Luke 14:28-33 28For which of you wanting to build a tower, does not while sitting down first count the cost, whether he has enough for completion? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, everyone who sees might begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Jesus now illustrates his invitation to discipleship with two short stories. The first is about building a tower. Towers were common at that time. Towers were built around farms to keep an eye on a field against the threat of thieves or wild animals (Mark 12:1). Herod built watch towers for cities and fortresses. This story is built on a rhetorical question that involves the audience who can pretend or imagine that they are going to build such a tower. There are many applications to this situation today, for example, building a house or garage. It takes careful planning to make sure there is enough money to buy the materials and then that all the materials are correct and delivered to the building site. Building a tower or house is a major undertaking and investment of time and money.
Verse 29 gives the problem in the story: starting the tower but not having enough to finish it. Many neighborhoods have half finished houses or buildings. One philosophy about that is if the building is not finished, then the person does not need to pay the full taxes. The situation in this parable is that tower gets started with a foundation but gets no further. It became the eye sore for the neighborhood. The sad result of the situation is that people mocked the person trying to build a tower.
The point of this short story is that one must count the cost before starting a major project. Jesus uses this story in the a fortiori style of argumentation, going from the lesser to the greater. The implied message is that one must count the cost of following Jesus. It is not enough to start the journey out of curiosity but then stop halfway. It is not enough to bow at an altar of prayer and ask for forgiveness and then never live out this faith. Discipleship by intention is not good enough. Discipleship requires the commitment that comes with a journey. We must look at what following Jesus will require of us. It does not cost money but our selves, wills, plans, goals, dreams, and priorities. We need to align our thinking with the mind of Christ. Following Jesus means exactly that: he is the leader and we are the followers who do as he directs.
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