Counting The Cost Series

This evening’s message is entitled, “Counting the Cost,” and it’s taken from a passage of Scripture that is sometimes called, “The Cost of Discipleship.” When Jesus spoke about the cost of discipleship He incorporated two parables to illustrate His point. One parable speaks of a tower builder and the other mentions a king preparing for battle. This evening we will examine closely Jesus’ use of these two parables, in order to gain a firm grasp on His message.

I would like to begin this sermon with an illustration: “A hen and a pig approached a church and read the advertised sermon topic: ‘What can we do to help the poor?’ Immediately the hen suggested they feed them bacon and eggs. The pig thought for a moment and said, ‘There is only one thing wrong with feeding bacon and eggs to the poor. For you it requires only a contribution, but for me it requires total commitment’.”(1) In our passage, Jesus wants us to consider whether we, as Christians, are making only small contributions to the kingdom or a total commitment.

Bearing Your Cross (vv. 25-27)

25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Jesus came to share a message of salvation; but right here, you might think He didn’t want anyone to be His disciple. He told all those who were following Him around that if they continued with Him that they would have to forsake their own families, and bear a cross. If Jesus wanted to gain followers, then why would He have told people that they would have to hate their families and possibly die on a cross? Pastors today do not gain a following by telling women to hate their husbands, for example, or by telling the people of their congregation that if they come to church they will have to die.

Jesus wasn’t concerned about gaining a great following. When it came to finding true believers He wasn’t seeker sensitive. He was more concerned about the hearts of those few who would follow. He would have rather had a faithful few than a mutinous multitude. Jesus stated in John 4:23 that He desired to be worshipped in spirit and truth. By “spirit,” He meant that those who worship Him should do so with all their heart and soul. They should be willing to give their very life to Him. By “truth,” Jesus meant that He wanted His followers to be truthful in their relationship with Him; they needed to sincerely desire closeness and fellowship with Him.

In order to convey to the multitude the kind of closeness and dedication that He desires, Jesus taught His lesson through the use of two parables. So, how did these two parables portray the dedication that Jesus desires of His followers? Well, we shall find out as we continue reading.

A Tower Builder (vv. 28-30)

28 “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’.”

These verses tell about a person who wanted to build a tower. To what kind of tower was Jesus referring? He might have been speaking of a watchtower that was built to guard against incoming enemy soldiers; but there is another type of tower that appears to bring more meaning to this passage.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary says, “In addition to the military function of towers, farmers built small watchtowers in fields and vineyards. These towers provided elevated positions from which fields were guarded; the ground floor of such structures served as living quarters for fieldworkers or guards, since ripening crops had to be guarded day and night.”(2) An example of one of these towers is seen in “The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers,” in Matthew chapter 21.

A vineyard watchtower served to guard the vineyard. In many of Jesus’ parables the vineyard represents either the assembly of His kingdom people, or the field of souls to be harvested. If the vineyard represents the field of souls in which Jesus commands Christians to labor, then the watchtower could represent a church situated within the vineyard. When someone confesses Jesus as Savior and Lord, he becomes a part of Christ’s church and has a responsibility to see to the growth of the church. So, why is it important for the person who wishes to build a church to first determine whether he is able to finish its construction? What are some things that first need to be considered?