Luke 14:25-15:10 "Counting the Cost of Discipleship" Introduction: Will Those Who Are Saved Be Few? I read an interview this week with the great Dodger manager, Tommy Lasorda, who said that he loved his family and he loved God and then he said, well, I suppose you should probably reverse those two. I winced when I read that. I realize that's the way we are. We love our families. We love God. Oh, that's right, it's supposed to be the other way around! That is what Jesus is dealing with in our passage. He is dealing with people who put their families ahead of him. Let me remind you of the background: Jesus has already appeared in glory to Peter, James and John at the Transfiguration. He has predicted his death, and he has set his face toward Jerusalem. The central 10 chapters of Luke's gospel consist of the narrative of the road to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the goal of this narrative. We saw in part one (Luke 9:51-13:21) that Jesus refuses to call down fire against the Samaritans, and warns of the coming judgment against Israel but also suggests that that judgment will fall first upon himself in the baptism of fire that he must yet undergo. Now we see in part two (Luke 13:22-17:10) that Jesus is dealing with the question of the remnant of Israel. Just as we saw in part one that the question of "fire from heaven" ran throughout the whole section (9:51-13:21), so now we see that the opening question "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" will run through this whole section. We've already seen that in Jesus' lament over Jerusalem (at the end of chapter 13) and in his parable of the banquet in chapter 14, where he warns that those who were invited the "in" group of the Pharisees will not partake of his banquet. Jesus has made it clear in chapters 9-13 that God's judgment is coming against Israel, and so the natural question that follows is, then what is going to happen to Israel? Will those who are saved be few? Well, there may be only a few of the Pharisees of the "invited guests" who are saved. But the gospel of the Kingdom will come to the poor to the ordinary Israelite the one who doesn't measure up to Pharisaic standards. As Mary had said years before, He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. (Luke 1:53-55) Mary understood that God would save his people but that in saving his people he would also cast down those who oppressed his people. And now Jesus is "helping" Israel, but also casting down the high and mighty (among Israel). He is casting out faithless Israel, even as he gathering faithful Israel together. Because when Jesus first said these things, he was speaking to Jews. And we need to keep that context in mind. Jesus was saying that the poor among Israel would be saved, while the religious elites would be turned away. But at the same time, Luke is writing this to Theophilus a Gentile. And so we need to keep that context in mind. Because Jesus' teaching has a broader application to us: Why are the religious elites turned away? That is the point of our passage today. Notice the context: last time he was in the house of a Pharisee he was with the religious elites; but now he is accompanied by great crowds he is followed by the hoi polloi (the many)-- the very people whom he said would fill his house in 14:23. 1. Counting the Cost (14:25-33) So as the crowds surround him he speaks to them. And he does not sugar-coat his message for the crowds. Jesus does not have one message for the Pharisee and a second message (an easier message) for the crowds. His message is the same to both: 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. (14:26-27) Jesus says that if you want to be his disciple, then he must come first. If you want to follow Jesus then you must hate your parents, your spouse, your children, your siblings and even yourself! What does Jesus mean by that? Too often we gloss over this and say, "ah, this just means that you have to love Jesus more than these"! But that's not what Jesus is saying. This is not a comparative statement. Jesus is not saying you have to love me more than you love your family. Jesus is saying I am your family. Remember what he said in 13:28 to those who said "we ate and drank in your presence"? In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. Jesus is speaking to an entirely Jewish audience, and he is saying, if you want to participate in the banquet of the kingdom of God, together with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets, then you must follow me. And the only way that you can follow me the only way to be my disciple is to repudiate your family and become a part of my family. But Luke takes this story about what Jesus said to a Jewish audience and tells it to the Gentile, Theophilus. Because this is true for you as well: Jesus is the Son of God. He is the heir of the Father. If you would be part of the family of God, then you are faced with an either/or. The kingdom of God is not something that you can add to your identity. Being Jesus' disciple is not a part-time occupation. Furthermore, Jesus said: Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (14:27) You have to understand that Jews and crosses did not mix. There is no such thing as a crucified martyr in Jewish thought. The law had made it clear: a hanged man is cursed by God (Dt 22:23); if you hang a man on a tree, God's curse is upon him. And