Is there such thing as a free lunch?
Have you heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”? This saying arose from American pubs in the early 1900’s that offered free lunch to patrons. However, the food was often high in salt (such as ham and cheese) so the patrons would become thirsty and buy drinks. They ended up paying for their meal in drinks (and then some). Hence the expression, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” The lunch wasn’t actually free — there was a hidden cost. This expression sums up the feeling that nothing in life is free. There is always a cost.
So this brings us to our question for today, “What does it cost to follow Jesus?” Is following Jesus a free lunch? Is there a cost in following Jesus, and if so, what is it? I’m going to suggest to you two answers, both of which I believe are true, but both directly contradict each other. They form a paradox. (1) Following Jesus costs you nothing. (2) Following Jesus costs you everything.
(1) Following Jesus costs you nothing
In one sense being a follower of Jesus costs you nothing. The remarkable thing about the Christian faith is that you don’t need anything to become a follower of Jesus. If you’re going to follow the RWW Giants you need to pay a gate entry fee to watch the footy match. But being a follower of Jesus requires no money, there are no dues or membership fees. If you’re going to follow an author, you purchase their books. But being a follower of Jesus requires no purchases or books. (Now I would recommend having a Bible, but it’s not actually a necessity. The good news is hearing about an event in history when Jesus died and rose again for you, and hearing this good news is free). If you’re going to follow in the footsteps of Bach and become a famous musician, then it’s going to cost hours and hours of practice and hard work in order to pass music tests, perform at concerts, etc. But following Jesus costs you nothing. There is no work for you to do, there is no test you must pass, no performance, nothing that you can or must do to earn the right to be a follower of Jesus.
But following Jesus is no free lunch. Jesus has paid the cost for you. He paid through his suffering and death on the cross. God freely gives you his grace and mercy because Jesus has paid it all. We’re often suspicious of anything that’s free, because we feel there is always some catch. But with Jesus there is no catch. God’s mercy absolutely free — that’s what “grace” means.
Have you been to Urban Graze burger restaurant in Albury? They have this thing called “Pay it forward.” As an act of generosity, you can pay for the meal of the person behind you. So when you arrive at the counter, pull out your wallet, the attendant might say, “Thanks, but this meal won’t cost you anything. Someone has already paid for you.” Following Jesus is the same. We want to get right with God, so we might try to be a “good person” (whatever that means), or give money to the church or a charity, or serve other people. These things are good, but they don’t earn God’s grace and favour toward you. We pull out our wallet and try to pay. Instead God says, “This won’t cost you anything, Jesus my Son has already paid the cost.” As St Paul says, “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). In Revelation, the One on the throne says, “To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of life.” (Revelation 21:6). The prophet Isaiah says that God’s servant (Jesus), “was crushed for our iniquities; and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). Following Jesus costs you nothing because Jesus has paid it all.
(2) Following Jesus costs you everything
Yet in another sense, following Jesus is very costly. See being a follower of Jesus is not something you just add to your to-do list. Fix the lawn mower, service the car, cut fire wood, follow Jesus. No! Following Jesus is not one task among many, but consumes your entire life. Earlier in Luke chapter 9, Jesus says “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23–24). So following Jesus means following him to the cross. Following Jesus means living a life marked with pain and suffering. Following Jesus is a call to lose your entire life. Following Jesus will cost you absolutely everything.
In our reading, Jesus elaborates on the cost of following him with three conversations.
(1) In the first conversation, a man tells Jesus that he would like to follow him, but Jesus responds rather cryptically, “Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” What Jesus is saying is that even foxes and birds, two creatures disliked by the Jewish people, have a place in this world to call “home.” But Jesus, the Son of Man, and his followers do not have a “home” in this world. The picture often used is that we are pilgrims or travellers, simply passing through this foreign land until we arrive at our true home: the new heaven and new earth. The cost of following Jesus means we don’t put our trust in worldly things: houses, wealth, property, jobs. We’re just passing through until we reach our true home.
