Luke 14:25-33
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
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Crowds have gathered around Jesus, pushing past each other to hear what he has to say. Casting an eye over the crowd, Jesus sees that they surely don’t realize what a commitment following his path will be. After all, following Jesus requires letting go of things that previously seemed important or alluring and reorienting to a new way of living.
This requirement brings us back to Jeremiah’s words, “Turn now… amend your ways and your doings.” Jesus is reminding those listening that it isn’t possible to maintain the values of the dominant culture when making a commitment to God’s vision for the world. All the possessions and social standing that seemingly help one get ahead aren’t much help when following Jesus’ sacrificial way of living. One cannot merely give lip service to walking in the way of Jesus—it requires an examination of priorities, attachments, and patterns of living. The good news is that doing so lightens our load for the journey so that we are freed to pay attention to where God is moving and how we might join with others in God’s work in the world.
- Do you build in time to pause and re-examine your attachments and priorities? The transition from summer to fall can be a fruitful time to re-evaluate habits and commitments and how we might live in a more Christ-shaped way.
This Bible study, written by Lucy Strandlund
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The 13th Sunday after Pentecost