The Cost of Discipleship ~ Luke 9:23-27

May 18, 2014 ~ New City Church of Calgary ~ Pastor John Ferguson

Intro: Charlemagne, aka Charles the Great (~742-814AD) was called the The Father of Europe having united
most of Western Europe for the rst time since the collapse of the Roman Empire. We are told that some 180
years after his death, Emperor Otho ordered his tomb opened. In addition to nding numerous treasures in the
tomb, they also found the skeleton of the King seated on a throne, crown on his skull, with a copy of the
Gospels open on his lap. His bony nger pointed to the text, What does it prot a man if he gains the whole
world and yet loses his soul?

That question was uttered by Jesus of Nazareth, and it is embedded in the text we are going to look at today.
This passage is one of those uncomfortable sections that many people like to skip over.

Its uncomfortable to many who are curious about who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus
because it essentially tells us that it is very costly to be a disciple. Any hope that Jesus would not
demand too much from us, that he would simply bless our hopes and dreams, that he would endorse
our plan for our lives, that it would be easy and convenient, is shot through with these words.

So whether this is your rst time looking into Christianity, or whether you have grown up believing in the
Lord Jesus, this text is challenging to one and all because Jesus lays out the terms of what it means to
follow him, and the stakes could not be any higher.

Luke 9:23-27 ~ The Cost of Discipleship

Context: Q: Who do you say that I am? A: The Christ of God. Jesus told them (1) not to tell this to anyone; (2)
that he must suffer and die and rise again from the dead. IOW, Jesus is the King of the Cross as well as the
King of Gods Kingdom. They didnt understand this, and what they heard next most certainly unsettled them

23 And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross
daily and follow me.

1. This is Jesus own denition of what it means to be a disciple. This is what is going to happen to me.
You must be prepared for the same thing to happen to you.

2. Three terms are used which really describe the same thing:

(1) Deny yourself;

Saying no to self-centeredness, but also saying no to good things that could get in the way
Not my will, but yours be done.

(2) Take up your cross daily;

The Cross meant the end of your life: climb into the electric chair; prepare for the lethal injection

AW Tozer, To be crucied means, rst, the man on the cross is facing only one direction; second,
he is not going back; and third, he has no further plans of his own.

Jesus: Youve got to be willing to lose your reputation and status and be regarded as nothing. I
want your public reputation.

Daily. Everyday. 24/7/365. No Sunday Christianity. No living one way around one group of people
and living a different way around another group of people.
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(3) Follow me.

Jesus says he must suffer at the hands of men and die. We must be prepared to do the same.

He lived and died for me. Therefore I will live and die for him. He bore the cross for me; now I will
bear the cross for him.

24 For whoever would save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Jesus: I want your personal agendas. I want it all, not just your willingness to take a hit for me, but I
want your desires, hopes, dreams, all of it. I want to take your small kingdom ambitions and replace
them with the Kingdom of God.

25 For what does it prot a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

1. Choice: (1) everything you can dream of; or (2) Jesus. Most people would easily pick #1. Why?
Because theyve bought into the lie of #YOLO (You only live once; he who dies with the most toys
wins). But what they dont understand is that life is just a vapor.

2. Jim Elliot, 1 of 5 missionaries in Ecuador killed by the Auca Indians in 1956, He is no fool who gives
what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose.

26 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he
comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Christian: Are you ashamed to be a disciple of Jesus? Set apart in your hearts Christ as Lord.

Jesus: I want your public reputation as well as your personal agendas. If you are not willing to give
those to me, then something else is your functional god and saviour.

27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the
kingdom of God.

Option #1: Some say it was the Transguration (which comes next in our study)
Option #2: Some say it the day of Pentecost when Jesus sent his Spirit and lled his disciples with
kingdom power to establish his church.
Option #3: The resurrection from the dead and his ascension, which was his enthronement.


So, why did Luke record these stories in his historical biography of Jesus?

If Jesus is the King of the Cross, then we are called to follow him to the Cross.

In other words, since he lived and died for us, we are called to live and (if necessary) die for him.

Who is this man? Hes the One we live and die for.


Main Idea:
Real life is found in living for (& dying for) the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Points of Application:

1. Count the cost of following Jesus.

Receive these words of Jesus as a personal challenge from Jesus to you.

Choose wisely: The story of W. Somerset Maugham

Jesus is either a lunatic, a liar, or he is Lord. You either serve him or you slay him; either he is nothing, or
he is your everything.

L. Newbigin: I amin Pascals famous phrasewagering my life on the faith that Jesus is the ultimate
authority. My answer is a confession: I believe. The Christian commitment is distinguished in that it is a
commitment to a belief about the meaning of the whole of human experience in its entiretynamely, the
belief that this meaning is to be found in the person of Jesus Christ, incarnate, crucied, risen, and
destined to reign over all things.

2. Find your identity as a follower of Jesus.

CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, The more we get what we now call ourselves out of the way and let Him
take us over, the more truly ourselves we become. Give up yourself, and you will nd your real self. Lose
your life and you will save it. Submit to death, the death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day
and the death of your whole body in the end. Submit with every ber of your being, and you will nd eternal
life. Keep nothing back. Look for yourself, and you will nd in the long run only hatred, loneliness,
despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will nd Him, and with Him everything else
thrown in.

CS Lewis, Aim at Heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.

Conclusion:

What if we who call ourselves Christians lived like this for just one week?
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