THE COST OF BEING JESUS’ DISCIPLE

Luke 14:25–35

Key Verse: 14:27

“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

Happy New Year! Happy Sunday! How has your 2024 been so far? Are you still holding on to your New Year Key Verse, and struggling to live by it? Are you witnessing the breath and the work of the Holy Spirit in your daily life? May God be with you and bless you, wherever you are, in your relationship with Jesus and your journey of faith in God this year. Amen. May God bless your decision of faith to depend your life on his Words. From the previous passage, Jesus taught us about God’s compassionate heart for us sinners. God desires everyone in this world to enter the presence of God and enjoy Him fully in His kingdom. Let us pray that we may understand God’s heart and come to his banquet. Not only enjoy it for ourselves but let us go out to bring those who need Jesus with compassion and persistence. Amen

Are you a disciple of Jesus? You might say with ease, “Yes, of course I am!” But now that you read and studied this passage, let me ask you again, “Are you a disciple of Jesus?” Amen! May God challenge us and encourage us to choose to follow Jesus.

In today’s passage, the setting has changed. Jesus, surrounded by a great multitude, turns to address the crowds. Instead of enjoying his popularity, he goes on to tell them the honest and tough reality of discipleship. His words are not designed to gather more followers but to sift/filter the genuine ones out of the superficial crowd. With multiple remarks and illustrations, Jesus tells us that the journey of his discipleship is not a casual stroll. Instead, it’s a challenging journey that demands our utmost commitment and priority. So Jesus urges us to count the cost carefully before committing to take this challenging yet transformative journey. Jesus desires all of us to be his disciples who would follow him to the end and experience the true victory and glory of his kingdom. Amen. May God be with us to consider carefully and decide to follow Jesus, learn from him, and spread his words and influence wherever we may go. Amen.

First, Give your priority and commitment (25-26)

Verse 25a says, “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus…” In Luke’s Gospel, great crowds were coming to hear Jesus speak and be healed of their sicknesses (5:15; cf. 6:17; 8:4; 9:37; 12:1). They marveled at all the glorious things he was doing (11:14; 13:17). In all his teaching and healings, Jesus was working for the people, and they loved to be around Jesus. They must have been really enjoying the environment that Jesus created, which was full of grace, mercy, and joy. They were enjoying Jesus who was always so kind and compassionate.

But suddenly he gets straightforward with them. Read verses 25b–26. “and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.’” Jesus is saying that to truly follow him involves making a radical commitment like this. Why? Partly it’s due to the context of that time. Anyone who committed to following Christ would most likely be persecuted by the Jewish leadership (11:49; 21:12). Because the religious authorities considered Jesus unorthodox, people who followed him could also be kicked out of the synagogues. Choosing to follow Jesus was like choosing to go against the flow.

Were you not surprised to hear the term “hate” from Jesus? How could Jesus, the God of love, say that? It was just in chapter 6, that Jesus taught us to “love (even) our enemies.” So why does he now say to “hate” those who are closest to us? The term “hate” here is a strong Semitic expression that emphasizes priority rather than talking about literal hatred. Again, it is to emphasize the priority by comparison. It’s not a call to despise our family members but to recognize that our loyalty to Jesus should be that much supreme. Jesus isn’t telling us to become insensitive or to abandon all our human feelings. He himself cared for his mother and disciples from the cross (John 19:25–27). But he is telling us to love him the most. Jesus, in Matthew 10:37, said, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Do we really love Jesus the most that, in comparison, it looks like we hate the ones we actually love?

Why is he challenging us so strongly? It is out of love. How’s that? From the beginning, Jesus was focusing on the good news of the kingdom of God with his disciples (4:43). He told his disciples that theirs “is the kingdom of God” (6:20). He said only they could know “the secrets of the kingdom of God” (8:10). Why? It was because they were the ones with the “all-in” commitment to him. The twelve left everything to follow Jesus (5:11,28). They centered their lives around him. They put him first in their practical lives. Only then, could they really start hearing what he was saying and start learning from him. If we are not fully committed to Jesus, we will not learn from him. Jesus is still calling us not to casually join a popular movement at our comfort and convenience, but to respond to the good news of the kingdom of God with an “all-in” commitment, holding nothing back. When we do so, our spiritual eyes can begin to open. This challenge is Jesus’ love for us because it enables us to hope and to receive the kingdom of God.

