Luke 14:25-35

It always interests me that whenever there was a crowd, it seems Jesus would call a time out. More, it seems He would ratchet up the rhetoric – the demands – which would often result in the crowds walking away. Following Him no longer. It seems Jesus wasn't interested in what many pursue today – even in the evangelical church – that is, how to attract the crowds. How to build a movement. A megachurch. How to promote a bandwagon. Jesus didn't seem to be interested in bandwagons at all.

There was a movement that grew rapidly over the past few decades which saw the intentional development of so-called seeker sensitive churches. There are still many of those well-intentioned churches today. Led by Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, the movement sought to be sensitive to the needs of people seeking faith, religion, God. To remove the unnecessary offenses frankly seen in some churches. To develop biblically faithful yet culturally relevant approaches to ministry to gather the masses. Contemporary music, engaging drama, lights, camera, action. Relevance.

But, I must say, I was always intrigued by the title, seeker sensitive, because Paul says in Romans 3, quoting the Psalms, that there are none that seek God – that is, there are no seekers, save the One Himself who seeks lost people. As a result, some have suggested, perhaps rightly, in seeking to remove offense that the gospel in such churches has been diminished, sin and repentance have been obscured, ignored or even hidden, and the Bible has been sidelined – even apologized for.

Jesus never seemed to do that. In fact, quite the opposite. Whenever there were those seeking – better said, crowds seeking what He had to offer in food and healing and exorcisms and miracles – they liked that. Sought to take and make Him king by force. But, whenever He gathered many such would-be followers, it's almost like He would chase them away.

What was going on? Very simply, Jesus was correcting any misconceptions they had about becoming His followers. He was laying out the strenuous demands of discipleship. He was calling them from self-serving curiosity to Christ-exalting commitment. And we see Him continue to proclaim such demanding expectations in our text today – Luke 14:25-35, where we see the cost of discipleship.

These are stunning words. Jesus wants to make sure we know, if we seek to follow Him, there is a cost. Oh, to be sure, the gospel is free, but should you believe the gospel and be converted, there is significant cost, sacrifice to follow Jesus. There's a sense in which Jesus puts in bold print the fine print of the gospel. We're the ones who try to minimize that, obscure that, ignore that. Jesus always maximized it. You want to sign up? You want to give your life to the free grace of the gospel? Great – the gospel is free, but it will cost you everything you've got.

Verse 25 sets the familiar stage, "Now large crowds were going along with Him." Along with Him on this journey to Jerusalem where He will die – give up His life for the sheep. But, His popularity is still off the charts – large crowds still accompany Him. And as was His practice, He addresses what is obviously a bandwagon.

So, if anyone accepts the invitation and comes to be My disciple, and yet he does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. He says that three times at the end of each of these "to be My disciple" statements. If you don't do these things, you cannot be My disciple. To be clear, this is not earning your salvation – but it is proving yourself to be truly saved, proving to be a disciple.

Most agree Jesus is speaking in typical rabbinic style with superlative language to get His point across. So, we should think of it in relative terms. Meaning, our love for and commitment to Jesus is so supreme, it causes all other loves to pale in comparison. Such that to compare them could speak of loving one, hating the other. So great is our love for Christ that nothing else comes close, compares.

Jesus is simply saying, love for Him comes first in all relationships, even the most important in our lives. Even when compared to self-love and care, even our own lives, Jesus says, it pales – it takes a distant second to our love for Him. If Jesus is not our supreme love, then we cannot be, in fact, we are not His disciples.

Second, to be a disciple, you must carry your own cross, which means, you must embrace a life of suffering. The cross was an instrument of shame and extreme mortal torture. It was reserved for the worst of criminals. So when Jesus says, a disciple must carry his own cross, it would have been shocking. Of course, He knows He is heading to such death. And He now tells those who would be His disciples, they must carry their own crosses. They must be willing to die, metaphorically and literally if necessary.

It meant total self-denial. It meant giving it all up for Christ. Lots of people say, I would die for Christ, but Jesus is looking for people to die to themselves. Who are willing to lay it all down, carry their cross, and follow Him.

And the good news is, if you carry your cross, lose your life for Christ, if you give it all up for Him, then you'll find life that is truly life – abundant life. A life of joy and contentment – a life worth living.

Jesus then gives two illustrations, parables to suggest what He is calling for takes great sacrifice, so you better sit down and count the cost. The first one is the guy who wants to build a tower. Won't he sit down to determine if he starts building the tower, can he complete the tower? The point is, if you become a follower of Jesus, understand there is a cost – and you should consider the cost in order to complete a life of discipleship.

The second illustration regards a king who is set to meet another king in battle. If he has any sense, won't he sit down to consider the battle plans, especially since he has ten thousand soldiers, and the opposing king has twenty thousand. The point is basically the same – you should determine before you enter the battle, you should count the cost.

Which brings us to the third "to be a disciple" statement, verse 33, "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his possessions." You don't have what it takes to complete the tower; you don't have what it takes to win the battle, if you don't give it up all up to Jesus.

The last couple of verses tie it all together. Salt is good – useful, completes its intended purpose while it remains salty. But, if salt loses its saltiness, it becomes tasteless. Salt then wasn't as pure, in fact, much came from the Dead Sea, mixed with other minerals, largely gypsum. And after a while, the salt would leach out, leaving gypsum, which was neither salty nor useful for salty purposes.

Jesus is simply saying, in order to be salty – in order to be useful to the Master, you must be a fully devoted follower, which requires sacrifice of everything you've got. Everything you pursue, everything you hold dear. He must be first in your life. After all, you are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. We must live like it – with Jesus as the supreme affection of our lives. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.