14:28-35 What lesson do we learn from what Jesus says here?

This is a lesson on discipleship - what Jesus really means when He says follow me. We learn here that salvation is a paradox - it is both free and costly. Free because Jesus has already paid for it with His life's blood, yet there is a cost in terms of its impact upon those who would follow Jesus. Jesus told three parables here to impress upon His followers that there is a cost involved (cp Lk 14:25-27).

The first parable Jesus told (Lk 14:28-30), is called the parable of the tower builder. The second is the parable of a king going to war (Lk 14:31-33), and the third is the parable of savourless salt (Lk 14:34-35).

In the parable of the tower builder Jesus illustrates the absurdity of following Him without first counting the cost (cp Lk 14:28-30). In the parable of a king going to war Jesus illustrates the impossibility of being saved unless one forsakes all for Him (cp Lk 14:31-33).

The word forsaketh in V33 means to bid farewell, to take leave of, to dismiss, renounce. It carries the notion here of putting something aside to prevent it being a hindrance or gaining excessive control. In the parable of savourless salt Jesus teaches that as salt that has lost its saltiness has no value and is thrown out, so disciples who no longer contain the characteristics of discipleship - that of total consecration to the service of God and complete surrender to the authority of Jesus - are of no value either (cp Lk 14:34-35).

This clearly teaches that once saved does not mean always saved as many in the church believe. If it were not possible to forfeit salvation then this scripture and others that teach the same thing would be meaningless (cp Lk 9:57-62).

We have three seemingly sincere candidates for salvation here but all failed to measure up to the standards Jesus has set for His followers. Jesus is teaching us here that anything less than total commitment to God eliminates one from the future eternal kingdom.

The first incident teaches that an emotional enthusiasm that has not considered the cost of abandoning material security to follow Him, is insufficient by Christ's standards. The second teaches that loyalty to Christ must take precedence over all other loyalties - following Christ must be our highest priority. Jesus is not teaching against the propriety of funerals here, but against putting off the work of God. "…but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." Followers of Christ have the urgent task of proclaiming the life that is in Him to those who are lost (cp 2Ti 4:1-2).

This is more important than burying spiritually dead people who have died. The third incident teaches that once we start in God's service we cannot turn away. Service to God commands our undivided attention, and if we are not prepared to singlemindedly serve God, then we are not fit to be Jesus' disciples. We also learn from this study that following Jesus is an intellectual, not an emotional decision (see also comments on Mt 8:18-22 and 10:37-38

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