The Cost of Following Jesus: Luke 9 and Q&A

Luke closes this section of stories about Jesus’ identity with three short encounters that make the point plain: following Jesus costs something. Jesus does not treat discipleship like words are enough. A man says he will follow Jesus anywhere, and Jesus answers with the reality that the Son of Man has nowhere comfortable to lay his head. Another man wants to bury his father first. Another wants to say goodbye to family first. Jesus presses on comfort, tradition, and family, not because those things are bad, but because they cannot come before the King.

The choice to follow Jesus is never consequence free. Every yes carries a no somewhere else. Every little choice has an opportunity cost, whether it is a new job, an app, a conversation, a date, or even Taco Bell for lunch. Big moments often make people stop and take stock, but Luke’s picture of discipleship asks what the daily choices are forming in a person. Jesus calls for love that puts God first, even when that love gets uncomfortable.

Bonhoeffer’s life puts flesh on that costly discipleship. Bonhoeffer did not merely write about self denial and repentance. He helped Jews escape, trained pastors underground, and eventually lost his life under Nazi Germany. His choices were made with eyes wide open. Jesus does not promise that faithfulness will preserve comfort, traditions, relationships, or even life itself. Jesus calls people to count the cost because he is a King worth following.

Luke 8 also shows that women supported Jesus and his disciples in deeply practical ways. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others likely gave money, opened homes, fed people, and created a network of hospitality for Jesus’ ministry. Their presence reminds the church that kingdom work has always depended on ordinary faithfulness and generous support.

Luke 6:38 cannot be reduced to a prosperity formula. Jesus speaks into an honor and shame culture where every gift expected something in return. Jesus overturns that system by calling his followers to give freely, even to enemies, without making money the point. Giving can involve a wallet, but it also involves time, honor, hospitality, service, and whatever a person is actually able to offer.

Jesus’ encounters with demons also remind modern people that reality is not merely physical. Science can study and measure much that is true and good, but philosophical naturalism cannot prove that only measurable things are real. Christ meets whole people in a world that includes sickness, sin, sadness, bodies, souls, and spiritual opposition. Luke continues to announce that Jesus is King, and that King calls for more than cheap words.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Following Jesus costs real things. Jesus names comfort, family, and tradition because these are good things that can quietly become ultimate things. Discipleship does not require contempt for human loves, but it does require their proper order. Christ refuses to be added onto a life already ruled by other loyalties. [43:08]
• 2. Words are cheap, choices reveal allegiance. A person can say, “I will follow you anywhere,” while still assuming Jesus will fit inside personal plans. Jesus brings the real consequences into view before someone makes that claim. Faithfulness becomes visible in the choices that cost something, especially when no one else is watching. [42:39]
• 3. Give from what God has given. Jesus does not turn generosity into a transaction that guarantees financial return. Money matters, but time, hospitality, service, honor, and care also belong to the life of giving. A person in financial hardship is not shut out from kingdom generosity, because love finds real ways to give what it has. [59:45]
• 4. Reality is more than measurable matter. Christian faith does not require rejection of science, medicine, or careful study of the physical world. Christian faith also refuses to flatten humanity into only what can be quantified. Jesus’ encounters with demons call attention to the spiritual depth of persons and the world they inhabit. [65:30]
• 5. Jesus is a King worth following. Luke’s first nine chapters keep pressing the question of Jesus’ identity. Jesus is not merely an interesting teacher whose advice can be sampled when convenient. Jesus is King and Savior, the one who rescues from sickness, sin, and sadness, and whose call deserves wholehearted allegiance.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:55] - The Cost Behind Every Choice
• [40:27] - Jesus Calls for Counted Cost
• [41:09] - Luke 9:57-62
• [42:09] - Comfort, Tradition, and Family
• [44:42] - Bonhoeffer and Costly Discipleship
• [46:27] - Q and A Sunday Begins
• [48:43] - Women Supporting Jesus’ Ministry
• [53:08] - Giving Beyond Prosperity Gospel
• [61:11] - Demons, Science, and Spiritual Reality
• [68:10] - Prayer and Deliverance Ministry
• [71:08] - Jesus the King Worth Following

Bible Reading

Luke 9:57-62
“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, '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.' To another he said, 'Follow me.' But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' And Jesus said to him, 'Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Yet another said, 'I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” [41:09]

Luke 8:1-3
“Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.” [48:43]

Luke 6:38
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” [53:08]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 9:57–62, what does each person say or ask before following Jesus, and how does Jesus respond to each one? [41:20]
2. What possible costs of following Jesus are highlighted through Jesus’ references to a place to sleep, burying a father, and saying goodbye to family? [43:08]
3. In Luke 8:1–3, which women are named as supporting Jesus’ ministry, and what does the passage say about the source of their support? [48:51]
4. In the discussion of Luke 6:38, what kinds of giving besides money are identified as ways Christians can give? [56:24]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus answer eager promises to follow him by bringing up discomfort, family responsibilities, and looking back? What does this reveal about the kind of allegiance he calls for? [42:39]
2. Jesus does not say that comfort, family, or meaningful traditions are bad. What does it mean to keep these good things in their proper order under love for God? [43:41]
3. How does the setting of Luke 6:38—loving enemies and giving without demanding repayment—guard against treating generosity as a way to get richer? [55:38]
4. What does the support of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others show about the importance of practical service, hospitality, and financial support in Jesus’ ministry? [50:08]

Application questions

1. What is one area where following Jesus feels costly right now—comfort, schedule, money, reputation, a relationship, or a familiar habit? What would faithful obedience look like in that area? [44:07]
2. Small choices shape a person over time. What repeated choice in your week—an app, entertainment, spending habit, conversation, work pattern, or relationship—is forming you? Is it helping you follow Jesus more faithfully? [39:32]
3. Is there a good thing in your life that can quietly become an ultimate thing? How might you recognize when comfort, family expectations, or a personal tradition is taking first place over Jesus? [43:51]
4. Where might you be tempted to offer Jesus cheap words while protecting your own plans? What is one concrete choice that would put those words into practice this week? [42:44]
5. What resources has God already placed in your hands—money, time, a home, a skill, encouragement, meals, transportation, or attention? How could you use one of them to support someone or serve God’s kingdom? [57:23]
6. Generosity is not a transaction meant to guarantee something in return. Is there someone you could serve, honor, forgive, or help without expecting repayment, recognition, or gratitude? [56:30]
7. Jesus is King and Savior, not simply a teacher whose advice can be taken when convenient. What would it look like for your decisions this week to reflect that Jesus has the final authority in your life? [01:11:29]