Title: Sometimes Jesus Isn’t Warm and Cuddly
Text: Luke 14:25-33
Thesis: The decision to be a follower of Christ places all other affections in perspective.
Introduction
The current issue of Newsweek Magazine (September 10, 2007) featured Fred Thompson on the front cover along side the caption, Lazy Like a Fox. In the feature article, Newsweek reporter Holly Bailey wrote of Thompson’s visit at the Minnesota State Fair, “Everywhere he turns at this morning’s meet-and-greet… he is surrounded by hundreds of star-struck onlookers.”
On Thursday night, while all of the other candidates in the race for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States, were participating in a forum in New Hampshire, Fred Thompson was announcing his candidacy to the nation on NBC’s Tonight Show, Hollywood style.
The Friday, September 7, 2007 edition of The New York Times ran a column stating, “Fred Thompson’s goal is to don the Reagan Mantle.” The columnist quoted Citizens United president, David Bossie who said of Thompson, “It’s a fair comparison because of Fred Thompson’s ability to communicate and his likeability just comes across.”
The New York Times columnist states that Thompson is out to, “woo conservatives who are disheartened with the current slate of Republican candidates.”
It does not matter if it is Fred Thompson, or Rudolph Giuliani, or Mitt Romney, or Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton, or any other candidate in the race for president. They all want to appeal to the masses. They all want to draw a crowd of adoring supporters who will carry them into the White House.
No politician today is saying: “Let’s throw open the borders. Let’s tax the middle-class. Let’s reinstitute the draft and invade Iran. Let’s forget about public education. Let’s produce more greenhouse gasses and spur along global warming and the melting of sea ice so that the few remaining polar bears in the world will be relegated to the Canadian Arctic Islands. Let’s not worry about unemployment, inflation, controlling interest rates, the GNP or the balance of trade. Let’s keep skimming the surpluses off of
Social Security and not worry about what becomes of the aging in our country. Let’s not bother to give thought to the aging infra-structure of our nation and let the bridges collapse and the power grid black-out.”
Every politician wants to present himself or herself in a way that appeals to as many people as possible… or at least to speak to a group in such a way as to win the affection and the vote of the group being addressed. Those who want to gather a following try to appeal to the good will of their listeners.
The opening line of our text today says, “Great crowds were following Jesus…” So, Jesus was also something of a public figure. However,
he was either having a bad day or he, unlike most pastors and politicians, was not the least interested in how many people followed him around.
When he turned and spoke to the crowd, he was no warm and cuddly candidate for King. One might wonder just what it was he was trying to do?
Was he, as in agricultural terminology, trying to sift or winnow out the chaff from the grain. Was he, in educational terms, testing the applicants to see who would be admitted to the Jesus School of Discipleship? Was he, in military terminology seeing who would wash out of boot camp? Was he in athletic terminology attempting to determine who would make the team and who would be cut?
I wonder if Jesus was simply expressing his desire that those who chose to follow him be sincere and not just hangers-on, along for the ride?
One Sunday after church, Bonnie and I drove up to Boulder to have lunch at Murphy’s. The décor includes signs and placards with numerous amusing and cynical sayings or adages.
One quip that caught my eyes reads, “When the going gets tough, people leave.”
We are reminded of the conversation between Jesus and a wealthy man in Luke 18 who asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to receive eternal life. Jesus answered him saying, “You only lack one thing. Go and sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and they you will have treasure in heaven.” The story teller said that the man went away sad because he was very rich. It seems for some that the desire to follow Jesus and to have the hope of eternal life is superceded by the desire for earthly ease and affluence.
In nearly every venue of life there are times and situations that are tough and it is during those tough times that we discover who is truly sincere, devoted, and loyal… who will stick and see things through.
Jesus did not want there to be any disillusionment or misconception about what it meant to be one of his followers. In essence he said, “Following me is a choice and you need to decide if you really want to be my follower.
One way to look at this teaching of Christ is to think of his comments as considerations a person needs to think through before committing to be a Christian. The first consideration Jesus puts before his listeners has to do with family.
I. Will you love Jesus more than you love your family?
Jesus said, “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters… Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26
Some versions post an even more stark consideration in the use of the word hate saying, “If you want to be my follower you must hate your father and mother, and so on…”
This is very strong language if Jesus means that everyone who wants to be a Christian must love him and hate one’s family. In fact, if this is what Jesus means, he is contradicting what he lived and what the bible teaches about loving and caring for ones immediate family and the extended family of faith. It seems to me that the more devoted to Christ a person is, the more likely and able that person is to love his or her family.
When the speaker used the word hate, he was employing the literary devise we call hyperbole. A hyperbole is an overstatement or exaggeration intended to make a point.
The Denver Broncos drafted Marcus Thomas to be a defensive tackle this year. He is 6’3” tall and weighs 315 pounds. He can do a standing back flip and has bench pressed 225 pounds 27 times (at one time).
When we say, “Marcus Thomas is as big as a house,” we don’t mean he is literally as big as a house. We mean, he is really big.
When Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off or if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out,” Jesus does not mean we are to lop off our hands or blind our selves. He means, “Stop doing what you are doing and stop looking at what you are looking at if it is causing you to sin.”
