Luke Chapter 4

V 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.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Well that’s not a very nice reading is it. Look at the opening sentence, is Jesus really calling together a bunch of yobs who hate everything and everybody, including themselves. What happened to al that love one another, love you enemies, love your neighbour as yourselves? Is Jesus saying that’s what all normal people need to do, but if you are going to be a disciple of mine, one of my gang, I want, hating, angry, tough people What on earth is going on?

I think the answer lies in comparative love. Jesus isn’t saying that you should hate your parents and family, but that you should love God a whole lot more. If you decide to follow God, and his Son it is not going to be an easy road, and there will be trials and troubles at every turn; who will your loyalty and love be with? Following Jesus will mean having a cross to bear, it is not an option; the question Jesus asks is are we sure we are willing to bear it?

Jesus gives two stories to show what he means. The first is a man who wants to build an impressive tower. If it goes wrong he knows he will be a laughing stock, so he does his sums to make sure he can afford it. Do we know anyone who has told everyone that they had turned to Jesus, and then stopped when the laughter started? People today laugh at those who make big religious claims, and so many Christians then change their minds. Popularity with family and friends is more important to them.

The second story concerns a King who is about to go to war. He looks at his own army size, then his opponents. If he is not sure if he can win he tries for a treaty rather than war. When the going gets tough he looks for ways to get out of the predicament he is in, even if it means real problems for his people if the treaty means enslavement. Perhaps we know many Christians who have this mentality.

Jesus then talks about salt, and anyone with any coking or chemistry knowledge, will know that sodium chloride, ie salt, cannot lose its flavor, so what’s Jesus talking about here? Well, we think of salt coming in packets from a shop, clean and pure. Only in the winter do we notice that the local council isn’t putting table salt on the frozen roads, but rock salt, impure salt. Salt mixed with sand and grit and dirt and everything else. If we tasted it the flavor would be different depending on how much salt and how much muck was in each spoonful. If the council had left its salt piles out in the rain much of the salt may have been washed out, leaving a useless pile of muck. It is this that Jesus talks about here. Not only useless but fit only to be thrown out.

Following Jesus is not easy, the way is rough, and many problems today can come from other church goers as well as those who openly laugh at you and tell you God does not exist, except as a fairy story. Others will be angry at you blaming all the wars today on religion. That’s why Christians must know what they are taking on, and look to the truth of the gospels to see what Jesus asks of us!

Then if we have ears, let us hear and respond!