Counting the Cost

Well, what does it take to be a follower of Jesus?

What does Jesus require for those who wish to become a disciple of his?

! That's our focus today, and it's what Jesus talks about as we find him walking along the road.

We're in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14, and we'll jump right in.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

And then verse 25, large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them, he said,

and we'll hear what he said in a moment, but for now, Luke sets the scene.

He's no longer at the house of that prominent Pharisee, as we heard last Sunday.

Now he's on the road again, and Luke tells us that he's not alone.

Of course, his disciples are usually with him,

but there are also large crowds traveling with Jesus.

And this next teaching moment of Jesus happens on the way.

That is the wrong verse.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus,

and turning to them, he said,

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.

These are shocking words, aren't they?

First, we can get a little more clear of what Jesus is talking about.

Just look at the main part of this statement.

I just took out part for just a moment,

so we can sort of see it clearly.

Jesus' main point here is,

if anyone comes to me and does not,

such a person cannot be my disciple.

And so Jesus is talking about what's required to be a disciple of his,

what's required to be a true follower of him.

And what Jesus says is required is shocking, isn't it?

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.

Is Jesus saying that we should hate our family members?

Is Jesus saying that we should hate our own lives?

Jesus was a master teacher.

The best teachers know how to get the attention of their audience

and how to get them thinking about things.

And one very effective way to do that is to use shocking statements.

Because we kind of, you know,

expect this to say the very opposite, don't we?

If anyone comes to me and does not love father and mother

and children and wife and brothers and sisters,

and yes, even their own life,

such a person cannot be my disciple.

But no, that's not what Jesus says.

He says that in order to be a disciple of his,

we must hate our family members

and even ourselves,

even our own lives.

Boy, Jesus knew how to stir the pot

and get us thinking.

We all know,

every single one of us knows

that Jesus does not want us

to harbor hatred towards our family members

or to act out of hatred

towards someone in our family.

How do we know that?

Well, Jesus makes it clear

in many other teaching moments

that we are to love one another.

He says the greatest commandment is to love God

and the second greatest is

to love our neighbor as ourself.

The whole law, he says,

is summed up in those two things.

In love.

And we hear from Jesus

that we're to love one another.

John 13, 35,

by this everyone will know

that you are my disciples

if you love one another.

Not only that,

but Jesus has clearly spoken of hatred

as wrong and sinful.

It's a wrong that others might do to us.

And he's clearly taught

that we must not hate our enemies.

Instead, we are to love them

and do good to them.

Hatred is listed

in some of those sin lists

in the Bible

where there's sort of

a bunch of sins

talked about at once.

And so if we've spent any time

listening to the word of God,

to Jesus,

and even if we haven't,

we all have a conscience

and we all know

that God does not want us

to harbor hatred

towards our family members

or to act out of hatred

or ill will

towards our family members.

And so,

why would Jesus say this?

And what does he mean by it?

Well, as I mentioned,

Jesus did use shocking statements

to get our attention

and to get us to think.

Let's just think for a moment

about another shocking statement

Jesus made.

Maybe you've heard this one before.

Matthew 5, 29.

If your right eye

causes you to stumble,

gouge it out

and throw it away.

It's better for you

to lose one part of your body

than for your whole body

to be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand

causes you to stumble,

cut it off

and throw it away.

It's better for you

to lose one part of your body

than for your whole body

to go into hell.

Did Jesus really want

his followers

to be cutting off

their own arms

and legs

and gouging out

their eyes?

But this statement

makes us think,

doesn't it?

It makes us think,

why am I sinning?

What's causing me to sin?

Is it my hand?

Is it my eyes?

Well, Jesus will answer

that question later.

He says,

our sinning comes

from deep down inside of us.

Out of our hearts

come the evil things

that we do.

And so the answer is no.

Cutting off our arms

and our legs

doesn't really solve

the problem.

But if it could,

it would be worth it.

What Jesus really meant

was that we should take

our own sinning

very, very seriously.

