Scripture Reading
Now great multitudes went with him, and he turned and said to them, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? Lest, after he has laid the 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 to war, Against another king does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Opening Prayer
Seek the Lord’s blessing on this His word.
O gracious God in heaven, we do again praise you and thank you for the great gift that you’ve given to us in your word. Your word is truth, your word brings life, and we pray that especially as we come to this passage of your word today, that your spirit would be with us, giving us understanding and insight, and that as your word goes forth in the power of the spirit, we do pray that it would find within each and every one of our hearts that rich, fertile soil that will bring about great and abundant fruit for your glory. We ask now for your blessing upon your word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Introduction
Let the buyer beware. It’s an old saying that challenges the buyer of any goods to carefully examine those goods before actually purchasing them. And this is certainly, when you think about it, it’s wise practice, whether you’re buying a house, a car, or a new pair of shoes, you want to make sure that what you’re buying is going to be a good value, that it fits right, that there’s no damage, no wear or tear. Because if you don’t check it out fully, and if you don’t fully understand what you’re getting before you buy it, Well, then you’re only going to have yourself to blame if it doesn’t measure up after you’ve purchased it.
But when it passes this afternoon, we see somewhat of a, maybe a spiritual equivalent of this saying. Not that we’re buying salvation. Indeed, we know salvation is the most gracious gift given to us by God. But using three brief illustrations, Jesus seeks to warn those who are following him that they should consider the cost. following Him. That is, they ought to be aware of what it truly means to follow Him and to be one of His disciples, knowing they need to know what they’re getting themselves into. And Jesus gives this warning because though there were many who were following Him, not all of them were true and sincere in their faith or in their commitment to Him. And as we’ll see, being a true disciple of Jesus involves not only devotion and commitment, but also a great sacrifice. And for many, this is just too much. And they end up turning away, unwilling to persevere to the end.
The Context of the Passage
Well, there are the 12 disciples that we are often listed that follow Jesus everywhere. We know that they were specifically chosen by Jesus to follow him, but we also know that Jesus had many other disciples, many other people who followed him. And as we see here in verse 25, though, among the great multitudes that now went with Jesus, It seems that many of those were not his true disciples.
Again, people followed Jesus for a variety of reasons. Some, it seems, as though they simply wanted to be entertained by the great miracles and the wonders that Jesus did, and so they were expecting to see something exciting. Some followed Jesus because they had various sicknesses and diseases that they wanted to be healed by Jesus. And so they were just there waiting their turn, and then once they got healed, they just kind of went on their way and went back to living their lives.
And there are also those who maybe believe that Jesus was actually the long-awaited Messiah, and certainly He was, but He would end up not being the political Messiah that they were anticipating, and so these would quickly turn on Him. And of course, one of the groups that were most diligent in following Jesus were those who hated him. The scribes and the Pharisees who watched his every move and took any opportunity they could in order to discredit him, in order to trap him in his words. And so all these different kinds of people followed Jesus everywhere, wherever he went, in these large crowds.
But again, none of them, or not many of them, were his true disciples. So what is it that distinguishes the true follower from all the rest? Well, as Jesus addresses this crowd here, he gives four requirements that distinguish those who truly follow him. And if these four requirements are not met, then as Jesus says here three times in this passage, you cannot be my disciple. And so these are essential to following Jesus.
Requirements for True Discipleship
First Requirement: Put Jesus First
Verse 26, Jesus makes this shocking charge.
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Did Jesus just say that we’re to hate others, and not just other people, but even those that are closest to us, those in our own family? Well, indeed He did. And this certainly would have been as shocking to the ears of those in the crowd as it is to us to read these words now, 2,000 years later.
But before protesting in disbelief, it’s important to understand the point that Jesus is making here. Now obviously, Jesus isn’t intending his words to be taken literally. Because if we do, then we find ourselves in the midst of a great dilemma between Jesus’ words and then the words of, for example, the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother, as well as all the other commandments that Jesus gives elsewhere to love your neighbor as yourself, as we considered last week. But since Jesus is full of truth and grace, and since he is the very word of God come in the flesh, well we know that he cannot contradict the law of God. And so something else must be understood by his use of the word hate in this verse. Certainly Jesus could be using exaggerated speech in order to make a sharp point, and certainly can’t really make much of a sharper point than that. But it’s more likely that when Jesus uses the word hate, he means not the vile emotion that we often think of, but really as a way to indicate less preference or less love.
