The Journey of Sacrifice

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14:27–33 CSB

27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

In the first verse Christ is very clear about what He is about to say, “if you don’t bear your own cross, then you can’t follow me!!!” The other two examples that He gives are of a knowing the cost and if you have the means. We see the cost to build a strong foundation, by making sure you have the necessary funds to do so. Next, we see the example of a king preparing for war and making sure that his men are ready and prepared, if not then he will have to ask for peace instead of war. Both of those examples are ways to think about the kind of commitment that you make before Christ and taking up ones cross. Before I had began this message, we saw a clip from the movie “A Case for Christ” coming from a medical doctor the seriousness of what Christ endured leading up to being placed on the cross. Just to give all of us an idea of what it mean to bear ones cross. Which leads us into our first point.

The Cross as a Symbol of Love

John 15:13 CSB

13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

There are some, if not most of us, who have family and friends that we would give up our lives to protect.