I ADMIT IT! I HAVE A TENDENCY TO BE “CHEAP”! WHEN FACING UTILITY BILLS, CAR REPAIR, MEDICAL CO-PAYS, OR HOME REPAIRS, I ALWAYS SEEM TO AKS ONE PARTICULAR QUESTION FIRST: HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST? IT IS AN HONEST QUESTION. WE’LL ALWAYS BE CONCERNED WITH COST AND HOW MUCH WE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THINGS. THE SAME CONCERN IS TRUE FOR OUR FAITH.
WHEN IT COMES TO OUR FAITH AND BEING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, WE DON’T GET ANY OTHER OPTION. WE ARE REQUIRED TO STOP AND CONSIDER THE COST. THIS IS “BLUNT-FORCE REALITY” IS GIVEN TO CHALLENGE US TO SEE IF WE ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE LIFE CHANGING ACTIONS AND MAKE THE LIFE ALTERING DECISION TO BE A CHRISTIAN.
JESUS WARNS US ABOUT THE EXTREMELY HIGH COST OF DISCIPLESHIP. COMMITMENT TO HIM MUST FAR EXCEED ANY DEVOTION TO OUR EARTHLY OBLIGATIONS. WORDS, LIKE “SACRIFICE” “RADICAL OBEDIENCE” AND “COMMITMENT” MUST BE ROOTED DEEPLY INTO OUR HEARTS. IT IS THE STARK REALITY THAT WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO WITHDRAW OR TURN-BACK TO “POLITELY EXCUSE OURSELVES” TO GO STAND OVER ALONG THE OUTSIDE PERIMETER AS INDIFFERENT, UNENGAGED, AND DISTANT FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST.
THERE IS A COST INVOLVED WITH DISCIPLESHIP. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE OF FOLLOWING JESUS? CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT WHO ONE IS AND WHAT ONE BECOMES.
JESUS CALLS US INTO A RELATIONSHIP NOT "JUST" A DECISION. JESUS NEVER SAID HE WANTED JUST DECISION-MAKERS TO FOLLOW AFTER HIM. JESUS WANTED DISCIPLES WHO WOULD PAY THE PRICE OF ENTERING INTO A LIFE-LONG RELATIONSHIP OF LEARNING ABOUT AND RELATING TO BOTH HIM AND THE FATHER.
THIS RELATIONSHIP HE SPOKE OF WOULD DEMAND EFFORT AND A LOT OF COMMITMENT. IN OTHER WORDS, ONE WOULD HAVE TO PAY A PRICE IF THEY WANTED TO FOLLOW AFTER JESUS. THIS WAS THE COMMAND JESUS WAS TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO THE LARGE CROWD THAT HAD BEEN FOLLOWING HIM ON HIS WAY TO JERUSALEM.
THREE TIMES JESUS SAID IF THEY DID NOT GO ALONG WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE KINGDOM, THEY COULD NOT BE HIS DISCIPLES. JESUS CLEARLY LAYS OUT THE EXPECTATIONS. JESUS SAID THAT IF THEY REALLY WANTED TO FOLLOW HIM AND BE HIS DISCIPLE THEY MUST HATE THEIR FAMILY AND HATE THEIR OWN LIFE, AT THE SAME TIME, CARRYING THEIR CROSS.
FIRST, YOU MUST HATE YOUR OWN FAMILY AND EVEN YOUR OWN LIFE IN ORDER TO BE ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES. SECONDLY, YOU MUST CARRY YOUR OWN CROSS WHILE FOLLOWING AFTER JESUS. THE DEMANDS THAT JESUS MAKES UPON THOSE WHO WOULD FOLLOW HIM ARE EXTREME AND EXPENSIVE. WE SHOULD HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER GOD. IT IS A RELATIONSHIP BUILT ON SACRIFICE, OBEDIENCE, REPENTANCE, COMMITMENT, AND SERVICE.
YES! IT WILL SHAKE OUR FOUNDATIONS, TOPPLE OUR PRIORITIES, PIT US AGAINST FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND MARK US AS ENEMIES TO THIS WORLD. BUT, YOU WILL SOON FIND IT’S WORTH IT!
