The Cost of Being a Disciple
Verses 25-26 Massive crowds are now following Jesus. But he knew many of them were following him to watch miracles, healings, exorcism, and his teachings. He wanted them to understand that it is costly to be his disciple. The cost of following Jesus is what we would give up to follow his Word and his mission.
The crowd expected him to say that if they follow him, things will go well in their lives. They wanted him to say there would be abundant wealth and fame. Instead, Jesus says we must walk away from the worldly things we love the most and come to him. He asks us to willingly and cheerfully give up comforts rather than give up Jesus.
It is a sacrifice for us to step away from other affections to be with Jesus. Jesus is most glorified when our love for Him swallows up any comfort and satisfaction in others.
If any desires or duties compete with our obedience to Jesus, we must give Jesus the preference. Even if that duty is to our parents. In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, “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.” Matthew 10:37 ESV
The Price of Priority
Jesus deserves priority over every relationship in our lives. If we have to choose between denying Jesus or being ostracized from society and those we love, we should choose to lose favor with people. Our love for Jesus must be so strong that unbelieving family members think our love for them might as well be hate. We should choose to obey Jesus rather than do what anyone else wants us to do. This is the cost of discipleship.
We cannot be Christ’s disciples if we do not love him better than our own lives even. This is how we can fast; we deny our flesh of comforts so that we can draw closer to Jesus. We would rather choose death than dishonor Jesus’ ways and truths. What is the cost of the cross in your life?
The pleasure we discover in our spiritual life with Jesus and the hope of eternal life will make hard choices easier.
Bearing Our Own Cross
Verse 27 Taking things a step further, Jesus says that whoever does not bear his own cross and come after him cannot be his disciple. Crucifixion was the way Romans executed heinous criminals. The condemned person had to carry their own cross to the crucifixion site. So this statement resonated with people back then. Jesus was basically saying that following Him would involve some sort of suffering. Every Christian disciple will suffer. To bear your cross and follow Jesus means to identify with him. And as Jesus told his disciples, “if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20 ESV)
What cross are you having to carry? What difficulty are you having to endure?
We must be content to be labeled, judged, and cast out of circles. The world that is led under the devil’s delusions cannot understand the things of Jesus. What they can see distracts them, and robs them of perseverance and possibilities of what lies beyond what they can see.
Daily there will be new challenges and crosses Jesus calls us to bear. In bearing the suffering, if we place our focus upon Jesus, the Holy Spirit will encourage us and fill us up with hope. We must persist and grow in maturity by deepening and nurturing our spiritual life with study and meditation while practicing these principles in our relational life with sacrifice, vocationally with our skills and talents, morally with our stance in society, and, yes, even squeezing truths about life from our failures.
Count The Cost
Verses 28-30 We’ve been talking about counting the cost to follow Christ. Here are a couple of scenarios that display counting the cost. A man wants to build a tower. Before beginning, a wise builder would naturally calculate the cost to ensure that he could complete the project.
A follower of Jesus must count the cost of what it means to be his disciple. A disciple must leave former pleasures in this world, like sins, desires, certain freedoms, reputation, etc. Being a disciple means a life of denying ourselves the former things we once enjoyed. Our renewed mind knows the former things are not God’s best for us. We have new desires that please God now.
Possessions are another thing we must give up. We are stewards of all we have and not the owners of it. God has given us possessions to manage. We need to thank him for them, use them for his glory, and bless others with them.
He who supplied us with a little is the holder of a lot! There’s no end to what God can supply.
Understanding God as our Source requires trust and faith. When we truly believe that His supply for us will never run dry, we can loosen our grip on all that He has given us and confidently obey His Word. This includes giving ten percent of our income as a tithe to the church. God is our Provider of every paycheck, every inheritance, every gift, and every blessing.
As a disciple, if we ever struggle with letting go of all the things mentioned here, we could consider the cost Jesus paid on the cross. Our new life, new freedom, and renewed relationship with God cost Jesus his life. What’s the cost of following Jesus in your life?
