And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:18–22
When tension and hostility erupted into armed confrontation and bloodshed in Lexington in 1775, the first shot fired was said later by Emerson to have been “heard round the world.” This is because it sparked a conflict that engulfed Europe as well as America. Realizing that this war could only be won with strong alliances across the Atlantic, colonists sent representatives like Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to France to negotiate a treaty with King Louis. When it became clear that France would join the colonies only when they knew there was no chance of their reconciliation with the mother country, the Declaration of Independence was published, severing all ties with Great Britain. Well known is the line which reads, “For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Legend has it that when John Hancock––whose signature stands out so prominently on the document––urged that the signers must “all hang together” through the conflict, Dr. Franklin responded, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” These men were not ignorant of where their chosen course would lead and what it might cost.
When people started following Jesus, far from hiding the cost of discipleship, Jesus urged everyone to count it. He was honest from the start about the level of commitment they would need in order to be His disciples. There would be times when no one would take them in (Luke 9:58), like one occasion when Jesus passed through Samaria (v 53). He told them that discipleship would cost them all they had (Luke 14:26–33), including a number of things that most would consider too dear to part with (18:22–26). There would also be great benefits for those who chose to follow Him (Matthew 19:29–30), but even then He warns that the reward might not be what they expected (Matthew 20:16–23).
Jesus says that we must deny ourselves in order to follow Him. When Peter rebuked the Lord for saying that He would soon die in Jerusalem, He told this well-meaning disciple that he needed to be more mindful of the things of God and less concerned with the things of men (Matthew 16:23). If we want to follow Jesus, we will have to do so with a cross in tow everywhere we go (Luke 9:23). This cross isn’t just the aggregate of whatever hardships life deals us; it represents the difficulties and losses that we accept as a consequence of our decision to follow Jesus.
What will it cost to follow Jesus? It will cost you your life. While we might never be called upon to die for the cause of Christ, He expects all of us to lay down our lives upon the altar of redemption just as He did. Jesus didn’t surrender His life only on Calvary. He laid down His life when He left a tranquil existence in Galilee to preach the gospel and heal the sick. He laid down His life when He allowed Himself to be baptized by John and then tempted by the devil. He laid down His life in the many kindnesses that He showed along the way that led Him from Galilee to Gethsemane. Jesus never lived for Himself. His life was never His own. He did the Father’s bidding––always (John 8:29). This is what it means for us to surrender our lives and to carry our crosses after Him. Are you willing to surrender your will every day for the rest of your life? Yes, the rewards of the Christian life exceed what the human mind can imagine, but before you come to Jesus, be sure that you count the cost.