It's Not Always Easy!
The Tough Side of Discipleship
Luke 14:25-35
We all know about how messed up things are in our world. But do we know that they aren’t much better in the church.
In the article "The American Witness" in the Nov/Dec 1997 issue of The Barna Report, George Barna examined 131 different measures of attitudes, behaviors, values, and beliefs. In that study he concluded that in the aspects of lifestyle where Christians can have their greatest impact on the lives of non-Christians there is no visible difference between the two segments. For example, Christians are just as likely as non-Christians to have been divorced, bought a lottery ticket, watch MTV or have subscribed to cable television. Christians are also just as likely to watch PG-13, R, and even X rated movies as non-Christians.
In his book, The Second Coming of the Church. Barna states:
Most Christians - not those who merely call themselves Christians but those who have confessed their sinfulness and have asked Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior - have fallen prey to the same disease as their worldly counterparts. We think and behave no differently from anyone else (p.7).
This blurring the lines between Christians and non-Christians is a significant reason that many adults have abandoned the church. They figure that if there is no difference between a Christian and a non-Christian there is no reason to go to church. The only difference they see is that they at least get to sleep in a more comfortable location, in their beds.
Our problem, then, is not theological but practical in nature: How can we get Christians, who corporately constitute the Church, to be the light in the darkness by living out core biblical principles.
"Great crowds were following Jesus. He turned around and said to them. "If you want to be my followers, you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me.
"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!'
"Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of ten thousand is strong enough to defeat the twenty thousand soldiers who are marching against him? If he is not able, then while the enemy is still far away, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace. So no one can become my disciple without giving up everything for me.
"Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for fertilizer. It is thrown away. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"
Jesus' popularity is at an all-time high. But are these would be followers disciples? To this mass of mankind meandering after the Messiah, Jesus begins to unravel what it really means to be his disciple. From his teaching to this crowd, we learn four traits that real disciples develop.
1) Real disciples develop complete commitment.
"If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, more than your own life. Otherwise you cannot be my disciple."
Some of your translations actually read "If anyone comes after me and does not hate …" The call to "hate" is not literal but rhetorical. Otherwise, Jesus' command to love one's neighbor as oneself as a summation of what God desires makes no sense. The call to hate simply means to "love less".
This saying needs to be set in the context of its first-century setting. At that time a Jewish person who made a choice for Jesus would alienate his or her family. If someone desired acceptance by family more than a relationship with God, one might never come to Jesus, given the rejection that would inevitably follow. In other words, there could be no casual devotion to Jesus in the first century. A decision for Christ marked a person and automatically came with a cost (Bock, p.1285).
The modern Western phenomenon where a decision for Christ is popular in the larger social community was not true of Jesus' setting, which complicates our understanding of the significance of a decision to associate with Christ. Today one might associate with Christ simply because it is culturally appropriate, rather than for true spiritual reasons.
Such a "decision" was impossible in the first century. If one chose to be associated with Jesus, one received a negative reaction, often from within the home.
We have a few women here in this church who know what this verse is talking about. They have lived it, and some continue to live it. Commitment to Christ has created conflict at home.
And to hate one's life is not a call for self-loathing, to regard oneself as a worm, to toss oneself on the trash heap of the world.
What is at stake in these verses is commitment: Real disciples develop complete commitment, a commitment that is unyielding, unrelenting, and unshakeable. It is commitment that says, "I have a purpose and a goal, and nothing will be allowed to get in the way of it."
I want to learn to play the guitar. I have wanted to for 30 years, since my dad bought me my first guitar for Christmas when I was 7. I never did learn. But when I got my second guitar from my dad 8 years ago, I decided I would learn. So I practices, and practices hard for 3 whole days. Then I put the guitar back in the case, and only took it out to strum a few times since.
Let me be clear: That is not the picture of a disciple's complete commitment that we get from these verses. The picture that we get is of a son or daughter, wife or mother who is thrown out of the house because they dared to accept Christ, or someone who lives with ridicule and belittlement from someone they love because that person despises their faith.
