Luke 13:25-35
It is easy to shy away from the tough teachings of Jesus, but every part of the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news, which is what the word ‘gospel means or course.
If we dig a little deeper, the tough teachings are also very good news! And here in Drayton Parish we truly want to be disciples of Jesus, and so we tackle uncomfortable and difficult readings head on … and we see amazing things.
Today’s gospel is uncomfortable reading, to be sure. It is all about trust, discipleship and allegiance. To whom do we belong?
Luke begins today’s passage with; “Large crowds were travelling with Jesus”. It was inevitable that large crowds would follow him because he spoke with authority, he performed miracles, and healed people.
Jesus was a man who exuded compassion and love. He attracted people! And yet, when Jesus sat down to teach, the message he often brought was shocking.
Never more so than on this occasion. The crowd had gathered eagerly to receive the teaching of Jesus. And he then gives them 3 ‘cannots’: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters cannot be my disciple.”
“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” And, “If you do not give up your possessions, you cannot be my disciple.”
Firstly, who is Jesus talking to? It begins, “Large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them (v.25) …” This is addressed to all those who are already following Jesus and he wanted to teach them the nature of true discipleship.
These people were not antagonistic to Jesus’ ministry. These were interested enough to be following him already but hadn’t yet grasped the full implications of discipleship.
The same is true for many today, of course. Churches throughout the world are packed with people interested in Jesus but who don’t really grasp the implications of discipleship for themselves.
They, to varying degrees, are believers, but fear taking it all too seriously because the cost may be too high.
Jesus here is pointing out that this is a total misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian and speaks very strongly into this misunderstanding.
There are not two divisions of Christians; as if the ordinary, average person in the pew can somehow be a casual follower whilst leaving the passionate, disciplined lifestyle to the professional Christians and a few others who are prepared to take it all too seriously.
No, this is a call to us all, v.26 makes clear; “Whoever comes to me…” That’s all of us.
So, he gives us the first of his ‘cannots’: “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.”
Now we need to put this verse into its original context in 1st-century Palestine, otherwise we might misunderstand Jesus’ intent here.
Jesus was speaking in Aramaic and his use of the word ‘hate’ is hyperbole: he was not actually calling us to hate our relatives and hate our life. The word translated as “hate,” means “to love less.”
This becomes clear when we compare this saying in Luke with its parallel in Matthew (Matt 10:37), "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
In Aramaic, the Rabbis would use the word ‘hate’ to indicate a lesser love. Jesus is saying that we need to prefer him in all areas of our lives.
And this isn’t a statement about emotions – how we feel: it’s a statement about our commitment to obey and is linked to the second of his “Cannots,” “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
What Jesus is saying is this; just as in the denying of ourselves and the picking up of our cross daily we come into the very fullness of ourselves; by putting Jesus first and above our families brings us into the very fullness of our families.
We will love our families far better and more effectively than if we don’t do this.
In all things, Jesus is to be our priority. As we read in Colossians only a few weeks ago, in this fullness of life “Christ is all and in all!” (Col 3:11).
He comes before all other relationships; he comes before our personal desires. He comes before our dreams and ambitions. He comes before and instigates all plans.
Jesus uses this carrying of our cross as a metaphor for abandoning all our self-glorifying desires and ambitions if we choose to follow him.
Now we can be reluctant to accept this abandoning of everything we think makes up a good life because we fear what will happen if we do.
And so Jesus tells a couple of short parables about planning to build a tower and counting the cost before we do so. Or a king preparing to wage war against an enemy but first reckoning on the strength of his own troops before committing himself.
In the same way, we are to reckon the cost before committing ourselves to a life of discipleship. Jesus is saying (my summary); ‘Make a choice. Me, or what you think you can make of yourself and your family by your own strength.’
Which leads Jesus into his final and perhaps most shocking ‘Cannot’ in v.33 “You cannot become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions”. In other words, give up absolutely everything you have and come to me.
This is what these stark “cannot” saying are all about. Just come to me as you are with nothing else at all. Just you.
We cannot flirt with God. There is no such thing as a part time disciple. Now if this dismays us, we need to read again today’s magnificent Psalm, 139, again. How intimately God knows us.
He formed us in our mother’s wombs and wove us together. He knows every single thought and word we will ever have even before the thought or word is formed and on our tongue. He hems us in before and behind and never abandons us.
He created us to do what will truly satisfy us in our work, family and social lives!
It is by trusting him with our lives that this comes to pass, and this is the good news. This abandonment to Christ is what we call becoming a disciple. We become one with God by becoming one of his children.
There is no better or loving parent than God the Father. All the things that we gave up for Jesus are returned to us with interest, fully sanctified and made holy and pure and good.
A disciple is one who has decided to truly come to Jesus with nothing, and there are no more beautiful words in all of Scripture than Jesus saying, [Just] “Come to me … and I will give you rest; … for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you souls” (Matt 11:28-29).
We get our heart’s desire, and we find is has been nothing but Jesus himself all along. Let me pray …