#narrow door

Strange, but the cartoon girl crosses it with ease. So what's the problem?

So, the passage in question reads: 

Luke 13:20-30

"22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 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.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 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. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

So, first, we can know that Jesus isn't teaching salvation by works, because Jesus says through Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9 that, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  

So what does this mean?  His use of "strive" here means to fully apply yourself, or to take very seriously the task of passing through the "narrow door," or "strait gate" in some translations.  The narrow door is the Gospel; there is only one Gospel, only one way to be made right with God, only one way to have our sins wiped out.  The true Gospel is simple, and also very difficult.  It's simple in that the concept is easy to grasp and anyone can do it.  It's very difficult in that it requires us to relinquish control of ourselves; to embrace death by "taking up our cross," to forsake our own opinions, our own ambitions, our own desires, our pride, and all the parts of ourselves that are contrary to God.  

To put it together, Jesus is saying that we must fully commit to Him.  When we surrender to Him and swear fealty to Him as our King, we give all of ourselves over to Him.  We are no longer our own; Jesus has bought and paid for us with His blood.  We now live our lives in service to Him. 

Our salvation is by grace through faith, and not of works.  But once saved, we offer up ourselves as living sacrifices to God; we seek to obey Him and honor Him in all we do, and this requires no less than our best effort.  

The many who will seek to enter and fail are all those who refused to obey the Gospel, whether in whole or in part; false converts who claim Jesus' name now, but their hearts are far from Him. Jesus speaks of these same people in a few other passages (Matthew 7, and Matthew 25).

A Day in the Life of Jesus Scripture Reading: Luke 13:22–30 Walking With Jesus Toward Jerusalem Luke tells us that Jesus “went from city to city and village to village, teaching as He went, always pressing onward toward Jerusalem.” That phrase has always moved me. Jesus knew where He was going. He was not simply wandering from one town to another; He was deliberately walking toward His death.…

Alan Culpepper, at the end of his commentary [277-78] on Luke 13:22-30, provides an interesting story from Franz Kafka: His parable “Before the Law” is the story of a man from the country who seeks admission to the Law. When the doorkeeper tells him he may not enter, he looks through the open door, but the doorkeeper warns him that he is just the first of a series of doorkeepers, each one more…

This Sunday is the 21st Sunday of Year C with the gospel reading from Luke 13:22-30. There is another surprise: people will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. This means that all the nations will be blessed at God’s table. The blessed of God coming from everywhere echoes promises already proclaimed in Isaiah (cf. Isa. 45:6;…

This Sunday is the 21st Sunday of Year C with the gospel reading from Luke 13:22-30. Jesus envisages some of those rejected as pleading that they had known the Lord (v.26). They ate and drank where he was; he taught where they were. But, they cannot claim that they ever entered into understanding of what he was teaching. There was no evidence of their acceptance, no response; or their response…

This Sunday is the 21st Sunday of Year C with the gospel reading from Luke 13:22-30. The question raised is how many will be saved? Jesus does not answer directly, but urges his questioner and others (“strive” is plural) to make sure that they are in the number, however large or small it proves to be (v.24).  The word “strive” is derived from a technical term for competing in the ancient Olympiad…