Luke 13:24-30
King James Version (KJV)
25When
once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin
to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us;
and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26Then
shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast
taught in our streets.
27But
he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye
workers of iniquity.
28There
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves
thrust out.
29And
they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from
the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30And,
behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be
last.
What we have
here in this parable someone asking the following question,
Are there few that are saved? Luke 13:23: —“If the saved be few? Master, I have heard
thou shouldest say so; is it true?”
13:24: The gate is strait (that
is, narrow) because Christ is the only Door (John 10:7-9), and repentance and
faith are the only means of admission.
13: 25-27: At the Last Judgment the door will be closed, and those who are now indifferent
to Christ will claim acquaintance with Him. However, superficial knowledge
about Christ and His teaching will not substitute for personal repentance and
faith, which bring a true relationship with Him.
Reflections
We are to be warned
that what we practice demonstrates our relationship with Jesus. Never
undervalue obedience. Know that
many who expect divine approval will receive censure or even judgment instead.
Consider this thought for a
moment: You’ve looked at the above picture of Jesus knocking at the door, maybe a half of dozen times or
more; and if some of you are like me, your first thought might have been
something like, “oh, what a beautiful painting_”. Tell me, what did you
think, if anything, beyond the beauty? Let me share my thoughts. Long
before my in-depth study of God’s gospel, whenever I’d see any type of picture, portrait, or sketch of Jesus, I
would experience a quickening in my spirit. I didn’t know then that the
Holy Spirit within me was speaking to my heart.
IT WAS JESUS KNOCKING!
Back to the question – This is where my study took me: 1. Perhaps it was a captious query. He put it
to him, tempting him, with a design to ensnare him and lessen his reputation.
If he should say that many would be saved, they would reproach him as too
loose, and making salvation cheap; if few, they would reproach him as precise
and strait-laced. The Jewish doctors said that all Israel should have a place
in the world to come; and would he dare to contradict that?
2. Perhaps it was a curious question,
a nice speculation, which he had lately been disputing upon with his
companions, and they all agreed to refer it to Christ. Note, Many are more
inquisitive respecting who shall be saved, and who not, than respecting what
they shall do to be saved. Does this sound familiar? If we are honest, we will admit that it is indeed a thought that is ever
present in our mind. It is commonly asked, “May such and such be saved?” But it
is well that we may be saved without knowing this.
3. Perhaps it was an admiring question.
He had taken notice how strict the law of Christ was, and how bad the world
was, and, comparing these together, cries out, “How few are there that will be
saved!”
Jesus did not give a direct answer to this enquiry, for he
came to guide our consciences, not to gratify our curiosity. Ask not, “How many shall be saved?” But, be they
more or fewer, “Shall I be one of them?” Not, “What shall become of such and such, and what shall this man do?”
But, “What shall I do, and what will
become of me?” Now in Christ’s answer observe,
- A quickening exhortation and direction:
Strive to enter in at the strait gate. This is directed not to him only
that asked the question, but to all, to us, it is in the plural number:
Strive ye. Note, (1.) All that
will be saved must enter in at the strait gate, must undergo a change of the whole man, such as amounts to no less
than being born again, and must submit to a strict
discipline. (2.) Those that would enter in at the strait gate must strive
to enter. It is a hard matter to get
to heaven, and a point that will not be gained without a great deal of
care and pains, of difficulty and diligence. We must strive with God in
prayer, wrestle as Jacob, and strive against sin and Satan. We must strive
in every duty of religion; strive with our own hearts, agonizes the—“Be in
an agony; strive as those that run for a prize; excite and exert ourselves
to the / utmost.”
Think of the distinguishing day that is coming and the decisions of that day, and perhaps it will be you who will say there are a few that shall be saved and that we are concerned to strive:
The Master of the
house will rise up, and shut to the door, Luke
13:25. Christ is the Master of the
house, that will take
cognizance of all that frequent his house and are retainers to it, will examine
comers and goers and those that pass and re-pass. Now he seems as if he left
things at large; but the day is coming when he will rise up, and shut to the
door. Perhaps some of you may be asking, what
door? The below is what the WORD OF
GOD says:
[1.] A door of distinction. Now,
within the temple of the church there are carnal professors who worship in the outer-court
and spiritual professors who worship within the veil; between these the door is
now open, and they meet promiscuously in the same external performances. But,
when the Master of the house is risen up, the door will be shut between them,
that those who are in the outer-court may be kept out, and left to be trodden
underfoot by the Gentiles, Rev. 11:2.
As to those that are filthy, shut the door upon them, and let them be filthy
still; that those who are within may be kept within, that those who are holy
may be holy still. The door is shut to separate between the precious and the
vile, that sinners may no longer stand in the congregation of the righteous.
Then you shall return, and discern betwixt them.
[2.] A door of denial and exclusion.
The door of mercy and grace has long stood open to them, but they would not
come in by it, would not be beholden to the favor of that door; they hoped to
climb up some other way, and to get to heaven by their own merits, and
therefore when the Master of the house is risen up he will justly shut that
door; let them not expect to enter by it, but let them take their own measures.
Thus, when Noah was safe in the ark, God shut the door, to exclude all those
that depended upon shelters of their own in the approaching flood.
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories
Theatre of
Fine &
Performing Arts (BSTFPA)
www.biblestoriestheatre.org
