A casual reading of the gospels reveals a crowd anywhere Jesus is. It’s usually a crowd with two types of people. There are the multitudes hanging around him, and there are disciples who are following him place to place. The multitudes are usually focused on looking the part, while the disciples are focused on being set apart.
The question we all need to ask ourselves is, “Which one am I?” I’ve always found the simplest way to answer this question is to listen to the stories people tell about Jesus. I’ve often found that storytime with the multitudes sounds a lot different than storytime with the disciples.
Storytime with the multitudes:
Their stories are usually about get-togethers, games, food, and funny moments.
Do you remember when we gathered the whole family to go see Jesus and he fed us a delicious fish sandwich?
The food and games at the last church function were the best!
Storytime with the disciples…
Their stories are usually about how God gave victory to people they’ve been praying for, or about how God forever changed their life by meeting them right where they were.
Do you remember how hard it was to leave our family behind to follow Jesus?
Do you remember watching the people we loved leave for the last time because they were willing to go where Jesus was leading them?
Following Jesus will cost you your closest relationships, because he wants to be your closest relationship.
Jesus is always leading his disciples to listen, learn, and live his word, and he is always leading the multitudes to a point of decision. Are they going to choose to count the cost to become a disciple or not? The gospel of Luke records a great example of Jesus challenging the multitudes to make a decision to follow him as a disciple.
Luke 14:25-26 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Jesus is asking them, “I know why you’re here, but do you know where here is?” He wants the multitudes to understand that he is the destination. The goal of a disciple is not a location, but to be following Jesus wherever he is moving to be conformed to his image along the way.
Jesus is asking them, “I know why you’re here, but do you know why the disciples are here?” The multitudes find where Jesus is and go to visit him for a while. Disciples follow Jesus for the rest of their lives because they are disciples; it’s who they are, not what they do.
Jesus is asking them, “I know why you’re here, but do you know what the price of admission is?” Following Jesus will cost you your closest relationships, because he wants to be your closest relationship. This may seem drastic, but this concept happens all the time within dating relationships. Best friends often become distant friends because one of them found a new boyfriend or girlfriend. This new relationship suddenly becomes more important than any of their other relationships. Jesus is asking the multitudes to do what the disciples have already done: make their relationship with him more important than any other.
We aren’t told within the passage if any in the crowd chose to follow Jesus as a disciple or not. However, I think it’s safe to assume that almost all chose not to. There are a host of people who think they’re ready to be a disciple of Jesus, but when they’re confronted with what it costs, they usually choose to stay among the crowd. This passage gives us a few reasons to consider why so many people choose not to follow Jesus with their life.
1. Many want to follow Jesus, but they haven’t considered what it really costs.
Luke 14:27-30 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Have you ever committed to do something and then not been able to because you didn’t expect it to cost so much? Have you ever had a car repossessed, or had to leave your groceries at the checkout because you didn’t have the money to buy them? When the bank told you that you could afford your house, did you believe them? Did you consider that not only would you have your loan payment to take care of, but there were also expenses like taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance to suck you dry? Much in the same way, many believers start to follow Jesus and then quit just as quick as they started because they didn’t consider that when Jesus said everything, he meant everything.
2. Many want to follow Jesus, but they don’t think they have enough to pay what it costs.
Luke 14:31-32 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
So many believers take an inventory of their life and convince themselves that they have nothing left to sacrifice for the Lord. Every account of their life seems to be overdrawn. They are out of time, out of shape, out of money, and out of energy. The sad reality is that they’re right. They are overdrawn because they have already sacrificed everything for everything else. A disciple realizes that God is simply waiting for them to become a living sacrifice. He isn’t interested in simply a slice of their time, money, or energy; he wants them. Everybody can afford that.
3. Many want to follow Jesus, but they don’t want to pay the full price.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
The cost of following Jesus is more than most believers are willing to make. They find themselves waiting for the cost to go half price. They are willing to forsake some, but not all. What about my hobby, sports, education, clubs, schedule, Netflix, girlfriend, boyfriend, addiction, popularity, image, laziness, video games, family, career, marriage, plans, future? They don’t want to miss out, and they don’t want their kids to miss out on all the opportunities. The same parents who choose the world’s offers over Jesus will be the same ones who are surprised that their kids have chosen the world’s offers over Jesus. They ask, “Why won’t my child serve Jesus?” The answer is probably because they’re busy serving the same things their parents did.
4. They aren’t willing to follow Jesus at any cost.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
The majority of the people Jesus is speaking to in this passage went home. They went back to their lives because the price of following Jesus was more than they were willing to pay. However, it still cost them. They went home with the types of stories the multitudes tell, but missed out on the stories that only a disciple of Jesus could tell.
Don’t get it twisted: it’s easy to say, “I’ll die for Jesus.” But that statement doesn’t mean anything if we aren’t willing to live for him, too. It’s easy to say, “I’ll surrender all” until it’s time to actually surrender all. We’re willing to sing it in our comfortable and crowded sanctuaries, but there are precious disciples who have truly said, “I surrendered all” from their coffins and crosses. Jesus is looking for disciples who are not only willing to lay down their lives for him, but who will decide to follow him as a living sacrifice.
To hear about Pastor Tony Godfrey’s ministry, check out this episode of the Postscript podcast.
Tony Godfrey is the head pastor of Harvest Baptist Church in Iola, KS.