The Evangelist

Luke 13:10–14:35

Main Idea: Jesus models evangelism by urgently, boldly, and compassionately preaching the reality of the kingdom of God.

1. The Lord Announces the Kingdom of God (13:10-21).
   1. The Lord announces the kingdom of God with a miracle (13:10-17).
   2. The Lord announces the kingdom of God with two parables (13:18-21).
   3. The kingdom of God is not always recognized or accepted.
2. The Lord Urges People to Enter the Kingdom of God (13:22-30).
   1. You strive to enter.
   2. You hurry before it’s too late.
   3. You better know God for real.
   4. Everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’.
   5. Create an honest urgency.
3. The Lord Looks at People with a Bold Brokenness (13:31-35).
   1. Boldness (13:31-33)
   2. Brokenness (13:34-35)
4. The Lord Challenges People Personally (14:1-24).
   1. The religious (14:2-6)
   2. The proud (14:7-11)
   3. The wealthy (14:12-14)
   4. The presuming (14:15-24)
5. The Lord Is Upfront about the Cost of Discipleship (14:25-35).

The local church exists to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ from the four corners of the block to the four corners of the globe. To do that, we must first do the work of evangelism. Evangelism is telling the story of Jesus’s life, death, resurrection, and second coming with the goal of persuading people to repent of their sin, follow Jesus as Lord, and rely on him to save them from God’s condemnation. The Lord promises that everyone who trusts Jesus as Savior receives eternal life, fellowship in God’s love, and a place in God’s kingdom.

To fulfill our mission, we must learn effective evangelism. There’s no better person to learn evangelism from than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Our text divides into five sections illustrating how our Lord did evangelism.

Introduction

Our text moves through four scenes.

• In 13:10 we begin with Jesus “teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.”
• Then in 13:22 “He went through one town and village after another, teaching and making his way to Jerusalem.”
• In 14:1 we fast forward to another Sabbath when we find Jesus “went in to eat at the house of one of the leading Pharisees.”
• Finally, in 14:25 the Lord is outside again with “great crowds.”

The thread that stitches all these scenes together is the idea of the kingdom of God, which is mentioned several times throughout.

• We see the kingdom of God described in parables in 13:18 and 20.
• In 13:28 the kingdom of God refers to that place where the forefathers of faithful Israel have gone after death.
• In 13:29 the kingdom of God is where all the faithful from all over the world “share the banquet.”
• In 14:15 the kingdom of God is a place of special blessedness for those who enter it.

So we’re not surprised that Jesus the Evangelist begins his evangelism by announcing the arrival of the kingdom of God.

The Lord Announces the Kingdom of God

Luke 13:10-21

This is Scene I in the synagogue on the Sabbath (v. 10). Jesus announces the kingdom of God in two ways.

The Lord Announces the Kingdom of God with a Miracle (13:10-17)

Verse 11 introduces us to “a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for over eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” This is more than back problems in old age. Her problem was not physical, but spiritual. This is nothing less than satanic bondage. Look down in verse 16: “Satan has bound this woman . . . for eighteen years.” There she was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. What do you think she was looking for? No doubt she was hoping God would remember her and deliver her.

Verses 12-13 say, “When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, ‘Woman, you are free of your disability.’ Then he laid his hands on her, and instantly she was restored and began to glorify God.” The kingdom of God sets people free from the bondage of devils. Wherever the kingdom comes it breaks the rule and power of Satan. There will be no disability in the kingdom of God. Everything that’s crooked—including the backs bent from a devil’s riding—will be straightened and Satan thrown off and glory given to God!

The Lord Announces the Kingdom of God with Two Parables (13:18-21)

The first parable (v. 19) teaches that the kingdom of God grows outward and upward. It starts small—like a mustard seed—but it grows and stretches like a mighty tree with birds nesting in its branches.

The second parable (v. 21) teaches that the kingdom of God grows inward and through. It’s like yeast. You can’t see it, but it works its way through the entire batch of bread dough.

The kingdom of God grows in visible and invisible ways.

