The Hard Sayings: Luke 14:33

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

This article is part of a series explaining the sayings of Jesus that are hard to understand. This list was put together by the Lord's Library. To see the list an access earlier articles in this series, go to this page.

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Jesus spoke this verse to a large crowd, not just his apostles and close followers. It is in a series of verses about how difficult it is to accept Jesus’s teaching. This series starts with the verse about hating your father and mother (see this article). The message here is consistent with many of the other verses in this section.

Jesus gives us two parables about planning right before this verse. The first parable is about calculating the cost before building a tower because we look foolish if we start a project and do not have enough money to finish it. The second parable is about a king being attacked by an army and calculating the relative size of the opposing forces before deciding if he should fight or send a delegation to make peace. This verse is an explanation of what he wants us to learn from these parables.

This is a modern translation of Luke 14:33:

NIV: In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

• The words in boldface are explained in this article.

The “in this way” refers to the two earlier parables. Jesus tells us from the beginning that this is about planning and being able to complete what we start.

This verse itself makes a simple point but it does so using some uncommon Greek forms that Biblical translators struggle with. I will simplify as much as I can.

“All” the Wordplay

The Greek word translated as “those” in “those of you” and the Greek word for “everything” in “everything you have” are the same. This word is broadly translated as “all,” but its specific meaning depends on the word’s form. These two words are used in this verse as a bit of useful counterplay, “…all of you who do not give up all you have.” This opposition is intentional.

The first “all” is a masculine word, so it clearly refers to people. It is also singular so its sense is “every one of you,” referring to the whole crowd. This is the subject of the verb. The complete phrase, taken from the Greek, is “every one of you who does not.”

Then comes the verb. Jesus only uses this verb once, in this verse. It is translated as “give up” but the primary meaning of this verb is "set aside." It form is the middle voice, which means that the verb’s subject acts on, by, or for itself. This is a form we do not have in English. Here, the sense is “to give up for yourselves. This “yourself” is important and emphasized throughout the verse.

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