Traveler or Disciple of Jesus
And Turning To Them
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and turning to them he said:
(Luke 14:25)
Come again? Exactly why do you call yourself a Christian?
Most churches are travel clubs. You pay dues, gain activities, and help when stuck on life’s road.
Large crowds fill churches, but they are mere travelers, not disciples of Jesus.
Jesus time and again rebuked those who were looking for Him because their motives were sinfully corrupt.
Unlike the preaching today, Jesus tells searchers of Him that they had better clean up their motives if they want to be saved.
How shocking it is today that people coming to church are not rebuked for the real reason they show up to hear a sermon.
Praise God, Jesus’s love tells the truth that they are looking to Him selfishly that they have serious need of repentance.
Travelers are following behind Jesus for the food, fun, and sense of spiritual well-being that they can leech off of God. Not because they hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Jesus answered,
“I tell you the truth, you are looking for me,
not because you saw miraculous signs
but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
(John 6:26)
Turning to them Jesus said:
will he not first sit down and estimate the cost…
Will he not first sit down and consider…
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.” (Luke 14:27-35)
Timothy Williams
Because Jesus Said “Sit Down”
www.luke1425.org
