Luke 14:28

In the last part of Luke chapter 14 Jesus taught three parables to illustrate the teaching that He had just given about the importance of anyone who wants to be a follower of Him to give their all: all their love and all their dedication. Jesus said in Luke 14:28-30, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”

One of the important things to know in order to finish something successfully is to properly count the cost. God not only wants us to start something, He wants us to finish it. If you start a marriage, God wants you to finish it completely and successfully to the end. If you start getting an education, God wants you to finish getting the education. If you start a job, God wants you to finish the job. If you start following Christ, it’s the will of God that at the end of your life you are still following Him. Once you start a life of following Jesus Christ in this world, you can be certain that there will be pitfalls, stumbling blocks, sorrows, disappointments, temptations and many other things that will come your way that will have the potential to cause you to stop following Him. There is a price to pay for following Jesus Christ in this world. If you want to succeed at following Jesus, then you must count the cost. You must understand the requirement of your own total and complete dedication to Jesus. If you love Jesus more than anything else, even more than your own life, then nothing will stop you from trusting Him and keeping on in the way: not even your sins because you will confess your sins every day, and you know that Jesus will forgive you.

In Luke 14:31-33 Jesus said, “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sits not down first, and consults whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an ambassage, and desires conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple.” In this parable Jesus compared each of us to a king going to war. He has made us kings and priests, and we each have a battle to fight each day if we are going to follow Jesus: the battle of good against evil. Paul knew that his Christian life had been a battle. At the end of his life he said, “I have fought a good fight.” Jesus was saying that if you are going to win this battle, you must remember the cost of discipleship. Have you considered the cost? What will it cost you to win the battle of faith that will rage within your soul? According to Jesus, it will cost you everything: everything that you are and everything that you have. There are some who have lost the battle. They lost because they held back. They held back something in their heart or in their mind that they would not give to Jesus. Jesus said, “Whosoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple.”

In Luke 14:34-35 Jesus said, “Salt is good: but if the salt has lost its savour, with what shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that has ears to hear let him hear.” As followers of Christ, we have been given a purpose in this world. Central to that purpose is to be witnesses for the one we are following: Jesus Christ. How do we become witnesses? He makes us witnesses based upon our relationship with Him. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.”

What we are talking about in this passage is the importance of a complete and total dedication to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can make us a witness for Him. We cannot make it happen through religious activities. The Spirit of God must speak to the hearts of men. The Spirit of God will use those who are the true followers of Christ, and only those who are the true followers. We are not followers if we are not following, and we are not following if we are not dedicated. Jesus explained this whole concept with the parable about salt. Food can be very bland and unappealing without any seasoning added to it. But this unattractiveness can change if the proper amount of salt is present. Your life on his earth will have no use as an attractive force for the work of God, if it has missing the essential quality of dedication and consecration to the Lord Jesus Christ. You are spinning your wheels, and your work is in vain without the proper spiritual quality to your life. That’s the salt that Jesus is talking about. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its savour, it is good for nothing.”

The Bible says in Luke 15:1-2, “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” Notice who enjoyed hearing the teachings of Jesus, and who did not. The religious leaders did not like what Jesus had to say. They opposed Him, resisted Him, and argued with Him. But the publicans and sinners drew near to Him in order to hear Him. Who were the publicans and sinners? They were the outcasts from organized religion. They were the ones in society who were looked down upon by the self-righteous religious people. Of course, the publicans were the tax collectors. They were looked down upon because they were collecting taxes for the Romans and were seen sometimes as being traitors, and sometimes they were seen as though they were defiled by their contact with the heathen Romans.

Not only did the publicans come to see Jesus, but so did those who were called “sinners.” We are all sinners, so what was different about these people? These people were undoubtedly guilty of certain kinds of gross external sins that others were readily aware of. They had probably been guilty of things like fornication, adultery, and drunkenness; and some of them had probably committed crimes such as robbery, assault, and even murder. Religious people tend to look down on such as these, because their sins are so obvious to everyone. But in reality we know that religious people are sinners also. They may not have committed the same sins, but they have committed sins that are just as bad if not worse. Is there anything worse than self-righteousness and sinful pride? To lust is just as bad as adultery. To hate is just as bad as murder.

