Counting The Cost
Preaching
Preaching The Parables
Series III, Cycle C
1. Text
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, [26] "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. [27] Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. [28] For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see 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 will begin to ridicule him, [30] saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' [31] Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? [32] If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. [33] So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Jesus addresses the men in the large crowds traveling with him with two "whoever's."
Second Point Of Action
First, he tells them whoever comes to him and does not hate father, mother, wife, children, sisters, and even life itself cannot be his disciple.
Third Point Of Action
Second, he tells them whoever does not carry the cross and follow him cannot be his disciple.
Fourth Point Of Action
First, Jesus uses the analogy of counting the cost, that is, estimating to determine whether one has enough funds to complete a tower before beginning to build it. Otherwise, the builder will be ridiculed by all who see that he has laid a foundation and is unable to complete it.
Fifth Point Of Action
Second, Jesus uses the analogy of a king considering before going out to wage war against another king whether he is able with 10,000 fighters to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000. If he cannot, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
Sixth Point Of Action
Jesus concludes with the "So therefore," no one can become his disciple without giving up all possessions.
3. Spadework
Carry The Cross
Used on 108 occasions, "carry" appears in the physical way of carrying grain, choice fruits, sacks, bags, money, my bones, the ark, the table, the altar, the bull, the ashes, your kinsmen, the carcass, the things of the tent of the meeting, the tabernacle, seed, twelve stones, seven trumpets of rams' horns, plunder, and the cross.
"Carry" also appears in an intangible way as "carry out his fierce wrath" (1 Samuel 28:18), "carry the good news" (1 Samuel 31:9 and 1 Chronicles 10:9), "carry out exactly the decision" (Deuteronomy 10:8), "carry on his work" (Judges 16:8), "carry tidings" (2 Samuel 18:19), "carry him to his mother" (2 Kings 4:19), "carry out a plan" (Isaiah 30:1), "carry out all my purpose" (Isaiah 44:28), "carry my shame" (2 Samuel 13:13), "carry their own loads" (Galatians 6:5), and the cross (Luke 9:23).
Further, "carry" takes on the tender dimension in the relationship of God and the human family:
"He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep" (Isaiah 40:11);
"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, even when you turn gray I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:3-4);
"O save your people, and bless your heritage; / be their shepherd, and carry them forever" (Psalm 28:9); and
"[A]nd in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you traveled until you reached this place" (Deuteronomy 1:31).
Choice (Choose)
Except for two New Testament references, "choice" is a word of Hebrew Scripture with 77 occurrences: choice flour, choice gifts, fruits, meal, votive gifts, city, sheep, gold, silver, vines, vessel, bones, garments, portion of the land, sacrifices, choice sacrifices, and make no choice at all.
Make a choice, take your choice: When the people of Benjamin and Levi were excluded from the census, a displeased God offered David three choices of punishment, "Now decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me" (1 Chronicles 21:11-12).
While "choose" occurs 65 times in the Bible, "chosen" occurs 107 times. Is anything else quite as affirming as this statement of God's choice? "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1).
From the beginning, God chooses: "No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him" (Genesis 18:19) and "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession" (Deuteronomy 14:2). See also Joshua 24:22.
Consider the interplay of choosing and having been chosen. In all three versions of Jesus' healing of the leper, the leper confronts Jesus with these words, "Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean," and Jesus responds, "I do choose" (Matthew 8:2-3, Mark 1:40-41, and Luke 5:12-13).
God has a hand in our choices: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19); "Let us choose what is right; let us determine among ourselves what is good" (Job 34:4); "Who are they that fear the Lord? / He will teach them the way that they should choose" (Psalm 25:12); and "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name" (John 15:16). (For "Chose [Chosen]," see also The Uncaring Judge, Parable17, Cycle C.)
[The] Cost
God sets before us the unlikely juxtaposition of "the cost and joy of discipleship."1 The cost can be severe, the cost of a life: "Moses said, 'Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day' " (see Exodus 32:27-29). " 'At the cost of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he shall set up its gates!' " (Joshua 6:26). See also Numbers 16:38, 1 Kings 16:34, and 1 Chronicles 12:19.
What is the price? "Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, / there is no price one can give to God for it" (Psalm 49:7). "Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, 'And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price' " (Matthew 27:9). "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:20) and "You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters" (1 Corinthians 7:23).