yet Jesus says that his disciples must bear their own crosses. Just as he will be cursed by God upon the cross, so also his disciples must be willing to endure the cursed death of the cross. They must be willing to renounce everything that they hold most dear for his sake. As Jesus concludes this passage in verse 33, So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. It will not do to soften this. If you follow me, you will be rejected by your family, killed by the Romans and cursed by God. Is anyone coming? You need to understand the cost. You need to count the cost. Following Jesus is costly. And Jesus gives two examples to explain this: The Tower (14:28-30) If you are going to build a tower, you first sit down and "count the cost" to see if you have enough to complete it. Because if you don't have enough, then you have this unfinished tower sitting in the middle of your field and everyone laughs at you because you wasted all those resources on a useless, unfinished shell of a tower. In the evening service we are hearing about King Solomon and all of his great building projects. Solomon was a wise king. He counted the cost, he organized his builders, and he completed the temple, his own palace, and countless other buildings. He was a wise builder. Think about where Israel is at this time. Israel is in the land, but they are under Roman overlords. They have a half-built tower. The foundation is laid, but Israel does not have the resources to finish it. The King Going to War (14:31-32) Likewise, if you are a king heading out to battle, you would first sit down and deliberate. Hmm. I've got 10,000 men and he's got 20,000. Are my ten thousand going to be able to defeat an army twice their size?! If the answer is "no," then I need to send my delegation quickly, because once the other king is in town, he's not going to be so likely to accept a peaceful solution! Jesus is saying, you need to surrender! You do not have the resources to fight this battle. What do these illustrations teach us? You need to recognize that Jesus demands 100%. You cannot follow Jesus and follow your own agenda. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot have two identities. You will either renounce Jesus, or you will renounce everything else! So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Jesus is talking about your identity. How do you think of yourself? Jesus says to his original Jewish audience: you must renounce your family for me. Luke uses this to make the same point to the Gentile, Theophilus: you must renounce your family for me. You might wonder, well, what if my parents are Christians? What does it mean to hate my parents and siblings, if my parents and siblings believe in Jesus?! It is a great blessing to have a believing family. But Jesus' point remains the same. Your family is defined by me. Your identity is bound up in me. This is Paul's point in Philippians 3, where he reminds the church in Philippi that he was a "Hebrew of Hebrews" blameless under the law a faithful Pharisee! But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Phil 3:7-8) No identity is worth comparing with that of belonging to Jesus. But after saying that you cannot be his disciple unless you renounce everything, Jesus adds: 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. (14:34-35) Leviticus 2:13 talks about the "salt of the covenant with your God" because every grain offering was to be offered with salt. Salt was one of the most precious commodities in the ancient near east because of how important it was to good health. Eating salt together was a sign of friendship and peace. Therefore God required that every grain offering include salt in order to demonstrate friendship and peace between God and Israel. Numbers 18:19 refers to a "covenant of salt" and 2 Chronicles 13:5 speaks of the Davidic covenant as a covenant of salt referring to this practice, and demonstrating the religious importance of salt. But now Israel has lost its flavor. God's judgment is at hand, and if Israel does not follow Jesus, Israel will be thrown away. God will not renounce his covenant. But he will judge those who reject Jesus. Those who refuse to hear Jesus will be thrown away. They are useless. And that is true of you, O Theophilus! If you do not hear Jesus' words if you do not hear and heed Jesus' warning, then you will be cast out and thrown away! If Jesus could say that rebellious Israel was not worthy of the manure pile, then how much more will rebellious Gentiles be cast aside! 2. The One Who Repents (15:1-10) You may have wondered why I continued through the chapter break! After all, chapter 15 really holds together rather well, the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin fit neatly with the lost son. But chapter 15 is intimately bound up with chapter 14. You simply cannot stop with, "It is thrown away"! Useless! Not even worth the manure pile! Is there hope? Is there room for repentance? That's why Luke immediately moves to the story of the tax collectors and sinners drawing near to hear him. There is a continuation of the warning of judgment the Pharisees do not appear to be ready to repent!