In the economy we live in today, many are struggling to make ends meet. They understand what it means to count the cost. They check out the different places to buy desired items and compare prices. They can purchase their products locally or online and have them shipped to their home. Many factors will affect the total price of products. Ordering online may include shipping, or it may ship free to you. Buying your products locally costs gas money. It will also involve your time, which is also valuable. As the old saying goes, “There are no free lunches.” Everything has its price.
There is also a price to pay when it comes to spiritual things. In our text today, Jesus is speaking to the multitude following Him. They would crowd around Him to see and hear this miracle worker wherever He went. They seemed to want to be His disciples, to believe in Him, and to attend to Him. However, Jesus knew that when the cost of following Him was revealed, it would be greater than most would want to commit to. In the passage in Luke 14:26-33, He gives them the terms of discipleship before they enlist to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
In verse 26, He first gives a stark command. He tells them they cannot be His disciple if they do not hate their own family. At this instruction, most would have been wondering what He meant. This one that was so loving and caring for those not accepted by society was teaching them to deny their families. How could this be? Abraham knew the cost. In Genesis 22:2, God told Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” We know that God provided a ram for the sacrifice, but it wasn’t revealed until Abraham held the knife above his son, ready to slay him. God tells us His purpose in verse 12, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now, I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Jesus is teaching us this exact requirement. Our love for the family must pale compared to our love for Him. We must be willing to deny any and everything to follow Him.
In verse 27, we must be willing to bear our cross. Those following Jesus would have understood what a literal cross was. It was a form of execution during biblical times. It was excruciatingly painful and disgraceful. Historical documents teach us that Peter was crucified. Other disciples were sawn in half, beheaded, and tortured for their faith. Many still are tortured for their faith in countries where it is against the law to practice Christianity. Our cross may will probably not be a physical one, but a burden that is overwhelmingly difficult to bear. Whatever it is, we must be willing to bear it and continue to follow and obey Christ if we are to be His disciples.
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.”
Luke 14:27 “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
In verses 28-32, Jesus uses illustrations to help them understand what counting the cost entails. He starts with something we can equate with. Before beginning a building, we would always determine what it would take to complete the project. Otherwise, we may get halfway through and be forced to quit. This kind of action brings reproach and mockery to the person and those he represents. When we do not count the cost and prepare ourselves to endure any persecution, we will bring a reproach on Christ. We will be a terrible testimony for God. We must determine with the help of God to finish our course.
Luke 14:28-30 “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.”
If a country goes to war with another country, those in charge are fools who do not count the cost before the battles begin. In verse 31, the king realizes he is unwilling to pay the cost to win the victory. Instead, he is willing to compromise and settle for peace. I am afraid this is where the majority of people live. They are not willing to surrender all to follow Jesus. They are not willing to place Him in their lives as their Master. They are unwilling to pay the cost of discipleship and will be lost forever.
Luke 14:31-32 “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.”
Luke 14:33 “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
Where are you? Have you counted the cost? Will you give your life or your family’s life to follow Jesus? These are hard questions, but if we are to be disciples of Christ, we must be willing and put Jesus at the pinnacle of our hearts and minds. Now is the time to prepare by getting into His word and understanding what He did for us. Only then will you love Him enough to be His disciple. We prove our love for Him by obeying all He has said.
John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
I am to count the cost of discipleship, not to determine if I am willing to pay the cost but to be ready to pay the cost. For me, it is not an issue of to do or not to do. The issue is not to be caught off guard when the cost becomes high. I need to prepare myself now.
