COSTS OF THE JOURNEY
In this series from Luke we are seeing how following Jesus – what we call discipleship – is like a journey with him. This is what the disciples did in Luke’s Gospel, where Chapters 9-19 are in the form of a journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. In the first week Wayne introduced the series with the story of the call of Levi, simply to follow, accepted by the Lord although he was a social outcast. Then Simon talked about our need for faith on the way. Wayne then spoke about how aligning our lives with Jesus needs repentance. He showed how we can envisage that in terms of the “Kairos circle”, transforming our lives progressively in Jesus’ direction. My theme is the costs we must bear on the way.
Costs of following Jesus
Jesus makes it crystal clear that there are costs of following him, of aligning our lives with his. In 9:22, Jesus foretells to the disciples his own suffering and death. Then he turns to them in 9:23 and says bluntly "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Wow. Not an easy road, the road to Jerusalem. Was he just talking to his disciples? Well, we know that all of them except John met a violent death. But look closer. He refers to “anyone” not “you”. He links his cross to his followers’ fate when the disciples had no idea how he would die. No, he’s talking to us the readers of the Gospel who know the whole story. Notice he’s talking of a choice set before us, he sets us free to choose or reject Him. The issue is not suffering generally, like illness or accident but suffering which is a direct consequence of our choice to be a disciple. And then there’s the word “daily”. His call to his followers at the very outset of the journey is to daily sacrificial living – not martyrdom.
All that seems hypothetical and easily forgotten, if a little unsettling – but he repeats the phrase in 14:27 “anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”. He is serious. And he wants to concretise it so we understand what the costs are of following him on the journey. Let’s listen to a threefold clarification in 9:57-62: “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Willing followers face uncomfortable choices. Jesus is telling anyone who follows him – and that includes us - to forget about a comfortable home and financial independence “no place to lay his head”. He’s also saying his call has priority over the most important obligations in society, then or now, those to our parents and wider family. He’s not saying – choose me and not Satan. He’s saying – choose me over the very best and noblest of human relationships and motivations. No earthly tie, however close, must take precedence over our allegiance to and obedience of Jesus. Note too that in ancient times the family was even more crucial to people’s lives that it is now. A costly call indeed!
Then he warns his followers that they may suffer persecution. Luke 12:12: "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." When not if you are going on trial. Think of Stephen’s death at the hands of the authorities in Acts and Jesus is making a direct prophecy. We as his followers may all face similar situations, of criticism if not martyrdom.
There is also a financial cost to following him, in Luke 12:32-34 – his followers must travel light on the road: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus wants us to be aware in advance of these costs of discipleship, lest we find them too hard and fall away. Before we set out on the journey we must ensure we have resources to finish it. Listen to the two parables in Luke 14:28-33:
"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? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’” 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? 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. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
For a “tower” you might have “house”. He is saying that there are not only costs of following him, but also of setting out to be a disciple and falling away – in one case ridicule and the other case defeat in battle. Only adequate forethought and estimation can avoid these – not, in other words taking on a frivolous commitment to him. Instead, the commitment must be absolute – to give up everything. As we have seen this can include home, independence, family, wealth – dropping out of contemporary society- and for all that, facing persecution.
