Jesus was looking for a few good disciples. 

In Luke 14, crowds grew larger as Jesus passed villages and towns on his way to Jerusalem. He knew that the Holy City of God was not going to welcome him with open arms. However, the crowds were cheering him on. The people believed in his teachings. They believed in him. The unknown followers of Christ were solidly behind him. Jesus sensed the people were not understanding why his trek to Jerusalem was not a celebration parade. For him, it was a funeral process. Many did not know why they were really following this person.

Master Jesus suddenly stopped, unexpectedly, in the middle of the road. His face was
fierce and firm. His eyes locked on the people whose smiles turned to concern. Why did Jesus stop in the midst of all the hoopla and good feeling towards him? 

The late William Barclay aptly cited that the crowd was clueless about the consequences of being his disciple. He wrote, “(Jesus) was on his way to Jerusalem and the crowds were surging round him. He knew well that most of them had quite the wrong idea about Him. He knew that they had vague hopes that He would become a king and a conqueror. He wanted them to know the cost of following him” (And
Jesus Said, p. 205) 

In other words, Jesus had to assess their willingness to give up everything for his cause. Jesus watched the faces of men and women who loved their families deeply. In their minds, they thought they would follow him to the ends of earth if he asked. However, Jesus was not looking for new fans or Facebook friends; he was seeking a few good disciples.

No one in the crowd knew what Jesus was going to say to them. They knew he was
different from other rabbis. They knew his words were exciting and inviting. They knew their lives had the possibility of changing for the better. They did not know what price they might have to pay for following this person. They were sure Jesus would not ask more of them than they could handle. They believed Jesus might insist on some additional time at his bible studies. Maybe Jesus would ask them to learn his prayers. They never thought Jesus would ask something that would disappoint them.

With his focus squarely on Jerusalem and the lovely people who thought he was a great teacher, Jesus asked them to choose their true love. It was all or nothing with him. 

Jesus scanned the crowd. He said, “if you follow me, you have to love me more than your parents”. The smiling faces turned to confused, surprised expressions. “If you love your families more than me, you are not qualified to be in my group,” continued Jesus. “If your relationships with your sibling rivals me, choose me over them,” the confident rabbi shouted to the crowd. 

The crowd began to break up, as people believed Jesus had blown a gasket. Was he out of his mind? How could Jesus make these demands knowing these relationships were extremely important because family love went deep to their core identity? 

In the first century after the birth of Christ, the Roman Empire was considered the best in the world by ushering the growth of cities and modern roads. At the same time, the empire did not possess a compassion button for people when they got sick, especially during epidemics. The family was the only social network for sickness and illness. It was accepted that sick people died in the streets. There were no hospitals or caring facility for anyone in the empire. People were on their own. It was common to see dead and sick bodies on the roads of major cities without one person doing anything about it. To intentionally walk away from one's only source of care made no sense.

Yet, Jesus’ demeanor was firm and uncompromising. “In fact, you must love me more than your own life.” People fell away from him. To cut all ties of love in order to love Jesus alone was too much and too emotional to take. 

The people were scratching their chins. Maybe Jesus was kidding with them. Maybe
Jesus stubbed his toe and needed to get some anger out. Maybe Jesus might have been pacing back and forth on the road. Maybe he decided to find a stone along the side of the road and say the same thing to them through a couple of stories to drive home his point. They were not seeing his path to Jerusalem through his eyes.

The people sat on ground and listened attentively for Jesus to say more about making a commitment to him. Jesus imagined a builder who wanted a new house. He doesn’t go to Lowe’s, grab some wood and nails, and commence to erect a structure without seriously weighing the costs of materials, manpower, time, and money. If the person only half finished the house, people would look at him as a person who did not do his homework. Jesus, with a great sense of humor, might have demonstrated people pointing their fingers at him and laughing as they passed his house.

Author Eugene Peterson said, “to be a disciple, you have to think ahead…Enthusiasm
isn’t enough. Good will isn’t enough. Good intentions aren’t enough. There has to be careful planning and a determination to follow through…Discipleship involves assessing the future and deciding whether you want to get involved in a such a lifelong commitment” (Conversations, p. 1613)

That is exactly what his disciples had done when they first met him. He told them to follow him without any idea where he was going and what would happen to them. Indeed, they dropped everything and followed him. They knew their deaths were tied to Jesus’ death. This was the cost to follow Master Jesus.

However, by following Jesus, disciples also learned how their lives were tied to Jesus' life. This new group of religious people got curious about the sick and dying without any kind of care. The Christians developed the concept of “image of God”, which meant a “divine dignity of human persons” was bestowed to every person regardless of social status. They took the story of “the good Samaritan” as their go-to story of providing aid and care to one’s neighbor. Christians instilled an ethical mandate that “encouraged all Christians to visit the sick, help the poor, and each congregation establish an organized ministry of mercy.” (Gary Ferngern, A New Era in Roman Healthcare, Christian History, Issue #101, 2011) In other words, curious Christian disciples changed hearts and minds by going after and caring for the exposed and infected Roman poor. The rise of Christian discipleship was based on a theological ethic of the image of God found in every person. 

We could use a few good disciples today.