The Narrow Door

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Saturday August 24, 2024}

Luke 13:23-30

Father, please use me this very day to bring salvation to others. Please give me a heart that cares that many could be lost in the blink of an eye if Jesus was to come in the next five minutes. Father, give me a heart that breaks as I imagine my unsaved loved ones and friends begging for mercy after the door to heaven has been shut. Father, I want my loved ones and friends with me in heaven. Please use me in whatever way You deem necessary to bring them to faith. Amen.
Father, the text tells us that someone asked Jesus if only a few people are going to be saved. Jesus answered this question with the following lessons about salvation:

1. The majority of people will not be saved. A gate into the yard of a private home is likely to be narrow because only one person will pass through it at any given moment. A gate into a city is likely to be broad because many people, as well as carts, are likely to pass through it at any given moment. Therefore, a description of a gate as “narrow” or “broad” defines the volume of people who will enter through it. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (NIV)”

The majority of people will cling to their rebellion from You, even as they take their last breath. The majority of people are too proud to confess their sin and to humble themselves before You. The majority of people love this world too much to let go of it and to surrender their lives to You. The majority of people will choose to spend eternity away from You. The majority of people will choose hell.

1. The door to heaven will be suddenly and permanently closed. At some point, You will shut the door to heaven permanently. The text doesn’t suggest there will be any warning. There simply is no time for anyone to put off accepting Jesus Christ as their savior. Today is the day of salvation. We may not have a tomorrow. Today is also the day for evangelism. Our neighbors who don’t know Jesus may not have a tomorrow.
   
2. Many will regret that they rejected Jesus. Many will gather at the closed door and beg to be allowed into heaven. It is clear from this text that those who reject salvation through Jesus Christ will regret their decision after they die. They will plead for mercy as they are doomed to spend an eternity weeping (sorrow for the choice they made) and gnashing their teeth (suffering in a place without the goodness of God).
   
3. Jesus allows into heaven only those with whom He has a personal relationship on earth. Such individuals walked and talked with Jesus during their lives. They obeyed His commands and desired to honor and glorify Him. They had faith in salvation through Him. He knows their life story because they have shared it with Him. They sought Jesus’ counsel as they faced the many challenges of life. Conversely, Jesus doesn’t know those who are merely religious but don’t obey His commands. Attending meals at church or listening to sermons taught by a preacher is not knowing Jesus. Imagine the difference between a neighbor who someone rarely speaks to and a beloved spouse. The neighbor may know the person but not like a spouse does. In this metaphor, it is like that neighbor banging on the door, demanding to move into the home. However, they do not belong to the family and are not welcomed into the home.
   
4. Who will be in heaven?
   
1. Jesus tells us that the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament were saved by their faith in the coming Messiah. Included in that list are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We will find people of great faith across the ages, many mentioned in history books, who will be in heaven.
2. There will also be many people who were anonymous on earth who had extraordinary faith. Relatively unknown while they were alive (the last), their faith will be celebrated by many in heaven (the first). Conversely, there will be people who were famous Christians on earth (the first) who were not the spiritual giants that the public thought that they were. While their salvation is secure, their legacy will take a back seat in heaven (the last) to those who humbly and quietly gave everything they could with their meager resources to serve Jesus (the first).
3. Jesus said there will be people in heaven from all four corners of the earth. Given that the Jewish community was distributed primarily throughout lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, this is a clear reference to Gentiles who live in lands beyond that. Jesus is making it clear that salvation through Him is available to both Jews and Gentiles throughout the world.

Father, thank You that the One to whom every knee will bow has clearly spelled out for us the reality of the coming judgement and how we will be permitted to spend eternity with Him in Your Kingdom. Amen.