And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple

 

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 -- least, 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 make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to met him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  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 sale 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!"

 

- Luke 14:25–35 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus also said to him who invited Him (a Pharisee who had invited Christ to dine in his home), "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."  Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is He who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'  But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.'  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you to have me excused.'  Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'  So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"

 

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."  My study bible comments that this command to hate one's kindred and his own life also is not to be taken literally.  Instead, we are to hate the way that our relationships with others are able to hinder the fullness of our dedication to the Kingdom of God, which takes first priority even over family ties.  

 

 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."  We note that, as in 9:23, when Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me," each person must take up his own cross.   My study bible says that the burden in this world is different for each person, and each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and for the salvation of those around oneself.  Additionally, let us note from Christ's statement in 9:23, this direction to any disciple is meant to be a daily, ongoing commitment.  Our commitment to the Teacher is not a one-time event, nor a simple kind of affirmative believe used like a slogan.  It involves the continual practice of faith and obedience, even when it comes to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world, as was Christ.  The fact that we read this instruction twice in Luke's Gospel makes it that much more emphatic, especially at this point in His ministry, when Christ is on His way toward Jerusalem.

"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 -- least, 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 make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to met him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  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."  My study bible refers us to the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, in which he refers to the grace of God given to him as a wise master builder.  The foundation of all -- regardless of what is built on top of that foundation -- must be Jesus Christ.  For whatever is built upon it, be it gold or silver, precious stones, or inexpensive materials -- eventually the Day of Christ will declare it, as revealed by the holy fire that will test each one's work to discover of what substance it truly is.  For each of us wants a true work of our life, which endures -- and even should we suffer loss, we are able to continue in our discipleship having been tested and understood better what is necessary.  Christ wants us to be prepared for this testing life of discipleship, willing to give our all, and make the necessary adjustments for our own eventual persistence and victory along the way.

"Salt is good; but if the sale 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!"  Jesus uses this metaphor of salt for disciples in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13).  The words here are nearly identical.  But in the context of the long road of discipleship, and the sacrifices that may need to be calculated over a lifetime, they give us added depth here in Luke's Gospel.  Salt's preservative powers were even more essential, in some sense, in Christ's time than they are now.  It was also not as easily produced as it is now.   That power of preservation speaks to taking up one's cross and enduring in the long road of life in discipleship, and sticking to the way of Christ.  Salt also is necessary for life, and possesses a unique ability to give flavor:  to whatever it is added, flavor is enhanced.   This is a description of the essential quality of discipleship in a world that would sorely miss its presence in so many ways.  My study bible explains that because of all of these qualities, salt had religious and sacrificial significance to the Jews (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  So, as the salt of the earth, Christians are therefore preservers of God's covenant, and also give true flavor to the world. 

How are we preservers of God's covenant?  How do we acts as a kind of "fixative" or "sealant" for God's covenant in the world, and specifically as disciples, our covenant with Christ?  Clearly the fullness of discipleship is in simple persistence, in being willing to put our faith first in line or priority, and to simply live it day after day.  This is what is discipleship.  It is what Christ tells us when He says to be prepared and to calculate the cost, whatever it takes or is going to take.  He asks us to estimate what it takes to build a life upon His foundation, this foundation of discipleship, and to be ready to pay the price, to do what it takes, to find our way to meet Him in the ultimate reconciling of our lives.  So if we are really going to be ready to pray the price, to calculate the cost, how do we set about doing that?  Do we make up our minds in advance, and decide what that is going to be?  Surely the price of faith does not consist of conscious calculation, but rather of the decision that we will endure, come what may and no matter what is asked of us.  We might not know in advance what it is we may be asked to give up to God.  Frequently we might find that life asks us to make choices regarding priorities, and especially of those things that pertain to our identity.  For example, we may find abuse in the family, and that one particular family member is being abuse.  If we have to make a choice between "making waves" in the family, and living the life of the Cross for Christ, we may need to relinquish the priority of the family stability over our loyalty to Christ.  This is how we carry our cross daily; it is in such choices that we find ourselves, especially if we have in mind that discipleship is the most important priority.  These are not questions of intellectual belief.  Rather they are tough questions which may be answered in prayer, in the heart and in the soul, and we will be faced with them if we carry our crosses successfully.  God will continually allow us to be challenged, so that we may truly come to terms with who we are, and reconcile with God before that Day in which we are called to our true and ultimate destiny.