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COMPREHENSIVE BIBLE STUDY

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Unit 1 Call to Discipleship

March 3 Called to Humility and Hospitality 2

Luke 14:7-14

March 10 A Costly Call 8

Mark 1:16-20; Luke 14:25-33

March 17 Calling the Lost 14

Luke 15:11-24

March 24 Calling to Salvation 21

Luke 19:1-10

Unit 2 Call to Ministry

March 31 Called to Discipleship 27

Matthew 4:12-22

April 7 Call and Mission 33

Matthew 10:1-15

April 14 Called to Remember 39

Matthew 26:1-13

April 21 Called to Proclaim the Resurrection 45

Matthew 28:1-15

April 28 Call and Commissioning 52

Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:6-8

Unit 3 The Spread of the Gospel

May 5 Called to Righteousness 58

Romans 3:21-31

May 12 Called to Life in the Spirit 64

Romans 8:1-14

May 19 The Call of the Gentiles 70

Romans 11:11-24

May 26 Called to New Life in Christ 77

Romans 12:1-8

Mar. 3

Mar. 10

Mar. 17

Mar. 24

Mar. 31

Apr. 7

Apr. 14

Apr. 21

Apr. 28

May 12

May 19

May 26

May 5

SPRING QUARTER 2019DISCIPLESHIP AND MISSION

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Lesson 1 2 March 3

PurposeTo recognize the importance of humility in Christian discipleship

Hearing the Word The Scripture for this lesson is printed below

Called to Humility and Hospitality

Luke 14:7-14 (NIV) 7 When he noticed how the guests pickedthe places of honor at the table, he told themthis parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a weddingfeast, do not take the place of honor, for a per-son more distinguished than you may have beeninvited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you willcome and say to you, ‘Give this person yourseat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take theleast important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowestplace, so that when your host comes, he will sayto you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Thenyou will be honored in the presence of all theother guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will behumbled, and those who humble themselveswill be exalted.” 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When yougive a luncheon or dinner, do not invite yourfriends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives,or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may inviteyou back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite thepoor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although theycannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resur-rection of the righteous.”

Luke 14:7-14 (KJV) 7 And he put forth a parable to those whichwere bidden, when he marked how they choseout the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to awedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest amore honourable man than thou be bidden ofhim; 9 And he that bade thee and him comeand say to thee, Give this man place; and thoubegin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sitdown in the lowest room; that when he thatbade thee cometh, he may say unto thee,Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have wor-ship in the presence of them that sit at meatwith thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall beabased; and he that humbleth himself shall beexalted. 12 Then said he also to him that bade him,When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call notthy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kins-men, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bidthee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, call thepoor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they can-not recompense thee: for thou shalt be recom-pensed at the resurrection of the just.


Seeing the NeedOut of the mouths of babes! The chi ldren came from Sunday

school where they had just heard thestory from Luke 14:7-14. Jesus’ instruc-tions on hospitality were fresh on theirminds: “When you host a lunch or dinner,don’t invite your friends, your brothersand sisters, your relatives, or rich neigh-bors” (Luke 14:12).

Now it was time for the congregationalannouncements in the worship service.“After church today, we hope you will allcome to our churchwide potluck lunch inthe fellowship hall,” said the pastor. “Andit’s not too late to invite a friend, a familymember, or a neighbor.”

Up went a little hand. “Yes?” the pas-tor said, expecting the boy to say some-thing that everyone would find adorable.

“Jesus said not to invite those folks,”came the voice, loud enough for every-one to hear. Awkward!

This week, we will explore Jesus’ les-sons on humility and hospitality at thetable—and even beyond the table.

With some divine inspiration and cre-ativity, we can discover ways to beauthentically humble and radically hos-pitable in our churches and in everyplace. After all, hasn’t God shown us ulti-mate hospitality by accepting us as sonsand daughters?

Living the FaithAs a Guest

It seems like every small town in Amer-ica has one: a group of friends whogather for breakfast early every morning

at a diner or a fast-food restaurant. Afterthey finish their eggs and hash browns,they serve up a good portion of localnews and opinion, some of it perhaps alittle salty at times.

