The Useless Disciple – Part 1
Luke 14:25-35 (25-26)
November 24, 2019
The more I read the gospels and study what Jesus had to say
About true discipleship the more I become convinced
That modern day evangelicalism has lost its center.
So much today is said about “unconditional love”
And “unconditional acceptance” and “come just as you are”
That it has actually made genuine statements by Jesus seem radical.
Here in Luke 14 we come across a sermon Jesus preached
To the crowd of people that were following Him
And I am fairly certain that there are many in the church today
That would gasp if they knew He actually said it.
We see in verse 25, “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,”
This is so fascinating on a number of levels.
• Today the focus seems to be on getting a crowd and keeping the crowd.
• Ministers seem to feel more successful when they have a crowd.
• It has become the barometer for a good ministry.
And yet Jesus seemed to continually confront the crowd.
We already saw Him do it once back in chapter 12 when that crowd was so big that people were “stepping on each other”.
• He warned that crowd about true submission to God’s Spirit
• He warned them about the dangers of greed.
• He told them to “sell your possessions and give to charity”
• He told them to be ready for the second coming
• He warned them of the realities of persecution saying that He came to cause
division even among the members of your family.
• He told them to judge what was right and true.
• And He warned them that if they didn’t repent they would all perish.
None of those topics were topics that help you keep a large crowd.
And now we get to chapter 14, we see that
There is again a large crowd and here Jesus goes again.
If you grasp nothing else please recognize that
Jesus is not concerned about QUANTITY, He’s concerned about QUALITY
He wants His followers to be real, not just to be many.
It precludes what Paul told us in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
And to that we would ask:
• What good is it to have the biggest congregation if no one in it is saved?
• What good is it to have the most attenders if none of them truly follow Christ?
THAT IS CERTAINLY A POINT WE LEARN FROM JESUS.
Having a lot of people following Him, nodding yes to everything He said,
Was of no interest to Him.
He came to make real disciples.
We should remember that,
Especially since our mandate is to “go and make disciples”.
So we are talking about genuine followers of Jesus.
• That is what we are called to be.
• That is what we are called to make.
• That is certainly what Jesus focused on.
And that is yet again seen in Luke’s gospel.
There is a large crowd and Jesus is going to address them directly.
THE POINT OF THE SERMON?
Being a USEFUL disciple as opposed to a USELESS one.
Let me take you first to the end of the passage.
Look at verses 34-35
“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
First of all you notice the word “Therefore”.
That is a word that links this statement to the previous verses.
What that means is that these verses are the main point Jesus is making.
These two verses are the conclusion you are to draw.
And, according to Jesus,
If you have “ears to hear” then you should “hear” this.
If God would graciously grant you the ability to understand this.
Then you should be willing to submit to what He says.
This is the point. This is the conclusion.
And it is this: “salt is good”
That statement harkens back to a more familiar one
Made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”
(You likely remember that Jesus also goes on to say that you are “light”)
In that passage Jesus is being sarcastic.
He is speaking to a Jewish audience who were convinced
That they were in fact salt and light to the world.
Jesus speaks sarcastically as if to say, “Well if you are salt then why don’t you taste? And if you are light then why don’t you shine?”
But in that we are confronted with the analogy of salt.
There is WIDE SPECULATION as to what Jesus means by calling us salt.
SOME SAY it is an analogy of a PRESERVATIVE and they say that the church is the preservative of the culture and that which sort of holds a moral standard in the world.
I don’t like that analogy since Jesus doesn’t say anything along those lines in the text and furthermore this world isn’t being preserved, it is headed for destruction.
I PREFER the analogy of FLAVOR since Jesus refers to salt as being “tasteless”.
Namely that we are to show the world where true flavor is found.
That is, we know what makes life livable.
Well Jesus uses the analogy of salt again here in Luke’s gospel
And whatever you think He means by using salt,
What is clear is that
He is talking about salt as it relates to being a disciple.
(since the whole text is about being His disciple)
And He says
“salt is good”
• True disciples are good.
• True disciples are beneficial.
• True disciples certainly add flavor to the world.
• True disciples certainly know what true life really is.
“but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?”
If you can’t count on salt to do its job
Then what are you going to put on your food?
If a true disciple can’t show the world what true life really is
Then who is going to show them?
If a true disciple can’t show the world what true life really is
Then why are they in the world at all?
And to that Jesus goes on to say:
(35) “It is useless”
Jesus says that salt with no flavor is useless.
He even says, “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile;”
That statement always baffles people in our day
Because we don’t see much use for salt in the soil or the manure pile.
