August 10, 2025
Luke 14:25–35 ESV
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 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. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Discussion Question:
In our previous study (verses 15-24) Jesus spoke about those who refused the invitation to God’s banquet. However, Jesus now sets forth the details of what accepting that invitation means.
What are the conditions of discipleship?
Discussion Summary:
Jesus began his ministry with a call of discipleship to simple fisherman (Matthew 4:18-20). He invited them to “leave all and follow me.” He will reiterate this call to the rich young ruler in Luke 18:22. This is the core condition of discipleship.
Hating our family and even our life is an obvious exaggeration designed to startle the hearer and make them understand that they must love God and his son supremely. This is shown by the parallel scripture in Matthew 10:37. Disciples must have unconditional love for God recognizing that he is more valuable than anything else.
As we begin this new life of discipleship we have no idea of what experiences we will be given. We understand that they will involve sacrifice and suffering as represented in the cross that we bear (Romans 5:3-5). However, we do have to consider whether we have given our full heart loyalty to God. If we have we can give our “all” and trust in the power of God working in us.
Assessing our heart loyalty is an important first step. The example of a tower builder gives us the idea that if we can put our trust in the architect, the blue print we will have the ability to construct the finished product. The example of the battle shows us that even if we are outnumbered 2 to 1 by spiritual foes we will be the victor as long as we have remained loyal to God in our hearts.
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