The breakfast group might not realizeit, but their informal ritual is much likethe ancient Greek symposium, an after-dinner time when men would tell epicstories, impart wisdom, or match wits.Symposia were still fairly common inJesus’ time, and the meal described inLuke 14 might have been one.

A symposium was usually an enjoyableevent. But on this occasion, there wasalready tension in the air as Jesusarrived. Jesus’ host was a Phariseeleader (Luke 14:1), and the Phariseeshad already begun grumbling againstJesus.

On his way to this meal, Jesus hadalready healed a man with “an abnormalswelling of the body” (verse 2; “dropsy”in some older translations). Some of thePharisees didn’t like the fact that Jesushealed the man on the sabbath, so Luketells us that the leaders of the Pharisees“were watching him closely” (verse 1).

And Jesus watched them right back.As the guests took their seats at thetable, he “noticed how they sought outthe best seats at the table” (verse 7).Jesus saw this as a teachable moment.He didn’t wait until after the meal. Hedidn’t even wait for everyone to beseated. Right at the start, he taught themlessons in humility and hospitality. Hetold the guests to always take their seatsin the least important places rather thanin the seat of honor. “Then you will behonored in the presence of all your fellowguests” (verse 10).

Lesson 1 3 March 3


Lesson 1 4 March 3

Awkward! What did the host think of all this? Did

he immediately regret inviting Jesus? Andwhat about the one who was sitting inthe seat of honor when Jesus madethese remarks? Was there a shuffling ofseats after Jesus gave this lesson inhumility?

There was no mistaking Jesus’ words.He called the guests out for seeking tohonor themselves.

Was this a new teaching? Not neces-sarily. The Pharisees probably knew theproverb that says, “Don’t exalt yourself inthe presence of the king, or stand in theplace of important people, because it isbetter that he say to you, ‘Come up here,’than to be demoted before a ruler”(Proverbs 25:6-7). Yet there were theguests, seeking places of honor.

The way Jesus saw it, you were not toseize honor for yourself. Honor was to bebestowed by others, and ultimate honorwas God’s to give. Just as Peter wrote inhis first letter, “Humble yourselves underGod’s power so that he may raise you upin the last day” (1 Peter 5:6).

Readers of Matthew’s Gospel remem-ber Jesus saying, “All who lift themselvesup will be brought low. But all who makethemselves low wil l be l i f ted up”(Matthew 23:12).

And who could ever forget that conver-sation on the way to Jerusalem when themother of James and John bowed beforeJesus to implore him, “Say that these twosons of mine will sit, one on your righthand and one on your left, in your king-dom” (Matthew 20:21)? What a contrastwith today’s text!

Luke 14:7-11 is Jesus’ practical exam-ple to us of how to exercise humility at ameal. And if the table fellowship is amicrocosm of our larger life together, howdo Jesus’ teachings here inform how weexercise humility at the table and in everyplace?

Where can you apply Jesus’ teachingon humility in the coming days?

As a HostThere’s a great episode of The Andy

Griffith Show when Otis has to stay at thehouse with Aunt Bee because the jail isat capacity.1 Aunt Bee is in her kitchenwith two friends, baking cakes for thechurch supper. She is mortified to thinkthat her respectable guests mightencounter uncouth and drunk Otis in herhouse. So Aunt Bee decides to reformOtis during his stay in her “jail.” She willstraighten him out through her own workprogram of household chores.

At first, Otis didn’t like it at all. But bythe end of the episode, he has dried outand cleaned up. It may have taken AuntBee some time to open her home andheart to him, but she eventually saw himas worthy of hospitality.

Hospitality was the basis of the sec-ond part of Jesus’ teaching in today’stext. He was still at the dining event withhis Pharisee host and his guests. Theyhad just gotten a lesson in humility fromJesus.

