The Cost of Discipleship: Notes on Luke 14:25-33

 

I wrote these biblical notes in August 2010 for the Tagaytay Religious Association of which I was then the chairperson.

The Text in Luke 14:25-33

 

25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

 

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

 

31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and  consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

  The Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14 belongs at the height of what we call Luke‘s Travel Narrative (9:51-19:47)—Jesus‘ short journey to Jerusalem is narrated lengthily from chapter 9 to 19 (my Synoptics students last semester know this very well). This shocking vocabulary of what it costs to be a disciple

vibrates from the beginning to the end of the Travel Narrative. In Chapter 9, we have the story of the so-called Would-Be Disciples (vv. 57-62). Jesus invites them to follow him but one gives an alibi to bury first his father; the other, to have a despedida first at home. In chapter 12 (vv. 49- 53), Jesus even becomes the cause of division of the family: ―Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on...they will be divided: father against son and son against father...‖ In chapter 18 (vv. 18-30), Jesus demands from a certain rich ruler to sell all that he owns so as to give to the poor and then follow him. The man fails to do it—the reason, ―for he was very rich (v. 23). Peter then reminds Jesus that they have left their homes and followed him. In reply, the Good Teacher, says: ―Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.‖

 

Who qualified as a disciple of Jesus? is the question of the pre-eminent Catholic New Testament scholar, Fr. John P. Meier in volume 3 of his four-volume work on the historical Jesus, Marginal Jew.

In the first century in the Mediterranean world, the idea of discipleship is common and thus not unique to Jesus. Throughout the Greco-Roman world, different teachers gathered around themselves followers, students, or disciples. Examples are groups or schools associated with Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, the Stoics, Rabbi Hillel, the Essenes at Qumran, the students of Philo, and others. Even in the Old Testament, we have the famous instructions from a teacher (often portrayed as father/mother) to his young pupil (son/daughter) found for example in the Book of Proverbs. The Book of Sirach (51:23) also mentions a certain ―house of instruction‖ wherein students attend to listen to the instructions of a teacher.

 The finest example of discipleship in the Old Testament is Elijah and his disciple, Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19-21). Elisha was busy plowing the field when Elijah found him. The prophet calls him by throwing his mantle over him. Elisha asks permission, however, to go home to say farewell to his parents. At home, he slaughters his twelve oxen, the beasts of burden, cooked them, and gave the meat to the people to eat. Afterward, he went on to follow Elijah.

 From this story, we find three elements of radical discipleship in the Old Testament (Meier, p. 48): (1) a sudden call to an ordinary individual engaged in ordinary work; (2) a call that means breaking ties with one‘s family and livelihood; and (3) a call that involves literal following and service to the prophet. – These three elements are also found in the gospels, in the calling of Jesus to his disciples.

 Returning then to the question of who is qualified as a disciple of Jesus, Fr. Meier lays down three criteria based on his research on the historical Jesus:

 (1)  The initiative of Jesus in Calling

A common element among the four gospels is that Jesus "seizes the initiative in calling people to follow him."  We cite as examples the first four disciples—Peter, Andrew, James, and John in Mark 1:16-20 and the call of Levi the tax collector in 2:14 - "As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him."

 Usually, it is the student who seeks out a teacher (like Josephus—Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Bannus).

 In contrast, Jesus takes the first move. He calls first. This initiative to call a person to follow is a necessary condition for becoming a Jesus‘ disciple. (Meier, p. 54).

(2)    Following Jesus Physically and Therefore Leaving One‘s Home

Another striking criterion of discipleship in the gospels is that Jesus calls individuals to follow him literally, and physically, as he goes around preaching in Galilee, in Judea, and in the surrounding areas. In the book of Sirach, a disciple does not have to leave one‘s home but goes to a school to learn to be devoted to the fourth commandment of honoring parents by taking care of them when they are old. For Jesus, becoming a disciple is to leave one‘s home.  This is not a temporary appointment. "Once a" disciple answers the call, he is, in the eyes of Jesus, no longer free to 'drop out'" (Meier, p. 55).

 It is interesting to know that the word for disciples in Greek is mathetes literally "learner" but the verb  "to  learn"  (manthano)  is  not  used  for  the  activity  of  the  disciples  but  the  Greek  verb akolotheo is used, meaning "to follow"

 The costs of radical discipleship are clear: one must leave home, family, and means of livelihood.

 (3)   Risking Danger and Hostility

Above all, the cost of discipleship is hostility that could even lead to a violent death. Jesus uses a paradoxical saying (Heb. mashal) to warn his followers: ―For whoever wishes to save (sosai) his life will lose (apolesei) it; but whoever loses (apolesei) his life for the sake of myself and the gospel will save (sosai) it‖ (Mark 8:35); Matthew 16:25 and Luke 9:24).  The word "life" (psyche) means one‘s whole life or existence.  The saying then may mean that "those who  cling at  all costs to this present life lose it at the  final judgment,  while those willing to sacrifice their present lives to follow Jesus wholeheartedly will receive a fuller, lasting form of life at  the final judgment" (Meier, p. 58).  "Discipleship means a surrender of one‘s old life, with all its ties, securities, and expectations, if one is to find or preserve the new form of life made possible by the coming of God‘s kingdom" (Meier, p. 63).

 Furthermore, the cost  involves self-denial: "If anyone wishes to follow  after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34; Matt 10:38 Luke 14:27). The goal of discipleship here  is to follow   Jesus   (twice mentioned). 

First one,   must   "deny  oneself," meaning--totally disavow one‘s own interests, in other words, say "no" to oneself, to one‘s ego as the ultimate norm or goal of one‘s life. 

Second, one must carry his or her cross. This is not the cross of Jesus. It is the cross as a disgusting and shameful symbol in antiquity. Hence, what is more, disgusting and shameful than the complete loss of control over one‘s life, like the naked criminal being forced to carry the upright beam of the cross to his crucifixion? Taking this into consideration, the saying can be expressed this way: "If anyone wishes to become my disciple, let him first say no to his whole life and lug his cross to his shameful public execution, and thus by going through this death to his whole former life, let him follow me as my disciple"( Meier, p. 65).

Hostility also includes facing opposition from one‘s family. As we already heard earlier (from Luke), the cost of discipleship is turning one‘s back on one‘s family; and this is a shocking price, very costly discipleship, only in Jesus. Meier explains such brutal demand this way: first, in the idea of the end of time for Israel, the sign of the tribulations of the last days is the loosening of loyalty to family; second, Jesus himself must have experienced real conflict in his own family. We have some passages in the Gospels where even Jesus‘ brothers did not believe in him (e.g. John 7:5) and accused him of having gone mad (Mark 3:21).

 

In  any  case,  it  is  clear  that  Jesus  "makes  a  radical  demand  on  his  disciples:  they  had  to  be absolutely committed to him and his mission" even if it entails hostility from one‘s family (Meier, p. 72). Indeed, "when Christ calls a man  [woman]," says Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "he bids him [her] come and die."