Cast into the athletic arena, it is the commitment that an Olympic athlete exhibits. During the Olympics, almost every personal profile began with the person making a commitment at an age of between 3 and 8 to work toward the Olympics. These athletes had given up their social lives, time with family (often moving away to train), and their friends to commit themselves to training 8 to 16 hours a day in order to compete.
The language of this verse is clear: if you do not make Jesus the first priority, you cannot be his disciple. The point is that only when one forsakes all other allegiances is one totally following Jesus. Otherwise, someone else will have a greater pull on your allegiances than Jesus does. What is demanded of disciples is that in the network of many loyalties in which we all live, the claim of Christ and the gospel not only takes precedence but, in fact, redefines the others.
Jim and Cora Underhill are celebrating their 50th Anniversary today. I think that is an example of commitment don’t you.
1) Jim has it always been easy being married to Cora?
2) Cora has it always been easy being married to Jim?
3) What difference has it made that you to are committed to one another and to your relationship with Christ?
Someone is reported to have asked a concert violinist in New York’s Carnegie Hall how she became so skilled. She said that it was by “planned neglect”. She planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal.
This complete commitment is nothing less than our pledge of allegiance to Christ, committing that nothing will get in the way of our following Him. Enthusiasm that placed Jesus before all other commitments cools before the question, "Are you one of his disciples?" and suddenly those other commitments to job and station and family beg again to come first.
Personal allegiance >>> What relationships, possessions, or positions threaten to remove Christ from the place of first importance in your life?
As He declares what real discipleship means, Jesus has a second area of concern: one must be able to bear one's own cross. Real disciples develop determined dedication.
2) Real disciples develop determined dedication.
"And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me. But don't begin until you count the cost."
Then using a rhetorical question, Jesus presents the first of two pictures to illustrate what discipleship should involve: assessing the cost of building a tower before beginning construction.
The tower Jesus is talking about is a private tower for a house. Such towers could become quite elaborate and might encompass a barn where produce and tools were located. The reference to the foundation suggests a substantial structure.
Before building, the wise person assesses the expense. The wise decision to build involves reflection, not reaction. Sitting and calculating the cost means a reasoned assessment.
There is a commercial that has run on TV recently that has a man sitting in the chair at a tatoo parlor expressing his love to Donna by getting her name tatooed on his arm. Then he asks once more how much it will cost - $50.00. He pulls out his cash, and says< "Oh, I only have $41." Cut to the couple on the sidewalk, Donna storming off, with the guy yelling after her, "I'll get it fixed." Zoom into the tatoo which reads, "I love Don!", as you hear him mutter "Funny!"
So, Jesus suggests, should it be with discipleship: Does this cost more than I am determined to pay? The enthusiasm for beginning is there, but am I willing to part with the resources to carry through to completion?
In the undisciplined idealism of the 1960's many dreams soured and noble enterprises fell short of action. But one practice (among many) was begun that for the church seemed appropriate and healthy. In many churches, when persons presented themselves for membership the question was asked, "Do you know what you are doing? Do you realize what this means?" A period of instruction followed, not solely on matters of doctrine but of the costs of discipleship, after which the persons, having counted the costs, were given the opportunity to say yes or no.
The procedure recognized the difficulty of being a Christian in a culture that assumed that everyone was in a situation where, as Luke says, "there was a great multitude." Regrettably, in churches with declining memberships and budgets, many feel that recitals of cost or anything else possibly discouraging to prospective members should be delayed, if not eliminated altogether.
In his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,
The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death - we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time - death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call … In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and there fore Jesus Christ and his call are necessarily our death as well as our life (p.99).
House building >>> What empty shells of incomplete dedication have you constructed?
Jesus' audience was knew what it meant to carry your cross. They had witnessed those subjected to this barbarous form of Roman execution, and they knew that those being executed had to carry their own crosses to the site of the execution. This showed his submission to Rome and warned observers that they had better submit, too.
