In this verse of Scripture we find the Lord had two goals as He was traveling to Jerusalem.
(1) His ultimate goal was to go to Jerusalem where He would die for the sins of mankind.
Luke told us that in Luke 9:51. We read, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, HE STEDFASTLY SET HIS FACE TO GO TO JERUSALEM,”
That is, He came to die for our sins, and He would not let anything sidetrack Him from this divine mission.
Listen, if any of us knew we were going to die in a certain place, we would go in just the opposite direction. But the Lord knew He was going to die in Jerusalem, and He was determined not to let anything stop him!
He loved us so much that, “He stedfastly set his face” toward Jerusalem and would not allow anything to stop him.
(2) His second goal as He traveled, was to teach in the cities and villages on the way to Jerusalem.
Until He reached Jerusalem, where He would die for the sins of mankind, He shared the spiritual truths people needed to hear everywhere He went. It did not matter if it was a large city or a small village.
These people in these cities and villages were blessed to be taught by the GREATEST, MOST TALENTED, SINCEREST TEACHER that ever lived.
WHAT IS TEACHING? Teaching has simply been defined as imparting knowledge from the teacher to the student.
There are many teaching tools that can be used to impart this knowledge. The Lord Jesus seemed to favor Parables.
The Bible tells us He TAUGHT THEM MANY PARABLES!
Teaching is a noble profession. However we have teachers today in our public schools that do not take teaching seriously.
• For example, you can ask a student at the end of the day, “WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY AT SCHOOL?” Some of these students will think for a few seconds and say, “I did not learn anything!” Why? Because their teacher did not take teaching seriously, and did not teach them anything.
• Sad to say, we also have teachers today in our Sunday school classes that do not take teaching seriously. You can ask some students that come out of these Sunday School classes what they learned, and they will also say, “I did not learn anything!” Why? Because these teachers did not take teaching seriously, and that child did not learn a thing.
But the Lord took teaching seriously, and the Bible said He took advantage of every opportunity to teach in every city and small village, as He was making His journey to Jerusalem to die for the sins of mankind.
Illus: William A. Ward has said:
• The mediocre teacher tells
• The good teacher explains
• The superior teacher demonstrates
• The great teacher inspires
The Lord went through these cities and villages inspiring people to serve God.
Once they heard the teachings of this great teacher, many of their lives were changed and they were never again the same person.
But as He was teaching in one place, someone asked Him a question. Look at verse 23, we read, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?”
The Lord gives us the Parable of the Closed Doors in response to this question.
As we look at this parable, we need to consider two things. First we need to consider -
I. THE CONFIDENCE OF THE JEWS
Jesus surprised his listeners by saying that being a Jew did not give them an open door to the Kingdom of heaven.
Many Jewish Rabbis held that all Israel would be saved, except for a few blatant sinners who excluded themselves! After all, they were specially chosen by God when he established a covenant with them.
Remember the question that motivated the Lord to give us this parable was, “…Lord, are there few that be saved?”
Perhaps a Jew asked this question in such a way as to suggest that only the Jews were going to be saved.
In verses 23-24a, Jesus is saying, "Before you get all immersed in HOW MANY are being saved from God’s final judgment, you'd better MAKE SURE YOU ARE SAVED."
He tells them a few things about salvation. Look at some of the things He tells them to consider.
A. LOOK AT THE WORD “STRAIT”
This is the word “Stenos,” which means narrow.
The "Narrow door" means that the WAY of salvation is NARROW.
There are not many ways to salvation as people today are suggesting. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY!
This NARROW WAY refers to Jesus himself, and His death on the cross for our sins. The only way a person can be saved is through Christ.
Look at John 14:6, we read, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
All the religious roads do not lead to heaven as some state.
Illus: Some say salvation is like a pyramid. Around the bottom of that large pyramid you have all the religions of the world. And they say, “It really does not matter which one you join because all religions leads us to heaven.”
This is one of the biggest lies that has ever been told!
Illus: One of Larry King’s favorite things to do on his national television talk show, is to get some Minister of the Gospel on his show and say, “You certainly are not saying that the only ones who are going to heaven are those who believe in Christ, are you?” He says it with such disgust, that if you state this is what you believe, you appear to be the most ignorant person on the face of the earth.
That is exactly what the Bible teaches!
• You may not like it!
• You may not agree with it!
But that is what the Bible teaches!
Look at John 10:9, we read, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved…”
The Lord makes it clear, He is not just ONE OF THE DOORS, He says, “I am the door!”
Jesus is the Lamb of God that was sacrificed for the sins of mankind. He is the only way for us to be saved.
