Luke 2018-02-23
- Journal
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Bible Text
Luke 14:25–35 (ESV)
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. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or 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? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It 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.”
- Reflection Questions
- Luke 14:25-27
- What does it mean for a person to “hate” his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, and even his own life?
- What lessons can I learn from the parable of the Great Banquet about why Jesus asks for such radical commitment?
Luke 14:28-34
- Jesus does not hide the cost of discipleship. Why does he tell the crowd to count the cost of following him before they follow?
- Compare the salt that loses its saltiness (v. 34) with the fellow who began to build but was not able to finish (v. 30).
- What warning does this provide for those who claim to be disciples of Christ but have not counted the cost? What would be the outcome?
- In this passage, Jesus says, “You cannot be my disciple,” three times. Given that every Christian is by definition a disciple of Christ (cf. Acts 11:26), what does this reveal about the nature of Christian discipleship?
- Have you counted the cost of following Christ?
- What cost have I paid since following Christ? Is following Christ worth the cost?
- What is the cost of not following Christ?
- What have I gained in Christ?