All that you can't leave behind

Lk 14:15-35

It is only when life gets complicated or busy, that our real priorities become evident. We might think that such and such is a big priority, something that we're really committed to, but it's only when other concerns start to crowd in and we're forced to decide between competing commitments that we really know which we value the most.

Watching a small child pack their bag to go away on a trip is another interesting test of priorities. The question is, 'What can't they leave behind?' Teddy and some toy cars always go in the bag first. Warm clothes, shoes or toothpaste are optional extras.

You see, when there is limited space or competing commitments that is when you discover your true priorities. And that's what we're going to see in Luke 14 where the spotlight turns on our priorities. Jesus asks today about all that you can't leave behind.If you haven't already, you might like to open up that passage in your bibles now.

Just who will be there at the Kingdom banquet?

Remember, we are on the road with Jesus, journeying towards Jerusalem, we're at boot camp Jesus-style. And Jesus is calling disciples to himself and teaching them about the kingdom. Chapter 14 sees Jesus invited to dinner at the home of an important Pharisee.

Now during the course of the dinner conversation, someone says, “Blessed is the person who will enjoy the banquet in the kingdom of God.” This is a kind of pious truism that everyone would agree with— normal dinner conversation in politely religious company, I suppose. But in response to this, Jesus lets rip with, well…, an impolite and quite unsettling parable. His story begs the question, “Just who will be there at the Kingdom banquet?”

Have a look at verses 16-24 of Luke 14 with me:

16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, `Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, `I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'

In verses 19-20 we meet three men who excuse themselves from the banquet for various reasons, and then in verse 21:

21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, `Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22 "`Sir,' the servant said, `what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23 "Then the master told his servant, `Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'" (Luke 14:16-24).

So what’s the thrust of this parable? Jesus is saying that the Pharisees and Religious elite who were bent on rejecting Jesus where in fact rejecting the Kingdom of God.And so, says Jesus, the invitation to join in God’s kingdom banquet is open to all. Indeed, this invitation is still open for every person here today. You want to be 'in' with Jesus? Respond to his invitation, turn up to the party .

At the heart of Jesus' parable, we see the people who seemed to be at the top of the invitation list decide to exclude themselves from the great Kingdom banquet. They say, "No thanks, we'd rather not come."

Its worth reflecting, isn't it, on what these people have in common. It is their pre-occupation with other things which leads them to make up excuses. In verse 18, one man has just bought a field and now he wants to go and see it. But who buys property without checking it out first?

In verse 19, another guy has just bought some new oxen and wants to go and try them out. Great— this guy would rather stand behind a bunch of smelly oxes and plough his fields than go to a beautiful banquet. And the third guy, in verse 20, wants to go home to his new wife’s cooking instead of bringing her along to the party too. These three are not necessarily doing wrong things, its just that they have wrong priorities. Their property acquisitions, their wives and their cows are more important to them. And sadly, their distraction leads to their disqualification from the Kingdom of God.

And as we consider Jesus' invitation to enter the Kingdom of God today, one of the dangers we can face is that we think it's just another invitation to lunch. In our northern beaches laid back way, we say,"Sure, it might be nice to sit down to a meal with God, to chew the fat, to make polite conversation,but really, is it all that of a big deal?"

The people of Jesus' day understood what Jesus meant when he spoke of the Kingdom of God, but I think we tend to think of it as just an airy-fairy religious insiders club: nice if you have membership privileges, but we can get by without it.

Well, let's just take a few moments to think about that. Just what do you think the Kingdom of God is all about? How important is it and is it worth all the fuss?

In the words of Julie Andrews, let's start at the very beginning. When God first said, 'Let there be light' and there was…, when he first began creating all things into existence, did you know that his goal was the Kingdom of God?

When you think about the vastness, the huge expanse, the wonderful detail and endless beauty of what God has made, he had a purpose for it all. He made it all as a backdrop, as the great stage for the drama of time and history. And this purpose is summed up in the Kingdom .