Now Jesus shifted his focus from theguests to the host: “When you host alunch or dinner, don’t invite your friends,your brothers and sisters, your relatives,or rich neighbors. . . . Instead, when yougive a banquet, invite the poor, crippled,lame, and blind” (Luke 14:12-13). Just as


Lesson 1 5 March 3

the guests were to seek the lowest place,the host was to seek guests with lowsocial standing, people who would proba-bly not be able to return the favor. Wasthis a new teaching? It was certainly radi-cal!

For example, the Pharisees at thismeal must have been familiar with God’slaw in Leviticus that prohibited peoplewho were physically imperfect from enter-ing parts of the holy sanctuary and mak-ing an offering to God (Leviticus 21:17-23).

In the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholarsfound a document with the invitation listfor a great banquet at the end of humanhistory. Welcome were “all the wise menof the congregation, the learned and theintelligent, men whose way is perfect andmen of ability . . . the men of renown.”

Who was not invited? “No man smit-ten in his flesh, or paralyzed in his feet orhands, or lame, or blind, or deaf, ordumb, or smitten in his flesh with a visi-ble blemish; no old and tottery manunable to stay still in the midst of thecongregation.”2

When Patrick J. Willson read this list toa class in his church, an octogenarianlaughed and declared, “Preacher, youknow that business about tottery old menwho can’t stay still in the middle ofchurch? They’re saying they don’t wantfolks with weak bladders!”3

So when Jesus told his host to invitethe “poor, crippled, lame, and blind,” hewas teaching an important lesson onhospitality. As he said in the previouschapter, “Those who are last will be firstand those who are first will be last” (Luke13:30). He gave honor and respect to

those who were considered unworthyand taught those around him to do thesame.

The poor, crippled, lame, and blindwere generally not afforded the sameprivileges as the wealthy and able-bod-ied. One commentator has observed that“in terms of status, these people areclearly peasants or worse. . . . Yet theyare God’s chosen guests. God wouldhave the wealthy, elite members of theLukan church invite them to full member-ship and equal status with them.”4

I doubt any of us object to Jesus’teaching on whom to invite to a dinnerparty. But let’s be honest. How many ofus follow it?

I confess that I haven’t gone out andintentionally invited the poor, crippled,lame, and blind to my house for a meal,and I lived in church-owned parsonagesfor many years! I like to think I wouldn’tturn anyone away, but Jesus wasn’t talk-ing about that. He said to go out andinvite them.

Shouldn’t the same go for the mealswe host in our churches? Jesus didn’tjust tell us to welcome everyone who maycome. He said to actually go out andinvite those who are socially ignored oroutcast. The duty falls to Christians to goout of their way to make the invitation.

We good church people may not likebeing implicated in Jesus’ words, and Idoubt the Pharisees did either. But nei-ther should we try to exonerate ourselvesor relativize Jesus’ clear teaching. Ourbest response is to confess that we donot measure up, to ask the Lord for helpto do better, and to go and do as hetaught us.


A few years ago, when I was the pastorof a city church, I heard about a ministrythat was taking free meals to people wholived in the woods and under the bridgesof our city. Most days, the servers wouldeat together with the guests and theguests would help the servers clean up.In these ways, they blended the roles ofcaregiver and care recipient.

The director of the ministry was aclergy colleague of mine, so we struck upa conversation about how we might col-laborate. At that time, her office was hercar and the ministry’s base of operationswas a storage unit. But our church couldprovide her with a proper office and alocation closer to the downtown popula-tion she wanted to reach. So we did.Today the church and the table ministryhave a rich, symbiotic relationship asthey exhibit Jesus’ humility and hospital-ity together.

Where might we manifest humble hos-pitality at the table? Who is missing fromthe table and why?

As a PeopleJesus’ mealtime lessons in humility

and hospitality were more than just eti-quette. Jesus re-ordered priorities. Hegave us a peek at the kingdom of Godwhere “all who lift themselves up will bebrought low, and those who make them-selves low will be lifted up” (Luke 14:11).

These lessons were expressed aroundthe table, but they weren’t limited to thetable. Jesus expressed the same humilityand hospitality in his life, death, and res-urrection.