Cross
"Cross" carries the intertwined meanings from cross into, cross to, and cross over to crossing the bridge from one way of life to another to being cross to cross-examination. In addition to the present parable, Jesus refers to the cross four other times before the Crucifixion: "[A]nd whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:38) and "Then he said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me' " (Luke 9:23). See also Matthew 16:24 and Mark 8:34.
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry the cross. (See Mark 15:21; Matthew 27:32, 27:40, and 27:42; Mark 15:30 and 15:32; Luke 23:26; and John 19:19, 19:25, and 19:31.) Jesus voluntarily carried the cross: "[A]nd carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha" (John 19:17).
Disciple
Of the 21 references to "disciple," all in the New Testament, three are from Matthew, four from Luke, and nine from John. The two instances of "my [Jesus'] disciple" occur in the present parable. Two versions of the same saying are the only explicit definition of a disciple: "A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher" (Luke 6:40). See also Matthew 10:24.
"A disciple" occurs twice, as a specific identifier naming Joseph of Arimathea as a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57) and as a general reference to the disciples. (See Matthew 10:42.) "The disciple whom Jesus loved" occurs in John 19:26 and 21:20. The "this disciple" in John 21:23 refers to the disciple whom Jesus loved. John or a later editor refers to the writer "the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true" (John 21:24).
"Disciples" occurs 129 times: Matthew, 58; Mark, 39; Luke, 31; and John, fifteen, with 21 appearances in Acts but none in the letters. "Discipleship" does not appear in the Bible.
Hate
To "hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself" (Luke 14:26) is the opposite of what one would expect from Jesus. God or family? Does Jesus use "hate" for dramatic effect? Even the Beatitudes are not exempt: "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man" (Luke 6:22).
Hate is neither casual nor lukewarm. A beginning definition of "hate" includes "those from whom you turned in disgust" (Ezekiel 23:28), "despise" and "take no delight in" (Amos 5:21), and "abhor" (Amos 6:8). Nevertheless, there is "... a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:8).
Proverbs lists "six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him" (Proverbs 6:16). The seventh is "one who sows discord in a family" (Proverbs 6:19).
What about the relatives? "Your own people who hate you and reject you for my name's sake have said, 'Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy'; but it is they who shall be put to shame" (Isaiah 66:5b) and "My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has lifted up her voice against me -- therefore I hate her" (Jeremiah 12:8).
On the other hand, see Malachi 2:16, as well as writings from 1 John: "Whoever says, 'I am in the light,' while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling" (1 John 2:9-10). See also 1 John 3:15 and 1 John 4:20. Is this the later writer's response to the present parable?
No wonder the philosopher, who has contemplated the ways of "business that is done on earth ... and all the work of God," concludes "that no one can find out what is happening under the sun. However much they may toil in seeking, they will not find it out; even though those who are wise claim to know, they cannot find it out. All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them is vanity, since the same fate comes to all...." (See Ecclesiastes 8:16--9:2.)
"Hate" occurs 91 times, 31 of which are in Psalms. In the Gospels, it occurs three times in Matthew and John and five times in Luke. Of particular interest are the following passages: "You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin" (Leviticus 19:17a) and "For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church" (Ephesians 5:29).
In addition to the present parable, two other passages refer to hating one's own life. "To be a partner of a thief is to hate one's own life; one hears the victim's curse, but discloses nothing" (Proverbs 29:24) and "Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25).
"If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world -- therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).
Possess(es)
"Possess" appears 62 times. Most of the time God is the giver of these possessions and the possession is the result of design or plan. God gave "land" (Genesis 15:7, Exodus 23:30, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 14:24 and 33:53, Deuteronomy 5:31, 5:33, 19:2, 19:14, 21:1, 23:20, 28:21, 28:63, 30:5, 30:16, 30:18, 31:13, and 32:47; 1 Chronicles 28:8; Ezra 9:11; and Amos 2:10).
Part of a blessing was to "possess the gate of their enemies" (Genesis 22:17). Some persons possessed "an inheritance" (Numbers 27:7, 27:11, 35:2, and 36:8; Deuteronomy 25:19 and 26:1; Psalm 25:13; and Isaiah 34:17 and 54:3). Others possessed "God-given wisdom" (Ezra 7:25 and Psalm 69:35) or "the kingdom forever" (Daniel 7:18).
