The Way Of The Student Series

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 resemblance 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 phrase “cannot be my disciple” three times in this passage (vv 26, 27, 33) to challenge all His followers to roll up their sleeves and join Him without regretting the journey or the loss.

Who is a disciple? What is the cost of discipleship? Why do we need to count the cost?

Change 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)

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.”

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 do not 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 (Luke 18:18-20, Matt 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 (Matt 26:57, Mark 14:53) when three accusations were brought against Jesus there, including that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days (Matt 26:61, Mark 14:58); that he was the Christ, the Son of God (Matt 26:63, Mark 14:61, Luke 22:67), and that he was the king of the Jews (Matt 27:11, Mark 15:2, John 18:33).