The early Christians put it in beautifulverse: “When he found himself in theform of a human, he humbled himself by

becoming obedient to the point of death,even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Jesus humbly put God’s will before hisown that we might have access to Godthrough him. That was an ultimate act ofhospitality. God showed us the greatesthospitality by giving us eternal life. Evenus!

Many know that John Wesley wrotethat on May 24, 1738, he felt his heart“strangely warmed.” But the next sen-tence is just as important. He went on toexplain, “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christalone for salvation; and an assurancewas given me that He had taken away mysins, even mine.”

I’ve always loved how he said “evenmine.”5 Wesley was amazed that Godwould be so hospitable to accept evenhim. This should remind us how amazingit is that God would accept us, even us!That’s hospitality!

Around the same time, John’s brotherCharles penned lyrics that expressed hisown amazement at God’s grace inaccepting him:

“Amazing love! how can it beThat Thou, my God, should die for

me!”6

So, too, Jesus calls us to exhibit radi-cal hospitality. If we do, we “will be repaidwhen the just are resurrected” (Luke14:14). When we imitate Jesus’ humilityand God’s hospitality, our actions havecosmic and eternal significance, not onlyfor ourselves but also in service to God’skingdom.

If you still have your Bible open, readthe verse after today’s text. I just love

Lesson 1 6 March 3


how the story ends! After Jesus had fin-ished his remarks, an unnamed dinnerguest said to him, “Happy are those whowill feast in God’s kingdom” (verse 15).

Yes! What a wonderful declaration!Perhaps it expresses how you feel, too.

How have you experienced God’s hos-pitality in your own spirit?

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for teaching usthe virtues of humility and hospitality.Where we have fallen shor t of yourexpectations, forgive us, we pray. Free usto be your faithful disciples by welcomingothers the way you welcome us. Amen.

Lesson 1 7 March 3

Daily Bible StudyMarch 4 Answering the Lord’s Call Mark 4:10-20 of DiscipleshipMarch 5 It’s Hard to Enter the Kingdom Mark 10:23-31March 6 The Lord’s Call and Family Conflict Matthew 10:34-39March 7 The Father Honors Those Who Follow John 12:20-26March 8 Suffering and Knowing Christ Jesus Philippians 3:7-16March 9 Faithful Witness Through Suffering 2 Corinthians 6:1-10March 10 Counting the Cost, Answering the Call Mark 1:16-20; Luke 14:25-33

1 From “Aunt Bee the Warden,” The Andy Griffith Show (Season 2), directed by BobSweeney (Paramount Television, March 12, 1962).

2 From archive.org/stream/pdfy-Uy_BZ_QGsaLiJ4Zs/The%20Dead%20Sea%20Scrolls%20%5BComplete%20English%20Translation%5D_djvu.txt.

3 From “Sunday, August 29, 2010: Luke 14:1, 7-14,” by Patrick J. Willson in TheChristian Century, 127.17 (2010); page 20.

4 From The Social World of Luke-Acts, by Jerome H. Neyrey (Hendrickson Publishers,2008); pages 379-380.

5 From “I Felt My Heart Strangely Warmed,” by John Wesley and Percy LivingstoneParker in The Journal of John Wesley (Moody, 1951).

6 The United Methodist Hymnal, 363.


Lesson 2 8 March 10

PurposeTo remember that following Jesus is costly and rewarding.

Hearing the Word The Scripture for this lesson is printed below.

A Costly Call

Mark 1:16-20; Luke 14:25-33 (NIV)Mark 1:16-20

16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea ofGalilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrewcasting a net into the lake, for they were fisher-men. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I willsend you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followedhim. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he sawJames son of Zebedee and his brother John in aboat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and theyleft their father Zebedee in the boat with thehired men and followed him.

Luke 14:25-33 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus,and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does nothate father and mother, wife and children, broth-ers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such aperson cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their crossand follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 Suppose one of you wants to build atower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate thecost to see if you have enough money to com-plete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are notable to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridiculeyou, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build andwasn’t able to finish.’ 31 Or suppose a king is about to go to waragainst another king. Won’t he first sit down andconsider whether he is able with ten thousandmen to oppose the one coming against him withtwenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation

while the other is still a long way off and will askfor terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do notgive up everything you have cannot be my disci-ples.”