And so when Jesus says, hate your relatives, he means that you must prefer them less or love them less than you love him. And this is the sense that we get from another similar passage in Matthew 10, where Jesus says,
he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
So you see that there’s more of a, a, grading of love or different levels of love. And so if you’re going to call yourself a disciple of Jesus and be a true follower of Him, well then basically Jesus is saying you must put Him first in your life. You must put Jesus first over all your relationships in life. Jesus is to be first and foremost.
It’s significant that Jesus calls for this preeminent devotion because by doing so, remember as we considered the greatest commandment a couple weeks ago, he’s equating himself here basically with God. Because it’s the same command that God commands in the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me. And we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Because Jesus is God. He alone can make this claim to be the supreme love of our lives. Anything less than focused devotion to Jesus would be idolatry. But remember, the other love commands as well. So obviously having Jesus as our first and foremost love doesn’t mean that we don’t love others. We do. In fact, we must. But again, our love and our devotion to Christ ought to govern and influence all our other relationships.
It should be our love for Christ that drives our love for our spouses, for our children, and for our parents, and for our other relatives, for our friends, and for one another, and even for our enemies. That our love for Christ, our love for God, should drive us to love others.
Well, this certainly is a great challenge, especially when we consider how much we love our families and even our own lives. But again, Jesus is very clear. We must love him more. He must have the position of being first and foremost in your life. If he’s not, then you cannot be his disciple.
Second Requirement: Bear Your Cross
Now, as if that wasn’t challenging enough, the second requirement of being a true disciple is found in verse 27.
Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Again, too often when we think of bearing a cross, we think of enduring some temporary hardship or trial, perhaps a disease or an illness, or maybe even just putting up with difficult people, right? I have to, oh, I’ve got to put up with this person. I’ve got to bear my cross. And certainly we may have to endure these hardships. And if we’re believers in Christ, we must do so with love, patience, and understanding.
But when Jesus here is speaking of carrying a cross, he isn’t talking about some passing difficulty in our lives. He’s talking about death. Because when people saw someone in first century Jerusalem, when they saw someone carrying a cross, they didn’t think, oh, that guy must have some troubled relationship that he has to put up with. No, they saw a man who was condemned to death.
Death is what Christ requires of us. But what kind of death are we to die? Well, there are two ways. First, the Apostle Paul puts it in terms, and we considered this a little bit this morning, in terms of putting to death the old man of our sin nature and putting on the new in Christ. Each and every day, we’re to put our sin to death. Not only confessing our sin before God, but repenting of it, turning away from it. Running from it. Choosing to not let it gain a foothold in our hearts and in our lives. We put to death our sin nature when we rely on the grace of God to be able to turn away from sin and put on the works, the good works Christ calls us to do. Things like love, peace, joy, gentleness, kindness, generosity, compassion and forgiveness.
Are you willing to put your old sin patterns, like anger and envy, lust, greed, hate, pride, immorality, drunkenness and gossip, are you ready, willing to put those things to death? If you’re a disciple of Jesus, you must.
But this carrying of our cross can also imply another kind of death, not just the death of our sinful natures, but the death of our very lives for the cause of Christ and His Gospel. Carrying your cross means following in the suffering of Jesus Christ. It means being publicly humiliated, enduring insults, mocking, ridicule, persecution, false arrests, imprisonments, beatings, torture, and possibly even death because of your faith in Jesus Christ. It means sharing in a very real way in His suffering, affliction, and death. because he first shared in your suffering and bore the curse of death for you.
Do you understand what Jesus is saying here? He isn’t saying, of course, go commit suicide. He’s not saying you probably and you purposely and eagerly put yourself in the way of danger. He’s basically saying, carry my name. carry my name and profess it with boldness and honor and endure whatever consequences may follow. If you aren’t willing to do this, then Jesus says, you cannot be my disciple.
