Consider the cost

Jesus was a radical

Jesus was a radical and call all men to repent (Lk13:3)

Jesus was a radical who preached priority of doing good, even on the Sabbath (Lk13:10-13; 14:1-5)

Jesus was a radical

In a Roman occupied world, Roman controlled world. then within the Jewish society with its own leadership and culture of (Pharisees, Sadducee, etc.)

In a society that was still looking for the Messiah, Jesus came and taught as one having authority, and challenged the status quo.

Now it is true that discipleship was a thing then. It called for following a teacher and the teachings of the teacher. Jesus call to discipleship was radical and we will see that some in our passage this morning.

(Transition) In our setting we see large crowds (14:25) following, some will be curious onlookers, others seekers, and others would be potential disciples, true followers. Jesus will use harsh language in the passage to emphasize the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. He stresses counting the cost of following Him, and also the importance of staying salty. So more to follow on all of that as we go this morning.

Counting the cost, the passage

Luke 14:25–26 NASB95

25 Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 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.

Luke 14:27–28 NASB95

27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough:

Luke 14:29–30 NASB95

29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Luke 14:31–32 NASB95

31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

Luke 14:33–34 NASB95

33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?

Luke 14:35 NASB95

35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Anything stick out to you in this passage?

What radical thing does Jesus call for anyone who comes to Him to do (v.26)?

Hate! Father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even own life

We see another does not (v.27); what thing does Jesus say here?

He who does not carry his own cross . . .

in (v.28) Jesus calls for one to sit down and calculate the cost, in (v.29) He gives reason why, what is the reason?

Not able to finish it.

Others will ridicule him

He gives another analogy (v.31), what is that?

A king considering if strong enough before going into battle

If not strong enough will seek peace with the others and not go into battle (v.32-33).

One more analogy, salt (v.34); what does He say about useless salt (v.35)?

It is thrown out.

Then he does call for them who has ear to let him hear, now subjectively what does Jesus mean by that?

Prioritize Jesus

Luke 14:25–27 NASB95

25 Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 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. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Not only were crowds coming to Jesus, they going with Jesus, travelling with Him. He turns to them to teach.

Jesus tells us in these verses who cannot be His disciple.

Who is that again?

Coming to Jesus is accepting the invitation (Lk14:16-24); you receive it, you come on it’s terms.

What is the terms of the invitation according to these verses?

True disciples come to Jesus without reservation, not holding anything back. Jesus needs to be priority in your life.

“This was an audacious demand. None of the prophets or apostles asked for such personal commitment and devotion. If Jesus was not and is not God, this would be idolatry and probably madness.” (Clarke)

Spurgeon said: “Repeatedly in the Bible we see that Jesus founded a way of love, not hate. Yet Jesus used the strong word hate to show how great the difference must be between our allegiance to Jesus and our allegiance to everyone and everything else.”

Guzik: “The greatest danger of idolatry comes not from what is bad, but from what is good — such as love in family relationships. The greatest threat to the best often comes from the second best.”

Next, you must bear, carry your own cross or you cannot be His disciple.

Now carrying a cross to them in their culture meant something, it meant death. One would bear his cross to death. There was no coming back from it.

Interesting fact: When the Roman general, Varus, had broken the revolt of Judas in Galilee (4. B.C.), he crucified two thousand Jews, and placed the crosses by the wayside along the roads of Galilee. (quoted by Barclay)

They did not need an explanation of what it meant, they knew it was a thing of as one commentator put it “unrelenting instrument of torture, death, and humiliation.”

We do need to carry our own cross, to our own spiritual death to be a disciple, follower of Jesus. We must follow Him in the likeness of his death. Jesus made it perfectly clear only cross bearers could be His disciples. It is possible to be a believer in Jesus but not a disciple, to be near the kingdom but not in the kingdom.

Ponder the cost

Luke 14:28–30 NASB95

28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

These verses point to the fact that man needs to ponder, take into account the cost of being a disciple.

When you think about the cost of being a disciple, what comes to mind?

Jesus is building His kingdom, and the cost needs to be considered. Just like any other building project it may be more than you think, you anticipate, you plan.

Now, we do need to be careful when we are sharing the gospel to avoid extremes

That you have to get right to get Jesus. For that is not true is it?

And that once you have Him nothing else needs to change, for that is not true either is it? As a disciple of Jesus we need to live surrendered, carrying our cross daily following Him.

Considering the cost is also considering the cost of rejecting the invitation by Jesus. It does cost something to be a disciple, but it costs more in rejecting the invitation to be a disciple.

Finally to this there is what others may see, you start something and did not fully count the cost and were not able to finish it. Being a disciple of Jesus is more than just salvation, for that is the starting point, not the finishing place. We want to bring glory to His name by how we live, how He transforms our lives by the renewing of our minds, and by the power of His Spirit within us.

Preparing for the journey

Luke 14:31–33 NASB95

31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

You are on a mission from God, as a disciple, or wanting to be a disciple, it is a lifetime journey, it is a battle, you must consider and prepare for it.

There are spiritual battles that we face as a disciple, we would be naive to think there are not, scripture clearly tells us there are.

The king if he knows his strength and weakness will make terms of peace if cannot do it on his own.

Can you save yourself? Can you make peace with God on your own, by your merits? Or do you need to come in peace, knowing He gives you the terms of peace?

A disciple of Jesus must be wiling to give up all his own possessions. The things you may trust and rely on, so that you are fully reliant on Jesus.

To forsake all uses the Greek term “to say goodbye to.” To say goodbye to our things, our efforts and fully trust and rely on Jesus.

Are we spiritually prepared, are we spiritually surrendered to Jesus, what does that look like in your life?

Preserve your saltiness

Luke 14:34–35 NASB95

34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

What is the role of salt?

To preserve

To add flavor

As a disciple of Jesus we need to look inward and see am I continuing to help preserve life and the life of others? Am I adding flavor of a Christian life in others lives?

Salt is only useful when it has the nature of salt; when it stays salty. When it does not it is useless.

“A Christian is only useful when he or she has the nature of Christ.” (Enduring Word).

This is an admonishment, a warning that we can loose our saltiness and be ineffective for the kingdom.

We call ourselves “Simply Christians.” As such we need to stay salty so we can make an impact, a positive impact for Jesus.

(Prayer) (Exit)