Oct 24
20
Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 24
“Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth. Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both? These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging is not good. Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are in the right,’ will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them. Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips. Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.’ I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” (Proverbs 24)
New Testament Reading: Luke 14:25-35
“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ‘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. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 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.’ 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. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’” (Luke 14:25–35)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
These words from our Lord and Savior regarding the requirements for being a disciple of his are shocking. Hear him again: “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. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” These words from our Lord grab the attention, don’t they? They are meant to! But they must be properly interpreted if they are to be properly applied. So let us consider these words of Jesus carefully and be sure to take then in their context.
Luke has just told us about an interaction Jesus had with a group of Pharisees and other prominent people at a dinner hosted by a ruler of the Pharisees. Someone invited Jesus to this dinner and judging by the hard things Jesus said to these elites, as recorded in Luke 14:1-24, I don’t think he made many friends at this banquet! What did Christ condemn these Pharisees for? He condemned them for their legalistic and loveless observance of the Sabbath day, their self-exalting pride, and the favoritism they showed to friends, relatives, and rich neighbors while neglecting the poor and the needy in their midst. Christ concluded his condemning remarks with a classic parable – a story about a man who gave a great banquet and invited many through his servant. The servant obeyed the will of his master and invited the guests of honor, but they all made excuses! The man then instructed his servant to go into the streets and lanes of the city to bring in the poor and the crippled. This the servant did, but there was still room at the table! And so the master “said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” And then the master remarked, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet” (Luke 14:23-24). The meaning of this parable was and is clear. The guests of honor were the Pharisees and other religious elite within Israel. The gospel of the kingdom of God came to them through Jesus, God’s servant, but they rejected the invitation. The gospel of the kingdom would go to the poor and crippled within Israel and would be received more readily by them. And because room remained at God’s banquet table, the invitation would be extended to all nations.
As we approach our text for today, it is important for us to remember a few things:
One, the hostility between Jesus and the religious elite within Israel was growing. It was back in Luke 9:22 that Christ spoke to his disciples, “saying, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’” (Luke 9:22). Since then, we have watched the hostility grow! Indeed, the hostility would culminate in the crucifixion of Jesus and the persecution of the disciples of Jesus.
Two, Christ warned his disciples that they would experience hostility, not only from the religious elite within Israel but from their fellow Jews and even from members of their household. It was in Luke 12:49 that we heard Christ say, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Luke 12:49–53).
Three, we must remember how Luke portrays the Pharisees and others who rejected Jesus. He portrays them as people in love with the world and the things of this world. They are hypocrites who love to appear clean and righteous before men but inwardly they are full of greed and wickedness (see Luke 11:39). They clamored for positions of power and prestige while neglecting the poor. Stated differently, Luke portrays those who rejected Christ as people who loved the world supremely. Love is the most powerful motivator. And what did these people love most? They loved themselves most. They loved the praise of men most. They loved the pleasures of this world most.
When we remember these things – the increasing hostility between Christ and the religious elite within Israel (a hostility that would result in the crucifixion of Christ, and the persecution of the disciples of Christ), the hostility that would arise against Christians even from the members of their own households, and the thing that hindered people from following after Jesus, namely, a supreme love for self, the world, and the things of the world – then we will better understand the shocking words of Jesus concerning what is required to follow after him.
Hear his words again: “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. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
Disciples Of Jesus Must Hate Their Parents, Spouse, Children, Siblings, And Even Their Own Life
What does Jesus mean when he says that to be his disciple we must hate our father and mother, wife and children, yes, even our own life? Does this not flatly contradict the clear teaching of Scripture?
As it pertains to the requirement of hating father and mother, what about the fifth of the Ten Commandments which requires us to honor father and mother (see Deuteronomy 5:16)? Did Jesus mean to abrogate the fifth commandment? This cannot be! For one, it is a part of God’s ever-abiding moral law. Two, in another place Christ commands obedience to the fifth, saying, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother’” (Luke 18:20).
As it pertains to the requirement to hate wife and children, what about those places in Scripture that clearly command the husband to love the wife and fathers to lovingly care for their children? For example, Colossians 3:19 says, “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them”. And in Ephesians 6:4 fathers are commanded to not provoke their children to anger, but to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Even the requirement to hate your own life seems to be a contradiction, for elsewhere Christ sums up the last six of the Ten Commandments with the command to love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). Indeed when Paul commands husbands to love their wives in Ephesians 5 he says that “husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church…” (Ephesians 5:28–29). And a little later he says, “let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33).
