Did He Really Just Say That?

Jul 21 2022 - Eric Buresh

Have you ever asked this question when reading Jesus’ teachings? Do you enthusiastically embrace some of His teachings while deploring other parts, particularly those that are difficult to swallow given our modern sensibilities? Have you ever rejected, dismissed, or ignored some of His more challenging statements as harsh rhetoric or hyperbole? I have. Yet, the longer I walk in the Spirit and the more I grow in oneness with Jesus, the more I see that His teachings are totally right. It was always my heart’s disordered affections that caused me to reject His words.  

Let me give you an example. In Matthew 10:37, Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Jesus is saying, very simply, you are not one of His if you love your mother, your father, or your children (or spouse or siblings, Luke 14:26) more than you love Him. These words are truth, and you should measure your heart against it. But if you Google these versus, and read comments from a variety of websites, you will find that many reject these Words. Some say Jesus’ words are hateful, and that parents who teach their children such things are filling their children with all sorts of evil. For a long time, I just chalked them up to Jesus using over-the-top language to make a point.

But is Jesus’ statement really that crazy? To evaluate, let’s change the context. Let’s assume a soon-to-be wife comes to her soon-to-be husband and says, “If you love any other woman more than me, you are not worthy of me and I will not marry you. I expect and need you to love me above all other women, both now and always.” This is not an odd demand. It is a reasonable request before this woman becomes one flesh with her fiancée. We would also expect the soon-to-be husband to take great joy in honoring and giving glory to his wife by declaring her the highest human love of his life. None of this would be declared over-the-top.

And this is a picture of Christ’s relationship with us. Ephesians 5:32. But unlike a spouse, Jesus gave literally everything to make a way for us to become one with Him. Him being God in the flesh made Him the only one who could do this love-filled task. He became our righteousness and our salvation. His blood covering our sin is our only means to enter the presence of a Holy God. He gave His all in sacrificial love toward us so we could become one with Him in His glory. It is not in the least bit crazy for Him to expect that we participate in this relationship by loving Him above anything else. This is an expected part of entering any oneness-type relationship – that the other half of the one is the most important and valuable treasure to our hearts. And this oneness is with the God of the universe. Because of what He did in His love of us, it is our great joy to give Jesus the highest glory by declaring Him the highest love of our life. This is not onerous and it's not a burden. It is our joy.

Jesus’ statement is not crazy, it is not hyperbole, and it is not rhetoric. Loving Jesus above everything else is a normal outflow of being one with Christ. This should not be looked at as an impossible goal for the super-Christian. It is the basic evidence that you are a Christian. If He’s not the highest love in your life, Jesus is not one with you any more than the soon-to-be wife would become one with a fiancée that loved some other woman more.

Many of us need to confess our wrong thinking and behold the beauty of Christ’s work on our behalf – the Good News. Loving Jesus above all else is not some extreme state of being. It is normal for a Christian. And it is not some sad act that leaves us a victim. For those who have truly seen Jesus as a Treasure, it is pure joy to have Christ at the top of our ordered affections. Jesus gives us a picture in Matthew 13:44 with a one sentence parable: “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” If you sacrifice other loves (or sell everything you have) because you feel like you have to pay back Jesus, because you want to perform some depressed act of self-disciplined religion, or because you want to capture the praise of men, it doesn’t mean anything. Actions mean something in the kingdom of heaven when they are the result of your heart’s affection for Jesus. For the believer who has seen the Great Treasure, it is pure joy to place all other loves, desires, affections beneath your love of Jesus. This joyful delight in Jesus brings Him the glory our hearts were made to bring Him.

So, yes, He really did say that!