Jesus spoke this teaching to get the crowds to think through their enthusiasm for him. He encouraged those who were superficial either to go deeper or to turn back. Following takes determination - perhaps even to the point of death.
3) Real disciples develop successful sacrifice.
Jesus suggests another example of the importance of examining a situation and reflecting before acting. It teaches us real disciples develop successful sacrifice.
"So no one can become my disciple without giving up everything for me."
Look at the parable. The context has changed. No longer are you the one holding the cards. You have your back against the wall, and its time to fight or surrender.
The one who comes to Jesus is to realize that God's standard is that real disciples develop successful sacrifice. Jesus is not a minimalist when it comes to sacrifice. It is not how little one can give that is the question, but how much God deserves.
Author John White has said,
Living as we do in an age of tolerance and political freedom, we forget the risks many Christians have run in other times and places. Today in Cuba, China, and parts of the Muslim world, faithfulness to Christ is at great sacrifice. To us the plight of our brothers and sisters may seem remote. We should remember that the degree of tolerance and freedom we know are unparalleled in world history. Yet already grave signs are apparent.
The crucifixion of Jesus set in motion a chain reaction of harassment, imprisonment and martyrdom for his followers that has continued to this day. In most parts of the world for most of the past 2000 years followers of Christ have risked imprisonment and death. At times Christians have gone to their deaths by thousands, and have done so singing the praises of the Lamb upon the throne.
It would be foolish of us to assume that our present luxurious freedom will continue indefinitely. There are signs that the conditions necessary for tolerance and freedom are already being eroded. Democracy is a fragile flower of late bloom liable to be withered by scorching winds of impatient hate (The Cost of Commitment).
It is therefore important that we all ask ourselves: Am I willing to risk imprisonment and death for Christ? Where would you stand if you had to face what Christians faced in Nazi Germany in World War 2 … or more recently in China and Cuba? The invitation is subtle. No one is asked to renounce Christ - just to put him in his proper place, second to People and State.
Back in the days of the Great Depression a Missouri man named John Griffith was the controller of a great railroad drawbridge across the Mississippi River. One day in the summer of 1937 he decided to take his eight-year-old son, Greg, with him to work. At noon, John Griffith put the bridge up to allow ships to pass and sat on the observation deck with his son to eat lunch. Time passed quickly. Suddenly he was startled by the shrieking of a train whistle in the distance. He quickly looked at his watch and noticed it was 1:07 – the Memphis Express, with 400 passengers on board, was roaring toward the railroad bridge! He leaped from the observation deck and ran back to the control tower. Just before throwing the master lever he glanced down for any ships below. There a sight caught his eye that caused his heart to leap poundingly into his throat. Greg had slipped from the observation deck and had fallen into the massive gears that operate the bridge. His left leg was caught in the cogs of the two main gears! Desperately John’s mind whirled to devise a rescue plan. But as soon as he thought of a possibility he knew there was no way it could be done.
Again, with alarming closeness, the train whistle shrieked in the air. He could hear the clicking of the locomotive wheels over the tracks. That was his son down there – yet there were 400 passengers on the train. John knew what he had to do, so he buried his head in his left arm and pushed the master switch forward. That great massive bridge lowered into place just as the Memphis Express began to roar across the river. When John Griffith lifted his head with his face smeared with tears, he looked into the passing windows of the train. There were businessmen casually reading their afternoon papers, finely dressed ladies in the dining car sipping coffee, and children pushing long spoons into their dishes of ice cream. No one looked at the control house, and no one looked at the great gearbox. With wrenching agony, John Griffith cried out at the steel train” II sacrificed my son for you people! Don’t you care?” The train rushed by, but nobody heard the father’s words.
John Griffith’s cry echoes the cry of God toward some of his children. “I sacrificed my Son for you! Don’t you care?”
The question is, "Do you, in fact, put Christ first no matter what you have to surrender?" Many professing believers are not willing to accept this sacrifice.