The following passages indicate their participation and the additional action of taking for themselves force beyond merely accepting the land that God is giving: "[G]o in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess" (Joshua 1:11); "[C]lear [the hill land] and possess it" (Joshua 17:18); and "[Y]ou shall possess their land as the Lord your God promised you" (Joshua 23:5). See also Nehemiah 9:11 and 9:23.
The possession comes with the responsibility of a connection with God: "But whoever takes refuge in me shall possess the land and inherit my holy mountain" (Isaiah 57:13) and "Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever. They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands, so that I might be glorified" (Isaiah 60:21).
Hebrew Scripture is a story of possession as the domination of other people: "The house of Israel will possess the nations as male and female slaves in the Lord's land" (Isaiah 14:2); "I will lead people upon you -- my people Israel -- and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance. No longer shall you bereave them of children" (Ezekiel 36:12); and "The powerful possess the land, and the favored live in it" (Job 22:8).
This passage suggests a reluctance to take the land: "[The five land scouts reported to their kinsfolk], 'Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, but enter in and possess the land' " (Judges 18:9).
By giving up "all your possessions," might Jesus mean that nothing else but following him must be in first place or dominate us? In the level of soul, we must be single-minded. (See "Possessions" in Section Four.) In the Gospels, many were "possessed by demons." See Matthew 8:16, Mark 1:32 and 1:18, and Luke 8:36. When one's possessions get out of hand, they become as demons. (See also The Rich Fool, Parable 8, Cycle C.)
Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians that servants of God are treated "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:10).
4. Parallel Scripture
Tone Of The Parable
The present parable is laid out negatively: "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). Earlier, Luke reports that "Jesus said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me' " (Luke 9:23). Mark uses the same quotation, prefacing it with "He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them" (Mark 8:34). Also using this quotation, Matthew prefaces with "Then Jesus told his disciples" (Matthew 16:24).
Whoever
The first "Whoever" of the present parable, "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" (Luke 14:26), has a parallel in Matthew. Where Luke says, "cannot be my disciple," Matthew says, "is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37). Here, Matthew uses "love ... more than me" in the first two of the three "Whoever's." Matthew says nothing of wife and children or brothers and sisters or even life itself. Rather, he says, "father or mother" and "son or daughter" (Matthew 10:37).
Matthew's third "Whoever" corresponds to Luke's second. Matthew says, "does not take up the cross" (Matthew 10:38) and "take up their cross" (Matthew 16:24), where Luke says, "does not carry the cross." Luke says, "cannot be my disciple," and Matthew says, "is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:38).
Possessions
"So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions" (Luke 14:33). Earlier, the writer of Luke records, "Sell your possessions, and give alms" (Luke 12:33). Prefacing his words with "Jesus said to him," Matthew says, "If you wish to be perfect" and "sell your possessions." He also says to "give the money to the poor" and finally, "then come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21). Mark's version is identical to Matthew's except for the preface, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, 'You lack one thing' " (Mark 10:21). The man was unidentified in either Matthew or Mark's telling.
5. Chat Room
Chat A
Edna: If you cannot do it then do something else. Find an alternative. Wait until you are at a different point in your life where you can make the commitment with your whole heart. Just do not do it unless you are sure.
Meta: I want this decision to be right. I'm no fool, and I want to let down no one.
Edna: There is no condemnation or ridicule in saying no. The problem lies in making all the commitments with all the other opportunities that it would eliminate or in the waste of the whole thing if you discover you have miscalculated or your heart really is not in it or you cannot pay the cost of this commitment.
Meta: Surely others will think my choice is impulsive if not irresponsible.
Edna: From the perspective of some, you will be seen as a fool if you take on this task. You may even wonder yourself.
Meta: The cost of such discipleship looms greater than the joy for me. I must be asking the wrong questions for one who might be willing to make such a commitment.
Edna: It could also be your honesty and thoroughness before making a life-changing decision. Take your time.
Chat B
Karl: I will carry this burden, and this and this, but no cross. I will sacrifice all my personal time and energy for family, but I will not desert them. Would it not be more selfish than selfless to be so dedicated to God?
