The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 4, 2016
Luke 14:25-33
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Have you ever seen someone who is very focused? There are people who from a very young age they know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their life. And so, they do whatever they have to do in order to achieve their goal— whether it is attending a certain school, moving to a certain area or honing a certain skill. Athletes need to stay focused if they want to remain at the top of their game. They need to train. They need to practice. They need to eat and sleep well. And I have learned that even a young child can be extremely focused. Isaac will dump out all of this toys intently looking for one specific dinosaur. And when he’s tired he wants Lamby— not one of the many other stuffed animals he has been given— only Lamby.
Whether it’s a young person who knows what they want to be when they grow up or an athlete or a young child, it is not difficult for us to picture real-life examples of someone who is very focused. At the very same time, it is also not difficult for us to picture real-life examples of someone who is not very focused at all— whether it’s a young adult who still has no idea what they want to do, a professional athlete who has gone down in flames because they have lost their focus on their training or a young child who is being, well, a young child.
Just as it is not difficult for us to picture real-life examples of people who are focused and people who are not focused, so also it is not difficult for us to picture real-life examples of Christians who are very focused on their relationship with their Lord and Christians who, how shall we say, would benefit from being a little more focused on their relationship with their God. With that reality in mind, let’s study our text for today under the theme: As Disciples of Jesus— We Need to Stay Focused on our Savior. There are three things that we want to see today. First, let’s see that we need to stay focused on our Savior— especially when someone threatens our relationship with Him. Then let’s see that we need to stay focused on our Savior— even when the effort seems too great. Finally, let’s see that we need to stay focused on our Savior— even when the enemy seems too powerful.
Many of you have heard me say that when you are studying a specific portion of Scripture there are three things that you always need to factor in: Context, Context, Context. There are countless examples of preachers and churches and individuals who tear a passage or an entire portion of Scripture out of its context and use it to teach something that the good Lord never intended. I think it’s critical therefore that we at least glance at the verses which separate last Sunday’s text from today’s text.
If you have your Bible with you this morning, look at Luke 14:15-24. While Jesus was at that dinner party being hosted by that “prominent, ruling” Pharisee, He told the Parable of the Great Banquet. You know the parable. A man plans for a huge banquet and invites many guests. But when the banquet is ready and the call goes out to come and enjoy, guest after guest after guest has some reason (Remember: Always a reason, never an excuse!) for not attending the banquet. So in anger the host sends his servants out to the streets and the roads and the country lanes to invite “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” to come and enjoy his banquet. The parable then ends with Jesus speaking these words, “I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”
Luke then goes on to tell us that after Jesus had left the house of this “prominent” Pharisee large crowds of people were following Him. As the true Son of God Jesus realized that not everyone in the crowd was following Him for the correct reason. So Luke tells us that Jesus stopped, turned to this large crowd and spoke these words of our text. Since our time is limited and since I want to believe that we are all following Jesus for the correct reason, we are going to look at this text from the very focused perspective found in our sermon theme.
Our heavenly Father has graciously prepared the most spectacular banquet of all— the banquet that He has waiting for us in His heavenly Home. By His power and by His grace He has taken us off that broad easy road that leads straight to the unquenchable fires of hell and He has placed us on that narrow road that leads us to our glorious and joyous heavenly Home. Traveling along that narrow road, being a “disciple,” a “follower,” of Jesus is not always easy. There are dangers and distractions along the way. There is the temptation to stop being a “follower” of Jesus so that we can have an easier and more enjoyable life— for a time, that is, until we die and face eternity. That’s why as disciples of Jesus, as “followers” of Jesus, we need the warning/encouragement that is given to us here in our text: Stay focused on your Savior!
Look now at the opening portion of our text. Here Jesus encourages us to stay focused on Him as our Savior— especially when someone threatens our relationship with Him. Look at what He says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters— yes, even his own life— he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Wow. Did Jesus really use the word “hate”? Yes, He did. Why? Why would our Lord— the very same Lord who tells us to love our enemies (Luke 6:27ff), the very same Lord who loves us so much that He was willing to die for us even though by nature we were His enemies (Romans 5:8) — why would Jesus use the word “hate”? Could this Greek word perhaps be translated some other way? No. I checked. It means “hate.” So what exactly is Jesus telling us here? This is a very good example of why context is so very important!
