June 22, 2025
Luke 13:22–30 ESV
He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” 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. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 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 you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Discussion Questions:
1) Who was Jesus referring to when he first spoke these words during his first advent?
2) Do these have application during the Gospel Age or Gospel Age harvest?
Discussion Summary:
Reading verse 27 literally, we see that Jesus is referring to the people throughout Galilee and Judea that he preached to. This would include the religious leaders of his day (Scribes, Pharisees, Doctors of the Law) and the common people. There is a parallel passage in Matthew 8:5-13 where Jesus says of the Roman Centurion, “No one in Israel have I found such faith.”
The door of access and opportunity is controlled by Jesus (Revelation 3:7). The nation of Israel lost their opportunity to obtain the promise of inheritance as described in Romans 11:7.
We too can assume that we are Christians and therefore will automatically inherit the promises of God. But this assumption can lead to a condition of pride and a lack of conscientiousness. We must ask ourselves: Do my words and actions line up with God’s word and with each other? Are we living as Jesus asks us to live? The lesson of these verses is that we can’t go on pretending forever!
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