(2) In the second conversation, Jesus urges a man to “Follow me.” But the man replies, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus responds with something that sounds rather harsh to our ears, “Let dead people bury their own dead. You go and tell others about God’s kingdom.” For the Jewish people of that time it was culturally important for children to look after their parents. Furthermore, they had a duty to follow the religious customs once their parents had died (like arranging a time of mourning, washing and cleansing rituals, etc). By saying “Let dead people bury their own dead” Jesus means that following the cultural and religious conventions is equivalent to being dead. The cost of following Jesus is that we will be counter-cultural. I think one of the main things that pervades our culture at the moment is individualism. This infects the church too. The culture of our day tells us that everything is about me, me, me. My happiness, my fulfilment, my preferences, my way. The gathering of the Christians can easily take on this individualistic tone also. For example, our gathering for worship might become all about me. “I don’t like that style of music. I like to worship in this particular way. I prefer this other way.” When we don’t get what we want, we get frustrated and perhaps even walk away from the whole thing. Instead, Jesus calls us to be counter-cultural. He challenges us to put aside this individualism. He challenges us to consider the collective. To put the needs and wants of others before our own. To deny ourselves and radically love each other. Jesus calls his followers to put aside their wants in order to “Go and tell others about God’s kingdom.” But this is hard isn’t it? This is costly love! Yet this is exactly the type of love Jesus shows us when he died in our place, paying our price.
(3) A third man says, “I will follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.” Again, Jesus’ reply sounds harsh, “Suppose you start to plow and then look back. If you do, you are not fit for service in God’s kingdom.” Is Jesus saying we can’t even care for our family? Rabbis would often use exaggeration to make a point. In all three conversations, Jesus using exaggeration to hammer home the cost of following him. The cost is possible tension within your family. There are so many stories from my own life, and I’m sure yours too, about tensions surrounding church and following Jesus. Jesus tells us to expect this cost.
What is following Jesus costing you?
In one sense following Jesus costs you nothing. Jesus has already paid the cost for you on the cross. Yet in another sense following Jesus will cost you everything — your entire life. What is following Jesus costing you? If following Jesus is not costing much, perhaps he is challenging you today. Is Jesus challenging you to give up your trust in worldly things, to act as a traveller in a foreign land, not a native who is at home in this world? Is Jesus challenging you to act counter-culturally, to fight individualism by denying yourself, your wants, your preferences, and to radically love others? Is Jesus challenging you that the cost of following him may cause tensions in your family? What is following Jesus costing you?
Let me close with a story: There was a captain of a cruise ship getting ready to depart. He was interviewing possible recruits for his crew. There was a knock on the door and a recruit came in and sat down.
“So you want to join my crew? What experience do you have?” the captain asked.
“Umm, not much. I’ve read Treasure Island…?”
“Hmmm, well that’s alright, we’ll give you all the training you need.”
“How much is my contribution for a place in the crew?” the recruit asked.
“Oh nothing. Your ticket has already been arranged and paid for.”
“Really!” the recruit beamed.
The captain glanced at the application form. “Now it says here you’ve just built a new four-bedroom house and large shed?”
“Yes! You should see it. It’s got granite bench tops in the kitchen, a large en suite, and a beautiful garden.”
“So you’ll miss it then?” the captain asked.
“Miss it? What do you mean? I wasn’t aware I would lose it. I mean, can’t I come home every evening after work?”
“Oh no, sorry. We’re going on an indefinite cruise. There’s no coming back.”
The recruit looked concerned. “Right. Well. I better go get some things sorted with my parents. Their getting old and need some help. I better go and make sure their wills are up to date. I feel responsible for them. They looked after me, now it’s my turn to look after them.”
The captain replied, “Well that’s very noble of you. But if you join my crew you will be able to do something even more valuable. You will be telling people all over the world about my kingdom.”
“Well, if you put it like that, there are plenty of others who could help look after my folks.”
“Good decision,” replied the captain. The recruit stood up and started to leave. “Where are you going?” asked the captain.
“To say good-bye to my family of course!”
“Oh, sorry. There’s no time for that. My ship is leaving right now. This very moment. So are you coming aboard or not?”
The recruit dithered back and forth. He looked at the captain then looked behind.
Jesus says, “No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God!”
Let us pray: heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to pay the cost for us to be with you. Make us fit for service in your kingdom. Help us to live lives that reflect the cost of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. In his name we pray. Amen.