Mark 1:16-20; Luke 14:25-33 (KJV)Mark 1:16-20

16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee,he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting anet into the sea: for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye afterme, and I will make you to become fishers ofmen. 18 And straightway they forsook their nets,and followed him. 19 And when he had gone a little fartherthence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, andJohn his brother, who also were in the shipmending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and theyleft their father Zebedee in the ship with thehired servants, and went after him.

Luke 14:25-33 25 And there went great multitudes withhim: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not hisfather, and mother, and wife, and children, andbrethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also,he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross,and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build atower, sitteth not down first, and counteth thecost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the founda-tion, and is not able to finish it, all that behold itbegin to mock him. 30 Saying, This man began to build, and wasnot able to finish.


31 Or what king, going to make war againstanother king, sitteth not down first, and consul-teth whether he be able with ten thousand tomeet him that cometh against him with twentythousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way

off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desirethconditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you thatforsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be mydisciple.

Lesson 2 9 March 10

Seeing the NeedI just knew my parents were going to be

so proud of my frugality. I had discovered arecord club that would send me eight CDsfor a penny! A penny! For a teenager with anew CD player, this was like finding atreasure chest.

Little did I realize what I was gettingmyself into. If I didn’t keep sending in aspecial card each month, they would sendme a CD I didn’t order and charge me fullprice (somewhere north of $20). To getout of this obligation, I had to buy severalCDs at full price within 12 months.

Of course, it was in the 12th month thatI approached my parents with the newsthat I hadn’t reached my purchase obliga-tion. They were not pleased, and weworked out a solution. But I had learnedmy lesson: Always read the fine print, andcount the cost before making a commit-ment.

Jesus’ call to his disciples was straight-forward: “Come, follow me,. . . and I’ll showyou how to fish for people” (Mark 1:17).But at a certain point, he looked at thelarge crowd and decided to teach themabout counting the cost. He told them tohate their families, carry their crosses,count the costs, and give up their posses-sions (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

This week, we will examine the cost ofChristian discipleship. By holding our twotexts in tension with one another, we willseek to understand Jesus’ call to us today.

Living the FaithThe Call

In the first of today’s texts, Mark 1:16-20, Jesus’ ministry was off to an immedi-ate start. Having been baptized andtempted, he then went to Galilee andwalked along the sea. There he called twosets of brothers to be his disciples: Simonand Andrew, James and John.

Mark said the disciples responded toJesus’ call “right away” and “at that verymoment” (Mark 1:18, 20). But how didthey give up everything to follow Jesus soquickly and easily?

I’ve usually heard it explained one oftwo ways: (1) Jesus had a mesmerizingcharm that supernaturally entrancedthem, or (2) the brothers themselves wereshining examples of dedication and devo-tion that we should all emulate.

If the first explanation was the case,then the disciples had little to do with theircalling. But that doesn’t fit, because Markmade sure to tell us about all the familyand the fish that the men left behind.

If the second explanation was true,then Jesus had little to do with their call-ing. They were just fishing until somethingbetter came along. If that were the case,they might have asked for Jesus’ creden-tials: an ordination certificate, diploma, orresume. They might have asked if therewas health insurance or a 401(k).

But, seriously, we don’t know if they


Lesson 2 10 March 10

experienced inner angst about leavingtheir families, homes, or jobs to followJesus. Mark didn’t tell us. We can only becertain that Mark focused on how they lefteverything to follow Jesus.

So what does it mean for us to have aSavior who calls us to follow him? Thinkabout how amazing it is that Jesus actuallydesires our discipleship in the first place!He was not obligated to have followers anymore than God was ever obligated to cre-ate humanity.

But Jesus called disciples. He wantedthem to join him in his work. And Jesuscalls us to follow him and fish for people,too. Absolutely astounding!

Sometimes people assume that theordained are the only ones with a call fromGod. But God has called every follower ofJesus, lay or ordained, to be in ministry.