• Typically the only experience people today have with salt other than food is
that time they dumped out the salt water from making homemade ice
cream and killed the patch of grass where they dumped it.
• Or they think of salt being poured on the highways and sidewalks to melt ice.
But, I ran across a farmers journal first published in 1844 and not only did it speak of salt being used as a fertilizer, but it also spoke of the benefits of salt in your manure pile.
The journal basically noted that
• In your manure pile, during the process of fermentation a considerable portion
of the most valuable part is lost.
• It speaks of carbonate of ammonia which is a gas and it floats away.
• However, if you add common salt it will unite with the carbonate of ammonia
and produce muriate of ammonia and carbonate of soda
• Which are solids and it allows you to keep the most valuable portions of
fertilizer.
[The Farmer’s Magazine; Volume the Ninth; January to June MDCCCXLIV] London pg. 207) Found online at: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Farmer_s_Magazine.html?id=BJZTAAAAIAAJ
So salt was valuable not only as a flavor but also as a fertilizer.
THAT IS UNLESS IT BECAME TASTELESS.
• The salt in Jesus’ day was derived from the Dead Sea, and gathered from the salt marshes and it wasn’t pure.
• If left where it could get wet the saltiness could actually be washed away and all you were left with was minerals like gypsum that had no real salty flavor and where useless.
That substance was just thrown out into the streets.
Now, follow what Jesus is saying here.
If you’ve got good salt you’ve got a wonderful thing.
• It gives flavor to food.
• It can be used as a fertilizer.
• It can help your manure pile.
But if that salt loses its saltiness then it has absolutely worthless.
• It won’t help your food
• It won’t help your crops
• It won’t help your manure pile
“it is thrown out”
And we take that application to Jesus sermon on being a disciples.
NOW PLEASE NOTE THAT
• The Emphasis Of The Sermon is not on being a “good” disciple.
• The Emphasis Of The Sermon is whether or not a person is a disciple at
all.
verse 26 “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.”
Verse 27, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE.”
Verse 33, “So then, NONE OF YOU CAN BE MY DISCIPLE who does not give up all his own possessions.”
We are NOT talking here about being a good or bad disciple.
We are talking about being a disciple at all.
We are talking about whether or not a person can be His real disciple.
IN SHORT, THIS IS A SERMON ON SALVATION.
Which is why Jesus says,
If you are salt that has no flavor you are “thrown out”.
As in thrown into the “outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
• Those who are not true disciples.
• Those who are in effect tasteless salt.
• Those who are found to be useless to Him.
• Regardless of what they claim, they are lost and will be “thrown out”.
This is the whole point of what Jesus wants to say to this crowd.
What a penetrating sermon! What a confrontation!
All of these people are following Him.
• They are all claiming discipleship in some form or another.
• They are all claiming to be followers to some degree.
• They are all associated with Him.
But He turns to them and ultimately warns them that
While true disciples are good and of great value,
False disciples or tasteless disciples are “useless”
And are ultimately “thrown out”.
So do you understand what this sermon is?
Do you understand who it is for?
• This is NOT a sermon for the unchurched.
• This is NOT a sermon for those with no affiliation with Jesus.
This is a sermon about true salvation and it is for those who claim to already be disciples.
• This is a sermon about true salvation and it is for those who think they are already following Jesus.
• This is a sermon about true salvation to those who may already think they are saved.
Do you understand that?
All of these people claimed to be disciples.
Jesus even referred to them as disciples at times.
But here Jesus is going to turn around and tell them
Whether or not they are true disciples.
Or, borrowing from the words of Jesus,
He is going to show them whether or not they are “useless”.
That is why we call this text “The Useless Disciple”
• Because Jesus is about to turn to this crowd and tell them what it is that makes one of His supposed followers actually useless to Him.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this text
To those of us who attend church.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this text
To those of us who are associated with Jesus in our world.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
If God grants you the grace to hear what He says here,
Then it is the request of Jesus that you pay attention to it.
SO THE QUESTION IS: WHAT MAKES A WOULD BE DISCIPLE USELESS TO JESUS?
Of these people who claim to believe and who desire to follow.
• What is it that keeps them from being useful to Jesus?
• What is it that makes them “useless”?
• What is it that ultimately causes them to be “thrown out”?
And Jesus here, in this sermon, gives 4 facts about useless disciples.
#1 THEY LOVE THE APPROVAL OF OTHERS
Luke 14:26
Here we come across another verse
That has caused great difficulty for many.
“If anyone comes to Me”
Notice there the “anyone”.
This is the universal standard for discipleship.
“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.”
JESUS ACTUALLY SAID THAT.
NOW, FIRST OF ALL.
