Discipleship: Jesus Above All

It makes me batty, makes me want to pull my hair out, when people try to use the Bible as a weapon against God and against itself because they don’t bother to 1. Take the whole Bible together as God’s truth (how & why it relates together), and 2. Seek to understand God on his own terms (allow him to speak with authority for himself). So they want to make God out to be a tyrant (ie., he’s just the strongest being in the universe who does what he wants, but sometimes (in their view) commands immoral things. Such an idea of God as tyrant is a gross misunderstanding of a God who is indeed sovereign, but he is good. (That’s the difference between tyranny and sovereignty—the perfect goodness in God’s own nature. He wills and commands only what is good because he is good.)

So too they might take statements that Jesus made and complain that he contradicts himself and says things that are simply outrageously unreasonable, irresponsible, or impossible. Of course, this betrays a lack of desire to listen to Jesus on his own terms, and a willingness to submit to his authority and follow where that leads. And it also fails to recognize the obvious: Jesus intentionally made extreme statements at times to shock listeners with the seriousness of who he is and his expectation of them.

Our text today is one such example. Crowds of people are again flocking to Jesus, and (it isn’t the first time we’ve seen this in Luke) he discourages selfish and superficial followers. In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus makes surprising demands of anyone who would be his disciple, and he goes on to illustrate how they ought to assess that high cost before making some shallow commitment that they can’t follow through with. But, before it is over, we see Jesus, even in this warning, give hope to those who will understand themselves as completely dependent on him to be truly distinctive like him.

Luke 14:25–35 ESV

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “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. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

From what we just read, we should ask ourselves: What dramatic demands does Jesus make of his disciples (those committed to being trained by him and following in this ways)? How is counting the cost connected to these demands? Why does Jesus discourage a large following, and what’s the connection to the salt metaphor?

To be Jesus’ disciple, one must… Prioritize Jesus Above Everyone & Everything, Recognize the Cost of Following Him, and Become Dependently Distinctive

Let’s look at the first of these from vv. 26-27, & 33.

Prioritize Jesus Above Everyone & Everything (vv. 26-27,&33)

Jesus must be your highest priority. To be a disciple of Jesus means that He must be our heart’s first love and our life’s highest priority.

The very first thing Jesus says is an intentionally startling statement used to grab their attention and make them think. — And what it means is to “hate” all other relationships by comparison to one’s love for Jesus first.

Hebrew scriptures used love/hate as a comparison of preference, such as the loved versus the unloved or the less loved (the one preferred or chosen versus the one not loved as much). It was used most frequently in polygamous marriage situations where one wife was the preferred wife, and another was less loved—described as one loved and one hated (even though in our usage the word hate would be too strong).

Do you recall the story of Jacob and Laban with Rachel and Leah? [explain, Gen 29]

Here, then, is an example from another statement Jesus gave, recorded in Matthew, that has a similar flavor to what Jesus intends the overall meaning to be about hating your family relationships by comparison:

Matthew 10:37–38 ESV

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

You are renouncing any notion of preferring family over Jesus, giving up whatever status and security your family might offer, certainly any notion of salvation by family,… giving up family approval, even likely being persecuted at times by your own family because of your commitment to me.

Jesus adds, “whoever does not hate… even his own life, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” - Although we’ve recently discussed this with a passage earlier in Luke, I’ll remind you what Jesus means with this brief comment from another author: “A condemned criminal would “carry the cross” (i.e., the horizontal beam of the cross) out to the site of the upright stake where he would be crucified, usually amid a jeering mob. No one would choose this fate for oneself, but Jesus calls true disciples to choose it and thus to hate their own lives by comparison with their devotion to him (14:26).” -Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 14:27. It means therefore to prepare to sacrifice and suffer like Jesus in order for greater gain and the good of others to the glory of God.

Following Jesus cannot be selfish and superficial. As R. J. Karris said, “‘Discipleship is not periodic volunteer work on one’s own terms and at one’s convenience’... cited in Talbert, p. 203).” -Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 253. - Following him entails self-denial, absolute surrender, total commitment, willingness to suffer and sacrifice for his name and his mission.