We should take

drastic measures.

We should do

whatever it takes

to eliminate

and eradicate sin

from our lives

because sin

will land us

in hell.

It provokes

the punishment

of God.

It's a very serious

thing.

Jesus used

shocking language

and statements

to get us

to think deeply

about things.

And I think

that's what he's doing

here again

in Luke chapter 14.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

And so what does he mean

when he says

to be his disciple

we must hate

our family members

and even our own lives?

Well, let's think

about what Jesus said

a little earlier

in this gospel

back in chapter 12.

Verse 51,

he said,

do you think

I came to bring

peace on earth?

No, I tell you,

but division.

From now on

there will be

five in one family

divided against each other.

Three against two

and two against three.

They will be divided.

Father against son.

Mother against daughter.

Jesus has already

talked about

how his coming

causes division.

And we looked at that

a few weeks ago.

And it's not that

Jesus wants there

to be discord

in a family.

He understands though

that this will

in many cases

be the result.

Some will accept him

in the family

while others will not.

and families

will be divided

because of this.

Fathers and sons

will find themselves

at odds with each other

over Jesus.

And sometimes

mothers and daughters

will be in conflict

with each other

over Jesus.

And inevitably,

sometimes people

will have to make

a difficult choice

between following

Jesus

and family.

And I think

that's what Jesus

is talking about here

in Luke 14.

To be

a disciple of mine,

to follow me,

you must hate

your family.

You must think

way lower

of your family

than of me.

you must

love them

so much less

than me.

Listen to how

Jesus says it

on another occasion.

We hear this

from Matthew's gospel.

Matthew 10, 37.

Anyone who loves

their father

or mother

more than me

is not worthy

of me.

Anyone who loves

their son

or daughter

more than me

is not worthy

of me.

So we are

to love Jesus

so much more

than even

the most precious

people in our lives

is what Jesus

is saying.

Only if we

love him

more

are we

worthy of him.

Can we be

a true disciple

of Jesus?

Because sometimes

we have to choose.

between them.

Another way

to understand

the word hate

in this

teaching of Jesus

is like this.

How many of you

have ever had a moment

where you wanted

something

and

somebody else

wanted something

different

and you kind of

had a conflict

over this

and you were

dead set

against each other

and you won't

budge because

what you want

that's what you

think is best.

And they won't

budge because

what they want

they think

that's what's

best.

And when you

won't give in

to them

what sometimes

they say

in that moment?

You hate me.

Samson's first

wife even said

this to him

thousands of

years ago

because he

wouldn't tell

her the answer

to a riddle.

You hate me.

You don't

really love me.

maybe you've

heard this

from someone

in your life

maybe a kid

in your home

you've decided

firmly that

they can't do

something that

they want to

do because

you know

as a parent

that it's

best for them

and they

want to do

it so badly

and they say

you hate me.

when someone

doesn't affirm

you and

bless you

in a desire

that you

have

it can sure

feel

like that

can't it?

You hate

me.

All I want

right now

is this thing

and I know

it's good

for me

and so if

you won't

agree with

that and

help me

with that

and go

along with

it then

you hate

me.

Sometimes

in order

to follow

Jesus

we must

do

contrary

to what

our loved

ones

think

is best

for us.

They may

even accuse

us of

hating

them.

They may

feel like

we hate

them

because our

loyalty

seems stronger

to Jesus

than it does

to our own

flesh and

blood.

And I

think that's

what Jesus

is saying

here.

To follow

me,

to be

my

disciple,

you must

be ready,

you must

be willing

to go

against

father

or mother

or wife

or children

or brother

and sister.

These are

the most

precious

family

relationships

that we

have and

Jesus is

saying to

follow me

you must

love me

more than

them.

your

loyalty,

your

commitment

to me

must be

greater

than it

is to

them.

This is

radical,

isn't it?

I mean

Jesus is

calling for

our

allegiance

with these

words.

Not just

our belief

or our

trust,

he's requiring

our highest

allegiance.

and if

we won't

give that

to him

then he

says,

such a

person

cannot

be my

disciple.

