Luke 14:31-33, 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
In Part 2 of The Cost of Discipleship, we looked at the first parable Jesus gave, about counting the cost. In the second parable he gives the other side of the coin. If they chose not to follow Him, if they reject Christ, the result will nevertheless be the same, it will still cost them everything.
Illustration #2: The King & His Army: Jesus begins again with a rhetorical question (v.31) “Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? He’s describing a military conflict between two adversarial (opposing) kings, and the approaching military shows itself to vastly outmatch the king with the smaller army. He references the 20,000 Goliath’s army is going to crush the 10,000 David’s army, and David must surrender before the casualties reach the point of no return for the army – before there is no army left!
The lesser king will lose everything, and become slave to the greater king. This is a winner takes all battle!
The lesser king sits down to deliberate, calculate the cost (the men, the casualties, the time, the resources, the food to feed the men, and everything that accompanies war) and weighs his chances against the larger more forcefully advancing army. This shorthanded king must come to his sense, and realize his disadvantage before it is too late. He must send a delegate with terms of peace, maybe a fruitcake, to save his very life, and the lives of his men. The first king were those in the crowd that were unconverted, and the greater King was The Lord Jesus, the King of Kings (Rev 19:1516).
The once docile Lamb of God, and baby from the manger, is coming back in the wrath of the Lamb, as a roaring lion, returning in full vengeance upon all His enemies. He’s coming to conquer and to damn.
Soli Deo Gloria: You must make peace treaty with Christ today, repent and trust in Christ for salvation, because this greater King will crush all His enemies.