What is the intended impact of these bold statements? Jesus above all else. Above other goals, above other gain, above even comfort in this life. Submit all other loves to loving Jesus first. We serve Jesus with open hands for all that we are and have. - I include v. 33 in this section: Jesus further demands that we willingly give up everything (all earthly possessions and comforts), causing us to realize that we don’t bring anything of our own merit or our own possessions to make us worthy or useful to him. Affluence is not a reflection of our spirituality, nor do possessions or abilities make us more useful to him. He chooses us, and we give him everything with open hands, allowing him to do as he pleases. God will use anything he has seen fit to give us, but only if we surrender it all to him.

Why does Jesus demand so much, you might ask?

You don’t tell someone whose high cholesterol is killing them that they’ll probably be fine if they change nothing and go on as they please. You don’t send the guy on his way with an engine that has used up all its oil, saying, I’m sure that’s non-essential. - And you don’t tell someone that a long journey will be painless smooth sailing, when you know it include suffering, trial, and great endurance. But you do tell them that this decision means gaining God, and that he will be with you and in you, and that such is the greatest gain you could ever ask for. And accepting this journey will also mean that you will one day reach perfect rest and feasting, eternally in the eternal presence of almighty God.

Since Jesus is God and has expectations of us that only God can have, then he must speak that truth. It is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So Jesus tells this crowd, which is, as of yet, attracted to him only selfishly, superficially, that following him means that he must be their heart’s first love and the highest priority of their lives.

Next he illustrates how they must count the cost of making such a commitment.

Recognize the Cost of Following Him (vv. 28-32)

A builder who does not consider what it takes to complete a project will be ashamed of having started without finishing the building.

The IVP background commentary suggests that “Several years earlier (A.D. 27) a poorly built amphitheater had collapsed, with an estimated fifty thousand casualties. The failings of inadequate or half-finished structures were well-known.” … And “in a society obsessed with honor,” the point here is the great shame of the builder due to his own foolish lack of counting the cost. -Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 14:28–30.

I’ll use our own resident builder as a positive illustration of this with two examples. A family member was interested in selling Clara and me a five-acre lot at a very reasonable price, so we seriously considered the possibility of building a house. But our kind a helpful George Kamm helped us walk through the financial and time investment required, and after many, many hours of counting the cost in the consideration process, we concluded that it was financially tight and, more importantly, that the time investment was too costly to our family and ministry.

Secondly, when the changes in the church project were increasing to greater cost than originally planned, George was quick to make sure that Jim and I could work with the leaders to grapple with a notify the church of counting the cost. It would indeed be embarrassing to not be able to finish what we started.

Secondly, Jesus illustrates that a wise king will take counsel to help consider the cost of going to war. Having done so (with the example of 10k vs 20k), in order to not suffer a humiliating defeat, he will send an emissary to discuss terms with the opposing king or commander.

Again Craig Keener (IVP Bible Background Commentary) informs us that “Herod Antipas had recently lost a war with a neighboring Roman vassal, so the image of foolhardy war should be meaningful to Jesus’ hearers.” -Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 14:31–32.

This (counting the cost) is what people need to do before committing themselves in marriage. They need to know what they’re in for. Not just the joys, but also the struggles. The real commitment. (Even the Apostle Paul gives the example of greater freedom in singleness for the purpose of devoting time in ministry.) … And before having children. As Christians, when we have children, we make a commitment to God to raise them to fear him, to keep his grace ever before their eyes. True, they must respond to him, but giving them every opportunity to respond is our responsibility. That’s the commitment we make when we procreate.

The point Jesus makes with his two illustrations is, of course, that one must count the cost when making the decision to follow Him. One must understand the significance and overall impact (including the investment, the risk, and the sacrifice) to all other areas of life.