And

Jesus is

just getting

started.

Then he

takes it

to the

next level.

He says

it's not

just our

family

relationships

that we

have to

sacrifice

on the

altar

in order

to follow

Jesus,

but our

very

selves,

our

own

lives,

we

must

give

to

him

as

well.

If

anyone

comes

to

me

and

does

not

hate,

yes,

even

their

own

life,

such

a

person

cannot

be

my

disciple.

Jesus

speaks

about

this

many

times.

We'll

just

listen

to a

few

of

the

other

ways

he

says

it

and

I

think

it

comes

clear

what

he

means.

Look

at what

he

said

in

the

Gospel

of

John

John 12:25

chapter

12

verse

25.

Anyone

who

loves

their

life

will

lose

it,

while

anyone

who

hates

their

life

in

this

world

will

keep

it

for

eternal

life.

Or

what we

heard

earlier

in

Luke

Luke 9:24

9

verse

24,

for

whoever

wants

to

save

their

life

will

lose

it.

But

whoever

loses

their

life

for

me

will

save

it.

In

other

words,

there are

things

in life

that we

must

give

up

and

lose

in

order

to

follow

Jesus.

And

it's

of

course

not

that

we

actually

hate

ourselves

but

that

we

choose

to

deny

ourselves

things

in

this

world

and

in

this

life

for

the

sake

of

Christ.