He adds in verse 26b, “…yes, even their own life.” The underlying cause of failing to follow him is also self-love that we care and love ourselves more than God. Jesus said in Luke 9:24, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” If we’re mainly concerned with ourselves, our fulfillment, enjoyment, and desire, we can’t follow Jesus first and love him most. When Jesus was arrested, his first disciples all fled due to this problem of self-love. Even Peter denied Jesus three times in order to spare his life (Mk14:66). Paul also struggled with this but he resolved to confess, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21)

My number one prayer topic for the New Year is that there will be less of me and more of Jesus revealed in my life. Looking back last year, I gave the majority of my heart, time, and money for my and my family’s pleasure and satisfaction while I gave Jesus only my leftovers. And I am praying to do more for Jesus’ sake. Based on Proverbs 3:5-6, I pray to trust in the Lord with all my heart, and not depend on my own understanding. Instead, I want to acknowledge Jesus in all things believing that he will make my paths straight and reveal his glory. Please pray for me to make Jesus my commitment and my priority. I pray for you to make Jesus your commitment and priority.

Second, Carry your cross and follow me (27).

Let us read verse 27. “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” In Jesus’ time, to carry one’s cross had a precise literal meaning. Those who were sentenced to death by Roman law were forced to carry a cross through the city to publicly acknowledge that the Roman Empire was right in its judgment, and the criminal deserved to be punished. It was intended to make an example of the criminal and to uphold the Roman rule. But in Jesus’ case, there was no charge against him because he never sinned. Instead, he took our places and publicly bore the shame and disgrace that we deserve in his body and died for our sins. This is the way of salvation God designed and carried out. Only Jesus could carry the cross of salvation for us. For us to carry our cross means to accept what Jesus has done for us and to testify publicly that he is our Lord and Savior. Jesus said, “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God” (Lk 12:8). Since Jesus’ time, countless devoted Christians have publicly testified that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. For many, this testimony was given despite being socially outcast and even martyred. To testify in this way requires courage and commitment and a decision to receive and endure persecution, even to give one’s life.

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” He never said we would be able to cruise all the way to heaven. Jesus warned us that there would be struggles, agony, and hardship while following Jesus. But he also promised this “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done (27).” Jesus will come back and reward each of his faithful disciples and take them to the kingdom of God.

What is your cross? Today, it’s popular even in some churches to emphasize grace and grace only; no cross, no struggle, even no repentance. But inevitably, when we follow Jesus, we must take up our cross. We have cross as student disciples, as layman disciples, as fulltime disciple, and even has parents and children. Sometimes, it is not easy that even Paul said, “I face death every day” or “I die every day”. Let us pray that God may help us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Amen!

I thank God for pouring out his blessings upon our family in the past year, especially with the birth of our 4th child, Timothy Soon Lee. We are excited to share some food with all of you to celebrate his 100 days after today’s service. Give thanks and praise to God for his providence. But more importantly, starting from the New Year, M. Mary and I started praying that we may dedicate our life and time to go out to the campus to bring the gospel to the students of Rutgers. Since it has been a long time since we went out to campus, carrying our cross of mission, it may take us a bit of extra prayer and courage. But please pray for our family to have a clear priority as disciples of Jesus, and make the time and effort to testify to Jesus. Amen. Let us carry our crosses by testifying about him publicly on our campuses, workplaces, and everywhere we go. Amen.

Third, Count the cost and give up everything (28-33).

