The Berean - Luke 14:25-30 NASB

The Berean - Luke 14:25-30 NASB   

(25) Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, (26) “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. (27) “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. (28) “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? (29) “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, (30) saying, `This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Luke 9:57-62

(57) As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” (58) And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air {have} nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (59) And He said to another, “Follow Me. But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.“” (60) But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” (61) Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” (62) But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” New American Standard Bible

In the warnings of possible costs in Luke 9:57-62; 14:25-30, He says we must expect the loss of the respect and association with those we feel the most affection for, family members. They are not going to appreciate the changes we have made in our lives. They are yet blinded because God has not removed the veil covering their spiritual perceptions. This happens to many of us. It occurred in my relationship with my parents.

Jesus warns that our lives may become seriously unstable, as outsiders might judge it. He suggests that the convert may become somewhat itinerant, seeming to have an unsettled existence. He also suggests that following Him would put demands on our lives and time that might cut close family members to the quick, perhaps even turning them into enemies. Christ makes plain that, despite God’s well-known mercy, He wants our wholehearted, unreserved loyalty with no yearning ever to turn back to our former lives. It is in meeting challenges like these that the potential costs become realities.

Though not mentioned directly here, Hebrews 11 reminds us of those who were tortured by mocking and scourging, by imprisonment, by stoning, and even by being sawn in two. Others were forced to flee for their lives, wandering destitute and tormented, barely able to clothe themselves. This may not happen to many of us now, but as matters intensify, Jesus warns that people will eventually kill Christians, thinking that they are glorifying God.

— John W. Ritenbaugh