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were the prototype—the model to show us where it's all going. The Garden was a place of perfect friendship—with one another, with God and in harmony with creation. It was the place where God governed his people and his people chose to willingly embrace that rule.Yet when Adam and Eve blew it, God's purpose was not lost. Yes, mankind's rejection of God had disrupted and poisoned creation against us. But even so, God promised that the work of the evil one -- represented by the snake—would ultimately destroyed: his head would be crushed by the offspring of the woman .

The remainder of the OT shows us God working to bring about the reversal of this state of rebellion . Opposition to his rule began with mankind eating the fruit--a symbolic yet effective rebellion, and now with the arrival of Jesus, restoration is taking place.The arrival of the Kingdom meant thatthrough Jesus God was dismantling all opposition to his rule and was going to deal, once and for all, with the consequences of human rebellion.

So when Jesus invites men and women to enter the kingdom of God, he is talking about the consummation of God's plan. He is bringing this entire creation back together under the rule of Jesus Christ . We were created for him and are meant for him. To enter the Kingdom of God means to welcome God's plan and place for you, to become who you were always meant to be—the willing and loving relationship partner for the living God. It’s a great thing and a wonderful thing. It's more glorious than we'd ever imagine. We are not accidental life-forms in a small corner of the universe, living and dying in a few short years for no apparent reason. We are created as God's pride and joy, free-will beings invited to be his friends forever, beyond even our wildest dreams.And that is precisely what is on the table when Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Godas a great celebration feast.

Jesus says the invitation is there, but who will actually come. Who will find something else more interesting, more appealing, a higher priority.

A clash of priorities?

And it is this same clash of priorities which Luke uses to link us to the next section, verses 25-35. Here we see that Jesus claims exclusive loyalty, first priority; and he will accept nothing less. Have a look at verses 25-35 with me:

25 Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "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. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-27).

Two illustrations follow in verses 28-32 to demonstrate the pointlessness of being unprepared for this kind of commitment .

To start building a tower without the means to finish it makes you a laughing stock, a joke, to those who watch. To go to war without sufficient troops to win the battle is foolishness. In the same way, to embark on a life of following Jesus, the one who is the king of the Kingdom of God, without first counting the cost is foolishness.

The section closes in verse 33 with a re-statement of Jesus call:

33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33).

These are hard words to hear, aren't they? The scene has moved on from the dinner party at the chief Pharisee's house. We’re back on the road again, Jesus travelling with a large crowd, and he continues to talk aboutcommitment and priorities.But he is not speaking parables about entry into the Kingdom.Instead, Jesus is talking about practicalities. Entry into the Kingdom means becoming his disciple.

It is in this context that  Jesus says that anyone who does not abandon everything else of value he has,he cannot be his disciple.If Jesus was just a myth or the bible was made up by some religious spin-doctors, these words would surely not be here. But Jesus is for real, and these are his words.

What did you think of verse 26? Jesus says if you want to be his disciple, you have to hate your spouse, your kids, & even your own life. ‘Hate’ is a pretty strong word, isn’t it?  The question is:"Does Jesus literally mean we are to hate, to actively despise and detest, our nearest and dearest; or is this ‘hatred’ hyperbole— a figure of speech?"

The very nature of the Bible helps us understand what to make of Jesus' words here. The Bible is God's word to us, written by humans in human languages. So, because God is the author of the whole bible, it is consistent. It all works together, one part interpreting the other and making sense of it. And second, because God's words are written by humans in human languages, we know that all the usual forms and devices of language are used: similes, metaphors, figures of speech and so on.

We use these kinds of figures of speech all the time. We might say, “I nearly died laughing,” even though our life was never really in mortal danger from the joke.

So remembering these things about the Bible helps us know what to make of Jesus' saying here about hating your wife and kids, your mother and father. Is this literally what Jesus are meant to do or is it a figure of speech? Well there are several other parts of the Bible that clearly command us to love our spouses and kids and to honour our fathers and mothers. Even Jesus got stuck into the Pharisees for telling people they could ignore their parents in their old age if they were especially religious . So it's clear that Jesus is using a figure of speech—as he does often.

What does he mean here? Jesus uses this figure of speech to say that, in comparison to our loyalty to him, we are to ‘hate’ our kids, our siblings and our spouses. It’s an exaggeration used to make a point—hyperbole--we're not supposed to take it literally.

