The Urgent Need to be Ready
Luke 13:22-30
22 Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 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, and you yourselves thrown out. 29 Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
The text opens with the reminder that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, which causes us all to catch our breath because the showdown is ever closer. Some in the crowd sensed that time was short and so they asked a point-blank question – “will only a few people be saved?” That is, how many people are getting into the kingdom of God?
Jesus’ answer is cryptic, but some things are clear.
a. The door is narrow. That is the path of the kingdom of God is not wide and easy, it is narrow and hard. Notice the verb “strive”, walking the path of the kingdom of God is hard work. (See Luke 12:31)
b. Seek to enter the kingdom before the door closes. This is a repeat of the things we saw in Luke 12:35-48. Since no one knows when the door will close, enter the kingdom when there is still opportunity.
c. Knowing about Jesus, having heard his teaching, even hanging out with Jesus – none of that is entering the narrow door. To enter the narrow door is to commit to Jesus.
d. The surprise is that people we do not expect – from north and south and from east and west – will be in the kingdom. People from different cultures and ethnicities, from different social and economic backgrounds – those who have committed to Jesus – they will eat in the kingdom of God. Some of the last people to hear the good news about Jesus will take hold of that news with commitment and fervour, while some of those who have heard the good news again and again over many years will never grasp hold of the amazing good news of Jesus.
We are invited to enter now, so that we will have a place at the table.
PRAYER:
Lord who invites us, we feel the urgency of the invitation, we accept your invitation. Help us to find our way through the narrow door to your banqueting table. In Jesus’ name. Amen.