-- but Jesus now spells out what it means to be his disciple. Discipleship means repentance. And tax collectors and sinners were drawn to this message. They heard Jesus saying that the kingdom of God was open to them! The Pharisees were grumbling, this man receives sinners and eats with them! The Pharisees normally would have been delighted that tax collectors and sinners were repenting! Their objection is not that Jesus is calling them to repentance. Their objection is that Jesus is calling them to identify with him with Jesus rather than with the temple, with the synagogue, or with the Pharisees. And they want the tax collectors and sinners to repent first, and then you can eat with them. But Jesus calls them to himself, welcomes them, brings them to his table, saying "come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Indeed, Jesus does not just sit there, waiting for them to come to him he goes looking for them!-- which is the point of the two parables he tells in verses 3-10. The Lost Sheep (15:3-7) If you have one of your hundred sheep, what do you do? You leave the ninety-nine, and you go in search of the one. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Does this sound like overkill? The guy had 100 sheep! One got lost. In the hill country of Judah and Benjamin, if you lose a sheep, a wolf would be the likely beneficiary of such a loss! All that rejoicing over one sheep? It is highly unlikely that a shepherd would have made a big deal about finding one sheep. But the very exaggeration makes Jesus' point: Jesus is claiming that he is the Shepherd king promised by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 34. He is the one who has come to seek out his lost sheep and rescue them. He is the one who will renew and reconstitute Israel and it is by repentance that one enters the kingdom of God. The Pharisees must repent of the their way of being Israel, and they must embrace Jesus' way of being Israel. And this is equally true for everyone else! Jesus has the same standard for the tax collectors and sinners that he has for the Pharisees: repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand! And when he rescues one tax collector, one sinner, there is joy in heaven. Indeed, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. I think many of us tend to view the "ninety-nine" as not really being righteous. After all, we all need to repent, right? But think about Jesus' point in this parable. The shepherd has 100 sheep. 99 remain under his care, and do not stray, but follow the shepherd faithfully. In other words, they are righteous. Remember, righteous does not mean "perfect"-- it means that they are in the right. In this case, they are in the right place, and they are right for following the shepherd. They are not "lost." They have not "strayed." (In other words, they have not apostatized) And so they do not need to repent of straying, because they haven't strayed! One day you may get a visible reminder of this. If someone rebels against Christ, and sins grievously against God, then we may need to administer public discipline against them. They may need to repent publicly before the congregation and say, "I strayed." And then we would restore them publicly, and then the whole congregation would rejoice together over the one sheep who had been found. The Lost Coin (15:8-10) The second parable in verses 8-10 reinforces this. A woman lost a silver coin a drachma, about a day's wages. Perhaps $100 in today's economy. If you lost a $100 bill, would you call your friends and neighbors together to celebrate its recovery? (It would probably cost almost that much to feed them all!) But that's the point! One sinner who repents is worthy of a party! Conclusion: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek As we've seen throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus was speaking to the Jews. He was saying that the only way to avoid the coming judgment the fire from heaven that will come upon Israel is for Israel to follow Jesus. Judgment comes first against the household of God. If they do not renounce their way of being Israel, then their way will be overthrown. And that is precisely what happens in the destruction of the temple in AD 70. But Luke throws a monkey wrench in the whole story by addressing it to a Gentile Theophilus the "lover of God." And so you have to read all of Jesus' Israel-oriented statements from a Gentile perspective. And that is why I can confidently say to you: if you want to follow Jesus, then you must hate your parents, your spouse, your children, your siblings, and even yourself! Your identity must be found in Christ. You must renounce everything else that you hold dear, and cling to Jesus only. Do you find your identity in your work? Do you sometimes confuse who you are with what you do? Or do you find your identity in your family? Especially you mothers, is your identity bound up in your children? Is that where you find purpose and meaning in life? Jesus says that when it comes to your identity-- your meaning and purpose in life-- you must hate your children! You must hate your work! You must hate your ethnicity (that's hard for us Scots!) The other way of saying this is: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. It's the all part that's important. It's not enough to love God with your heart. It must be all your heart. There are so many things that compete with our love for Christ! Too often we fall in love with the competition and we find our identity and purpose in something other than God. And when you do that, you need to repent! Turn away from the competition! Turn to Jesus!