“Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”

Luke 13:22-14:6 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. ²³ And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; ²⁷ and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ ²⁸ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. ²⁹ And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

³¹ Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” ³² And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’ ³³ Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. ³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! ³⁵ Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

14 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. ² And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. ³ And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴ But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” ⁶ And they could make no reply to this.

In today’s text it says:  He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,  “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”  What Jesus says here flies in the face of the gospel and the doctrine that is proclaimed by many people today. The focus on grace; that Jesus has fully paid the price for all sin; past, present and future, leads many to say and believe that most people will be saved; that most people will go to heaven. The thing is it is not that it is difficult to get to heaven. It is not that just a few will be saved. That it is a narrow door does not mean that it is hard to find. In John 14:6 Jesus says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”   Jesus is the narrow way; the only way.  Those who seek to enter another way will not be able.

In the text Jesus says:  “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”   We should not concern ourselve with what our position is. We should not compare ourselves to others. Whether we are first or last is not what is important. All that matters is that we have a place at the table in the kingdom of God; that we come in before the door is shut. Here’s the thing, we cannot wait until we are faced with eternity to gain entry into heaven. If we want to enter heaven our decision to enter must be made on earth.  In John 14:23 Jesus says:  “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”  If we want to have a home in heaven, then we need to be at home with Jesus and the Father here on earth.  In Revelation 3:17-21 the Lord says:  “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”  If we will answer to the knock and the voice of the Lord now; if we will repent and allow Him access now, we will not be outside the door of heaven in the place with weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You that even before I knew You, You knocked at my door. Every day, by the power of the Holy Spirit, may I keep Your word so that here and now You will abide with me. Thank You for opening the narrow way through Christ and the cross so that I could enter. I do not care about my position among people, whether I am first or last. It only matters that I have a place at Your table and that my place with You will last forever.  Amen.