The Parables of Jesus, Part 3: The Cost of Discipleship

The Cost of Discipleship (Luke 14:28-33)

• “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)

• “Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

It may seem at first like these two parables would be better suited in separate lessons, but I think there's a lot that we can infer from the first parable that relates directly to the Good Samaritan. I have often considered Jesus' teachings about sacrifice and whether or not He could have literally meant that everyone should give up the entirety of their lives to follow Him. I think in some capacity you have to consider it, but I also think there's a "denial of self" aspect to His parables that should be considered when reading them in 2024.

Let's start with "The Cost of Discipleship" and work from there. The first few times that I read through this parable I had a really hard time connecting the metaphors Jesus was giving with the final sentence. I could not figure how on earth Jesus wanted me to connect starting a building project or fighting an outmanned war with renouncing everything I had to follow Him. I legitimately could not make sense of it. After all, He didn't say, "If you can't finish the building project just give up and give your money away." He said to be calculated and thorough in your decision making so that you can ultimately make the best decision possible at the end of the day. I think we can infer from that context that the "best" decision is better translated as the "What Would Jesus Do?" decision.

In any case, what does making a calculated decision on the battlefield have to do with renouncing all that you have? If you were ONLY using this individual parable to answer that question and not using other scripture for context, I think you could argue that when it comes to your "stuff" and Jesus, it should be pretty easy to choose one over the other. After all, you cannot serve two masters...

However, if you bring in the parable of the Good Samaritan, I think we can kind of iron out a theme that Christ is trying to lay down for us. Let's start with the fact that Christ is using a man who still very clearly had possessions as the standard for the Golden Rule here. If the Good Samaritan had completely "renounced" ALL that he had, he wouldn't have had any money to pay the innkeeper with to take care of this stranger.

Instead, by using his time and money to care for this stranger, the Good Samaritan sort of metaphorically "renounced" his possessions by dedicating them to the use of caring for his neighbor. Who knows what that Good Samaritan had planned for that money. Maybe he was saving up to build a home. Maybe he was trying to buy a new donkey. Or maybe his anniversary was coming up and he was going to buy his wife something real nice. In any case, the Good Samaritan had two choices when he came across this stranger:

1. Keep his possessions to himself and hope for the best for this guy laying helplessly in the road.

2. "Renounce" what he had, dedicate it to God, and take care of his neighbor.

I think the way that Jesus praises the actions of the Good Samaritan is a pretty good example of what He means by "renouncing all that we have." We can't get too attached to earthly possessions. Especially not at the expense of our neighbors. In Matthew chapter six we read:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This is the cost of discipleship. There is no better way to guarantee earthly misery than to prioritize stuff over people. The cost of following Jesus is that we renounce our obsession with our possessions and dedicate them to establishing God's Kingdom here on earth. Learning to deny your own wants to better provide for those in need around you is an impossibly difficult lesson. I know I probably don't have to say this, but I obviously haven't perfected this by any means. It's so hard to not want things for yourself and instead to focus everything you have towards the mission that Christ lays out for us. However, I do think it's a good reminder periodically that science has proven that human beings are happier when we're doing things for other people. It's a fact. Your brain responds to service. I don't think that is in any way a coincidence, so I'll end with the message that Jesus left with his disciples, "...go, and do likewise."