Jesus Said, “You Cannot Be My Disciple If…” (Luke 14:27)

It is as though Jesus said, “You cannot be my disciple if you won’t do these things.” This is probably the clearest teaching on discipleship in all of Scripture. “Great crowds” followed Jesus. While many popular religious leaders would try to make the crowds even larger, Jesus seemed to try to stop people from following Him. Of all the statements He made that turned people away, we have reached the most shocking: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Learn what this means. https://youtu.be/kP1Av9WJmiA Jesus said, “You cannot be my disciple if you won’t…” followed by incredible requirements, such as willingness to bear our own cross. Table of ContentsJesus Said, “You Cannot Be My Disciple If You Won’t Learn and then Do.”Jesus Said, “You Cannot Be My Disciple If You Won’t Suffer for Me.”Understanding CrucifixionBearing Our Cross Means Submission to ChristIf We Want the Glory We Must Partake in the SufferingJesus Said, “You Cannot Be My Disciple If You Won’t get Off the Fence.”Joshua Wanted the Israelites to Get Off the FenceElijah Wanted the Israelites to Get Off the FenceJesus Wanted the Laodiceans to Get Off the FenceLuke 14:27 Also Prevents Fence SittersFootnotes We have the potential with God’s Word to be in one of two groups: we hear God’s Word and do what it says, or we think our responsibility ends at simply hearing. It’s great to listen, but we must go further and actually do. This is a common theme in Scripture: Matthew 7:24 Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, AND DOES THEM, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. Luke 8:21 Jesus said, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God AND DO IT.” John 13:17 If you know these things, blessed are you IF YOU DO THEM. James 1:22 But BE DOERS OF THE WORD, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. I mention all this because Jesus said as much: Luke 14:27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:25 says "great crowds" followed Jesus. While many popular religious leaders would try to make the crowds even larger, Jesus seemed to DISCOURAGE people from following Him. Of all the statements He made that turned people away, verse 27 is the most shocking. Jesus Said, “You Cannot Be My Disciple If You Won’t Learn and then Do.” The words "bear his own" remind us that discipleship involves more than simply hearing. We must be doers: Disciples are more than people who learn by means of lectures, sermons, and books. Disciples are people who learn by doing: Since studying these verses, my understanding of discipleship has changed. I’ve said before that disciple means student. Disciples learn, but a better English synonym would be apprentice: Picture students – whether in elementary school, high school, or college – and what do you think of? You think of students sitting at desks listening and learning. Picture apprentices. What do you think of? You think of hands-on. You think of people doing what they’re learning and applying the knowledge received. If disciples were simply students, Jesus would’ve said, "“Make sure you’re listening to Me and paying attention. Watch me take up my cross and deny Myself.” But Jesus told people who wanted to be his disciples, "You need to pick up your own cross and deny yourself too.” Think this is important because we can be tempted to be students rather than disciples. We can be tempted to be learners without being doers. We go to church, listen to sermons, read Christian books, attend Sunday School, or home fellowships to gain knowledge. But if we’re going to be disciples, we must apply it too. If we aren’t, then our knowledge isn’t helping much. Jesus Said, “You Cannot Be My Disciple If You Won’t Suffer for Me.” Part of doing is "[bearing our] own cross." This parallels the idea of "hating [our] own life" from the previous verse (Luke 14:26). If you hate your own life, you’re willing to pick up your cross to follow Christ. We are so familiar with the cross that, when Jesus said this, we miss some of its significance. We must avoid understanding Jesus’s words through our 21st-century lens and instead consider how they sounded to his listeners in his day. I want to help us do this by pointing out the differences between what the cross represents today and in his day. Today, crosses are largely symbols of love and affection. They’re reminders of what Jesus did for us: We put crosses in our churches. We put crosses in our business brands or logos when we want people to know we’re Christians. We hang crosses from the rearview mirror in our cars. We have crosses in our homes. We have framed pictures of crosses with beautiful poems and verses next to them. We wear crosses as jewelry or adornments. We put them on necklaces or keychains. We wear clothing that has crosses embroidered on it. We love crosses. They’re one of the most endearing and iconic images to us. But do you think anyone did this in Jesus’s day? Definitely not. It would be an understatement to say the cross’s imagery has changed dramatically over the last 2,000 years. When Jesus said disciples must pick up their cross, it would’ve been horrifying. It would’ve made people think of a violent, excruciating, degrading death: People didn’t put up pictures of crosses in their homes. That would be like having a picture of an electric chair. People didn’t wear crosses as jewelry or adornments. That would be like wearing a guillotine around your neck. People didn’t have crosses as statues. That would be like having a statue of a noose or a stake at which people were burned. Instead, people despised just the thought of a cross. And believe it or not, the cross didn’t primarily mean death. It primarily meant two other things: suffering and humiliation. Understanding Crucifixion Rome could’ve killed people any number of ways. Crucifixion was chosen because it was the most unmerciful. It had been passed down from the Persians, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians, so by Jesus’ day Roman executioners had perfected it to inflict as much pain as possible. The word excruciating is related to the word crucifixion. The cross was a horrible instrument that caused people so much agony, death became very attractive. To make loyalty to Rome attractive, Rome said, “If you’ll become a citizen, you’ll never have to worry about being crucified.” Even if people hated Rome, they were more inclined to become citizens simply to avoid the possibility of this death. Crucifixion was intended to be a deterrent. When people were crucified, they were lined up on the roads heading in and out of Rome to communicate, “This is what will happen to you if you rebel.” To make crucifixion as public as possible, those being crucified had to walk through the streets carrying their cross for everyone to see. They were mocked and ridiculed. We are familiar with this because of Jesus’s crucifixion, and it happened to others as well. So when Jesus made this statement that people had to bear their cross it would’ve been absolutely shocking. Everyone knew it meant being willing to suffer for Him. He was demanding total commitment, regardless of what we must endure. Bearing Our Cross Means Submission to Christ When people carried their cross it showed their submission to Rome, and Jesus meant it similarly, but instead of submission to Rome, it was submission to him. If we want to be Jesus’s disciple we must freely give him authority over our lives. We must forfeit our rights in order to serve him in whatever capacity or circumstances he has chosen. Our lives no longer belong to us. They belong to him to do with what he pleases. It’s as if Jesus said, "“I’m going to die, and you need to be ready to die too! If you want to be like those people who abandoned Me, you can, but if you want to be one of My disciples, there’s a cross for Me, and there’s a cross for you! Whatever happens to Me, happens to you. I’m going to suffer, and you need to be willing to suffer. A student is not above his teacher.”364 Paul said it like this: "It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him BUT ALSO SUFFER FOR HIS SAKE" (Philippians 1:29). There are several things we want as Christians: We want our sins forgiven We want eternal life We want to be in heaven We want glorified bodies But we don’t want to suffer. Jesus is telling us that having all these blessings also means being willing to suffer with Him. If We Want the Glory We Must Partake in the Suffering A few verses in Mark 10:32-34 reveal this. The context is Jesus predicted His death for the THIRD TIME, but the disciples STILL didn’t believe it. Jesus is near Jerusalem, which means He’s less than two weeks from His crucifixion. But the disciples were more excited than ever because they thought he was about to become king, sit on the throne of David, overthrow Rome, and restore Israel to their Golden Years. As Jesus’ 12 right-hand men, they thought they would be sitting next to him. The point is they didn’t expect Jesus to suffer, and they didn’t expect to suffer! Mark 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,