Third Requirement: Count the Cost
The third requirement Jesus sets forth is actually a warning. And it’s a warning so that you aren’t caught unaware by these things such as suffering and death when they come. If you’re a true disciple of Jesus, these kinds of trials we know will come. Jesus promises that we’ll have these difficulties in our lives. And so in verses 28 to 33, Jesus warns that you must count the cost. And he makes this warning with two mini parables. And the first illustrates the need to count the cost when you make the commitment to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. And the second warns that this commitment is something that you cannot remain neutral about.
Parable of the Tower
First, in verse 28 to 30, Jesus warns that if you don’t count the cost of discipleship, then you’re like a man who builds a building without first determining if he can even afford to do so. And the result is that the man is left with an unfinished building, He’s out of money and his neighbors then mock him and count him a fool. Big dreams. But because he didn’t count the cost, he paid dearly and he lost everything. And the point is simply this. When you’re faced with the call of the gospel to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, before you say yes, you must take into account the cost. Loving Jesus more than your family and putting Him first in your life may not go over so well with your unbelieving family members. They may turn on you. They may turn you out because of it. Or you must count the cost of carrying your cross for the sake of Christ and the gospel, whether it’s ridicule, suffering, false accusations, possibly even death. Jesus is warning this because He doesn’t want us to be blind to these things. And so He issues this warning. If you make this commitment, are you ready for these possibilities? If you are, well very well then. Trust in Christ and He’ll give you the all-sufficient grace to endure through such things and those who persevere to the end will be saved.
But if you’re not ready, well then don’t make a false profession. Because if you do, you will be overwhelmed and you will be consumed by these trials when they come. And there’ll be no grace to sustain you because your profession, because your trust and your hope were vain and empty. And don’t think that you can just get by without making any commitment one way or the other. Because Jesus again goes on to warn, you can’t remain in neutral. You see, you’ve got to go one way or the other. There is no sensible way to go in between. There’s no other way to go.
Parable of the King
And to illustrate this in verse 31, 32, he tells of a wise king who’s about to be attacked by another king whose army outnumbers him two to one. And the king must assess the situation and count the cost. Does he go ahead and take up arms and go down in certain defeat against a much larger army, or does he send an emissary to the other king and pursue peace? Well, regardless of what he does, one thing is certain. He can’t do nothing. That is, he can’t remain neutral in this situation. He must respond one way or the other. And after evaluating the situation, there’s really only one reasonable thing to do, which would spare not only his life, but the life of his people. But is he willing to humble himself to do it?
Now, some here think that the approaching king is an evil enemy. But in this context that Jesus presents, it’s clear that the approaching King is Christ Himself. He’s leading the charge against sin. And those who choose to harden their hearts against Him and resist the call of the gospel will be overrun. But those who humble themselves before Him and seek peace and reconciliation, will surely find it and their lives will be spared. The point Jesus is then making, you can’t remain neutral in regards to the gospel. You’re either for him or against him.
And Jesus then summarizes the warning with this in verse 33.
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has, cannot be my disciple.
Jesus isn’t here talking about avowal poverty or giving away all your earthly goods. No, He’s saying that you must be ready and willing to lose it all for His sake. And you must be ready and willing to use all that you have been given, your time, your talents, your treasures, your devotion, and your life, you must use for the glory of God. and a commitment and service to Him. You must do this if you’re truly a disciple of Jesus Christ. Because all that you have, even your own life, belongs to Him. Your life has been bought with a price, with the precious price of His own blood. And so there’s much at stake. Consider it carefully. You must count the cost. If you don’t, then you can’t be Jesus’ disciple.