And how can I hate the people I love? Hate even life itself? Whatever are you talking about, Jesus, with this hate stuff? You are the teacher of love.
Tony: For me, this hate that Christ speaks of has little to do with not loving. It has more to do with the intensity of focusing on the true cost of following Christ. Discipleship is definitely not a convenience thing.
On the other hand, I do parry the issue. What Jesus is dedicated to accomplishing transcends all else for him -- possessions, lifestyle, and relationships. It is a new way of looking at things. It is an ideal to strive for.
Karl: How can I just waste all this education and training? How can I leave behind the years I have apprenticed in my craft? If only this choice could avoid being in the category of the either/or. I do not have time in my week for that kind of dedication. Can't I just follow you in my heart, Jesus, and live my regular life on the side?
Tony: For me, the conflict is the pull. The part of my soul that needs tending is the part this parable upsets so.
Karl: Sorry, I forgot you were online. What do you mean?
Tony: I have started to look at how I am living now, at how I do hate the people I love whenever I put my family second or even third by not making time for them, whenever I neglect them by not providing monetarily or emotionally.
I also have begun to think about those times I am not true to the terms of my relationships. I hate life itself when I am not true to what I was once committed to. I hate life when I ignore good self-care and fail to take preventative health measures. I hate life when I fail to preserve and conserve with good earth stewardship practices. Unless I give up those possessions that I have let possess me, I am choosing not to follow the ways of Christ.
Chat C
Elsa: After all these years, God, I am beginning to understand that what I thought was my choice for vocation is more than a calling.
God: "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).
Elsa: It all has to do with your choosing. From the very beginning with the gifts you gave me, with my inner yearning and beckoning, with the way my life has evolved, you have been present.
God: Where was I and where am I in all of this? Right in the middle. At first, "[y]ou did not choose me but I chose you" (John 15:16a).
Elsa: Everything that has happened to me has had a reason that fit into the whole purpose of my being. When I pondered earlier why you chose me for this life, when I wondered originally why my will could not be your will, I failed to understand your role in my life. Now I do.
God: "I will teach [you] the way that [you] should choose" (Psalm 25:12).
Elsa: Thank you for waiting. And God, thank you for being patient.
____________
1. From the Statement of Faith, United Church of Christ.
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, [26] "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. [27] Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. [28] For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see 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 will begin to ridicule him, [30] saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' [31] Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? [32] If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. [33] So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Jesus addresses the men in the large crowds traveling with him with two "whoever's."
Second Point Of Action
First, he tells them whoever comes to him and does not hate father, mother, wife, children, sisters, and even life itself cannot be his disciple.
Third Point Of Action
Second, he tells them whoever does not carry the cross and follow him cannot be his disciple.
Fourth Point Of Action
First, Jesus uses the analogy of counting the cost, that is, estimating to determine whether one has enough funds to complete a tower before beginning to build it. Otherwise, the builder will be ridiculed by all who see that he has laid a foundation and is unable to complete it.
Fifth Point Of Action
Second, Jesus uses the analogy of a king considering before going out to wage war against another king whether he is able with 10,000 fighters to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000. If he cannot, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
Sixth Point Of Action
Jesus concludes with the "So therefore," no one can become his disciple without giving up all possessions.
3. Spadework
Carry The Cross
Used on 108 occasions, "carry" appears in the physical way of carrying grain, choice fruits, sacks, bags, money, my bones, the ark, the table, the altar, the bull, the ashes, your kinsmen, the carcass, the things of the tent of the meeting, the tabernacle, seed, twelve stones, seven trumpets of rams' horns, plunder, and the cross.
"Carry" also appears in an intangible way as "carry out his fierce wrath" (1 Samuel 28:18), "carry the good news" (1 Samuel 31:9 and 1 Chronicles 10:9), "carry out exactly the decision" (Deuteronomy 10:8), "carry on his work" (Judges 16:8), "carry tidings" (2 Samuel 18:19), "carry him to his mother" (2 Kings 4:19), "carry out a plan" (Isaiah 30:1), "carry out all my purpose" (Isaiah 44:28), "carry my shame" (2 Samuel 13:13), "carry their own loads" (Galatians 6:5), and the cross (Luke 9:23).