In the Parable of the Great Banquet one of the reasons that was given for refusing to attend was family related, “I just got married, so I can’t come” (Luke 14:20). While we pray that this never ever happens to us, sometimes a person’s own family threatens their relationship with their Savior. A spouse makes it difficult for us to have an active role in the life of our congregation. A sibling ridicules us for being a “ring wing religious fanatic.” A child pressures us to let them be on a team which would require both us and them to miss church— a lot. We are offered a “once in a lifetime” opportunity that both we and our family really wants us to accept, but at the very least it would put us into a situation that would require us to keep our mouth shut when it comes to many of the “hot button’ social issues of our day.
When it comes to an either/or situation such as this, my friends, we need to stay focused on our Savior. When we are put into a situation where we have to choose— either we remain faithful to Jesus or we let our love for someone or something else leads us to turn away from our Savior and all that He has done for us (Pointing to the cross) — then the choice is clear. As disciples of Jesus we need to say focused on our Savior— even if it means “hating” the fact that someone we know, someone we love put us into that difficult and unnecessary situation.
Building on the importance of staying focused on our Savior, Jesus goes on to use two illustrations— illustrations that are much easier to understand! First, Jesus reminds us that as His disciples we need to say focused on Him— even when the effort seems too great. Look at verses 28-30 of our text. Using the illustration of someone who starts a building project and then runs out of resources before they can finish, Jesus reminds us that being His disciple is like a life-long building project, a building project that takes a great deal of effort, a building project that requires a tremendous amount of resources.
Now there is the temptation to think that we already have all the resources we are going to need to remain a disciple of Jesus for the rest of our lives. We have always been a member of the church. We were confirmed (back in eighth grade). We don’t really need to come to church as often as people say we should. We don’t really need to keep on studying our Bible both here at church and at home. We already know enough. We already have enough “resources” to make it to the end of this “building project” we call our life.
Think about it, my friends. Is that the advice we would give to one of our children or grandchildren when it comes to their life here in this world? Would we tell little Joey or Sally, “You know, once you graduate from eighth grade it’s really not that important to keep on learning as much as you can. Yes, people are going to tell you that you have to go to high school, but don’t let them kid you. You may need to go to class every now and then, but it’s no big deal if you skip classes or don’t pay attention or maybe even doze off in class.” Is that the advice we would give to someone we love? I don’t think so!
When it comes to the resources that we need to finish the “building project” of our life the task can seem rather daunting. That’s why as Jesus’ disciples we need to remember that there is only one Source for all the resources we need! That Source is— Jesus. The resources are— His holy Word and His holy Sacrament. So stay focused on Jesus— even when the effort seems too great. Stay focused on the resources He freely provides for you.
Jesus brings out a similar point in verses 31 and 32 of our text. As disciples of Jesus the enemies that we face in this increasingly wicked world are formidable. If we try to stand up to these enemies on our own, if we depend on our own strength to defeat our greatest enemies— sin, death and the devil— we will be defeated! That’s why we need to stay focused on our Savior. When we stay focused on our Savior, then we will always have the strength that comes from knowing that all of our enemies— yes, even our three greatest enemies— have already been defeated right there on the cross of Calvary’s hill. When we stay focused on our Savior then we will always have the confidence that comes from knowing that purely by grace through faith in what Jesus has done for us, His victory is our victory for all of eternity.
Just as it is not difficult for us to picture real-life examples of people who are focused and people who are not focused, so also it is not difficult for us to picture real-life examples Christians who are very focused on their relationship with their Lord and Christians who would benefit from being a little more focused on their relationship with their God. My prayer is that as disciples of Jesus you and I will always remember how important it is for us to stay focused on our Savior— especially when someone is threatening our relationship with Him, even when the effort seems too great and even when the enemy seems too powerful.
To God be the glory!
Amen