One thing is probably true. In order to love the teachings of Jesus, one must regard oneself as a great sinner. The promises of forgiveness and the hope of the future Promised Land based entirely on the grace of God are directed to sinners. Christ receiveth sinful men, even me with all my sin. Paul called himself “the chief of sinners.” We who understand the greatness of our sins love to hear the story of the Savior who loved us so much that He came to die in our place. We understand very well that we cannot save ourselves. We love to hear the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love. When we are saved through faith in Christ, we join the chorus of millions of others who have found the same salvation only in Jesus and we sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”

Of course, Jesus saw the difference between the publicans and sinners, and the Pharisees. Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep to explain His attitude towards sinners such as you and me. The Bible says in Luke 15:3-7, “And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” This parable tells us many things about the heart of God. This parable tells us how much God loves those who are lost, and how much He enjoys saving them. Just as a shepherd searches for a lost sheep, God is actively seeking the lost to bring them safely into His fold. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” We can tell from this parable one of the things that makes God happy: one sinner who repents. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Therefore, every time a sinner is saved, one of the most important plans and purposes of God becomes realized. When someone gets saved, the work of the Spirit, the preaching of the Word, and the intervention of God in the life of that person has finally paid off. In such a case Jesus did not suffer and die on the cross in vain, and God’s great love for them was not in vain. Every soul, no matter what sins they have done in their life, is of infinite value. No wonder there is joy in heaven over every sinner that repents.

Notice that if someone is lost, the way to get saved is to repent of one’s sins. That’s the salvation experience. That’s how a person goes from being lost to being saved. That’s how a person gets introduced to Jesus Christ. When a sheep is lost, the sheep is out in the wilderness by itself. It’s alone and therefore in great danger. Spiritually speaking a lost soul is alone, without God or Christ in this world. That’s a dangerous condition to be in with eternity only one heartbeat away. A lost sheep gets saved when it comes into contact with the shepherd. Jesus wants to be the shepherd of your soul. If you repent of your sins and turn to Him, you will no longer be a lost sheep in this world. You will be welcomed into the forgiving, protecting, and comforting arms of Jesus.

This is one of the great parables of the Bible: the story of the one hundred sheep and the shepherd who left the ninety-nine and went searching for the one that was lost. There is an old gospel hymn that was written with this parable as its theme. When sung with the right spirit and the right passion, it can be a great blessing. Its name is “The Ninety and Nine.” I hope you have heard it, because it does a great job of capturing the meaning of this parable. If you are an artist, you might want to try and put an image of this tremendous parable on canvass. Others have tried. Like so many other things that Jesus taught, just a few words from Him, and then people over the centuries try in every form imaginable to explore the blessedness of the thoughts that are expressed. “No man ever spake as this man.”

Jesus gave another parable on a related subject in Luke 15:8-10 where He said, “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” In the previous parable Jesus compared God to a shepherd looking for a lost sheep. In this parable He compares God to a woman looking for a lost coin.

We cannot help but notice that in the example of these two parables when something is lost, it’s only found because of the efforts of the one doing the seeking. Salvation is the work of God. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us.” “We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us has quickened us together in Christ Jesus.” If you are lost, God is seeking you out: seeking to find you and save you. Hopefully, you will not struggle against Him, but you will allow Him to save you.

In both of these parables there is great joy exhibited by the one who found what was lost. Of course, we must say again that the obvious reason that Jesus emphasized this was to emphasize how much God’s heart is touched by the condition of the lost souls of mankind. We must be careful when we look at the spiritual condition of the world not to be too critical or condemning. God understands their spiritual condition better than we do, and He does not condemn. Instead, His heart yearns that every lost soul would be saved. When one person gets saved, there is great joy in heaven because of how much each soul is loved and how much each soul is valued by God. How much are we like God? How much do we care about the lost souls of the world? The things that bring us joy are a good barometer of our true spiritual condition. Does thinking about what Jesus did for us bring us joy? Does thinking about God’s great love for us bring us joy? Does thinking about the Kingdom of God to come bring us joy? And does it bring us joy whenever a sinner repents? If not, then we are still too much unlike God. Jesus said, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

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