Jesus And Giving Series

Jesus and Giving

Text: Luke 14:15-33

Luke 14:25-33 (NIV)

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:

26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

As we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday our minds may turn to the things we can be thankful for. This is a good mindset for us to have considering the season. But today we will turn to examine what Jesus had to say about giving. And we will ask what giving looked like to Jesus. This passage in Luke 14 is considered to be one of the “Hard Sayings” of Jesus. And, indeed it takes a bit of explanation to make sense of it.

First, when Jesus talks about hating one’s close relatives the word “hate” must be explained so we don’t miss the point Jesus is making. To hate means to “choose not to value” those in our family or even our own life over our allegiance to Jesus. You see, our discipleship to Christ is a matter of settled priorities. A real disciple of Christ is one who puts Jesus first in his life, over family, over career, over hobbies, over finances. Without such loyalty to Jesus, real discipleship will never happen.

A similar statement is found in Matthew 10:

Matthew 10:37-39 (NIV)

37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

This is another hard saying of Jesus, but, like the Luke 14 passage, it explains Christian discipleship so that we don’t make the mistake of what has been called “easy believism”. You see, “fair weather Christianity” will not bring the believer through the storms of life. And you know, we will face such storms. The point is, If you’re going to be a Christian at all, then be a whole hearted Christian or not at all.

You may not know this, but Madeleine Murray O’Hare, the famous atheist, was a Christian teenager, who changed her mind about God when her boyfriend dumped her. For the rest of her life, she hated and opposed everything about God. This is the kind of thing that happens to people with a weak, shaky, connection to Christ.

What did it cost for Jesus to save me?

Let’s begin by taking a look at what Jesus went through so that he could be our savior. In most world religions, when a deity comes to earth he arrives in a cloud of glory and goes about in grandeur and overwhelming power. I remember reading in the Bhagvad Gida about Krishna, the blue skinned Hindu god, who came to earth and rode around in a chariot with a great warrior named Arjuna who was his brother in law. Such is what is common with deities in various world religions. But how did Jesus choose to come to earth? Did he ride in a chariot of fire? Did he arrive on a lightning bolt? No! Isaiah 9:6 tells us how the savior would arrive on earth. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…”

Philippians 2 also explains to us about the form Jesus took on in coming to earth. Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

Jesus was fully deity in Heaven, but gave that up to become fully human on earth. As God’s Son, he had a name that is higher than any other name, but he gave that up to take on the humble role of a servant, and he even submitted to a torturous death like a criminal on a cross. Furthermore, Jesus took our sins upon himself. 2 Cor. 5:21 says, He, who had never sinned, became the representative of sin for us so that we could be given righteousness as a gift. While Jesus hung on the cross taking our sins upon himself, God, the Father, looked away causing Jesus to say, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” What many may not realize is that these words of Jesus on the cross were prophesied by King David 950 years before in Psalm 22:1. Jesus could not take my sin on himself without experiencing, at least temporarily, what it felt like to be separated from God.