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; no one will say, ‘See here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (17:20-21)

Strictly speaking, the kingdom is not a piece of real estate. Because of this, Christians are not hung up on what happens in Israel as a nation-state. What the kingdom of God brings is not of this world. It is something that exists in us. When Jesus preaches the gospel of the kingdom, he has in mind the reign and rule of God that breaks into the world and breaks the power of Satan. It frees all who had been held hostage by the devil’s power and breaks into believers’ very being, setting them free.

When the Lord does evangelism, he doesn’t simply talk about forgiveness and atonement. The Lord teaches us of a reality, a world that’s much larger than his sacrifice. There is no kingdom apart from his sacrifice, but because of his sacrifice there is so much more opened to those who believe.

The Kingdom of God Is Not Always Recognized or Accepted

Not everyone welcomes or recognizes the kingdom of God when it comes. In verse 14 “the leader of the synagogue” gets “indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.” He demands that people get healed on the other six days—as if he were healing people like this all week—but not on the Sabbath. He knows the religious rules, but not what they point to. Jesus calls him a “hypocrite” (v. 15). A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be religious and holy but isn’t. He’s the kind of man who would give water to an ox or a donkey on the Sabbath but would not stand to see a woman of faith (“daughter of Abraham,” v. 16) freed from Satan’s torment and healed on the Sabbath.

Jesus calls him out and puts all of them to shame. The greatest shame is this: Hypocrites will not recognize the kingdom of God when it comes.

Applications

How do we apply this in evangelism?

Preach the kingdom. It’s good to share the gospel in terms of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But don’t forget that the gospel work of Christ brings an entire kingdom. It’s a kingdom where the rule of Satan is broken and the work of God spreads outwardly and inwardly. Christ renews all things. His sacrifice not only saves sinners, it also renews the cosmos. Sometimes in our evangelism we need to teach people an even bigger part of the story. That part of the story answers some pastoral questions that the death, burial, and resurrection does not.

For example, think of those people who have a hard time believing in God when they see people suffering around them. Here’s a scene with a woman suffering for eighteen years! What does Jesus have to say to that woman and thus to all who suffer? “You are free from your disability.” “You are free from your suffering.” The Lord says, “The devil came to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it to the full” (see John 10:10). When we find different ways of getting into the gospel, we may find ourselves making contact with people’s objections from fresh perspectives.

Be Confident. Let us also be confident when we evangelize. Those two parables of the kingdom give us a picture of the kingdom’s spread. It’s growing—sometimes visibly and sometimes invisibly. That’s so wonderful. It means we shouldn’t measure our success by what we see. The Lord may give us great numbers in a great harvest, or he may be kneading yeast into the dough in ways we cannot see. It also means we will one day see all the branching success of God’s kingdom. We can do the work of evangelists with faith and confidence because we know the kingdom grows even if we can’t see it yet.

Further, we are not in a losing struggle. The devil has no power to challenge Christ. The Christian view is not a dualistic philosophy with equal rival powers tugging it out. No. Christ comes into the world to break the back of Satan’s schemes. In Christ we are winning the battle. Let us take heart and do the work of evangelism with confident joy!

The Lord Urges People to Enter the Kingdom of God

Luke 13:22-30

The Lord not only announces the kingdom of God, he also urges people to enter it.

The Lord has left the synagogue, and he is now in the towns and villages. He’s making his way to Jerusalem, where he knows he will be crucified, but he still stops off in the little towns and hamlets on the way. I love that. The Lord is never too busy for “the little guy.” Even when the Lord has the most important assignment of the universe—to go to the cross to atone for our sins—he has time for ordinary people in small towns.

In the village someone asks the Lord a good question. This man wants to know if there will be “few” or many who are saved (v. 22). To be “saved” is to be rescued and kept. We need to be rescued from God’s judgment against sinners, and we need to be kept for God’s love and fellowship. This person seems to understand that people need saving.

However, the person might be making an assumption in the question. Perhaps he thinks he is safely in the kingdom, saved from God’s wrath, so the question applies to other people, not him. I say this because of the way the Lord answers the person. The Lord doesn’t talk conceptually about the “few” or the “many.” The Lord basically says three things:

You Strive to Enter

The subject is an understood “You.” “You make every effort to enter.” “Worry about yourself! Make sure you get saved!” “Forget about everybody else. You be sure you get in.” Can you sense Jesus’s tone? He’s urgent. He’s emphatic. He’s blood serious. Why?

