Encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus...

This week we are looking at an encounter that Jesus had with a large crowd that was following Him. We looked on as Jesus engaged the crowds by saying is that He demands our allegiance and investment. We looked on as Jesus illustrated His demands of His followers by telling two parable. Jesus used these parables to reveal the reality that He demands that His followers be committed to finish what they start when it comes to following Jesus and engaging in the mission that we have been given by Jesus.

In addition Jesus revealed the reality that He demands that His followers be committed to sacrifice whatever is necessary in order to follow Him. Today, we will see Jesus, after telling these two parables, hammer His point home in Luke 14:33:

  "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Jesus hammers His point home by saying that none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Notice that Jesus does not say some of you. Notice that Jesus does not say 50% of you. Instead Jesus says none of you. Jesus tells the crowds listening, and His followers throughout history that just as a king that is considering going in to battle; just as a builder preparing to build a building; to follow Jesus requires our total commitment.

Jesus demands our total commitment by our total allegiance to Him. Jesus demands our total commitment by our total investment in the kingdom mission He has given us to be the vehicle that God uses to reveal Himself to the world around us. Jesus demands our total commitment by finishing what we have started in our journey with Him as His followers. Jesus demands our total commitment by sacrificing whatever necessary in order to follow Him. It is really quite simple: Jesus demands our total commitment as His followers.

And it is here, in this encounter that a large crowd had with Jesus, that we discover a timeless and tough truth that can occur when we encounter Jesus. And that timeless truth is that encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus. Just as it was for the crowds that were accompanying Jesus, just as it has been for humanity throughout history, encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus.

Encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus when it comes to placing our true allegiance to Jesus. Encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus when it comes to our investment in the kingdom mission that Jesus has given us. Encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus by finishing what we have starting when it comes to following Jesus. And encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus when it comes to our willingness to sacrifice whatever is necessary in order to follow Jesus.

Now a natural question that could arise here is “Why does Jesus demand our total commitment? Why should I count the cost when it comes to following Jesus?” That’s a good question. Jesus Himself provides the answer to that question in Luke 14:34-35. Let’s look at it together:

 "Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? "It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Now to fully understand Jesus statement here, we first need to understand something about salt. What happens when we eat a whole bag of salt and vinegar potato chips? After we finish the bag of chips, what do we grab next? If you are like most people, you are reaching for something to drink. You see, salt makes us thirsty.

Jesus uses this imagery of salt in Matthew 5:13-16 to describe what we are to be like as followers of Jesus. As followers of Christ, we are to live our lives in such a way that creates a thirst for Christ.  Just as salt has a specific taste and purpose, we are to have a certain seasoning and purpose in our lives.

But have you ever wondered what happens to salt that loses its taste and purpose? If salt doesn’t taste and function according to its purpose, what is it good for? In verse 35, Jesus gives us the answer by stating that it is useless. The point that Jesus is making to the crowds that were following Him, and to us today, is that when we are not totally committed to Christ; when we do not count the cost of following Jesus, we end up like that salt that has lost its taste. Just as salt is useless when it does not function according to its purpose, so followers of Jesus are useless when they do not function according to their purpose.

One final question that some of us may be wrestling with this morning is “Doesn’t Jesus realize how much He is asking of us?” My answer to that is yes, He does. You see, Jesus has a radical minimum standard. And that standard is our total commitment to Him as His followers.

However, so often, as individuals and as a church, I find that we spend much of our time and energy trying to lower the bar of expectations. We spend our time and energy demanding from ourselves and the church something less than the radical minimum standard that Jesus has set for us as His followers. 

And when we do that, when we lower the bar, we deceive ourselves. We deceive ourselves into thinking that we are doing something that we are not. We deceive ourselves and settle into an apathetic mindset that accepts and applauds halfhearted commitment and rationalizes away our failures as individuals and a church with excuses.

You see, when I find myself falling into the trap of questioning Jesus' demand for our total commitment; when I find myself wanting to lower the bar of expectations in my life; when I find myself rationalizing and making excuses for my failures and acceptance of apathy, I find myself face to face with this reality: Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done.

How can Jesus expect our total commitment as His followers? He can expect it because He has demonstrated His total commitment to us. He demonstrated His total commitment to us by showing us what a life totally committed to following God looks like. He demonstrated His total commitment to us by His allegiance and investment in His kingdom mission of the cross. Jesus demonstrated His total commitment to us by finishing what He started and sacrificing everything on the cross for our sins. And Jesus demands of us the very thing that He has already given to us; a total commitment. And because of what Jesus demands from us, Jesus will challenge us to count the cost when it comes to following Him.

So,  here is a question to consider: Have you counted the cost of what it means to truly follow Jesus? Have you counted the cost when it comes to where your allegiances lie? Have you counted the cost when it comes to your engagement and investment in the mission He has given us? Have you counted the cost when it comes to finishing what you have started? Have you counted the cost when it comes to the sacrifice you might have to make?

Because, just as it was for the crowds listening to Jesus, encountering Jesus will challenge us to count the cost of following Jesus...