I think to read this as a limitation Jesus enforces is the wrong way to read it.
Rather, you need to see this as a factual reality
That is routinely proven true.
It is like saying, “If you do not have stamina you cannot run a marathon.”
That doesn’t mean that there is someone at the signup table of the marathon asking everyone “Do you have stamina?” And if they say, “no” then the marathon committee won’t let them run.
Rather, you’d understand that
If you enter a marathon but don’t have stamina
Then you physically can’t do it.
You may be permitted to try, but you cannot succeed.
This is how you should read the statement from Jesus.
If a person does not “hate his own father and mother…he cannot be My disciple.”
You just can’t do it.
It’s not possible to be a true disciple that is useful
And thus acceptable to Jesus
If you do not hate your own father and mother, etc.
THAT’S HOW YOU SHOULD READ THE VERSE.
But then we need to talk about the real problematic part for people.
Jesus said, “hate”.
The same Jesus who in another place told us:
Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”
• There Jesus told us specifically not to hate our enemies but that we should love them.
• And now He is telling us to hate the most intimate members of our family. Namely father, mother, wife, children, and siblings?
That doesn’t seem to make sense.
LET ME ASSURE YOU
That this statement from Jesus DOES NOT NULLIFY commands like “husbands love your wives” or “children obey your parents” or even “love one another”
Then what does it mean?
It’s a statement meant as a “by comparison” statement.
Let me give you some others in Scripture.
Malachi 1:2-3 “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”
It is a comparative statement.
• If you compare God’s gracious treatment of Jacob to God’s just treatment of
Esau
• Then comparatively speaking it would be as though God loved Jacob and
hated Esau.
Let me give you another.
Genesis 29:31 “Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.”
The Hebrew word there for “unloved” literally means “hated”.
• But Jacob didn’t hate Leah in the sense that we often use it.
• Jacob didn’t even have zero love for Leah.
• It just means that when you compare Jacob’s affection for Rachel to Jacob’s
affection for Leah then it made Rachel look loved and Leah looked hated.
Well that is what we are dealing with here.
Comparatively speaking.
A disciple of Jesus must have such affinity and love for Christ
That it makes his love and affinity even for his family
To appear like hatred.
PUT ANOTHER WAY, there should be absolutely no comparison between the love a disciple has for Jesus and the love a disciple has for anyone else.
And that includes even the most intimate of human relationships.
Father, mother, wife, husband, children, brothers or sisters.
The love for Christ must be infinitely greater.
And if it is not then you CANNOT be His disciple.
AGAIN, it’s not so much that He won’t let you as it is that you can’t do it if your love for Him is not greater than your love for everyone else.
Look at:
Luke 9:61-62 “Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
That story made the same point.
• There was a man who was willing to follow Jesus,
• But only after he received approval and blessing from those at home.
BUT JESUS REMINDED HIM THAT
It is impossible to plow straight rows for the kingdom
If you’re always looking back worried about what other people think.
You may be willing to follow Jesus today,
But what about when your family doesn’t agree.
• WHAT ABOUT WHEN the Lord calls you to the mission field but your parents are upset about their grandkids being raised overseas? (Who are you going to please?)
• WHAT ABOUT WHEN your spouse doesn’t want you praying or reading your Bible? (Who are you going to please?)
• WHAT ABOUT WHEN your kids think church is boring or they want to do something else?
Today we constantly see people sacrificing the will of Jesus for the approval of others.
• 50 years ago everyone knew women pastors was a sin, until feminism hit and our culture approved and so to keep from being blackballed by our peers the church is caving.
• 40 years ago people living together outside of marriage was a sin, but as people’s kids started doing it there became an acceptance of it.
• 20 years ago we all knew homosexuality was a sin, but then the culture shifted and kids we knew started dabbling in it and people decide it’s no longer a sin.
THAT IS THE ISSUE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT.
People started tolerating what they once called sin
Because they weren’t willing to jeopardize certain relationships.
So Jesus asks, “Who do you love more?”
Because this world may present you a very real time
When you have to choose who you’re going to follow.
What about when your FAMILY MEMBERS are actually hostile to the gospel?
Matthew 10:21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.”
Jesus said some will face death at the hands of their family members.
It’s going to be hard to follow Jesus if you are unwilling to go against the religious beliefs of your parents.
This is why Jesus said:
Matthew 10:34-39 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
The fact is, following Jesus might in fact put enmity in your very home.
It doesn’t always, and we are grateful when it doesn’t, but it might.
• Are you willing to be faithful to Jesus even if it offends your son?
• Are you willing to be faithful to Jesus even it if offends your daughter?
