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Jesus said whoever does not carry his cross cannot be his disciple. This passage can be terrifying because Jesus makes strong claims about hating your family and your own life. If we claim to follow Jesus, then we need to know exactly what he requires to be his disciple.
Passage
14:25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26“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. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 34Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” – Luke 14:25-35
Broadly speaking, people approach this passage two different ways:
- Some take the passage at face value. They would argue: We can’t follow Jesus unless we literally (to one degree or another) hate our parents, take up our crosses and give all our possessions to the poor.
- Others argue that since we know we are justified by faith alone, being a disciple is something extra that not every believer is called to do and is not required to be saved.
Disciple = Believer?
- In the New Testament the word disciple is used interchangeably with the word believer. For example, see Acts 11:26.
- You can be a disciple without ultimately coming to faith. But if you believe, you are also a disciple. For example, John 6:60-69; John 8:31-32.
- See What is a disciple?
Similar passages
Jesus uses similar language in other contexts. These other contexts give us some explanation as to what Jesus means in Luke 14.
Peter’s confession discussion
Jesus uses this same language in the talk he gives after Peter’s confession (Mark 8:27-38; Luke 9:18-27; Matthew 16:13-28).
Jesus asks his disciples who the crowds think he is. They answer, some say John the Baptist, other say Elijah and others say one of the prophets who has risen. Jesus asks who do you say I am and Peter says you are the Christ.
Then Jesus starts to teach them that he is going to be killed and raised again. Peter pulls Jesus aside saying he can’t die. Jesus rebukes Peter, then turns to his disciples and the crowd and gives a talk.
In each of the talks after Peter’s confession, Jesus tells them three things in addition to this language about taking up your cross.
- Whoever would save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life will find it.
- What will it profit them if they gain the world and lose their own soul?
- Whoever is ashamed of Jesus, Jesus will be ashamed of him.
Sending the twelve
Jesus also uses this language in the talk he gives the twelve before he sends them out on a missionary journey (Matthew 10:1-42). Jesus warns them that they will be persecuted because they follow him.
These talks have a similar theme: What are you going to do when the world makes you suffer the way they made Jesus suffer?
Jesus is teaching his disciples that they have to make a choice. Choosing to follow Jesus often means losing something in this world — from family to freedom to your very life.
Passage
14:25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26“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. – Luke 14:25-26
- Jesus uses strong language to get their attention.
- The thing that you love is the thing that you hold on to; the thing that you hate is the thing that you let go of.
- Jesus is picturing a scenario in which the gospel divides a family. Those who reject Jesus are likely to also reject their other family members who accepts Jesus. Those who accept the gospel are then faced with a hard choice: who’s side are you on?
- Compare with Matthew 10:34-38.
- Compare with Matthew 16:24-26.
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:27
- A cross is not something you use to commit suicide. A cross is something that somebody else nails you to.
- If the Romans found you guilty of a crime worthy of capital punishment, they nailed you to a cross and left you there until you died.
- The crowds following Jesus were familiar with the scene of a condemned criminal carrying his cross to the place of his execution.
- In all the contexts where we see this language about carrying your cross, the context is the world will hate you for following Jesus and they will make you suffer for being his disciple.
- Carrying your cross is having the willingness to accept the disapproval and rejection of the world.
14:28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. – Luke 14:28-32
- Jesus is NOT saying decide whether you have what it takes to be my disciple, and if you don’t have it, quit before you start. None of us has what it takes.
- The builder is wise not to start construction. The king is wise to seek terms of surrender before the other king arrives.
- The analogy is to our standing before God.
- If I think that someday I’m going to stand for before the throne of God and convince him that I deserve of heaven on my own, I’m a fool. I’m going to lose that battle.
- The wise course is assess your situation realistically now and choose to follow Jesus.
- In other words, I need to realize the cost of discipleship is worth whatever I lose in this world, even if it’s my life.
14:33So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 34Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” – Luke 14:33-35
- In this context, Luke 14:33 is not a command to give all your possession away in this context. Rather, nothing in this life should be more important than following Jesus. In that sense, you should be willing to lose everything.
- It’s going to cost you to follow Jesus. It could cost you the affection of your family. It could cost you your career. It could cost you the respect and approval of your peers. It could cost you your very life. Is that cross you are willing to carry?
For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.
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Series: The Parables of Jesus: Pictures of the Kingdom
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