In the tradition of The United MethodistChurch, we state that “all Christians arecalled through their baptism to this min-istry of servanthood in the world to theglory of God and for human fulfillment.”1

We are all going about some other workwhen Jesus calls, whether it’s the first callor the thousandth. Each of us is holdingsomething when Jesus approaches us, beit a fishing net or a cell phone. We all havethat moment to decide.

If you were one of these brothers, whatwould it have taken to get you to leaveeverything and follow Jesus? What does ittake today?

The CostIf our first text made following Jesus

sound easy, our second text made itsound impossible.

Luke said that “large crowds were trav-

eling with Jesus” (Luke 14:25). Perform-ers, politicians, and preachers tend to paya lot of attention to crowd size, so thissounds like great news! We would love tosee large crowds following Jesus today.But it seems like the size of the crowdgave Jesus concern. Perhaps he wonderedif they understood how costly their com-mitment would be.

So Jesus warned them harshly. Threetimes he spoke in a formula that beganwith, “Whoever doesn’t . . .” and endedwith, “cannot be my disciple.” Consider theseverity of his three warnings.

In the first warning, Jesus said, “Who-ever comes to me and doesn’t hate fatherand mother, spouse and children, andbrothers and sisters—yes, even one’s ownlife—cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

Hate your own family? While this kind ofhyperbole was not uncommon in Semiticdiscourse, it probably didn’t rest easy onits first hearers.2 “Honor your father andyour mother,” they had learned (Exodus20:12). Family was often the primary waythey knew their identity and place in theworld.

This wasn’t the family-friendly messagethat people today have come to expectfrom any preacher who would want to growher church. Saying, “Come to our church,and give up all your possessions” wouldnot work well on an invitational banner inthe churchyard. But Jesus wanted his dis-ciples to be aware of their allegiances.They should always ask themselves, Isanyone, or anything, in my life more impor-tant to me than Jesus?

Then came the second warning: “Who-ever doesn’t carry their own cross and fol-low me cannot be my disciple” (Luke


14:27). Consider what it must havesounded like in Jesus’ time to hear himsay such a thing.

Today people talk about their “cross tobear” in relation to physical problems, diffi-culties at work, or the like. But in Jesus’day and time, people thought of the crosslike we think of the noose, the electricchair, or the gas chamber. The crossmeant a violent death.

We should be under no illusions aboutwhat Jesus expects. Thomas à Kempisonce wrote, “Jesus has always many wholove his heavenly kingdom, but few whobear his cross. He has many who desireconsolation, but few who care for trial. . . .Those, on the contrary, who love him forhis own sake and not for any comfort oftheir own, bless him in all trial and anguishof heart as well as in the bliss of consola-tion.. . . What power there is in pure lovefor Jesus—love that is free from all self-interest and self-love!”3

Jesus gave two illustrations betweenthe second and third warnings. The firstillustration was about building a tower, andthe second was about going to war (Luke14:28-32). In both cases, he asked thecrowd who among them wouldn’t makesure to have enough money or troops tofinish the task. The implicit answer was,“Well, no one, of course.”

Then Jesus gave the third warning: “Inthe same way, none of you who are unwill-ing to give up all of your possessions canbe my disciple” (Luke 14:33). The phras-ing was a little different from the other twowarnings, but the meaning was the same:Count the cost.

Readers of Luke’s Gospel will laterencounter the “certain ruler” who asked,

“What must I do to obtain eternal life?”(Luke 18:18). Jesus replied with ananswer similar to his teaching here: “Selleverything you own and distribute themoney to the poor” (Luke 18:22).

And in Acts, Luke went on to write abouthow the early church “would sell pieces ofproperty and possessions and distributethe proceeds to everyone who neededthem” (Acts 2:45) and how “none of themwould say, ‘This is mine!’ about any of theirpossessions, but held everything in com-mon” (Acts 4:32).

Family, life, and possessions. FollowingJesus is costly! Being a disciple is not justone more thing to add to an already busylife. It’s how we live life itself.