In fairly recent news, Colorado Department of Revenue tax supervisor, Michelle Cawthra embezzled 11 million dollars of taxpayer money through a bogus tax refund scam. Jesus was not saying, “Michelle, if you are tempted to embezzle money you need to cut off the thieving hand.” He was saying, “Integrity is important and if you want to be a follower of mine it is important that you understand the seriousness of dishonest behavior and stop it.”
Jesus means that when you become a devoted follower of his, there may be times when you have to make a choice that reflects your commitment to him and desire to live as his obedient servant. In the most radical situations, it might mean loosing the affection and approval of those you love.
In Hendrickson’s Stories for the Soul, he tells the story of a Texas pastor who, while on a mission trip to Malaysia, saw a young woman come forward in a church service to announce her decision to follow Christ and be baptized. After the service he saw her carrying a suitcase and asked what was with the suitcase. She had brought her suitcase with her because her father had told her that if she was baptized as a Christian, she could never come home again.
Loving Christ more does not mean you read your bible instead of playing with your children or grandchildren. It does not mean you give all of your money to charity and let your family starve. It does not mean you serve God at the expense of neglecting your spouse and family obligations. It does mean you turn away from sinful behaviors and habits. It does mean you are conscientious about being a Christian in every situation and you will not sacrifice your Christian values when they run contrary to the influence of your spouse, parents, children, or whomever.
Jesus raised the bar even more when he asked,
II. Will you love Jesus more than you love your own life?
Jesus said, “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26
All of the four Gospels cite the following statement Jesus made to those who were considering becoming Christians.
He said, If anyone wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it But if you give up your life for my sake, you will find it. Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; and John 12:25
What does it mean to put aside one’s selfish ambition and take up your cross and follow me?
Roy and Vivian Sandbloom were members of our church for a few years. They have both gone to be with the Lord now. But, one of the things that stuck in my memory was a comment shared by his family when they gave a tribute in his memory. Roy worked for Texaco Oil in the refinery on the third shift. He was offered opportunities to move to the first and second shifts repeatedly but he refused each opportunity, even if it meant a promotion because he wanted to be able to sing in the choir, participate in bible study groups, and attend church with his family. For Roy, being able to practice his faith with his family and his faith community was more important than securing a good shift at the refinery. Not every opportunity in life is a good move for one’s family. Not every opportunity in life is a good move for one’s faith. .
In our text, Jesus went on to cite two examples of what he meant. He was asking everyone who would be his follower to literally count the cost of becoming a Christian.
In the first example he cited a construction project in which he said a builder does not begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills… otherwise you will not be able to complete the project.
In the second example he cited a king contemplating going to war saying that a wise king does not rush into a war he cannot win… otherwise he will suffer a devastating defeat.
During the communist era a church leader in Romania reported that when people came to him saying they had decided to become Christians, he would say to them, “It is good that you wish to become a Christian, but there will be a price to be paid. Why don’t you go home and reconsider what you want to do, Many things can happen to you and you can lose big.
He cited that after the inquirers had completed their classes and been baptized, many indeed paid a high price. In Romania it meant you could be demoted or lose your job. It meant you could lose your friends and the good will of your neighbors. It meant the loss of what little freedom they had in that they were closely watched by the government.
We are fortunate to live where we live but there is always a price to pay when we are serious about our desire to be followers of Jesus Christ. We know the cost of professing one’s faith in Christ in Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, and most recently in Afghanistan by the Korean missionaries who were held captive by the Taliban.
Having come from a rural and agricultural background, I have a liking for auctions. I enjoyed farm auctions, livestock auctions, estate auctions… and these days I will occasionally get in on an auction on the internet.
One of the things a wise bidder does is calculate the real value of whatever he or she wishes to bid on. Then a wise bidder decides what is his or her upper limit, i.e., how high will you go? At what point do you say, “That’s just too rich for my blood. I won’t go that high… I won’t pay that much.”
When Jesus invites a person to be a follower, he says, “You need to calculate the cost and if you aren’t willing to pay whatever it costs, don’t bid because the price of unconditional devotion to Christ and obedience to his Word and will is unkown.” It is a commitment to pay whatever the cost may be.
It is not my intent to paint a dismal picture of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. But neither is it my intent to suggest that being a devoted Christian is not without its considerations, challenges, and costs.
Not every…
• Not every non-Christian will honor the faith of a spouse.
• Not every employer will respect the integrity of an employee.
• Not every professor will applaud a Christian student’s perspective.
• Not every friend will celebrate a Christian who will not longer party-hardy.
• Not every parent approves when a child chooses Christian ministry rather than the family business.
• Not every fiancée wants to marry to someone of the Christian faith.
• Not every proponent of another religion looks kindly on the presence or practice of Christianity.
• Not every political power will allow the influence of Christianity to infiltrate its idealisms.
Jesus is not saying Christianity is a drag and a huge, unthinkable burden that no thinking person would embrace. But he is saying, “As thinking people, I want you to think before you embrace the prospect of being a follow of Christ. I want you to look before you leap."
My prayer is that you will find the will to fully commit to being a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
G.K. Chesterton said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried.”