We can only make these difficult discipleship decisions with Jesus’ grace in our lives, a grace that gives us the Holy Spirit to help lead us, empower us, and preserve us in the way to go. The Holy Spirit pours out courage and steadfastness in the Lord to let go of what we can see and trust in the unseen. We cannot muster up the strength in ourselves to suffer and bear the cross. We need the Holy Spirit, the same spirit that sustained Jesus while he bore the cross and died for us. This spirit lives in us when we call on Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Settling Before Strife
Verses 31-32 In the second scenario, a king is going to war. But long before the battle begins, he must make sure he has a big enough army and sufficient forces to defeat his enemy. If he does not have enough, this king should seek peace with his enemy.
The Christian life is one of great spiritual warfare. Our enemy is restless to take us down. We are overcomers and more than conquerors when we build our life in Christ, the bible states. (Romans 8:37 ESV, Revelation 12:11 ESV) We have the upper hand in every trial we encounter. We have the victory before the battle begins! It’s the victory that Jesus claimed when He died on the cross and rose from the grave to take His throne in heaven. He who sits on the throne lives inside us and his spirit helps us gain ground to spread his gospel here on earth for his glory.
Though Jesus has defeated the devil, Satan is working to “steal, kill, and destroy” believers to punish God. We will need endless endurance for the expected resistance from Satan. The good news here is that our perseverance never has to run out because His love for us never ceases. His mercy for us never ends. It’s new every single morning, no matter how many mistakes we make. (Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV) The book of John tells us there is “grace upon grace” that becomes a never-ending grace and strength. (John 1:16 ESV) When we live in the fullness of Jesus by living fully in the armor of God, we have the strength, effectiveness, advantages, benefits, and success to be fully obedient to God’s Word.
‘but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.’ Isaiah 40:31 ESV
He never gives up on us, so how can we give up on Him? We can sink our head and heels into Jesus and remain in the fight.
We must ask ourselves when we become a follower of Jesus whether we are ready to encounter the forces of hell and earth in trials and persecution while trusting and clinging to Jesus for our strength. This is the cost of following Jesus in our lives.
Salt Without Taste Is Worthless
Verses 34-35 Jesus warns us of abandoning our faith or losing the qualities that make us followers of Jesus. If we do, we become useless in this world. Jesus calls his followers the salt of the earth. Salt is very useful in this world. It gives flavor and preserves food. With the Word of God and our testimony of God’s work in our lives, we season conversations and the lives we come across.
If salt loses its taste, it can not be salty again. Without its flavor, it isn’t salt. It is useless. Worldly Christians are those who have lost their flavor. They say they believe but cannot let go of the carnal things in this world. If Jesus cannot cure them of their worldliness, they are worthless. Worthless salt is not even fit for the manure pile. Manure is more useful to the land than worldly Christians are.
Unless we will endure the costly nature of being a disciple, we will be useless to the kingdom of God.
Though everyone has ears, not everyone listens. Jesus is asking us to pay close attention.
Prayer
Jesus, your sacrifice for us was so costly. We don’t want to forget what you have done so that we can walk in this assurance and relationship with you today. Help us keep this in mind as we strip away the worldly comforts that so easily entangle us. The fleeting affections of the world do not satisfy us. Our preference is you, Jesus. No other relationship comes close to settling our hearts like you, Jesus. We would rather choose death than dishonor your ways and truths, God. Help us count the cost of following you, Jesus, and see that life with you is worth it.
Thank you for your mercy, which gives us the invitation to come to you. We have no life worth living if we do not have you, Jesus. When we are with you, Jesus, your peace settles our fears and anxieties. Your testimony releases burdens and fills us with strength. Your Truth gives us hope and assurance. With you, Jesus, we don’t have to worry and we don’t have to live angry because we know you are good. You have good things for us. You do not hold back any good thing. (Romans 8:28) Your mercies for us are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:23) When we go through trials, help us cling to you for strength, Jesus. We are the salt of the earth. Season our conversations with your Word and the testimony of your work in our lives. We are listening, Lord. Speak to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.