Discipleship
The Terms of Discipleship
Sunday, April 25, 2010 am
Reading: Luke 14:16-35 ESV
Introduction:
As a minister, there is something that irritates me. Perhaps it should not, but it does. What bothers me is hearing about all these people who “used to be members of the church.” And I have to confess that I am irritated when someone suggests that I go visit them and try to persuade them to come back to church. It shouldn’t irritate me and most of the time I’ll go and talk to that person. But if the love of Christ doesn’t persuade them, what good will I be able to do?
Here’s why it bothers me so much. Most of the time, the person they want me to visit never was a disciple of Christ and never will be. They may have been members here, they may have been baptized here, but they never became a disciple. Now you may be thinking, “Dave that’s awfully judgmental of you. I’m surprised that you would say such a thing.” But I want to tell you that it’s not judgmental at all. It comes from the revealed will of God. A disciple of Christ wouldn’t give up on the church! Did you hear the scriptures that were just read? Let me read again for you verses 26, 27 and verse 33.
Luke 14:26 ESV "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.
Luke 14:27 ESV Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33 ESV So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Let me also read Luke 9:62 ESV Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Listen, if you want me to visit someone who “used to be a member here”, I’ll go, but my words will be, “Brother,” or “Sister, you need to repent.”
Let’s get into the lesson. It’s on “The Terms of Discipleship” and it’s based on Luke 14:16-35.
Lesson:
I. The Parable (Luke 14:16-24).
A. The telling of the parable.
1. Similarity to Matthew 22:1-14.
a. In Matthew 22, the one giving the banquet is not “a certain man” but a king.
b. Even though there is no mention in Luke 14 of the man being the king, we can assume that he is a person of wealth and importance.
c. But let’s remember that the word parable means “to throw alongside of”, so it’s not the story itself that is important, but what the elements in the story represent.
d. But we’ll get to that a little later.
2. The invitations are sent out in advance.
a. This man did not just announce that the banquet was beginning.
b. He planned and made preparations.
c. And the first thing he did was to send out the invitations in advance.
1.) There was plenty of time to prepare.
2.) And he prepared the banquet, the guests were to prepare to attend.
d. It’s not every day that the someone throws such a great banquet!
1.) It might take days or weeks or even months to prepare for such a great feast.
2.) There’s menus to plan, food to prepare, seating charts to be arranged, decorations to be placed, entertainment to be selected.
3.) But the first thing done is to set the date and send the invitations.
3. The invitations are declined.
a. But now the big day has come and the man sends out his servant and perhaps a carriage to pick up the guests.
b. But as the servant goes out to collect the guests, they all have excuses as to why they can’t attend.
1.) The first says, “I’ve bought a field and I must go inspect it.”
a.) It’s a field!
i. Can the inspection wait a day or two?
ii. How much can a field change in a couple of days, or even a couple of months?
b.) I can imagine that there might be a great deal of excitement and anticipation for this man who bought a field.
i. Obviously he bought this field for a purpose.
ii. Perhaps he was thinking of this he would like to do with the land.
iii. But his land became so important to him that he missed out on this great banquet.
c.) But it was getting dark (for that is the time when banquets are given).
i. How well could he really see the land?
ii. Could he really inspect it?
iii. Or was he just making excuses?
2.) The second man says, “I’ve just purchased 5 yoke of oxen and I must examine them.”
a.) This man made a deal and now wants to see if he made a good deal.
i. He’s already seen the oxen.
ii. But he hasn’t put them to the test.
iii. He thinks he made a good deal, but until he hooks the oxen up to a plow or cart, how can he really know?
b.) But again, is this the time to test your team of oxen, as the sun is going down?
c.) Once again, this is just an excuse; a baseless excuse.
3.) The third man says, “I just got married, I can’t come.”
a.) Of the three, this man had the best excuse.
b.) According to Deuteronomy 24:5 ESV "When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.
i. But this was no public duty!
ii. This was a feast!
iii. But his reply is the most curt, “I can’t come!”
4. The invitations reissued.
a. But not to the original invitees.
b. Now the invitation goes out to the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame.
c. Yet there is still room.
d. So the master sends the servant out to the highways and hedges, the remote places in search of those would come to the feast.
B. The meaning of the parable.
1. Obviously, the man giving the banquet is God.
2. There is some debate at what the banquet represents.
a. It is possible that Jesus is referring to the great banquet of the Lamb mentioned in Revelation 19.
b. But more likely, Jesus is comparing the great banquet to the church in this present age.
