreted rigidly, for then they would oblige us to a thing,
1. Impossible in nature: for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, Ephesians 5:29. Yet life is one of the things mentioned which we ought to hate.
2. It is morally impossible: for the law of God commands us to honour our father and mother. For the nonobservance of, or teaching contrary to, which law, teaching the people to say, Corban, It is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, Christ so severely reflected on the Pharisees. Himself therefore doth not here teach others to hate their fathers or mothers, taking hatred in a strict and absolute sense: If any man hate not signifieth here no more than, If any man doth love his father, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life, more than me, he cannot be my disciple. Nor is this any sense put upon the term hate, different from what must be the sense of it in other scriptures: Genesis 29:31, When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, that is, less loved, as is expressed, Luke 14:30; so it must be interpreted in Luke 14:33. It also signified less loved, Deuteronomy 21:15,17 Mt 6:24 1 Thessalonians 12:25. We met with the substance of what is here, Luke 14:27, in Matthew 10:38, and Mark 8:34. See Poole on "Matthew 10:38". See Poole on "Mark 8:34".