WEEK #2: January 8-15

There is a cost involved in being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Jesus was very clear about this. Let's look at two passages that teach about this cost.

Luke 9:57-62 (NIV)
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

In this passage we see a man approached and wanted to follow where they were going. Jesus’ response was that a person desiring to follow Him must give up what others consider necessities. Jesus had no home of His own nor did His followers. They were on their way to Jerusalem where Jesus would be put to death.

Jesus called the next man with the same words with which He had called His disciples . The man’s reply that he first wanted to go and bury his father has been variously interpreted. Some maintain that the man’s father was dead already. It would seem strange if that was the case for he would certainly have been engaged in the burial procedure already. It is more likely that the man’s father was ready to die.

His request was to let him wait just a little while before following Jesus. Perhaps the man also wanted to receive the inheritance from his father’s estate. Jesus’ response, Let the dead bury their own dead, implies that the spiritually dead can bury the physically dead. The point was that proclaiming the kingdom of God was so important that it could not wait. Of course if the man had left and followed Jesus, it would have caused a scandal in the community. But that was less important than proclaiming the kingdom and following the Messiah. A disciple must make a radical commitment.

The third man simply wanted to go home and say good-by to his family. Elijah had allowed Elisha to do this very thing when Elisha was plowing (1 Kings 19:19-20). Jesus’ words underscore the fact that His message of the kingdom of God was more important than anything else—even family members. The message and the Messiah cannot wait. Jesus’ message was more important than Elijah’s message and demanded total allegiance. Jesus’ servants should not have divided interests, like a farmer who begins plowing and looks back. Since Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, the man had to make up his mind right then as to what he was going to do.

Luke 14:25-35 (NIV)
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.
27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

In this passage from Luke we see that large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Jesus intended to impress on the people their need to examine their resolve to follow Him. He was on His way to die on the cross. Ultimately everyone did desert Him when He was alone in the garden and then arrested and put on trial.

To emphasize that discipleship is difficult, Jesus said that one must hate his own family and even his own life in order to be His disciple. Literally hating one’s family would have been a violation of the Law. Since Jesus on several occasions admonished others to fulfill the Law, He must not have meant here that one should literally hate his family.

The stress here is on the priority of love (Matt. 10:37). One’s loyalty to Jesus must come before his loyalty to his family or even to life itself. Indeed, those who did follow Jesus against their families’ desires were probably thought of as hating their families.

The second difficult qualification Jesus stressed was that one must carry his (i.e., his own) cross and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). When the Roman Empire crucified a criminal or captive, the victim was often forced to carry his cross part of the way to the crucifixion site. Carrying his cross through the heart of the city was supposed to be a tacit admission that the Roman Empire was correct in the sentence of death imposed on him, an admission that Rome was right and he was wrong. So when Jesus enjoined His followers to carry their crosses and follow Him, He was referring to a public display before others that Jesus was right and that the disciples were following Him even to their deaths. This is exactly what the religious leaders refused to do.

Using two illustrations, Jesus then taught that discipleship must include planning and sacrifice. The first illustration concerned a tower. Before a person begins to build, he should be sure he will be able to pay the full cost of the project. Jesus’ followers must also be sure they are willing to pay the full price of discipleship.

The second illustration concerned a king who went out to battle. The king should be willing to sacrifice a desired victory if he senses he is unable to win. This principle of sacrifice is also important in the realm of discipleship: one must be willing to give up everything for Jesus. The people who were following Jesus throughout the countryside of Israel had done that. They had given up possessions and employment, knowing that the message Jesus was proclaiming was the most important thing on earth.

Jesus climaxed His teaching on discipleship by proclaiming that salt is good only as long as it contains the characteristics of saltiness. If it loses its saltiness, it has no value at all and is thrown out. The same is true of disciples. They must contain the characteristics of discipleship—planning and willing sacrifice—or they are of no value at all.

The bottom line: we must be in the business of reproducing ourselves. We must be investing in others. We must be pouring our lives into another. Read the passages below this week. Each day be asking yourself - who is my man/woman? (that I will disiple?)

January 10 - Matthew 28:16-20: What are we to teach our disciples?
January 11 - Ephesians 4:1-15: How do we help others grow up spiritually?
January 12 - Psalm 119: 9-16: What key discipline to all disciples need?
January 13 - 2 Timothy 2:1-13: What are the qualifications of a disciple?
January 14 - 1 Corinthians 15:50-58: What are commanded to do?
January 15 - 1 John 2:1-17: What truths here should we pass on to all disciples?

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE! (and of course, go make disciples)