Chapter 5.19
Cost of
Discipleship
Jesus said; we must HATE our mother &
father, sister & brother,
wife & children in order to be His
disciple. – What is a Hyperbole?
Do we give up everything to be a disciple
- Why is verse 74 missing?
Hate Your Father
Right
off the Bat we see Jesus speaking to a “great crowd” of people about discipleship.
He is stressing the priority and place
of importance in following His teachings of the Kingdom of God. Many Versions of
the Bible have the words of Jesus in RED, so this is one of those times that these very
words in RED are quoted directly from the mouth of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said; 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.
WOW,
what a strong statement. I have
never HATED my Mother,
Father, Sister, Wife or Children; does this mean that I cannot be a Disciple of
Christ?
Luke 14:25-26 – Hate your mother and
father; your own life
25 Now great crowds accompanied
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. (ESV)
Nut Case
Now let’s take a look at another
passage when a man
takes a message to Jesus that his mother and brothers and most probably his
sisters wanted to see Him. His father
Joseph had probably already passed away by the time that this occurred.
NOTE: Verse 47 is missing from some manuscripts
and from the ESV Bible, but I have included it from another version in order to
get the full flavor of what is being said; the family was probably standing
pretty far off because they were undoubtedly embarrassed at His claims of
Deity, so they just sent Him a message to let Him know that they were there.
When
a man is so given over to God with total dedication, he is branded a lunatic or
fanatic or a NUT. Jesus’s family and even His friends thought He
was going out of His mind. Jesus said (in letters of RED) that He “was NOT honored in His own household”.
It
was prophesized by Jeramiah that even His brothers would
deal treacherously with Him and instructed Him to not believe them, though they speak
friendly words.[1] Loaded with these
emotions of what family and friends thought of Him and still reaching for His
own high calling; Jesus responded.
Jesus stopped what He was doing and (words
in RED letters) responded, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever DOES THE WILL of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:46 – Family minus Joseph shows
up
46 While he was
still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside,
asking to speak to him. (ESV)
Matthew 12:47 – The Family is standing outside with a message
47 Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting
to speak to You.” (HCSB)
Matthew
12:48-50 – Jesus said; who is my Mother and Brothers
48 But he replied
to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
49 And stretching
out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here
are my mother and my brothers!
50 For WHOEVER DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
(ESV)
John
15:14 – You are my friends if you obey
14 YOU ARE MY FRIENDS IF YOU DO WHAT I COMMAND YOU.
(ESV)
Mark
3:21 – Jesus has FLIPPED OUT; He is out of his mind
21And when his family heard it, they went out
to seize him,
for they were saying, “HE IS OUT OF
HIS MIND.”
(ESV)
Hyperbole
Hyperbole
is not a word that we use much in our everyday speech and seems to have
taken on more of a foothold during the elections when those running for office
would often say something and seem to back track by just saying it was just a hyperbole;
a figure of speech.
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as
perhaps a rhetorical question that does not require an actual answer
or is used as a figure of speech that emphasizes and evokes strong
feelings, and creates strong impressions and it is usually NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY. Understanding hyperboles and their use in
context can further one's ability to understand the messages being spoken.
Jesus used the Word HATE in reference to His Mother and Father as a
hyperbole to emphasize the importance of the kingdom of God. If
Jesus had said you must LOVE your mother and father LESS; and the kingdom
of God MORE, you would have walked away with a totally different emotion. He was saying that we must foremost seek Him
and the Kingdom of God over all other things including family.
To be a disciple of Jesus
Christ,
You don’t have to hate your
family and friends,
you just have to love Jesus and the Kingdom of God
more.
Give up everything
Wikipedia says
a disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other
figure.
In Jesus’ “Words
in Red”, He says “those of you who do
not give up everything that you have cannot be my disciples”; another heavy
statement. Let’s look at this through
the eyes of an old country preacher named J. Vernon McGee, who points out that there is
a difference between a Believer and a Disciple.
Three times in His teachings was the phrase used “Cannot be my Disciple”.
Jesus was addressing His disciples in a
series of teachings on the seriousness of “counting the cost” of WARFARE and what it means to be His Disciple. [2] The key word is “apotassetai”
which means “to
give up” or “renounce” or perhaps even better is “to take leave
of”. In this teaching, Jesus is not telling them to
sell everything that they have and give the money to the poor, but rather the
thoughts are more of abandonment, yielding up the
right of ownership, having the willingness to part with their
goods, to focus on the ministry.[3]
A disciple of Christ must have a Single Focus,
with NO hindrances, to be able to go anywhere and
stay as long as necessary with no thought to what he will wear or what he will
eat or drink or what is going on back home.
The love
for God must be greater than the
love of having your own way, greater than family affection and greater than the
love of property or possessions. Jesus
demands a complete and total RADICAL commitment;
this is the “Cost
of Discipleship”.
Paul
drives home a point about Singleness of Mind, when he says that it is
his “opinion”
and not a command from the Lord; that a disciple should stay single so that his thoughts are NOT on pleasing his wife and worldly things, but FIXED on spiritual things of God.[4] I must point out that some of the Disciples
were married and even took their wives with them.
Believer
vs; Disciple
What
I am about to say next may upset many of you, but I look at
this recognizing that there are TWO paths, both taught in scripture,
leading to salvation through Jesus Christ which paths never cross, but
terminate in heaven. Those that of their
own FREE WILL accept Jesus
Christ and those that were PREDESTINED to accept Jesus
Christ. There were thousands who were
called Disciples of Christ, but it was this predestined inner circle of twelve
that were being called to be the First Missionaries. It was this special group of twelve that Jesus
was teaching the “Cost of Discipleship.”
