THE WAY OF THE STUDENT (LUKE 14:25-33)
Upon entering a little country store, a stranger noticed a sign reading “Danger! Beware of Dog” posted on the glass door. Inside, he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor besides the cash register.
The stranger asked the store manager, “Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?” “Yep, that’s him,” he replied. The stranger couldn’t help but be amused. “That certainly doesn’t look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?” “Because,” the owner replied, “before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him.”
Have you ever felt like the poor household dog? Old, sleepy and traumatized by outsiders, footsteps and boots?
Jesus had called us to be His disciples, to make a difference in the world, to be salt and light in society and to snatch lost people from the jaws of spiritual death, but, sadly, we have more resemble to sleeping dogs at rest than shepherd dogs at work. Today’s Christians have lost their bite, their legs and stomach for discipleship.
A disciple is a student of the Master - he represents Him with distinction, dedication and delight. The Master has challenged his students to forego the comfort of the family, the lure of sheltered living and the attraction of the world to join Him in the school of discipleship. Jesus used the word “disciples” three times in this passage to challenge all His followers to roll up their sleeves and join Him without regretting the journey or the loss.
Consider Your Priority
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. (Lk 14:25-26)
Luke 14:26 is very controversial due the critics’ assertion that it is anti-family - it pits children against parents, splits brothers and sisters apart and divides husbands and wives. The surest way for people to leave the church is for the pastor to expound passages like these. We have enough issues to divide the family today – money, politics and lack of time - and we certainly don’t need religion to drive the family further apart.
However, to understand this passage, we have to first understand what Jesus had to say about the duty of children. On two occasions, Jesus asserted that honoring parents is a command of God: to the rich young ruler (Lk 18:18-20, Mt 19:19) and to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law (Matt 15:1-4, Mark 7:5-10). The presence of the teachers of the law was crucial, since the teachers of the law were at the courtyard of the high priest, too (Mt 26:57, Mk 14:53) when three accusations brought against Jesus there were that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days (Mt 26:61, Mk 14:58); that he was the Christ, the Son of God (Mt 26:63, Mk 14:61, Lk 22:67) and that he was the king of the Jews (Mt 27:11, Mk 15:2, Jn 18:33).
Note that when push came to shove, the teachers of the law did not accuse Jesus of transgressing against parents, a blame they would be most willing to place on him if they had evidence or charge against him, especially since they had no problem parsing or misinterpreting other things Jesus had said to large crowds.
Also, the word “hate” has to be examined in the light of the Old and New Testament teachings. In Leviticus 19:17, the Old Testament teaches us not to hate our brother in our heart, and in Ephesians 5:28-29, Paul clarifies that, in a strict sense, no one ever hates his own body.
However, Jesus did use the word “miseo,” the same linguistic word for “misogynist” or “women-hater.” So what does the word “hate” means in the Aramaic sense, the language Jesus spoke?
It is certainly not used in the emotional, relational or literal sense of the word today. In the Semitic sense, according to I. Howard Marshal, one of the foremost scholars on the book of Luke, it means “to love less.” He said, “The thought is, therefore, not of psychological hate, but of renunciation.”
A passage correlating to Luke 14:25-33 is Matthew 10:37-38, where it says clearly: “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; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
The sad truth is that the problem for the average Christian today is not the argument with, the breakup of or withdrawal from the family over religion, but the absence of opposition, discussion or impact in the family. Christians who are not kept on their toes through moderate persecution now and then often have brittle legs, weak knees and flabby muscles due to others’ indifference to them.
Large crowds had followed Jesus to see what miracle He would do next, how He would restore Israel and when He would bring in His kingdom, but Jesus warned the fair-weathered crowd that there will come a time when they had to choose between family and Him.
While we do not see a reason or a teaching from this passage to disobey or disown our parents, debate or defy them, dishonor or dismay them, a disciple, nevertheless, is one who depends on God first and foremost, without pity or pause.
Though in many parts of the world today, following Jesus is no longer controversial, divisive or perilous, in Jesus’ time, it meant death. The religious climate would not allow one to remain silent, neutral or unscathed.
Disagreement in the family is a historical fact, a present reality and an eschatological event. Jesus said: “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:50-53)
Even in the last days, Jesus warned that “you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people (Matt 24:9-11).
Count the Cost
27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ’This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. (Lk 14:27-32)
There was a farmer who had three sons: Jim, John, and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and the others in the church tried for years to interest the family in the things of God to no avail. Then one day Sam was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Sam, but the outlook for Sam’s recovery was very dim indeed. So the pastor was called and appraised of the situation. The pastor arrived, and began to pray as follows:
“0 wise and righteous Father, we thank Thee that in Thine wisdom thou didst send this rattlesnake to bite Sam. He has never been inside the church and it is doubtful that he has, in all his time, ever prayed or even acknowledged Thine existence. Now we trust this experience will be a valuable lesson to him and will lead to his genuine repentance.
