Reference no: EM132404812
Costly Discipleship
In the gospel of Luke costly discipleship looks like dying to yourself. In Luke 17:33 Luke writes, "whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it." In order to die to or selves or lose your life, we must be willing to leave behind everything we love because of our greater love of Christ. It is costly to lay down one's life for someone yet Jesus died a horrific death for people who hated him. If we are to have costly discipleship we are going to have to die to ourselves just as Jesus did in this world in order that we may live in peace with him in the next world.
Another example of costly discipleship Luke writes about is in Luke 14:26-27. In these verses, Luke writes about when Jesus says "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." These words are clear about where our priorities should lay. Jesus is clear about how we are to lay down our lives in order to follow him. This is a tough verse to swallow because I have put my family on the throne of my life when Jesus should be there instead. Jesus understands how we may idolize our families and he makes sure to clearly state who should be on the throne in our lives.
Luke's context as a historian shapes the message and meaning of discipleship because it gives authority. Since Luke is an expert on the subject we should believe what he writes. Since he is a historian, we are able to read the bible as fact and not fable because of the authoritative way in which he wrote the book.
What does costly discipleship look like in Luke's gospel?
How does Luke's context as a historian shape the message and meaning of discipleship?
Costly discipleship in Luke's Gospel looks like denying yourself and the secularism we are submerged in and taking up our cross in order to accomplish work for the kingdom. It looks like giving up all our earthly desires and possessions in order to become a disciple of Christ. In further detail, accepting the cost of becoming a disciple means rejecting the life we are provided through Earth. Rejecting the lifestyle introduced by the world, accepting the lifestyle of a disciple, and receiving everlasting life in the Kingdom of God.
Luke's context as a historian shapes the message and meaning of discipleship in the sense that we are receiving a story that is sending out an invitation to those who aspire to be a true disciple of God. Luke gives us accounts of parables and testimonies and the miraculous deeds carried out by Jesus in representation of God. Additionally these were to inform us of what comes with answering the call of God. It, in part, felt like a guide book on becoming a firm follower of Jesus. Luke is painting a bigger picture in his book, about the expectations and life of a true disciple.