The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Forsake” it comes from the Greek Word “apotassomai” which means “to renounce, to forsake completely.”
Jesus is invited to dinner, and uses the occasion to describe exactly what following Him will really cost. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Luke 14.
At a Pharisee’s house on the Sabbath, Jesus heals a man suffering from dropsy, again defending His right to heal on that day. Noticing guests jockeying for the best seats at the table, Jesus advises taking the lowest place instead, since “whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” He tells His host that when giving a feast, he should invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, people unable to repay him, rather than only friends and wealthy neighbors who could return the favor.
Jesus tells the parable of a great supper whose invited guests all make excuses to avoid attending, prompting the host to invite the poor and marginalized from the streets instead, declaring that none of the original invitees will taste of his supper. Great multitudes follow Jesus, and He turns to address them with startling directness, that following Him requires a devotion so complete it makes even love for family look like hatred by comparison, and requires bearing one’s own cross.
Jesus illustrates the seriousness of this commitment with two short parables, a builder who counts the cost before starting a tower, lest he be unable to finish, and a king who considers whether his army can withstand an opposing force before going to war. He concludes that whoever does not “forsake all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” The Greek word for this forsaking is “apotassomai,” meaning to renounce completely or bid farewell to. He closes comparing halfhearted discipleship to salt that has lost its flavor, useful for nothing.
Jesus never softened the real cost of following Him to attract bigger crowds. If anything, He made that cost more explicit the larger the crowd grew. Genuine discipleship, according to this chapter, was never meant to be entered casually or without honestly counting what it would require.
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