Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “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. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a 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’ … So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:25–30, 33).
Jesus uses the word hate in this passage not because we are to literally hate our families, but to illustrate how great the difference must be between our commitment to Him and our relationship to everyone and everything else. To a world that doesn’t understand this depth of commitment, our unabashed and unreserved devotion may indeed look like “hatred” of all else. But if we are not willing to lose it all — family, friends, reputation, health, career, even our own lives — then we are not worthy of Him: “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. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37–38). Our allegiance to our King must trump all others; it must be the central, dominating priority of our lives.
True discipleship is difficult. Costly. It goes against every natural inclination of our flesh — both in the temptation to love the created more than the Creator, and to preserve our own lives against any and all discomfort, defamation and damage that may arise for the sake of His name. Jesus’ teaching likely horrified His original audience much more than it does us today. His listeners knew what it meant to take up a cross; it meant disgrace, torment, and ultimately death. When we, as Christ’s followers, take up our cross we must realize where the path ends. Those who carry their cross, who tread in the footsteps of their Lord and Savior will face similar rejection and hatred. They will know the way of suffering and self-denial. Cross-bearers will carry within themselves the death of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:10).
Jesus knew the road He tread would lead to the cross. And yet the crowds that often accompanied Him thought they were on the road to a victorious defeat of a brutal, conquering empire. If we think that coming to Jesus is simply believing certain facts, or that it is some sort of life-hack designed to remove all pain and suffering, then we’ve supremely understated the demands of discipleship. Cross-bearers are to surrender their lives completely and utterly, to whatever end. Therefore, we must count the cost and weigh in the balance whether we deem it more costly to follow the Suffering Savior, or to refuse His demands.
It costs much to follow Jesus, but it costs infinitely more to reject Him. “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done’” (Matthew 16:24–27). No earthly possession, no human relationship, no quality or quantity of life can offset the loss of forfeiting one’s soul for eternity. The day is coming when death shall force us to relinquish everything we’ve clung to so tightly. But, if we determine beforehand to entrust all to Jesus Christ, we shall find we have not lost but gained infinitely more than we ever could have imagined!
Beloved, if we are not living as if the best is yet to come, as sojourners whose home lies ahead, as disciples carrying their cross, then we are salt that has lost its saltiness — we are of no use as followers of Jesus (Luke 14:34–35). A defining trait of the faithful is looking forward to a better country, a heavenly one (Hebrews 13:16). Like Christ, we endure the cross now for the joy that lies ahead (Hebrews 12:2). Living will cost us, regardless of whether or not we’re followers of Jesus. It is an unavoidable fact. But we are given a choice: Cleave to the perishing things of this temporal life and lose our souls, or yield everything before Christ — the Son of God and Savior of sinners whose value and worth far surpass anything the world has to offer.
Reflection Questions
- Is there anything you're not willing to give up for Jesus? Bring this to Him in prayer and ask Him to retake the throne of your heart and the place of preeminence in your life.
- How do Jesus' difficult words in the passage from Luke 14 fall on your heart? Have you truly counted the cost of discipleship? If not, what are some steps you can take to prepare to follow Jesus come what may?
- What are some ways you are living to show that your hope lies not in this life, but in Christ and in the eternity to come? Where would you like the Lord to help you improve?