Real Discipleship--Luke 14:25-35

After Jesus finished the meal in the house of the leader of the Pharisees, Jesus continued to travel south toward Jerusalem. Many crowds followed Jesus, and Jesus told them what is required to be his followers, his disciples. This paragraph appears in Luke 14:25-35. This falls into three parts. I. Abandon family and self-centeredness to follow Jesus. Luke 14:25-27. a. As Jesus traveled, the crowds followed Jesus because of the blessings and marvelous things he associated with the kingdom of God. Jesus specifically enumerates THREE conditions of true discipleship. 14:25. b. The FIRST condition is that one must HATE his father, mother, children, brothers, and sisters to be Jesus' disciple. Hate is the opposite of love--see Luke 16:13; 6:22, 27. The whole issue which Jesus declares is about long-term allegiance. Will an individual hold on to the concepts and background and traditions of his or her family or hold on to Jesus in his life and teaching? Genesis 29:31-33; Deuteronomy 21:15-17; Psalm 139:21-22 describe the strong contrast between love and hate. Abraham struggled with whether he would leave his father Terah and obey God by going to the land of Canaan. Unfortunately, Abraham stayed with his father until he died. They lived in Haran many years, and God had to call Abraham a second time to persuade Abraham to go to the land of Canaan. Genesis 11:27-12:7. 14:26a. c. The SECOND condition is that one must hate himself, take up his cross and follow Jesus. To take up one's cross is a bold risk to deny oneself's desires, dreams, aspirations, motivations to follow the call and charge of Jesus. 14:26b-27. II. Building a tower and waging war. Luke 14:28-33. a. Jesus uses two parables about the importance of long- term commitment and perseverance to God through Jesus Christ. b. The first parable is about building a tower. Before building a tower, one must sit down, estimate the cost, and see whether there is enough to complete the project. It is one thing to begin a project, and quite another thing to complete it. 14:28-30. c. The second parable is about waging a war. A good king will first sit down and consider whether he is able with 10,000 soldiers to oppose an army of 20,000 soldiers. If he realizes he cannot win, he will send a delegation and ask for peace. 14:31-32. d. These two parables lead to the THIRD condition for being a true disciple. One must give up all his possessions if he wishes to be a true disciple of Jesus. Wealth is one of the great enemies of godly living and commitment. See 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19. 14:33. III. Salt is a metaphor for true allegiance. Luke 14:34-35. [For the same figure, see Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:50]. a. Jesus concludes his discussion about true discipleship by teaches a brief, simple lesson about salt. Salt is good as long as it does not lose its saltiness. If salt loses its seasoning power, it is useless. 14:34. b. In a similar way, if one commits himself or herself to God, and later attaches oneself to someone or something else, that person ceases to be a true follower of God through Jesus Christ. Life is long. It is very difficult for an indivudal to be committed to God through Jesus Christ throughout his or her whole lifetime. This text is a great reminder. 14:35. Share YOUR experiences and failures and shortcomings and dreams and successes with others. Let me hear from YOU. John Willis