Luke 14:25-35 The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them,
With a large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them,
Jesus always talked in Parables when others came around that were not his chosen apostles. They were allowed to know about what Jesus spoke about, however be it crowds or anyone else, he would always speak in parables.
Jesus always talked in Parables when others came around that were not his chosen apostles. They were allowed to know about what Jesus spoke about, however be it crowds or anyone else, he would always speak in parables.
26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
Jesus says to them, if you want to be my disciples,
"You must, - by comparison - hate everyone else, (Some would take this literally but remember this is a Parable and he is speaking on spiritual matters. He goes on to say - that would mean your father, and mother, wife, and children, brothers, and sisters - yes even your own life.
Otherwise you cannot be my disciple."
What a hard saying to be in a large crowd like this and hear what has just been stated above.
What does Jesus mean by this as a spiritual principle?
While you have your family, friends, and neighbors that you have relations with, and you can listen to their advice, and hear them out about things, and consider what they say, even enjoy having meals and dining together.
Your life in serving the King, the Lord of life itself, you will in turn love other people better, than if you simply reside on everything that they say, and their wisdom.
It becomes the responsibility of you to choose to Love the Lord Your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength relying on - the Spirit - rather than the worldly ways of the flesh you will in turn actually love your mother, your brother, your sister, your wife, and children better than working in the flesh which nothing good comes from.
"You must, - by comparison - hate everyone else, (Some would take this literally but remember this is a Parable and he is speaking on spiritual matters. He goes on to say - that would mean your father, and mother, wife, and children, brothers, and sisters - yes even your own life.
Otherwise you cannot be my disciple."
What a hard saying to be in a large crowd like this and hear what has just been stated above.
What does Jesus mean by this as a spiritual principle?
While you have your family, friends, and neighbors that you have relations with, and you can listen to their advice, and hear them out about things, and consider what they say, even enjoy having meals and dining together.
Your life in serving the King, the Lord of life itself, you will in turn love other people better, than if you simply reside on everything that they say, and their wisdom.
It becomes the responsibility of you to choose to Love the Lord Your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength relying on - the Spirit - rather than the worldly ways of the flesh you will in turn actually love your mother, your brother, your sister, your wife, and children better than working in the flesh which nothing good comes from.
27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
He goes on speaking to the crowds, saying "And if you do not carry your own cross, and follow me, you cannot be my disciples."
The cross at the time was the capital death punishment, the Romans did this and people would see others on these cross as they walked along and traveled on the road side.
What is Jesus meaning here? They too would have to die a death that he did, but it's dying to the self-will, and to live for the will of God instead just as he was doing as the one whom was named Emmanuel (God with Us).
The cross at the time was the capital death punishment, the Romans did this and people would see others on these cross as they walked along and traveled on the road side.
What is Jesus meaning here? They too would have to die a death that he did, but it's dying to the self-will, and to live for the will of God instead just as he was doing as the one whom was named Emmanuel (God with Us).
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
Jesus goes on to tell the crowd around him, that they should count the cost. Because there would be many that would start building in that day, but then fall away. Therefore he is saying make sure this is what you wanna do before you choose to do it because you will have to deny yourself and place the Lord your God first, above all other things, and to follow him, to be his disciple, and to build on a solid foundation that would never topple over, compared to the worldly seeking which was a foundation on the sand it would fall over.
So you have to choose what you wanna do, and count the cost.
Is following Jesus worth - hating your own mother, brother, sister?
So you have to choose what you wanna do, and count the cost.
Is following Jesus worth - hating your own mother, brother, sister?
31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Again, another teaching of self-denial, is it worth losing everything you built on others, to build on the Lord Yeshua?
34 “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? 35 Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”
While people can make their choice, if they start to fall back, from their former stance, they should again count the cost, as the offer of newness of life is always there.