Parables

The king who goes to war

From the Gospel of Luke Chapter 14, Verses 31-33

Or what king, starting in war against another king, does not sit down first to examine whether he can face with ten thousand men those who meet him with twenty thousand? If not, while the other is still far away, he sends him an embassy for peace. So any of you does not renounce all his possessions, it cannot be mine.

Parable Luke exegesis

With this step, Chapter 14 of the Gospel of Luke ends, through which Jesus continues his teaching by talking about the choices facing the disciple who wants to follow him.

Luke describes Jesus on the street while he is heading towards Jerusalem. Many people went with him and Jesus, addressing those who would like to follow him, explains that being his disciples is a radical choice, without compromise. In fact, to be disciples of Jesus requires great sacrifices, therefore it is necessary to ponder well what He wants from his followers, and arm himself with great strength to avoid falling into temptation, since it would be reprehensible to go back after having begun to follow him.

Jesus teaches this truth with the parable of the warrior king and pauses to emphasize how important it is to think and reflect thoughtfully before acting. However it is necessary to consider that what is impossible to our forces, it is possible to the grace of God.

The king who meditates to make war on his enemy depicts the fight we must support against the devil, against the world, and against ourselves in the temptations and desires of the flesh. Every Christian must be ready to effectively renounce all that is an obstacle to achieving eternal health.

Every Christian, if he wants to really be a disciple of Jesus, must reflect before starting. In fact, the parable is intended to emphasize all the seriousness of the Christian vocation. They are invitations to recognize that the Christian reality is a serious thing, that we must be ready to put everything in our lives and our possessions, too, to fully experience this choice.

Otherwise we risk remaining "lukewarm" and failing miserably in our mission; the Lord says: "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot! But since you are lukewarm, not cold nor hot, I am going to vomit you from my mouth.

You say: "I am rich, I have enriched myself; I need nothing", but you do not know that you are an unhappy, a miserable, a poor, blind and naked person. I advise you to buy from me gold purified by the fire to become rich, white garments to cover you and hide your shameful nakedness and eye drops to anoint your eyes and recover your sight.