Salty Disciples Follow Jesus to Eternity

Rev. Matt Wietfeldt, Director of Admissions and the Christ Academy program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Luke 14:25-35.

Jesus turns to a broader audience of the great crowds who are journeying with Him but not yet His disciples. He speaks to let them know what following Him entails. To be a disciple of Jesus is to choose Him above all else, even over the closest earthly relationships or over the self. To be a disciple of Jesus is to carry a cross, following after Him as the Crucified One. Jesus’ disciples live with a view toward the end, desiring to build a tower that stands the test of time and to fight a war that ends in success. Only with Jesus as the foundation will the tower stand; only with Jesus fighting for you as your Savior will victory be won. Earthly possessions play no role in this, for they will be gone at death anyway; Jesus’ disciples are free to renounce them now. In this way, Jesus’ disciples remain salt that flavors and preserves; to lose saltiness is to lose faith and so become useless.

“The Beloved Physician’s Orderly Account” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. Luke. The Evangelist wrote his well-researched account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection so that Theophilus would have certainty concerning the things he had been taught. As we still read the Word of God recorded by St. Luke, our gracious Lord gives us that same certainty that Jesus is our Savior.