Everyone that believes is technically NOT a disciple; “one who gives up everything”. My friend Mitch Martinez and I both share a love for the Lord, but Mitch,
packed up his family of five and left everything behind and moved to the Dominican
Republic to be a missionary and
at this writing he has been there some 35 years while I have remained back in
the USA
enjoying all of its benefits and blessings. So you can see that a BELIEVER and a MISSIONARY are not necessarily the same thing.
There is a special attitude of the Disciple
or Missionary that the things he has in his possession that have been given to
him for his use, no longer belong to him; they are in his “trust”; in his “stewardship”.
This same attitude is necessary for
today. It’s in the Book
The parable of
the Rich Young Ruler
indicated that he had kept all the commandments of God, but was told he
lacked one thing; to go sell everything he had and give it to the poor. The problem Jesus brought to the surface with
this young man was his HEART PROBLEM, his ATTITUDE; his attachment to his extreme wealth,
that wealth was “LOVED MORE” than
discipleship.[5]
It was better that he left in sorrow
than staying with a BAREFACED
LIE.
This is not a teaching to go and sell everything you own and
give it to the Church so you will be saved, but it does teach a “Spirit of Stewardship”; to be able to part with our goods
that happens to NOT be ours anyway. Dr. Luke says; “if you
have NOT been faithful with
the “unrighteous
wealth” of the world, who would entrust to you the true riches of the Gospel”.[6]
Some time ago I
hired a man to work in TV production and within a week he was seeking a
promotion with higher pay. He became
disillusioned when I told him that most of our positions received the same
hourly pay. He told me he had sold all
that he had, and given most of it to his church back home and relocated to
South Carolina in order to get a job in a Christian endeavor.
He quoted scripture saying; “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap”[7]. What I saw, was a man who was “giving”
in order to “get
more”. He had totally missed
the point of having an “Attitude of Abandonment of things” and had not yet
embraced a “Spirit
of Stewardship”.
The
Take Away
Jesus was thought a NUT CASE for His radical teachings, even by His
own family. After His resurrection, He
appeared to His “unbelieving” half-brother James just to encourage him in the
faith.[8] Tradition
has James as an important leader in early church history and appointed as the
first bishop of Jerusalem by the apostles and by the Lord Himself.
Jesus used HYPERBOLES such EAT my body and DRINK my blood, and many disciples
left Him.[9] These were HARD TEACHINGS; to magnify the “Cost of Discipleship” and the
preparation for war, He taught HATE your mother and
father. To be a disciple of Jesus
Christ, you don’t have to hate your family and friends, you just have to love
Jesus and the Kingdom of God MORE.
J. Vernon McGee says there is a
difference between a Believer and a Disciple or what we might call today a
Missionary. An Apostle or Disciple or
Missionary is one who is sent; there are many ways of serving noted in the
Bible with missions being just one of them.
There are offices of prophesying, teaching, evangelism, leading,
administration, mercy, serving, encouraging and contributing.[10]
Some Believers find their niche by working in the kitchen, running the sound
board, being a part of the praise team or rocking a baby in the nursery; all
the parts are needed in the Church. If
you are called to be a disciple or Missionary you would certainly know it.
As an introvert, it is doubtful
that I could be a disciple or a missionary, but I can do Word Studies and share
them on the internet; I can water the spiritual garden of others. If Wikipedia is correct; a disciple is a STUDENT or FOLLOWER of God and that would be something we can
all be. (Something to just
ponder; could you leave your family & possessions?)
1 Corenthians
12:29 – No one has all the Gifts
29 Do all work
miracles? (NO) -
Do all have gifts of healing? (NO) - Do all speak in
tongues? (NO) - Do all interpret? (NO) NIV
[1] Jeremiah 12:6 – Prophecy; Brothers will deal badly with Jesus -- John
7:5 – Even His brothers did not believe in Him -- Matthew 13:57 - Jesus was rejected by his own
household -- 1 Corinthians
15:4-7 – Jesus appeared to His Unbelieving half-brother James
[2] Luke 14:33 – A Disciple MUST give up everything
[3] Matthew 6:25 – Take no thoughts of what to eat, drink or wear
[4] 1 Corinthians 7:6-8 – Better single while
serving the Lord -- 1
Corinthians 7:32-34 – Single; free of anxieties
worldly things
[5] Luke 18:22-25 – Rich young ruler; sell everything
give it to poor -- Luke 6:38 – Give and it will be given back to you running over
[6] Luke 16:10-11 – Faithful in little; will be faithful in much
[7] Luke 6:38 – Give and it will be given back to you running over
[8] 1 Corinthians 15:4-7 – Jesus appeared to His half-brother James and it
changed his life
[9] 1 Corinthians 11:24-26 – HYPERBOLES; Jesus said eat my bod, drink my blood; many
disciples left -- John
6:53-67 – Many disciples left Jesus; HARD TEACHINGS
[10] Romans 12:6-8 – Offices
& gifts; prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging,
giving, leading, mercy -- Ephesians
4:11-12 – More offices & gifts; prophet,
evangelist, pastors, teachers --
1 Corenthians 12:28 - Even More offices & gifts; miracles, healing, helps, administration, tongues -- 1 Corenthians 12:14-31 – The body
needs ALL the
offices & gifts in the church
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