Fourth Requirement: Stay Salty
The fourth and final requirement that Jesus gives for His disciples is that they would stay salty. And Jesus explains this in verse 34 and 35, that salt is good. But if it loses its taste, then how do you season again? Salt becomes useless, and it isn’t even good for the soil or the manure pile just thrown away. It seems likely that Jesus is talking and thinking, maybe having a mind here, that the salt that they would get from the Dead Sea, and that salt was kind of mixed with other non-salt compounds, and so it was actually possible for the saltiness to actually leak out. And what you’d be left with would be something that perhaps looked like salt, but it didn’t taste like salt. Well, such saltless salt was useless. It couldn’t be used to either preserve food or enhance flavor, and so you just throw it out.
Well, the point for discipleship is this. If you’re to be a disciple of Jesus, you must stay salty. That is, you must be profitable and useful for what you’ve been called to do. And Jesus recounts in other places that if you would follow him in faith, you must show your faith by producing fruit. Indeed, a life transformed by God’s grace will lead to faithful service and worship and ministry in His name and for His glory. And so you must be an active ingredient working to make a difference. Not for humanistic reasons and just to improve life, but to make a difference for the cause of Christ and the gospel.
James tells us that faith without works is a dead faith, and a dead faith is really no faith at all. And so if you’re a true disciple of Jesus Christ, You must bear fruit for His glory and as a witness to your faith in Him. If your life isn’t salty and fruitful for God’s glory, then you cannot be a disciple of Jesus.
Application
So friends, what about you? Where do you stand? Do you find yourself as one of the false followers in the crowd, following Jesus for all the wrong reasons? Or are you a true disciple of Jesus Christ? As we’ve considered these requirements this afternoon, putting Christ first, carrying your cross, counting the cost, and staying salty. Do you believe you have what it takes to follow Jesus as a true disciple? Well, let me answer that honestly for each and every one of us. No. No, we don’t have what it takes. At least we don’t have what it takes within ourselves, within our fallen and sinful selves. We don’t have what it takes to follow Jesus. There’s still something that we lack.
And Jesus declares at the end of verse 35, we need ears to hear, so that we can hear the great truth that He set forth. It’s only by God’s grace that the ears of our hearts can be opened to grasp, to understand, and to believe these things. It’s only by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit working in us that we have what it takes to be one who truly walks and follows along as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s only by God’s grace that we’re saved through faith in Jesus Christ.
Friends, are you resting and trusting in this grace alone for salvation? Are you content with going through the motions and following Jesus for false and insincere reasons? If the first, then praise be to God. But if the second, then be warned. If you haven’t truly been reconciled with God, then you’re not a true disciple and you’ll be overrun when Christ returns on the last great day. Truly those who have ears to hear, let them hear by God’s grace and to the glory of God alone.
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray. Gracious God in heaven, we do praise you and thank you for this simple gospel reminder, but challenging, simple because it’s so clear and yet challenging because it is such a tall order. And in some respects we might consider this, this is just crazy. I would be willing to risk all this. But then we consider what you have done for us through Jesus Christ and even what we have opportunity to celebrate in this simple meal this afternoon.
And Jesus, the Son of God, from all eternity, left His position of power and glory and He humbled Himself and came in the form of a bondservant to identify with us in our sin and misery. And Christ, He became flesh to dwell among us, tempted and tried in all ways that we are yet without sin. He lived a perfect righteous life and yet He endured so much because of the sin and the misery that’s in this world. and which we have brought.
And if that were not enough, He willingly laid down His life for us, His body given, His blood shed for us, that we might have peace and reconciliation with you, that we might have the forgiveness of sins, that we might be washed and cleansed, that we might be renewed and given life and hope. and eternal rest in Him. We truly have been bought with a price.
And so when we consider from that perspective, we know that if you have given us everything in Christ Jesus, how will you not also be with us, sustaining us through whatever difficulties and trials we may endure because of our faith in Christ? and that the reward that we will enjoy in eternity in your glorious presence and the fullness of your presence will be nothing compared to what we endure now will be nothing compared to what we will enjoy then.
And so we pray, Father, that you would impress these great truths upon each and every one of our hearts, drawing us all closer to yourself, that we would truly Be those true disciples seeking to follow You, devoting our lives to You, serving You and glorifying You in whatever calling You have placed us in, all to the praise of Your glorious name. We pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.