Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Reflections

September 7, 2025

Today's Reading: Luke 14:25-35

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 4:38-5:8; Ephesians 6:1-24

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus gives examples of people who measured the cost of their goal and ultimately stepped away from it. A man would not build a tower if he could not pay for it. A king would not go to war if he knew he would lose. Neither man followed through. Jesus says anyone who does not hate his father and mother cannot be his disciple. At first glance, this is against what Jesus teaches at other times: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” but if we take it in the context of the later verses, what is Jesus saying? A man building a tower who runs out of money not even halfway through loses quite a lot: financial stability and his reputation. A king going to war against a stronger army loses even more: his kingdom and his life. What does a disciple of Jesus stand to lose? What is the cost of discipleship?

The answer is everything.. Jesus says anyone who will not take up his own cross and follow Christ cannot be a disciple. Anyone who is not willing to leave family, fame, fortune, or anything else is not a faithful follower. By this word, we are convicted. In our sin, we cannot follow God’s law perfectly. We are unable and unwilling. We cannot afford to be a disciple of Christ and gain eternal life. The cost is too high because the cost is total obedience to God, and we, fallen sinners, are not capable of such a thing.

Immediately following this passage in Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the good shepherd, in which the shepherd leaves everything behind to find the lost sheep, risking his life—risking everything. This shepherd finds the lost sheep and returns to the fold, having successfully fulfilled his goal, unlike the men from before. The good shepherd decided the reward was worth whatever the cost may be. Of course, the good shepherd in the parable is our Good Shepherd, Christ Jesus.

God measured the cost of reconciling humanity to Himself and saving us from sin, death, and the devil. He knew that it was a high price to pay: the death of His only Son. The Son took on human flesh, lived, suffered, and died because, though the cost was high, He was the only one Who could pay it. In His death and resurrection, Jesus paid the price for the redemption of the world. Rather than having to earn our place as His disciples, His children, He gives it freely to us, in the Word and Sacraments. The cost of discipleship is high, but it has been paid, and the benefits are yours.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O merciful Lord, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Deac. Emma Heinz, registrar for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Join author R. Reed Lessing helps with this chapter-by-chapter exploration of the Book of Numbers in Hope in the Wilderness. With helpful maps, diagrams, and connections to the rest of the Bible, you’ll be able to understand the beauty of Numbers.