“And now, 0 Father, wilt thou send another rattlesnake to bite Jim, and another to bite John, and another really big one to bite the old man. For years we have done everything we know to get them to turn to Thee, but all in vain. It seems, therefore, that what our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has done. We thus conclude that the only thing that will do this family any real good is rattlesnakes; so, Lord, send us bigger and better rattlesnakes. Amen.”
Many Christians appear active, but they are not going nowhere, gaining ground or making headway in their commitment. The church often has to stand in as their motivator, baby-sitter and psychologist, trying to cajole them, stir them and entertain them to serve, at times getting into their schedule, inside their head and between their petty quarrels.
While eternal life is free, testimonials, ribbons and decorations are not. Crowns come to those who bear crosses, medals to those who sustain scars and corsages to those who deserve respect.
The early church disciples endure hardship like good soldiers of Christ Jesus
(2 Tim 2:3). They were crucified at the cross, left rotted in jail, torn apart by lions, and killed by the sword. Hebrews 11:36-37 testifies to the lot of believers in history: “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated.” Presently, many still die from beatings, bullets, bombs, beheadings and baseball bats. As the saying goes: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” According to Oswald Chambers, “There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.”
Jesus said that those who have not count the cost of following Him are opening the door to unfinished projects, future abandonment and long delays. Why start something when you cannot finish it? Why bear and wear Christ half-heartedly? Why choose to remain badly informed? Ignorant and indifferent Christians eventually waste their time, money and effort, and end up muddling the name of the Master, the church and Christianity.
So wear the cross of Jesus Christ and follow Him proudly and positively, not passivelyor pessimistically. Run with perseverance (1 Cor 9:24, Heb 12:1), finish the race and keep the faith (2 Tim 4:7).
Choose to Sacrifice
33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Lk 14:33)
A one dollar bill met a twenty dollar bill and said, “Hey, where’ve you been? I haven’t seen you around here much.” The twenty answered (as the dollar bill listened with envy), “I’ve been hanging out at the casinos, went out on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship, back to the United States for a while, went to a couple of baseball games, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?” The one dollar bill said, “You know, same old stuff - church, church, church.”
The British preacher Philip Hacking spoke of a time when, as a seminary student, he was challenged by a young communist, who left him grappling for an answer. The young man, who had left school at fourteen, had no higher education, but dutifully gave a quarter of his income to the cause of communism. He only slept four hours a night, occupying his time studying Marxism, and sleeping on the bare boards so that sleeping does not become a habit, luxury or temptation. But what he said was more shocking: “Look, you guys believe in God. You say Jesus is the Son of God. I don’t believe a word of it; you believe in the resurrection and heaven – if I believe what you say you believe I would do a lot more. But I guess you don’t really believe it because Christians don’t sacrifice as much as we do, do they?” (Keswick, 1983)
Every year we give our federal tax, state tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax money to the government, but what have we given to God who gave Himself completely to us? Do you give only what you do not want? Do you give only when there is church deficit? Or do you give if the pastor, the leadership and people are nice; if you are asked properly and if there is leftover? A man observed wryly: “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
Giving up everything means sacrificing your time, talents and treasures. I asked a pastor friend what giving up everything means and he said, “All the self’s: self-ambition, self-centeredness and self-sufficiency. The verb ‘give up’ implies ‘letting go’ or ‘loosening the grip’ to latch onto nothing except for Christ. Often the ones who are rich towards God are not necessarily the wealthy, but the average and poor of the earth.”
The truth is that God speaks with an ultimatum but He really carries a small stick. From experience, we know that God may have asked for all, but He has not taken our all. God is like the parent who deposits what an obedient child has given Him into a bank account under the child’s name for the child’s future use. And if the child, for safekeeping purposes, gives the parent the monetary gifts he receives from relatives, the parent would not only deposit the money in the child’s account but would match the fund and pay the extra out of his own pocket. On top of that, unknown to the child, the parent would return a gift to the relatives. God is like the parent who would return double to you what you give Him, the type who would buy you a house for every car you give and the friend who would return you a penny for every considerate thought.
However, God is not writing us a blank check. He wants His children to count their blessings, offer their best and follow Him gladly.
Conclusion: Martin Luther said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.” Are you a disciple and a servant of Jesus Christ who is on a real mission or a mere outing? Are you a tourist or a pilgrim? Do you bear the cross daily or rarely? While separation from family and friends is rarely fact, it is not fiction either. Finally, be strong in the Lord. Do not be a flabby, flaky, and foggy Christian; a cream puff, old “you-tiao” (a piece of fried flour) or a mile wide and an inch deep convert.
Victor Yap
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