Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional as we continue in our Luke, Exploring Who Jesus is series. Today, from Luke 14:27-30, we reflect on counting the cost for anyone thinking of following Jesus.
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‘“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’’ (Luke 14:27-30)
i. What we are prepared to pay shows how we value something
The television is, it seems, awash with shows that the price of antiques and, in some formats, they are then auctioned in order to see if the estimate was correct - very exciting! We all value things differently. Whether it’s clothes, tech, art, books, antiques etc. We all value some things more than others. If we want to obtain what we value, we will have to make sufficient payment - we must give up something of value in order to gain what we consider more valuable.
In our reading today, we see that Jesus is calling us to follow Him. However, to follow Him, will cost us what is most dear to us. Like one building a tower, so we must know the price and pay the price in order to follow Jesus. “But I thought becoming a Christian was free and by grace…” I hear you say. Yes, that’s true, so how does that fit with our reading today?
ii. What is the cost of becoming a Christian?
Our text teaches us that to become a Christian - a follower of Jesus - the cost is to ‘carry their cross’. The analogy of building a tower is simply another way of saying the same thing; to mix it together, we could say, to become a Christian will cost your crucifixion, which is the same amount as building a tower. Our death is the price we must pay! Paul puts it this way:
‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.’ (Galatians 2:20)
David Watson, explains this verse in this way:
‘What does the way of the cross mean for us today when the majority of Christians will probably not be faced with crucifixion or any other form of martyrdom? A young man once asked an older Christian, ‘What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?’ The older man thought for a moment, and then replied: ‘To be crucified with Christ means three things. First, the man who is crucified is facing only one direction; he is not looking back. Second, the man who is crucified has said goodbye to the world; he is not going back. Third, the man who is crucified has no further plans of his own. He is totally in God’s hands. Whatever the situation, he says, “Yes, Lord!”’ (Watson, David. Discipleship)
iii. Do we count the cost
An important application of this text is that we help those who are thinking of becoming Christian to count the cost. Emotional responses that are fuelled by moving music and anecdotes will not sustain. We must help people to understand what following Jesus means in regard to repentance. This is why, for example, I believe that it’s helpful to do preparation for baptism as a context for ‘counting the cost’.
vi. Do we bring ‘ridicule’ on Jesus by not paying the price for following Him?
Becoming a Christian is free, but it will cost us everything. Do we have a half-built tower of a life? Are we half-hearted? Do we carry a cross when it suits us? Today’s text is Jesus' challenge to count ourselves as crucified with Him. We may be ridiculed for being all in with Jesus, but we bring ridicule on Jesus by being lukewarm and a chameleon version of Jesus.
Let’s pray together
“Lord Jesus, forgive me for my compromising heart. Forgive me when I’ve been very much alive to sin and my flesh. Today, again, I count myself and ’dead to sin’ and alive to you. I count myself as crucified with you. Today, by your Spirit, help me to live out this confession. Amen.”
Community Group Notes
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, or maybe from our week of prayer, and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Sunday’s message from Luke 14:25-35, was about the cost of discipleship.
In the previous section of this chapter, we saw how we are all, even least, are invited into the Kingdom and the eternal banquet; this invitation is free, and one enters by receiving Jesus - repenting and believing the gospel. Now, in this section, Jesus challenges all of us who want to enter the Kingdom that we must commit ourselves to radical discipleship - it’s free to enter the Kingdom but it will cost us everything as we give our lives entirely to the King.
Please read Luke 14:25-35 and discuss:
Did God speak to you about anything from Sunday’s message?
Using three analogies - hating family, building a tower and going to war, Jesus teaches about the cost of following Him. What are the various ways that this can be applied in our lives (Use personal examples if you can)?
What does 14:35b, teach about the nature of true (born again) disciples?
SIV - In 14:34-35a, Jesus warns about remaining ‘salty’. What does this mean in regard to SIV? And how can one work at remaining salty?
SIV - How will the application of today’s text lead to having great impact in your community?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
SIV - Spend some time together talking and praying about who and how you are seeking to bring your community to Jesus.
Let’s pray together: Pray for one another out of our study, and for anything else for which people would like prayer.
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