Some three men wearing red boots were disciples of a certain prophet. Then, one day, the prophet told them, “You cannot follow me in boots.” This saying left his three disciples to make a decision; if they choose to continue wearing the boots, they have to cease following the prophet, but if they choose to continue following, they have to discard the boots.
The first one discarded his boots and continued as a disciple of the prophet. The second thought sacrificing his boot was not worth it; he rather abandoned the prophet and followed him no more. The last of them, however, neither discarded the boots nor stop following the prophet? The prophet was happy with the first disciple for his loyalty. Though the second disciple has left the prophet, at least, he has been honest. As for the third disciple, he is no longer reckoned as a disciple; moreover, he has proved himself to be a recalcitrant fellow worthy of more punishment.
The above story is an illustration of something that happened between Jesus Christ and his disciples many years ago. One day, Jesus turned to the multitude and said to them:
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple .
(Luke 14:26)
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple .
(Luke 14:27)
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple
(Luke 14:33)
Here, what Jesus meant to say was that:
- You cannot be His disciple if you love yourself more than Him. (Luke 14:26)
- You cannot be His disciple if you love Him less – where love Him less means you love father, mother, wife, etc. more than Him. (Luke 14:26)
- You cannot be His disciple if you are unwilling to suffer and or die for His sake. (Luke 14:27)
- You cannot be His disciple if you care much about material things, but care little about Christ and or the things of God. (Luke 14:33)
Luke 14:26, 27, and 33 are the terms and conditions of becoming a disciple
The message in Luke 14: 26, 27, 33 should remind us of something; you and I are familiar with this sort of message – because we have seen its similitude many times in our lives. When you are signing up for a Google account, a Twitter account, etc., before your request for an account is accepted, you are made to read a very long note called Terms and Conditions. If you agree to the terms and conditions, you are signed on; if not, you are denied a user account.
Similarly, Luke 14:26-27, 33 is much like the terms and conditions of being a disciple of Jesus. You cannot be a disciple of Jesus with your terms and conditions; you have to accept Jesus’ terms and conditions.
The difference between Jesus’ terms and conditions and those of Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc. is that you are presented with these terms and conditions after you have believed, not before you believe. The reasons are:
The unbeliever does not need to be told everything in the Bible before he can believe in Jesus to be saved and to become a disciple. He needs just a few things; he needs to be told that God loves him, and that God has sent His begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for us sinners, and that if he believes in Jesus, he will be saved.
The unbeliever is carnal – he does not have the capacity to understand, appreciate, and apply spiritual things in his life. In an attempt to make him come to terms with what is written in Luke 14:26-27, 33, you will only confuse, scare, and repel him from coming to believe in Jesus Christ. This is because Luke 14:26-27, 33 is pretty too high for a carnal mind to understand and accept.
The unbeliever does not have the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who grants a person to understand spiritual things. The unbeliever will rather get to understand Luke 14:26-27, 33 after he has become a Christian and has received the Holy Spirit for it is the Holy Spirit who will guide him to understand and strengthen him to live up to it.
Why these terms and conditions?
Though God wants everyone to be saved, God is not a beggar who compromises on His word for people – whether young or old, rich or poor, low class or high class. Now if anyone wishes to become a disciple or wants to continue being a disciple of Jesus Christ, he has to comply with Luke 14:26, 27, and 33.