He tells them to consider something else -
B. LOOK AT THE WORD “STRIVE”
This sounds like we must do something to earn our salvation. But that is not what the Bible is teaching at all.
As we look at the word “Strive,” we need to look at two things it teaches:
(1) First, the word “Strive” is describing something about saving faith.
The word “Strive” is the word “Agonizomai” (Pronounced as Ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee) which means to contend with an adversary.
We have to understand that when we accept the Lord Jesus, we no longer have a “Peace Treaty” with Satan. We have now become his adversary.
The Word strive here is THE SPIRIT, THE ATTITUDE, THE HEART THAT SETS ITSELF UPON GOD AND REFUSES TO BE DIVERTED OR TO BE COMMITTED TO ANYTHING ELSE.
Christianity is not something you try for a little while and see if you like it or not. It is something you ACCEPT with the mindset of being totally committed to serving the Lord.
IT IS THE TOTAL COMMITMENT OF ONE’S LIFE TO GOD IN SALVATION.
(2) "Strive" may also be used to bring in a note of urgency.
Look again at verses 24b-25, we read, “…For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When 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.”
• The point is not that God runs out of willingness to save us, but that we run out of time.
• The opportunity for salvation is limited.
• We can all be rescued from God’s final judgment through faith in Christ, but we only have a limited amount of time to make this decision.
Remember, the Lord is traveling to Jerusalem teaching in the many cities and the villages He enters as He travels.
BUT NOTICE SOMETHING HERE ABOUT THE TEACHER.
During this time, the teacher had the right to lock the door once he started his class. Tardy students did not have to be admitted.
Before the class, the student can come in and choose to learn, but once the class is started, the teacher then has the right to LOCK THE DOOR and refuse them entrance.
As the Lord was teaching in the many cities and villages that He entered, everyone had the opportunity to come and listen to the gospel message He taught, but there was a time when the door would be shut.
Based on this knowledge that they were familiar with, He said, in verses 25b-28, that some would say, “…Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I KNOW YOU NOT WHENCE YE ARE. Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he sall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are: depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and ganshing 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.”
Our time runs out…
• When we die (Heb. 9:27).
• When Jesus returns (Matt. 25:1-12)
…whichever comes first.
There is no second chance, as many of the cults teach. The Bible consistently says that the decision you make about Jesus in this life, have binding eternal implications.
Illus: Some might be saying, "I think it's probably true, but I'm going to put it off until I get older."
You can do this, but you are taking a huge risk. Why? You can't guarantee you'll be alive 24 hours from now, let alone 24 years from now.
If you think the gospel message is true, the time to believe it is now.
ONE DAY THE DOOR OF OPPORTUNITY WILL BE CLOSED!
The basis of salvation is a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
• It's not if you know ABOUT Christ, it’s if you KNOW HIM.
• It’s not what you did for Christ, it’s what you’ve allowed Him to do for you because you could not do it for yourself.
The Jews were CONFIDENT they would be saved, since they were the covenant people.
The Lord clearly taught, BEING A JEW DOES NOT MEAN YOU AUTOMATICALLY HAVE SALVATION.
We have looked at THE CONFIDENCE OF THE JEWS, but now let’s look at-
II. THE CONFUSION OF THE GENTILES
While the Jews were CONFIDENT they would be saved, they were also CONFIDENT the Gentiles would not be saved. This insight helps us to understand the final verses.
The Jewish Rabbis taught that all Jews except for the really bad ones would be saved.
The Lord now gets back to answering the question in verse 23, that seemed to motivate this parable. Look at the question again, we read, “Lord, are there few that be saved?”
But notice how He answers that question now. He says in verse 29, "Yes, many are being saved in the North, South, East and West, but not necessarily the ones you think."
The recipients of salvation will be surprising to many.
• Many who expect to be there won't be
• Many who people don’t expect to be there, will be
Matthew 7:22-23, we read, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
• Jesus says that many Jews will not be saved, yet many Gentiles will be, because of their response to Him
• In the same way, many "religious" people will not be saved, while many "sinners" (like the thief on the cross) will be saved because they acknowledged their need for Jesus’ forgiveness, and responded to his invitation to know him personally
This is why the Lord said in verse 30, “And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.”
Conclusion:
The Lord Jesus was the greatest teacher that ever walked on this earth. But there were those who heard Him teach, and they never learned the lesson about salvation that He was teaching.
This is the time when all men are invited to come and hear the message of salvation. One day the door of opportunity WILL BE CLOSED!
I. THE CONFIDENCE OF THE JEWS
II. THE CONFUSION OF THE GENTILES