And

it

may

to

others

at

times

look

like

yeah

that

guy

what

is

he

doing

with

his

life

he's

missing

out

on

everything

maybe

we

choose

to

forego

illicit

pleasures

or

refuse

to

participate

in

certain

activities

you know

and the

message

of our

world

is

well

you

gotta

love

yourself

you

gotta

live

for

yourself

but

Jesus

is

saying

the

opposite

here

he

says

to

follow

me

you

have

to

live

for

me

you

gotta

love

me

far

above

yourself

verse

27

Jesus

goes

on

he

says

whoever

does

not

carry

their

cross

and

follow

me

cannot

be

my

disciple

we

heard

Jesus

say

almost

the

same

thing

back

in

chapter

9

whoever

wants

to

be

my

disciple

must

deny

themselves

and

take

up

their

cross

daily

and

follow

me

carrying

the

cross

was

a

familiar

picture

to

the

people

in

Jesus

day

that's

what

the

Romans

made

criminals

do

criminals

who

had

been

sentenced

to

death

for

serious

crimes

they

forced

them

to

carry

a

wooden

cross

to

the

place

where

they

would

be

executed

and

what's

maybe

surprising

about

this

is

that

Jesus

is

using

this

as

the

illustration

the

metaphor

and

it

hasn't

happened

to

him

yet

that's

still

later

in

the

story

and

so

even

before

it

happens

Jesus

he's

saying

I

know

how

it's

going

to

go

for

me

and

he

uses

this

language

to

describe

what's

required

for

those

who

wish

to

follow

him

and

be

his

disciples

to

be

my

disciple

you

must

be

willing

to

do

what

you

will

see

me

do

later

on

you

must

be

willing

to

follow

me

to

your

own

death

to

hate

your

own

life

so

much

that

you

would

give

it

up

for

me

and

so

what

kind

of

followers

is

Jesus

looking

for

what

are

the

requirements

to be

a

disciple

of

him

well

Jesus

paints

a

very

serious

picture

here

he's

looking

for a

love

and a

loyalty

to him

that is

greater

than the

love

and loyalty

we have

to our

own

families

he's

looking

for a

willingness

to lay

down

our

own

lives

and what

we want

for him

and to

follow him

even if it

means that

we're

rejected

and killed

for it

and then

Jesus gives

us two

illustrations

to reinforce

this truth

verse 28

he says

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

or suppose a

king is about

to go to war

against another

king

won't he

first sit

down and

consider

whether he's

able with

10,000 men

to oppose

the one

coming against

him with

20,000

if he's not

able he will

send a delegation

while the other

is still a long

way off and

will ask for

terms of

peace

in the same

way those of

you who do

not give up

everything you

have

cannot be

my disciples

so Jesus

gives us

these two

illustrations

and they

sort of share

a main point

and the main

point is simply

this

consider very

carefully

the cost

of following

me

before you

go any

further

because the

cost

is high

it would be

foolish to

start building

a building

before you

know

whether you

have enough

money to

finish it

somewhere here

in Davidson

I can't

remember the

exact street

maybe you've

seen it

there's an

unfinished

house

and

it's

it's a

concrete

foundation

or basement

and some

walls

and there's

plywood over

top of the

doors and

windows where

they should

be

there's no

roof

there's trees

and all

kinds of

weeds just

growing

out of

control

in this

property

to be

honest I

don't even

know the

story behind

it but

it sure

stands out

like a

sore thumb

a building

that was

started

somebody went

to all the

work of

excavating it

the basement

digging the

hole doing

that foundation

work I'm

not even

really sure

what kind

of walls

those are

but all

that was

put in

for time

and effort

and money

was a

waste

because it's

now just

sitting there

ugly and

useless

it's good

for nothing

what happened

who did

that

didn't they

first sit

down and

count the

cost

I don't

know maybe

somebody's

going to

enlighten me

and tell me

they know

the story

I'd love

to know

Jesus'

