Jesus' Call to Discipleship

Luke recounted how Jesus emphasized the cost of following him. The stakes were high, and Jesus wanted his followers to assess the matter carefully. Luke 14:25-35 is unique to Luke, though Luke 14:26-27 are similar to Matthew 10:37-38 and Luke 14:34-35 are like to Matthew 5:13 and Mark 9:49-50 (see below).

There is a relational cost in serving Christ (Luke 14:26-27). Jesus was not speaking of an unqualified hatred (cf. Matt. 5:24; Mark 7:9-13; 10:16; 12:32-34; Luke 6:27; John 13:24-35, Eph. 5:25; etc.). This is a paradox. The disciple of Christ is to give second place to everything and everyone else, so he may love even more. Hughes says:

The paradox is that the proper way to love our children is to "hate" them because our greater love for God will enable us to love them with a greater love! Disciples are the best lovers of God and of family and friends. Disciples must always be ready to "hate" - to give second place to everything and everyone else. The relational cost of discipleship may seem harsh at first. But in right perspective and priority this focuses our lives and makes them richer and fuller. Accepting discipleship's costliness produces a sweet saltiness, as we will see.

Jesus then speaking of discipleship as perpetual dying (Luke 14:27). Thought the Christian is actually and positionally dead to sin (John 12:24-25; Rom. 6:2; 7:4, 7; Gal. 2:19; 6:14, etc.), in practice he must die continuously (cf. Rom. 6:11; Col. 2:20; 3:3). Hughes quoting C.S. Lewis says:

The Christian way is different. Christ says, "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked-the whole outfit.

So, biblical discipleship is basically allegiance; or loyalty. To follow Jesus is to rely on him; to live by faith. Jesus illustrates this two ways: (1) the cost of building a tower (Luke 14:28-30) and (2) the cost of going to war (Luke 14:31-33). From ordinary life we learn that evaluating the cost is important before any serious project is undertaken. Hughes says, ". . . both parables emphasize the necessity of careful calculation- to "sit down," take some time, and compute it all out." Bock says:

To be a success, this building program must be planned out carefully; otherwise the builder may well start the project but not finish it. Failure to finish would make the builder a laughingstock to neighbors, as his half-finished shell of a tower casts its incomplete shadow over the land. So Jesus asks what person does not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it. How sad it is to start something and not finish it. The failure is evident to all. Luke 14:30 expresses the public response in very mocking terms, as all around belittle "this fellow." The shell of the building echoes the shell that remains of this man's reputation. The implication is that embarking on discipleship is just the same: we do well to reflect on what it will take to finish what we have started.

The second picture is of a king who finds his forces outnumbered as he considers going to battle. After calculating the cost in terms of destruction, he decides that appealing for peace is a better idea. The king reflects, then acts.

In the case of building the tower, all the options lay with the builder. In the case of potential war, the situation is forced on the king. Only a foolish king would try to take on a stronger foe when he is outnumbered two to one. So it is prudent to seek peace with the stronger foe. There is a "more powerful one" than Satan to deal with in life: God. It is wise to count the cost of facing him. There are benefits in allying ourselves with God rather than having him as the decidedly stronger enemy.

Jesus ends with a warning: "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear"" (Luke 14:34-35). After stressing the conditions of discipleship, Jesus says the salt - that which makes food its flavor - can lose it saltiness. One's commitment to Christ can deteriorate. Hughes says, "If the saltiness is lost, the disciple is useless and fit for nothing but to be tossed out. He does not lose his salvation, but he bears no fruit for the Savior."