What’s a Disciple

Chapter 14 in some pretty decent
sized chunks. Typically, you know that we may
take three or four verses. I think I’m famous or perhaps
infamous for the one Sunday when I took just one verse. But this
particular chapter is one that reminds me of something that
a seminary professor once said to me, a pastor who had preached
On many occasions, he said, when you’re preaching through a narrative,
don’t forget the break or the gas pedal. In other words, you’ve
got to take the text as it comes and handle it in as it comes
to you. There are times where you need
to apply the break and slow down and spend more time in a particular
passage. And there’s times where you need
to take a larger portion of the passage in order to get at the
core of the message. And so along those lines, we
have taken three large chunks out of chapter 14. We live in a day and age, in
fact, this last election is an indication of it live in a day
and age when perhaps numerically speaking or from a sheer percentage
standpoint, it seems like Christians are almost in the majority in
our country. We have professions like never
before. The numbers are certainly from denominational standpoints
way up. Conversions are allegedly at
an all time high. The last election was by most
pundits directly affected by the evangelical vote, as it has
been increasingly over the last number of elections. And yet,
from a day to day standpoint, For those of us who claim to
be true followers of Christ, finding those numbers and finding
evidence of those numbers is sometimes a difficult thing.
If we really are in the majority, where are they? And it leads
one to the question ultimately of where are the disciples of
Christ or if there are disciples, what do they look like? Perhaps you find yourself longing
or wishing that there were some kind of a test that could be
applied that would determine what is and what isn’t a true
disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. What does a disciple look like?
What is a disciple? Jesus answered that question
because there was likely the same concern even among his own
apostles. Jesus, if you recall there in
chapter 14, had just essentially rebuked the host who had invited
him to dinner, challenging whether or not he would even be in heaven
for eternity, challenging whether he would be there enjoying the
Lord’s eternal blessings in heaven. Perhaps some of the apostles
were curious, what does a disciple look like? How many of this gathering
throng are even part of your true kingdom? Jesus answers that
question in a section that has been called the conditions of
discipleship. I might even propose it a different
way. I’ve suggested that this is the nature of Christ’s true
followers, the characteristics of genuine disciples. If you
would, let’s pick up in verse 25 as Jesus answers this age-old
question. Now large crowds were going along
with 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 carry his own
cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one
of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down
and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete
it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able
to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying,
This man began to build, was not able to finish. Or what king? When he sets out to meet another
king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether
he is strong enough with 10,000 men to encounter the one coming
up against him with 20,000? Or else, while the other is still
far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
So then, none of you can be my disciple who does not give up
all his own possessions. Therefore, salt is good. But
even if salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile.
It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let
him hear.” Jesus had been gathering that
throng for some time. And now they are proceeding literally
to Jerusalem and literally to the cross. Some are following
Christ, as you recall, just out of mere curiosity. Some are at
least alleged believers who will in time turn away, we know. Others
are true and genuine followers of Christ. The apostles, even among them,
there is one who would betray Christ. So the question is undoubtedly
on the minds of all the apostles What is a genuine disciple? And
if Jesus essentially chased away one alleged disciple, this one
who had invited him to dinner, who he now challenges in blurting
out this affirmation of the kingdom. Jesus wants to point out the
characteristic of a true disciple. What’s a disciple? Let’s look
at the passage once again, first and foremost, a follower of Christ,
a true follower of Christ, is one who is singularly devoted
to Christ. And Jesus uses some of the strongest
terms in all of scripture. Words that have been interpreted
and misinterpreted over the centuries. Even down to our own day and
age, I remember when I first became a Christian, I was part
of a church and I met a young man who had had some, you know,
no little falling out with his parents. His dad was in the midst
of an affair and he had broken off fellowship with him to the
point where he vowed never to speak with him again. And he
used this passage in his defense. Jesus turned and said to the
large crowds, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own
father and mother, his wife and his children and his brothers
and sisters, yea, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Those are words that give even
the most faithful Christian, the most faithful Christian that
knows God’s word cannot contradict itself. That gives even the most
faithful Christian pause. As we seek to try to understand
what could Christ have intended by those words? The bottom line here is. What
Jesus is saying is even when. Our nearest and dearest relationships,
our precious parents, wives, children. When they become obstacles
to our relationship with Christ, that is when we must part ways. The thoughts aren’t entirely
new. Deuteronomy 13 had it this way. If your brother, your mother’s
son, or your son or your daughter,
or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul,
entices you secretly saying, let us go serve other gods. You shall not yield to them or
listen to them. Your eyes shall not pity him, nor shall you spare
or conceal him.” Those are, in essence, the words that Christ
is uttering. That’s where we part ways with
even our beloved family members. Deuteronomy chapter 21, same
thought is uttered. Deuteronomy chapter 33, same
thought is uttered. Jesus had said these words even
prior in his own ministry. There in Matthew chapter 10,
he said, he who loves father or mother more than me is not
worthy of me. Essentially, a softer, if you
will, version of this same message. He who loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. He who does not take his
cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. There, Jesus
stating in the positive. Here, quite in the negative.
