Our Cost                                                   Luke 14:25-27

Let’s get right into it today; verse 26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple.”

I wanted to look at these verses because I’ve seen different commentaries on them by both Christians and non-Christians. Also, recently I’ve had someone say to me that this is why they would never be a Christian, how they could never hate their family.

There are two things we need to know in order to understand what Jesus means with this verse; one is the translation, and the other is the culture in which it was said. And after this we’ll look at why Jesus is telling these things to his followers.

At this point Jesus is talking to large crowds. People follow him across the countryside, listening to his messages, professing their allegiance to him. Unfortunately, many of these people are not really understanding his message.

In other areas of scripture, Jesus also talks about these people who follow him but don’t understand. Matthew 8:22, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own.” Jesus isn’t talking about being cruel or absent of feelings. He means that there are things in life we have no control over. He’s telling us we should be focused on him and not be worried or spend emotional and spiritual energy on things we cannot control or change.

In our scripture today, it’s the word “hate” that causes the most consternation. The word “hate” here is not to be taken as literal, it is rhetorical. Think about this, if Jesus meant “hate” literally, then his commandment to love our neighbors would make no sense. As you read scripture you’ll see Jesus often uses words that cause a reaction in those who clamor to be his followers, we just one example in Matthew. These inflated statements are meant to separate those who are not really committed to Christ from those whose heart is with God and can understand the true meaning of Christ’s words. So, the question is, if Jesus doesn’t mean to literally hate your mother and father, what does he mean?

This verse is one of those few places where our English translation trips us up. A closer translation of the original text is “to love less.” Now with this understanding we can see Jesus means that as his followers we need to love our family and friends a little less than him. Still a little disconcerting.

This is where appreciating the culture and the times this statement is made in helps us understand its true meaning. In the place and time this is happening, Judaism isn’t just a religion. It is also a culture with thousands of years of history. It is a way of life. It is the core of the people’s values. And into this, Jesus is telling people it doesn’t matter if you follow the sacrifices, the law is secondary. What matters most is what’s in your heart. Jesus is telling people God doesn’t save you because you follow the rules without fail, God saves you despite your failures because you follow Jesus. No wonder the Pharisees hated him; Jesus was turning their world upside down.

So now this perspective gives us a good understanding of what Jesus means in our verse. In this time Judaism is the core of your faith, your culture, your home, you. For those who follow Jesus, you have to love him a little bit more than all that. To be a true follower of Jesus, you can’t let your family dissuade you. To be a true follower of Jesus you can very well lose your family, your home, your livelihood. In that time and place you could lose everything by following Jesus. Jesus tells them that to be a true follower of his, you have to be strong enough, and willing enough to risk it all for him.

People have heard me say this before, being Christian in the United States is easy. There’s little risk of us being attacked for our faith as we leave here. But I also think that to a degree, being in our place and time can be the biggest risk to truly being a follower of Christ. We risk losing little to nothing because of our faith. We have little to no concerns to our safety because of our faith. And this causes us to have little reason to fully commit t a life dedicated to Christ. In our society there are countless who have a casual or passing relationship with Jesus. And to me, this can be a dangerous position to be in with God.

There are places in the world where the depth of this verse is apparent and real. In Asia, the Middle East, Africa; in these places it is possible to lose family, homes, even your life, simply because you believe in Christ.

George Barna wrote in his book, “The Second Coming of the Church,” “Most Christians – not those who merely call themselves Christian, but those who have confessed their sinfulness and have asked Jesus Christ to be their Lord and savior – have fallen prey to the same diseases as their worldly counterparts. We think and behave no differently from anyone else.”

In other words, the ease of Christianity in our modern, western world manifests itself in the general inability to discern Christians from non-Christians by our actions and words. In our country today there are many, many who fly the flag of Christianity and spout fear, prejudice, hate, all because of another’s nationality, beliefs, or life. Where is Jesus in the things they say? Where is Christ in the things they do or promote? The ease of Christianity here, takes our eyes off the unity of Christ and places them squarely on the differences of men.

Moving on now to verse 27, “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Here Jesus is expounding on what he said in verse 26.

Often, I find the term “bear his own cross” to be misunderstood. Jesus’ cross was a hard and painful ordeal, but he doesn’t mean we need to endure a long term or deadly affliction. Indeed, God calls some to suffer the agonies of Christ, but for the vast majority, “bear his own cross” means we must be willing to follow Jesus, we must be willing to live a life dedicated to Jesus, even if it causes us to lose jobs, even if it family members turn their backs on us, even if friends abandon us.

Today’s reading is short but it has meaning for the ages. Throughout time many have claimed to follow Jesus, but didn’t understand the consequences of it. Many claim to follow Jesus but their actions and words expose the falsity of their claim.

Choosing to become Jesus’ disciple demands a hard look at the sacrifices required. Those who want to be a follower of Jesus must count the cost of dedicating their lives to him, and they must be willing to pay the price.

I pray each of us is willing to pay the price. In the greater world, I pray more Christians will accept the cost of being Jesus’ disciple. That they will pick up their cross and share Christ’s love, peace, and grace with those they meet.

Amen.