Further, "carry" takes on the tender dimension in the relationship of God and the human family:
"He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep" (Isaiah 40:11);
"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, even when you turn gray I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:3-4);
"O save your people, and bless your heritage; / be their shepherd, and carry them forever" (Psalm 28:9); and
"[A]nd in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you traveled until you reached this place" (Deuteronomy 1:31).
Choice (Choose)
Except for two New Testament references, "choice" is a word of Hebrew Scripture with 77 occurrences: choice flour, choice gifts, fruits, meal, votive gifts, city, sheep, gold, silver, vines, vessel, bones, garments, portion of the land, sacrifices, choice sacrifices, and make no choice at all.
Make a choice, take your choice: When the people of Benjamin and Levi were excluded from the census, a displeased God offered David three choices of punishment, "Now decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me" (1 Chronicles 21:11-12).
While "choose" occurs 65 times in the Bible, "chosen" occurs 107 times. Is anything else quite as affirming as this statement of God's choice? "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1).
From the beginning, God chooses: "No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him" (Genesis 18:19) and "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession" (Deuteronomy 14:2). See also Joshua 24:22.
Consider the interplay of choosing and having been chosen. In all three versions of Jesus' healing of the leper, the leper confronts Jesus with these words, "Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean," and Jesus responds, "I do choose" (Matthew 8:2-3, Mark 1:40-41, and Luke 5:12-13).
God has a hand in our choices: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19); "Let us choose what is right; let us determine among ourselves what is good" (Job 34:4); "Who are they that fear the Lord? / He will teach them the way that they should choose" (Psalm 25:12); and "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name" (John 15:16). (For "Chose [Chosen]," see also The Uncaring Judge, Parable17, Cycle C.)
[The] Cost
God sets before us the unlikely juxtaposition of "the cost and joy of discipleship."1 The cost can be severe, the cost of a life: "Moses said, 'Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day' " (see Exodus 32:27-29). " 'At the cost of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he shall set up its gates!' " (Joshua 6:26). See also Numbers 16:38, 1 Kings 16:34, and 1 Chronicles 12:19.
What is the price? "Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, / there is no price one can give to God for it" (Psalm 49:7). "Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, 'And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price' " (Matthew 27:9). "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:20) and "You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters" (1 Corinthians 7:23).
Cross
"Cross" carries the intertwined meanings from cross into, cross to, and cross over to crossing the bridge from one way of life to another to being cross to cross-examination. In addition to the present parable, Jesus refers to the cross four other times before the Crucifixion: "[A]nd whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:38) and "Then he said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me' " (Luke 9:23). See also Matthew 16:24 and Mark 8:34.
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry the cross. (See Mark 15:21; Matthew 27:32, 27:40, and 27:42; Mark 15:30 and 15:32; Luke 23:26; and John 19:19, 19:25, and 19:31.) Jesus voluntarily carried the cross: "[A]nd carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha" (John 19:17).
Disciple
Of the 21 references to "disciple," all in the New Testament, three are from Matthew, four from Luke, and nine from John. The two instances of "my [Jesus'] disciple" occur in the present parable. Two versions of the same saying are the only explicit definition of a disciple: "A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher" (Luke 6:40). See also Matthew 10:24.
"A disciple" occurs twice, as a specific identifier naming Joseph of Arimathea as a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57) and as a general reference to the disciples. (See Matthew 10:42.) "The disciple whom Jesus loved" occurs in John 19:26 and 21:20. The "this disciple" in John 21:23 refers to the disciple whom Jesus loved. John or a later editor refers to the writer "the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true" (John 21:24).
"Disciples" occurs 129 times: Matthew, 58; Mark, 39; Luke, 31; and John, fifteen, with 21 appearances in Acts but none in the letters. "Discipleship" does not appear in the Bible.
Hate
To "hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself" (Luke 14:26) is the opposite of what one would expect from Jesus. God or family? Does Jesus use "hate" for dramatic effect? Even the Beatitudes are not exempt: "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man" (Luke 6:22).
Hate is neither casual nor lukewarm. A beginning definition of "hate" includes "those from whom you turned in disgust" (Ezekiel 23:28), "despise" and "take no delight in" (Amos 5:21), and "abhor" (Amos 6:8). Nevertheless, there is "... a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:8).
Proverbs lists "six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him" (Proverbs 6:16). The seventh is "one who sows discord in a family" (Proverbs 6:19).
