The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Week 4: Discipleship and the Cross

Read Chapter 4 of The Cost of Discipleship ("Discipleship and the Cross"). Key passages: Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:31-38; Luke 14:27.

Here Bonhoeffer unpacks the most startling feature of the call — that it leads directly toward suffering and death — and he insists this is not an unfortunate side effect but the very heart of what it means to follow.

Discussion Questions

7 questions

1.Bonhoeffer writes that "to endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ." What distinction is he drawing between the crosses Christians are called to bear and the ordinary suffering that comes to everyone in a fallen world?

2.He argues that the cross is not chosen by the disciple — it is laid upon us by our allegiance to Jesus in a world that rejected him. How does this change the way we might think about difficulties in our own lives? Which hardships in your life might be crosses, and which are simply troubles?

3.Bonhoeffer makes the arresting claim that Jesus' call to "deny yourself" means to say "no" to the self — to cease treating the self as the reference point of all decisions. How is this different from ordinary self-discipline or self-improvement?

4.He notes that the cross always involves a rupture — with family, community, reputation, comfort — and that this rupture is not incidental but constitutive of discipleship. Where have you experienced (or avoided) such a rupture in your own following of Jesus?

5.Bonhoeffer writes: "If we refuse to take up our cross and submit to suffering and rejection at the hands of men, we forfeit our fellowship with Christ and have ceased to follow him." Does this feel like an overstatement to you? Why or why not?

+ 4 more questions in this week

Get all 96 questions across 13 weeks

Get Full Guide — $24.99

Closing Prayer

Full guide

Lord Jesus, you bore a cross for us that we could never bear for ourselves. And yet you call us to take up our own crosses and follow. Forgive us for the ways we have arranged our lives to avoid suffering, rejection, and rupture — mistaking comfort for blessing and ease for faithfulness. Give us the courage to follow you even where it costs us something real. And remind us that the way of the cross is not the end of life but the only road to it. Amen.

Week 3 View Full Guide Week 5

Get the Complete 13-Week Study Guide

All 96 discussion questions, weekly reading schedule, closing prayers, and a downloadable PDF for your group.

Get Your Guide — $24.99

All Weeks in This Guide

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13

More by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Spiritual Growth & Disciplines Christian Living