At one point in John’s Gospel, Jesusgave a similar lesson on the cost of disci-pleship. John then wrote, “At this, many ofhis disciples turned away and no longeraccompanied him” (John 6:66). I wonder ifthe crowd also thinned out after theyheard Jesus’ warnings as recorded inLuke.

How do you react to Jesus’ expectationsfor discipleship? Do you find them off-

putting or refreshing in their frankness?The Commitment

So what’s a Christian to do? In Mark,we have Jesus’ call to his first discipleswho instantly left everything to follow him(Mark 1:16-20). Mark almost made itsound easy. But in Luke, Jesus told thecrowds that discipleship would cost themeverything (Luke 14:25-33). The bar wasset so high that it would seem unreach-able.

Should we be more like the fishingbrothers of Mark or the fickle crowds ofLuke? Is it better to be all-in or to count the




cost? Should we look for a happy mediumbetween the two: committed but not toocommitted? Would it be better just toslowly back away from discipleship alto-gether? Is that the way to show Jesus weare serious? Maybe we should just plan tocome back later when we think we can dobetter.

Certainly not! Look at the disciplesJesus called to follow him in Mark. Hecalled them directly, literally face to face.He didn’t make a mistake. He knew theirfaults and limitations. He knew they didn’tcome off the boat ready for all that disci-pleship would require. And he would oftenfind them lacking in faith or even asleep inthe course of their duties (Luke 22:46)!Nevertheless, he called them and he lovedthem.

That’s what the call to discipleship is.It’s a manifestation of God’s love for us.God created us to “glorify God and to enjoyhim forever,” says the Westminster Cate-chism.4 We Christians do this by followingJesus Christ as Lord. Sure, we must rely onthe grace and power of God’s Spirit to con-tinually remake us in God’s image. ButGod knows that.

Joseph Hart was an 18th-century minis-ter in London who became a libertine as ayoung man. Hart told his biographer, “Ibegan to sink deeper and deeper into con-viction of my nature’s evil, the wickedness

of my life, the shallowness of my Christian-ity, and the blindness of my devotion.”5

However, the week before Easter in1757, Hart had a vision of Christ in thegarden of Gethsemane that changed himforever. He experienced a renewed faith inGod and rededicated himself to his Lord.Within two years, he had penned and pub-lished several hymns.

Among those hymns was one that hasbeen included in hundreds of hymnalssince: “Come, Ye Sinners, Poor andNeedy.” It is a clarion call to Christian disci-pleship.

The call stands, regardless of our abili-ties. We should count the cost as Jesusteaches. But in our calculations we shouldnot leave out the immeasurable grace ofGod who counted the cost of our salvation.God found the cost to be inconceivablyhigh but paid it anyway!

So let us come and follow Jesus. Let usput him first above all others, carry ourcrosses, and give of all we have to followhim.

Where do you find yourself now? In theboat hearing the call? in the crowd hearingthe warnings? How do you respond?

Lord, help me to hear your call and torespond humbly. Amen.

1 From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2016; ¶ 126.2 From The New Interpreter’s Bible, first edition (Abingdon, 1995).3 From The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis (Bruce Publishing Company,

1940); pages 74-75.4 From The Westminster Shorter Catechism Ratified by the General Assembly of The



Daily Bible StudyMarch 11 Transformed by Christ Into New Life Ephesians 2:1-10March 12 God Seeks the Scattered People Ezekiel 34:11-16March 13 God’s Compassion for Straying People Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9March 14 Calling Sinners to Repentance Luke 3:12-13; 5:27-32 March 15 Finding the Lost Sheep and the Coin Luke 15:1-10March 16 Plea for Understanding Luke 15:25-32 and RecognitionMarch 17 Family Members, Forgiven and Reconciled Luke 15:11-24

Presbyterian Church in the United States at Augusta, Ga., December 4, 1861, firstedition (Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1861; page 3.

5 From “Joseph Hart,” by Thomas Wright in The Lives of the British Hymn-Writers, firstedition (Farmcombe & Son, 1910); pages 4, 34.


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