To help us make such a radical life decision, Jesus goes on to give us two illustrations, found exclusively in Luke’s Gospel. The first is of a person attempting to build a tower (28–30), perhaps a watchtower that is used for surveillance and security of the city. But Imagine this builder who starts constructing a tower without calculating the cost. Jesus highlights the potential ridicule this builder might face when he is unable to finish what he started. Jesus witnessed on so many occasions that people from the large crowd started following him, but when they realized the cost and the reality, they dropped out and disappeared. Jesus doesn’t want us to just make an emotional and impulsive decision, but a fully thought-out and radical one. The second illustration is of a king going out to war (31–32). What should the king do before going out to war? He should sit down and consider the strength of his army. Jesus underscores the importance of strategic thinking and calculated decision-making. Following Jesus is like going on a war. Would you take a war lightly? No, because It is literally a life-and-death matter. Following Jesus is not a spontaneous decision based on emotion or temper. It is rather a deliberate and thoughtful commitment. Jesus is not trying to scare us away, but we must thoroughly assess of the cost, and recognize that the journey might involve challenges, hardships, and sacrifices.

Read verse 33. “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” “Therefore” means it’s Jesus’ conclusion. The original language in verse 33, “give up,” means “to say goodbye to”. That’s exactly what it means, “to say goodbye to”. This surrender is not in the sense of socialism. Discipleship requires a total surrender of our possessions, ambitions, and priorities. The call to give up all possessions is Jesus’ invitation to recognize God’s ownership of everything. God is the owner of all things and we are the stewards to take care of the blessings that He imparts us. What is something that you are struggling to renounce, to say goodbye to? Is it your money, possessions, children, time, love for the world, and even your ambition and desire for success? Jesus challenges us to surrender these if we want to be his disciples. Do you still want to follow Jesus?

In verses 34–35, Jesus uses the analogy of salt losing its flavor, the saltiness. Salt has one simple characteristic; it is salty. And because of its unique saltiness, it can give flavor to tasteless food and preserve food for a long time. It even has cleansing agents in it. But salt is only useful when it has its natural saltiness. It is no longer useful when it loses the saltiness/flavor and preservative value. It is neither fit for the soil nor the manure pile; it is thrown out. Similarly, disciples who lose their passion, zeal, commitment, and distinctive qualities of Jesus such as mercy and love can become useful for nothing. Jesus wants us to remain as salty disciples. He wants us to be like him and taste like him, especially as we interact with people. Just as we can immediately taste if food is salty, people can tell immediately if we’re like Jesus.

Just as salt preserves and enhances the taste of food, we the disciples of Jesus are called to bring the transformative influence to the world. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13a, “You are the salt of the earth.” Jesus tells us to put the past aside, assess the present power, and commit to him for long-term loyalty, and he will transform us and use us for his good purpose. Jesus says, “I’ll make you a preserving influence for righteousness. You will be the salt of the earth.” He’s going to change the role that we play in society and the world. When we are committed to him fully, he will use us as witnesses of Jesus who are not afraid or ashamed of the gospel but boldly proclaim the name of Jesus in the campuses, workplaces, and even homes. Amen!

Let me ask you a question. Are you a salty Christian? Or have you been losing your saltiness a bit over time? Is your life, is your heart filled with the flavor and aroma of Christ in his love, joy, and peace? Is your heart burning for Jesus because you know how precious and valuable the love he poured out on you is?

He closes today’s lesson with an invitation in verse 35b. Let us read it together. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” This is an expression used all over the place as written in Matthew and Mark as well. So what does it mean? What it doesn’t mean is, “If you want to hear, then hear. And if you don’t, then don’t.” It simply means “Listen to this message.” Jesus is saying, If you understood it, embrace it and practice it. Do not ignore my words as it is for you. It is my desire and prayer that you do not become one in the crowd, but one of my true disciples. This is Jesus’ call to discipleship.

Are you ready to commit your life to follow Jesus as his disciples? Amen. Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” May God help us put Jesus first and love him most, even more than our own lives. May God help us bear our cross and come after Jesus. May God help us count the cost and surrender all that we have. Through this, may God make us salty disciples of Jesus who can bring his influence to this world. May God bless your sincere decision before him. Amen.