A counter cultural message
Let’s see how Jesus’ message translates into our modern world. The answer is it is as deeply counter cultural today as it was then. What does the culture of today tell us? Well, we are disciplined from birth to be consumers, by adverts, by our friends, our family. We learn early on that it’s important to have our needs met – ask parents of preteens who are already craxy for designer-label clothes. Nowadays people want control of their lives, to have direction of their work, leisure and relationships – the autonomous self in pursuit of happiness, independently of others. The divorce rates witness to it. Everyone want possessions and resources for meeting needs. To keep them is key to security. We all buy insurance, strong locks and burglar alarms. And all want to fit in with those around, to be admired and praised. People work hard for all these things, and work is done for what we get out of it, status and income to consume, to control, to keep. And people may be possessive about families, keeping them close, building futures on their children’s…
As Christians we are of course not caught up in all that are we? Well, think again – a Christian can easily fall into all these worldly traps. We come to church, say we love Jesus, and we just listen. Just listen. We want our needs met by the worship, by the sermon, or we are dissatisfied consumers of religious services. We email the pastor in disgruntlement. We want to keep control of our lives, our possessions – we strictly limit our giving of money and time to the church. TV nights are sacrosanct. We can protect ourselves from criticism by just being like everyone else on all other days, keeping very quiet about our faith. Swearing and stealing if the context warrants it. And yes, family and status and work can become “gods” for those who say they love Jesus too. Isn’t it easy to love Jesus in these ways – and yet hollow – a bit like buying fire insurance to keep out of hell. Remember the hard question "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
Our challenge is to become counter cultural, to cross a bridge if you like, by faith – remembering Simon’s sermon - through repentance – as Wayne taught – and in the power of the Holy Spirit from the “me” world of today’s culture to the “him” world of discipleship, following him on the journey. That is what he is calling to us to do in these texts from Luke. We are called to deny ourselves, serve God and emulate Jesus, carrying our cross daily. We mustn’t just say we love Jesus, we must show it in our actions, as James puts it “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” It will be a gradual process, crossing the bridge, but one of infinite value as we shall see.
What will our world look like when we are fully aligned with Jesus? We will become givers and not consumers, working for the kingdom of God in any way God calls us. Meeting his needs and their needs – the people of God, the lost, the needy – and not ours. We give up control and follow Jesus, allowing God to direct us. We are willing to become dependent on others even for our daily survival needs, when that’s appropriate.
We cease to keep our possessions, money and time to ourselves, we give them away joyfully. We give at least a tenth of our income to the church. We give time to the needy in the community. We might house someone for a time who is in deep need; at Eunja’s we met friends who have had a series of troubled teenagers staying for a few months each. We honour God by spending time praying to him, even in the middle of the night in 24 every 7. We are willing to become vulnerable and not protect ourselves; we speak up for Jesus to help save the lost. We act with integrity in our work and don’t cut moral corners as the world would do, even if we end up with a lower bonus as a result. We don’t make family our idol; when we get less possessive about our family we may paradoxically find that distance is necessary to love. We may work for no reward as Jesus tells us in Luke 17:11 “when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
And yes all these have their costs. We are subordinating our needs to those of others. We give up the right to choose our way in life, and our independence. We no longer have the same time or money to devote to what pleases us. We may suffer ridicule and conflict as we go “beyond the pale” of normal behaviour. Our families may not understand us as we commit to Jesus. Our efforts may go without financial reward.
Costs, rewards and the Spirit’s power
Are we ready to bear these costs, on the journey with Jesus, carrying our cross? A first point is that if we think following Jesus is precious, wouldn’t we pay a price? Would you expect to get an Ipod, a house, a car for nothing? But he also wants to encourage us. Listen to 9:24-26 “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self.” And 12:8-9 ""I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” Salvation and eternity are at stake in choosing to accept the costs of discipleship; the culture of today would have us save our lives and disown Jesus, but that is the road to self deception, and away from the true life he offers. Furthermore, there are positive rewards for obedience, now and in the life to come: Luke 18:29-30. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."
Also, the me-life in today’s culture is not without costs. Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:1 that it’s a form of slavery: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” The me-culture is just a form of slavery to false gods, the self, the possessions, the pleasure. A culture that leads to hell.
Furthermore, although following Jesus by faith and repentance, over that bridge is hard initially it leads to joy as we learn and come closer to Jesus. We gain the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And we won’t be alone. As we heard, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would help us in our troubles, when we are on trial, as he does for the persecuted church round the world. The Holy Spirit is there to help us over the bridge generally, encouraging us to step out in faith and repentance. Yesterday we had the Alpha Awayday and heard Nicky Gumbel teach that Christians are encouraged to be refilled with the Holy Spirit. Without him, we are like a boiler on its pilot light, only when we are filled does the heating power of the gas main come with a mighty whoosh…if you feel a need to be filled with the Spirit in the light of this challenging message, don’t miss asking for prayer afterwards.