second

illustration

is about

kings going

to battle

well we

don't see

many kings

going to

battle with

their soldiers

in our

days but

we might

find some

similarities

to this

sort of

war

illustration

in our

modern

times

as we

look at

the current

conflicts

happening in

the world

who started

them

and did

they really

sit down

and count

the cost

I heard

in a news

piece this

week that

the US

is finally

pulling out

of Iraq

not Iran

but Iraq

and it

makes me

wonder did

they have

any idea

when they

first went

in 2003

to go

after Saddam

Hussein

that they

would still

be there

23 years

later

I'm not

going to

get all

political

and we're

not going

to go

into all

that

but the

point is

this

it's

foolish

to commit

to a

course

of action

that has

serious

consequences

without

first giving

it sober

reflection

and consideration

that's

Jesus point

here

this is

almost the

opposite of

what we

hear sometimes

from preachers

come

follow Jesus

it's easy

it's better

and there is

some real

truth to that

there are

some things

that get

easier

and there

are some

things that

get better

but Jesus

himself also

said it

will be

hard

and being

a disciple

comes at

a great

cost

and what

is that

cost

well Jesus

states it

as plain

as can

be

verse 33

in the

same way

those of

you who

do not

give up

everything

you have

cannot be

my

disciples

that's what

it means

to hate

your own

life

or to

lose your

life for

Jesus

it means

to give

up

everything

you have

in order

to follow

him

now we

need to be

clear here

Jesus is

not saying

that we

have to

do this

before we

become a

follower of

his

this isn't

a price

that we

pay

to sort

of buy

salvation

as if

it could

be bought

salvation

can't be

bought

it's free

it's a

gift

the kingdom

of God

is free

it's a

gift

we enter

by faith

and by

faith alone

and not

by works

that we

do

all we

need to

do

to be

saved

is to

repent

and believe

but

true faith

in Jesus

must also

own him

not just

as savior

but also

as lord

in Jesus

we do not

just get a

sacrifice

offered for

our sins

but also

along with

that a

king

who requires

our

allegiance

when we

first put

our trust

in Jesus

and repent

and believe

we confess

what we

know of

our sins

to him

but from

then on

we learn

more and

more of

what it

is to

follow him

and what

else in

our lives

we must

surrender to

him as

part of

following

him

we get a

new life

he comes

to live

inside

of us

he works

in our

hearts

and our

new aim

becomes

to please

him

and not

just

ourselves

from then

on we

continue to

learn what

it means

to follow

Jesus

and to

obey

his

commands

and we

must make

an effort

from then

on to

bring

every area

of our

life

every

aspect

of our

lives

under

his

command

under

his

lordship

and right

at the

beginning

Jesus

does not

hide

that this

is how

it must

be

for those

who come

to him

he just

states it

plainly

right up

front

he doesn't

push people

or coerce

people to

make the

decision

quickly

without

first counting

the cost

here he is

surrounded by

crowds

large crowds

and he's

saying are

you willing

to go

against your

family

your mother

your father

your dad

your mom

your spouse

your children

if it comes

to that

because that's

what is

required to

be one of

my disciples

are you

willing to

give me

your very

life

and

everything

in it

because that's

what's required

to be one

of my

disciples

this hits

us hard

in a few

places

first of

course we

have to

ask the

question

of whether

or not we

are truly

a disciple

of Jesus

have you

become a

disciple

of Jesus

and if the

answer is no

Jesus wants

you to

consider the

cost

this is

here for

you

he wants

you to

know

that it

will cost

you

everything

no less

than

everything

he's looking

for a total

devotion

a total

surrender

of your

life to

him

and nothing

less

and if

we have

become a

disciple

then

we're

challenged

here

are we

not

are there

things in

my life

that I'm

withholding

from

Jesus

he asks

for all

and so

we must

give all

is there

anything

that you

have been

holding back

from Jesus

that you

need to

offer up

to Jesus

I know

many of

you in

this room

have

surrendered

your life

to him

and are

following

him

you are

a disciple

and I

feel this

burden

this morning

to press

on us

that when

we hear

Jesus

command

to go

and make

disciples

of all

nations

that we

need to

have this

understanding

of a

disciple

in our

minds

the

temptation

here is

to invite

people to

check

Jesus

out

and to

just put

before them

some of

the promises

of blessing

and

leave it

at that

we're

tempted to

hide these

words of

Jesus

about the

cost

we're

tempted to

encourage

people to

make the

quick decision

but does

Jesus sound

in a rush

to get

quick

decisions

I mean

this is

an urgent

matter

we've heard

Jesus

emphasize

the urgency

he said

the time's

coming

when the

door of

salvation

will be

shut

it is

an urgent

matter

time is

of the

essence

but you

must first

sit down

and consider

the cost

and the

cost

is

everything

but we

fear

don't we

that if we

tell that

to our

loved ones

or our

friends

we fear

that it

will push

them away

and so

maybe we

soften that

part

where we

just

leave it

out

could it

be that

this is

why we

have so

many

attending

churches

today

who are

so

minimally

committed

to

Christ

can barely

make it a

priority to

gather with

his people

once a

month

don't really

bother to

do a lot

of the

stuff that

Jesus has

commanded us

to do

we've made

it easier to

be a

Christian

than Jesus

made it

maybe that's

why we have

so many who

are Christian

in name

only

believe in

their hearts

kind of

but don't

really follow

Jesus with

their lives

so I

want to

encourage

you

not only

to tell

people that

you're

praying for

them and

you want

to see

them in

heaven

someday

but

tell them

that to

be a

true

disciple

of

Jesus

it

will

cost

them

everything

Jesus

is

worthy

of our

everything

and they

need to

hear that

you may

have

noticed

that we've

only heard

about the

cost of

being a

disciple

of Jesus

what about

the benefit

amazingly

there's nothing

in this

particular

passage about

the benefit

and I wish we

had another

15 minutes

to go to

some of

those other

passages in

Luke's gospel

and elsewhere

where we read

of the wonderful

benefits and

rewards of

following Jesus

the gospel of

Luke alone

is full of

it we've

talked about

it lots

the kingdom

of God

but as we

bring this to

a close and

as we move

into the

Lord's table

I want to

go a

different

direction

how do we

know that

Jesus is

worthy of

our

everything

he's asking

for our

highest

allegiance

he's asking

to be the

greatest love

in our

life

is he

really

worthy of

that

I think

the place

that we see

that most

clearly

comes later

in the

story

Jesus

finally does

get to

Jerusalem

and there