If the words of Christ found here in Luke 14:26 are taken in a strict and literal sense, then Christ contradicts himself and the very Scriptures he has inspired. This cannot be. And so we must ask ourselves, can these words be interpreted in another sense? Indeed they can.
What then does Christ mean by the words, “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”? He means that the love we naturally have for our mother and father, our spouse and our children, yes, even the natural love and concern that we have for our own well-being, must pale in comparison to the love that we have for him. The love that we have for God and Christ must supersede the love we have for parents, spouses, children, yes, even for our own lives. And here is the real point: if a choice must be made between father and mother, spouse and children, yes, even one’s own life and following after Christ, our love for Christ must prevail, and those who would hinder us from following after him must be neglected, forsaken, and turned away from.
To be clear, there is nothing about being a disciple of Jesus that requires us to break off relationships with parents, spouses, and children. Ideally, if a parent, spouse, or child does not follow Christ along with you, the natural relationship will remain happy and intact (see 1 Corinthians 7:12). But Christ is here anticipating hostility from the non-believing world and he is calling his disciple to count the cost.
The point is this: to be a disciple of Christ, one must be willing to lose relationships with the people they love most – parents, spouses, and children – indeed, they must be willing to lose their own lives for the sake of following after Jesus.
Contrast this with the unbelieving Pharisees at the dinner party. What did those men love supremely? They loved themselves supremely. They loved the world and the pleasures and prestige of the world supremely. What hindered them from following Jesus? Many things, I’m sure. It seems that one of the hindrances was this: they would not let go of their places of honor (see Luke 14:8), or the approval they received from friends, brothers, relatives, or the rich (see Luke 14:12) to follow after Jesus. This, friends, is why Christ said, “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.”
Disciples Of Jesus Must Bear Their Own Cross
Christ then stated this same principle in another way: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
In modern times the image of the cross has been sterilized and romanticized. In Jesus’ day, the cross was known only as a brutal instrument of death. The Romans would execute criminals by hanging them on crosses. There they would die, typically of asphyxiation.
Jesus would soon bear his cross. Quite literally, he would carry his cross part of the way to the place of his crucifixion. He would die on that cross, and there make atonement for the sins of those given to him by the Father in eternity.
Here Jesus says that all who follow him must bear their own cross.
Notice, it is not the cross of Christ that we are called to bear. Only Christ could bear that cross. He atoned for the sins of his people on that cross. He bore the wrath of God in the place of sinners on that cross. Only Jesus the Messiah, the eternal Son of God incarnate, could bear the weight of that awful load. The disciples of Jesus cannot bear the cross of Christ, but we are called to bear our own cross.
This is actually the second time the word “cross” appears in Luke’s gospel. Back in Luke 9:23, we heard Christ say, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). These two sayings of Jesus are very similar. When we take them together it is very clear what Christ means. To take up your cross is to deny yourself. To take up your cross is to die to yourself.
Sometimes disciples of Jesus will be called to take up their cross in the ultimate sense, that is, to die the death of a martyr. As you know, many of the original disciples of Jesus would be called to take up their cross in this ultimate sense – many were put to death because of their allegiance to Jesus. Indeed, there have been many martyrs throughout the history of the church. Even so, the truth remains that most disciples of Jesus have and will die a natural death. But notice, that all of Jesus’ disciples are called to bear their own cross. And in Luke 9:23 Christ says that this cross is to be carried daily. This means that all disciples of Jesus must die to themselves in metaphorical or spiritual way. This we must do to follow Jesus in the beginning, and this we must do throughout the Christian life.
What does it mean to take up your cross daily and to die to yourself? It means that you no longer live for yourself, for this world, or for the pleasures of this world, but for the pleasure of knowing and serving God and Christ, and for the joy of serving others.
Paul the Apostle spoke of his personal cross-bearing when he said, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7–11)
Earlier in the same letter, Paul urged the believers to bear their own crosses, when he said, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:3–8).
Dear brethren, this is truly the essence of the Christian life. The Christian life begins when a sinner, by the grace of God, dies to self and trusts in Christ. And the Christian life is to be marked by continual and daily cross-bearing. There are many hindrances to this. Pride will rear its ugly head. Selfish ambition will sometimes reemerge. A love for the world and the pleasures of this world will intrude. But the disciples of Jesus must daily put to death what is earthly in them (see Colossians 3:5).