HOWEVER, TO SOME, IT ISN’T. THIS IS WHY SO MANY ARE CHRISTIANS IN “NAME ONLY” OR WHY THEY BAIL OUT OF THE FAITH ALTOGETHER. THIS IS MOST OF THE REASON WHY MANY WILL NEVER BECOME A PART OF CHRISTIANITY. JESUS SAID “FOLLOWING HIM” REQUIRES MUCH AND COSTS JUST AS MUCH BECAUSE OF THE COMMITMENT IT TAKES TO ENSURE THAT NOTHING WILL EVER GET IN THE WAY OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
YOU CAN LIVE IN THIS WORLD, BUT YOU CANNOT BE OF THIS WORLD. ROMANS 12:1 IS PRETTY CLEAR “BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD…!” YOU MUST HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT INCLUDING YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY. NOW, WE KNOW THIS IS “HYPERBOLE WHICH IS AN EXAGGERATION AND NOT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY. JESUS DIDN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULD HATE WITH A LITERAL HATE. THE WORD JESUS USES FOR "HATE" ACTUALLY MEANS "TO LOVE LESS THAN."
JESUS WAS SAYING THAT OUR LOVE FOR HIM SHOULD BE SO STRONG, COMPLETE AND WHOLEHEARTED THAT, ALL OTHER LOVE, IS LIKE HATRED IN COMPARISON. OUR DEVOTION TO CHRIST CANNOT BE LESS THAN WHOLE-HEARTED. I LIKE WHAT LEON MORRIS SAID IN HIS COMMENTARY STUDY OF VERSE 26: “DEVOTION TO CHRIST CANNOT BE LESS THAN WHOLE-HEARTED. DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT PERIODIC VOLUNTEER WORK ON ONE’S OWN TERMS AND AT ONE’S OWN CONVENIENCE.”
NOTHING CAN COME IN BETWEEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. NO OTHER LOVE, NO OTHER OBLIGATION, NO OTHER ACTIVITY CAN BE ALLOWED TO STAND IN BETWEEN THE SAVIOR AND HIS DISCIPLES. STRONGLY PUT: CHRIST WILL HAVE FIRST PLACE OR NO PLACE IN OUR HEARTS AND LIVES!
SOME WISH WE COULD TONE THIS DOWN A BIT. SOME WOULD EVEN HOPE THAT IT WAS JUST HYPERBOLE. THAT IS, EXAGGERATED STATEMENTS OR CLAIMS NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY. JESUS WASN'T KIDDING WHEN HE SAID THERE WOULD BE DEMANDS THAT WOULDN'T BE EASY TO FOLLOW, HE MEANT IT. THIS IS WHY JESUS CONTINUED ON BY MAKING A SECOND DEMAND, WHICH IS FOR US TO PICK UP AND CARRY OUR CROSSES.
THOSE IN THE CROWD WERE FULLY AWARE OF WHAT IT MEANT TO "CARRY THE CROSS." WHEN A CRIMINAL WAS TO BE EXECUTED, THEY WERE FORCED TO CARRY THE CROSS BEAM ON WHICH THEY WOULD DIE. THIS NOT ONLY SHOWED SUBMISSION TO ROME, BUT ANNOUNCED A VIVID WARNING TO THOSE WATCHING THAT THEY HAD BETTER SUBMIT AS WELL.
JESUS GAVE THIS TEACHING TO GET THE CROWD OF PEOPLE TO RE-EVALUATE THEIR ENTHUSIASM FOR HIM. HE ENCOURAGED THOSE WHO WERE SHALLOW EITHER TO GO DEEPER AND GET SERIOUS OR TO TURN BACK AND GO HOME. THIS IS WHY JESUS TOLD THE TWO SHORT PARABLES TO GIVE EXAMPLES OF WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE JOINING HIM AS A DISCIPLE. HE TOLD OF STORY OF THE MAN WHO WANTED TO BUILD A TOWER AND A KING WHO WAS PLANNING FOR WAR.
BOTH PARABLES WERE USED BY JESUS TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF COUNTING THE COST. IN THE FIRST PARABLE JESUS WAS SAYING "SIT DOWN AND CALCULATE WHETHER YOU CAN AFFORD TO FOLLOW ME."
NOTICE, JESUS USED THE WORD “SIT” TO IMPLY THAT ONE DOES NOT RUSH INTO THE DECISION. YOU TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK INTO, STUDY, AND CONSIDER THE WEIGHT OF THE COMMITMENT YOU ARE ABOUT TO MAKE BY BECOMING A DISCIPLE.
THE SECOND THING I LIKE IS THE FOCUS ON THE FOUNDATION OF BEING “MOCKED” FOR GETTING NO FURTHER THAN “GROUND ZERO” WITH BUILDING A TOWER. THIS IMPLIES TO ME OF WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT IT IS TO THE CHURCH AND ALL CHRISTIANS (IN GENERAL) TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN AND THEN GO NO FURTHER TO GROW IN THEIR FAITH… NOT GOING DEEPER OR NOT EVEN TRYING…SHALLOW AT BEST.
