Luke 14 — Whosoever Doth Not Bear His Cross, and Come After Me, Cannot Be My Disciple
Sabbath dinner at a Pharisee's house; He heals the man with dropsy. The parable of the lowest seat — whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. When thou makest a feast, call the poor. The parable of the great supper — those bidden made excuses. Compel them to come in. If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Count the cost — the builder, the king going to war. Whosoever forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple. Salt that hath lost its savour.
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
— Luke 14:27
- v.1-6 The man with the dropsy
- v.7-14 Lowest seat; call the poor
- v.15-24 The great supper
- v.25-33 Counting the cost
- v.34-35 Savorless salt
Compel them to come in. The urgency of evangelism. The first-bidden refused; the master sends his servants to gather those they would not normally have invited.
That my house may be filled. The master's house will not be half-empty. Whatever refusals come, the supper will be peopled. Heaven will be full because of an evangelism that does not stop at the first refusals.
Bear his cross. Not Christ's cross — his. The believer is given a cross that must be carried; refusing it forfeits discipleship.
The verse is one of three cannot be my disciple statements in the chapter (vv.26, 27, 33). Christ does not soften the terms. Discipleship is a definite category with specific conditions.
Forsaketh not all. The most stretching condition in the Gospels. Disciple = one who has set down all in principle, willing to set down anything in fact when Christ requires.
The verse is not a call to literal destitution but to interior surrender. All is the proper portion turned over to His authority. He may then return the use of many things; the title remains His.
Verse 28 — count the cost. Whatever discipleship looks like for you, Christ asks you to estimate before you start. Half-built towers shame the builder; half-followed Christ shames the follower. Better to consider the price now than to discover it midway.
Christ in Luke 14 is the most demanding host imaginable. His supper is open to the lowest, but His discipleship is closed to the half-hearted. The chapter's two scenes — the great supper and the counting of cost — sit beside each other on purpose. The same Lord who fills His house with the lame and poor will not entertain the disciple who has not weighed the price.
The kingdom's gravity. Self-exaltation moves you down; self-humbling moves you up. The world's elevators run backward in Christ's economy.
The verse is the rule by which Mary is honored, the publican justified, the prodigal welcomed. Wherever it is honored in a Christian life, the kingdom flourishes.