Essentially, what Jesus says is that this self renunciation
that he had spoken of time and time again in the Gospels, if
it’s taken to its logical extreme, is essentially with Jesus the
one indispensable condition of discipleship. It must be Christ
and all of Christ and Christ alone, or it can be nothing at
all. He asks for the heart. But he
doesn’t ask for it in degrees or percentages. He asks for the
whole heart. This is all clarified perfectly
well when he says that you must hate even your own life. That explains that little word
hate. The soul there represented in
Scripture is the seed of passions and temptations which ultimately
alienate the Spirit from Christ. Those is what he is pointing
to is that which must be hated and mortified and crucified.
It isn’t just our carnal desires,
it’s our life, it’s all of our worldly interests, it’s all of
our affections. Life itself. The bottom line here. He can’t
ever take a passage of Scripture and explained it in such a way
where it contradicts the entire rest of Scripture. We knew there
must, as those who trust God and believe in his word, we knew
there must be an answer to this. And there is. Jesus didn’t intend that it’s
the duty of anyone that wants to come to him to become a Christian,
to hate their relatives. Some of us need very little motivation
toward that end. That would have been to contradict
the fifth commandment to love our parents. What Jesus did intend
is that those who follow him with a deeper love must have
a deeper love for Christ and even their dearest relatives.
And by comparison, it is as if they were hating their loved
ones. The context, the parallel passages
of this passage show that the case is one where a supposed choice
must be made between those of natural affection, our family
and between loyalty to Christ. John, chapter 12. He said it
this way, Jesus, he who loves his life, loses it, and he who
hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
Those were the seeming paradoxes that Jesus offered up Repeatedly. J.C. Ryle, commenting upon this,
hit it accurately when he said it this way. He said, the greatest
foes to a man’s soul are sometimes those of his own house. I think
I’ve shared with you from time to time, even in my own course
of Christianity, how true that was, how hard it was to come
to Christ based on how my family received my conversion. It sometimes
happens, Ryle continues, that the greatest hindrances to the
way of an awakened conscience is the opposition of relatives
and friends. The true Christian must be willing
to offend his family rather than offend Christ. It can never be
true love to relatives to do wrong in order to please them.
But firmness accompanied by gentleness and consistency in the long run
of life often brings its own reward. What Ryo points to there
is that faithfulness continued over a long stretch of time,
will in time, and often does produce conversions. At the very
minimum, it gives credence to the testimony. I’ll never forget
the first time my own father had me pray. It was unthinkable
based on how he had received me initially and received my
conversion. Having been raised Catholic,
my dad took it very personally. that I changed religions. And so you can imagine the first
time that he had me pray. Just the beginning of the thaw
of our relationship that really continues to this day. Devotion to Christ must be wholehearted. It must be all of us. So the
attachment even to parents, to the other members of our family,
can’t be allowed to stand in the way of our ultimate devotion
to Christ. What Jesus demands is complete
devotion, the kind of loyalty that is so true and unswerving
that every other attachment is subjected to that. The one who ultimately wishes
to follow Christ is first and foremost singularly devoted to
him. When loyalty to him clashes with
any other loyalty, that other loyalty must give way. Jesus pointed out a second characteristic
of one who is a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not
only one who is singularly devoted to Christ, but one who is willing
to suffer with Christ. And this little description here
will really pare down the masses. What Jesus said initially is
that you must be singularly devoted to Christ, and that no doubt
took a fair number of people outside of that circle of true
disciples. It drew the circle that much
smaller, and there were no doubt those in Christ’s very midst
that day that knew that they already didn’t measure up to
true discipleship. They weren’t willing to part
ways with family. They weren’t willing to part ways with evil
company. They weren’t willing to break with tradition of family. But this one draws an even narrower
circle. The true follower of Jesus Christ is one who is willing
to suffer with Christ, and there are many who will make a profession
of Christ that are never willing. Never willing. You remember the
parable of the soils. When persecution comes, there
are those that will fall away. It’s the thorny soil Christian. A good profession of faith, there’s
even a seed that germinates that even begins to grow. And you
might even think that by looking at it, he’s a true Christian.