NOTHING DISCREDITS THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE CHURCH MORE THAN PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THEY ARE A CHRISTIAN, BUT LIVE SHALLOW, SUPERFICIAL AND IMMATURE LIVES TO THE POINT THAT YOU CAN’T TELL THEM APART FROM THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. JESUS SAID: SIT DOWN AND COUNT THE COST TO SEE IF YOU CAN PAY THE PRICE TO BE A CHRISTIAN.IN THE SECOND PARABLE OF THE KING PREPARING FOR WAR, IT WAS "SIT DOWN AND EVALUATE WHETHER YOU CAN AFFORD TO REFUSE MY DEMANDS."
AGAIN, THE WORD “SIT” IS USED TO EMPHASIZE THAT IT IS NOT BE A CASUAL, OFF THE CUFF DECISION, BUT WELL PLANNED AND THOUGHT OUT DECISION THAT WE KNOW WE ARE UP AGAINST A VICIOUS ENEMY, THE DEVIL, AND HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO SPIRITUALLY DO BATTLE AGAINST THE REALM OF SATAN.
IF WE ARE TO FOLLOW JESUS, THEN A TOTAL COMMITMENT IS EXPECTED BECAUSE ONE MUST KNOW WHAT THEY ARE GETTING INTO TO AVOID BEING LED ASTRAY OR TEMPTED TO TURN BACK WHEN LIFE GETS HARD AND THE GOING GETS TOUGH!
THE LESSON IS PLAIN AND THIS IS WHY, IN VERSE 33, JESUS SAID IT ONE MORE TIME, "SO NO ONE CAN BECOME MY DISCIPLE WITHOUT GIVING UP EVERYTHING FOR ME." THE GREEK WORD FOR "GIVING UP" LITERALLY MEANS TO "RENOUNCE," "TO BID FAREWELL TO" OR "TO TAKE LEAVE OF." WHAT I FIND INTERESTING ABOUT THIS QUOTE OF JESUS IS THAT IT IS WRITTEN IN PRESENT TENSE.
THE PRESENT TENSE SIGNIFIES THAT THE "GIVING UP" AND "BIDDING FAREWELL" PROCESS TOWARDS THE WAYS OF THE WORLD AND TO RELATIONSHIPS THAT GET IN THE WAY OF CHRIST ARE TO BE A DAILY, ONGOING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE DISCIPLE. IT IS CALLING OUT AND CONDEMNING ALL HALF-HEARTEDNESS!
JESUS WAS OPEN AND HONEST. HE HID NOTHING. JESUS WAS VERY CLEAR. JESUS TOLD THEM, UPFRONT, THE COSTS, THE HARDSHIPS, SACRIFICES, AND PERSECUTIONS THEY WOULD EXPERIENCE, WHICH IS WHY HE ADAMANTLY ENCOURAGED THEM TO CAREFULLY EVALUATE THE COSTS BEFORE THEY FOLLOWED HIM.
JESUS ASKS FOR ALL 100% OF YOU AND ME. WILL WE PAY THE PRICE THAT JESUS DEMANDS OF YOU TO REACH THE FULL 100%? WHATEVER THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS YOU OF, THE FACT IS THAT JESUS REQUIRES A COMPLETE CHANGE IN PRIORITIES OF ALL WOULD-BE DISCIPLES.
NO PART-TIME DISCIPLES AND NO PARTIAL COMMITMENTS. THE FACT REMAINS: SACRIFICIAL LIVING FOR JESUS CANNOT BE FULLY LIVED OUT WHEN WE ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH OR OVERLY COMMITTED TO WORLDLY ENDEAVORS.
NO, IT ISN’T A “ROSY PICTURE” FILLED WITH COMPENSATION, AWARDS, FAME AND RECOGNITION. IT IS HARD. IT IS DEMANDING. HOWEVER, A LIFE OF SACRIFICE IS THE ONLY WAY TO EXPERIENCE TRUE FULFILLMENT, JOY, AND SATISFACTION IN THIS LIFE-TIME. IF WE WILL FOLLOW AFTER JESUS IN A LIVING, LOVING, INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP, THEN LET US ESTABLISH OUR PRIORITIES IN THE RIGHT ORDER, COUNT THE COST AND PAY THE PRICE.
I LEAVE YOU WITH MATTHEW 19:29,"AND EVERYONE WHO HAS LEFT HOUSES OR BROTHERS OR SISTERS OR FATHER OR MOTHER OR CHILDREN OR FIELDS FOR MY SAKE WILL RECEIVE A HUNDRED TIMES AS MUCH AND WILL INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE."