Jesus is talking here about relational priority. That’s why verse 33 says:
...any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33).
'Disciple' is a supremely relational word. If Jesus is to be our loving master and captain, and we his disciples, then our relationship with him must be closer, more cherished than any other. Jesus is claiming a higher loyalty than any other commitment to our family, our spouses or even our own lives. He demands our exclusive allegiance, our first love and our highest loyalty. That's what this passage is all about.

So life in the Kingdom of God means 'Jesus first' because ultimately the kingdom of God is all about his sovereignty. God’s kingdom is his rule. Enjoying the banquet is a picture of the delight, the joy it will be to live with God in heaven.

Counting the Cost

The reason that Jesus says these things on the road to Jerusalem is to prepare his followers for true discipleship. There is a cost to following Jesus. Just as there is a cost to building a tower or going to war.The question is whether you are prepared for that cost.

Now it's true that we won't always feel ready to face the challenges of walking with Jesus. God doesn't drop us in the middle of something that is too much for us. We are never tested beyond our ability . Instead we are enabled to make the tough calls when we need to make them.

Yet, from the outset, Jesus makes it clear that being his disciple means that everything else will be subject to him. Relatively speaking, it will be as though you love him and hate the rest. That is the cost.

I find it helpful to remember that 'counting the cost' is not like a fine or paying your dues or paying fees to get a service. Counting the cost an accounting term. It’s like a few years ago when we bought a new lounge. I'm a bit of a cheapskate and didn’t want to spend the money. I always thought the old sofa was OK. Sure, we got it second hand 12 years ago, but I didn’t think it needed replacing until our neighbours put out the identical couch in the Council clean-up... except theirs was better than ours! I knew then it was time to face the fact that I had to spend some money on a lounge. I thought about it, I budgetted for it, and as we saved up, I wrote that money off in advance. In my mind, the money was already spent. Then, when the big day came to go shopping for the new lounge, it didn’t hurt a bit! I had already counted the cost of buying the new lounge and I was ready. In the same way, Jesus calls his followers to write off any other competing claims for our loyalty so that we are prepared to put Jesus first in every situation.  As is says in verse 26, we are to hate even our own life, in comparison with our love for Jesus.

Entry into the Kingdom is free, but it is not without cost.

Jesus first: some examples

Well, what does this kind of commitment look like today? We've been saying that choosing to live as a Christian means giving Jesus first priority, our highest loyalty— let's look at some examples.

Think about the opportunities open to you in your daily Routine. When do you spend time alone with God?Oh, he knows you're busy. But that's the thing—he's first. Even before all your other responsibilities and commitments.

What about your friendships?Who will be your primary community—the people you choose to hang out with the most?We'll all hopefully have a wide variety of friends and acquaintances from all walks of life, but which people will you invest most in? Will it be the community of Jesus?

Here's another example. What about your Sunday activities? What will you make a higher priority: meeting with God's people or your sporting or social life? There's a choice isn't there— although sometimes we don't recognize it. In fact, if you are serious about making Jesus your first priority, you may miss out on that representative sporting team, or that promotion at work.

It's a hard call, isn't it? We might well ask, "Is it fair for my relationship with God to impact my family, friends, and even my spouse?" When Jesus says: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his parents, his wife and children, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple" I'd say he's addressing that very question. Jesus claims top spot.

But let's ask another question: "Why do you think that you or your family are losing out because you put Jesus first? Could it be that 'Jesus first' is much better than 'me first' or 'my family first'.

How do you know that putting Jesus first will really be such curse for you or your family? Quite the contrary, I want to suggest to you that we cannot imagine how richly God will bless us when we do (cf. Lk 18:28-30).

This blessing will not necessarily in material things (you may not get rich quick). But you will be rich in more important ways. A man who left behind much for Jesus wrote this:
… I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).

So we've seen today that the great challenge Jesus puts to usconcerns our priorities. He urges us to decide now to give our exclusive loyalty to him so that we will not be distracted and disqualified from the Kingdom Banquet.

The unchallenged Rule of Jesus over all creation, over all human beings is coming. All of history is moving towards that reality. You are invited to enjoy it as a follower and friend of the King. It is time, right now, to come to the banquet. What is your decision?