What about the relatives? "Your own people who hate you and reject you for my name's sake have said, 'Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy'; but it is they who shall be put to shame" (Isaiah 66:5b) and "My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has lifted up her voice against me -- therefore I hate her" (Jeremiah 12:8).
On the other hand, see Malachi 2:16, as well as writings from 1 John: "Whoever says, 'I am in the light,' while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling" (1 John 2:9-10). See also 1 John 3:15 and 1 John 4:20. Is this the later writer's response to the present parable?
No wonder the philosopher, who has contemplated the ways of "business that is done on earth ... and all the work of God," concludes "that no one can find out what is happening under the sun. However much they may toil in seeking, they will not find it out; even though those who are wise claim to know, they cannot find it out. All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them is vanity, since the same fate comes to all...." (See Ecclesiastes 8:16--9:2.)
"Hate" occurs 91 times, 31 of which are in Psalms. In the Gospels, it occurs three times in Matthew and John and five times in Luke. Of particular interest are the following passages: "You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin" (Leviticus 19:17a) and "For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church" (Ephesians 5:29).
In addition to the present parable, two other passages refer to hating one's own life. "To be a partner of a thief is to hate one's own life; one hears the victim's curse, but discloses nothing" (Proverbs 29:24) and "Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25).
"If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world -- therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).
Possess(es)
"Possess" appears 62 times. Most of the time God is the giver of these possessions and the possession is the result of design or plan. God gave "land" (Genesis 15:7, Exodus 23:30, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 14:24 and 33:53, Deuteronomy 5:31, 5:33, 19:2, 19:14, 21:1, 23:20, 28:21, 28:63, 30:5, 30:16, 30:18, 31:13, and 32:47; 1 Chronicles 28:8; Ezra 9:11; and Amos 2:10).
Part of a blessing was to "possess the gate of their enemies" (Genesis 22:17). Some persons possessed "an inheritance" (Numbers 27:7, 27:11, 35:2, and 36:8; Deuteronomy 25:19 and 26:1; Psalm 25:13; and Isaiah 34:17 and 54:3). Others possessed "God-given wisdom" (Ezra 7:25 and Psalm 69:35) or "the kingdom forever" (Daniel 7:18).
The following passages indicate their participation and the additional action of taking for themselves force beyond merely accepting the land that God is giving: "[G]o in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess" (Joshua 1:11); "[C]lear [the hill land] and possess it" (Joshua 17:18); and "[Y]ou shall possess their land as the Lord your God promised you" (Joshua 23:5). See also Nehemiah 9:11 and 9:23.
The possession comes with the responsibility of a connection with God: "But whoever takes refuge in me shall possess the land and inherit my holy mountain" (Isaiah 57:13) and "Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever. They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands, so that I might be glorified" (Isaiah 60:21).
Hebrew Scripture is a story of possession as the domination of other people: "The house of Israel will possess the nations as male and female slaves in the Lord's land" (Isaiah 14:2); "I will lead people upon you -- my people Israel -- and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance. No longer shall you bereave them of children" (Ezekiel 36:12); and "The powerful possess the land, and the favored live in it" (Job 22:8).
This passage suggests a reluctance to take the land: "[The five land scouts reported to their kinsfolk], 'Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, but enter in and possess the land' " (Judges 18:9).
By giving up "all your possessions," might Jesus mean that nothing else but following him must be in first place or dominate us? In the level of soul, we must be single-minded. (See "Possessions" in Section Four.) In the Gospels, many were "possessed by demons." See Matthew 8:16, Mark 1:32 and 1:18, and Luke 8:36. When one's possessions get out of hand, they become as demons. (See also The Rich Fool, Parable 8, Cycle C.)
Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians that servants of God are treated "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:10).
4. Parallel Scripture
Tone Of The Parable
The present parable is laid out negatively: "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). Earlier, Luke reports that "Jesus said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me' " (Luke 9:23). Mark uses the same quotation, prefacing it with "He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them" (Mark 8:34). Also using this quotation, Matthew prefaces with "Then Jesus told his disciples" (Matthew 16:24).
Whoever
The first "Whoever" of the present parable, "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" (Luke 14:26), has a parallel in Matthew. Where Luke says, "cannot be my disciple," Matthew says, "is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37). Here, Matthew uses "love ... more than me" in the first two of the three "Whoever's." Matthew says nothing of wife and children or brothers and sisters or even life itself. Rather, he says, "father or mother" and "son or daughter" (Matthew 10:37).