JESUS UNDERSTOOD THIS ENMITY.
What about when your BROTHER doesn’t like your convictions?
John 7:1-6 “After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him. So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.”
Jesus was forced to live in such a way
That caused even His own brothers to ostracize Him.
I never had a brother, but I watch my boys.
I see the bond that builds there.
What if following Jesus caused your brother to turn on you like Jesus’ brothers turned on Him. Would you still follow Jesus?
What about when your PARENTS are willing to sell you out?
John 9:18-23 “The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
• There was a guy who was first healed and then saved by Jesus but his own parents threw him under the bus.
• They weren’t willing to follow.
• And if this guys does follow Jesus then he is going to be kicked out of his parent’s synagogue.
And if this man gets kicked out of the synagogue then this man is cut off and ostracized from his parents.
• No help
• No relationship
• No inheritance
Are you willing to pay such a price?
What about when the calling of the Lord means you have to leave your PARENTS?
Matthew 4:21-22 “Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”
• James and John had to walk away from the family fishing business.
Jesus didn’t carpenter all His life,
And following Him meant His disciples left their occupations too.
Not all did, but the possibility is there.
Are you going to pay that price?
Paul even talked about this in regard to MARRIAGE:
1 Corinthians 7:32-35 “But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”
Look, marriage is good, it is ordained by God and certainly there are commands about husbands loving their wives and wives submitting to their husbands.
And those are not nullified here.
But can you follow Jesus when your spouse is not fully on board?
• Husbands can you lead when your wife is unhappy?
• Wives can you serve Christ when your husband mocks?
THE POINT IS that it would be great if our families all loved Jesus
But at there are many times when serving Christ
Can bring a division even into our own homes.
AT THAT MOMENT WHO WILL YOU LOVE AND SERVE?
Because you are a follower and a disciple
Of the one you choose at that moment.
Jesus says that a true disciple is the one who loves Him above everyone else. The one who does not is considered useless, and it thrown out.
But perhaps Jesus SUMMED IT UP best when He said:
Luke 8:19-21 “And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
I hope you’re getting the point here.
If you’re concern is the approval of others, even your family, then you cannot follow Jesus.
• You will end up plowing crooked rows…
• You will end up being salt without taste…
• You will be a read shaken by the wind…
You must have such a great love for Jesus
That it makes every other relationship appear as hatred by comparison.
AND IF YOU’LL OPEN YOUR EYES,
There are true disciples of Jesus who pay and are paying that price.
• I’ve seen children have to hate the plans their parents have for them so that
they can obey Christ.
• I’ve seen parents have to hate the desires of their children so that they can
follow Christ.
• I’ve seen spouses have to hate the desires of their spouse so that they can
be faithful to Christ.
IT’S A REAL ISSUE,
And if you don’t have settled who it is you’re trying to please
Then you cannot follow Jesus.
You have to cross that bridge first.
People turn out to be useless disciples
Because they are too concerned about the approval of others.
They would rather offend Christ than offend their parents
Or their children or their spouse or their brothers or their sisters.
SO, WHO IS IT THAT YOU MOST WANT TO PLEASE?
Who is the love of your heart?
IF IT’S NOT JESUS YOU CANNOT BE HIS DISCIPLE.
And in fact, regardless of what you may think,
You are not His disciple right now.
It is a hard truth, but Jesus is the one who said it.
And we DON’T HAVE THE TIME to get into the next one this morning
So we’ll just leave it at this one.
And perhaps this is enough to think about headed into this week.
Many of us are going to be around family members this week.
Many of those family members may be those that we only see once a year.
SOME OF US MAY BE CONFRONTED with downright unbiblical or ungodly beliefs and the Lord will call upon us to take a stand.
The question is “Can you?”
I’m not saying you should go and be intentionally divisive or rude,
But the truth remains if you share the gospel
It is quite likely to be divisive.
It might just be that you are the Lord’s missionary sent to that your family.
• It might just be that you are the one He has saved in order that He might get the gospel to the rest of them.
• The Lord’s mission could be to send you to your family so that they might here.
And by the way, He did that sometimes too.
Remember the demoniac after Jesus delivered him:
Luke 8:38-39 “But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”
• Jesus’ mission for that man was not to take him back to Galilee.
• Jesus’ mission for that man was to send him back home to his people.
But what if that man was unwilling to risk offending his family?
The only way he could be of service to Jesus and His kingdom
Is if he was willing to love the approval of Jesus
More than he loved the approval of his family.
THINK ABOUT THAT THIS WEEK.
A useful disciple at Thanksgiving or a useless one.
Luke 14:34-35 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
