The Cost of Discipleship

~ Must You Leave All? ~

Within Christian circles there is much confusion about the meaning of discipleship. At the heart of this confusion is a misunderstanding of Luke 14:26-27: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Analysis ~ Any look at discipleship should begin with the most basic of fundamentals. The word “disciple” simply means pupil or learner. It is rather startling to some when they realize there is nothing in the word that implies sacrifice.

The word “disciple” occurs in the four Gospels 240 times in both singular and plural forms. In the book of Acts it occurs 32 times. Interestingly, the word “disciple” is not found at all in any of the epistles. We should keep this point in mind.

The four Gospel writers use the term in both a broad sense and a narrow sense. In the broad sense it is used of those who in varying degrees became Jesus’ followers—followers of His teaching and of His miracles (Luke 6:12-18). For examples, consider Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (John 19:38-39).

In a narrow sense, the term is used of those who followed Jesus physically (Mark 1:17-18). In other words they were disciples who literally and physically left their families and possessions in order to follow Jesus. The twelve disciples are the clearest illustration of this group.

Certain conditions had to be met in order to follow Jesus in this narrow way. We read, for example, that one must hate his family and bear his own cross (Luke 14:26-27). The word “hate” denotes a relative term—to love Christ even more than family. “His cross” in this context carries the idea of willingness to bear whatever comes as a consequence—even death if necessary—for Christ’s sake. This high-intensity level of discipleship was not unique to Jesus’ followers since we know it was practiced by others as well. Examples would include John the Baptist and the Pharisees—they had disciples who literally followed them through Palestine (John 1:35; Matthew 22:16).

In the book of Acts, the word “disciple” is primarily used to mean a member of the local Christian church. In Acts 14:21 the verb form is used in reference to making converts. There is no occurrence in the book of Acts that indicates a disciple was one who must sacrifice family, or finances, or bear his cross in order to be called a disciple. This coupled with the fact that the word “disciple” doesn’t occur in any of the epistles strongly suggests that “forsaking all” in order to be a true disciple was limited to the days of the historical Jesus.

Lessons ~ In Biblical times there were disciples who followed Jesus in the narrow sense of the term—who were uniquely related to Jesus’ earthly life. To follow Christ in this way meant one would leave family, home, friends, occupation, and possessions. These “disciples” literally followed Jesus on an itinerant ministry. To follow Him in that sense Jesus stated they must forsake everything. The disciples of Jesus knew very well what the expectations were. They knew that it could cost them their lives. They were prepared to take up their cross and follow Jesus. These expectations were conditions for following the literal and historical Jesus.

To impose this kind of expectations on Christians today is to have a misconception of discipleship and to distort what it means to follow Christ.

Application ~ Consideration of the above does not change the Christian’s responsibility for following Christ. It simply shifts the emphasis from a physical following type of discipleship to a mental, emotional, and spiritual following of Jesus and His commands. When we understand this vital difference, it reduces the gap between some false expectations and Christ’s desire for us today.

Today we do not have a literal physical Jesus to follow. Therefore, there isn’t the same demand to physically leave home, loved ones, occupations, and possessions. Today, there is a spiritual demand to follow Christ—in some cases that is more difficult than physical separation. But we are not called to separate ourselves from our family, occupations, or possessions. We are called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) as we live with our families, carry on our occupations, and in the use of our possessions. We are called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.

Here is the paradox, while we are in the process of loving the Lord as transformed people, it is quite possible our love for God will cause our family and friends to leave us, or for us to change our occupation, or to forsake our possessions. However, if we do this, it will not be a condition for discipleship but rather a result of discipleship.

Summary ~ Discipleship today involves seeking God’s rule and righteousness in all aspects of our life (Matthew 6:33). Jesus is not reigning physically in the world today. But we are assured that one day we will be able to witness a great event when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Until then, Jesus reigns spiritually in the hearts of those who love and obey Him. The rule of discipleship today is “if you love Me keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Our response to what God has done for us through Christ on the Cross is to make a presentation of our life to God (Romans 12:1).

A point not to be missed is that this presentation is not a decision to leave family and friends or to forsake all. It is a presentation of a life. It is a presentation to be. Discipleship therefore is a process. This process includes a negative struggle with the world, “do not be conformed to the world” and a positive experience of transformation, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

CONTEMPLATE: “The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me” (Colossians 1:27-29, The Message).