-THE PEREAN MINISTRY

-Counting the Cost of Discipleship

-Luke 14:25-35

-Even though Jesus had been in the region of Perea a short time, multitudes gathered to Him.

-In this passage, Jesus turned to the multitude and addressed the cost of discipleship.  Indeed, to

 this very day, it is extremely important for us to count the cost.

-Let’s remember that the people expected the Messiah to triumphantly establish an earthly

 kingdom, provide deliverance to the Jewish people and to place them in a position of exalted

 prominence. 

            -As a result of their expectations, they were not expecting any costs.  So these words of Jesus

              were probably surprising/shocking to the hearers.

-Verses 26 & 27:  Obviously, Jesus was not teaching that disciples were/are to literally hate their

 family members.  Jesus was simply using an extreme statement to secure the attention of His

 hearers and to clearly emphasize an important point.

            -“Seeing the number of loose adherents which now surrounded him, Jesus made use of this

             striking statement that he might startle each hearer and impress upon him the wide

             difference between a mere outward attendance upon him and a real, disciple-like adhesion to

             him” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pgs 497-498).

            -The meaning of Jesus’ statement is that we must love Him more than all others, including

             self.  This is confirmed by Matthew 10:37.  Simply put, Jesus must come first - before other

             people, before self, before anything else.  We must make the necessary sacrifices involved

             with being a follower of Jesus.  We must be willing to bear the burdens, face the trials and

             endure the afflictions.  Truly, bearing our cross to follow Jesus is a cost worth paying!  (1

             Cor 15:58)

-To illustrate this important truth, Jesus provided two examples.

            -The first example (vs 28-30) is that of a person planning to build a tower.

                        -If somebody is thinking about beginning a building project, he first considers the costs

                         and determines whether he has the resources to finish the project or not.  If he doesn’t

                         consider the costs, he may start the project, be unable to finish it and then be left in a

                         shameful condition.

            -The second example is that of a king contemplating a battle. 

                        -He first considers his situation and prepares his strategy.  If he haphazardly enters into

                         battle, he may be sorely defeated when peace could have first been sought.

            -Jesus was not giving these examples to discourage the people from following Him.  He was

             simply reinforcing the fact that we must realize that there are costs associated with being His

             disciple - costs that we must be willing to pay.

                        -“...[T]he spirit of self-sacrifice is the point.  One should neither make a false start nor a

                         hopeless stand, but give up all at once for Christ, and give his life to him.  The cost is

                         great; one must give his influence, his money, his energy, his life, his all, if he would be

                         a disciple of Jesus” (Boles, 1974), pg 293.

-If we are unwilling to pay the costs, we cannot be a disciple of the Lord.

-vs 34-35:  “The ordinary salt of that time was of poor quality, and quickly lost its flavor when

 exposed to the air” (Wycliffe).

            -A person who begins the Christian walk but fails to persevere is like salt that has lost its

             flavor.  Being unprofitable for the intended role, it (the unfaithful Christian) is cast out.

-Jesus emphasized these important truths with the statement, “He that hath ears to hear, let him

 hear.”