But as soon as difficulty and temptation comes, he fades away. Look again at the passage in
verse 27. Where Jesus says, whoever does
not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. This is a striking image because
Jesus had addressed it before. This carrying of the cross came
up, if you remember, on the Sermon on the Mount of Transfiguration,
where Peter had this idea to build all these magnificent structures
and In homage to those who were present. What Jesus ultimately says there
is that. You’re going to have to carry your cross, Peter. In chapter 16, Jesus repeats this. Jesus said to his disciples,
if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take
up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will
find it.” In this particular passage before us in Luke’s Gospel,
these two illustrations together intends to warn these expected
multitudes, these great crowds that were gathering around Christ,
that in order to follow Christ in the true sense, we’re suddenly
going to be a more difficult and serious matter than they
might have previously thought. The disciples had to learn that
the apostles had to learn that. And note, we pointed this out
before. This whole idea of taking up your cross has been minimized
in our society to the point where having a cold is seen as a cross. Having a difficult day or a difficult
boss is seen as bearing one’s cross. One commented upon it
in these terms. He said, the general idea that
these words refer to a passive submission to all kinds of afflictions,
disappointments, pain, sickness, grief, is essentially to minimize the
true cross of Christ. What Christ was saying here was
that the cross doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to sufferingly
bear up under having a bad cold, as if that is our cross. It is
suffering for the sake of Christ likeness. It is a full service
and surrender to Christ that abandons striving after our own
interests And in essence, takes our place there on the cross
with Christ. And the words, as I mentioned,
had fresh significance to the apostles. They had heard what
Jesus said there on the Mount, the son of man must suffer many
things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and
scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day. Perhaps
they didn’t have the full picture in their mind, but they knew
the likelihood of crucifixion was there. And Jesus confirms
that in verse 23, when he says, if anyone wishes to come after
me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow
me. These men had all seen the Roman
crucifixion, there had literally been thousands of them over the
course of the years. They knew what it meant to take
up the cross as they made these malefactors and criminals and
sometimes falsely accused people carry this large beam. They knew
what it meant. They knew Jesus wasn’t just using
a modern day euphemism. They knew that it meant the same
thing that it would come to mean for the Simon of Cyrene to take
the cross of Christ and to carry it. They knew that the figure stood
for a man who was condemned to die, carrying his own cross to
the place of execution where he was going to be nailed to
it. Jesus says, take up your cross. Every disciple of Christ is called
to bear his own cross. The reference isn’t to common
sufferings, it isn’t to minor or mild sufferings of every kind,
but to the shame and the suffering that comes particularly with
knowing Christ. It’s that suffering, it’s that
cross that we’re called to bear. It’s being persecuted and hated
and mistreated for the cause of Christ that is in view. The
cross shouldn’t be cheapened by applying and enduring those
little irritations that we face from day to day. Rather, it’s
a willingness to suffer for Jesus Christ and for others. One pastor said it this way,
bearing a cross after Christ became a symbol of willingness
to endure pain, shame and persecution for His sake and for His cause.
The term cross bearing is not being used properly when it is
made to refer generally to every kind of affliction. Do you get
the point? We’ve turned the cross into a
cheapened thing. It wasn’t so for the apostles. They
knew what Christ meant. One Puritan had it this way.