You Hurry before It’s Too Late

The Lord urges this person because some people will start looking for the door when it’s too late. That’s the meaning of the story Jesus tells in verses 25-29. Once the door on this life is closed, there is no other chance. Time will be up. Remember: No one knows when the master of the house is coming, but when he comes, the kingdom will be shut and locked. It’ll be too late to enter. There will be no way of sneaking in, no windows to crawl through, nobody to wake up to unlock the door for you. You will be either in or out. The Lord says to that person and says to us, “You’d better hurry.” The night is coming when no man can work. Today is the day of salvation. Christ is coming on a day and hour no man knows. So we had better hurry to enter the kingdom. Jesus urges us to believe now.

You’d Better Know God for Real

It will not matter that they heard some preaching once before. It will not matter that they saw some man of God before. That’s what they say in verse 26—“We heard you preach and used to see you around town. We ate and drank together.” The Lord responds in verse 27, “But he will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from me, all you evildoers!’” A passing acquaintance with God is not the same as knowing God. You can’t stop at a few facts and the odd sermon or two. You can’t settle for having gone to some special church service with your mama or your grandma. John 17:3 says, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.” Life is in the Son of God. “The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). You must really know God in order to be saved. The only way to know God is to know his Son, Jesus Christ. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus, the Son (John 14:6).

Everybody Talkin’ ’bout Heaven Ain’t Goin’

Some will be “thrown out” of the kingdom of God. They will be the ones in the beginning of verse 28 weeping and gnashing teeth. While they are going through such sorrow and pain they will “see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God” (v. 28). Can you imagine the scene? How will it feel to be cast out of the kingdom while you watch all the heroes of the faith inside the kingdom? Not only that, in verse 29 there are an untold number gathered from east, west, north, and south to “share the banquet in the kingdom of God.” What will it be like to watch those millions and millions stream into God’s kingdom while God locks the door and throws out others?

You strive. You hurry. You be sure you know Christ.

Application: Create an Honest Urgency

Our evangelism should create an honest urgency. Too many people act as if hell is only a conceptual problem. They act as if hell is not real. They act as if there’s no kingdom to gain or to lose.

Pastor Lon Solomon at McLean Bible Church once had his Jewish rabbi say to him, “Hell is a Gentile problem.” So he stopped going to synagogue and started living a hellish life. That must have been something of the attitude of this Jewish man in Jesus’s day.

I was once in the Middle East sharing the gospel with a group of Muslim men. We’d been at it for about an hour when one of the men, the quietest of the bunch, looked at me and said, “Do you mean to say I could go to hell?” I told him, “Yes.” He stroked his beard, leaned back in his chair, and as if to correct my misunderstanding said, “Don’t you know I am an Arab Muslim?” He emphasized “Arab” as if to say hell is a non-Arab problem.

Many people go through life as if hell is not their problem. Beloved, I am here to tell you, our evangelism should shake a comfortable man into terror. We know “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31). Our evangelism should communicate that fear. “Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people” (2 Cor 5:11). We must be convinced of the terror of God’s judgment so we can persuade as we ought.

No one outside of Christ should ever ask the question, “Are only a few people going to be saved?” without trembling in horror that they may not be in the number.

The Lord Looks at People with a Bold Brokenness

Luke 13:31-35

While Jesus is in the towns and villages, some Pharisees warn him that Herod is out to kill him. That’s interesting, isn’t it? The Pharisees want to kill Jesus too, but these Pharisees warn the Lord. Somehow they know that Herod wants the Lord dead as well. In that day if a king wanted you dead, there was not much you could do about it, so the threat is real and serious.

Boldness (13:31-33)

But the Lord is bold as an evangelist. First, he is bold in the face of threats. “He said to them, ‘Go tell that fox, “Look, I’m driving out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work”’” (v. 32). In other words, “I’ll leave town when I am ready.” Most of us would hear the threat and think, “Well, I guess the door is closed to the gospel here. This is a ‘closed country.’ I guess we should move on.” We would cloak our fear in religious language, but not our Lord. He does not wilt in the face of threats. Truthfully, there would be no closed countries if we had more of the Lord’s boldness in the face of danger.

