Luke 13:22-30
August 24, 2025
What are your plans for lunch today? Are you going to Cracker Barrel, Fiesta Mexicana, or a fast food restaurant? I’m sure if you plan to go to a restaurant after worship you may hope that you are able to get there before a lot of other people arrive, so that you can be seated relatively soon and be able to enjoy your meal. But what if you arrive and discover that there is a long line going out the door? And what if everyone waiting in line has a reservation except you? Also imagine that all of the other restaurants in the area are closed, all the food in your house is gone, and your neighbors don’t have any food as well. Plus, the grocery stores are all closed. The only thing you can do is watch outside, in the heat, through the windows as large platters of food are served to those inside the restaurant. Fresh salads, bread, meats, fruits and vegetables, and cool drinks are being enjoyed by the people inside and you are stuck on the outside with no chance of ever getting in today.
If you can imagine that scene, then you might understand, to a small degree, the sense of disappointment that will be experienced by those outside the kingdom of God on the Last Day. But their disappointment will be far greater than simply missing a meal at a local restaurant and having to stand outside in the heat. Their loss will be so great, so painful, that our text says they will weep and gnash their teeth.
Our Gospel lesson for today begins with a person asking Jesus, “Will those who are saved be few?” Maybe this person had a hard time believing that many people would enter the kingdom of God based on the way things looked in that area. But notice that Jesus does not give this person a simple “yes” or “no” answer. Instead His answer almost sounds like a politician. We all know that politicians have a tendency not to answer questions directly. They may tell an
audience in one area something quite different from what they tell an audience in another area, and yet, all in answer to the same question.
So in response to this question about how many are going to be saved, Jesus actually gives two answers – each in reference to a door. Jesus uses picturesque language to describe a narrow door that is wide open and a closed door that is locked.
The first part of Jesus’ answer is this: “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” While Jesus makes it very clear in His answer that not everyone will be saved, He definitely points out that the door to heaven is open to anyone. The door of opportunity is open to everyone; just like the door of opportunity is open for anyone to start their own business, but how many actually get to go through that door to fulfill their dream.
To say that the door is narrow, though, is not to put limits on how many can get in, but rather to indicate the importance of what lies beyond the door, and that entrance is only through the merits of Jesus Christ. Jesus points out in His answer that many will try to enter, but their methods of trying to get through the door are wrong – such as thinking that they can earn their way into heaven by doing all sorts of good things, or wishful thinking: “If our God is a loving God, He certainly won’t turn anyone away.”
Unfortunately society’s emphasis on religious inclusiveness is being pushed on the Christian Church today in such a way as to convince people that every religion worships the same God, so faith in Jesus is not the only way to receive eternal life. But this is not true. Christianity has always looked upon itself as an exclusive religion that says Jesus is the only God, the only way that leads to heaven.
So it is for these reasons, this all inclusive way of thinking, that I believe Jesus then talks about the door to heaven being shut. Verse 25 says “the owner of the house closes and locks the
door, even as others are outside knocking, looking to get in.” Here, as in other parts of Scripture, Jesus warns us that life is uncertain, time is short, and decisions about the kingdom of God are not to be put off. The sad truth that Jesus describes in this text is that the door that is now wide open will someday be closed, and there will be no second chance after death. It will be a tragic shock to those who are excluded from the kingdom of God, because there is no appealing God’s judgment that those who do not believe in Him will die. God’s offer of eternal life has to be confronted in this life.
When Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door” He meant that we need to make our relationship with Him a high priority in our lives, and this is where the Church comes in. The Church is a family where we love, support, and encourage each other to grow in our faith and our relationship with Jesus through worship, Bible study, and many different ministries. In fact, over the next several weeks we will be highlighting and promoting a variety of our ministries so that all of you can learn more about them and how you can become involved. You will learn about ways you can serve God and others inside and outside the church. But sadly, many people are not making their relationship with Jesus a high priority. According to several different studies today, the average Sunday worship attendance in most communities is just 17% of the population. Initially, I found that hard to believe, thinking it had to be higher than 17%, but when I thought about my neighbors and the people in my neighborhood, I realized it is probably true. If we love Jesus and love our church, we should want to be here, we should make it a priority to be together on a regular basis, but sadly many people will not commit to spending one day a week or even one Sunday a month worshipping God, let alone attending a Bible study.
Remember the reason Jesus gave for rejecting those who knock? He said, “I don’t know you,” meaning I didn’t have a personal relationship with you; you didn’t put your trust in me. In verse 26 the people tried to claim that they knew Jesus by saying, “We ate and drank in your presence,
and you taught in our streets.” But this knowledge of Jesus alone was not enough to gain people entrance into heaven.
God invites us to know Him and to be known by Him. That is why Jesus came into the world, to be near us, to experience everything that we experience, to know us, and to be known by us. How many times have we seen a job or a job promotion go to someone who did not necessarily deserve it? So often it is “who you know” or “who knows you” that gains you the promotion or the job in the first place, and many times it just doesn’t seem fair. Well, thank God that He is not fair, because no one deserve entrance into His kingdom as a result of our sin, but since Jesus was willing to walk through the narrow door of obedience to God’s will by living a perfect life and going all the way to the cross to die for us, we are known, personally, by God and we are welcomed into His kingdom. We know God through faith, and even though God knows all of the dark, sinful, hidden corners of our lives, He still loves us and invites us into His kingdom.
By the grace of God the door to heaven is still open and it is wide enough for people of every age, size, and social standing from north, south, east, and west to enter. But the opportunity is limited to this lifetime. There are many lost opportunities in life, I’m sure we all have our own personal experiences or examples, such as not investing in stocks before they went up in value, or not selling a house before the prices went down, or not getting a college education early in life. So Jesus says to us in His Word today, “don’t delay.” “Strive” to be committed to Him; take advantage of every chance God gives you to grow closer to Him, because someday it will be too late and anyone left outside the door will regret it when they see people in heaven, who believed in God and trusted in Jesus as the only way to heaven, gathered around His throne, offering Him thanks and praise. What a joy it is to know that God has prepared a place for you and me in His kingdom. I can hardly wait to enter through that door.
