DID YESHUA TEACH A DIFFERENT ETHIC ON DEVOTION TO ONE’S PARENTS?

​Believe it or not, some scholars are presenting that Yeshua’s strong words in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother… he cannot be my disciple” as somewhat of an abrogation of the ethics demanded in the Torah. Just in case you ever run into this, here is brief but easy rebuttal.

First off, the hate in Luke 14 is comparative. Even one’s own life is said to be hated in the verse, but the sense should obviously be to love one’s life (as well as family) less than you love Messiah. The parallel text in Matthew 10:37 solidifies this, “He who loves father or mother *more than me* is not worthy of me.” Yeshua elsewhere reprimanded some Pharisees for not honoring their parents (Mt. 15:4; Mk. 7:10), even alluding to Exodus 21:15, 17 where striking or cursing a parent deserved the death penalty.

Secondarily, the Law of Yahweh actually teaches the same ethic - all the way around - as Yeshua. This shouldn’t surprise us as Yeshua’s mission was to be a teacher of Law (Mt. 5:17-19). Deuteronomy 33:8-9 praises the tribe of Levi for disregarding their parents and other family members in order to keep Yahweh’s word. This is seen specifically in Exodus 32:26-29 where the sons of Levi literally killed their own family at the command of Yahweh (due to their idolatry and refusal to repent). See also Deuteronomy 13:6-11.

Also, the High Priest (Lev. 21:11) or Nazir (Num. 6:7) were not allowed to defile their position for either father or mother. Their duties, in this case, overrode the 5th commandment. 

The extent some go to abrogate the perfect Law of Yahweh (Ps. 19:7) that is better than gold and sweeter than honey (Ps. 19:10) is astounding. Yeshua was a prophet, and like all prophets, he called the people to repentance (back to the Law; 2 Kings 17:13). He was and is the preeminent Torah-teacher.