Essence Of Obedience

“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ’If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear’” (Luke 14:25-35, ESV).

What is the essence of an airplane? It’s the wings. What is the essence of a car? It’s car engine. How about of the engine? It’s the piston.

What is the essence of a leche flan? It’s the egg.

What’s the essence of success? It’s accomplishing or achieving the goal. And what is the essence of encouragement? Google says, “strengthening hearts and inspiring bravery.”

This time, we’ll discuss the topic, ESSENCE OF OBEDIENCE, as we focus on our text (Luke 14:25-35).

If we consult the Google, we find that simply essence of obedience “…consists in the fact that a person comes to view himself as an instrument for carrying out another person’s wishes and he therefore no longer regards himself as responsible for his actions.”

However, the essence of obedience to God, in religious circle is understood as “complete surrender to God’s authority and Word. Doing anything God commanded us to do, regardless of the cost.”

All of us could say, “Amen!” to those words. But in our text, we could go deeper. We could see that the essence of obedience of every Christian is not manifested just on his “doing,” but in his “being.”

So, what is the essence of obedience, not just in the perspective of Google, not just in the general view of religious community but in the very perspective of Jesus Christ Himself?

Be reminded that the Book of Luke was written in the form of a letter to a man named Theophilus. The writer was Luke, who was a physician and a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. He presented the true humanity of Jesus and His place in history. Matthew showed Jesus, as the Jewish Messiah; Mark depicted Jesus, as the servant of God; and John proclaimed Jesus, as fully God. Along with other writers of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew and Mark), Luke emphasized repentance, while John stressed in believing the Gospel. There is a need, therefore, not just to believe in the Gospel but also to repent. As Jesus said, “… repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

A theologian and pastor said that in repentance we turn away from sin and turn to God. In believing, it’s like, we embrace Jesus. We don’t just turn from sin without embracing Christ. And we don’t just embrace Jesus without turning away from sin.

Now, Luke related in chapter 14 that after Jesus “went to dine in the house of a ruler of the Pharisees” (Luke 14:1), he proceeded to Jerusalem.

In our text, we learn how Jesus reacted when “great crowds accompanied him.” By what He said to them, we could have an idea just what is the essence of obedience in following Him.

And what is it? The important point that we can focus this time:

A GREAT LOVE FOR JESUS.

We need the whole text, but let’s just read verses 25-26, “Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.’”

The word “hate” in this verse should be understood as, “love less.” So, in the Contemporary English Version, we read verse 26: “You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot follow me unless you love me more than you love your own life.”