Lets hear the testimony of two of Jesus’ greatest servants about the joy of bearing the costs of discipleship in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul in Romans 5:3-5 says “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” We are not forsaken as we join with Jesus on the journey, his Holy Spirit is with us as we bear the costs. And Peter, who heard Jesus speak of carrying the cross, said to encourage us in 1 Peter 4:14-16: “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
Bonhoeffer, discipleship and grace
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a heroic German pastor who was finally hanged for opposing the Nazis. His book “The Costs of Discipleship” sets out the message today far better than I and I recommend you read it. Let me quote him: “Suffering then is the badge of true discipleship. The disciple is not above his master… That is why Luther reckoned suffering among the marks of the true Church… If we refuse to take up our cross and submit to suffering and rejection at the hands of men, we forfeit our fellowship with Christ and have ceased to follow Him. But if we lose our lives in His service and carry our cross, we shall find our lives again in the fellowship of the cross with Christ. The opposite of discipleship is to be ashamed of Christ and His cross and all the offense which the cross brings in its train.”
And he quotes a word from God received by Luther “it is not you, no man… but I myself, who instruct you by my Word and Spirit in the way you should go. Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is clean contrary to all you choose or contrive or desire—that is the road you must take. To that I call you and in that you must be my disciple."
And what would Bonhoeffer call the superficial Christian who follows the “me” culture. He’d call him a beneficiary of “cheap grace”. “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”….“Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under the grace from his old life under sin.”
John Stott adds “No wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the church and dismiss religion as escapism.” Not an attractive faith for evangelism, unlike the passion of a committed believer – and the persecuted church.
How can we respond?
There are some nitty gritty lessons for us at PBC from this message. We need to examine ourselves as to whether we come to church as consumers, conformed to the world, to listen and not act and benefit from cheap grace. Do we give as best we can, given our incomes? Are we willing to devote time to the needs of the poor? Do we allow ourselves to be vulnerable in saving the lost? It’s not all negative. We can say yes there is a good volunteer culture at PBC – but do we let others bear the burden, for example of chair moving, cleaning etc.?
Maybe all this sounds trivial. But let’s remember that Jesus relies on us to take on the costs of discipleship, the costs he paid at an infinitely higher level. If we don’t take them on, there will simply be no kingdom of God on earth. We won’t know Jesus. We may (we may) be saved but we will never be sanctified as “lukewarm, uncommitted Christians on the left side” – and what a joy we will miss. And we won’t make him known. Only when those lost in the world see us as truly counter cultural, bearing the costs of discipleship, will they sit up and take notice, consider the claims of Jesus on their lives. Remember what Stott says about hypocrites – and see how the church grows where it is persecuted!
So let me challenge you to consider where you are on the “bridge” from the culture of this world to sacrificial discipleship? Are you being transformed by faith and repentance to deny yourself, to serve God and emulate Jesus? Are you ready to totally submit to Christ’s Lordship? To accept his costly grace? Will you accept the Holy Spirit’s power and infilling to help you step over the bridge? The prayer team – or someone you turst, will be available to pray for you about these things.
To help us reflect, lets read together some familiar song lyrics, but listen in our hearts as we read them in the light of this message. Let them resonate and lead to a response in our lives:
“I will offer up my life in Spirit and truth, pouring out the oil of love in my worship to you
In surrender I must give my every part, Lord receive the sacrifice of a broken heart”
“King of endless worth, nothing could express how much you deserve.
Though I’m weak and poor, all I have is yours, every single breath”
“I will bow down, hail you as king, I will serve you, give you everything,
I will lift up my eyes to your throne, I will trust you, I will trust you alone”.
“All I once held dear, built my life upon, all the world reveres and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss, spent and worthless now compared to this
Knowing you Jesus”
Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus, come Holy Spirit.
