Luke 14:25–35
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Do You Have What It Takes?
About 16.7% of Canadians have gym memberships. Half of those people go to the gym at least twice a week. Some go more frequently, and others less often. Many people join so that they can lose weight. Almost half of those who use their memberships do the activity with a partner. But joining is not enough to produce the desired results. Applying for a membership and following through to use it are not the same thing. Statistics indicate that about one half of new gym members quit within the first six months. (ref)
In today’s Scripture passage, we see large numbers of people who were excited to be a part of the crowd following Jesus. They were eager to be known as a follower of one of the more popular Jewish teachers of that time.
Jesus does not seem to be overly impressed with a segment of those who were following him. If you were a crowd member, how would you feel when you heard what Jesus says in verses 26-27?
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (26-27)
The price of the membership fee for being a true follower of Jesus seems too high. There appear to be hidden fees that Jesus is later explaining. Can you imagine the reaction of the people hearing these words? Who would want to destroy all the other relationships in their life and only have the relationship with Christ remaining. If we are honest, we want the bonds with family and the connection with Christ too! To sever relationship with all those special people would destroy the life that we love so much.
Then Jesus supplements those demands by asking his disciples to being willing to carry their own cross. It seems like an unreasonable demand. The only reason for carrying a cross is to punish an individual and humiliate him prior to administering one of the cruelest death penalty executions ever designed. How could Jesus be asking for his followers to do that to themselves?
Putting these statements in the context of Jesus other teaching, including his teachings about loving others, we realize that Jesus is warning his followers to not be distracted by personal relationships or by the love of life itself. All those things are good, but they can limit us in our ability to follow Christ. Each of the things that Jesus mentions could cause us to quit a short time into the discipleship journey. Jesus is demanding that his disciples follow him whole-heartedly.
Jesus uses two different illustrations to help us better understand his emphasis—building a tower, and making decisions about going to fight a war.
Jesus tells us to count the cost of being a disciple as if we were overseeing a construction project.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” (28-30)
The goal is to start and to complete the project. Good intentions are not sufficient. It will take resources and tenacity to finish it. Failure to achieve the desired end will result in undesired consequences. The builder will face the humiliation of quitting before the project is completed, and he will face ridicule from other people.
The second story talks about a king contemplating the pros and cons of fighting a war.
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace." (31-32)
The king desires safety for himself and for the citizens of his kingdom. He is asking whether he is strong enough. Should he go to war or use diplomacy? Advice is available. It is possible to act in advance and mitigate the threat. If the king wins there will be peace. If he loses, there will be bondage and shame. The decision affects himself and his whole kingdom.
At this point Jesus concludes this teaching with the statement in verse 33:
“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
Deciding to follow Jesus is not a casual decision. He is looking for whole-hearted followers who will not quit when challenges arise. He is looking for those who will keep their focus when there is competition and distractions. Jesus demands that he be the top priority in the life of his followers. His followers will sacrifice as they follow him.
The builder gave up the right to use his time and resources as he desired. We may need to do that too. The king gave up his daily routine to address a threat. He gave up personal rights for the benefit of others. We may need to act in similar ways.
Take a few moments and prayerfully look at your own life. Ask God to help you to make following him the highest priority. Ask him to help you overcome distractions and follow him whole-heartedly.
Author Bio
Rev. Lorne White is a cross-cultural worker in East Asia. He is married to Kathy-Lu and has three married children and five grandchildren. He desires to see people have access to Jesus and learn to live as whole-hearted followers of Christ. Learn more about the ministry he is involved in at:
https://www.hiddenintaiwan.org/.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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