What did Jesus say it costs to follow him?
Jesus told people to count the cost before starting, and he used the image of a builder who runs out of money halfway up. He described following as taking up a cross, said it might mean losing family and security, and turned away people who wanted to come on easier terms. He was noticeably unwilling to recruit by understating it.
What Jesus said
In Luke 14 he uses two images: a man building a tower who should calculate first, and a king deciding whether he can win a battle. Both are about knowing the price in advance. It is strange advice from someone gathering followers.
The condition he names is a cross, which for that audience meant a public execution, not an inconvenience. Deny yourself, take up your cross, follow.
He turned people away or made it harder rather than easier. One man wants to bury his father first. Another wants to say goodbye at home. The rich young man is given a condition he cannot meet, and Jesus lets him leave.
And then the other side, stated just as plainly. His yoke is easy and his burden light. Whoever loses their life for his sake finds it. The cost is real and so is the claim that it buys something worth more.
The hard part
He asked for everything, not a portion, and he was explicit that people should decide before starting rather than discovering it later. Most invitations to follow Jesus soften this. He did the opposite, and the honesty is itself part of what he was offering.
What this looks like today
- •Count it honestly rather than starting on terms you have not examined.
- •Name what you are unwilling to put down. That is usually where the actual question lives.
- •Take one real step rather than resolving everything first. He called people to follow before they understood.
Luke 14:25-33, Mark 8:34-38, Luke 9:57-62, Matthew 11:28-30
Go deeper: this comes up in the 40 days