Editorial
March/April, 2008
Volume 43, Number 2
Many people like Jesus. When they think of His compassion, they are touched. When they consider His healing ministry, they are encouraged. When they ponder His blessings, they are edified. As long as we see Jesus giving us what we want and looked upon in a general way, many are content to think of Jesus as the “gentle Shepherd, meek and mild.”
It is when Jesus begins to make demands on individuals, when He asks us to do seemingly difficult things, and when He calls for real conversion—that we become uncomfortable. We echo Jesus’ disciples in John 6:60: “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When they realized that Jesus was not the political messiah for whom they had hoped, and instead was calling them to a radical transformation of their own lives and souls, droves of followers— many who had followed Him for some time— deserted Him. He finally asked His closest disciples (the Twelve), “Do you also want to go away?” Eventually, one of them even chose to betray Jesus.
The true believer in Christ realizes that, although salvation is free, there is a cost to consider as we trust in Christ. Many start well and follow Jesus »for a while, but then as the demands of being a Christian grow, they become weary, bitter, and disappointed—for they are really depending on themselves. The Bible gives the examples of Lot, of the Israelites in the wilderness, of Kings Saul and Solomon, and of Judas Iscariot. What a sad story their lives relate.
Those who count the cost, and truly believe that Jesus alone has “the words of eternal life,” will be the ones who finish strong in this life. Russell B. Smith writes, “But the rest of the twelve finished well: they carried the gospel around the Mediterranean; they witnessed the resurrection; they saw the tongues of fire at Pentecost; they watched as the church grew throughout the Roman Empire; they paid the price of martyrdom for the faith. And as a result, their legacy lives on in the church today. They finished well.”
Read Brother Harold Martin’s essay, and be encouraged to continue in trusting Christ.
The Cost of Discipleship
Luke 9:57-62; 14:25-33
By Harold S. Martin
The early Brethren sacrificed greatly when the first eight were illegally baptized. For some, it involved giving up wealth; others were persecuted severely for their uniting with the Anabaptists. When the Brethren came to America and migrated westward in the new nation, they were often separated from family and friends. Discipleship in Jesus’ kingdom is not to be entered upon lightly. Counting the cost of serving Him was important to our forebears and it should be to us.
At one point during the ministry of Jesus, He was traveling from Galilee (in the north) toward Jerusalem (in the south), when He was traveling from Galilee (in the north) toward Jerusalem (in the south), when He encountered some would-be disciples—men whose aim it was to follow Jesus. Jesus gave them some clear descriptions of what it means to truly follow Him.
True Christianity is an all-out commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. The key thought is that it costs something to be a genuine Christian. To be a nominal Christian and to attend church services fairly regularly is cheap and easy work—but to sincerely follow Jesus day after day, requires much self denial. When Jesus enlisted disciples to follow Him, it was His purpose to let them know all that was involved in serving Him. He wanted His disciples to know what they were getting into. He wants us to sit down and count the cost of following Him.
This message divides primarily into two parts. In Luke 9:57-62, we see Some Hindrances to Discipleship; and in Luke 14:25-33, we note the Cost of True Discipleship.
1. Hindrances to Genuine Discipleship (Luke 9:57-62)
As Jesus and His disciples were traveling along the road, they encountered three halfhearted followers.
The first man was quite sure that he wanted to follow Jesus anywhere and everywhere. He was self-confident, unduly eager, and unmindful of the cost. He was to Jesus in verse 57, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
There’s something attractive about those words. They remind us of the words of Ruth to Naomi, when she said, “Wherever you go, I will go” (Ruth 1:16). But from the answer Jesus gave to the man who expressed eagerness about following Him, we can sense that the man’s intentions were not altogether honorable. He saw the crowds, and the miracles, and the enthusiasm of the people. It seemed good to him to be closely associated with the One who was at the center of all this action. Thus, he wanted to be a disciple of Christ, but he failed to understand the self-denial, the sacrifice, and the reproach that went along with serving Christ.