In Romans 12, Paul picks up this theme: "And so, dear Christian friends, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?"
Peace Negotiations >>> What parts of your life have you attempted to not surrender in negotiations to Christ, or have attempted to hide for a later revolution?
4) Real disciples develop hearty holiness.
"Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for fertilizer. It is thrown away."
Salt functions as seasoning, fertilizer, or preservative. While salt is salty, it is good because it has a valuable function.
In the religious life of the Jew, salt was a preservative. It signified God's holiness and the holiness of his people. That picture is probably the best for this context. Jesus is saying that Christians become preserving elements within society. Their character and moral commitments guard against a cultural slide into oblivion.
But once salt has shown itself to be of no value, it is worthless.
How does such a situation arise? In the ancient world, a couple of settings are possible. Bakers covered the floor of their ovens with salt to give a catalytic effect on the burning fuel. After a time, the effect wore off and the salt was thrown away. Also, most salt in the region came from the evaporated pools around the Dead Sea and was mixed with gypsum and other impurities. When moisture hit the salt, it evaporated and left behind these impurities (Bock, p. 1290-91).
Darrell Bock suggest, "The modern idiom would be 'running out of gas.' 'Running out of gas' as a disciple is always the result of not having Jesus be primary" (p. 1291).
Under pressures both open and subtle, pressures all of us know, salt does not decide to become pepper; it just gradually loses its savor. The process can be gradual, in fact, that non one really notices.
The "saltless" disciple, those who have failed to be a preserving influence on society, are no longer used by God. Do you hear something of the warning from George Barna at the beginning of the message?
Many trees appear to be healthy when we see them in summer. But, in the winter, after their leaves have all fallen off, we sometimes find that hidden underneath the lush green of the summer foliage was a parasitic plant called mistletoe, which had been slowly sucking way some of the tree’s vitality.
We as Christians sometimes have hidden sins, which – like the mistletoe – slowly such away our spiritual vitality. Although not always evident in times of outward spiritual health and fruitfulness, we must always examine ourselves for those small, often unseen, parasites of sinful habits that will sap our vitality. And we must also remember that just because they are not apparent now does not mean that in another season of our life God will not reveal them for all to see.
The Life Application Bible Notes on this text read,
Many Christians blend into the world and avoid the cost of standing up for Christ. But Jesus says if Christians lose their distinctive saltiness, they become worthless. Just as salt flavors and preserves food, we are to preserve the good in the world and bring new flavor to life. But if a Christian fails to be "salty," he or shoe fails to represent Christ in the world (p. 1585).
Failure to pursue discipleship can indicate that faith is not really present, even though it was thought to be, or spiritual rebellion. In either case, the situation displeases God.
Salt Shaker >>> What keeps you from living a life with the greatest level of spiritual influence possible? How salty are you?
Conclusion:
Luke 14:25-35 makes clear that discipleship is demanding. Jesus asks both the disciple and the potential disciple to consider the cost of following him. It is better to assess the risk, complete the task, and remain useful to God. Associating with Jesus in not an easy affair. Commitments come with the territory. In fact, Jesus is to come ahead of all one's possessions, family and soul. It is embarrassing and fatal to enter into discipleship and not complete the task. Higher commitments to other things make completing the task impossible and render the disciple useless to God.
Luke 18 contains the story of the Rich Young Man, who came to Jesus to find out how he may obtain eternal life. He was religious enough. He had been a fine moral example. But Jesus says to him, “You lack one thing. Go and sell everything that you have and give the money to poor and come and follow me.” You may know that the men left Jesus brokenhearted because he wasn’t willing to give up the one thing that stood in the way of Jesus being in first place.
The setting of these paragraphs occur again in scripture. In John 6, we see Jesus surrounded by a hungry crowd. But when they hear about the hard side of following Christ, John tells us,
At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, "Are you going to leave, too?" Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God (6:66-69).
What are you going to do with Jesus? What level of commitment and dedication are you willing to exhibit? Are you willing to sacrifice to accept his sacrifice?
