Bible Strands
Luke 14:33
In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a large crowd following Him immediately after the parables of the tower builder and the warring king, establishing a direct condition for those considering commitment. He speaks to prospective followers at the moment of decision, framing discipleship as a final reckoning rather than a preliminary step.
The words — The Greek term ἀποτὰσσεται (apotassetai) literally means to renounce or give up, directly modifying πᾶς (pas) for "every one." These words structure the verse as a categorical requirement to relinquish all possessions before claiming allegiance.
The thread — This demand for total renunciation appears in Luke 5:28, where Levi leaves everything to follow, and Philippians 3:7, where Paul counts all gain as loss for Christ. It corresponds to the warning in 1 John 2:15 that loving the world excludes the love of the Father.
Why it lands — The text requires individuals to surrender all possessions before they can claim the title of disciple. It establishes a binary condition: partial commitment disqualifies a person from following Jesus.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Cross-references
- Philippians 3:7 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- Luke 5:28 and Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him.
- Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
- Luke 18:28 “Look,” said Peter, “we have left all we had to follow You.”
- Luke 18:22 On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- Luke 5:11 And when they had brought their boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him.
- Acts 5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
- Acts 8:19 “Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
- 2 Timothy 4:10 because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.