Second, the Lord is bold in the face of his hearers. He says to his Jewish audience, “Behold, your house is forsaken” (v. 35 ESV). Today it’s popular for preachers to tell their hearers that God has a big house for them. Some people dedicate themselves exclusively to a message of positivity and prosperity. That’s not how Jesus evangelizes. He tells his audience that they are about to be cast out of the kingdom of God. Their place in God’s plan of redemption is in danger. They are about to be forsaken. The Lord is bold.

Brokenness (13:34-35)

But the Lord is also broken. He knows that death awaits him in Jerusalem (v. 33). Yet the Lord weeps not for himself but for Jerusalem, the forsaken house (v. 34). It breaks the Savior’s heart that his people refuse to be saved. In 19:41, when Jesus finally reaches the city, he weeps over it. He wept over such hardness of heart that would refuse the free offer of an eternal kingdom.

Application

The Lord is bold, but he is also broken. When we evangelize, we often have one but not both attitudes. We can be “bold” but uncaring. Or we can be “broken”—tender toward people—but fearful of man to the point of not telling them the truth. We want enough boldness to risk ourselves as the Lord does, but we also want enough brokenness to weep when people refuse to repent.

We cannot shrink away from hard truth if we are to be faithful evangelists. That’s unloving and untruthful. But we ought never speak hard truth with a hard heart. That’s unloving and misrepresents the truth. We are most ready to evangelize when we have both boldness and brokenness. Let us be that kind of church, marked by genuine zeal to tell people the good news, and as we go we leave a trail of tears, weeping over the lost. We need Jeremiahs among us—weeping prophets. We ought to ask the Lord to examine our hearts to see if we are either too hard and uncaring or too brash in a worldly boldness. May the Lord by his Spirit give us the correct temper of brokenness and boldness to declare the gospel.

The Lord Challenges People Directly or Personally

Luke 14:1-24

Fourth, the Lord challenges people directly and personally. Luke 14:1 moves us to the third scene in our text. It’s another Sabbath. This time the Lord appears at a dinner party “at the house of one of the leading Pharisees.” This party includes all the important people of religious society. It’s not a friendly dinner party. “They were watching him closely.” They hoped to trap him.

The Lord is not seeking the approval of anyone there. He’s not trying to fit in, to schmooze, or to shape his message so people feel more comfortable. In fact, the Lord is in everybody’s face. As an evangelist, Jesus challenges people in every situation.

The Religious (14:2-6)

The Lord heals a man who had dropsy. He knows they’re watching him, and he knows it’s the Sabbath. It sure does seem like the Pharisees start a lot of conflict on the day of rest! This issue of the Sabbath just keeps coming up. Apparently you can’t change a Pharisee in one conversation. Religious hypocrisy is stubborn.

Jesus heals this man right in from of them. But before he does he asks the lawyers and Pharisees if it’s lawful to do so (v. 3). And after the Lord heals the man, he asks them if they wouldn’t do the same for a son or an ox (v. 5). Jesus designs the question to provoke compassion in them and to convict them with regard to the man with dropsy.

Jesus performs the miracle right before their eyes, and their hearts do not soften one bit. No one’s mind is changed. No one’s heart is changed. When we pray for evangelism and the work of God, let us not be like those Christians more concerned for miracles than the message itself. To a hard heart, miracles are no more compelling than words. No one is saved simply by witnessing miraculous events (see 16:30-31). Let us be more concerned that the Lord give our words power. The Lord may send miracles if he wants, but let us not trust in miracles but in the power of the gospel itself.

Jesus heals the man, and “They could find no answer to these things” (v. 6). But they did not need to give an answer to these things, to refute them. They needed to humble themselves and submit to the Lord. These scribes and Pharisees are just like the ones earlier in our text. They’re hypocrites. The Lord effectively says so to their face at a dinner party.

The Proud (14:7-11)

The Lord addresses the entire room now because he notices everyone attempting to sit next to the host. The Lord tells a story about sitting at the head of the table and getting bumped down to the bottom. It’s a story about pride and seeking prominence. Verse 11 delivers the punch line: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” The way to be exalted is to seek humility. It is better to start low and allow others to exalt you than to start high and have others demote you. This is the way of the gospel and the kingdom: Those who seek humility find that God exalts them.

