Die Gleichnisse Jesu
The Requirement of Discipleship
Jesus turns to the crowds following him and says that whoever wants to be his disciple must put him above family and their own life, and carry their cross. He uses two parables – one about a man who wants to build a tower and another about a king who goes to war – to show that one must calculate the cost. Finally, he says that no one can be his disciple without giving up everything they have.
Lukas 14,25-33
25Large crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and said to them:
Συνεπορεύοντο δὲ αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοί, καὶ στραφεὶς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς·
26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.
Εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός με καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ⸀ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφάς, ἔτι ⸀τε καὶ τὴν ⸂ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ⸃, οὐ δύναται ⸂εἶναί μου μαθητής⸃.
27Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
⸀ὅστις οὐ βαστάζει τὸν σταυρὸν ⸀ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἔρχεται ὀπίσω μου, οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.
28Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and count the cost, to see whether he has enough to finish it?
τίς γὰρ ἐξ ⸀ὑμῶν θέλων πύργον οἰκοδομῆσαι οὐχὶ πρῶτον καθίσας ψηφίζει τὴν δαπάνην, εἰ ⸀ἔχει εἰς ἀπαρτισμόν;
29Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to complete it, everyone who sees it will begin to mock him,
ἵνα μήποτε θέντος αὐτοῦ θεμέλιον καὶ μὴ ἰσχύοντος ἐκτελέσαι πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντες ἄρξωνται ⸂αὐτῷ ἐμπαίζειν⸃
30saying, 'This man began to build and could not finish.'
λέγοντες ὅτι Οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἤρξατο οἰκοδομεῖν καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσεν ἐκτελέσαι.
31Or suppose a king is setting out to engage another king in war. Will he not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he can stand against the one coming at him with twenty thousand?
ἢ τίς βασιλεὺς πορευόμενος ⸂ἑτέρῳ βασιλεῖ συμβαλεῖν⸃ εἰς πόλεμον οὐχὶ καθίσας πρῶτον ⸀βουλεύσεται εἰ δυνατός ἐστιν ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν ⸀ὑπαντῆσαι τῷ μετὰ εἴκοσι χιλιάδων ἐρχομένῳ ἐπʼ αὐτόν;
32And if he cannot, he will send a delegation while the other is still far off and ask for terms of peace.
εἰ δὲ μήγε, ἔτι ⸂αὐτοῦ πόρρω⸃ ὄντος πρεσβείαν ἀποστείλας ἐρωτᾷ ⸀τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην.
33In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
οὕτως οὖν πᾶς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὃς οὐκ ἀποτάσσεται πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπάρχουσιν οὐ δύναται ⸂εἶναί μου⸃ μαθητής.