Counting the Cost

Luke 14 takes place mostly at a dinner table. The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. He healed a man and asked which of them would not pull a son or an ox out of a well on the Sabbath. They could not answer. He then noticed guests grabbing the best seats. He taught that in God's Kingdom, everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Jesus told His host to invite the poor and disabled, who could not repay him. When one guest spoke of the blessing of eating in God's Kingdom, Jesus told the parable of the great banquet. The invited guests gave excuses about fields, oxen and marriage. Those things were not bad, but they put them ahead of the master's invitation. So the master filled his house with people from the streets, lanes, highways and hedges. God's grace goes out to those who know they need it.

Jesus then turned to the crowds following Him. He said no one can be His disciple unless He comes first, even before family and before one's own life. A disciple must carry his cross. Like a builder estimating the cost of a tower, or a king weighing a battle, we should understand that following Jesus means giving Him everything. Salt that loses its saltiness is useless.