Anyone who comes to me without calculating the cost will have great difficulty in being my disciple. Right from the very beginning, it was clear that gathering disciples around himself was not going to be a big problem for Jesus. Not only did he “inherit” from his cousin John the Baptist some followers (cf. John 1:35-37), Jesus’ charisma won him followers almost instantly. From the very first time that he took his place among the synagogues leaders and broke open the word of God with the people (cf. Mark 1:21-28), he was a big hit as The Gospels recount that news about him spread through towns and villages. Many people would have naturally wanted to see and judge for themselves if what they had been told was true. But as Jesus’ ministry picked up, it also became clear that in addition to his preaching prowess, he was also endowed with the special gift of working signs. This ability to work mighty signs definitely added to the size of the crowds that kept Jesus’ company. 
The stuff that Jesus was doing was “cool,” as an early remark from the crowds had clearly shown (cf. Luke 4:36-37), and naturally, many in the crowd might have sought to become associated with this man Jesus. On his part, perhaps having heard or seen people enthusiastically gather around someone like him only to lose interest soon after, Jesus knew only too well not to get carried away by the size of the crowds. As such, before he could “review any new applications,” Jesus wanted to make sure that the people were aware of what following him entailed: “ Joining me in order to be part of all the good stuff I do is costly,” Jesus told them, “ for you will need to make some tough choices - choices that will take you away from your families, choices that will impoverish you and turn you into beggars, choices that will make it seem as if you hate your life. The choices which you will make might turn against you and become and embarrassment and humiliation unless you commit to them.” 
Did Jesus intend his statement(s) to discourage those who wanted to join him? Did Jesus intend his words to naturally reduce the size of the crowd? Absolutely not. Jesus wanted (and still wants) disciples. At the beginning of his public ministry, he had extended an invitation to his hearers to be part of the kingdom he was inaugurating. And whenever an opportunity presented itself, he never failed to invite his hearers to join him in being proclaimers of the kingdom. Jesus had a good reason for pronouncing the above words. Perhaps he had experienced too often the cloying praise of the faint-hearted; perhaps, as with the rich young man whom Jesus loved but who nonetheless went off after hearing what following Jesus would cost him (cf. Mark 10:17-22), Jesus had observed potential followers drift away because of unpreparedness. Following Jesus is a commitment that has to be made by someone who is both ready and willing. Consequently, instead of being seen as words of discouragement, the statements should be read as Jesus’ invitation to his would-be disciples to understand the unwavering dedication required of those who undertake to follow him.
Jesus likens the commitment to his way of life to hating one’s family. However, it is safe to say that Jesus did not suggest an actual hating of one’s family (for that would be going against God’s commandment of respecting and showing honor to one’s parents and of loving one’s neighbor). In the culture in which Jesus lived and grew up, commitment to one’s family was considered a great virtue. Nothing was to come between an individual and his/her family. As such, the statement about hating one’s parents and siblings must have come as a shock to the crowd. But the statement must also have both challenged and invited them to assess the seriousness of Jesus’ proposal. To be a follower of Jesus, one has to be ready to make a tough choice akin to breaking ties with one’s family. 
Being a disciple of Jesus demands total dedication and extreme detachment. A disciple detaches the self from his/her family, not in the sense of turning his/her back on them, but by doing away with any barrier that might have existed between this family and other families. A disciple of Jesus “detaches” the self from his/her family, not because the family is an obstacle to discipleship, but in order to expand the idea of a family. A disciple of Jesus begets a new family, a family made up of all the sons and daughters of God. A disciple must be ready and willing to transfer the loyalty he/she has towards the nuclear family to this new family. This was the proposal Jesus was laying bare before the crowds. It was a proposal that was meant to prevent them from being hurt by the demands that discipleship eventually places upon a disciple.