He said it is deplorable. that the vast majority of God’s
own people have such an unscriptural conception of what the cross
stands for. The average Christian seems to
regard the cross in this text as any trial or trouble that
may be laid upon him. Whoever comes up that disturbs
our peace, that is unpleasing to the flesh, that irritates
our temper is looked upon as a cross. The word cross is never
found in the plural number, nor is it ever found with the indefinite
article. A cross. It is not a cross that
is laid upon us, but a cross which must be taken up. The cross
stands for the definite realities which embody and express the
leading characteristics of Christ’s agony. What he points to is whenever
we take the cross in view, we must remember what it stands
for in its fullness. It’s an expression of the world’s
hatred for Christ. And if we name the name of Christ,
Christ says we must bear our cross. The cross essentially
stands then for a life that is voluntarily surrendered to the
will of God. It stands for obedience. It stands
for consecration to Christ. It stands for surrender to Christ.
It stands for a life that is placed at the disposal of God. It stands as one who is a disciple. Jesus used those words to advance
this description of what a disciple is. He said, if you want to be
a true disciple, you must pick up your cross. And he says, and
before you do, you must think about it. You’ve got to consider
what you’re doing. And then he uses these illustrations,
one of a tower, one of a king in battle. To point us to this
thoughtful consideration of what we’re thinking of doing, not
just this flippant occasion, as is so often the modern day
approach to coming to Christ, not just this casual approach
to Christ, but a real genuine, thoughtful approach, one that
considers fully what is involved in becoming a true disciple of
Christ. Note, first of all, which one of you, when he wants to
build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost? There may be a historical illusion
here, we know that in Christ’s day and age, there were numerous
building projects going on and they were forever devoted to
the to the king at the helm or to the ruler. And so many times
they were initiated with great pomp and and then they fizzled
over time. There were all kinds of unfinished
projects dotting the land. What Jesus points to here is
that it costs something to be a true Christian. To be a mere
nominal Christian, to go to church, to show up is really easy. But
to hear Christ, to follow Christ, to believe in Christ, to name
the name of Christ requires self-denial. It will cost us our sins, it
costs our self-righteousness. We can’t bring that with us anymore.
It costs us ease, it costs us the worldliness that we tend
to embrace. And so he calls us to take up our cross, but before
he does that, he says, consider. Which one does not sit down first
and calculate the cross? In Scotland, there is a building,
read about it a couple of weeks ago. They refer to it as McCaig’s
Folly. It is this huge, massive structure
that a man named John McCaig began to build, a banker, one
of the few in the town of Oban that had any money. And in order
to pump money into the economy, his own money, he began to use
the men in the town and to pay them a very slight wage to build
this massive structure. He began to run out of money.
The project slowed down. It was essentially a building
that was going to be an edifice to his own name for saving this
town and paying all these men. The work came to a screeching
halt. eventually died with his death. And it now stands on top
of this hill as this forever testimony to a man who didn’t
calculate the cost before he began to build. And it’s referred
to as McCabe’s folly. That’s exactly what Jesus points
to in this little passage. There are many, many Christians
that say initially that they want to become disciples. They
make great profession and make great proclamation of their intent
to follow Christ. And in very short order, the
building stops and in time there is nothing but a testimony to
folly. To not following hard after Christ,
to not giving Christ their all. The second image is of a king
who goes into battle Essentially, what Christ points to there is
calculating or considering long, serious consideration, whether
you’re going to go into battle or whether once you see your
formidable opponent, whether you throw up your hands and throw
up a white flag and essentially go and proclaim peace treaty
terms to the man. In these two illustrations, essentially,
the main point is this. Before anybody undertakes something
this important, He should first of all make sure whether he will
be able to finish the building. Whoever desires to follow Jesus
should first make sure whether he’s really prepared to pay the
full price. And that’s exactly what Jesus
was challenging these so-called disciples. This larger sphere
of people that were this gathering throng were following him wherever
he went. Jesus said, are you really sure? that you want to
be my disciples because a true disciple of mine must be singularly
devoted to me. He must be willing to suffer
with me. And thirdly, the third characteristic
of a genuine disciple of Christ is one who is sacrificially living
for Christ. Look at the third demand that
Jesus gives to them in verse 33. When he says, so then none
of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own
possessions. This, too, is more of that striking
terminology that Christ uses so frequently. Because we’re
all sitting here this morning. And I know that no matter what
the offering was this morning, there’s still some left in your
pocket. You still have a car. Many of you still have a home
