A Deeper Understanding: The Call of Discipleship

INTRODUCTION:

Over the next three weeks we are going to look at some passages of scripture that seem to be hard to translate, read, or even understand.

I trust and hope that afterwards you walk away with a deeper understanding of God’s word.

This is the Title of this 3 Part Series: A Deeper Understanding.

Today we are going to look a passage out of the book of Luke.

Title of this Sermon is ..... The Call of Discipleship

I remember wanting to play for the North Marion Huskies Football team.

They had just won the State Championship in 1980 and I was entering into my freshman year.

I knew what was required to play.

Spring Conditioning (Weightlifting)

Summer workouts (Hay Field) (More Weightlifting)

2 a days starting in August

(5 mile run at the end of practice)

I sacrificed two other sports (Basketball and Baseball) because I wanted to play for and win a State Championship.

I had made the decision that I was going to sacrifice, give up, abandon, things in my life that would hinder my goal of winning a Championship.

I will be honest with you ...... I didn’t know everything that was going to be asked of me.

But as the season went, I was either going to be told or I was going to figure it out “What was expected.”

How you were to conduct yourself on and off the field.

You represented the NMHS Football program and there was high expectations.

BODY:

When I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior I decided then that I wanted to be a disciple!

I wanted to be play for Team Jesus.

I wanted to be successful in life.

I wanted to win a Championship (“Well done my good and faithful servant.” “Eternity with Christ”)

But not only did I want to achieve this I wanted to bring others along with me.

I wanted my wife to be part of this team ..... my kids to be part of this team ...... my grandkids to be part of this team ..... my family members, my friends, and AS THE SEASON went on I wanted complete strangers to be part of this team.

This life changing encounter I had with this one name JESUS, I wanted others to experience it as well.

I wasn’t sure what all it was going to entail but I figured I would be told or I would figured it out “what was expected.”

How I was to conduct myself in public and behind closed doors as a representative of Jesus.

I came to an understanding that I was going to be a disciple of His, I would be a representing the one true God and He had expectations.

3 of these expectations are revealed in Luke 14:25-33

If you are able and willing let us stand for the reading of God’s Word.

“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Looking at this pericope we find Jesus has turned his attention to the people.

He is very specific in what he was about to say.

This was not just to His disciples but to all who desired to follow Him.

For some, this passage is a very difficult passage to understand.

It’s hard to picture Jesus telling someone “TO HATE.”

He tell this entire crowd, Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

Reading this passage one might conclude that the cost of being a disciple of Jesus is to HATE your family?

Lets look into this a little deeper.

There is no getting around the fact that Jesus points out “FAMILY.”

Family is very significant in this culture.

The burden and responsibility to take care of and protect one another falls on the family members.

If you didn’t do this you were looked down upon by the community.

Jesus even stresses the idea of a person’s own life is to be hated.

Jesus states that if you “do not hate” your family members you cannot be His disciple.

Okay, now can you see why some would be so confused by this passage?

I think many of us would say, “Jesus doesn’t endorse hatred.”

As a matter of fact there are verses in the bible that counter the thought of hating family members or friends:

Matt. 5:21-22 ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Honor your father and mother ...... Luke 18:20 “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ””

To the Jews in the first century, to bury one’s parents was the way to obey God’s commandment: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exod. 20:12).

The Jews therefore thought this duty was more important than all other religious duties.

Love your wives ...... Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”

Love your neighbors ..... Romans 13:9 “For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””

So what is being stated here?

First off you have to understand the word used here for “HATE.”

“Miseo” - This word has 3 different meanings ....

One meaning is exactly what we mean when we use the word hate today.

Matt 5:43 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”

Another meaning is “to love less.”

John 12:25 “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

The third meaning is “not chosen.”

The one that Jesus is using is the idea of being LOVED LESS.

One of the commentators stated it like this, “the hated one is the one loved less.”

Think of it like this, “I love my dog less than I love my wife.”

In first century time they would have stated that “When it comes to my wife, I hate my dog.”

Our best theological conclusion would be to say: Jesus taught that unless we love our mothers and fathers, our wives and children, our brothers and sisters and even our own selves less than we love him, we cannot be his disciples.

So, its not that we are to “HATE” but that we are to love someone more.

Who is this person we are to love more? JESUS!

Love Jesus more than your family!

Love Jesus more than your spouse!

Even Love Jesus more than yourself!

It is a very emphatic way of saying that our loyalty to Jesus is more important than our loyalty to our family.

In other words, the commandment to follow Jesus was more important than all other commandments.

We find this explained with a little more of acceptable language in Matthew 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

So the bottom line is that one must love others less than they love Jesus!

This is the call of a disciple.

This is one of the things “expected” to be part of the team.

In the very next verse we find another expectation when it comes to being a disciple of Jesus.

Luke 14:27 “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

What does it mean to “bear?”

Matthew 10:38 “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

This means complete and continuous submission to the will of God.

The Cross means death to self, in order that one may be fully alive to Christ.

One commentator stated it like this .... “Jesus is not talking about a general participation in suffering, or in bearing the problems and anxieties of daily experience. Instead he is making a clear reference to martyrdom. Unless people were prepared to become martyrs they couldn’t be his disciples.”

This is the second thing that Jesus states that is “expected” in order to be part of the team.

Then we jump all the way down to Luke 14:33 “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

What does the word “renounce” mean?

The english definition for this word is “Formally declare one’s abandonment of a claim, right, or possession.”

It could mean to “abandon something or someone.”

The Amplified bibles states it as such, “33 So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple.

The NIV states it like this, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”

So lets recap ......

CONCLUSION:

Jesus states that if those who claim to be His followers (Disciples) this is whats expected ......

Love Him above everything else (Material as well as immaterial things).

Complete and continuous submission to His will.

Die to self and live in Christ.

Renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to all that one has.

Let me point out something to us this morning ......

When we talk about Discipleship we are not talking SPECIFICALLY about salvation.

Salvation is the beginning point of BECOMING a disciple.

It doesn’t necessarily make you a disciple, it just puts you in the starting gate to go forth and become a disciple of Jesus.

Look at the disciples ...... The were already classified as SAVED by their faith in the act of sacrifice.

When Jesus called them to come follow Him they were already saved.

Not Jesus starts them in the discipleship program.

Accepting Christ as your lord and savior doesn’t make you an instant disciple.

It makes you an accepted teammate for TEAM JESUS.

We now are entering into Spring training .... Summer program (Weight lifting) ...... 2 a day practices (5 Mile runs)

Jesus is not revealing what is expected to be a part of the team.

Love Him more than anyone or anything else

Die to your self and come live in Him.

Give up everything and put your faith in Him.

If you can’t do this ..... you cannot be a part of His team.

He states it very clear, “(you) cannot be my disciple.”