At first, the answer which Jesus gave doesn’t seem related to the man’s offer. Jesus said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head” (verse 58). But there is a clear message in what Jesus said to the man. Jesus was saying, “Do you really know what it means to follow Me? Are you aware that it often involves forsaking the comforts and conveniences of life?” Those who think only of a shallow commitment to Jesus, may as well not apply! About the same time, Jesus saw potential in another man who was standing close by. Jesus spoke to Him—and tried to recruit him by saying, “Follow Me” (verse 59). The mar> however wanted to delay becoming a disciple, because he claimed to have commitments to his parents. After his parents were dead and buried (which could have been many years later), then he would follow Jesus.
Jesus told the man that his first duty lay with serving God. In verse 60, Jesus in essence was saying, “Let the (spiritually) dead (that is, those who reject God’s grace), let them take care of burying the physically dead.” Jesus was not suggesting that we dishonor our parents, but only that we do not permit our love for family to weaken our love for the Lord. Social obligations are not to be ignored, but they must take a back seat to serving Christ.
The third incident centers around a man who said, “I will follow You, Lord; but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house” (verse 61). This man had a reasonable and proper request, but even the common courtesies of life must not interfere with complete dedication to the cause of Christ. Jesus said to the man, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (verse 62). The person who puts his hand to the plow and starts plowing forward, but then immediately looks back—trying to plow forward while looking back—cannot make a straight furrow. To plow in one direction while looking in the opposite direction will never do! Once we put our hands to the plow in the Master’s field, we must not look back, longing for the things we left behind.
Jesus in essence says that service in God’s kingdom requires staying with the task at hand. No distractions are allowed. No diversions from focusing on loyalty to Christ are permitted. It is easy enough to start out well, and to burst forth in a blaze of glory, but the test of a real decision—is to endure to the end! We need to pray often, especially when the going is difficult, “Oh God, keep me from turning back!” Jesus saw more deeply into the three responses than we can see. He saw the heart attitude which prompted the responses. He knew whether the commitments were real, or only half-hearted. Jesus will not have half-hearted disciples.
The encounters mentioned in Luke 9 name three major hindrances to genuine discipleship.
The first man (verses 57-58) professes utmost willingness to follow Christ—but material comforts hinder.
The second man (verses 59-60) indicates a degree of unwillingness to follow Christ—because a task (or a job) is hindering.
The third man (verses 61 -62) seeks permission to delay following Christ—he has trouble leaving his family and friends.
Each of the above responses is typical of the kinds of excuses that are sometimes given today.
2. The Cost of True Discipleship (Luke 14:25-33)
In Luke 14 the theme of God’s kingdom, and its demands on potential disciples, is mentioned again. The passage cautions would-be followers of Jesus to count the cost of commitment to Him.
There were, among the crowds \i\a\ followed Jesus, some who were sincere disciples, some who were selffsh followers, and some who were obvious enemies. Human leaders would often be elated by such widespread interest, but Jesus was looking for people who had a wholehearted interest in His cause. He knew that some wanted only to see miracles. Others heard that He had fed the hungry. A few hoped He would overthrow Rome and set up a new kingdom. Jesus turned to the multitude and spoke clearly.
a) Discipleship calls for sacrifice (14:26-27). He said that the person who does not “hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” We must love Christ more than we love our own family, and more than we love our own lives—if we are to be a true disciple of His. Of course Jesus did not mean that we should literally “hate” our relatives. This would be totally out of harmony with His teaching elsewhere. The word “hate” (as used here by Jesus) did not mean to His hearers what it means to us. A more current phrase would be “to love less than.” Jesus was not saying that we are to detest our families, but they must take second place to the Lord Jesus in our affections. Jesus himself showed care for His mother, as recorded in John 19:26-27.
In verse 26 Jesus used a figure of speech himself showed care for His mother, as recorded in John 19:26-27. In verse 26 Jesus used a figure of speech (a hyperbole) to urge His followers to leave everything behind! True discipleship means loving the Savior so much, that all other loves are hatred by comparison. No concern about family ties must ever be allowed to cause us to deviate from full obedience to the Lord Jesus.
In verse 27 Jesus says that “whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple.” This is the same statement recorded in Luke 9:23, except here it is stated negatively.
