M. Discipleship (14:25–35)
M. Discipleship (14:25–35)
1. The cost of discipleship (14:25–33)
25. Jesus is still on his journey. That great multitudes followed him may be held to support the view that he was travelling through Perea, an area where as far as we know he had not been previously. There would be curiosity to see the Teacher from Nazareth. But Luke does not say where this teaching took place, only that Jesus turned (cf. 7:9; 9:55; 10:23; 22:61; 23:28) and spoke to the crowds.
26. Discipleship means giving one’s first loyalty. There is no place in Jesus’ teaching for literal hatred. He commanded his followers to love even their enemies (6:27), so it is impossible to hold that he is here telling them literally to hate their earthly nearest (cf. 8:20f.). But hating can mean something like loving less (Gen. 29:31, 33; Deut. 21:15, where the Hebrew means ‘hated’ and not ‘disliked’, as RSV). Jesus’ meaning is surely that the love the disciple has for him must be so great that the best of earthly loves is hatred by comparison (cf. Matt. 10:37). The listing of the nearest and dearest spells this out with solemnity. A person must not set store even by his own life (cf. John 12:25). Devotion to Christ cannot be less than whole-hearted (‘Discipleship is not periodic volunteer work on one’s own terms and at one’s convenience’, R. J. Karris, cited in Talbert, p. 203).
27. For this saying see note on 9:23, where we have the positive form of what is put negatively here. Cross-bearing is of the essence of discipleship.
28–30. Jesus does not want disciples who do not realize what they have let themselves in for. Counting the cost is important. He uses twin parables (a device he employs often) to drive the point home. A man who decides to build a tower (the word may mean a watch tower or a farm building, BAGD) must first think. To get no further than the foundation is to invite mockery. The man must therefore first sit down (the matter is not to be decided in a hurry) and count the cost. Only then can he expect success.
31–32. A second illustration comes from kings at war. It is not easy with ten thousand soldiers to defeat one who attacks with twenty thousand. A king in such a position thinks hard. If he cannot see his way through the problem he does not tamely wait for defeat: he arranges a peace while the enemy is still a great way off.
The two parables are similar but they make slightly different points. The builder of the tower is free to build or not as he chooses, but the king is being invaded (the other comes against him). He must do something. Cf. A. M. Hunter, ‘In the first parable Jesus says, “Sit down and reckon whether you can afford to follow me.” In the second he says, “Sit down and reckon whether you can afford to refuse my demands.” ’15 Both ways of looking at it are important.
33. The lesson is plain. Jesus does not want followers who rush into discipleship without thinking of what is involved. And he is clear about the price. Anyone who comes to him must renounce all that he has. For the third time we have the solemn refrain, he cannot be my disciple (26–27). These words condemn all half-heartedness. Jesus is not, of course, discouraging discipleship. He is warning against an illconsidered, fainthearted attachment in order that those who follow him may know the real thing. He wants them to count the cost and reckon all lost for his sake so that they can enter the exhilaration of full-blooded discipleship.
2. Salt (14:34–35)
Jesus adds a little parable about salt. Salt is good, though he does not indicate which qualities he has in mind. Commentators point to its preservative and flavouring values. It is, of course, impossible for salt (sodium chloride) to lose its taste, but the salt in use in first-century Palestine was far from pure. It was quite possible for the sodium chloride to be leached out of the impure salt in common use so that what was left lacked the taste of salt. It was literally useless. It could not fertilize the land or even decompose usefully on the manure heap. Men throw it away. There is an astringent quality about discipleship. If anyone lacks it, then whatever other qualities he may have, as regards discipleship he is useless.