Exploring God’s Word with Brad Thurston

Value and Cost

Episode Summary

Luke 14:25-35 After Jesus had eaten with the Pharisees, he spends some time with the growing crowd that is following him on the road to Jerusalem. To them he also has important words to share about both the value and the cost of being his disciples.

Episode Notes

One basic premise with three parables:

The Cost of being a disciple: forsake all, pick up a cross and follow Jesus

1. Why?  Are we not supposed to honor Father and Mother?
2. Jesus knows the priority: if we want to be able to love others, or even ourselves, we have to first love God
3. In loving God above all else, we do not fall into the temptation of making idols out of others
4. See ancestor worship, 
5. Kings and rulers as gods
6. For fathers whose legends are greater than they were

The value of the Kingdom of God must be weighed to the cost:

1. Eternal life
2. Eternal virtues
3. Eternal relationships beyond what we know here

Jesus tells three parables about the value of the Kingdom, and what we get in exchange for paying the “cost”

1. The parable of the tower: count the cost first
2. Relate relativizing relationships and possessions from banquet 
3. Vs 26 with verse 20 and 33 with verses 18-19
4. The parable of the warriors: who are you fighting against?
5. Willingness to bear ones own cross – or be defeated
6. The parable of the salt:  who are we?
7. You cannot mix the contents of discipleship, that is possessions and the call of Jesus on your life

Conclusion

Both the parable of the banquet and these parables show us the demands of discipleship. The entanglement with persons and things can in effect be a refusal of the invitation.

We are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  It only comes with a commitment to Jesus to love him first and above all, whatever the cost in this life.  It will be worth it!