The Wealthy (14:12-14)

Then Jesus speaks to the wealthy. He tells them not to throw banquets for their rich family and friends. Instead, they should give a feast for the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. That’s how they will be blessed—by showing generosity to those who cannot repay them and waiting for their reward in the resurrection. I’ll bet you that room full of rich and powerful people fell quiet. There were no poor, broken, or lame people there because there was no concern for the kingdom there. But our Lord wasn’t finished.

The Presuming (14:15-24)

The Lord addresses those who seem to presume they’re going to heaven (vv. 15-24). Someone at the table said, “Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (v. 15). Maybe he was like the man who asked whether there would only be a few in the kingdom, because Jesus answers him very similarly. Perhaps he assumed the wealthy would surely enter the kingdom. The Lord relates a story about a man who gave “a large banquet and invited many” (v. 16), but all the folks on his first list made excuses and said they couldn’t come. One person said he had to look after his newly purchased field (v. 18). Another person said he had cattle to tend to (v. 19). Someone else said he was on his honeymoon (v. 20). They all probably think they are in good standing with the man who invited them and can presume upon their position with him.

So the man tells his servant to go into the streets and alleys of the city and “bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame” (v. 21). When there’s still more room, the man says, “Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled” (v. 23). If the kingdom is taken away from the worldly wise and powerful, it’s given to the poor and marginalized. That truth runs throughout this passage and Luke’s Gospel. We see it in verses 2, 13, and 21. The man in the story symbolized God. God has an underlying and continuing concern for the poor, the broken, and the mistreated of society. God fills his house with such people. “For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy my banquet” (v. 24). The broken enter the kingdom, not the healthy. The more we admit our brokenness and need, the closer we get to the kingdom of God. The more we deny our brokenness and need, the further away we get from the kingdom of God.

When Jesus addresses the religious, the proud, the wealthy, and the presuming, he is not simply shaming people over small sins. Each of those attitudes is a major, damnable sin.

• The hypocrite: The Lord hates hypocrisy. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in” (Matt 23:13).
• The proud: God hates pride. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6).
• The wealthy: Money can be an idol. God hates idols. “No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13).
• The presuming: Without repentance you cannot enter the kingdom. “Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’” (Matt 3:8-9).

God shows kindness to sinners so that they might recognize his kindness and come to him. All of these sins are, in fact, major sins that keep men from the forgiveness and love of God. That is why the Lord addresses them directly and personally—even at a dinner party.

Applications

Let us redefine the term “hard to reach.” We often talk about “tough neighborhoods” and “poor neighborhoods” being “hard to reach.” But in Luke’s Gospel, the poor and the broken flock to Jesus. It’s those who trust in their riches, who seek power among men, who make religion a show who are “hard to reach.” Those are the ones who have their houses forsaken, who get cast out.

Jesus tells these same types of people that “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you” (Matt 21:31). That is a real check on religious hypocrisy and pride.

The Lord says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25). It seems God thinks the wealthy are “hard to reach,” and the poor should be invited to come into his kingdom.

When we get this backward we think we need the favor of the rich while we hesitate to reach the poor. In the Bible Christ gives the kingdom to the poor and condemns the rich who trust their riches. If the area of D.C. east of the Anacostia River is known for its poverty and crime, we should rejoice! The Lord has a people here who will believe the gospel and enter the kingdom of God long before many people in suits on Capitol Hill.

God will fill his house (v. 23). He will compel people to come. The gospel is compelling, beloved. And it will be our neighbors who fill the halls of heaven!

The Lord Is Upfront about the Cost of Discipleship

Luke 14:25-35

Finally, the Lord tells people up front what it will cost to follow him.

It’s the fourth scene. “Great crowds were traveling with him” (v. 25). But a crowd is not the same thing as a church. You can gather a crowd through a lot of methods. You can only gather a church through evangelism and discipleship. So the Lord turned and began to address the crowd. He wants to be crystal clear about what it means to follow him.

Following Jesus requires four significant costs: (1) “Hate” our family and our lives (v. 26). (2) Bear our own cross (v. 27). (3) Count the costs (vv. 28-32). (4) Renounce all that we have (v. 33).