Finally, if we indeed come to see Jesus as highest and best, and comprehend the real-world cost of following him, we aim to depend on him to be distinctive like him.

Become Dependently Distinctive (vv. 34-35)

Salt is only distinctive if it is salty. Salt is good for flavoring, and salt is good for preserving. But if salt isn’t salty, it’s useless.

But how could salt (sodium chloride), by nature salty, be rendered useless? - “Most salt in the region came from evaporated pools around the Dead Sea and was mixed with gypsum and other impurities. When moisture hit the salt, it evaporated and left behind these impurities.” (Darrell Bock, 1290-91) - Perhaps a modern comparison would be running out of gas… which in this context results from not having Jesus be primary, not being dependent on him.

The best salt would be used for the most important flavoring and preserving, but salt that wasn’t quite the highest quality could be used for things like killing weeds around your garden. With rain, salt seeps down into the soil and causes the plant to die at the roots because it doesn’t absorb water well. So they wouldn’t have used in the soil where they intended to grow a crop, but in areas where they intended to kill weeds. However, unsalty impurities left would be useless even for this.

Secondly, good salt, properly spread and used in moderation on the manure pile, preserves the fertilizing properties of manure. Otherwise, manure can tend to rot and ferment quickly (especially in certain weather conditions) until it is unusable as fertilizer. But unsalty “salt” would be useless even for the manure pile.

In the overall context of Jesus discouraging fair-weather followers, Bob Deffinbaugh makes this really insightful connection: “When salt loses its distinctness, it loses its value. Great quantities of salt do not make up for its loss of saltiness.” … “The key to the impact of His disciples is not their large number, but their distinctiveness.” (Bob Deffinbaugh, https://bible.org/seriespage/how-hate-your-wife-luke-1425-35)

Jesus makes it clear that he isn’t after mass numbers of shallow followers. He only claims those who are genuinely transformed, revealing the distinctiveness of Christ himself. In fact, Jesus quite evidently discourages those would be merely be his fans. Jesus isn’t after gathering lots of selfish & superficial followers, but sincere ones. To Jesus, having the most followers doesn’t equal greatest impact. Instead, he knows that gaining true followers has lasting impact. Therefore, his followers must be distinctive. If not, they are useless and worthless—as good as unsalty salt, not even useful to the dung heap.

It isn’t about what you think you can offer, but about realizing you have nothing to offer. In Christ alone is the power to save and the power to serve and the power to sustain. And if he is our saltiness, we cannot be tasteless, useless. But everything that we might offer apart from him is useless. But in him—submitting to him, trusting him, prioritizing him above all else—we are fruitful and effective.

“He who as ears, let him hear.” When Jesus says this, he means that the majority aren’t going to understand and embrace what he is teaching them. For those who do, consider yourselves favored by God.

How do we begin, or how do we continue, the process of being distinctively Christian, distinctively Jesus-flavored? By trust and dependence.

Conclusion: Transformational Dependence

The power and impact of the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not come through mass numbers of people who think they are “good with God” and whom you can’t tell apart from the world. But the Gospel’s power and lasting impact comes through distinctiveness. And that distinctiveness comes by dependence. “Yet not I, but through Christ in me.”

We are the irrigation system to the world of the Gospel, but if we are not tapped into the source, we are useless. Therefore, the more attention we focus on our first love, the more effective we are in being like Jesus and reflecting Jesus to others who, just like us, so desperately need Jesus to be restored to God.

These are his terms; we must come to Jesus on his own terms. God expects nothing less than total surrender, full allegiance, complete submission, willing sacrifice. God will have it no other way than to be our first love and highest priority.

Having made such a commitment (coming to him to be our everything—our salvation, our Master, our purpose), we must then also recognize that our growth and usefulness is only as good as our closeness to, our dependence upon, him. Picture yourself as a tree in this life’s journey. God himself is our source of stability, our security. He is our sustainer and our longevity. He is our source of growth and our source of fruitfulness. We must focus our individual attention, and our church’s attention, on knowing more of God.

PRAY

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