This Week's Sermon

The Disciple Identity

A sermon based on Luke 14:25-33

By Pastor Scott Hannon

As today’s scripture lesson illustrates, Jesus did not have a problem with attracting followers. They were entertained by the lessons he taught and the miracles he performed. If you are wondering why his lessons and miracles were so entertaining, understand that this was a time before the Internet, television, and movie theaters. Going to see Jesus teach and perform miracles was like going to Starlight Theatre in Kansas City or the New Theatre in Overland Park. The problem Jesus had with having so many followers was that the greatest majority of them were just spectators. They were not players. They were not willing to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, or house the homeless.

Jesus did not want followers who were not willing to be practitioners of his teachings. To deter those followers from continuing to follow him, he launched his version of a “shock and awe” campaign. He began by saying, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” His followers knew the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”[1] Asking his followers to hate their fathers and mothers seemed quite contrary to keeping that commandment. And asking them to hate their wives, brothers, sisters, and even life itself just seemed wrong.

As if the requirement to hate relatives was not outlandish enough, Jesus added another requirement. He said that whoever was not willing to carry the cross, which was synonymous with being crucified, and follow him could not be his disciple. Only the most committed disciples were willing to stick around knowing that following Jesus might get them killed.

Then to encourage his followers to count the cost of becoming a disciple, he compared the danger of not doing so to building a tower without first considering its cost and to waging a war against a superior enemy force. He wanted them to focus on the embarrassment of not having enough money to finish building a tower and the foolishness of going to war against a superior army. His motive was to get them to realize that becoming a disciple without first considering the cost and then turning back would be a very unflattering experience.

If Jesus were to have selected a theme song for disciples, I think it would be I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. The song’s first stanza is as follows:

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

They key line is the last one: “No turning back, no turning back.” For true disciples of Jesus, there is no turning back regardless of what they encounter.

To increase the perceived cost of following him, Jesus said “none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” This requirement had a practical side to it. Jesus was homeless. He was constantly on the move and did have any place to store possessions. To keep up with him, each disciple had to imitate his homeless lifestyle. Unlike today’s homeless people who carry their possessions in shopping carts, Jesus and his disciples had to carry everything from place to place. It was just too burdensome to have any possessions.

In counting the cost of being a disciple, it helps to understand what Jesus meant by his requirements. For example, consider his requirement to hate one’s parents, other relatives, and life itself. In issuing that commandment, Jesus meant that a disciple’s love of him must be far greater than her love of anyone or anything else. Thus if a disciple’s love of anyone or anything else were compared with her love of Jesus, her love of anyone or anything else would seem like hate. The difference between the two loves would be that extreme.

With reference to carrying one’s cross, Jesus knew some of his disciples would be killed. Even today in some places, disciples are persecuted. But that does not stop them. They know that because of Jesus’ death on the cross, life in this world will be followed by life in heaven. So they have placed the world, with its threats and intimidations, behind them. And in front of them, they have placed the cross. If practicing their faith means they will be killed, they are ready. In the third stanza of the aforementioned song, we sing of their commitment:

The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

If you are wondering about what happens in those places, here are a few examples:

“On Aug. 15, police in Mandya district, Karnataka, India, arrested a pastor and an evangelist with India Campus Crusade for Christ, along with 10 other believers, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.

“Pastor Satish and evangelist Ravi were conducting a service in a believer’s home when about 30 people entered the home and started attacking them and accusing them of forcibly converting locals. Police arrested the 12 Christians after the attack, and at last report they were still in detention.”[2]

“On Aug. 21, Mohamed Ali Garas, a prominent Somali church leader and convert from Islam, was beaten by Muslims in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to International Christian Concern. Mohamed was walking to his new home when two Somali Muslim men struck him on the head with a wooden club and knocked him to the ground. The men continued hitting and kicking him in the chest and stomach. Mohamed had fled to Ethiopia from Somalia in 2005 after Somali authorities attempted to arrest him. He had recently moved to a new neighborhood in Addis Ababa because Somali Muslims threatened to attack him. At last report, Mohamed was being treated at a local hospital for his injuries, which included a damaged kneecap.

“In recent months, Somali Christians living in Ethiopia have come under increased attacks from Somali Muslims. A Christian man was assaulted in July for reading a book critical of the Prophet Muhammad. A Somali pastor in the Ethiopian capital described this latest attack as “an apparent attempt to scare the Somali Christian community in Addis Ababa who consider Ethiopia a safe haven from religious persecution.”[3]

“Ten members of a Christian aid team were murdered in northern Afghanistan on Aug. 5 after spending three weeks providing medical care to villagers, according to The New York Times (NYT).

“Six Americans, a Briton, a German and two Afghans were ambushed when they stopped to eat lunch in Sharrun Valley, in the Hindu Kush Mountains of northern Afghanistan. The Taliban, who have claimed responsibility for the killings, have accused the team of spying and being Christian missionaries. However, local police think the team was robbed and killed by local criminals.”[4]

Based on the above, the identity of a disciple is: A follower of Jesus who does her very best to understand Jesus’ teachings and does as those teachings instruct her to do. Her desire to follow Jesus is motivated by her love of Jesus, which is far above her love of anyone or anything else. She does not allow the accumulation of possessions to interfere with her following Jesus. She knows what it means to carry her cross and will not put it down, no matter what. The world she puts behind and in front she puts the cross.

As a conclusion to this sermon, let’s focus on the joy of discipleship. After all, discipleship is about more than meeting requirements and accepting consequences. In a sermon entitled the “Joy of Discipleship” are these words: “The well of joy that we know as disciples of Jesus Christ is deep. And in those times when life is overwhelming and perplexing; when our brokenness is great; when any hope for a different future has dried up…in all these moments and more, the deep well of joy that is ours in Christ, makes life possible!!”[5]  

And William Culbertson has this to say, “I find that discipleship means, first, truly living. It does not mean a joy ride to heaven; it does not mean that there are no trials and no burdens. But it does mean peace in your soul and joy in your heart, and a sense, a supreme sense, of the smile of the Lord upon you. It is living. And discipleship means that you are using your time on earth to the best possible advantage. The Lord Jesus says so.”

And finally, I say, “The joy of discipleship comes from having a relationship with Jesus. It is this relationship that inspires me to keep going when the going gets rough. It is this relationship that inspires me to be thankful each morning as I gaze again on God’s green earth. It is this relationship that comforts my soul when I contemplate death, for I know Jesus will be waiting to receive me into his kingdom. Literally, the joy of discipleship never ends.”