By “hate” your family, the Lord does not mean carnal hatred. “Hate” is metaphorical. We know that because almost everywhere the Lord commands his people to love. By “hate” he means to make them such a distant second in priority relative to him that it seems you hate them by comparison. In other words, for the Christian, the family cannot be an idol. We care for our family, yes. We provide for them as a demonstration of faith (1 Tim 5:8). But discipleship will call you to leave family and to reprioritize them in ways completely contrary to the world’s system. We must count that cost.

By bear your own cross, Jesus means we must join him in suffering. Every disciple has a cross to bear. We must pick it up and carry it daily. That cross is our dying. It’s our self-denial. It’s joining the Savior in his suffering so that we advance his kingdom. Jesus teaches that cross-carrying is essential—not incidental—to the Christian life. Our crosses look different. For one it’s family persecution. For another it’s remaining sexually pure while single. For another it’s refusing corruption. They differ, but we all have one. To be disciples, we must each carry our cross.

Counting the costs means considering what the Lord requires of you so you don’t turn back when you are forced to pay up. We must look squarely at the costs of following Jesus and then commit ourselves with that knowledge. Do you have enough to complete the tower or go to war? Will you persevere until the end no matter what? Will you deny yourself in order to serve him? Will you serve him no matter the family pressure? Will you endure hardship like a good soldier for the sake of knowing him? Or will you let those things make you ashamed and turn back? The point is not to count the costs and turn away if it’s too costly; it is to count the costs and embrace them because it is worth it. As someone has said, “Salvation is free, but it will cost you everything.” If we continue, then we are his disciples. If we turn back, then we never knew him.

In summary, following Jesus requires we renounce everything we have: our relationships, our desires, our lives, our possessions, everything. None of it will have a hold on us—only Christ. None of it will command our top loyalty—only Christ. None of it will keep us from serving Christ. Our death in discipleship is really our life in Christ. To follow Jesus as a disciple means we exchange the entire world for that kingdom to come.

• Am I willing to hate all other relationships to receive the love of God in Jesus Christ?
• Am I willing to die to my own desires and plans to live by God’s will for me?
• Am I willing to surrender all my possessions to receive God’s kingdom?

Consider the alternative. If we reject our Lord’s cross and our cross, we become as worthless as ruined salt. In the ancient world salt was used as currency and as a preservative. But ruined salt had no value; neither does a “Christian” without a cross. We are properly tossed to the manure pile. The wasted life is the life that’s jealously grasped and forgets the cross. So the Lord asks, “For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” (Matt 16:26).

Conclusion

The blessed life is the life gladly surrendered and found again in Christ. That can be you today. You have a decision to make between life and death, blessing and cursing, between the kingdom of God and an everlasting hell. You may have life, blessing, and a kingdom that cannot be shaken or ruined or lost. You may have a life that truly is life, abundant and everlasting. Or you may have a death that is not “sleep” but torment, that is not a moment but everlasting, that is not quiet but agonizing. Hell is no vacation for the cool people of this world. Hell is not a place of partying but of suffering.

Christ has come into the world to save you from hell and to keep you for heaven. He lived in our place to provide our righteousness. He died in our place to atone for our sin. In his resurrection he proves he has defeated death and the devil. In his resurrection he proves there is acceptance with God and a life with God that will not end. He offers that life to anyone who will repent of sin, believe in him, take up their cross, and follow him. Today is the day of salvation. Hurry. One day the door to the kingdom will be closed. Do not delay.

Reflect and Discuss

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself as an evangelist?
2. When was the last time you spoke to someone about Jesus? How did it go?
3. How would you rate your brokenness and boldness as an evangelist? Spend some time praying for God’s grace in this area.
4. When you hear the phrase “hard to reach,” who comes to mind? Who are the “hard to reach” in this section of Luke’s Gospel? How does your answer compare to Luke’s?
5. Why do you think people tend to regard the poor as “hard to reach” and not the wealthy?
6. Consider the marks of Christian discipleship in Luke 14:25-35. Do you think most people think of these marks when they think of being a Christian? Why or why not? What difference would these marks make on Christian life and ministry if they were remembered and more tightly applied?