Disciples Of Jesus Must Count The Cost
Now that Jesus has told the multitudes what is required to be a true disciple of his, he urges them to count the cost before continuing with him, lest their profession of faith be found false. This exhortation to count the cost was delivered by Jesus to the crowd through three illustrations.
The first is found in verses 28-30. There we read, “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’” (Luke 14:28–30).
This great multitude that followed Jesus was filled with excitement. They had high hopes for Jesus. But as has been said in previous sermons, the hopes of many in this multitude were misguided. Many expected him to immediately bring an earthly kingdom and earthly prosperity, and so Christ set them straight. Following me may cost you your relationship with your parents, your spouse, or your children. Following me may cost you your life! Those who wish to follow me must bear their own cross. Are you sure you want to continue with me? Are you sure you have what it takes to finish what you are beginning to build?
Of course, we know that all who have true faith in Christ will finish. True believers will persevere because God will preserve them (see Philippians 1:6). But one of the means God uses to preserve his elect is his word. And here, the Word of God says, count the cost! The elect of God will count the cost and will continue with Christ to the end. The nonelect will either turn back immediately or make false professions and turn back later. Why? Because they love this world more than Christ! Their god is their belly; their minds are set on earthly things (see Philippians 3:18-19). But the elect of God will hear the Word of God. The Spirit will call them inwardly and make the word effectual. They will understand what the cost of discipleship is. They will count the cost. And they will say, it is worth it! They will agree with the Apostles and say, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” (Philippians 3:7–9).
The second illustration is found in verses 31-32. There we read, “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 14:31–32).
The illustration is different, but the message is the same. Wise builders will count the cost before building, and wise kings will count the cost before waging war. Disciples of Jesus must do the same. Those who follow after Jesus must first count the cost.
By the way, I do wonder if Jesus used the illusion of building a tower because being a disciple of Jesus involves participating in the building of Christ’s kingdom. Christ’s kingdom is built as the disciples of Jesus die to self daily and testify concerning the hope that is in them through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I do wonder if Jesus uses the illustration of waging war because being a disciple of Jesus involves spiritual warfare, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
Clearly, Christ calls those who wish to follow him to first count the cost.
In verse 33 we read, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). This is another way of saying what was said before: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). To renounce is “to willingly give up or set aside what one possesses—‘to give up, to part with one’s possessions’”(Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, 565). Just as not all Christians are called to bear their cross in the extreme by dying the death of a martyr, but must carry their cross daily by dying daily to self, so too, not all Christians will be called to actually give up all that they have. The first disciples of Christ did. In Luke 18:28 we hear Peter speak to Jesus, saying, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And [Jesus] said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18:28–30). Some disciples of Jesus throughout the history of the church, and even in the present time, have been called by God to renounce all to follow Christ, but many disciples of Christ are, by God’s grace, permitted to retain the good things of this life – house, wife, brothers, parents, and children. Those disciples of Jesus who enjoy these blessings must be very careful to obey Christ’s words still! These earthly blessings must be enjoyed and held onto with an open hand and not a clenched fist. Hear again the words of our Savior: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
The third and final illustration is found in verses 34-35. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:34–35).
Salty salt makes things savory. Salty salt preserves things. But salt that loses its saltiness is good for nothing. It’s not good for the soil. It’s not even good for the manure pile. It is simply thrown away. And this is a warning to the backslider, the apostate, and the false professor. The person who once made a profession of faith but then afterward turns back from it is like salt that has lost its savor. He is in a most miserable condition, for at one time he knew the truth and claimed to love it, but afterward, he went back to the world. Hebrews 6:4-6 speaks of the miserable condition of the apostate and says, “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt” (Hebrews 6:4–6).
Conclusion
Count the cost. That is what Christ called the multitude that followed him to do. Christ was not interested in having many followers. He was interested in having sincere and faithful followers though. And the same is true to this present day. Do you wish to follow Jesus? Then count the cost. “If anyone comes to [him] 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 [his] disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after [him] cannot be [his] disciple” (Luke 14:25–27). Those who do not renounce all they have cannot be a disciple os Jesus (Luke 14:33). Those who love themselves, this world, and the things of this world will surely say, the price is too high! Those whom God has graciously chosen and is calling by his Word and Spirit will say, the price is just right. I’ll gladly suffer the “loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…”