that you’re purchasing. Many of you still have many,
many possessions. So much so that you can’t even
park the car in the garage, right? So what is he saying? Are any
of us saved? Are any of us Christians? What he calls us to is devotion,
loyalty, self-denial. So that one places his time and
his possessions, his talents at Christ’s disposal. The apostles
knew this well. One contemporary pastor urged
it in these terms, he said, he must the true disciple of Christ
must relinquish all his possessions, not merely money and material
things, but his dear ones, everything that his heart clings to, even
his own life, his desires, his plans. This doesn’t mean that
he has to sell his possessions and become a hermit, but it does
mean that he gives Christ full control over his life and everything
in it. You may recall that Jesus came
across one such individual who had his heart ready to give to Christ. There
was only one problem. The tentacles of all the world’s
things had put down their roots into his heart and they had a
firm grip upon it. Matthew chapter 19. Someone came
to him and said, teacher, what good thing shall I do that I
may obtain eternal life? He said to him, why are you asking
about what is good? There’s only one who is good. But if you wish
to enter into life, keep the commandments. Understandingly,
the man said to him, which ones? Jesus said, you shall not commit
murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother
and you shall love your neighbors yourself. The young man said
to him, amazingly, all these things I’ve kept, what am I still
lacking? The man had no idea the standard of God. He had no
idea the holy God that he was considering. Jesus said to him,
if you wish to be complete. If you still haven’t seen yourself
as a sinner in need of a savior, if you wish to be complete, go
and sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will
have treasure in heaven and come and follow me. You see, Jesus
knew it was in the man’s heart. He knew that his heart was gripped. One pastor said it this way,
do we have to give away everything? Everything to become Christians.
No, we have to be willing to forsake everything. To cling to nothing that takes
precedence over Christ. Scripture. Has very sparse information
on this approach that never there’s no categorical call that believers
are are called to sell and give everything they own to the poor.
These two particular occasions were for specific purpose. Even
the occasion in Acts, chapter two, where they’re selling and
giving was not a command of Scripture. It was just the heart of the
believers that were there. But this man, this man was before
Christ and Christ knew his heart. He knew what was in his heart.
He knew the man’s heart was covetousness. He knew what was in the man’s
heart with indulgence and materialism. He knew the man. And the Lord
challenged that man. The rich young ruler failed the
test because his possessions were more important to him than
following Christ. The man who wants to follow Christ
is not on the way to worldly power and glory and wealth. But
he’s got to be ready for a loyalty that is going to sacrifice all
the dearest things in life. And Jesus closes with familiar,
but differently used words on this occasion. He says, therefore,
the salt is good, but even the salt has become tasteless. With
what will it be seasoned? Essentially, what Jesus says
is. Are we living as salty Christians
in the world? Are we living? Are we living
lives that testify the fact that we were true disciples or not?
Are we truly singularly devoted to Christ as He are all in all,
as everybody takes second place to Christ? Are we living lives
that are willing to suffer for the sake of Christ? Willing to
literally take it on the chin, if need be, Are we living sacrificial lives?
Lives that are willing to let go of everything, if need be,
in order to follow Christ? The apostles had done so. The
apostles began with their nets, their books. They’d begun to
set aside family responsibilities and to pursue Christ and pursue
Him only. The question for us this morning
is where are we? Are we singularly devoted to
Christ? Does family hold sway over us
and our convictions? Are we willing truly to suffer
for the sake of those particular convictions? Are we really willing
to part ways with our family over those things? Or do we take
a politically correct approach with our families and our friends
and our loved ones? Let’s examine our hearts before
our Lord. Our gracious God, we thank you and praise you for
our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for these words
that we’ve just meditated upon. We thank you, Father, for the
care and concern of a loving Savior who saw an ever gathering
multitude around him and knew that there were those in his
midst that were self-deceived. Father, there were those in his
midst who really believed they were true disciples because they
didn’t know what a disciple looked like. Even his own apostles perhaps
wondered what a true disciple looked like. And so we thank
you for these words because the case is precisely the same for
us. In our day and age, we’ve forgotten what a true disciple
is, what a true disciple looks like. Grant us the grace, Father,
to examine our hearts to see whether we are truly devoted
only to Christ, ready to stand with Him even if everyone else
falls. Help us to examine our hearts
to see the degree to which we are willing to suffer Would we
really give our own lives? Father, examine our hearts to
see the degree to which things maintain their hold on us, not
we on them. Father, grant us the grace to
examine our hearts. Would You be pleased to make
us true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ? It’s in Jesus’
name that we pray, Amen.