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Luke 14:26 reads and there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26: If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27: And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28: For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
29: Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
30: Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
31: Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
32: Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
33: So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
34: Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
35: It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The most challenging passages of Lukes gospel are immediatly after Jesus sat down to eat bread in a ruler of the Pharisees home. It is also spoken in the context of what has been said about only a few of the many who will be saved. It is also about all those who will be shut out from the Kingdom of God,who presently think they already have a part of the Kingdom of God. We see also that the narrow gate refers to coming to God through His Christ. So the gospel reveals it is by this Jesus God's Christ that men do stand or fall. The time has come for the restoration of Israel to God. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to accomplish all that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah about Israels restoration. If Israel will embrace the promises of restoration that are to be found in the Messiah, then Israel will be restored to God, but not apart from faith in Gods Christ Jesus. As we saw before we read these passages many in Israel were not Gods because they hadn't repented and believed and so they were shut out of the Kingdom. So since it is by Gods Christ Jesus that everyman will stand or fall, have life or be condemned, a radical faith is called for. Faith in this context is very much that of allegiance to a King who is in fact not just the King of Israel but the King and ruler of the Kings of the earth. So let us see what allegiance to Gods king will entail. In vs 26 we see If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. We may well ask what is Jesus talking about hating our families. Is he telling us to break the commandment to honour your mother and father. Of course not. This is a summons of a king to his subjects to war. What he means by hating them is if you are so attached and your allegiance is rather to them than to Jesus. Jesus is very matter of fact about it, he says if this is the case and you have divided loyalties and don't set your face to me, and bow the knee as one who pledges allegiance to a King o do the Kings will. If you're not prepared to do this, then you can't be my disciple Jesus says. This is a radical call to allegiance to the one and only true King. In the next verse he says " And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Here Jesus is elaborating on the first verse about leaving all that you love behind to do the will of your God and King. All who heard his call to take up their cross understood that a cross was a difficult thing to bear, it was a place of death and execution. So Jesus plainly means that they must die to their own plans and wills and take on to do the will of God in making Christ known as well as His gospel. To claim that Christ alone is God and King and that there is no way into the Kingdom except through Him, To declare Jesus as God and Christwill bring you many enemies. For to say that Christ is the only true God and King is to say that all other gods and kings are not true gods or kings. This is the offence which the gospel of Jesus brings, and it can result in death to follow this Jesus, and so that is the challenge, to follow this Jesus could cost you your life!! If following Jesus can cost you your life, that is why Jesus has no place for divided loyalties among his soldiers who are called disciples.Jesus demands of his disciples complete single mindedness, They must have their sights set on the cause of the Kingdom of God. There is no room for people who aren't singleminded as to the cause of Christ. It is because of this giving your whole life and suffering hardship to do the will of your King that Jesus knows that many aren't up to it. So he challenges them to count the cost!in vs 28: For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29: Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30: Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31: Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32: Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. Jesus is saying sit down awhile and think this through, lest when you have been my disciple for awhile, you change your allegiance and say this is too much for me to bear. Know before hand what is asked of you. Many in the heat of battle will lose heart and not trust their King and so desert from the only true God and King. No not so if you know what you're getting into, before you enlist as a disciple of our King Jesus. The men of this world already have no love for God and His purposes, so no love will be lost when they set upon you as their enemy and the enemy of their gods and Kings and rulers. Jesus is saying be like the king who counts the cost and be like the builder and count the cost so you will know if you have what is needed to comnplete the building. But know that when the will of God in Jesus has been done, you will inherit His Kingdom and you will be counted as great and be given honour and made rich all your days, because you were faithful to the cause of Christ Jesus. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34: Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35: It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. So Jesus spells out the cost and this is the cost. If you don't forsake everything for my sake you cannot be my disciple. Its either all or nothing. Whatever it takes for you to remain faithful and loyal, then offer that to God. All that hinders you in the way must be cast off and forsaken. He then says those who follow Him are salt, but when it loses its flavour it becomes useless and has no worth, not even on the dunghill. The dunghill still has some use but salt when it has lost its use is just good for nothing and must be thrown away. Jesus is saying those who are not prepared to surrender all for the sake of doing the will of God in Jesus are like salt that has no use but to be thrown away. This is what it means to follow Jesus. Are you willing to count the cost and then take up the cross and be willing to lose everything that you may gain the Kingdom!! If not you will be like salt that has lost its flavour and in becoming useless will be cast out and not be found worthy of the Kingdom. My prayer is that you will do the will of God by giving Jesus your undivided allegiance.We are told that our parents and relatives and friends could even betray us. This is the flip side of us hating our relatives and friends, so we can follow after Jesus.The word in its context doesn't mean you are to have a bitter resentment of people so you can follow after Jesus. It is not about hatred as much as it has to do with divided loyalties. |
