Luke 14:25-35
Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure heap; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
Do you think the crowds got smaller?
Luke shares that on this point of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, large crowds were travelling with him. Perhaps they were attracted to his brash, even confrontational style with the Pharisees. Perhaps they were amazed by his ministry of healing. Perhaps they just loved the vision of a kingdom he painted, a kingdom where the normal class and status divisions fall away and all are included.
Whatever the reason, he has by this time become something of a first-century rock start. And in response…he warns his followers that they have no idea what they are getting into!
Their allegiance to him will cause division between families, require them to give up what they hold dear, and demand more from them than they can possibly imagine. Keep in mind that as Jesus says this he is marching toward Jerusalem and the cross! For this reason Jesus says they should count the cost.
All of which makes me wonder whether the crowds suddenly thinned, whether people lost interest or decided the vision to which they had been attracted was nice, but perhaps not that nice.
Or maybe most continued. Consider that for two thousand years Christians have often had to count the cost, giving up what they hold dear, suffering division among family and friends, being drawn beyond that they could have imagined. Even today, Christians in many countries suffer all manner of persecution and still have to count the cost – the cost of the treatment their children receive in school, that they receive at work, even the risk of physical harm and death. North American Christians generally don’t face anything like this. But what if we did? Would we still find this message of a kingdom where all are included – the lame and crippled and socially outcast and those deemed beyond the pale – either attractive or compelling?
Or, perhaps the other way to ask it is this: if we really understood the kind of kingdom Jesus proclaimed and started working for it, would we suddenly have some costs of our own to count?
Prayer: Dear God, infuse us with the hope and courage of your vision for human community that we may be inspired to work for it here and now no matter what the cost. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I’ve been reading passages lately that show just how counter-cultural and radical Jesus was. He didn’t come bearing cupcakes and kisses for everyone. He said some pretty crazy stuff to the people. Some stayed; some stopped following, like in John 6:66.
“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” 1 Cor 1:20 It’s in Jesus’ radical teachings (and actions) we find the wisdom of God. I believe community starts with this Jesus as the cornerstone – not the one we can put on our desk as a cute bobble head doll; rather the one who came to do some heavy work and say some heavy stuff to us. If we considered this Jesus, we may have some costs of our own in life.
I’ve studied these parables and have found that I don’t have what it takes to be a disciple. Do any of us? Did the apostles? I now believe the common interpretations of these parables is probably incorrect. The King’s War Plans answers the question. We don’t have what it takes, so what do we do? We ask the king for his terms of peace. His terms of peace are to be salt of the earth. We must be repentant sinners:
Please see: http://www.lampofthebody.com/48-the-parables-of-building-a-tower-and-the-king-s-war-plans.html