Lessons in the Wilderness - Part 8
Luke 13:22-30
There could be many ways this question was posed. One of those being a man who looks at how evil the world is, how bad the world is, then looking at Jesus and asking, "Will only a few be saved, in such a fallen world?" Again, there could be many angles here and you never know how the mystery person might have wanted to trap Jesus. Instead of directly answering the question, Jesus sort of shifts the conversation. I think that Jesus answered his question in a way by saying, "Work hard to enter the narrow door to God's Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail." What does this say to us? After all, Jesus' response is literally, "Strive ye" meaning that He isn't speaking to him only who asked the question, but to all.
We can deduce that we won't get into heaven by accident. Furthermore, we can see that Jesus teaches in His response that many will expect to enter, but will be sadly mistaken.
"We ate and drank with you!" So did Judas.
"You taught in our streets!" But did you listen?
"I went to church and I was very religious!" Did you care for the least of these?
"I knew who you were and believed in you!" Did you make Me Lord of your life?
Then Jesus will tell them, "And people will come from all over the world -- from east and west, north and south -- to take their places in the Kingdom of God. And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then." I think what Jesus is trying to get at is this: When we get to heaven, we will see people who perhaps we are surprised to see. There might even be people we knew would be there who won't be there. In other words, we think we have it all figured out in our minds, but perhaps we don't. I think Jesus wants us to pay special attention to the fact that we might, many more than likely, have it completely wrong. Pay special attention to the way Jesus lived. Pay special attention to the words He taught in His three years of ministry. Pay special attention to the way He addressed the sinners, the least of these, and take notice of how He addressed the pious leaders.
We often want to hear only what is grace-filled and what gives us the warm-and-fuzzies. This is a hard word but one that I think we should pay attention to. When you think about this response from Jesus, pause for a moment and let the Spirit speak to you. What does He say to you? Are there things we need to do differently so that we are able to live each and every day with the intentionality our Lord wanted us to follow?
There could be many ways this question was posed. One of those being a man who looks at how evil the world is, how bad the world is, then looking at Jesus and asking, "Will only a few be saved, in such a fallen world?" Again, there could be many angles here and you never know how the mystery person might have wanted to trap Jesus. Instead of directly answering the question, Jesus sort of shifts the conversation. I think that Jesus answered his question in a way by saying, "Work hard to enter the narrow door to God's Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail." What does this say to us? After all, Jesus' response is literally, "Strive ye" meaning that He isn't speaking to him only who asked the question, but to all.
We can deduce that we won't get into heaven by accident. Furthermore, we can see that Jesus teaches in His response that many will expect to enter, but will be sadly mistaken.
"We ate and drank with you!" So did Judas.
"You taught in our streets!" But did you listen?
"I went to church and I was very religious!" Did you care for the least of these?
"I knew who you were and believed in you!" Did you make Me Lord of your life?
Then Jesus will tell them, "And people will come from all over the world -- from east and west, north and south -- to take their places in the Kingdom of God. And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then." I think what Jesus is trying to get at is this: When we get to heaven, we will see people who perhaps we are surprised to see. There might even be people we knew would be there who won't be there. In other words, we think we have it all figured out in our minds, but perhaps we don't. I think Jesus wants us to pay special attention to the fact that we might, many more than likely, have it completely wrong. Pay special attention to the way Jesus lived. Pay special attention to the words He taught in His three years of ministry. Pay special attention to the way He addressed the sinners, the least of these, and take notice of how He addressed the pious leaders.
We often want to hear only what is grace-filled and what gives us the warm-and-fuzzies. This is a hard word but one that I think we should pay attention to. When you think about this response from Jesus, pause for a moment and let the Spirit speak to you. What does He say to you? Are there things we need to do differently so that we are able to live each and every day with the intentionality our Lord wanted us to follow?
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