Matthew's third "Whoever" corresponds to Luke's second. Matthew says, "does not take up the cross" (Matthew 10:38) and "take up their cross" (Matthew 16:24), where Luke says, "does not carry the cross." Luke says, "cannot be my disciple," and Matthew says, "is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:38).
Possessions
"So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions" (Luke 14:33). Earlier, the writer of Luke records, "Sell your possessions, and give alms" (Luke 12:33). Prefacing his words with "Jesus said to him," Matthew says, "If you wish to be perfect" and "sell your possessions." He also says to "give the money to the poor" and finally, "then come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21). Mark's version is identical to Matthew's except for the preface, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, 'You lack one thing' " (Mark 10:21). The man was unidentified in either Matthew or Mark's telling.
5. Chat Room
Chat A
Edna: If you cannot do it then do something else. Find an alternative. Wait until you are at a different point in your life where you can make the commitment with your whole heart. Just do not do it unless you are sure.
Meta: I want this decision to be right. I'm no fool, and I want to let down no one.
Edna: There is no condemnation or ridicule in saying no. The problem lies in making all the commitments with all the other opportunities that it would eliminate or in the waste of the whole thing if you discover you have miscalculated or your heart really is not in it or you cannot pay the cost of this commitment.
Meta: Surely others will think my choice is impulsive if not irresponsible.
Edna: From the perspective of some, you will be seen as a fool if you take on this task. You may even wonder yourself.
Meta: The cost of such discipleship looms greater than the joy for me. I must be asking the wrong questions for one who might be willing to make such a commitment.
Edna: It could also be your honesty and thoroughness before making a life-changing decision. Take your time.
Chat B
Karl: I will carry this burden, and this and this, but no cross. I will sacrifice all my personal time and energy for family, but I will not desert them. Would it not be more selfish than selfless to be so dedicated to God?
And how can I hate the people I love? Hate even life itself? Whatever are you talking about, Jesus, with this hate stuff? You are the teacher of love.
Tony: For me, this hate that Christ speaks of has little to do with not loving. It has more to do with the intensity of focusing on the true cost of following Christ. Discipleship is definitely not a convenience thing.
On the other hand, I do parry the issue. What Jesus is dedicated to accomplishing transcends all else for him -- possessions, lifestyle, and relationships. It is a new way of looking at things. It is an ideal to strive for.
Karl: How can I just waste all this education and training? How can I leave behind the years I have apprenticed in my craft? If only this choice could avoid being in the category of the either/or. I do not have time in my week for that kind of dedication. Can't I just follow you in my heart, Jesus, and live my regular life on the side?
Tony: For me, the conflict is the pull. The part of my soul that needs tending is the part this parable upsets so.
Karl: Sorry, I forgot you were online. What do you mean?
Tony: I have started to look at how I am living now, at how I do hate the people I love whenever I put my family second or even third by not making time for them, whenever I neglect them by not providing monetarily or emotionally.
I also have begun to think about those times I am not true to the terms of my relationships. I hate life itself when I am not true to what I was once committed to. I hate life when I ignore good self-care and fail to take preventative health measures. I hate life when I fail to preserve and conserve with good earth stewardship practices. Unless I give up those possessions that I have let possess me, I am choosing not to follow the ways of Christ.
Chat C
Elsa: After all these years, God, I am beginning to understand that what I thought was my choice for vocation is more than a calling.
God: "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).
Elsa: It all has to do with your choosing. From the very beginning with the gifts you gave me, with my inner yearning and beckoning, with the way my life has evolved, you have been present.
God: Where was I and where am I in all of this? Right in the middle. At first, "[y]ou did not choose me but I chose you" (John 15:16a).
Elsa: Everything that has happened to me has had a reason that fit into the whole purpose of my being. When I pondered earlier why you chose me for this life, when I wondered originally why my will could not be your will, I failed to understand your role in my life. Now I do.
God: "I will teach [you] the way that [you] should choose" (Psalm 25:12).
Elsa: Thank you for waiting. And God, thank you for being patient.
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1. From the Statement of Faith, United Church of Christ.
