Count the Cost

Its not Easy

The first man comes to Jesus and tells him that he will follow him wherever he goes. Jesus did not reject this man, but told him to consider the cost of following Jesus. Jesus said that he had no earthly security. He did not have a roof over his head or a bed to lay in. He was totally dependent on the kindheartedness of others to provide for Him. There would be times that He did have a roof over his head, bed to sleep in and food to eat. There would be other times that He didn’t. Following Jesus also meant that it would require the cross. Jesus purpose was to go to the cross and not stay with the disciples for the rest of their lives.

This man seems to be making an emotional decision based on what he has seen and heard Jesus do. He probably thought that Jesus would make life easy for him, if he followed Him. Jesus was telling the man that it would not be easy following Jesus. If He followed Jesus so that, Jesus would give him what he wanted, then he was not considering the cost.

Jesus wants the same for us. He does not want shallow followers that will fall away when following Jesus becomes difficult. Jesus wants people that will follow him no matter the cost.

Coleman puts it this way, “This required absolute obedience to the Master’s will, even as it meant complete abandonment of their own.”

The mission of Christ is too important to have half-hearted followers. The ramifications of Christ’s mission are not temporal but eternal. This is why Jesus demands complete obedience to His commands.

Following Jesus is not about what He does for us rather, it is what we do for Him. Many Christians focus more on what they expect Jesus to do for them rather than following him. When they don’t get what they think they should have then they stop following Jesus. Jesus tells us the cost.

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

The first one I have difficulty with. Denying self means that you surrender your will to the will of the Father. This is difficult because by in our sin nature we are selfish. We want what we want and we want it now! Jesus says to deny yourself. get rid of your selfishness and surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit.

Take up your cross. What are you willing to sacrifice for. Jesus calling was to go to the cross and pay the penalty for all mankind’s sin. We are all called to sacrifice for someone. What is your cross? Are you willing to carry it?

Follow Jesus. This means to obey His commands. shows many of His commands.

Don’t Delay in Following the Lord’s Calling

The second man, Jesus called for him to follow. The man told Jesus that he had to go bury his father. Most likely the man’s father was not dead. It was Jewish custom for a person to be buried the same day they died. It was more likely that this guy wanted to wait until it was more convenient to follow Jesus before he was willing. Jesus knew that time was of the essence. There were people that needed to hear the gospel and this man was prioritizing his convenience over the calling.

This is why Jesus said what seems to be insensitive. Let the dead bury their own dead. It was not necessary for him to bury his father. There are others who could have taken care of that. He was called to follow Jesus. I find it interesting that this guy may have joined the dead to bury his father. He refused to follow Jesus for the sake of his father. Jesus calls us to follow him at all costs. Tell story of why Ashwin would not follow Jesus. Because his family would disown him.

Conditional Following

The third guy was willing to follow Jesus on his terms. He wanted to say good by to his family. Jesus told him that you should not look back, but follow. Jesus knew that if this man went back to his family, they would persuade him to stay and not follow Jesus. Jesus wanted this man to follow him for kingdom purposes. If this man went back to his family, he would have stayed for earthly purposes.

When God calls us to follow him, He is calling us into kingdom purposes. We must make a choice. Will we look back and choose the earthly things or will we look ahead for the kingdom purposes.