Does Luke 14:26 really means emotional hate in contrast to love? The NET translation footnotes for this verse says that the word hate is used to convey that "God is to be loved more than family or self. ... [in] Greek “his own soul,” but ψυχή (psuchē) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context."
This verse is explained by Pauline martyrology covered on this blog, for this verse in Luke is based on the Pauline ideology: that is one is to literally hate their biological life just as Paul preaches, and by extension they should hate their biological family (in contrast to the spiritual family of Pauline followers). The ephmasis is on not being attached to family and this world. If one hates even their own family, on top of this Sin-cursed world, they will be motivated to deny the world and be willing to die a martyr for the heavenly world. As Luke 9:23 NET says, "Then he [Jesus] said to them all, 'If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me."
NET Footnotes explain (emphasis added):
The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers. This translation ["he must deny himself"] better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
The anti-family “hate” language in Luke is corroborated in the Gospel of Thomas verses 55 and 101. This data also fits with the article, Antifamilial Tendencies in Ancient Christianity by Elizabeth A. Clark (in the Journal of the History of Sexuality Vol. 5, No. 3. Jan., 1995).
Let's combine Luke 14: 26 with Matthew 12:46-50 (NRSV) below, where the Pauline Jesus-character is told by someone his mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to him and so Jesus replies:
“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
So to be a "spiritual brother or sister" is to be a member of the Jesus Movement (churches) and follow the Jesus revealed through revelatory oracles like the authors of Mathew's gospel. Thus, there is a clear anti-family sentiment in the New Testament where you deny this world, self, and kinship ties (biological family) for the "cult family" of Messianic end-times believers (who are focused instead on Heaven). This fits with Paul’s preaching that this world is passing away, and the Christian will gain a new spirit-body in Christ, after their Adamic-body dies, is buried, and resurrects.
So in Luke the Adamic Family (one's earthly family) is to be rejected for the new Christ Family. One proves their loyalty to Jesus and the Messianic cult family by denying their self (their earthly Adamic personhood), rejecting this hiearchical competitive bio-world ("Blessed are the poor" Luke 6: 20, 24), and "hating" one's bio-family by instead loving more their new spiritual Cult Family.
This also fits with the Pauline ideal of celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7 (also in Mathew 19:12), where producing a bio-family is not the ideal. For celibacy and a martyr's death, not life and procreation, is the portal to God’s Heavenly Kingdom of spiritual brothers and sisters: who ideally sought "Heavenly life" as an escape from the cursed Adamic biological body (trapping them in Sin-cursed bodies).
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