3. The invited guests.
a. The man who just purchased a field would be the elite of Israel.
1.) The Pharisees and the rulers of the people.
2.) They were more concerned with worldly power and influence than they were in their own spiritual and eternal welfare.
b. The man who just purchased a team of oxen represents the worldly Jews of Jesus’ day, who were more interested in the temporal, worldly things than in eternal, spiritual things.
c. The man who just got married represents those more concerned with pleasure than the things of God.
4. The poor, crippled, blind and lame represent the outcasts among the Jews.
a. They knew they needed God but were cast out of the synagogues by the Pharisees.
b. People like the prostitutes and tax gatherers Jesus reached out to in his ministry.
5. Those along the highways and hedges would be the Gentiles; foreigners to the covenant God made with Abraham.
C. The application of the parable.
1. The invitation, once restricted, is open to all.
a. The Pharisees looked down their noses at what God was offering them.
1.) The cost was to high.
2.) They would have to abandon their positions of power and influence.
b. The Jews, expecting a worldly Messiah, rejected Jesus.
c. Those more concerned with the pleasures of this earth rudely rejected what the Son of God offered them.
d. But their rejection meant the acceptance of the Gentiles. Romans 11:11-12 ESV So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. (12)Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
e. Just as the promise was given to Abraham and his descendants, the blessing extends to all. Galatians 3:8 ESV And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."
2. Many who are invited refuse the invitation.
a. Everyone seems to have an excuse as to why they should be excused from the feast we know as “the church”.
1.) “I’m too busy.”
2.) “I’m too tired.”
3.) “I want to spend the weekends with my family.”
4.) “Maybe later.”
5.) “I need to sow my ‘wild oats’ first.”
b. What excuses have you offered?
1.) You know what my excuse was for a long time? “I’m already religious enough.”
2.) Maybe you’ve heard that before, or made it yourself.
3.) But excuses are just excuses, they’re not valid reasons.
3. Those who refuse the invitation value the mundane over the spiritual.
4. The ones in attendance at the banquet are not necessarily the ones you would expect.
II. The terms of discipleship.
A. Luke 14:26 ESV "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.
1. What Jesus means is that if we want to be his disciple, we must put that relationship above every other relationship.
2. The word that Jesus uses for hate literally means “detest”.
a. But here he does not mean so in an absolute sense.
b. He means it in a comparative sense.
3. What Jesus means that our love for him must be so strong that even the love we have for our parents or children, our siblings or spouses must pale in comparison.
4. It’s not that we love Jesus a little more than parents, children, siblings or spouse; it’s that the difference is too huge to measure.
B. Luke 14:27 ESV Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
1. The cross was first and foremost an instrument of death.
2. Even our own mortal lives must be put under the discipleship of Jesus.
3. But the cross was also emblematic of shame and disgrace.
a. If you’re not willing to be humiliated by your friends, you can’t be a disciple of Jesus.
b. If you’re not willing to be tortured by your enemies for the cause of Christ, you can’t be his disciple.
c. If you’re not willing to be treated shamefully for believing in Jesus, you can’t be a disciple of Jesus.
1.) Being a disciple of Jesus is not for the faint of heart.
2.) It is not for those who seek the easy path.
3.) It is only for those who will follow Jesus wherever he leads.
a.) And let’s remember that he’s been to the cross.
b.) He’s been to hell and back.
c.) Are you willing to go with him?
C. Luke 14:33 ESV So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
1. Are you trusting in your wealth?
a. What about when it’s all gone?
b. What will save you when the money’s all gone?
2. Are you trusting in your power and influence?
a. That may work now, but what about when this life is over.
b. Do you believe that God is going to be impressed?
3. Maybe you’re just having too good a time to give much thought to Jesus.
a. How’s that going to work, when there is no more time?
b. Is it worth it?
4. Everything that you have or even think you have is God’s.
a. If you want to hold on to it, then you can’t be a disciple of Jesus.
b. But if you want to let go; if you will relinquish it all to God, then you can be a disciple of Jesus.
Conclusion:
In the parable, everyone made excuses. What’s your excuse?
Invitation:
Listen, salvation is free, but discipleship is costly. This passage of scripture mentioned the cost of becoming a disciple, but it will be a few weeks before we get to that.
Jesus said, Matthew 16:26 ESV For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Let me say this: the world has a lot to offer, but not in comparison to what Jesus offers.
Will you renounce all and follow Jesus? The victory is in the surrendering! Come!