The “cross” is not some physical infirmity or mental anguish. The “cross” is not caring for a sick child; that’s a responsibility. The “cross” is not putting up with a cranky supervisor, or an unfair teacher, or a bossy relative. The “cross” which Jesus talks about, is the suffering that is ours because of our relationship to Christ. The “cross” is the reproach and contempt we receive from others because we try to follow Bible standards in daily life. Jesus does not call us to follow Him so that our lives will be easy and prosperous, but so that our lives will be holy and productive. Remember that to “take up the cross daily,” as stated in the parallel passage in Luke 9:23, means that it is a daily dutyXo humble ourselves, to renounce sin, and to submit to the law of Christ. Discipleship calls for sacrifice (verses 26-27).
b) Discipleship is not to be entered lightly (14:28-32). Jesus used the examples of a farmer building a tower, and a king fighting a war, to awaken His disciples to the need for considering the cost of following Him.
The word translated “tower” is a reference to the towers which were built in vineyards (and on country estates) for observation, and defense against enemies. The farmer who starts out, and does not have the energy or the finances to finish, becomes an object of ridicule (verse 30).
The parable of the king planning a military campaign, is an example of a leader who underestimates the strength of his enemy, and must therefore submit to the enemies’ terms of peace (verse 32). The lesson of the parables is this: “Look before you leap; don’t enter into an important project without giving the matter some serious forethought.”
It’s important to count the cost before making significant decisions in life. The alternatives to counting the cost—are embarrassment, loss of time, and loss of money. And so it is with dis-cipleship. We must sit down first and count the cost—and be certain that we are willing to abandon our lives wholeheartedly to Christ. If we start out, and then fizzle along the way, onlookers will tend to mock. Half-hearted Christians do not make a favorable impression on their associates. To take a vow to follow Christ is an important step; we must not be flippant and insincere in our decision.
c) Discipleship calls for forsaking all one has (14:33). The final words of our lesson are very sobering. Jesus said that no one can become His disciple if he does not “forsake all that he has” (verse 33). Jesus is not asking us to become ascetics, and to go barefooted instead of wearing shoes, or to live in mud houses—but He is saying that the disciple of Jesus must be willing to make everything secondary to following Him. Jesus is not requiring of every disciple what He demanded of the Rich Young Ruler—the requirement that he “sells all that he has.” Peter was not required to sell his fishing equipment and give the proceeds to the poor. Jesus instead is exhorting e,ach disciple to surrender body and soul to the task of serving Him whole-heartedly.
J.H. Sammis wrote words of the hymn, “Trust and Obey.” One stanza says: “But we never can prove the delights of his love, until all on the altar we lay; for the favor he shows, and the joy he bestows, are for those who will trust and obey.”
Whole-hearted devotion, all-out loyalty, and complete self-denial—these are requirements for discipleship under Christ! Jesus wants people to know that toil and danger, self-sacrifice and suffering—are all part of being a Christian. Sadly, the cost of discipleship is more than many people are willing to pay.
3. Some Practical Applications from the Lesson
a) Before people decide to become followers of Christ, they must realize that being a Christian is not “a bed of roses.” Jesus says, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). It is discouraging to note that many people who seem to cast their lot with Jesus, sometime later lose interest and fall away. Think of Demas and Judas.
b) We must be careful not to love husband or wife or children more than we love God. We miss the mark when we put their social, intellectual, athletic, and cultural development ahead of our concern for their spiritual nurture. We fall short when we spend more time in the car, shuttling them to ball games and music lessons, than we spend in family prayer times and in Bible memorization projects.
c) Karen Phelps is a marathon runner. Her plan for training is five-fold:
1) Run daily, even if you don’t feel like it.
2) Run daily, even in bad weather and even if people think you are weird.
3) Run daily, even when it gives you aches and pain and you feel like quitting.
4) Run daily, even if you sometimes have to skip fun and pleasure.
5) Run daily, even if you don’t feel like it is doing you any good! In the same way, the disciple of Christ must continue to run the race, keeping on day after day seeking to do what is right in accord with God’s Word.
If any of us wants richness of experience, meaningful living, and a sense of being in the will of God—and then living eternally with God after this life—we must choose to become disciples of Jesus. It will require walking contrary to the way of the crowds, but in the end, it will be worth it all. The hymn writer says “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.”